Chapter 11: Su Siyun: "Chen Ye, Wait a Minute!

"Dad, you go park the car first. I'll head up by myself."

Su Siyun stood right outside the passenger window as soon as she got out of the car, blocking Su Hongshan's line of sight. She had spotted Jiang Xin standing downstairs, along with the silhouette of the person whose back had been lingering in her mind not long ago. Regardless of why Chen Ye had come to their apartment building or why Jiang Xin had come down to meet him, her instinct told her that she couldn't let her dad see them.

Unfortunately, Su Hongshan had already seen Jiang Xin before he parked. He unbuckled his seatbelt, stepped out of the car without even closing the door, and walked straight toward Chen Ye.

"Dad!"

Fearing her father would give Chen Ye trouble, Su Siyun reached out to pull him back, but Su Hongshan gave her no chance at all. Soon, he stood in front of Jiang Xin and Chen Ye.

"Jiang Xin, why are you down here?" He greeted his daughter first, then, without waiting for an answer, turned to look directly at Chen Ye.

He thought the boy was quite tall and actually looked like a good student with decent grades. Since he had seen the bag in Jiang Xin's hands while walking over, he knew the boy in front of him was the "classmate with very good grades" Jiang Xin had mentioned. He wondered what the boy was doing here and why he had called his daughter downstairs. Nothing like this had ever happened in her three years of high school! Besides, their residential complex required a keycard for entry. How had this young man gotten in?

But before he could ask, Chen Ye spoke up first.

"Hello, Mr. Su," Chen Ye said. "I'm a classmate of Jiang Xin and Su Siyun. My last name is Chen. I accidentally left something with Jiang Xin, so I came specifically to pick it up. It didn't seem appropriate for me to go upstairs, so I had no choice but to ask Jiang Xin to come down." Wearing the innocent smile of a teenage boy, he politely explained the situation to the man who had been his unwitting father-in-law in his previous life. "I told the security guard that I live here and forgot my keycard, which is why he let me in."

These words preemptively answered all of Su Hongshan's questions, leaving him standing there momentarily unsure of how to respond. After a good while, he forced a slight smile. "Then, would Chen like to come upstairs and sit for a bit?"

As soon as he said this, Jiang Xin became anxious before Chen Ye could even reply. She quickly wrote in her notebook: [There won't be any buses left if he waits much longer. He still has to go back to where he lives.]

"That's true." Seeing this line of text, Su Hongshan nodded in gratification. It seemed his daughter really did only see this young man as a classmate. After all, the item resembling a love letter that he had "accidentally" seen was already clutched in Chen's hand.

The smile on his face became more genuine. He turned to Jiang Xin and said, "Then Dad is going to park the car in the garage. Don't stay down here too long with Siyun."

Jiang Xin nodded obediently.

Su Hongshan looked at Chen Ye again and said politely, "Since you have your things, you should head home early. It's not safe outside late at night, and your parents will probably worry."

With that, he returned to his car without looking back, stepped on the gas pedal, and drove toward the underground garage.

Hearing his final sentence, the remaining three people froze in place, forming a narrow acute triangle. Jiang Xin and Su Siyun both knew about Chen Ye's background, but their dad did not, which was why he had uttered those two taboo words. A trace of sympathy flashed in Jiang Xin's eyes, and her face instantly filled with guilt as she prepared to apologize to Chen Ye. However, writing was never as fast as speaking. Before she could finish writing, Su Siyun spoke up.

"Chen Ye."

A voice as crisp as a silver bell rang out. Chen Ye turned his head and found Su Siyun staring at him with a serious expression. Yet, when Chen Ye looked over, she couldn't help but avert her gaze slightly. Whether it was because her father had just misspoken or because of her own earlier behavior at the karaoke place, she currently had no desire to meet Chen Ye's eyes.

"M-My dad doesn't know about your situation, so he might not have been very careful with his words. But he absolutely meant no harm. He was just showing con—"

"Alright, there's no need to explain. I know." Chen Ye raised his hand and cut her off before she could finish.

A hint of astonishment flashed across Su Siyun's face, and she wanted to say something else. At this moment, Jiang Xin had also finished writing what she wanted to say. She hastily showed the contents of her notebook to Chen Ye, and he naturally glanced over.

[I'm sorry. I apologize on my dad's behalf. He didn't mean anything by it.]

