The autumn wind suddenly rose, and the cicadas on the campus had lost their strength to chirp. Their occasional brief cries were swept away by the wind into the mud.

Sitting beside Teng Yi, listening to him talk about his mother and brother, Ruan Yu experienced a moment of confusion, mistakenly feeling as if they were old friends of many years.

Teng Yi’s intention was clear – he wanted to tell her that Teng Hao wasn’t bad, just a child starved for love.

He was using this indirect way to apologize to her on behalf of his brother.

This young man with dreadlocks, who should have appeared rebellious, somehow always radiated a tenderness that melted to the bone.

He possessed an ineffable duality – she knew that either side if pursued deeply, would be a fatal temptation.

“Ruan Ruan?”

Jian Xiangxiang’s voice came from behind.

Ruan Yu stood up abruptly, trying to distance herself from the image of sitting side by side with Teng Yi, but this action only drew more attention to what she was trying to hide.

“Ruan Ruan, what are you doing sitting here?” Jian Xiangxiang came around to face them. Upon seeing Teng Yi, her furrowed brows instantly smoothed out. “Teng Yi!”

Teng Yi also stood up.

“I’m Jian Xiangxiang, do you remember me? That night…”

“I remember,” Teng Yi smiled politely at Jian Xiangxiang. “Xi He’s girlfriend.”

“Yes, you remember me!” Jian Xiangxiang shyly lowered her head. After a few seconds of bashfulness, she suddenly remembered something and immediately looked at them suspiciously. “Why are you two together?”

Seeing no way to hide it, and not wanting to make excuses in front of Teng Yi, Ruan Yu simply explained about her tutoring work at the Teng family.

“Oh, so that’s it.” Jian Xiangxiang wrapped an arm around Ruan Yu’s shoulders and began promoting her to Teng Yi as a product. “Our Ruan Ruan was last year’s top scorer in the college entrance exam! Her grades in our department are top-tier, basically first place every time. You’ve found the right person for tutoring!”

Teng Yi cooperatively gave a thumbs up.

“And also…”

“That’s enough.” Ruan Yu gently pushed Jian Xiangxiang. Although everything she said was true, her exaggerated tone made her uncomfortable. “Let’s go up.”

“Going up already? No, you two should continue talking, I’ll go up first.”

“We’ve finished talking.”

Ruan Yu glanced at Teng Yi, nodded to him, and pushed Jian Xiangxiang toward the building. Jian Xiangxiang tried to say something more, but Ruan Yu pushed her straight through the girls’ dormitory entrance.

Teng Yi remained standing there. Ruan Yu could feel his gaze following her, but she didn’t look back.

Not long after going upstairs, Shen Bing called.

Perhaps because Ruan Yu hadn’t expressed her stance earlier, Teng Yi felt the matter wasn’t resolved, so he had Shen Bing intervene. Shen Bing apologized and expressed hope that Ruan Yu would continue tutoring Teng Hao, putting aside what had happened.

After much consideration, Ruan Yu finally agreed.

Although Teng Hao was wrong, there were reasons behind his actions. Moreover, Teng Yi and Shen Bing were so sincere that she couldn’t refuse them. Most importantly, she needed a part-time job – she needed money.