Chapter 80. He wouldn't let go of Wen Xue...

With the Qingming Festival over, the rain in Xicheng has stopped, and the temperature has begun to rise.

Wen Xue was very grateful that her current busy schedule kept her from thinking about those dilemmas. In fact, she didn't have much time to tutor Fang Lingwei this semester. Half of the students in her class had started preparing for their senior year internships, and she had to squeeze out a few hours on Fridays and Sundays.

In response, He Yan, who had long wanted her to quit her tutoring job, took the opportunity to say calmly, "If you can't handle it, then quit."

Xicheng has plenty of other things, but it has a huge number of college students.

He simply couldn't believe that with the Fang family's wealth, they couldn't find a second suitable tutor.

Wen Xue, of course, refused.

Fang Lingwei was her first student, not to mention Fang Lirong's words were so sincere. She really didn't want to see Fang Lingwei falter at this crucial moment of preparing for the high school entrance exam.

He Yan didn't say anything, but his expression didn't look good.

Wen Xue had no classes this afternoon, so she went to the drama club to do odd jobs. When the new recruits from last year were asking them what they wanted to eat from the fast food menu, her phone vibrated at that perfect moment. Unexpectedly, yet not so unexpectedly, it was a message from Nana: "[I'm in the city! Want to grab a bite together? [kissing emoji]]"

She smiled and looked up at the freshman in front of her. "No need to order for me, I'll go out to eat."

The junior blushed, thinking she didn't like the wooden bucket rice, and hurriedly went to find another fast food menu.

"No need, a friend is visiting me," she smiled.

The junior could only nod, then turned around, his shoulders slumped, and he looked utterly defeated.

I finally got a chance to talk to my senior, and then...

Wen Xue packed her schoolbag, said goodbye to the others, and left.

She and Nana arranged to meet at the subway station. They had met before the Qingming Festival, which was only a few days ago, but that didn't stop them from holding hands affectionately at the subway entrance. After meeting, Nana chattered on and on about her purpose: "Brother Yan doesn't come back much these days. He asked Wang Yuan to deliver a seal, but Wang Yuan couldn't get away right away, so he asked me to deliver it. I'm skipping work openly and legitimately."

Wen Xue chuckled: "You gave it to me?"

"No." Nana hugged her arm and shook it, pleading, "I want you to come with me."

He Yan's newly established trading company is completely different from the transportation in the old city.

Hearing that every employee in the company was a top student, Nana was inevitably intimidated. It was her first time there, so she wanted to find someone to give her some encouragement.

"Have you been there?" Nana asked.

The two entered the subway station, where people were coming and going. Wen Xue said, "I've been there once."

However, that was entirely on He Yan's whim.

They passed by the office building, well past closing time, and the company was deserted. She could sense his high spirits. He talked a lot that night, and even though she couldn't understand him, he was still very enthusiastic about his future plans.

Will you go to Yan Ge's company after you graduate?

Wen Xue chuckled: "How could that be?"

There's no rush to deliver the seal. This subway station connects to the department store upstairs, which has everything for eating, drinking, and entertainment. They strolled around and ate at the same time.

Wen Xue noticed the hesitant look in Nana's eyes when she occasionally observed her.

She could only pretend not to see it, unwilling to delve into how Nana viewed her and He Yan through those glances.

When she passed by McDonald's, she packed a meal to go. If He Yan didn't eat it, this would be his dinner; if he did, she would take it back to her dorm for breakfast or lunch the next day.

…

Seven o'clock.

He Yan put down his work and came out of the office. One of the bolder employees stretched his stiff neck and shoulders and asked with a smile, "Brother Yan, are you leaving get off work so early today?"

At first, they all addressed him respectfully as "President He," until one day Wang Yuan arrived and started calling him "Brother Yan" repeatedly, successfully leading them astray as well.

"You're overthinking it." He Yan patted his shoulder. "When you go for a massage in a few days, put it on my tab."

The few people left working overtime laughed heartily.

He Yan went downstairs to meet Wen Xue and Nana.

Wen Xue knew his company was on the seventeenth floor. She looked up and counted, and the lights on the seventeenth floor were on, so she had no intention of going up.

"Go on upstairs, I'll take you to eat when I'm done," he said.

Nana's eyes darted back and forth between them.

