Chapter 45. [First Update] Let's just pretend I really was drunk yesterday...
The following morning.
Yang Siyi dragged Wen Xue's suitcase, and Shu Yun carried a bag of snacks she had prepared for her. The three girls stood at the entrance of the alley waiting for He Yan to drive over.
"This Qingming holiday was too short; we didn't even have time to have a proper chat," Shu Yun sighed.
"You didn't come back during winter break, you should be back during summer break, right?" Yang Siyi glanced at Wen Xue, actually trying hard to suppress her tears.
She and Wenxue were good friends even before they were old enough to remember things. When it came time to fill out college applications, she wanted to go to Xida University with her, but unfortunately her score was a little too low. She had to settle for a school in the provincial capital that was closer to home.
If she had been able to get into Xida University back then, at least she could have been there for Wenxue during her most difficult and helpless time.
Even if we chat online every day, it's never as timely as a hug in real life, even though we're so far apart.
Wen Xue smiled gently, opened her arms and hugged her, saying softly, "I will definitely come back when I have time."
Yang Siyi couldn't say anything more.
Emotionally, she hoped Wenxue would come back as soon as she had a holiday, but reason told her that Wenxue would be happier staying in Xicheng.
You can tell how Wen Xue has been doing these past few months just by looking at her.
Her eyes are bright and she looks well; she's slowly getting better.
That's enough.
"You said it." Yang Siyi sniffed. "I'll definitely come to visit you. You want to make money, right? Then you have to work hard to make it. When I come over, you have to feed me well for several days!"
"Me too! You have to take care of me too!" Shu Yun said with a grin as she leaned closer.
Wen Xue smiled and nodded: "Definitely, I'll take you out to play and eat delicious food then."
As the three were reluctant to part, a white sedan drove towards them. Wen Xue didn't recognize it at first. She was most familiar with the black Jeep, which she could usually spot from a distance. Today, He Yan had to drive the car right in front of her and roll down the window before she realized who it was.
There was nothing she could do; it was a car He Yan had borrowed, so it was normal that she wasn't familiar with it.
Because He Yan had a very special aura, as serious as an elder, even though he was much younger than an elder, Yang Siyi and Shu Yun were a little intimidated when they met him. They could only greet him bluntly, but they didn't know how to address him.
Calling someone by their first name is neither advisable nor polite.
Calling him "brother" is even more inappropriate.
He Yanping nodded gently, "Hello."
He was about to unbuckle his seatbelt and get out of the car when Wen Xue saw this and hurriedly stopped him, saying, "Don't get out. Parking isn't allowed here."
He Yan glanced at her and saw that her luggage was in her friend's hands, so he didn't insist.
After Yang Siyi and Shu Yun helped Wen Xue load her luggage into the car, the three of them looked at each other and burst into laughter, their laughter tinged with tears. Wen Xue gave each of them a bear hug and whispered, "Remember to come visit me during summer vacation."
She thought for a moment, then said, "I'll reimburse your travel expenses."
When you make money, you speak with confidence.
She thought happily.
He Yan sat in the car, watching her hug her two friends again and again, reluctant to part. He restrained himself and turned his head away, his gaze falling elsewhere.
After a while, Wen Xue opened the passenger door, got in, fastened her seatbelt, and waved slightly to her friends outside the window.
He Yan started the engine, leaned slightly forward, and said habitually, "Next time you come to Xicheng to visit Wen Xue, I'll treat you to a meal."
After saying that, he looked at her and asked, "Are you seated?"
"alright."
"So you're leaving?"
"Uh-huh."
He Yan followed Wen Xue's gaze to the outside, smiled and nodded at them, then gently stepped on the gas and drove away.
As the car rounded the bend and disappeared from sight, Yang Siyi's tears began to fall. She hurriedly raised her hand to wipe them away, and met Shu Yun's probing and thoughtful expression. She asked in an annoyed tone, "What kind of expression is that?"
Shu Yun shook her head and muttered, "How strange, I feel like I've seen him somewhere before. He looks familiar."
Why can't I remember?
