Chapter 9 Trying to please him... If he keeps staring at my wife...

With an extra person in the car, the air felt somewhat stagnant. The hot air from the vents blew onto my face, making it hard to breathe.

"How about I sit in the front?"

Fang Yiwen rubbed his knees incessantly through his thin sweatpants, his palms almost sparking. Unable to bear it any longer, he cautiously spoke up.

Yin Xiao looked at him through Yi Zhiyan, unconsciously let out a sigh of relief, and just as she was about to smile, she heard a deep sound.

"Sit here and don't move."

Yi Zhiyan raised his hand to adjust his black wristwatch, rolled up his shirt cuffs, and tapped the back of the chair with his knuckles.

"Brother Chen, could you please turn the air conditioning down one degree?" He paused, "And play some music."

"OK."

Soothing background music flowed gently through the car, adding a touch of liveliness to the frozen atmosphere.

With the music providing cover, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Fang Yiwen eagerly leaned closer, looking at Yin Xiao expectantly, "Junior, what's going on between you and Lao Yi? Are you already dating?"

Yin Xiao lowered her head, pressing her left cheek tightly against her thigh, half-covering her mouth, and cautiously shook her head, "No..."

"Oh, so you're going the same way, right..." Fang Yiwen nodded in realization, then suddenly stopped talking, stared at Yi Zhiyan, and scratched his face thoughtfully.

"That's not right. I heard from my dad that our aunt came all the way from Beijing just to attend your wedding, and that you two even went back to Anlin together. That's why I asked her to give me a ride on her way, hoping to catch you off guard and see who your wife is..."

He spoke slower and slower, then suddenly froze, abruptly turning his head to look at Yin Xiao.

"You...you wouldn't be?" He opened his mouth wide exaggeratedly, staring at her speechlessly, his upper body leaning completely towards her, his fingers outstretched, almost poking her face.

“Yes, that’s exactly what you think.” Yi Zhiyan raised his hand and pressed down on his shoulder, shoving him back into place without any politeness. “So if you keep staring at my wife, I’m going to take action.”

Fang Yiwen immediately shook his head, leaving afterimages, his palm raised in the air, and cried out in anguish, "Heavens! I didn't mean anything by it! I just can't believe it. I thought I was hallucinating because I stayed up all night playing games!"

His unrestrained shouts mingled with the piano music coming from the speakers, creating a crackling sound. Yin Xiao rubbed his ears uncomfortably.

She turned to the side, propped her head up, and looked out the window at the billboards moving by, automatically ignoring the chat on her right, her mind solely focused on the profile pictures she hadn't managed to capture. She pulled a heart-shaped chocolate from her bag, tore open the wrapper, and took a small bite.

The rich cocoa flavor brought her sensory pleasure, and she pursed her lips contentedly.

"Is there any more? I'd like some too."

Yi Zhiyan reached out to her naturally, his tone relaxed, yet deliberate and somewhat practiced.

Yin Xiao looked up at him, mumbled an "oh," and took one out of her bag and gave it to him.

Fang Yiwen, on the other end, couldn't help but peek out again, his gaze sweeping between the two of them, as if trying to confirm something.

"Don't you dislike chocolate?"

He looked down and saw Yi Zhiyan's hand holding a half-unwrapped blue-purple candy wrapper, his eyes wide as if he had seen a ghost.

Yi Zhiyan didn't even flinch, calmly stuffing the whole thing into his mouth. "Delicious."

"It's so delicious?" Fang Yiwen looked hesitant, then smiled at Yin Xiao, "Junior, can I have a piece?"

"Oh... okay." Yin Xiao pulled out a box of square chocolates from her bag, pinched one corner and lifted it up, pouring out the last piece into her palm. She closed her eyes and quickly reached out to her right, "Here you go."

"Thanks, junior." Fang Yiwen's cheerful voice came to an abrupt halt. "Why did you steal mine?"

"Buy it yourself if you want to eat it." Yi Zhiyan held the last one in his palm, his tone cold.

"Damn, getting married has made him stingy..." Fang Yiwen's dark pupils darted around, a glint of shrewdness flashing in them.

"Tsk tsk tsk... You love it."

Yi Zhiyan pushed his face away in disgust, "Go get treatment if you're sick."

Fang Yiwen wasn't angry at all; on the contrary, he became more energetic and mysteriously stretched out his finger to rub it.

"I deduce that the sweet potatoes you snatched from Qi Chen on New Year's Eve ended up with your wife." He slapped the cushion and straightened his back. "I was wondering why you insisted on going to Qianzhou when you were doing so well in Beijing. Qi Chen even had half of his midnight snack taken from him when you came back with him. So you were trying to please your wife when you got home."

Yin Xiao was taken aback, blinked in confusion, wanted to ask something but was mindful of the driver in the front seat, so she suppressed her doubts and blurted out a random question.

"Did you steal the roasted sweet potato?"

"I bought it. I transferred an extra thousand yuan in project bonus to Qi Chen."

"You transferred a thousand? Don't transfer it to him, it would be better to transfer it to me!" Fang Yiwen squeezed out the words through gritted teeth.

Yi Zhiyan turned to look at him, her face full of confusion.

"I asked you to work on a project with me during my first year of graduate school, but you refused," he said calmly. "You didn't want to make money."

Fang Yiwen's expression changed, a strange surprise creeping into his heart. "You really earned all this money from your projects?"

"What do you think?"

"I thought that with such a big company like Yizhi, you, the young master, would get a lot."

Yi Zhiyan turned the ring on his hand and said, word by word, "Yi Zhi has nothing to do with me."

Fang Yiwen fell silent and obediently shut his mouth.

