“…”

Xie Ruhe’s expression froze slightly as he asked with a hint of suspicion, “Are you angry?”

Hearing this, Shu Nian couldn’t help but glance at him before quickly averting her gaze. She exhaled and reluctantly picked up her tablet again, saying softly, “No, I never get angry.”

As if trying to brainwash herself, she emphasized, “I have a very good temper.”

After saying this, Shu Nian sat back down beside Xie Ruhe and reached out to turn on the tablet. With her head lowered, she closed the video and muttered, “Let’s watch something else…”

Xie Ruhe instinctively lowered his eyes, “Hmm? Not watching this anymore?”

“…” Shu Nian’s movements paused as she raised her head, “Do you want to watch it?”

Before Xie Ruhe could deny it—

In the next second, Shu Nian closed the tablet’s protective cover and then stuffed the tablet into his arms. Her expression tightened, her lips turned downward as she said stiffly, “Then you watch it.”

Staring at Shu Nian’s face, Xie Ruhe looked somewhat bewildered as he raised his hand to accept the tablet.

Shu Nian’s mood grew increasingly gloomy, and she even had the urge to kick him. She didn’t know what was wrong with herself—her heartfelt congested, her body uncomfortable, and she wanted to lose her temper.

But she also knew that losing her temper like this was unreasonable.

And that it was wrong.

A few seconds of silence passed.

Shu Nian still couldn’t help speaking up: “Just, don’t misunderstand.”

Xie Ruhe put the tablet to one side, “Hmm?”

Shu Nian had always been the type to say whatever was on her mind. Even if she wanted to hold back, when she couldn’t contain it anymore, she wouldn’t resist. She hesitated, and then said in a manner that seemed to be covering up, “I’m not angry. I just want to explain some reasoning to you, not scold you.”

“…” Xie Ruhe was silent for a few seconds. “I know.”

“If you think what I’m saying is wrong, you can refute me. I’m very reasonable.”

“Okay.”

Seeing his response, Shu Nian breathed a sigh of relief. She no longer hid her emotions, and her tone suddenly became self-righteous: “I think what you just did was wrong.”

Xie Ruhe had no idea what had happened and could only nod hesitantly.

Shu Nian thought for a moment, and her tone weakened again: “Lin Qiqi might have had feelings for you before, but it’s been so long that she might not anymore, and she might even have forgotten about you.”

“…”

“Why do you want to watch her drama? It’s very strange of you.” Shu Nian lowered her head, looking very unhappy. “She is indeed pretty. But what can I do? I’ve always looked like this.”

“…”

“It’s not like I can suddenly become very pretty.”

“I didn’t say—”

“But I’m not that bad-looking either.” Shu Nian interrupted him, very seriously telling him, “Many people say I’m pretty, just maybe not as pretty as her.”

Listening to Shu Nian’s words and looking at her current appearance,

Xie Ruhe’s eyes widened in surprise, and suddenly understanding dawned on him, the corners of his mouth lifting upward. He raised his hand to his lips, not finishing what he was about to say earlier, and changed the subject: “So what reasoning did you want to explain to me?”

Shu Nian froze, her fighting spirit instantly deflating by half: “I-I just wanted to tell you that you shouldn’t judge people by their appearance.”

“Then what should I do?” Xie Ruhe tilted his head, asking humbly, “I’ve already judged by appearance.”

Shu Nian looked at him, her tone accusatory: “Then you’re just…”

Xie Ruhe asked, “I’m what?”

His demeanor was completely self-assured. Shu Nian already felt like she was in the wrong, and immediately shut her mouth, wrestling with herself for a few seconds before deciding to finish her sentence: “Judging by appearance is wrong.”

Xie Ruhe asked again: “Why is it wrong?”

Shu Nian felt she couldn’t win this argument with him and could only lose her temper: “It just is wrong.”

Xie Ruhe promptly apologized: “I’m sorry.”

Shu Nian opened and closed her mouth, feeling at a loss because of his apology.

But Xie Ruhe’s mood appeared to be quite good, his tone casual and unconcerned, not treating this as a big deal. She hesitated, and could only stubbornly nod without making a sound.

Soon, Xie Ruhe added: “I judged by appearance and found a girlfriend.”

Shu Nian looked up, dumbfounded.

“Although I won’t change, you think I’ve done something wrong.” His eyebrows raised slightly as he said with a light laugh, “So I’ll just admit my mistake.”

It was truly amazing.

Originally feeling terrible, and uncomfortable whether sitting, standing, or lying down. Not wanting to do anything, inexplicably aggrieved, and wanting to cry for no reason. Even feeling that this wasn’t her home, that staying here, no matter where, she would be out of place.

Many things she didn’t dare to do, being cautious, pessimistic, and embarrassed.

Feeling that even her anger wasn’t justified.

But she still couldn’t help directing her anger at him, saying many things that even she thought were nonsensical, imagining the worst outcome—that the next second she might be kicked out by him.

But none of that happened.

He was infinitely patient, accepting all her anger. Making Shu Nian feel that her unreasonable tantrum somehow became reasonable. Because he too thought it was reasonable.

Like magic.

She also felt that her previously aching head didn’t seem to hurt as much anymore.

She opened the tablet again.

Shu Nian didn’t have anything particular she wanted to watch, and after thinking for a moment, she downloaded a game that could be played by two people. She knelt in front of Xie Ruhe, facing him as they started playing the game.

They were all simple mini-games.

Shu Nian was clumsy with her hands, and at the moment her brain wasn’t working well either, so she was defeated by Xie Ruhe almost as soon as the game began. After several rounds, she pressed her lips together and looked up at him.