Yang Siyi's sadness vanished instantly, and she rolled her eyes dramatically. "Of course you recognize him! He and He Heng are brothers, and they even look alike. It would be strange if you didn't!"
Shu Yun drawled out an "Oh," then scratched her head and said, "Really?"
"Yes!!"
In the car. Wen Xue stared at the rearview mirror, but could no longer see her friends in it. She reluctantly looked away and turned to He Yan, who was driving, intending to ask him if he had eaten breakfast. Suddenly, she paused and asked anxiously, "What happened to your left cheek?"
He was sitting in the car and couldn't see very clearly, but now that he looked closely, he noticed a mark on the left side of his jaw that looked like an abrasion or a bruise.
Upon hearing this, He Yan tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
That's why he didn't get off the bus. He said calmly, "I ran into an acquaintance who had drunk too much on my way home last night. I didn't hold on properly and bumped into him. It's nothing."
Wen Xue was surprised. What a coincidence!
She naturally doubted the veracity of his words; she strongly suspected that the drunken acquaintance he mentioned was himself.
She swallowed her words, her emotions a jumbled mess. She couldn't persuade him, she had no way to. She could understand him wanting to drown his sorrows in alcohol after a day like yesterday, but to drink to the point where he could barely stand—how much had he drunk?
"Pull over," she said calmly.
"What are you doing?" He Yan was confused, but he listened to her and parked the car on the side of the road.
Wen Xue didn't say anything. She turned to the side, unbuckled her seatbelt, got out of the car, closed the door, walked around the front of the car, and came to the driver's side door. Under He Yan's surprised gaze, she opened the car door, leaned down slightly, lowered her head, frowned, and took a sniff. Not smelling alcohol didn't mean that the alcohol in his body had been completely metabolized.
This is dangerous.
This is a traffic violation.
He Yan stared at her in astonishment, "You..."
She interrupted him, her voice soft but firm, "You go to the passenger seat, I'll drive."
He Yan: "??"
what happened?
Completely baffled, he opened his mouth and saw that she was still sniffing something. He immediately understood why his head was starting to hurt when he hadn't been drinking.
How do math students' brains work? They have such rich imaginations.
"He Yan".
Seeing that he didn't move and even raised his hand to press his forehead, Wen Xue knew that this was a symptom of a hangover headache.
He Yan was speechless. He tilted his head and, under her watchful gaze, unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. From inside the car to outside, from sitting to standing, from looking up to looking down, he had a lot to say, but when he met her eyes, he held back. "Fine, you drive."
The two switched places, and Wen Xue got into the driver's seat and started driving.
He Yan sat in the passenger seat with a stern face, his left hand supporting his chin. He glanced at the driver out of the corner of his eye. If you teach your apprentice, the apprentice will dare to give you attitude. The master has to swallow his anger.
She was also familiar with the route to Haicheng Station. Looking through the windshield, she paid attention to the road conditions on the side of the street. Seeing a pharmacy ahead, she slowed down, found a parking space, and performed a parallel parking maneuver with some difficulty.
"I'm going downstairs to buy something." She exhaled.
He Yan said helplessly, "I didn't—"
I didn't drink alcohol.
But the injuries on her face were real, and he could guess what she was going to do. The pharmacy was only a dozen meters away; he wasn't blind.
"Never mind," he said softly, swallowing his anger and accepting it.
Wen Xue looked at him suspiciously, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. She opened the car door, got out, and ran towards the pharmacy. He Yan's eyes followed her back. His phone rang at an inopportune moment. He glanced at the screen; it was the skating rink owner calling. After a moment's thought, he answered, "Hello."
"What happened last night?" my friend asked lazily. "What did they do to you?"
Although He Yan was on the phone, he kept looking at the pharmacy. "What are you talking about?"
My friend laughed and scolded, "Get lost!"
But in his heart he was guessing that it was probably because he was reminded of his brother’s fight with these people when he visited his brother’s grave yesterday, and he had to vent his anger.
Those few people deserved it, but they were also unlucky.
A few years ago, he was brutally beaten by his younger brother, and now he's been punched by his older brother. He'll probably be bedridden for a long time.