Yin Xiao glanced up to observe Yi Zhiyan's expression. He saw that Yi Zhiyan's expression was tense, and his gaze was fixed on a certain point, unmoving.

He was clearly suppressing his anger.

She quietly opened the magnetic clasp on her bag, took out a box of mints from a hidden compartment, and tentatively pressed them against the back of his hand.

"Want to eat?"

Yi Zhiyan turned to stare at her, seemingly lost in thought for a moment, before taking the candy box and remaining silent for a long time.

Yin Xiao couldn't figure out what he was thinking. Seeing his hesitation, she kindly reached into his palm and grabbed the candy box. "I gave it to you because I saw you like mints... I won't force you if you don't like it."

Yi Zhiyan suddenly tightened his fingers, his soft, slightly cool fingertips brushing against her palm.

"like."

—

I'm not used to the mint flavor anymore.

The cool, bitter taste in his mouth invaded his throat, causing Yi Zhiyan to choke and wince.

"Brother, why do you eat whatever your wife gives you?" Fang Yiwen asked abruptly after shoveling a few bites of Yangzhou fried rice.

Yi Zhiyan closed the candy box and replied casually, "Delicious."

Fang Yiwen shook his head, clicked his tongue in amazement, swallowed the hard grains of rice in his mouth, and said gossipily, "To be honest, I really didn't expect you to get married like this. When my dad mentioned it, I thought it was just another baseless rumor."

Yi Zhiyan lowered his eyes. "You know I'm getting married, but don't tell anyone. At school, Yin Xiao and I will still keep our distance."

"Why? What's there to hide?"

"Don't worry about it, just keep it a secret."

Fang Yiwen muttered softly, "I know."

He scooped a spoonful of rice to his mouth, then put it back on the plate, placed his hands flat on the table, and asked quietly.

"You've only known your junior for a short time. You don't seem like the type to rush into marriage. Why are you in such a hurry to get married? Is it related to the collaboration you're discussing with Yizhi and Huandao Media?"

Yi Zhiyan bit into the melted mint candy, lifted her eyelids to look at him, and remained silent.

Fang Yiwen pressed on, "You only met your junior twice before the wedding, right? And you're already convinced?"

“Four times.” Yi Zhiyan tapped his fingertips on the table. “The first time was at the beach in Sanya, the second time was on the subway in Qianzhou, and the last two times An Lin saw you were both there.”

Fang Yiwen raised an eyebrow, leaned back in his chair, and said leisurely, "So you guys were just playing me."

"She didn't act; she doesn't remember me."

Fang Yiwen stared at Yi Zhiyan with great interest and teased, "Oh, so this is uncomfortable."

Yi Zhiyan ignored him and popped another mint into her mouth.

Around 8 o'clock, the cafeteria was deserted, with thick windproof curtains at the entrance keeping out the cold wind and the noise of people.

Fang Yiwen finished his last bite and was about to get up when he saw a commotion outside the door, with a large number of people rushing in.

He spotted the familiar red hat and immediately stood up to wave at Qi Chen.

Qi Chen squeezed in with the crowd, rushed to the table, yanked off his beanie, and asked anxiously, "Something happened at the main campus, did you know?"

"What?"

"Six girls' dormitories are on fire. We don't know the exact details, but it seems like fire trucks have gone there..."

Yi Zhiyan stood up and pressed down on his wrist, "Are you sure it's Building Six?"

“Yes, it’s the building where the School of Humanities and the School of Education are located…” Qi Chen nodded, then his eyes widened suddenly, “Hey, where are you going?”

Fang Yiwen watched Yi Zhiyan's retreating figure and muttered to himself.

"Damn it, the junior seems to be from the School of Humanities."

—

Three electric bikes drove past in succession, splashing water from the low-lying area and sending dampness into the air. Yi Zhiyan didn't bother to dodge them, turning the corner and rushing into the East District.

As he walked to Building 3, he could see gray smoke floating in the air in the distance. His senses felt as if they were wrapped in a sealed plastic film, and it seemed as if choking particles were entering his nasal cavity.

The area downstairs in the dormitory was chaotic, with people sitting on the ground. He pushed through layers of barriers, clenched his fists, and his gaze swept across every face without stopping, the heavy breathing pounding against his eardrums.

Rapid and blurry.

He didn't know how far he had walked, but near the flower bed close to Building 6, his gaze gradually focused and finally landed on that familiar face.

Yin Xiao's eyelids drooped, and she looked exhausted. She was wearing a thin cotton nightgown and had just received two bottles of mineral water from the dormitory supervisor. She turned and walked to the steps.

She bent down and handed a bottle to the girl sitting on the ground, then leaned against the wall, unscrewed the cap, and tilted her head back to drink.

She stood five meters away from him, facing him directly. As if suddenly sensing something, she looked up and met his gaze without hesitation, passing through the messy shadows.

Her eyes seemed vacant for a second, then quickly flashed with a bright light.

She turned her head and said something to the girl on the ground, then walked towards him with her eyes crinkled into a smile.

What brings you here?

Yi Zhiyan's throat was dry, and he couldn't say anything. He raised his hand, carefully held her shoulder, gently moved her closer to himself, and looked down to check.

"I'm fine." Yin Xiao grinned and sniffed.

Yi Zhiyan took off his coat, stretched it out, draped it over her shoulder, and adjusted the collar.

The wind whistled past, the streetlights switched brightness at their designated times, and everything became clearer.

Yin Xiao blinked absently and looked up.

Under the light, Yi Zhiyan's face was pale, his bangs were slightly wet, and the dampness spread to the corners of his eyes.

She gripped her phone, which had long been switched off, felt apologetic, and moved her lips, preparing to explain.

He suddenly grabbed her wrist, his warm fingers gripping it tightly.

"Come with me."

A note from the author:

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