Chapter 18

Forced to retreat by Qin Su's two consecutive questions, Ye Yan went to the gym and worked out for an hour before his feelings of embarrassment, which he couldn't quite put his finger on, gradually subsided.

It wasn't until bedtime that he belatedly realized what had happened.

Wait a minute, if he left then, wouldn't that be equivalent to him agreeing with Qin Su's words?

In other words, he ate leftovers, gave up his bedroom, and was forced to agree to her unequal treaty.

What's going on here?

Ye Yan instantly regained his senses.

But it was already late at night, and he couldn't knock on Qin Su's door. After thinking it over, he had no choice but to accept it.

...Was this also something Qin Su deliberately arranged?

Ye Yan couldn't help but have doubts.

As he reflected on the evening's events, he felt that the process was both natural and full of coincidences.

He couldn't even tell when Qin Su was acting and when she was being genuine.

Fortunately, he could clearly perceive Qin Su's purpose—she wanted him to come home earlier every day.

so……

Ye Yan stared at the ceiling, frowning in the darkness, as he thought about the questions he had considered before.

Does Qin Su like him?

That……

What about him?

Ye Yan had never experienced first love or the stirrings of youth.

His upbringing was marked only by high-speed learning, his father's philandering, and his mother's silent suffering.

He rejected many women who showed interest in him without ever developing any ulterior motives.

But Qin Su seems to be different.

...

Ye Yan tossed and turned all night, experiencing for the first time in his life a great struggle and confusion over relationship issues.

He doesn't remember what time he fell asleep, but his body's biological clock makes him wake up spontaneously at six o'clock in the morning.

Qin Su didn't get up early today; he got ready himself and went to the company.

When it was time to leave work in the afternoon, he left the office as if nothing had happened and said to Ding Bo, "I'm leaving now. Call me if there's anything urgent."

Ding Bo glanced at the time in shock and stammered, "Okay, okay, Mr. Ye."

Ye Yan coughed lightly, pretending not to see his expression.

He convinced himself that he just didn't want to eat leftovers, and that he meant nothing else.

He gets off work at six o'clock and gets home at six-thirty. After changing his clothes and washing his hands, it's just the right time for dinner.

Qin Su was sitting at the dining table playing on her phone. When she saw him, she just glanced up at him and said indifferently, "You're quite punctual today."

Then he kept typing on his phone the whole time, looking serious, as if he had something important to do.

After finishing her meal, she ignored him and went straight back to her room.

Ye Yan was taken aback.

Perhaps it was because Qin Su would usually tease him when they met, but today she didn't talk to him, and he instinctively felt uncomfortable.

But he didn't think much of it, assuming Qin Su was in a bad mood.

The next day, Qin Su didn't speak to him again.

Ye Yan: "..."

My mood involuntarily dropped a bit.

On the third night, he went home earlier than usual, carefully considering his words, intending to casually ask Qin Su what she had been doing these past two days. However, before he could even speak, Qin Su came out of her room carrying her bag.

"You're back so early today?" She gave me a surprised look, quickly changed her shoes, and said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, I have dinner plans with friends tonight. You can have dinner by yourself."

After saying that, she opened the door and left.

Ye Yan: "..."

He stood there stunned for a moment, then subconsciously took out his phone to check if Qin Su had sent him any messages he hadn't replied to recently.

No.

So he didn't do anything wrong, so why is Qin Su ignoring him?

She made him come home for dinner every day, but she went out to eat with her friends instead?

To be honest, he didn't even know who her friends were.

Ye Yan's expression shifted between light and dark.

He pondered for a moment, and after finishing dinner, instead of returning to his study, he sat in the living room working.

Around 11 p.m., Qin Su stepped into her home.

She greeted him with a smile as she changed her shoes, appearing completely normal: "Oh, you're still awake?"

She was all smiles, giving off a bright and cheerful vibe, like a cool breeze blowing in.

Infected by the situation, Ye Yan unconsciously softened his expression: "It's just that there's still some work to finish."

He put down his computer and asked, seemingly casually, "What are you doing today...?"

Qin Su covered her mouth and yawned, not hearing him speak at all: "Then you can continue with your work, I need to go to sleep quickly, I have plans for tomorrow."

Ye Yan: "..."

The attempt to communicate failed, and she has to go out tomorrow.

He returned to his room to rest, feeling depressed, but when he lay down on the bed, he couldn't fall asleep at all.

Over the course of three days, the two of them exchanged fewer than ten words.

Does Qin Su really like him?

***

At the same time, in Qin Su's bedroom.

The system shook its fur, and asked with slight concern, "SuSu, is it really okay to suddenly increase the distance like this? Won't it have the opposite effect?"

Qin Su typed away on the keyboard, completely unconcerned: "Of course not."

"What is the ambiguous period? The ambiguous period is when the unspoken understanding hasn't been broken, and you can't be sure of the other person's feelings. It's all about that kind of trepidation, anticipation, speculation, and unease."

Her phone beeped with a new message notification, and as she reached for it, she began to give her a long lecture.

"Dating isn't like chanting Buddhist scriptures. If you keep your partner in a stable emotional state, you'll never get their heart flutter. Only by stimulating their emotions and letting them experience joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness will they understand what it means to like someone."

"Any relationship needs to be nurtured with care, even romantic relationships."

The system's cat looked like it understood, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Then why do some people have good relationships even without trying?"

Qin Su glanced at the screen and saw that the message was from Zhao Nuannuan.

Zhao Nuannuan: [Hello, I'm the waiter who bumped into you that day. I apologize again for what happened. What can I do to compensate you?]

She smiled and typed as she answered the system.

"There is no such thing as a good relationship without effort; it's just that many people do it unconsciously. In fact, from small things like remembering what the other person likes and dislikes to big things like preparing gifts and surprises for them, all of these are ways of cultivating a relationship."

"I simply transformed the things that most people do unconsciously into conscious planning, that's all."

The system seemed convinced and murmured, "Okay, that makes a lot of sense."

Qin Su: [Can you afford to pay for it now?]

The screen displays a message indicating that the other person is typing.

A full minute passed before Zhao Nuannuan replied: [I'm sorry, I still can't afford to pay for it right now, but it's my mistake, and I should take responsibility for it.]

Qin Su: [That's why I said you're not suitable for this job.]

Zhao Nuannuan's reply this time was even longer, and her words revealed her near-tears: [Do you still want the boss to fire me?]

Qin Su was surprised that she hadn't realized it after several days, so she sent her a duck emoji.

[Your IQ successfully stunned me for a moment. jpg]

Zhao Nuannuan: "..."

She was initially surprised that such a beautiful woman would also send silly emojis, before she realized what Qin Su meant.

[I...I don't understand.]

Qin Su chuckled and simply made a voice call to her, saying, "I'll recommend you for a new job. You'd better hurry up and make money to make up for me."

Zhao Nuannuan: "?!"

————

A glimpse into everyone's mood today:

Ye Yan: Does she like me? Does she not like me? Does she like me? Does she not like me? Does she like me… (repeated ten thousand times)

Cat System: I feel that what Su Su said makes a lot of sense, but something is a little strange.

Zhao Nuannuan: Shocked! I didn't know such a beautiful woman would use emojis. I feel like my goddess image has collapsed.

Qin Su: Oh, everything's under control today too, how boring.