"Chen Ye, don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
Su Lili’s figure was undeniably impressive—by today’s standards, she would be the quintessential social media influencer known for flaunting her curves. She had an hourglass waist and a generous backside, and she swayed provocatively when she walked, though her chest left a little to be desired. But in the year 2000, she was the ultimate prize in the eyes of every local hoodlum.
Chen Ye glanced at Luo Hongli, who had paused with her mouth slightly open, and said with a frown, "Just eat your food. Why are your eyes bugging out like that?"
Luo Hongli shyly pursed her lips, and it took her a long time to manage a faint "Oh."
Seeing Chen Ye completely ignore her, Su Lili bristled.
"Chen Ye! Do you still want to pursue me or not? What is this? Why are you chasing someone else behind my back?"
Luo Hongli felt like a bystander who had suddenly been dragged into the center of the drama. She wanted to explain that she had nothing to do with Chen Ye, but Chen Ye used her as a prop, placing his hateful hand on her head to steady himself as he stood up.
"Just mind your own business and eat." He turned to the girl. "And Su Lili, do you have nothing better to do? I’m not your man."
Su Lili’s pretty face widened in shock. She couldn’t understand it. How could Chen Ye have changed so much just because he didn’t see her home from school for one day? In the past, he would have been fawning all over her the moment he saw her.
*Luo Hongli?*
*A sickly, medicine-smelling weakling dares to compete with me for a man? You little tramp.*
After cursing inwardly, her tone suddenly softened. She tried to reach out to grab Chen Ye’s arm, but he dodged her touch heartlessly.
"Oh, come on, I’m sorry. I, I just got jealous seeing you with another girl. Listen, my birthday is in a few days—are you still going to host that birthday party for me like you promised?"
If Su Lili hadn’t brought that up, it would have been fine, but the mention of it reignited twenty years of suppressed fury in Chen Ye. He had gone to prison because of that goddamn party!
*Slap!*
*Slap!*
With a forehand and then a backhand, Chen Ye landed two loud smacks across her face.
"Get lost!"
Not only was Su Lili stunned, but Luo Hongli, who had been sitting quietly on the steps eating and watching the show, was absolutely horrified. Had Chen Ye lost his mind?
"You—Chen Ye, how dare you hit me?! Do you have any idea who I hang out with? Don’t think that just because you act like a thug at school, you’re invincible! Just you wait until tomorrow, I’m going to have Young Master Wang come and kill you!"
Chen Ye felt a tiny bit of the heavy pressure in his chest dissipate after those two slaps, but compared to twenty years of prison time and the terminal illness he’d contracted behind bars, this small bit of interest was nothing.
"Do whatever you want. Now, can you get lost?"
Su Lili covered her face, her eyes filled with venomous resentment. She nodded and ran down the stairs. "You just wait!!!"
Chen Ye let out a long breath and sat back down next to Luo Hongli. The moment he raised his hand, she sprang away like she had a spring in her seat.
"Don't hit me, don't hit me! I'll sign it, I admit I owe you money, okay?"
Watching her still unwilling to put down her bread, taking little bites with her delicate mouth, and then fumbling to pull out a pen to sign her name, Chen Ye almost started to wonder if he was being too harsh.
But a second later, he changed his mind. On the paper, she hadn't signed her name; she had drawn a tiny fish!
A little fish? This was an insult to his intelligence!
*Fine, fine.* She was putting on a show of being terrified while still playing mind games with him.
*Alright!*
Chen Ye grabbed her ponytail and gave it a slight tug, forcing her to lift her bare, unadorned face. They stared at each other, neither willing to back down.
Chen Ye: "Don't look at me like that. Everyone knows I never hit women. You draw a fish on here—are you making fun of me for being a dropout who can't read? Hmm?"
Luo Hongli: "o(￣ヘ￣o＃) No, that’s my personal anti-counterfeiting mark. And you just hit Su..."
*A personal anti-counterfeiting mark?*
"What kind of fish is this?"
"A carp."
"A little carp?"
"Yeah, that’s my nickname."
"Then I’m going to call you Little Carp from now on."
"No!"
"I say it’s fine, so it’s fine. Stop being difficult."
Chen Ye let go of her ponytail, only to find a few strands of her hair in his hand. *Great.* If Li Dabao found out, he’d probably be killed a few times over.
After folding the paper and putting it away, Chen Ye stood up. "Come on, let’s go. I’ll see you home."
