Ye Meng smiled on the surface, her thoughts unreadable, and surprisingly didn’t continue the conversation. She merely asked in a light voice, “Are you finished eating? If so, I’ll go pay the bill.”
Playing hard to get.
Li Jin Yu coldly laughed to himself. No wonder Cheng Kai Ran both loved and hated her.
Ye Meng paid the bill, called a Didi car, and even thoughtfully took turns sending the younger brother and sister home. When the young girl got out of the car, she was extremely respectful to Ye Meng, “Big sister, it was very nice to meet you. Thank you for dinner tonight. Goodbye, big sister.”
Ye Meng smiled casually: “You’re welcome.”
After the girl had walked away, she rolled up the car window and turned to ask Li Jin Yu with a flippant smile: “Where does this little brother want to go? Back to the hospital? Or…?”
Li Jin Yu gave her an emotionless glance and told the driver the address of the bar.
Ye Meng chuckled, “Going singing?”
Li Jin Yu didn’t answer, leaning back and beginning to rest his eyes.
The car started again, unhurriedly driving out of the narrow alley and merging into the flowing traffic. Only then did the driver secretly observe the man and woman in the back seat through the rearview mirror. The night scenery rushed by and the flickering lights slid over their bodies in succession.
They were somewhat alike, both casual, both seeming to idle away their time. However, the girl appeared to be enjoying it—there was a bright light in her heart.
But the man with the faint mark on his Adam’s apple, wearing earrings, lazily closing his eyes, and leaning his head back against the seat, was like a pitiful snail hiding in a corner, carrying a heavy shell yet still bumping into walls everywhere. He was immersed in obscure, indistinct shadows as if enduring as if waiting for an ordinary ending.
In fact, from their chance encounter by the lake until now, Li Jin Yu’s voice had always been a bit hoarse, somewhat like the sound of leaves rustling across the quiet ground. His vocal cords had been damaged and hadn’t fully recovered before he went singing again.
“Are you that short on money?” asked Ye Meng.
Li Jin Yu, still leaning against the seat back, slightly raised his chin, revealing a smooth, sharp jawline. Without moving, he cast a sidelong glance at her before quickly closing his eyes again, saying: “Aren’t you?”
“I’m not so short on money that I’d go singing with my throat in that condition,” Ye Meng recalled what Xiao Pang had mentioned earlier—after his father died, his mother remarried, and he lived with his grandmother. Besides Xiao Pang and Qiao Mai Mai, there seemed to be no other relatives who came to keep vigil. “Your grandmother doesn’t rely on you for support, does she?”
“My grandmother has been in poor health since she was young. She only had my father. After my father died, my mother gave her a sum of money, but my grandmother refused it and donated all of it to build a building for the town’s orphanage.”
Ye Meng hesitated slightly, apparently not expecting him to voluntarily share these details. Even more unexpected was that the old lady from the neighboring bed—with her fiery temper who would hit and scold Li Jin Yu whenever she craved a cigarette—had such a chivalrous side. She couldn’t help but show an expression of admiration.
“She simply hated my mother. Later, when she fell ill and needed money, she swallowed her pride and tried to get the money back from the orphanage. But they ignored her,” Li Jin Yu maintained his previous posture. “This time when she broke her leg, I had to borrow the money.”
“Don’t you have any savings?”
“The old lady has many underlying conditions. The money I earn goes toward buying medicine to prolong her life. Where would I get savings from?” Li Jin Yu finally turned to look out the window, giving her the back of his head.
Ye Meng made some mental calculations and asked: “Xiao Pang… oh sorry, I mean your cousin, did he just stay at home playing games after graduating from university instead of looking for a job?”
“His dream is to become a professional e-sports player.”
Ye Meng nearly thought she had misheard. She couldn’t help but dig in her ear, then incredulously asked again: “Wait, what did you say?”
“You heard correctly. He wants to be an e-sports player. Yes, with his skill level. The old lady plays better than he does.” After confirming this, Li Jin Yu turned his head and, in the dimly lit car, gave her a deep look. “Remember Qiao Mai Mai? The girl who helped you change clothes that day? My sister. Her dream is to become a rock singer.”
“How well does she sing?”
“She sings very well. There were even talent scouts who approached her, but she was scammed out of 500,000 yuan. So she’s still singing to pay off her debt. I need money not only to help Grandmother get treatment and extend her life but also because I borrowed that 500,000 yuan to help Qiao Mai Mai.”
Throughout their conversation, Ye Meng had been staring intently at him. Li Jin Yu occasionally looked down at her, and whenever their gazes met in mid-air, he would gently, imperceptibly avoid her eyes.
“I feel a bit sorry for you,” said Ye Meng.
Li Jin Yu leaned back again, his head slightly tilted, his tall, large figure nearly filling the entire car compartment. His presence was intense as he laughed to himself, even more flippantly than her earlier smile: “Don’t bother. For someone like me, if you want to help me, I’d advise you to stay away from me. If you just want to have some fun, we can change our destination right now, and I can give you the full package.”
Li Jin Yu was a person with no plans for the future.
He was different from Ye Meng. At least Ye Meng’s carefree attitude still included setting aside some money for her retirement. He was purely just existing.
He used the most casual, dismissive attitude to warn Ye Meng that he was just a mess, not worth trying to approach. But Ye Meng? She had always seen herself as a star-bearing, moon-wearing hero, never afraid of mud splattering her. No matter how heavy or dirty the filth, as long as she liked it, she would bend down and reach out her hand to it.
