Chapter 12: That Letter Was a Love Letter!

"Chen Ye, wait!" Su Siyun called out hastily.

Hearing her voice, Chen Ye turned around with a puzzled expression. "Is there something you need?" he asked in a flat tone.

That distant, completely emotionless tone made Su Siyun's heart skip a beat. Chen Ye had never spoken to her like this before. He used to hardly even dare to look her in the eye. She wondered why he was acting like this now, as if he were facing a complete stranger.

However, Chen Ye had no idea that his young ex-wife was overthinking things to this extent. He simply felt they were far too familiar with each other. He had pursued her for nearly a decade and, after marrying, shared a bed with her for three or four years. Even when they eventually divorced, it was only because they couldn't stand each other's personalities anymore, not because of any disgusting betrayals. He knew exactly what kind of sweet nothings Su Siyun liked to hear, and even what positions she preferred in bed.

When facing someone like that, his tone wasn't intentionally devoid of emotion; it was just that they were so familiar that he couldn't muster any special feelings. After all, who spoke with overflowing emotion when casually chatting with family members at home? Besides, he had no intention of getting involved with Su Siyun in this life. A woman like her didn't suit him. She just needed to quietly stay in her lane as Jiang Xin's older sister.

Su Siyun, however, was unaware of all this. She just felt that Chen Ye was treating her this way on purpose. She had just gone to a karaoke lounge with several girls from their class. In the past, she definitely would have been the center of attention, but today, she only casually sang a song or two before turning off her microphone. As she sat among the crowd listening to the others sing, her mind was occupied with thoughts of why Chen Ye's personality had suddenly undergone such a drastic change. She had even ignored the class monitor, who had been pursuing her and had followed them to the karaoke lounge tonight to confess his feelings. Instead, she had directly called her father to take her home. She just wasn't in the mood to stay any longer.

A desperate simp turning into a sigma male would leave anyone surprised, confused, or at least intensely curious. If Chen Ye had simply given up, she wouldn't have cared so much. After all, he wouldn't be the first guy who ran out of steam midway through pursuing her and never contacted her again. But Chen Ye had actually turned around and started pursuing Jiang Xin! That was her younger sister, even if they weren't related by blood.

What she couldn't understand the most, however, was that Jiang Xin didn't seem too resistant to the idea. Others might not know, but she had lived with Jiang Xin for five or six years. From strangers to acquaintances, and then to truly understanding each other, no one understood that sensitive, occasionally self-deprecating girl better than a peer like her. A girl like Jiang Xin rarely accepted the goodwill or pursuit of others. Likewise, no one ever pursued her. Chen Ye and Jiang Xin were completely incompatible!

Therefore, in Su Siyun's eyes, Chen Ye was simply playing hard to get. That gift was supposed to be for her.

Looking at the envelope clutched in his hand, Su Siyun was convinced it was a love letter written for her. Otherwise, why would he come all the way over late at night just to retrieve this one envelope? It was obviously because he couldn't let Jiang Xin see her name written inside! If Jiang Xin saw it, not only would his plan fail, but she would also find his actions utterly disgusting. He would lose both of them and end up with nothing.

At this thought, Su Siyun felt much better, and a confident smile returned to her face. People had tried playing hard to get with her before, but no one had ever succeeded because she simply didn't care. As long as she didn't care, she was naturally invincible. However, Chen Ye's actions had completely defied her expectations. If she didn't figure out what was going on, she wouldn't be able to sleep! Furthermore, she couldn't allow a man with such a manipulative mindset to get close to Jiang Xin.

So, Su Siyun stretched out her long legs, walking up to Chen Ye with the bright red hem of her dress swaying against her fair calves. She had inherited her mother's height; she was already nearly 1.7 meters tall, which was considered quite statuesque for a southern city.

Watching his ex-wife getting closer, Chen Ye couldn't help but slowly frown. He wondered, "What kind of stunt is she trying to pull now?"

Su Siyun stopped about half a meter away from him. The early summer night breeze gently blew past, carrying the familiar, faint fragrance from the young woman's body. It was the scent of gardenias. Su Siyun loved this fragrance the most. Every year, at the turn of spring and summer, she would buy a few flowers and place them in a perfume bottle on the windowsill at home.

"What do you want?" Chen Ye looked down at that already stunningly beautiful and enchanting face, asking with a hint of wariness.

Su Siyun tilted her head and pursed her lips. Then, she smiled faintly and asked softly in return, "I have a computer in my room too, and I'm rarely at home anyway. Why didn't you ask to borrow mine?"

This was the expression and tone she usually used on boys. It was a tried-and-true method that no one could resist. She had no desire to date, but she enjoyed watching boys look flustered yet eager to keep pursuing her. Usually, they would give up after a couple of attempts—except for Chen Ye, who had persisted for two and a half years. When she was in a good mood, she would tease Chen Ye. After all, they were in the same class. Every time she did, Chen Ye would get shy, his wheat-colored face turning beet red in no time. Yet, he had never given up.

Right now, Su Siyun wanted to repeat her old trick to see if Chen Ye was truly playing hard to get, and to find out if he had only given the gift to Jiang Xin out of spite. But to her complete surprise, Chen Ye simply turned his head and walked away.

Su Siyun froze for a moment. The very next second, she chased after him and grabbed the back of his shirt.

"How can you be so rude? I already apologized to you on my dad's behalf, and Jiang Xin apologized too. Why are you still giving me attitude?" she questioned indignantly in a low voice.

Chen Ye closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh. He then turned around, gripped her wrist, and gave it a forceful tug outward. Su Siyun's hand was yanked away.

"Su, getting handsy in public isn't a good look," Chen Ye said, letting go of her and preparing to leave.

However, he never expected that in the split second he turned around, Su Siyun would reach out and snatch the envelope right out of his hand. Chen Ye quickly reacted, but by the time he spun back around, she had already dashed several meters away.

"What are you doing! Who taught you to snatch things from people!" Chen Ye was startled and immediately shouted sternly.

But Su Siyun's stubbornness and refusal to admit defeat exceeded what he remembered. Her spoiled, unreasonable temperament was even more pronounced now than it had been after her family's downfall in his past life. By the time he caught up to her, she had already torn open the envelope. However, before she could read more than a few words, Chen Ye snatched the letter right back out of her hands.

"AH!" Startled, she quickly yanked her hands back and grabbed her ears.

Before she could even ask Chen Ye why he was being so rough, his cold, slightly furious warning reached her ears.

"Don't think that just because I used to like you, you can act so fearlessly and do whatever you want now. A person's patience is limited. Aside from those desperate simps, no one actually cares about you, and absolutely no one is willing to put up with your spoiled princess tantrums."

With that said, Chen Ye crumpled the piece of paper into a ball in his palm and walked away from the entrance lobby without looking back.

Su Siyun was deeply shaken by his words and tone. She stood there clutching her ears for a good ten seconds before she finally snapped out of it. She used to pull stunts like this all the time, but no one had ever lost their temper with her; in fact, everyone was always eager to smile at her. Other than her father, this was the first time a male had ever spoken to her in such a tone. Aside from the sheer shock, the overwhelming emotion swelling in Su Siyun's chest was actually indignation.

"Jerk! That confession letter clearly... What gives him the right to yell at me?!" Turning to glare in the direction where Chen Ye had disappeared under the streetlights, she stamped her foot in anger.

That... That confession letter was clearly written to her! In her frantic rush just moments ago, she had only managed to read the first line and the last line on the back of the page.

The first line read: "I like you."

The last line read: "Su Siyun."