Luo Hongli pointed at the stairs. "My house is up there. Are you going to push the bike all the way up?"
This was Shancheng, a 3D city with countless stairs, where you never quite knew which floor you were on. Chen Ye glanced at a nearby streetlight. He had a chain lock; he figured if he locked it for a while, no one would steal it, right?
"I’m a man of my word. You want me to be someone who breaks his promises? Just locking the bike by the road is fine."
Luo Hongli opened her mouth to speak, thinking that her own bike had been stolen even when locked in the hallway, so surely locking it by the road was a disaster—but she felt Chen Ye was a violent maniac, and she didn't dare say a word.
"Oh... then keep up. I, I won't be waiting for you."
"Damn, you little brat, who are you looking down on? Want to race?"
"You're the brat!"
After firing back, Luo Hongli grabbed her backpack and bolted up the stairs. Chen Ye looked at her petite back and smiled. Whatever Datou had said before his rebirth, at least in this moment, he hadn't let this innocent girl drop out of school.
Ten minutes later, Chen Ye looked at Luo Hongli, who was standing still at the bottom of the stairs, and chuckled. "I told you you were a brat. Still want to race me on stamina?"
Luo Hongli pointed to her right. "I'm here. You ran past it, idiot..."
After Chen Ye walked back, he watched her stop at the east-facing apartment on the first floor of an alleyway.
"Um, um, thanks for today."
*Clang.*
Even in the night, the blush on the girl’s face and the sheer speed with which she opened the door and darted inside kept a smile on Chen Ye’s face.
*This is what true youth is supposed to be.*
"Grandma, what are you selling?" Chen Ye asked an elderly woman sitting on a small stool against the wall.
"Cold noodles, malt candy, silken tofu—I have it all. What would you like, dear?"
"Three of each. Send them to the girl's house that just went inside."
"Oh my, got a girlfriend?"
Chen Ye couldn't handle the old woman's teasing, so he paid and quickly hurried away. The main thing was that winter in Shancheng was a bit cold, and he realized he had left his jacket at the lab.
Twenty minutes later, a young man under a streetlight was cursing loudly and viciously. He was asking if anyone had seen his Flying Pigeon bicycle.
By nearly eight o'clock, Chen Ye arrived home.
"Dad! My brother's back! I put your Seven Wolves cigarettes on the sofa for you!"
Chen Ye felt numb. He hadn't seen his parents or his sister for so many years, and he had walked all the way back, exhausted. He had originally wanted to give them a hug. But reality slapped him in the face—his own sister had backstabbed him the moment he arrived. *How nice.*
"Chen Yue, do you want to die?"
Chen Yue giggled, then pouted, her voice turning into a whine: "Dad, Dad! My brother says he’s going to kill me, I’m so scared..."
Moments later, an explosion of rage rang out from the house, followed by some inhuman shrieks.
"You brat, where have you been messing around again..."
"Dad, my bike got stolen! No, listen to me! I didn't sell it! I really didn't sell it this time!!!"
The next morning, Chen Ye arrived at school early. Without his bike, he had to leave sooner, and his backpack held a breakfast of love made by his mother.
He hadn't even had time to sit down before he realized Su Lili had also arrived unusually early.
"Not bad, Chen Ye. You know to come early today. Too bad Young Master Wang made a wasted trip and didn't manage to block you. Scared? You didn't seem this cowardly when you hit me last night!"
"Look at my face—it’s still swollen! In consideration of you chasing me for so long, give me a hundred yuan and I’ll forgive you. Otherwise, wait for me after school!"
Chen Ye pulled out his lunchbox and gave her a sideways glance. "Are you done? If you're done, get lost. Who sprays flatulence on themselves? It’s suffocating."
Su Lili’s chest heaved with rage. Chen Ye was tough, but surely he couldn't hit Luo Hongli, could he?
"Hmph, so you think you can hide from me? You think I can't find that medicine-smelling weakling? You're just frustrated because you can't get me, so you take it out on me, right? Let me tell you the truth: I was just toying with you all along! You won’t even get to touch my hand!"
Chen Ye clenched his fists. "Time. Place."
Su Lili smirked. *So he was a coward after all.* But since Luo Hongli dared to try and steal her guy, she had to be dealt with. Everyone in Class 2 knew Chen Ye was her exclusive lackey!
"Yangping, the pavilion. If you don't show up, I can't guarantee Luo Hongli's safety."