“When I was little,” Ye Meng suddenly said, seemingly to herself, “I loved stepping in puddles on rainy days. My mother wouldn’t let me, saying it was dirty. Other children would walk around them. But I especially liked getting myself all dirty. It made me feel that people kept their distance not because I had done something wrong, but because of the muddy water.”
Ye Meng turned to look at Li Jin Yu, seeing that he was still staring out the window, his earring gleaming. Half-jokingly, she said: “Do you want to marry me? I’ll give you half of my assets. I have one million yuan that I was planning to use as a down payment for a house in Beijing, but anyway, I don’t plan to go back now. You can take 500,000 to pay off Qiao Mai Mai’s debt, and the rest can be used for your grandmother’s treatment.”
At that moment, Li Jin Yu thought this woman must be crazy.
Without even looking at his expression, Ye Meng knew what he would say, so she immediately explained: “Don’t misunderstand. I’m not some crazy romantic, and I don’t like you that much. I’m just fed up with my grandmother setting me up on blind dates everywhere, and the men she finds are each older than the last. Let’s just say I’m lusting after your good looks. Don’t worry, even though I don’t like you that much yet, I spoil my boyfriends. If you don’t believe me, ask Fang Ya En.”
These words moved even the driver to tears, so touched that he couldn’t help but stammer: “Mi…Miss, would…would you consider my son…”
Li Jin Yu burst into laughter, his eyes seeming to contain falling stars, the corner of his mouth still upturned as he glanced at her.
Ye Meng thought to herself, the deer in this man’s eyes could scratch people.
After Li Jin Yu got out of the car and had just slammed the door, he heard another bang as Ye Meng also got out. Outside the bar was a narrow country path. Li Jin Yu walked with his hands in his pockets—standing at 184 cm tall, dressed in an all-black workwear style, with a pair of Converse shoes, looking very casual. His expression returned to one of mockery: “Why did you get out? I told you I won’t get married. If you want to play around, you can find me anytime. If you’re having a savior complex and want to help the poor, then stay away from me.”
Ye Meng followed with small quick steps, immediately took out her phone, opened a certain app, and began seriously searching while biting her nail: “Fine, after you finish singing, should we find a hotel?”
His footsteps faltered slightly, but he didn’t turn back. His tall figure stood beneath a nearby streetlight. The evening breeze blew gently, turning over the leaves that covered the roadside, revealing a trembling little snail without even a shell. Li Jin Yu looked down at it for a moment, then started walking away, leaving behind a single word: “Fine.”
As soon as Li Jin Yu entered, the little yellow dog wearing the number 6 tag today eagerly pounced on him, pawing at his unusually long legs, jumping up and down as if wanting to be held. Li Jin Yu clicked his tongue a couple of times and rubbed its chin with a somewhat disgusted expression, “I won’t pick you up. How many days has it been since your last bath?”
“How many days has it been since you last came? It missed you.” The waiter smiled as he brought over two glasses of drinks with lemon slices, placing them on the bar near the entrance, then said, “Brother Xiao Yu, is your throat better?”
The little yellow dog was probably too excited and peed all around him. Li Jin Yu let out a helpless “hmm” and asked, “What’s wrong with this dog? Incontinence?”
“It’s too exciting to see you. It likes you,” the waiter explained. “But I can hear that your voice still has some issues. I’ll make you a chrysanthemum tea later. There won’t be too many people tonight, so just sing a couple of songs.”
Just as he finished speaking, Ye Meng strolled in from behind. The waiter immediately put on his trademark professional smile, “Oh, Brother Xiao Yu’s little fan is here too! Perfect timing. Brother Xiao Yu is here tonight, so he can sing a few more songs for your enjoyment.”
Li Jin Yu: “…”
The bar wasn’t crowded. Ye Meng ordered a mojito. She stared at the bright green mint leaves gently swirling in her glass, feeling they were exactly like Li Jin Yu—looking clean and aloof, but unexpectedly stimulating once tasted.
The dance floor lights dimmed, the colorful lights no longer emitting their languid glow. A sudden beam of white light shot down on the center of the dance floor.
Ye Meng had never really heard Li Jin Yu sing properly before. He did everything with the same attitude, sitting nonchalantly on the high stool in the middle of the dance floor, one foot hooked around the stool leg, the other loosely touching the ground.
What did he remind her of?
Ye Meng suddenly realized—he reminded her of Gou Kai, her former rich young boss. His aura, and his sitting posture, were all similar to Gou Kai’s. His back was very straight, not deliberately upright; perhaps he just naturally sat straight without trying. Although Li Jin Yu claimed he was a complete mess, he looked more like a rich young master than Gou Kai.
He was singing “Da Mian” (Deep Sleep)— “I’ve almost forgotten how to fall in love, my wasted youth perhaps could still come back to life. Those who feel sorry for me should understand, of course, I’ll indulge myself to the fullest…”
His voice was very pleasant—clean, clear, and resonant, filling her ears, each word burning her.
Ye Meng stared at him.
At this moment, the waiter approached with a small tray, bending down to whisper in her ear, “Miss Ye, this is a drink that Brother Xiao Yu ordered for you.”
Ye Meng suddenly looked up. A drink as red as a flamingo was gently placed in front of her.
“What kind of drink is it?”
“Brother Xiao Yu said,” the waiter repeated word for word, “Four Loko. In China, it also has another name, called ‘loss of virginity drink.'”