Wen Xue shook her head: "We ate."

As she spoke, she handed him the packaged McDonald's.

He Yan casually took it, clearly wanting to say something to Wen Xue. He glanced at Nana, not really meaning anything, but Nana interpreted it differently. She pointed to the convenience store not far away and cleared her throat: "I just ate too much, I'm going to buy some yogurt to help with digestion!"

He dashed to the other side and disappeared in a flash.

"How's your hand?" After Nana walked away, He Yan turned his gaze to Wen Xue.

The towering buildings nearby all had their floodlights on.

Today he was wearing the black shirt she had given him, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his strong arms, and the watch Wu Yuejiang had given him on his wrist.

Wen Xue thought to herself, "He just asked me that question at noon."

If she remembers correctly, she did give an answer.

"show me."

She paused for a moment, then stretched out her left hand, her index finger wrapped with the band-aid she had changed at noon.

He Yan looked around and placed the packing bag in her hand on the nearest electric scooter. This action made her eyes widen, and she reminded her, "This is someone else's vehicle..."

"The person didn't come." He said nonchalantly.

"..."

She wanted to say something more, but she swallowed her words.

She hadn't expected He Yan to carry a band-aid with him when he took it out of his pants pocket.

On the other side, Nana bought two bottles of yogurt, opened one with a straw, and took a few steps away. She stopped before reaching the other side, hesitant to go any further. What entered her view was such a harmonious scene—

Under the streetlights.

He Yan took Wen Xue's left hand, examined the gradually healing wound, tore open the bandage packaging, and solemnly and carefully applied it to her wound.

Nana involuntarily took a big gulp of yogurt; it was icy cold.

Actually, from the very beginning, they could all see that Yan Ge treated Wen Xue differently, but back then no one would think otherwise, because he didn't have any physical urge or desire to be close to Wen Xue. Now it's completely different.

Even she, an observer, could see it.

He wouldn't let go of Wen Xue.

Both physically and emotionally.

That night, Nana tossed and turned in bed, reaching for her phone which was charging beside her pillow. She dialed Wan Nian's number. Wan Nian was on a long-distance trip and resting at a service area at this hour. He was surprised to receive the call: "It's almost one o'clock, and you're still awake?"

Too lazy to answer the question, she said solemnly, "That thing you told me a couple of days ago—"

After a few seconds of pause, she said, "Don't tell anyone."

He was completely baffled. He hadn't planned to bring it up in the first place. If she hadn't made wild guesses about the relationship between Yan Ge and Wen Xue that night, he wouldn't have brought it up either, but...

"What happened?"

Nana mumbled, "It's nothing."

-

Late April.

After several revisions, the drama club's script was finally finalized. To Wen Xue's surprise, she was assigned a role with several lines. The person who was truly interested in drama was He Heng. Back in her freshman year, she simply didn't know which club to join, so she went to the audition with him.

She has no talent for either scripts or acting.

She usually participates in promotional activities.

The president laughed: "There's no way around it. The script is darkly humorous and the satire is too strong. If it doesn't promote truth, goodness and beauty at the end, I'm afraid the script won't even pass the review."

Looking around the entire drama club, it seems that only Wen Xue is the most like a good person.

Wen Xue understood immediately and readily agreed.

As she left the drama club and passed the photo wall, she stopped and looked at the photo of her and He Heng.

She was in a hurry to get to the Fang family's house, so she only stayed briefly before leaving. Fang Lingwei's grades were still relatively stable, and Wen Xue's main task now was to help her review. The afternoon flew by, and at the end, she heard the child ask hesitantly, "Sister Wen Xue, what if I ask him to help me get an autograph at the book signing..."

Fang Lingwei stopped there, biting her lip and frowning, looking extremely troubled.

"Him? Who?" Wen Xue thought to herself, "This is bad."

It's funny, really. Only after becoming a tutor did she understand why her high school homeroom teacher always looked at her and He Heng with such a bitter and resentful expression.

If Fang Lingwei were to fall in love at this critical juncture, she would be worried sick.

Fang Lingwei pouted and said, "My brother."

Wen Xue immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "I see."

Seeing the girl's hesitant look, she smiled and said, "What autograph session? If I'm free, I'll go for you, okay?"

Fang Lingwei immediately burst into laughter, then shook her head, "In Huacheng."

