The massive Land Rover Defender OCTA cruised steadily along the provincial highway in Cloud County, like a black battleship cutting through the drab county-town traffic.
Inside, the top-of-the-line Meridian sound system played soft instrumental music, shutting out the blaring horns and the county town's distinctive clamor, mixed with dust and the bustle of everyday life.
Ke Yujia sat in the front passenger seat with both hands properly resting on her knees. Though she was no longer as tense as she had been at the service area, her eyes still held a few complicated emotions.
She secretly turned her head and traced Su Bai's focused profile as he drove.
At heart, Su Bai had not recognized who she was.
Do I regret it, Ke Yujia?
She silently asked herself.
Of course she did.
The reunion she had once imagined should have been more romantic, more beautiful—perhaps even with a tiny spark of ambiguity.
Not like this, with him driving a multimillion-yuan luxury car, followed by an unparalleled beauty driving her beat-up Polo, sending this Cinderella home like some savior.
The enormous gap in status and class made her swallow the words that had reached her lips: "Actually, I've always remembered you."
"What are you thinking about?"
Su Bai suddenly spoke, his gentle voice breaking the silence in the car.
"Huh? N-Nothing!"
Ke Yujia hurriedly withdrew her gaze, twisting the hem of her clothes between her fingers. "It's just... we're almost home, so I'm a little nervous."
"What are you nervous about? Getting shy as you near home?"
Su Bai smiled, steering with one hand as the vehicle turned onto a somewhat crowded street. "Or are you afraid your parents will scold you for wasting money on a car?"
Ke Yujia blushed after he hit the nail on the head. "Both... My