All I Know Is How to Do This

"Fuck, that took so long, it scared the hell out of me..." The moment Song Yuechi came out, he seemed to have lost all his strength. He grabbed Yu An's arm to steady himself.

Only after speaking did he realize something was off.

When he saw He Li'an standing across from them, he immediately straightened up and forced out a stiff smile. "Hey, senior~"

He Li'an gave him a slight nod.

"Let's go." Yu An glanced at Song Yuechi and walked straight past He Li'an.

Someone carrying a file bag approached them. Yu An recognized the uniform—it was a member of the surveillance room staff.

He paused and stepped aside to let them pass.

He Li'an happened to be stepping forward to follow, and before he could react, he collided head-on with the staff member.

A pile of photos and a hard drive scattered from the file bag.

"Sorry." He Li'an crouched down apologetically to help pick them up.

"It's fine, Mr. He. I can do it myself."

"I'll help."

Yu An was less than two meters away and could clearly see what was in the photos. He Li'an had only picked up a few when he froze.

It was a photo of half a person's back.

Yu An pressed his lips together slightly. He had not expected to make such a mistake.

He Li'an only looked at it for two seconds before placing the photo at the very bottom of the stack.

Seeing Yu An stare at He Li'an, Song Yuechi's tone turned teasing. "Are we leaving or not?"

Yu An hesitated only briefly before He Li'an looked over. After a short moment of eye contact, He Li'an naturally looked away first.

The photos had been collected. Just as He Li'an was about to stand and return them to the staff member, he accidentally stepped on the hard drive. He picked it up and frowned. "Sorry, I damaged the connector."

The staff member looked troubled as he stared at the warped hard drive. "It's deformed. I don't know if the surveillance footage inside can still be recovered."

"This is my responsibility. Take the photos in first. I'll find someone to repair the hard drive." He Li'an looked grave, giving off the impression that he was exceptionally trustworthy.

"This is too much trouble for you..."

"It's fine. I was planning to check the surveillance footage anyway, to look for my lost meal card."

The staff member did not refuse again. After all, He Li'an was known throughout the school for being kind and friendly.

He Li'an walked over with the hard drive. "Weren't we leaving?"

Yu An's gaze swept over the hard drive in his hand as he calmly made a request. "I want to have lunch with you."

Song Yuechi's eyes widened quietly.

That direct?

He Li'an took out his car keys and handed them to Yu An. "Wait for me in the car."

Yu An took them. "Okay."

He Li'an looked deeply at him, then left with the hard drive.

Song Yuechi chattered at Yu An, "What's going on with you two now? Weren't you going to make a clean break?"

He could no longer understand Yu An's moves.

Yu An was thinking about the photo and ignored Song Yuechi. He was angry at himself for the mistake, and he also could not figure out what He Li'an was thinking.

But one thing was certain: He Li'an had definitely recognized the figure in the photo.

Of course, if He Li'an insisted on confronting him, he could deny it.

But deep down, he felt that would be pointless.

After all, He Li'an was not someone easily fooled.

Song Yuechi was already used to Yu An's indifference and did not mind his silence. He even rationalized Yu An's behavior on his own. "I get it! You're playing hard to get!"

"Impressive, classmate Yu An! Smart people's brains really do work better!" Song Yuechi gave Yu An a thumbs-up.

Yu An gave him a confused look, then lowered his head and continued thinking about his own matters.

After leaving the school gates, he parted ways with Song Yuechi and found He Li'an's car in its usual spot.

He consciously got into the passenger seat.

He Li'an did not arrive until nearly an hour later.

The moment He Li'an got in, he asked, "What do you want to eat?"

He was not going to mention the photo?

Yu An studied him without giving anything away. "Something good."

He Li'an's lips curved. "All right."

He had had Zhu Wen compile a list of restaurants last night, never expecting it to come in handy so soon.

The restaurant He Li'an chose was even more upscale than the one Song Yuechi had taken Yu An to the night before.

The appetizers were beautifully presented and tasted excellent.

Yet until they finished eating, He Li'an never mentioned the photo.

Yu An could not understand He Li'an's thoughts or intentions. The feeling of losing the initiative made him anxious.

On the way back, he tried his best to remain calm, but he still felt restless.

He Li'an noticed something was wrong with him and said after a pause, "I already deleted the surveillance footage. The photo is in my coat pocket. You can take it yourself."

Yu An froze.

By then, the car had stopped beneath Yu An's apartment building. He Li'an parked steadily, stretched an arm toward the coat on the back seat, took out the photo inside, and handed it to Yu An.

Seeing Yu An still sitting there in a daze, a faint smile appeared in He Li'an's eyes. "Am I a very bad person in your eyes?"

"Hm?" Yu An looked up at him in confusion.

"You thought I would use these things to threaten you into doing something that went against your principles." He Li'an tucked the photo into his hand.

Yu An lowered his head and stared at the photo for a while before he finally felt it was real. "I..."

He wanted to deny what He Li'an had said.

But He Li'an had stated it as a fact, and Yu An had indeed been trying to guess He Li'an's intentions.

Any rebuttal would be a lie.

"I don't understand." Yu An tried to find some answer in He Li'an's eyes.

He Li'an let him examine him. "What don't you understand?"

Yu An said, "I don't understand why you're doing this."

Given He Li'an's character, even if he did not report him, he should have warned him, condemned him, or looked at him differently.

Many people did that, including kind people.

"To be honest, I don't really understand why I'm doing this either." He Li'an looked deeply at Yu An. "But I understand that this is the only thing I can do."

The instant he saw the photo, his mind went blank for a moment.

Yu An was even bolder than he had imagined. He did not know what this kid would not dare to do.

What if someone else recognized him?

And if he was recognized, what if He Li'an could not protect him?

But thankfully, He Li'an had discovered it first. He had recognized him first.

Other than that, he had not thought of anything else.

Yu An thought quietly for a while, and his eyes gradually brightened. "Oh."

He understood what He Li'an meant. He Li'an might not understand what he had done, but he would cover for him.

He Li'an really would help him. That made him happy.

He Li'an mimicked his tone and repeated, "Oh?"

He had thought Yu An would say something after thinking for so long. Instead, that was all the response he got.

Yu An smiled and invited him, "Senior, do you want to come upstairs for some water?"

He Li'an leaned closer and deliberately lowered his voice. "Yu An, do you know what kind of misunderstanding people might have when you specifically invite a man to drink water at the home where you live alone?"