"Hwasung?"

"Hmm, I heard from my mom that he's on a business trip in Huacheng these past few days..." Fang Lingwei was very sensible, and muttered to herself, "Never mind, there will be other opportunities in the future!"

Wen Xue was slightly taken aback.

She suddenly remembered that He Yan had also recently gone to Huacheng on a business trip and had been gone for three days.

…

After leaving Hua Jun's residence, Wen Xue did not go straight back to her dormitory. Instead, she went to the faculty and staff residential area. Before it got completely dark, she put a leash on Shi Tou and took him out for a walk. She also took out her phone to record a video that lasted for several tens of seconds and sent it to He Yan.

He didn't reply; he's probably still busy.

As she walked across the road, she could smell a faint aroma even before she got close. Looking up, she saw that it must be a newly opened roast chicken shop. The signboard was eye-catching, there were flower baskets at the entrance, and a loudspeaker was advertising. Listening closely, she learned that the shop was having a promotion: buy one get one free on roast chicken. No wonder there was a queue at the door; it was indeed a great deal.

After a moment's thought, she took a few steps closer, took a few photos with her phone, and sent them to the dorm group chat: 【Should I bring these?】

My three roommates are all foodies, and their phones keep vibrating.

"Eat! You have to eat!"

"I'm breaking my vow tonight and having a midnight snack!"

Wen Xue lowered her head to type, preparing to tell them that she would buy it when she came back from walking the dog. The leash in her hand tightened, and when she looked up, her eyes still smiling, she met a slightly familiar face. A few steps away, a young man in white shirt and black pants also showed surprise on his face.

His impression of her was clearly deeper than his impression of her.

The mischievous stone was still trying to bite his shoes when she quickly snapped back to reality, tugged at the rope, and whispered, "Come back!"

The puppy listened to her and obediently came back.

"Excuse me……"

Is it hungry?

The two spoke at the same time.

Wen Xue felt a little embarrassed. After looking at the man a few more times, she remembered that he was the one who bumped into her at the supermarket that day.

The first meeting was very strange.

The second time...

She sincerely explained and apologized: "It's not actually like this on the outside. Why don't you check if there are any bite marks on the shoes? I can compensate you."

"No need, it's nothing."

Seeing the little golden retriever rubbing its head against her trouser leg affectionately, Zhou Xian smiled. When their eyes met, he didn't ask about what happened after the broken plate at the supermarket, as if this was their first meeting. "If it's convenient for you, could you tell me how to get to Jinyuan?"

Jin Yuan is a tea house, quite inconspicuous in a bustling area. If he had asked for directions a month ago, Wen Xue would have been left with no answer. But after walking her dog almost without fail this month, she is now a walking map.

Wen Xue already felt apologetic, and now she was even more enthusiastic in giving him directions.

Go straight, turn left, turn right, then go through the alley and turn left—

Seeing her serious expression, Zhou Xian chuckled, "So complicated?"

Wen Xue fell silent, lowered her eyes, and remained silent for a few seconds before having an idea: "Then wait a moment, I'll draw it out for you in a simple way."

Zhou Xian was taken aback.

He was about to say forget it when he caught a glimpse of a black sedan approaching out of the corner of his eye—it was the car that had come to pick him up.

Wen Xue didn't notice that as she turned to look for paper and pen in her bag, he raised his hand and waved it casually. The black sedan could only brake and stop on the side, not daring to approach.

Zhou Xian sized her up.

With her eyelashes lowered, she carefully drew on the paper, marking the more conspicuous shops or buildings along the way. Without any perfunctory work, she tore off the page and gave it to him. "Can you understand this?"

Zhou Xian smiled and took a few glances at it, finding her handwriting quite interesting. "I understand, thank you."

Wen Xue relaxed her brow.

The stone that did something wrong was no different from the goldfish; it soon forgot what it had done and, impatient to stay in one place, urged itself to leave quickly with its actions.

She couldn't help but chuckle and looked at Zhou Xian: "Well then, I'll be going now."

"goodbye."

After watching her walk away with the dog, Zhou Xian walked towards the parking lot. The driver got out of the car beforehand, opened the back door for him, and stood respectfully to the side to wait.

He bent down to get on the bus, leaned back, and glanced casually at the words printed on the paper: Xicheng University.