After saying these words, Ke Yiqing became confident, as if stating an obvious truth: “He must not show his face because he’s ugly. Who knows what he looks like…”

Shu Nian looked at her, not knowing what to say.

Ke Yiqing, having thick skin as usual, calmly defended herself: “In life, one needs to brag sometimes to make things more interesting.”

“…Hmm.”

“I bragged purely out of personal interest,” Ke Yiqing put her sunglasses back on, overemphasizing awkwardly, “not to hide certain things.”

The more Ke Yiqing spoke, the more Shu Nian found her thoughts strange, unable to understand what she was trying to express. But she could tell that Ke Yiqing was quite outgoing and talkative.

Shu Nian nodded and hesitantly said, “Um, Miss Ke. About what I just told you, about that person being Teacher A-He, could you please not tell others?”

“Ah, that?” Ke Yiqing agreed readily, “I won’t say anything. Please keep my secret too. I’ll be going now, I have something to do.”

Shu Nian raised her hand and waved: “Alright, goodbye.”

Shu Nian was about to turn back to find Xie Ruhe. But Ke Yiqing returned after walking just a few steps as if remembering something: “Do you know a police officer who lives here?”

Shu Nian answered honestly: “Yes.”

Ke Yiqing paused, her tone somewhat certain: “Named He You?”

“Yes.” Shu Nian blinked, “Do you know him?”

Ke Yiqing scratched her chin, her expression suddenly becoming awkward: “You and he are…”

Her words stopped there. Shu Nian waited for a long time but didn’t hear the rest, so she volunteered: “Officer He and I are neighbors. He lives upstairs from me.”

“Neighbors?” Ke Yiqing’s expression immediately returned to normal, “You and He You are neighbors?”

Shu Nian nodded again.

Before she could say anything more, Ke Yiqing suddenly handed over her phone as if finding a treasure, brazenly asking in a low voice: “We’ve chatted for so long, why don’t we add each other on WeChat?”

“…”

This sudden gesture left Shu Nian a bit confused.

Seeing Shu Nian did not react, Ke Yiqing waved her phone in front of her.

Shu Nian came to her senses, said “Oh,” and didn’t refuse. She obediently took out her phone from her pocket and opened WeChat to scan Ke Yiqing’s QR code.

During this time, Ke Yiqing asked: “By the way, I never asked your name.”

Shu Nian said: “My name is Shu Nian.”

“That’s quite nice.” Ke Yiqing put her phone away and accepted the verification, “I’m Ke Yiqing. Let’s keep in touch. I’m leaving now, I have something to do.”

Shu Nian responded with an “okay.”

When she turned around, she found Xie Ruhe still standing in the same spot.

For as long as Shu Nian had talked with Ke Yiqing, he had been standing there, without showing any impatience. She walked back to him and asked: “Why didn’t you go back to the car?”

Xie Ruhe glanced in the direction Ke Yiqing had left and asked: “Who was that person?”

Shu Nian said: “Don’t you know her?”

Xie Ruhe shook his head.

“Ke Yiqing!” Shu Nian mentioned a few TV drama titles to him, and seeing he still had no impression, she added: “Plus, she debuted as a child actress. During our ninth grade, in that very popular family drama, she played the male lead’s daughter.”

Xie Ruhe still shook his head: “I don’t know her.”

“I met her when I went for voice acting before. I don’t know why she would be here.” Saying this, Shu Nian remembered that she had called Xie Ruhe “Teacher A-He” in front of Ke Yiqing.

She carefully apologized: “I’m sorry.”

Xie Ruhe was stunned for a moment: “Sorry for what?”

“I just called you Teacher A-He in front of her.” Shu Nian knew her behavior was inappropriate and sincerely apologized, “I’m sorry.”

“…” Xie Ruhe had forgotten about it, but upon her mention, he remembered, “Hmm? You haven’t called me that in a long time.”