At that moment, Xie Ruhe had his eyes lowered and didn’t notice her gaze.

Shu Nian withdrew her gaze.

She lost more than ten consecutive rounds.

Shu Nian’s face scrunched up, refusing to believe she would keep losing. As if having a contest of stubbornness with Xie Ruhe, wanting to save face, she continued to compete with him nonstop, not making a sound.

Then she lost several dozen more rounds.

Shu Nian couldn’t play anymore and said glumly, “I’m done playing. I’m going to sleep.”

Xie Ruhe raised an eyebrow: “One more round?”

Shu Nian was reluctant but still moved closer, muttering: “Even one more round, I still won’t win.”

As if not hearing her words, Xie Ruhe pointed at the screen and asked, “Which one do you want to play?”

Shu Nian scanned with her eyes and randomly selected one.

It was a math game with addition and subtraction within three, played as a quick-response competition.

The first person to answer three questions correctly wins.

Shu Nian had played this one earlier. Although it was very simple, there were always several numbers to add and subtract, and she reacted too slowly, taking several seconds to calculate the answer. She and Xie Ruhe ended the game with a 0-3 result.

Shu Nian scratched her head, her cheeks puffing up.

She reluctantly concentrated.

The game began.

Question: 1+2=?

This required no thought at all. Shu Nian immediately pressed “3.”

This time she was the first to answer correctly.

Shu Nian was somewhat surprised and couldn’t help glancing at Xie Ruhe.

He was still staring at the screen, not looking at her.

Shu Nian blinked, an inexplicable sense of achievement rising in her heart.

Next question: 2+3-2=?

Having taken the lead with one question, Shu Nian wasn’t as nervous. She thought for several seconds and then pressed “3” again.

She got it right again.

Next question: 1+1+1+1-2-3+1+1+1=?

Shu Nian: “…”

When faced with longer questions, Shu Nian couldn’t react in time; her brain felt like porridge. She scratched her head, counting on her fingers and reciting in her mind: “One plus one equals two, two minus one equals one…”

Before she could calculate halfway,

Xie Ruhe lazily uttered a word: “Two.”

Shu Nian’s mental calculation was interrupted, and she reflexively pressed “2.”

And then she won.

Such an easy victory made Shu Nian feel very incredulous. She stared at the “win” on the screen for several seconds, and then looked up at Xie Ruhe: “I won?”

Xie Ruhe made a sound of agreement: “You won.”

Experiencing the joy of victory for the first time, Shu Nian’s eyes sparkled, and she became more talkative, casually asking, “Why did you calculate so slowly this time?”

“I didn’t. You calculated too quickly,” Xie Ruhe looked at her and asked softly, “Want to play more?”

Shu Nian’s mood immediately improved, and she nodded eagerly.

“Yes.”

Perhaps because he had won dozens of rounds against her earlier, Xie Ruhe’s luck and brain power were exhausted. Afterward, he lost to Shu Nian dozens of times in a row, giving her an extraordinary sense of achievement.

Shu Nian was in high spirits. Occasionally feeling that Xie Ruhe was losing too pitifully, she tried to secretly let him win, but he still couldn’t win. Eventually, she wracked her brains trying to let him win, yet she won every round.

She lay on the bed, swinging her feet as she pondered strategies, and unknowingly fell asleep.

What woke her was a phone call.

Shu Nian groggily answered it: “Hello.”

The room had blackout curtains, but Xie Ruhe had only drawn the sheer layer that didn’t block light. Now, through the window, she could see that the sky outside had darkened, though the room was still bright because the lights were on.

Xie Ruhe wasn’t beside her; she didn’t know where he had gone.

Then, Deng Qingyu’s voice came through the phone: “Nian Nian, I came to your place. Are you on a business trip or something? The house looks like no one’s been living there.”

Hearing this, Shu Nian immediately sat up straight, her mind clearing.

“Ah, I…”

Shu Nian wasn’t good at lying. Having just woken up, and with Deng Qingyu’s call coming so suddenly, she couldn’t think of any excuse. Her voice was halting: “I-I’m not at home.”

Deng Qingyu said: “I know that. Haven’t you been staying at home lately?”

Shu Nian was quiet for a few seconds, then lowered her head in resignation and stopped hiding it from her.

“I have a boyfriend now, and I’m staying at his place.”

There was silence on the other end.

Shu Nian anxiously played with her fingers, as if waiting to be scolded.

After a while, Deng Qingyu asked, “Is it Xie Ruhe?”

“…” Shu Nian was stunned. “How did you know?”

“When I went to your place before, I saw you two together,” Deng Qingyu’s voice was calm. “And I haven’t seen you in more contact with anyone else recently.”

Shu Nian responded with an “Oh.”

Another moment of silence followed.

Shu Nian couldn’t help speaking up for Xie Ruhe: “Mom, please don’t dislike him. He’s a good person.”

Deng Qingyu sighed helplessly: “I haven’t said anything yet.”

Shu Nian scratched her head, saying guiltily: “It’s just that you didn’t seem to like him before, so I’m explaining a bit for him…”

“Nian Nian.” Deng Qingyu interrupted her.

“Huh? What is it?”

“If you think he’s good, then that’s fine. Mom doesn’t object.”

“…Mmm.”

“I just want to ask you one thing.” Deng Qingyu knew about the situation with Xu Zeyuan and was afraid she would be hurt again. Although she didn’t want to bring it up, she asked worriedly, “Have you told Xie Ruhe about your condition?”

Shu Nian licked her lips: “He knows.”

Deng Qingyu asked: “Is he good to you?”

“Yes.” Shu Nian’s eyes felt a little sore, and her voice carried a nasal tone, “Even knowing about it, he’s still very good to me.”