"Hmm?"
Shen Cheng frowned slightly. He glanced around casually and spotted Yin Shiman sitting in the café.
Although he didn't know what Yin Shiman was doing there, it was just as well. Since he had run into her, he might as well give it to her now.
Shen Cheng looked at the jar of face cream he was holding. It was meant to compensate Yin Shiman, and it certainly wasn't cheap.
Still, once he paid her back with this, he wouldn't owe her anything anymore. It would bring him peace of mind.
As for what she owed him... he had no intention of pursuing it.
Yin Shiman hadn't yet registered the sudden appearance of Shen Cheng when she saw him walking straight toward her.
For some reason, a trace of joy welled up in her heart. If Shen Cheng had chosen to turn a blind eye to her, that would have been the situation she least wanted to see.
Shen Cheng walked right up to the table, placed the shopping bag on it, and said, "To compensate you. Exactly the same one. Now I don't owe you anything—"
Before Shen Cheng could finish his sentence, out of the corner of his eye he suddenly spotted a huge, bulky lump of something huddled in the corner...
And upon hearing Shen Cheng's voice, that bulky lump even gave a couple of shakes.
Without even needing to think, Shen Cheng knew what kind of creature that was. Even if that creature left just a single foot exposed, he would still recognize instantly whose it was.
Shen Cheng looked from Yin Shiman to the bulky lump, his brow furrowed deeply.
"This is..."
Yin Shiman looked at the items inside the shopping bag. It was indeed identical to the jar of face cream Shen Cheng had broken.
Seeing the face cream Shen Cheng had bought to make it up to her, all the sorrow and anger in Yin Shiman's heart instantly vanished into thin air.
Because she felt that this was Shen Cheng's way of proactively trying to make up with her.
She raised her head to look at Shen Cheng standing before her, her pupils trembling slightly, her lips pursed as if she wanted to pour out all the grievances she had suffered over the past two days.
Yet Shen Cheng didn't even deign to look her in the eye, for in his mind, he no longer had anything to do with Yin Shiman.
Shen Cheng walked straight over to the corner, grabbed Lin Qianxun by the collar, and hauled him up.
"Bro, bro! Let's talk this out."
Lin Qianxun felt a chill crawl straight up his spine and shivered all over, babbling excuses nonstop as Shen Cheng dragged him away.
As Shen Cheng hauled him past Yin Shiman, she raised her head and asked, "Shen Cheng, when are you coming home? I have so much I want to say to you."
Shen Cheng stopped in his tracks without turning back. He fell silent for a few seconds before asking in a soft voice, "Home? You surely don't mean your place, do you?"
Yin Shiman's mouth parted slightly, her gaze locking up in a blank, numb stare. It took her a moment to process the words. "Wh—what do you mean *my* place? Isn't that *our* home?"
At that moment, Lin Qianxun, still dangling by the collar, couldn't watch any longer. He frowned and broke in, "Come on, Yin Shiman, are you really that dense or just playing dumb? My bro has already broken up with you. What is the point of pulling this stunt? Do you find this fun?"
"Bro—"
Yin Shiman's heart skipped a beat, her expression shifting instantly.
Her eyes filled with disbelief, and her entire body felt as though it had turned to stone.
She felt a buzzing sound echo inside her head.
Whatever Lin Qianxun said next, she couldn't hear a single word.
It felt as though an invisible boulder was crushing her heart, and her lips trembled slightly.
"All right, let's go."
Shen Cheng stopped Lin Qianxun from saying any more, then dragged him away from the spot.
Leaving Yin Shiman sitting all alone, her face expressionless, her eyes fixed and dull as if frozen in place.
After a long while, Yin Shiman finally snapped out of it. She shuddered all over, then hurriedly picked up her phone from the table.
She opened her blacklist. There was only one person on it: Shen Cheng.
She removed Shen Cheng from the blacklist, then impatiently tapped on his Moments.
This time, she was completely dumbfounded. She kept refreshing the page, but there was truly nothing left.
Those Moments posts that Shen Cheng used to share about her—not a single one remained.
"How could this be..."
Before, whenever you opened Shen Cheng's Moments, it was practically filled with photos of her—a complete staking of his claim.
Even if other girls added Shen Cheng as a friend, seeing a Moments feed like that would have made them give up any original ideas.
But now...
It was empty, devoid of even the slightest trace of her.
Yin Shiman couldn't believe it. She went to her friend list, found Qiao Xiao, and sent her a message—
[The recipient has enabled friend verification. You are not yet his (her) friend. Please send a friend verification request first; you can chat after the recipient has approved it...]
The red exclamation mark in front of her screen stunned her all over again.
Just a moment ago, they had been exchanging friendly greetings, yet the very next message failed to go through.
She didn't understand what was happening to her, or why she suddenly felt abandoned by the whole world.
Why were the people who used to be by her side suddenly distancing themselves from her?
Shen Cheng pulled Lin Qianxun away from the spot, released his collar, crossed his arms, and glared at him in interrogation.
"What is going on here?"
"Bro, it really wasn't my fault. She used a burner account to fish for me. When I got here, I didn't say a thing, but she kept insisting there was a misunderstanding between you two and wanted me to help out."
Lin Qianxun explained with a helpless expression. He was a victim too! He'd been tricked into coming here only to get caught red-handed by Shen Cheng.
It made it look as though he had betrayed Shen Cheng, defected to Yin Shiman, and stood on her side.
"Really?"
Lin Qianxun held up four fingers and swore earnestly, "Really, I swear! If I'm lying, may I never touch a woman again!"
Seeing that he didn't look like he was lying, Shen Cheng sighed and said helplessly, "Fine, get out of here. I believe you."
"Great, see you tomorrow then, bro..."
Relieved that Shen Cheng was letting him off the hook, Lin Qianxun said his goodbyes and hurried away.
His experiences today were going to take him some time to recover from. Getting tangled up in other people's relationship dramas was just too terrifying.
Shen Cheng took out his phone, intending to contact Han Luoyao and ask if she had made it home.
Just then, he saw Han Luoyao appearing across the street.
She was carrying bags in both hands all by herself. They looked heavy, and she was struggling a bit, stopping to set them on the ground to rest every once in a while.
Passersby kept turning their heads to look at her, and a few even stepped forward to ask her something, but Han Luoyao simply shook her head.
They were probably asking if she needed help.
"Hnn—"
After resting for a moment, she lifted the bags up once more. This time, however, she was surprised to find that they suddenly felt much lighter.
Before she could figure out what was happening, a hand reached out and took the bags straight out of her grip, giving her a start.
When she turned her head back, standing right behind her was Shen Cheng.
"Let me carry those."