Praise You

Today is not Friday, a holiday, but Chen Dixia doesn't want to be locked up in school.

Adolescent girls always have so many emotions that need to be vented, and because there is no suitable partner, they have to find Ye Yuanyin.

The teacher asked about the relationship between the two.

"My sister-in-law." The girl with a cold expression answered nonchalantly.

The teacher was a British man, about fifty years old. He said with a pained expression and a serious London accent, "Xia, good girl, I know there is a misunderstanding between you and Sheri, but you shouldn't let your emotions cloud your judgment."

Chen Dixia was extremely impatient, and this impatience could be considered as showing disrespect. Why should she accommodate others?

"I can't let you go," the British teacher insisted, insisting that this private school is famous for its rigorous elite education, where parents must have assets exceeding nine figures to be eligible. "The school is responsible for every student."

Chen Yanxia winked at Ye Yuanyin and switched back to Chinese. "Tell her I have to leave here tonight. If you dare to keep me here, you will bear the consequences."

Ye Yuanyin, who didn't experience puberty, has always followed the rules. She, too, started boarding school at age ten, and cried many times over the delicate tensions between girls. But because she had no capital, she simply accepted her fate and never considered how to escape her miserable life.

The teacher was shaken by her reasonable persuasion, "I need Mr. Shen's approval, please prove your relationship, and then you can take her away."

So, when Chen Yanan was attending an important social event, he was stunned when he saw the name of the incoming call on his phone. Then, when he heard her call "honey" and "baby" incessantly, his expression froze. He stared at the screen in confusion for several seconds, and only after confirming that he had dialed the right number did he put the phone back to his ear.

It was indeed her.

Ye Yuanyin tightened his voice and summarized the whole story in three or five sentences, "That's roughly it. Please explain it to the teacher."

The phone was on loudspeaker, and Ye Yuanyin could hear his brief, powerful words: "Yes, it's my wife. Okay, it's okay, there won't be any problems, I promise."

The British teacher handed the phone back to her, his attitude still neither humble nor arrogant. "Xia, I hope you can come back with a smile tomorrow. All the best."

Ye Yuanyin took her away.

The two of them walked along the moat for a long distance. On that early summer night, the air was already filled with the dryness of the summer heat. Chen Yinxia, ​​carrying her violin on her back, said speechlessly, "You're so poor, can't you just take a taxi?"

"Did you find out I'm poor on the first day? Since you chose to come to me, you must accept everything within my ability."

Chen Yanxia said angrily, "So, why do you want a divorce? Are you sick?"

Ye Yuanyin also wanted to ask her, "Your family is so rich, but you still want to skip school?"

"Alas," the precocious thirteen-year-old girl sighed softly and spoke plainly, "Life is so difficult to have both. Where are you taking me?"

"Well... I rented a small house. Do you want to go take a look?"

"Okay." Chen Yanxia raised an eyebrow in a noble manner. "But, can we take a taxi? This is the first time since I was born that I've been to an orphanage, eaten carbohydrates, and walked such a long distance... You took me through all these menial tasks."

Ye Yuanyin finally agreed, "I understand. Let's take the bus."

“…” Chen Yanxia was really annoyed with her.

A month before returning to Ancheng, Ye Yuanyin rented a 70-square-meter house in the suburbs. It was small and relatively affordable. She renovated the house, creating a cozy and comfortable atmosphere.

Chen Yanxia scanned the entire interior in no time and said disapprovingly, "I heard you still pay my brother's tuition on time every month? Why on earth have you turned your life into this mess?"

Compared to my past self, I'm clearly on the rise now. Ye Yuanyin warned, "Chen Xixia, shut up. When you're worried about someone, just express your worry to them. Don't be condescending or sarcastic. If you dare to talk like that again, I'll throw you out!"

"Okay." The little girl stopped mocking and pointed at the other bed in the room, wondering, "Is there anyone else living with you? How dare you live with someone else?"

"She's a girl about your age. All the adults in her family are dead. She's very pitiful."

Chen Yanxia's lips curved like a knife as she sneered, "Am I not pitiful? Why don't you invite me to live with you?" She placed her violin on a chair and lay down sideways. She rolled around on the bed twice as if she was still not satisfied. "I'm going to sleep in this bed tonight, humph!"

Ye Yuanyin thought that even if he invited her to come, she would go back after staying for less than two days. It was so difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

Chen Yanxia begged again, "Please make some food, Xiaoye. I'm starving."

There was nothing at home, so she had to go downstairs to buy groceries.

After going downstairs, the melodious sound of a violin emanated from the second floor. Chen Yinxia played for a while, facing the window. Following the moving melody, a rich, full-bodied English voice sang loudly and resonantly, reminiscent of Oscar Wilde's fairy tales.

Ye Yuanyin walked a few steps and then turned back. A thirteen-year-old girl, her hands resting against the window, had straight black hair, bright eyes, and a mouth as bright as a blooming rose. She wore a white school uniform shirt and a dark green plaid pleated skirt. She had straight A's and looked down on everyone. She was a little perfect lady.

Ye Yuanyin smiled. When Yaya came here, perhaps she would have a more self-sufficient and beautiful tomorrow like Jixia.

