Chapter Twenty-One

Qu Qi swore she had never seen such a shameless man.

Even with a row of seats between him, his presence was still undiminished.

As You Congxi's best friend and classmate, Qu Qi witnessed firsthand Shen Yue's persistent and nagging nature.

During math class, Yin Zixuan nudged You Congxi on the back and said that Shen Yue had asked her to borrow a ruler and that he had a problem he couldn't solve, asking if she could help explain it to him after class.

During the long break, Shen Yue shamelessly followed behind the two of them again. At first, Qu Qi was wary of him, but later she gradually got lost in the sea of ​​food in the convenience store. When she came out with a bunch of food, she found that he was carrying a bunch of things in his hands. When she turned around, You Congxi was empty-handed and speechless.

During Chinese class, Shen Yue took advantage of the group discussion to switch seats with Yin Zixuan. Originally, Yin Zixuan disagreed, but somehow, in the short time Qu Qi picked up a notebook, the seat diagonally behind her had already changed hands.

Throughout the entire day, Qu Qi didn't even find a chance to be alone with You Congxi. Even when they went to the toilet after class, Shen Yue would forcibly take their cups, claiming he was helping them get water, and then follow them into the water room next to the toilet.

Qu Qi called this day Black Monday. He was filled with anger and had nowhere to vent it. He could only wait until after school to talk to his friend You Congxi, who had been bothered all day.

A light rain fell in the afternoon, and after school, the sky was filled with bright red sunset clouds, which was quite beautiful.

Amidst this beautiful scenery, Qu Qi thought with relief that at least she wouldn't have to see Shen Yue's face.

She tightened her grip on You Congxi's arm, looked around to make sure it was safe, and then smiled sweetly and said to You Congxi, "Little Fish, I'll stick with you..."

Qu Qi's voice trailed off.

Shen Yue squeezed between the two, first raising an eyebrow at Qu Qi in a show of defiance, then immediately changing his tone to speak to You Congxi in a humble manner.

Qu Qi's blood pressure soared with anger. At the intersection where she usually parted ways with You Congxi, she coldly questioned the boy who was still clinging tightly to You Congxi: "Do you also live in Shuxiangyuan?"

Shen Yue didn't even stammer once, and his words were incredibly arrogant: "Yes, you can."

Qu Qi was so angry that his teeth itched.

Damn it, you rich kid!

So what if you're rich?!

"......"

The rich second-generation escorted You Congxi all the way back to the apartment building.

The brief burst of fiery clouds gradually faded, revealing a gray-blue sky. You Congxi frowned as she looked at Shen Yue's face, half-hidden in the darkness but still showing a silly grin, and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Shen Yue replied matter-of-factly, "Can't I even look?"

Too lazy to argue with him, You Congxi turned to go upstairs, but then remembered something, stopped, and turned back: "Don't follow me tomorrow."

"And the day after tomorrow?"

"Not the day after tomorrow. Not any day."

"But the big tree said you have to keep an eye on me."

"What does this have to do with anything? Besides, you said those words yourself."

"If you don't care about me, I can only be more self-disciplined and stay by your side to be supervised by you."

Seemingly surprised by his shamelessness, You Congxi paused, suppressed her anger, glared at him, and turned to walk towards the elevator without saying a word.

Shen Yue, minding his own business, didn't follow. Instead, he stood at the entrance of the apartment building and apologized to You Congxi, saying, "I was wrong. I'll never talk back again."

An older woman carrying a shopping basket walked in with small, quick steps, giving the boy standing at the door like a doorman a disdainful look.

What a spirited young man, turns out he's henpecked!

Sigh, these young people nowadays.

After a moment of indignation, the woman walked slowly toward the elevator.

The elevator doors opened just then, and the girl glanced at her expressionlessly before stepping inside.

The woman quickened her pace slightly, thinking that the girl who had been watching her would definitely press the elevator button and wait for her.

Thump.

The soft sound of the elevator doors closing.

The woman watched helplessly as the door closed in front of her, and the indicator light next to her began to slowly rise.

The older woman: "......"

With trembling hands, she pulled her phone, which was wrapped in layers of handkerchiefs, from her pocket, opened her contacts, and pressed the elevator button while waiting for the call to connect.

"Hello......"

Before the old lady across from her could finish speaking, the middle-aged woman, her voice trembling, began to sob:

"Hey Lao Li, are these young people going crazy these days?!"

"......"

You Congxi stood with his arms crossed, staring blankly at the elevator display screen.

She didn't say anything, so why does that old lady look down on Shen Yue?

Her phone beeped in her pocket, but she didn't look at it; she knew perfectly well who had sent it.

She wrinkled her nose slightly as she remembered what the boy had said.

He said nice things, but upon closer inspection, all he offered were apologies; he didn't mention at all whether he would continue to follow her.

It's obvious that he's good at Chinese; he's incredibly adept at wordplay.

bite.

As the elevator doors opened, You Congxi was still thinking how lucky she was that her Chinese had improved a lot recently, otherwise she would have been tricked by that dog Shen Yue.

As soon as she focused her gaze, she unexpectedly met the eyes of her neighbor outside the door, who was pushing a cart full of bags and packages.

You Congxi paused for a moment, then nodded to his neighbor and quickened his pace to make way for them.

The elevator behind her slowly descended, and she glanced at the half-open door opposite her; it was almost completely emptied.

Is the neighbor across the hall moving out?

-

He Qi was lying on the beanbag chair in his brother's room.