Shu Nian didn’t know how to explain and didn’t dare tell the truth, so she vaguely said: “It’s just that she said earlier she knew you, so I instinctively called you that… no, I mean…”

Xie Ruhe frowned and stated bluntly: “I don’t know her.”

Shu Nian was interrupted by him and immediately closed her mouth, then softly said “Oh.”

Because of Shu Nian’s words, Xie Ruhe thought of a time long ago when he saw a WeChat message someone sent to Shu Nian in his recording studio. The message essentially said that he had romantic feelings for that person.

And it was from someone he had no impression of.

This time, Xie Ruhe wasn’t clear about what this person had told Shu Nian.

But thinking that once again, it was something he hadn’t done and would make Shu Nian misunderstand. Even if she didn’t care at all, Xie Ruhe still found it difficult to tolerate, and his mood became irritable and depressed.

Xie Ruhe lowered his eyes, his expression focused: “Shu Nian, about matters concerning me—”

Shu Nian looked up, stammering: “What?”

“If you want to know, you can always ask me.” He didn’t hide his unhappy emotions at all, “I don’t have anything I can’t tell you. Rather than hearing things from others that even I don’t know about, it’s better to let me tell you unreservedly, anything you want to know.”

The scene was quiet for a moment.

Shu Nian immediately understood the reason for his displeasure and opened her lips, wanting to explain: “I…”

Xie Ruhe added expressionlessly: “I’m not angry with you.”

“…” Shu Nian tugged at her sleeve and said softly, “Aren’t you?”

Shu Nian seemed to have been frightened, her little face turning deathly pale.

Seeing this, Xie Ruhe’s expression softened, the coldness in his eyes instantly warming. Seeing her so afraid of him being angry, his mood strangely improved, and his tone gentled as if teasing a cat.

“No, I’m not.”

“I told her already.” Like a child who had done something wrong, Shu Nian said glumly, “I asked her not to tell others, so it should be fine…”

“It’s okay.” Xie Ruhe suddenly remembered something and said, “Shu Nian.”

“Ah, ah?”

“Did this person tell you,” Xie Ruhe guessed, “that I like her?”

Shu Nian thought for a moment and shook her head: “She said you asked her to accompany you on your birthday, but just now…”

“It’s all false.” Xie Ruhe’s eyes were dark and bright, like a black sea reflecting stars, “If anyone tells you I like her, or that I asked her to do something, it’s false.”

It seemed like there was more to say, but Xie Ruhe didn’t continue.

He had spoken a lot today, more than any other time. Maybe he just wanted to explain himself, even though Shu Nian didn’t think he was the type to care about such things.

It seemed unusual, yet also seemed just right.

“…” Shu Nian instinctively avoided his gaze, nervously saying, “Hmm… I, I understand.”

Shu Nian returned home and locked the door. Despite being away for a month, the house wasn’t dusty, and the air was clean without any musty smell. Deng Qingyu probably came to clean for her.

After calling Deng Qingyu to update her on recent situations, Shu Nian went back to her room.

Yesterday she only fell asleep around four, and today she woke up at seven to catch the flight. Although she had dozed off intermittently on the plane, she never slept soundly because it was a public place.

Shu Nian was holding her phone, idly browsing through the chat content of her WeChat groups when her eyelids began to droop without her noticing, and she fell into a deep sleep.

In this sleep, she strangely dreamed of her first year of high school.

At that time, because Shu Nian and Xie Ruhe were always together, classmates often teased them. Although some people had said such things since ninth grade, they didn’t have extra thoughts back then.

It was just for fun to tease them.

But after entering high school, many people felt they had stepped through the first door of adulthood.

They thought they were old enough to date, and what parents and teachers said about early romance being inappropriate was just an old-fashioned attitude.

They believed that not having a passionate romance at this age would surely be a regret when looking back in the future.

Those classmates, who in Shu Nian’s eyes were still very young, lost their single status not long after school started.

