Chapter 3, Section 003. "Parents are allowed in your dormitory building during the day..."
He Yan was surprised by her answer, but after a few seconds, he understood why she agreed. She simply wanted to help him, just like at that charity gala, when she was overwhelmed with her own problems, she still asked him if he needed any help.
He frowned almost imperceptibly; it would be a lie to say he didn't regret it.
In his past life, he had left her a business card and told her that if she encountered any problems she couldn't solve, she could call him or come to this address to find him. But in those eight years, he never received a call from her. He thought she was doing well.
Looking back now, she just didn't want to bother him.
"Okay, when is the holiday?" he asked, barely suppressing his bad mood.
Wen Xue put her scarf back on. "I just finished my exam this morning, and I can leave tomorrow."
She forgot to buy a train ticket, but she wasn't in a hurry. It wasn't the peak of the Spring Festival travel rush yet, and she could buy a ticket back to Haicheng anytime.
In Haicheng, she still has some relatives. Sometimes she goes to her aunt's house for the New Year, and sometimes she goes to her younger aunt's house.
People seem to have an obsession with the New Year's Eve dinner.
But ever since her grandmother passed away, she felt out of place in the warm and harmonious atmosphere. However, if she didn't return to Haicheng, she didn't know where else she could go. Now that He Yan needed help, it would be good for her to go and assist him.
"OK."
He Yan nodded. "Then I'll pick you up tomorrow at noon."
Wen Xue hummed in agreement, her scarf almost completely covering half her face. The two maintained their distance as they walked towards the school, just as they had on their way there. This was He Yan's request; in his eyes, Wen Xue was very vulnerable, and he wouldn't feel at ease unless he personally escorted her downstairs and watched her go inside.
"Are parents allowed in your dormitory building during the day?"
He Yan asked again.
Wen Xue paused for a moment, then exhaled a puff of white breath, "Should the parents go in?"
"The suitcase must be quite heavy, right?"
He Yan was very experienced in raising He Heng, but since he was his younger brother, he didn't need to worry too much. He just needed to provide enough living expenses. As for how He Heng got to school to register, how he carried his luggage to the dormitory, and whether the luggage was heavy or not, he didn't care.
But Wen Xue was different; she didn't seem very strong, and there was no elevator in the dormitory building.
He doubted that in her current state, she could possibly roll down the stairs while carrying a suitcase.
Wen Xue didn't know why, but she laughed: "It's okay, I don't have much luggage, I can take it in batches."
"Can parents come in?" He returned to that question.
"Probably not." Wen Xue seemed distracted. "He wanted to help me pack my luggage before, but my aunt wouldn't let me in. Only my parents can, right?"
He Yan knew that the "he" she was referring to was He Heng.
He nodded: "Okay, I'll wait for you downstairs at twelve o'clock?"
"good."
Strangely enough, every time they met before, they didn't talk much and weren't familiar with each other. This time, their relationship seemed to have grown closer, and their conversation was quite comfortable, at least not awkward. He Yan thought that in his past life, he should have treated her like an ordinary relative; perhaps the outcome would have been different.
After crossing several pedestrian crossings, Wenxue, who was familiar with the school, led him to take a shortcut.
If she were alone, she would take the main road with more people. With He Yan around, it wouldn't seem like a problem if the road was a little dark.
As they approached the girls' dormitory, He Yan pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to her. "My phone number is on this. Did you take your phone?"
Wen Xue didn't take the business card. "I left the one that was given to me in my dorm room."
He Yan felt helpless towards her. Since she hadn't lost his business card, why couldn't she turn to him when she encountered those difficulties later?
What's your phone number?
Wen Xue read out a number, and a few seconds later, her phone, which was in her down jacket pocket, vibrated, buzzing softly through the fabric. She took out her phone, confirmed that it was him calling, and saved it. When editing the nickname, she hesitated for a moment before finally saving it as "Brother".
Let's go.
"Um."
The two continued walking towards the dormitory building. It wasn't late, not even eight o'clock, but there were far fewer people around. Before He Yan could give her any more instructions, a clueless young man suddenly appeared out of nowhere, his voice urgent: "Wen Xue!"
Seeing that he was an unfamiliar face, He Yan looked away and focused his gaze on Wen Xue's face.
Her expression was calm, even somewhat indifferent.
The other person came over happily, then stopped, the smile on their face freezing. They looked at He Yan with suspicion and wariness, and blurted out, "Wen Xue, who is he?"
He Yan understood immediately.
This is a little boy who is chasing after Wenxue.
Wen Xue didn't exactly hate these people's pursuit, but she was truly exhausted and had no energy left to talk to them about their endless nonsense. She could only ignore them. However, a small number of them became more persistent despite her setbacks. She didn't say it, but she knew in her heart that they didn't necessarily like her that much; it was just a so-called desire to conquer and redeem her.
It seems that being able to win her over and make her let go of He Heng would be something that would satisfy her vanity.
"I've arrived." Wen Xue ignored him and looked at He Yan instead.
He Yan understood, "I'll watch you go in before you leave."
Wen Xue nodded, waved, and quickly stepped onto the dormitory stairs. The boy anxiously tried to catch up, but a force pulled him back, almost causing him to stumble. He turned around and said, "You—"
"Stop bothering her." He Yan said expressionlessly. "Did you hear me?"
…
Wen Xue didn't even turn her head as she entered the dormitory building. The hot pot meal had warmed her hands and feet, and although climbing the stairs was tiring, she wasn't as breathless as she had been at noon.
