With the intersection blocked, Cheng Wanyue had no choice but to stop. She had never been intimidated by anyone throughout her life.

“My name is Cheng Meili—Cheng from Cheng Meili, Mei from Cheng Meili, Li from Cheng Meili. Thirty years old, divorced with one child. Now we’ve met, then what?”

Chi Yue tilted his head and smiled. Cheng Wanyue hadn’t shaken his hand, but he didn’t feel awkward about it and naturally withdrew it.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

Cheng Wanyue countered, “How old are you?”

“Twenty-two.”

Only then did Cheng Wanyue seriously examine Chi Yue, looking from his head to his feet, and then at the motorcycle in front of her.

He wasn’t wearing many accessories, but his watch alone could buy a house in a second or third-tier city. Cheng Wanyue didn’t know much about vehicles, but she had friends who raced and had learned about some brands from them. She had even attended competitions in person. Chi Yue’s almost completely black motorcycle was probably more expensive than his watch.

“I can tell you don’t have a boyfriend,” Chi Yue put his helmet on the handlebar, got off his bike, and walked closer to Cheng Wanyue. “And so, I’d like to date you.”

He still had a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth from the slap his father had given him earlier.

Cheng Wanyue looked at him with an expression that clearly said: I’ve been eating rice three years longer than you—don’t try these tricks on me.

“Kid, did that slap damage your brain?”

When Chi Yue heard Cheng Wanyue call him that, he realized he was younger than her, though she looked younger than him. Even if she weren’t younger, they should at least be the same age. He had taken a year off during his sophomore year of college, otherwise, he would have graduated this past June.

“Maybe. I might have been enchanted by your magic earlier. For those ten minutes, all I could think about was how to win you over, but you’ve rejected me.”

Chi Yue wasn’t the persistent type. It had always been others who pursued him, clinging to him—he had never pursued anyone before.

Having been rejected, further persistence would only leave a bad impression on her.

“Pretty Guardian, where are you heading?” He still didn’t know her name, which was just as well. Knowing it would only make him obsess over her. “It’s hard to get a taxi here. There must be at least twenty people waiting ahead of you.”

“Going home,” Cheng Wanyue looked down at her phone. The ride-hailing app showed her current position in the queue: 27 people.

Chi Yue took out a white helmet from his bike. “Today, I’ll just take you home. I’m not exactly a good person, but I don’t do bad things either. If we have the chance to meet again, I’ll confirm it once more.”

“Confirm what?”

“Just how lasting this love at first sight is.”

This wasn’t the first time Chi Yue had been hit. In that moment earlier when he nearly lost control and almost hurt his father, he had seen this Pretty Guardian.

The night wind was still very hot. Cheng Wanyue wasn’t interested in the person, but the motorcycle was pretty cool.

“Your bike is quite cool.”

“I’m not bad either,” Chi Yue helped her put on the helmet. “Are you in a hurry? If not, let me take you for a ride first.”

“…The helmet’s a bit big.”

“No girl has ridden my bike before you. This helmet is my spare one—it’s a men’s size, so of course it’s too big for you. Just make do with it.”

Cheng Wanyue closed the ride-hailing app. She raised her right hand to adjust the helmet, and before getting on the bike, she glanced at the guitar Chi Yue was carrying on his back.

His father had deliberately wanted to destroy that guitar. Just as race car drivers cherish their cars, musicians also consider their instruments extremely important.

The moment the guitar hit the ground, Chi Yue wanted to hit back.

“Your guitar’s broken, isn’t it? Seems difficult to repair.”

Chi Yue looked at her with a smile. “Hasn’t God compensated me already?”

Cheng Wanyue needed to get home early today. “Don’t ride too far. I just want to get a feel for it.”

“Too late, you’ve already gotten on.”

The motorcycle flew down the road, leaving even the evening breeze behind. This thrilling new sensation was addictive.

Cheng Wanyue had also been a bit addicted during the period right after buying her sports car.

The promised ten-minute ride extended to twenty minutes. Chi Yue drove around the city for half an hour before finally heading toward her home.

After entering the elevator, Cheng Wanyue suddenly realized she had forgotten to return the helmet to Chi Yue. She went back downstairs. Chi Yue was still at the entrance of the residential complex. He waved to her from a distance, but rode away before she could get close.

She had just experienced it herself—trying to chase him on foot would be futile, no matter how fast she ran.

It would be a waste to throw it away, so she could only carry it back upstairs.

Twenty minutes earlier, Cheng Yanqing had posted a photo in the family WeChat group. He had picked up both Cheng Yuzhou and Yan Ci.

Fortunately, she wasn’t getting back too late.

Cheng Wanyue stood at the door, searching for her keys in her bag while looking at Qing Hang’s WeChat avatar.

He hadn’t contacted her for several days.

After sleeping together, instead of making progress, had they regressed from thirty percent to ten percent?

Was she that bad?

Impossible! How could she possibly be bad?

That night when Qing Hang said he would pick her up, Cheng Yanqing had used her phone to refuse him quite bluntly. Surely he wouldn’t be upset about that…

Just as she was thinking about this, Qing Hang called.

With nowhere to put the helmet and her keys still not found, she answered the phone while standing at the door. “Dr. Qing must have been very busy these days. How do you even have time to call me?”

“It’s been fine, about the same as usual,” Qing Hang had just left the pet shop. “Are you off work?”

“Hmph, I’m ignoring you. Even if I am off work, I’m busy. I have handsome guys waiting for me.”