At that age, they began to call each other “husband” and “wife.”

Those who used to tease them still teased, but no longer said they were already together. Instead, they urged them to get together quickly, calling Xie Ruhe useless, saying he’d take hundreds of years to get a girl.

Shu Nian found them absurd.

Also because of this, Shu Nian and Xie Ruhe were called to the teacher’s office for a talk.

But Shu Nian didn’t care and even refuted what the teacher said. She felt they didn’t have those thoughts and didn’t need to reflect on or deliberately distance themselves from each other because of something they hadn’t done.

This conversation had no impact on either of them, and the teacher had no solution. The teacher called their parents, but the parents had no control over their children either, so the matter was left unresolved.

With neither teachers nor parents intervening, classmates continued to tease.

As if they were determined, as if they were the parties involved, or as if they had changed professions from students to matchmakers.

Shu Nian completely ignored them and told Xie Ruhe not to take their words to heart.

Later, during a certain long break between classes.

Several girls gathered to gossip, and Shu Nian sat behind them reading an extracurricular book. She was never easily disturbed by her surroundings and didn’t listen to what they were saying.

Soon, one of the girls turned around and asked her: “Nian Nian, are you with Xie Ruhe or not?”

Shu Nian looked up.

Hearing this topic again, she pressed her lips together and said stiffly: “No, we’re friends, we don’t have those kinds of thoughts. Besides, I’m not yet an adult, and neither is he. Early romance is inappropriate.”

“What kind of thinking is that?” The girl couldn’t help but laugh, “Early romance is inappropriate? That’s what teachers and parents say. People who obediently listen are idiots.”

“…” Shu Nian didn’t want to talk to her anymore.

“And you say you don’t have those thoughts,” another girl said, “but how do you know if Xie Ruhe does? Are you the tapeworm in his heart? Hey, Shu Nian, Xie Ruhe is so good-looking, how can you…”

Shu Nian interrupted her, becoming a bit upset: “He wouldn’t either. I’ve talked with him before, a student must study, and we shouldn’t always think about those irrelevant things.”

The scene fell silent for a moment, then erupted in laughter.

In their eyes, Shu Nian had become a joke.

Shu Nian felt she had said nothing wrong and didn’t know what they found so funny. She stood up, her face tense: “If you don’t believe me, I can go ask him.”

After saying this, she no longer listened to them.

She walked to the last row and woke up the sleeping Xie Ruhe.

Xie Ruhe opened his eyes, his fair face emerging from his arms, expressionless. Noticing it was her, a hint of confusion entered his gaze, as if he was extremely tired.

Shu Nian kept a straight face: “I have a question for you.”

He didn’t speak, just tilted his head to look at her.

Shu Nian looked at him, and because of her frankness, her tone was direct and serious: “They all say you like me. Do you like me?”

“…” Xie Ruhe, who had been half-squinting, immediately became alert at her words, his expression becoming stiff and stunned, then quickly returning to normal.

Shu Nian waited for a while but didn’t hear his response.

She frowned: “Why aren’t you answering me?”

Xie Ruhe still didn’t speak.

“Are you not fully awake yet?”

“…”

Shu Nian asked once more: “Do you like me?”

Xie Ruhe remained silent.

Shu Nian thought his brain might still not be clear, thought seriously, and changed her approach: “If you don’t like me, just don’t say anything, just lie down and go back to sleep. Okay?”

They looked at each other.

The moment froze for a while.

Shu Nian was very patient, waiting for him to lie down and sleep. Then she could go back to continue reading.

After a few more seconds passed.

Xie Ruhe showed no signs of wanting to continue sleeping and suddenly made a sound of agreement.

Shu Nian scratched her head, feeling something wasn’t quite right, and reminded him: “I said, if you don’t like me, you don’t need to say anything.”

Hearing this, Xie Ruhe lowered his eyes and licked his lips: “…Hmm.”