"That's not true."
He Yan said that when he saw that familiar figure coming out of the pharmacy, he unconsciously lowered his voice and said, "I have to go now, I have something to do, let's talk another day."
"Hello!"
He Yan neatly ended the call and remained seated in the same position.
Wen Xue returned to the car with the bag in her hand, still holding a disposable paper cup containing warm water given to her by the pharmacy clerk. Without saying a word, she tore open a strip of honey, squeezed it in, shook it a few times, and handed it to him, saying, "Drinking some will make you feel better."
He Yan looked at her silently for several moments, then said, "...Okay."
"This ointment is for application, three times a day."
"..."
"What are you laughing at?" Wen Xue looked up at him and asked, puzzled.
"I didn't laugh."
Wen Xue stared at him for a few seconds without saying a word, then fastened her seatbelt again and started the engine without looking to the side.
It took He Yan a long time to finish the cup of honey water.
Let's just pretend I was really drunk yesterday.
-
After the Qingming Festival, the rainy season in Xicheng District also passed, and the sun shone brightly every day, with early summer quietly arriving.
It was Friday again. The birthday gift had been given, and Wen Xue had no intention of resigning. Firstly, her relationship with Fang Lingwei was getting better and better. Fang Lingwei was very attentive in class, and her teaching was simpler than before. She was responsible; Fang Lingwei was her first student, and with both of them willing, she hoped to successfully send this girl to her ideal high school.
Secondly, since Fang Lingwei's midterm exam results came out, Fang Lirong has increased her hourly wage on top of her original rate...
get out of class ended promptly at 8:30.
Fang Ling stretched and said, "I hate studying!"
Wen Xue glanced at her with a smile, and she immediately changed her tune: "I love studying!"
Just then, Aunt Zhang knocked twice on the door and pushed it open, smiling as she said, "Weiwei, your brother is back. He bought a lot of fruit. Come on, come out and eat." Then she looked at Wenxue and said, "Xiao Wen, come along."
Fang Lingwei withdrew her outstretched arms, straightened her back, and said in a muffled voice, "I'm not eating, I still need to do my homework."
Wen Xue patted her shoulder, "If you don't understand something, you can ask me on your phone."
"Okay."
Wen Xue picked up her bag and tiptoed out of Fang Lingwei's room with Aunt Zhang. She closed the door behind her and took a few steps outside. She inadvertently met a pair of calm eyes and instinctively stopped.
Lin Baizhou nodded gently as a greeting.
She pursed her lips and smiled politely.
The two only exchanged glances for a brief two seconds before he sat down on the single sofa in the living room with his cup, took a sip of water, put the cup down, and seemed to be working, looking down at his phone screen with a serious and focused expression.
Fang Lirong smiled broadly: "Xiao Wen, come, sit here, have some fruit and rest for a while before you leave."
Wen Xue was mindful of the time. She could tell how happy Fang Lirong was to have her son back. As an outsider, she felt awkward about disturbing their rare moment of joy, especially since He Yan was waiting for her outside the apartment complex. So she politely declined, saying, "Aunt Fang, thank you, but it's alright. Someone is waiting for me."
Aunt Zhang brought over a fruit platter and casually asked, "Who is it? Your boyfriend?"
Lin Baizhou paused in typing, then resumed typing as if nothing had happened.
Wen Xue shook her head: "It's my family. They're worried about me taking the subway home alone at night."
“Well…” Fang Lirong looked at her with a kind smile, “Aunt Zhang, how about this, you pack some fruit for Xiao Wen in a food container so she can eat it on the way. She must be hungry after traveling for two hours.”
"Okay, Xiao Wen, wait a minute! I'll be right there!"
"I'll help you."
Unable to refuse Wenxue's hospitality and feeling a little embarrassed to wait, he simply followed Aunt Zhang into the kitchen and washed his hands.
In the living room, Lin Baizhou subtly relaxed his brow. A message popped up on his phone; it was from a friend.
Is it a problem to send a string of gibberish? Has my account been hacked?
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