He glanced around, his gaze settling on a spot on the desk.

"brother."

"Speak." Shen Yue, fiddling with the handle, didn't look up.

"Your family went bankrupt?"

Shen Yue looked up at him, then lowered her head again with little interest: "Given how busy Ms. Shen is, it won't be for the time being."

"Tsk." He Qizheng got up and walked to the desk, reaching out to touch it. "What is this...?"

My hands were suddenly empty.

He Qi looked up blankly at the boy who had teleported over, a little confused: "What are you doing??"

Shen Yue, still shaken, clutched his precious vase and kept five steps away from He Qizheng, saying, "Don't touch it."

He Qi was watching him hold the half-cut mineral water bottle like it was some priceless heirloom, and a hundred question marks popped into his head: "Wait, what are you doing holding a mineral water bottle? Or is it some kind of incredibly rare and expensive material?"

Could it be that he's blind to the true value of this seemingly ordinary plastic bottle, which actually holds a hidden secret?

He Qi stared at the bottle for a long time, but couldn't figure out anything strange about it.

He looked up, then paused: "Or... are you saying that what you really treasure are the flowers you've arranged in this vase?"

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He stepped forward to examine the flowers more closely: "Then why did you put them in this broken vase? What a waste..."

“What a lousy bottle,” Shen Yue interrupted him impatiently, placing it on the other side of the desk, a world away from He Qi. “It was a gift from someone.”

"?" He Qi frowned. "Who would deliver broken bottled water...?"

Looking at Shen Yue's smug expression, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "...Who gave it to me?"

Shen Yue pretended not to care and sat back down in front of the monitor to continue fiddling with the controller, but his upturned eyes and the corners of his mouth betrayed him completely.

He Qizheng: "Say something! Who are you trying to impress with this peacock-like display?"

“Actually, it’s nothing,” Shen Yue said slowly. “It’s just that last time I went to the bookstore, You Congxi kept a close eye on my condition. As soon as I coughed slightly, she immediately put water in my hand and kept asking me if I was feeling better.”

He Qizheng: "......"

As he spoke, fearing that He Qizheng might not realize the significance of this action, he added, "She even turned on the water on her own."

He Qizheng: "......"

It turns out that someone just handed him a bottle of water because they were worried he would cough himself to death.

Shen Yue gave him a look that said, "I can't explain this to you single guys," tossed him the controller, and sat on the sofa to savor the moment. To He Qizheng, the expression on his face looked utterly ridiculous.

He Qizheng: "......"

He remembered that he had mistakenly thought Shen Yue liked Yin Zixuan, and he felt like killing himself.

It's so obvious, how could he be so stupid?!

Now that we know that Shen Yue's true love is You Congxi, looking back, it's clear that Shen Yue was playing his cards right from the start.

He Qi sighed, feeling sorry for his brother who knew nothing of restraint.

but--

Even he could see that...

He randomly picked a character and glanced at his clueless buddy: "By the way, have you confessed to You Congxi yet?"

The screen suddenly jumped back to the main page, and He Qi was stunned. He immediately looked at the controller in his hand: "Damn it, Chen Yue, I didn't move an inch. Is your game console trying to scam me... What's wrong with you?"

Shen Yue picked up the handle that had fallen on the sofa, a rare look of confusion on his usually cold face: "I... I'm not ready yet."

He Qizheng spoke earnestly, adopting the air of a love guru, and analyzed logically: "You can't prepare for a confession. You can't do it in one go. The more you prepare, the worse it will be. You might as well just put in the effort and tell the person directly."

Chen Yue remained silent, then pressed the controller again to enter the game.

He admitted that He Qizheng was right. As he spent more time with You Congxi, he became more reserved about his feelings. Compared to his initial overly obvious behavior, which had incurred You Congxi's dislike, he cherished their current friendship more.

Any resistance from You Congxi made him feel agitated.

He dared not gamble.

Seeing his silence, He Qizheng could roughly guess what he was thinking and couldn't help but sigh, "I never thought that the tyrant of Xinghai District would fall in love with someone so innocently. Who would believe it if word got out?"

He clicked his tongue a few times, looking like a grown son who would never stay with his parents: "Back then, we all said that no one would be able to date you, but who would have thought!"

It's true that once someone gets it, it's amazing how amazing it is.

Shen Yue was too lazy to argue with him. He waved the controller listlessly, telling him to play if he wanted to, or shut up if he didn't.

With no further movement from the side, Shen Yue assumed he had calmed down and continued playing the game with the controller.

A slight rustling sound of fabric could be heard. Shen Yue controlled the little figure to eat mushrooms, and along the way, poked a few small monsters.

He leveled up and was preparing to exchange equipment with He Qizheng.

Where are they?

His gaze shifted from the screen to the beanbag chair.

It was completely empty.

The room was eerily quiet.

Shen Yue frowned, sensing that something was wrong.

"brother."

When his shoulder was patted, Shen Yue was so startled that he almost jumped up.

He took a breath, his heart still pounding in his chest.

He turned to look at He Qizheng, who had appeared silently behind him, and said irritably, "What the hell are you doing? If you talk nonsense, you're dead."

He Qi smiled mysteriously, walked around the sofa, and sat cross-legged opposite Shen Yue.

“Hehe,” he said, his voice deep and resonant, like a fortune teller who has been setting up a stall by the overpass for years. “You’ve hit the jackpot by meeting me.”

"Don't know how to pursue a girl? This master will teach you a few tricks."