"Where was your house again?"
"Just up ahead."
"Oh, right. I almost forgot. I remember going to your house once in high school. I think you were sick or something."
Han Shuyu immediately rolled her eyes at him. "It was my birthday. What do you mean, sick? Couldn't you wish me well?"
Lin Yuan rubbed his forehead and hurriedly said, "Right, right, right. Now that you mention it, I remember. Someone gave you a ridiculously expensive gift back then. A watch, I think. I heard one sold online for 2,000 yuan. They sure had money."
"What did you give me? Do you remember?"
"I didn't have any money back then. I was just planning to come over and freeload some cake."
"Oh, you, Lin Yuan. All you thought about was eating cake. No wonder you looked like you'd been reincarnated from a starving ghost—you only knew how to eat."
"What else could I do? At least I came over and sang you the birthday song. What was wrong with eating a few pieces of your cake?"
"Was it just a few pieces?"
"You weren't going to eat it anyway. You were too busy playing games. To promote the nation's virtue of thrift and frugality, I naturally did my part."
Han Shuyu smiled and said, "I think your skin is even thicker than the city walls."
"If only that were true."
"Hm?"
"Then I could perform the trick of catching a cleaver with my face for people, start a livestream, and make money in minutes."
At his words, Han Shuyu immediately laughed so hard she could barely close her mouth. Her silver-bell-like laughter rang throughout the street, and there was no trace of her usual ladylike image.
"Hey, hey, watch your image. Be careful, or I'll take a picture of you and post it in our class group chat. I'll ruin your reputation."
Han Shuyu suddenly walked ahead of Lin Yuan, put her hands in her pockets, turned around, and walked backward. Laughing fearlessly, she said, "Go ahead and post it. Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
"Fine, you said it. Don't come crying to me to delete it later."
With that, Lin Yuan took out his phone, but the moment he pulled it out, Han Shuyu snatched it away.
Han Shuyu stuck out her tongue and tilted her head at him. She looked somewhat cute, but was incredibly irritating.
"Fine. A gentleman doesn't quarrel with a lady. I've finally seen through you. I always thought you were a quiet, refined lady."
"The prettier the woman, the better she is at lying. Haven't you read The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber?"
"I have, but you don't meet the criteria." Lin Yuan said it with a solemn expression. Although he was going against his conscience a little, a man had to be tough all over—including his mouth.
"What did you say? I'll give you a chance to reorganize your words."
As she spoke, she pinched one end of Lin Yuan's phone between two slender fingers and waved it back and forth like a leaf about to be blown from its branch.
"Ma'am, I was wrong. You're the most beautiful woman in all of Hongyun County."
"Hmph, that's more like it. At least you finally said something honest." Han Shuyu looked pleased. "Here, take it."
Han Shuyu handed the phone back to Lin Yuan, then returned from ahead of him to his side.
The two of them walked on for a while.
"Lin Yuan, did you know? I'm only like this around you."
"Then I must have been cursed with terrible luck for eight lifetimes."
Han Shuyu did not get angry. She simply continued speaking.
"I don't know why, but I feel very relaxed around you. I don't have to carry any psychological burden. I can laugh when I want to laugh and say whatever I want to say."
"Then you can take off that burden around other people too. No one's forcing you to act that way."
"I used to think so too, but I just can't do it around other people."
"So I'm the only one who's unlucky, huh?"
"That's right. You're the only one who's unlucky. Who told you to bully me all the time in high school?"
"Oh my god, I bullied you all the time? Can you say that with a clear conscience?"
"Hmph, I don't care. You're the one who bullied me." Han Shuyu spoke with complete confidence.
As they chatted, they reached their destination before they realized it.
Rainbow Bay Residential Area was considered one of the best residential areas in Hongyun City.
"We're here. I won't walk you inside," Lin Yuan said.
"What about you? How are you getting back?"
"I'll see if I can get a taxi."
"Do you think Hongyun City is like Binhai City? You won't be able to get a taxi this late."
"Does your family have a car? Lend it to me. I have to come back to the city tomorrow anyway."
"We do, but it's out of gas."
"Out of gas?" Lin Yuan said incredulously. "If it's out of gas, how are you going to drive it next time? You can't be planning to buy gasoline and pour it in yourself."
"Ah, it's out of gas, that's all."
"All right, then I'll run back. I'll just call it a night run."
