Chapter 12 I'll take you home tonight

Shen Jin followed silently, gripping the wooden stick in his hand even tighter. He was still a little nervous, having never encountered this situation before.

Just then, the other person stopped, half-squatted down in front of the bicycle, seemingly staring at something, and tapped a few times, muttering under their breath, "Strange, why all of a sudden..."

Shen Jin didn't listen to what he was saying. He rushed over with all his might, raised the wooden stick in his hand, and swung it hard, shouting angrily, "You heartless thief!! Stop!"

"Huh?" The other person paused for a moment, then raised their head slightly upon hearing the voice, glancing at him. They saw a stick slamming down, their pupils contracting as they quickly dodged to the side. "What are you doing?!"

Shen Jin retorted directly, "What are you doing! Execute me on the spot, of course! See you at the police station!"

Fearing that the other party might suddenly retaliate, he immediately pounced on him as he retreated, picked up the stick and brought it down hard again. However, the other party reacted and suddenly kicked him in the knee, causing Shen Jin to fall to the ground.

As he staggered forward, the other person easily caught him around the waist, and chuckled with amusement, "In the middle of the night, you just pick up a stick and try to beat someone from behind and execute them on the spot? Since when has the social atmosphere become like this?"

Shen Jin took a deep breath, mainly because of the pain in his back, which made him lose his strength. He had been so imposing just moments before, but now he felt a little embarrassed. He quickly pushed the other person away and barely managed to steady himself.

"Hmm?" The other person seemed a little surprised when they saw his face clearly, and then laughed, "What a coincidence, I've helped you twice now."

"Huh?" Shen Jin was taken aback at first, initially wary, but when he gradually saw the other person's face clearly, he froze on the spot, then instinctively took two steps back. "You...you you you..."

He couldn't mistake that man's handsome, angular face; he'd just seen him at the hospital today! It was the man who had helped him up, now the one who stole his bicycle… a thief?

Chen Jin's mind went blank for a moment, and he could hardly tell what was what. He pointed at the other person and said "you" for a long time, but he couldn't say a word. He could only stare at him blankly.

Then the other person laughed first, patted the dust off their clothes, and with a pair of almond-shaped eyes that curved slightly, said with some dissatisfaction, "What do you mean, 'I'? You hit me and you think you're in the right? How can you be like this? I've helped you up twice, even if you don't thank me, you can't do this, can you?"

His tone was clearly one of dissatisfaction, yet he was also smiling, making it impossible for anyone to tell that he was angry; it was as if he were just joking with you.

But Shen Jin felt ashamed by what he said, and felt that what the other person said seemed to make sense. He had helped him up once at the hospital earlier today, and now... wait, he stole something and he still has the nerve to say he's right?!

Shen Jin instantly realized what was happening and stopped stammering. He pointed at him and said, "You think you're in the right for stealing my bicycle?!"

"A thief? Stealing your bicycle?" Bai Yujin was completely confused by what he said. Just as he was about to retort, he happened to see the bicycle in front of him. He seemed to understand something in a daze, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. "This bicycle... is yours?"

Shen Jin instantly became alert again, staring intently at him. Judging from his reaction, the other party knew he had guessed correctly and exclaimed, "I thought Xiao Mu suddenly bought a beat-up bicycle... no, I thought she had rather unique tastes, and since she had nothing else to do, she just picked it up to ride. Turns out it's yours."

Before he could react, Bai Yujin smiled slightly and said, "It's a misunderstanding. You must be Xiaomu's tutor. Hello, I am her brother, Bai Yujin."

Shen Jin froze instantly: "Huh?"

Bai Yujin ignored his reaction, nudged the bicycle with his foot, frowned, and said to himself, "But your bike is really not durable. It got a flat tire after I rode it a few times."

Shen Jin's eyes widened instantly: "Huh?"

Before he could finish his shock, Bai Yujin smiled and said with some emotion, "But you're pretty strong. After the tire blew out, it seemed like I could still move, so I kept riding. But now it seems like I can't ride anymore."

Shen Jin: "..."

A surge of emotions welled up inside him, but he couldn't utter a single word. He could only stare at him, feeling as if he were about to have a heart attack.

Bai Yujin felt a pang of guilt under his gaze, awkwardly rubbed his nose, and then flashed a bright smile to try and smooth things over, asking with a grin, "Am I pretty?"

Shen Jin: "..."

This person...

"Okay, I was wrong." Knowing he couldn't fool him, Bai Yujin rubbed his nose again. "You must be Shen Jin. My mother and sister told me about you. I had someone fix the car and send it over during the day. I'll take you home tonight."

Before Shen Jin could even process what had happened, Bai Yujin pulled up in a cool red sports car, opened the door himself, and said with a smile, "Alright, get in. Where do you live?"

"No, no, no need!" Shen Jin realized what was happening and shook his head awkwardly with a smile. "Since it was all a misunderstanding, I'll just get it repaired. There's no need to trouble you."

Bai Yujin laughed dismissively, "It's alright, it's too late, it's not safe, it'll be over in a bit."

"No……"

Before Shen Jin could finish refusing, Bai Yujin interrupted him with a more definitive statement: "Come up."

"Oh..." Shen Jin responded blankly, thinking that he might as well leave it at that, since he didn't find it troublesome at all.

The car had a faint, pleasant fragrance, and it was comfortable to sit in... It was so much better than his stiff bicycle. The thought that he had mistaken the car for the person who stole his bicycle made Chen Jin feel ashamed.

The sports car slowly drove onto the highway. Bai Yujin chuckled and said, "Where do you live? I'm using a GPS navigator. I haven't been abroad for years, so I'm not familiar with the roads. I'm afraid if I take a wrong step, you'll think I'm a human trafficker and want to arrest me and take me to the police station."

Shen Jin felt a little embarrassed by what he said, so he silently looked away and whispered where he lived: "...It's at the east end."

"magnetic--"

The sound of brakes screech filled the air, the screeching of wheels against the ground was extremely grating.

Bai Yujin turned to look at him: "Where do you live?"

"..." Shen Jin was startled by his sudden braking and silently gave his name again, "East Tail".

Bai Yujin: "Where?"

Chen Jin: "...East end."

“Oh, Dongbianwei… I understand, I understand, this city is a nobody… cough…” Bai Yujin withdrew his gaze, faced reality and looked ahead, carefully considering his words, “It’s quite good. Dongbianwei is a place where the people are simple and honest, all kinds of people, not so many restrictions, free and easy.”

Shen Jin: "..."

Judging from Bai Yujin's reaction, he felt that the other party must have regretted giving him the gift. After all, people like them who were at the top of society would never go to such a godforsaken place.

But seeing that he didn't say anything unpleasant to his face, and even managed to squeeze out a few words of praise, he couldn't help but find it funny, and his tense face instantly broke into a smile.

Bai Yujin, who was driving and staring at the side mirror, was momentarily stunned by the sudden smile.