*

At half past eleven at night, it suddenly became as bright as day outside.

Ye Yuanyin was a light sleeper, so she kept her head raised and waited for a while until the light went down again. She turned over and continued to sleep.

Half asleep and half awake, she heard a slow knock on the door. She sat up suddenly, thinking, "It can't be so bad. Could it be that on the first day of moving in, I have to be entangled in the unfinished grudges with the previous landlord?"

There was another knock on the door. Ye Yuanyin got up, put on his clothes, carefully walked around the sleeping Chen Dianxia, ​​hid at the door and listened for a while.

She didn't dare look through the peephole. Visions of people outside looking in through it would surface in her mind, eyes meeting eyes—how terrifying! So she stayed inside, determined not to make a sound. Suddenly, a dull thud sounded outside, as if something had struck something. Unable to contain herself any longer, she leaned close to the peephole and peered out, her heart pounding.

Finally, the door was opened.

Chen Yan's slender, white fingers were resting on his forehead. The family next door rented their house to a private photography studio and, for good luck, had installed a round sign with a lucky cat on the wall. He was tall and had been drinking, so his movements were a little slower than usual, and he bumped into them without any surprise.

Ye Yuanyin walked out, brushed the sign aside, and asked softly, "Are you okay?"

Chen Yan withdrew his hand, his forehead still slightly flushed. The alcohol was evaporating, and he didn't want to show any signs of drunkenness, forcing his handsome, serious face into an even more restrained expression. He remained silent, simply looking at him with his jade-like eyes, their gaze filled with a deliberately restrained fiery intensity, even his breath controlled.

Ye Yuanyin avoided his gaze, suppressed his heartbeat, and whispered, "Apply some medicine, otherwise it will be swollen tomorrow."

She turned and went in, taking several deep breaths.

A dim light shone through from a corner of the room, casting a shadow on his face. Using that little light, he surveyed the interior of the room: warm, comfortable, and with a faint aroma.

Ye Yuanyin was rummaging through the drawer for potion. Her slender back was like a willow branch, swaying from side to side in her loose pajamas as she rummaged through the drawer.

Her door was only half open, just like the distance between them now, with an artificial alienation.

When the other person came out, he hesitated to take the cotton swab she handed him. He looked down with an indirect expression, "I can't see where the wound is."

"Then ask Secretary Ma to help you wipe it."

Chenchen looked at her calmly, the smell of alcohol on his breath still hazy. After a long pause, he said, "Didn't you just call me 'dear'?"

"That was... the situation forced me."

A message came on her phone. Chendi An took a look and saw it was from You Jing, asking if she'd slept yet. Her heart, broken by the wind, felt like it had been covered with a sticky plaster. When she peeled it off, it only clung to her skin and flesh.

"Let's have our driver pick up Jixia tomorrow morning," Ye Yuanyin discussed with him. "She was very unhappy after walking for a while today."

As for why he came or what he was doing, she didn't ask anything.

She pushed the door open with one hand, and Ye Yuanyin's face gradually disappeared behind the door. "I'm going to sleep now. You should go back early too."

She lowered her head and opened her phone as if to reply to a message. Suddenly, Chen Yan blocked the door, and a look of surprise flashed across her face.

The next second, he grabbed her hand. She pulled back, but Chen Diang, fearing she might try to escape, grabbed both of her hands. The phone fell to the ground with a thud.

He lowered his head, as if studying something strange, and rubbed her two tender hands inch by inch, and soon they turned red.

Ye Yuanyin felt the lines of his thumb and the strength of his index finger, and her heart was boiling hot. She pulled back with all her strength, but was once again held by the man's hand.

"I won't see Jixia again, and you shouldn't come here again." Her words were resolute, yet she insisted on saying them in a gentle tone, "We are not suitable."

"What's inappropriate?" Chen Yanqing said proudly, his face frosty. "Have you been dating me for three to five years?"

"Add in all the time I liked you before, and it's more than enough."

Chen Yan'an's heart emptied for a moment. It was like when you love someone now, you can't help but want to flaunt your sincerity and passion for them daily. But those who fall in love late seem to carry a natural sin. Why didn't he discover her sooner? Why couldn't he love her as much as she loved him?

After saying this, Ye Yuanyin felt she had gone too far. When she had liked him, he had never bullied the weak. She was doing her final tidying up and saying goodbye. "The Shen family is complicated, and there's always work to do. Don't let it drag you down."

Shen Yan smiled disdainfully and said dejectedly, "What's the Shen family? You're the only one who can bring me down."

She opened her mouth and began to mutter in a dreamy voice, "Liking you is so hard, and it makes me anxious about losing everything. I'm really poor, so poor that I have nothing to lose, and of course nothing to give you. It's just... I finally got out of the quagmire I was in before, can you please not let me make the same mistake again?"

Having said this, under the light, both of them had tears in their eyes that couldn't fall.

The alcohol was rising again, and Chen Yan seemed to sober up a little, but also seemed to fall deeper into the abyss. His cold and quiet voice lingered in his ears, and he said solemnly, "Rest up, and go to work on time tomorrow."

He let go.