"Lin Yuan, are you crazy? Run? You'll be exhausted to death. It's so far."
"It's not that bad." Lin Yuan rubbed his nose, completely unconcerned.
"Ah~" Han Shuyu sighed. "Seeing how pitiful you are, I don't mind taking you in for one night."
"There's no need for that, is there? Running back really wouldn't be that tiring."
"You never think before you speak. You're too proud for your own good. Listen to me tonight and stay at my place."
With that, she grabbed Lin Yuan by the arm and pulled him inside.
Since things had come to this, Lin Yuan could only reluctantly "make do" for one night.
He swore this was his first time going to a girl's house to sleep. He had never imagined that something straight out of a television drama would happen to him one day.
After entering the residential area, they reached the building where she lived and took the elevator to the fifth floor.
"You live alone?"
"What, are you nervous? Afraid you'll see my dad?"
"What a joke. Me, nervous? Even if all your relatives were inside, I still wouldn't be afraid."
"Keep bragging."
Han Shuyu opened the door, and a refreshing fragrance immediately drifted out.
The room was spacious and very neat.
Han Shuyu found him a pair of large slippers from the shoe cabinet and said, "They're new. I bought them for my dad before. Wear these for now."
The two of them entered the apartment and sat down in the living room.
Han Shuyu poured herself a glass of water and gulped it down.
"You only poured a glass for yourself?"
"What, do you expect me to wait on you?"
"All right. Your territory, your rules."
"Of course. Make yourself at home. I'm going to take a shower."
After saying that, she hummed a little tune as she went to her room. A few minutes later, she came out holding a set of pink pajamas before turning into the bathroom.
Lin Yuan took out his phone and sent his mother a message, telling her he would not be coming home tonight.
At this hour, he had assumed his mother would already be asleep, but unexpectedly, she replied.
Afterward, he idly fiddled with his phone.
Just then, a Feixin message popped up. It was from Wu Zihan.
"Senior Brother, how's your little brother doing?"
"Thanks to your family's medicinal liquor, it's much better now."
"That's good, then."
"How much was your family's medicinal liquor? I'll transfer the money to you."
"Senior Brother, that really hurts. Are you treating your junior sister like an outsider? It was only a few bottles of medicinal liquor. How could I charge you?"
"No. Business is business, and personal matters are personal. Even brothers keep clear accounts. I still have to pay you. Otherwise, if I ever... No, if my little brother needs more in the future, I'll feel embarrassed asking you for it."
"I don't mind."
"I mind!"
"All right, Senior Brother, you really are so heartless. Since you insist on paying, let's say fifty yuan per bottle."
In reality, the medicinal liquor was worth far more than that.
Lin Yuan immediately transferred the money and said, "I'll definitely win your family's match in November."
Far away in Binhai City, Wu Zihan pouted and muttered, "Honestly, why draw such a clear line? And then he had to bring that up at the end."
Lin Yuan knew the medicinal liquor was definitely worth more than that. Fifty yuan might not even have covered the packaging, let alone the medicinal formula that came with it.
But he could not say much about it, because his pockets were practically jingling with emptiness. He would also need plenty of money for his Martial Arts Practice later.
The only way he could repay her was by helping her family win that match. That should be enough to repay the favor.
"All right, Senior Brother. See you in November, then."
"Mm."
By then, Han Shuyu had also come out of the bathroom. She had changed into her pajamas and was walking toward the living room while drying her hair with a towel.
"Who are you chatting with? You seem pretty engrossed."
"A friend."
"Who? A man or a woman?" Han Shuyu suddenly stopped drying her hair.
"Why are you questioning me like a census taker?"
"Can't I just ask?"
"Don't you know anything about respecting privacy?"
"Let me guess. At this late hour, anyone chatting with you must be a woman."
"Yes, a woman—and more than one."
"Scumbag!"
Lin Yuan looked at her in bewilderment. "Do you live by the sea? Why are you sticking your nose into everything? I'm unmarried and single. So what if I chat with women? If that makes me a scumbag, then every man in the world might as well become a monk."
"You admitted it."
"Admitted what?"
"Admitted that you're dating someone." Han Shuyu spoke sourly.
"Han Shuyu, you're really something. Which part of what I said implied that I'm dating someone?"
"Fine, fine, I'm something!" With that, she turned and went back to her room.
With a loud bang, she slammed the door shut.
Lin Yuan was left standing there with a baffled expression.
Before you continue