Qing Hang knew she was referring to Cheng Yuzhou and Yan Ci. “I’ll wait in line. My turn will come tomorrow.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Cheng Wanyue thought she faintly heard a cat meowing. She looked around, but there was no cat in the hallway. It must have been from his end. “Qing Hang, have you changed careers to become a veterinarian?”

“Just a cat on the street.”

“A stray cat?”

“No.”

“Someone else’s cat? Why is it following you?”

“I don’t know,” Qing Hang stroked the cat’s round head, and it nestled into his palm. “Cheng Wanyue, wait for me tomorrow. No matter how late it gets, I’ll come to see you.”

Although he had mentioned it in advance, and his supervisor hadn’t scheduled him for the night shift, no one could guarantee that patients wouldn’t have emergencies.

During those three years of high school, Cheng Wanyue never blew out candles or cut her cake with Cheng Yanqing. Her cake was always saved for last—she would only make her wish after Qing Hang arrived.

“Mm,” she agreed.

Qing Hang waited for her to hang up first.

“Wait, let me ask you something,” Cheng Wanyue looked down at her toes. “Am I really that bad in bed?”

On the other end of the phone, Qing Hang thought for a while before answering, “You’re amazing.”

“Goodbye!”

Cheng Wanyue hung up, found her keys in her bag, and opened the door. The three men sitting on the sofa all looked at her simultaneously.

How did they get home before her?

Cheng Wanyue took a deep breath to stay calm. The soundproofing in the apartment was good—she had verified that. They couldn’t possibly have heard anything.

The pressure from the three of them was overwhelming. If it were just Cheng Yanqing, Cheng Wanyue could have casually brushed it off with her eyes closed. But with Cheng Yuzhou present, even ten of her combined couldn’t beat him.

Her first instinct was that it would be better to run. “I’ve got the wrong apartment. Sorry.”

Cheng Yanqing gave a cold laugh. “Got the wrong place, huh? Before you close the door, leave the keys on the shoe cabinet. And don’t come back tomorrow—go sleep under a bridge.”

Cheng Wanyue immediately shut up and lowered her head, waiting to be scolded. She was still holding the helmet with nowhere to hide it.

Yan Ci casually asked, “Whose motorcycle was that downstairs earlier?”

He had seen it when he went down to buy alcohol.

Cheng Wanyue said, “A friend’s.”

Cheng Yuzhou spoke up, “Boyfriend or girlfriend?”

“Boyfriend… no, I mean male friend,” Cheng Wanyue almost bit her tongue. “Cheng Yuzhou, don’t deliberately mislead me.”

Cheng Yuzhou nodded. “Motorcycle girl, pretty cool, pretty stylish.”

“Thanks, though it’s only moderately cool and stylish.”

“Yan Ci said you were only about fifty meters behind him. If it was just an ordinary male friend, what were you dawdling around outside for?”

See, she knew they hadn’t heard anything about whether she was good or bad in bed. “Well, I was taking a phone call at the door. It’s so late—what are you three still doing up? Aren’t you tired from your flights?”

Cheng Yanqing dramatically raised his voice. “Oh, so you know it’s late! Who were you fooling around with today? Which guy is such a coward that he can only sneak around? Is his face such a disappointment to the Party and the people that he can’t show himself?”

“Who’s sneaking around?” Cheng Wanyue had always been straightforward. “He’s not ugly—much more handsome than you.”

Cheng Yanqing nudged Cheng Yuzhou’s arm. “See? I told you she hasn’t been behaving lately.”

Cheng Yuzhou asked again, “We came all this way to celebrate yours and Cheng Yanqing’s birthdays. Where did you go?”

Cheng Wanyue’s eyes darted around, looking left and right, up and down. “Nowhere. I came straight home after work.”

“Did you meet with Qing Hang?”

“No! It’s not like that!”

Cheng Yuzhou nodded knowingly. “Then you did.”

Cheng Wanyue’s composure crumbled: A’Yu, help me! Get your husband out of here!

Cheng Yuzhou glanced at Cheng Yanqing from the corner of his eye. “Let her make her friends. Don’t be like an old mother hen. It’s annoying enough for your girlfriend, and now you’re annoying your sister too.”

He stood up first, walked to the door to help Wanyue with her things, and let her change her shoes. “Have you been happy lately?”

“Yes, yes!”

“That’s good then.”

“Brother, I’ve missed you so much,” Cheng Wanyue threw herself into his arms for a hug, while also complimenting Yan Ci. “Yan Ci, you’ve gotten even more handsome.”

Yan Ci returned the courtesy. “You’ve become even prettier, too.”

Cheng Yanqing watched their sibling affection with a twitching corner. “Cheng Yuzhou, you sneaky bastard!”

Cheng Wanyue fanned the flames from the side. “Brother Yuzhou, that ugly creature is insulting you.”

“It’s nothing. Let him be jealous,” Cheng Yuzhou said calmly. “After all, I’m already married, while his girlfriend still hasn’t accepted his proposal.”

“Damn it!” Cheng Yanqing hooked his arm around Yan Ci’s neck. “Cheng Yuzhou is personally attacking us. Listen, is what he’s saying even human? It’s outrageous, completely heartless!”

Yan Ci shrugged off his arm. “He’s attacking you.”

“Yan Ci, you’re sleeping in the bathroom tonight. No negotiation, no discussion. It’s my rented apartment, I make the rules.”

“I’ve already booked a hotel. Five-star.”

Cheng Yuzhou said, “Yan Ci and I booked the same hotel. We’re not cramming in with you either.”

Cheng Yanqing: “…”