Perhaps feeling that simple text wasn't sincere enough, she also raised a small hand to her forehead in a salute. Then, she clenched her hand into a fist, extended only her pinky finger, and tapped it against her own chest.

"Sorry."

Jiang Xin's brows were slightly furrowed, her lips pressed tightly together. When she finally tapped her chest, she even pouted slightly. Her expression was full of apology, yet she looked incredibly cute.

"There's no need to say sorry." Chen Ye smiled nonchalantly. "Your dad was probably just afraid of me spending too much time with you, so you should hurry upstairs."

Hearing this, Jiang Xin felt an even sharper pang in her heart. She bit her lower lip gently to keep her eyes from turning red. She figured the smile on Chen Ye's face right now was merely a disguise. It wasn't as if no one in their class had ever made similar slips of the tongue before, and it wasn't as if she hadn't secretly observed Chen Ye's reactions. Behind the smiling face he presented at those moments lay a suppressed gloom that would last for the next class period, or even half a day.

Jiang Xin understood that feeling. She could even sense that Chen Ye's heartache was far greater than hers. Her parents had only divorced, and aside from being mute, her current life was quite happy. But Chen Ye...

However, Jiang Xin didn't know what she ought to say. She didn't know how to comfort others.

"I'll be going now, unless you have something else to say?" Chen Ye asked with a smile.

Jiang Xin snapped back to reality, realizing that this wasn't the time to wallow in sentimental pity. If she really wanted to apologize, there would be plenty of opportunities later. She offered the bag in her hand to Chen Ye again, pointing at the bag, and then pointing at him.

Chen Ye couldn't help but chuckle. "Didn't I say this was a thank-you gift? This is what I came to get." He flashed the envelope in his hand.

It was highly probable that Jiang Xin hadn't read the contents of this letter. Otherwise, she wouldn't be reacting like this; instead, she would have completely shut him out, dropped the gift on the ground, and walked away. He felt relieved, thinking that if she had seen it, his chances of leeching off her in the future would be completely gone.

"Go on upstairs, otherwise your dad will start worrying again. I need to get back and sleep, too." Chen Ye gestured toward the residential lobby, signaling that Jiang Xin should head back inside.

Jiang Xin stared at the bag in her hands with a conflicted expression, unsure if she should forcefully shove it back into Chen Ye's grasp. But if she did that... combined with her dad's slip of the tongue just now, it would probably really leave Chen Ye heartbroken for the rest of the night. Unable to bear the thought, the young girl decided to keep the gift for now and find another opportunity to return it later. She nodded and quickly scribbled down a few words.

[Be careful on your way back.]

Chen Ye smiled faintly and nodded back.

Jiang Xin gave Chen Ye another apologetic look, then turned to leave. But just as she lifted her foot, Chen Ye called out to stop her.

"By the way, I might need to borrow your computer for a while coming up. I wonder if you could... Well, you know, my family's financial situation means I can't afford one," Chen Ye asked softly, trying to sound as if he were putting on a brave face.

Jiang Xin's brain short-circuited for a second. The next moment, she recalled what Chen Ye had told her outside the restaurant after helping her chase Tian Kun away. At that time, he had mentioned that he might need to use a computer, and she had nodded. But... Jiang Xin fell into hesitation.

If he were to borrow her computer, Chen Ye would have to come to her home, and even enter her bedroom. To her, this was nothing short of a massive challenge. Aside from her two fathers and Su Siyun's pint-sized younger male cousin, no male had ever stepped foot inside her room. Even Su Hongshan, who had been married to her mother for five or six years, had only entered her room four or five times, and that was only after the two of them had truly gotten to know each other well. And now, was Chen Ye also going to...

Jiang Xin's first instinct was to refuse, but when she thought about the hurt she and her father had just caused Chen Ye, and upon seeing his sincere—even slightly pleading—gaze, her heart softened.

Biting her lip, Jiang Xin ultimately nodded.

Chen Ye breathed a quiet sigh of relief internally and whispered, "Thank you."

Jiang Xin didn't dare to meet his eyes again. Pressing a hand against her somewhat warm cheek, she carried the gift bag and turned to head back into the building. Watching her enter the residential lobby and disappear around the corner toward the elevators, Chen Ye also turned to leave.

But in the next second, the other young girl, who had been watching the two of them in silence from the sidelines this whole time, spoke up once more.

"Chen Ye, wait a minute!"