The moment Su Lili saw Chen Ye turn around, the words on the tip of her tongue froze in her throat.
Crucially, she had also seen Luo Hongli.
According to their plan, shouldn't Young Master Wang be finding some of his lackeys to teach her a lesson right now? Why did she still seem to be wearing the teahouse's uniform? And why was Chen Ye here, too? Wasn't this Young Master Wang’s family teahouse? She had waited and waited for someone to show up, and when no one answered her calls, she had decided to try coming here. It seemed things were not going as expected.
The moment Wang Tianlong saw Su Lili, his eyes brightened. He couldn't really blame his son. She was just at that age of blooming youth—plump in all the right places and possessed of an inherently charming air; if he had been ten years younger, he doubted he could have resisted her either.
"Little girl, this isn't the place for you. Wang Qiang, you’d best handle this mess properly," Wang Tianlong said, then turned his gaze toward Chen Ye. "Brother Chen, I’ll have someone see you and your friend home."
Chen Ye merely cast a fleeting glance at Su Lili before turning to Luo Hongli. "Change your clothes and come with me."
"I appreciate your kindness, Mr. Wang, but I’m in the habit of taking a walk at night."
Once they were out of Wuxiang Studio, Luo Hongli followed sullenly behind Chen Ye.
"Say something."
Chen Ye stopped abruptly. Luo Hongli let out an "Ouch" as her head collided with his back.
"Is there money on the road? Why are you walking with your head down?"
Luo Hongli pouted and rubbed her forehead. "I feel like it!"
Chen Ye suddenly reached out, hooked her neck, and tucked her under his arm.
"Who do you think you’re talking to? Don't forget, I still have leverage over you regarding that theft of the school's anesthesia."
Luo Hongli hadn't expected Chen Ye to be so bold as to put his hands on her. It was her first time in such close contact with a boy, and her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest. Her face flushed a deep red, as if it were freezing in Shancheng.
"You—let go! Men and women should keep their distance. I—I’m going to scream!"
Chen Ye smirked. "Go ahead. The louder you scream, the more excited I’ll get."
He wanted to scare her. She was just a girl who talked like a tough guy all day long—supposedly the high-and-mighty school beauty—but he hadn't seen a shred of "high and mighty" about her. Rumors were truly terrifying. If modern technology hadn't been so inconvenient, he would have recorded her right then to show everyone her true colors.
"Hiss! Are you a dog or something?"
Luo Hongli glared at him and bit down hard on Chen Ye’s chest, muttering for him to let her go. After the scuffle, the atmosphere suddenly turned awkward.
Luo Hongli asked directly, "Chen Ye, just let me go, will you? I just wanted to earn some money. Why do I keep running into you? Now my job is ruined! Do you know how hard it was for me to find that?"
Chen Ye took a deep breath. "Are you a dragon? Didn't you hear Wang Tianlong say he would double your salary? Wait, did that Wang Qiang threaten you? What did he ask you?"
Luo Hongli snorted. "He... he said he was going to fire me. It’s his family’s teahouse, after all. He asked me... he asked me where you lived. How would I know where you live? I told him, but he didn't believe me. We hadn't finished talking before you two walked out."
"You... how could you know someone like him? You haven't been doing anything bad, have you?"
Seeing her cautious expression, Chen Ye tapped her lightly on the head. Luo Hongli reflexively swatted him back in annoyance. Fine, she really wasn't the type to take a loss—she had to return the gesture immediately.
Chen Ye looked up at the night sky, ignoring her question. "You stole the medicine because of your mother's illness, right?"
When Luo Hongli heard the word "mother," she immediately lifted her head. "So that old woman who came to my house last night to drop off those supplies... was that you?"
"Yes."
"I don't need your pity. You’re a bad guy, too."
"That’s not what I meant."
Chen Ye had never been in a serious relationship; he had no idea how to handle a girl's fragile heart. The concept of "pride" during one's youth could be an agonizing thing. The teachers at school had once discussed whether to organize a collection to help Luo Hongli. After all, she was an excellent student; even if she wasn't always ranked first in the grade, if you took her mother’s illness out of the equation, she would likely be a top contender for Tsingpei. Unfortunately, uremia was a bottomless pit, and Luo Hongli’s father had personally refused the help.
"Luo Hongli, if you keep this attitude up, I’m going to expose you tomorrow."
"You only know how to bully people! Wuu wuu wuu..."
"Stop, stop! If you cry again, I’m calling your homeroom teacher right now. Didn't you want to earn money? After the final exams are over, I’ll help you earn some. Don't go back to Wuxiang Studio. It's almost winter break; a few days won't make a difference."
Luo Hongli wiped her tears, a flicker of cunning in her eyes. It seemed her hunch was right—Chen Ye was afraid of girls crying. Besides, even though he was threatening her, he hadn't actually forced her to do anything.
Could Bingbing have been right? Had he given up on chasing Su Lili and started chasing her instead? It didn't seem like it, though. Chen Ye was a celebrity at No. 8 Middle School—he had once stood at the flag-raising ceremony holding flowers to confess to Su Lili. He was always giving her gifts and the like. If he really wanted to pursue her, shouldn't he have given her something? But what happened over these past two days was hard to explain. She was truly confused.
"Well? You haven't snapped out of it yet? Make a sound."
"Oh... well, I’ll tutor you, but you can't be mischievous. You have to listen to me. If you don't study and you fail your exams, you’ll end up blaming me, and I won't have any way to clear my name."
Luo Hongli mentally gave Chen Ye a "safe" label.
Chen Ye nodded. "That’s reasonable. Agreed. And I won't make you work for nothing. I’ll pay the tutoring fees. Name your price."
Luo Hongli pursed her lips. "Ten thousand a day."
Chen Ye: "You could have just robbed me, and here you are offering to tutor me instead. You really are an honest merchant!"
Luo Hongli covered her mouth and giggled. "You’re the one who bragged and told me to name my price."
Chen Ye stared blankly at the girl in front of him. The winter breeze ruffled her hair, and her fair, slightly flushed face glowed softly under the yellow light of the street lamp. His heart suddenly began to pound. Was this what love felt like? Why hadn't he felt this kind of flutter when he was chasing Su Lili in his past life?
Luo Hongli turned away, shy. "What... what are you looking at? Stop—stop looking at me like that."
Chen Ye rubbed his nose, feeling a bit awkward, and coughed. "We're almost at your place. I won't walk you up."
Luo Hongli gave a soft "mm," then hurried up the steps and vanished into the darkness.
Chen Ye looked up in the direction she had gone, feeling remarkably lighthearted. What he didn't know was that on the dark balcony above the stairs, a small head was peeking down. Luo Hongli held her cheeks with both hands, muttering, "So hot... it must be because the clothes I’m wearing today are too thick."
On the other side of town, Chen Ye walked all the way home, arriving just before nine o'clock. Seeing Old Chen’s motorcycle parked outside their family’s mahjong parlor, he felt relieved. He had just entered the compound and was about to step into his building.
"Chen Ye."
An abrupt voice from the side startled him. Su Lili was standing there with her head down, covering her face. Under the flickering yellow light of the entrance, he could see that she had been crying hard—her eyes were rimmed with smudged makeup.
"Su Lili, I think you’re actually sick. Don't you know you can scare people to death like that? What are you doing?"
"Chen Ye, let’s... let’s make up. I accept your pursuit. Can I be your girlfriend?"