The three roommates chattered excitedly about how to spend their winter break.
As Wen Xue pushed open the door and entered, the conversation abruptly stopped. They both unconsciously suppressed their bright smiles, as if it had become an unspoken understanding.
"Huh?"
Ye Manni noticed something new and pointed to Wen Xue's scarf and gloves, "Newly bought? They're so pretty!"
The other two roommates also looked over and were very supportive, saying, "It looks so warm! Wen Xue has fair skin, so wearing white doesn't make her look dark at all. It's beautiful!"
Wen Xue took off her scarf and gloves and smiled.
It is difficult for people to control their emotions.
At least she hadn't learned this lesson yet, having just turned twenty. She knew her roommates were taking good care of her, and she wanted to be as active in those interesting topics as she was in her freshman year. She had tried, but each time she would get distracted, her mind wandering off somewhere else.
When they called her again, she realized she was spacing out.
She also felt that she was a terrible roommate and friend, but she couldn't do anything about it. She tried taking medication to concentrate and even pinching herself when others were talking. In the end, she was exhausted, and they were exhausted too.
Gradually, she developed very despicable thoughts.
She hoped they would give up on her and stop caring about her.
Her heart was blocked by a huge stone; she couldn't push it open from the inside. It was too much trouble for others to move it, and she didn't want to bother them.
"What does that person want with you?"
On the balcony, Ye Manni asked quietly as Wen Xue washed up.
Wen Xue was wiping her face when she said, "He introduced me to a part-time job."
"Huh?" Ye Manni asked in surprise, then with concern, "Are you short of money? Why didn't you tell us?"
"No." Wen Xue hung up the towel and smiled slightly. "He's short-staffed, and I happen to be free too."
"Okay, okay." Ye Manni thought for a moment, "Then let's keep in touch during winter break. Call me if you need anything!"
"good."
Wen Xue smelled of hot pot, so she took a hot shower, returned to her desk, opened a drawer, and took out a dark green notebook. It was of very good quality and thick, and it was paired with a fountain pen, a gift she received when she turned eighteen.
She had tucked the business card He Yan had given her inside.
She hadn't looked at it closely before; the thin business card had his name, company name, position, phone number, and address printed on it.
Xicheng is a very large city, and she hasn't been to many places. She only vaguely knows that this place is a corner of the old city, which should be a bit remote and close to the dock. She turned on her computer and tried to search for the company name. When she saw the registered capital, her eyes widened.
Does it really cost that much money?
She didn't quite understand these things, and thought to herself, "He's so amazing."
but……
The pressure must be immense, right?
She had heard He Heng say before that He Yan had a hard life. The compensation money for their parents was divided among their relatives. After all, it's a burden for any family to raise two more children. Their relatives weren't too bad; at least they saved their house and contributed some money for renovations, so that the two brothers wouldn't have nowhere to go home for the New Year.
He Yan started trying to earn money when he was around ten years old, from one or two yuan to tens of yuan, and then to hundreds of yuan. He never let He Heng suffer financial hardship at school.
Wenxue's thoughts drifted far away again.
She stared blankly for a moment, then came to her senses and put the business card back down.
-
at the same time.
He Yan started driving back to his residence. It wasn't close; it would take an hour or two to drive there. This car was a manual transmission one he had bought from someone a couple of years ago, and he wasn't used to driving anymore. The car slowly pulled out of the parking space and merged into the lane.
Even though the temperature was very low on winter nights, he still rolled down the car window and let the cold wind blow in.
Since his rebirth, his mind has never stopped. He has accomplished something, so he feels relaxed. After fiddling around for a while, he turned on the car radio and listened to the broadcasts intermittently.
At 10 p.m., the car stopped in front of a tenement building. This area consisted of small-scale housing, with about ten households living on each floor. The rooms were small, but it was close to his current company, a five-minute walk away, so life was quite convenient. He simply rented the empty rooms as dormitories.
He took the key and went upstairs. He stopped on the third floor, walked through two rooms, and paused in front of a door painted green and illuminated by a light. He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
The door opened quickly.
There were men and women, enough to make up a mahjong table.
"Brother Yan, what's wrong?" The speaker was a tall, thin man. The people in the room looked at him innocently when they heard the mahjong tiles being overturned.
Some of them had been working with him for years, while others, though they hadn't been there long, understood his personality. He Yan didn't like playing cards, and didn't have many hobbies. If he was in a good mood, he would pretend not to see it, but if he was in a bad mood, then they were all doomed, and he would give them all a thorough dressing-down.
"Take it easy, all of you," He Yan said, glancing at them. "Don't stay up all night."
"We'll call it a day after this round!" the short-haired woman said with a grin.
He Yan remained noncommittal, gesturing for the tall, thin man to come out.
The two stood on the balcony. He Yan pointed to the room furthest to the side and instructed, "Please find a cleaning lady tomorrow to clean that room and make it as clean and tidy as possible."
This house originally belonged to the pregnant employee.
A few months ago, the couple discussed it and gritted their teeth to make a down payment on a small two-bedroom apartment nearby, and immediately moved out of the dormitory.
Wang Yuan asked in surprise, "Who lives here?"
"Don't worry about who's staying there yet, just get it tidied up."
After giving his instructions, He Yan wanted to go back to his room to rest. He was tired. After taking a few steps, he remembered something and turned back, adding, "Buy some more heaters and hot water bottles to put in."
Wang Yuan: "?"
Bro, you're a tough guy who doesn't even wear long johns in the snow, yet you know about heaters?
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