Chapter 2: You're Not Going to Confess to Jiang Xin, Are You?!

He had definitely been reborn!

When he had just stepped backward onto Weng Jilin's foot, his good bro had let out a very real howl of pain. If it hurt, then this was reality!

Immediately after, Chen Ye cast his gaze toward the bag dangling from his right hand. He didn't even need to think to know what was inside: the graduation gift he had painstakingly picked out for Su Siyun. It had cost him nearly all of his remaining living expenses for June.

"Chen Ye, didn't Weng Jilin say you had something to tell me? If you're not going to say it, I'm leaving. Class Representative Yu Mengmeng and the others are still waiting for me to go to karaoke." Su Siyun tilted her head up, her pretty brows furrowing slightly as a hint of impatience colored her tone.

Su Siyun didn't even need to guess why Chen Ye had asked Weng Jilin to call her over. A few days before the college entrance exams, rumors had already begun circulating in their class that Chen Ye was going to confess to her at the graduation dinner. As the female lead of this little drama, she naturally knew all about it.

But would she accept? Of course not.

Even leaving aside Chen Ye's family background, Su Siyun simply didn't want to date this early. At the very least, before she had her fill of all the flattery and attention, she wasn't about to put her highly sought-after "golden egg" in one basket. That held true even though Chen Ye was quite good-looking and had excellent grades.

"Are you going to say it or not? If not, I'm really leaving!" Seeing Chen Ye still spacing out, Su Siyun urged him again.

Her relatively overbearing tone and impatient demeanor were, to some extent, a form of taming. She thoroughly enjoyed this feeling of looking down on others from a pedestal.

Hearing her words, Chen Ye couldn't help but tighten his grip on the gift bag's strings. Suppressing the overwhelming excitement of his rebirth, the nervous expression on his face suddenly relaxed. A second later, he broke into a wide grin, flashing a perfect set of eight white teeth.

"I just wanted to ask you, where did Jiang Xin go?"

"Jiang... Jiang Xin?" Su Siyun failed to process the question for a moment.

Wasn't Chen Ye here to confess to her? One look at his hand was enough to know he had even bought a gift! Weng Jilin's tone and demeanor when calling her over had practically screamed, *My bro is going to confess to you.* So why did the script suddenly flip when it came to Chen Ye?

Could it be that Chen Ye didn't know how to initiate the conversation, so he was using Jiang Xin as a transitional topic before smoothly segueing into his confession?

From middle school to high school, she had received countless love letters and confessions from boys. She was practically an expert when it came to these kinds of routines. Therefore, Su Siyun decided to take the initiative and help Chen Ye spit it out. Teasing this kind of easily flustered boy always brought her a sense of delight.

Glancing at Weng Jilin, who had already retreated into the distance, a confident smile blossomed on Su Siyun's radiant face. Clasping her hands behind her back, she leaned forward, bringing her face a bit closer to Chen Ye's.

It was a good thing Chen Ye was quite good-looking. While not breathtakingly handsome, his features were at least well-proportioned, clean, and refreshing, and he was fairly tall. Otherwise, she wouldn't have even entertained the thought of teasing him.

"Chen Ye, are you afraid that if Jiang Xin finds out about our relationship, she'll tell my dad and ruin your plans?" Su Siyun tilted her head up slightly, asking softly with a smile.

Though it was a simple sentence, it held a hidden depth. She and Chen Ye were nothing more than classmates, and she had no intention of accepting his confession. However, her deliberate use of the phrase "our relationship" was perfectly calculated to let an eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy's imagination run wild. In layman's terms, she was letting him do the romantic legwork himself.

Looking at his former wife standing before him—whose manipulative skills had yet to reach their peak and who was not yet married to him—Chen Ye calmly took a step back.

This woman's ability to string guys along was an innate talent. Otherwise, in his past life, he wouldn't have been led on by her for six or seven years, only managing to swoop in and fulfill his long-held wish when his future father-in-law ran into trouble. But with this rebirth, he had no desire to walk down that old path again. As for this woman, he would avoid her at all costs.

Even though he had only been reborn for barely two minutes, Chen Ye had already made up his mind: he was going to marry into money. When guys were young, they all clamored about how a real man would never be a kept man—that true capability was built on one's own hard work. It was only when a man reached his age that he realized how sweet it was to coast on a wealthy wife's fortune. In fact, it was so sweet that he wanted a second helping.

However, he absolutely would not live off Su Siyun's wealth.

This arrogant ex-wife of his had a step-sister. The girl was beautiful, kind-hearted, and had always been on good terms with him. Unfortunately, due to certain events in middle school, she had developed selective mutism and couldn't speak, which resulted in her never getting married. Later on, when her family's fortunes declined, the chances of anyone seeking her hand in marriage became virtually zero. She herself hadn't wanted to face the judgmental stares of others anyway.

Having been her classmate for nearly twenty years and her brother-in-law for three, he knew this all too well.

But to him, none of that was a problem! Selective mutism didn't mean she was mute; it just meant she didn't want to speak. All he had to do was make his future sister-in-law willing to open up to him. Along the way, he would pay closer attention to the bad investments that ruined his father-in-law in his previous life and prevent his bankruptcy. That way, not only could he still marry into wealth, but he could secure a far sweeter and more massive fortune than he ever had with his ex-wife.

He had thought this was nothing more than a middle-aged loser's dying fantasy, yet fate had laid this very opportunity right at his feet. This was his once-in-a-lifetime chance. Restoring the glory of kept men was his inescapable duty.

Looking at Su Siyun, whose expression had stiffened when he took a step back, Chen Ye kept the smile on his face and spoke with unfailing politeness. "I'm not too worried about that. I doubt your dad would think I'm trying to steal his precious daughter just because I gave her a gift."

He lifted the bag in his hand. "Besides, I just want to thank my sister-in-l... Jiang Xin. She helped me cram a lot of knowledge points before the college entrance exams."

Having nearly slipped up, Chen Ye quickly slowed down his speech. He was simply far too familiar with the girl standing in front of him, which occasionally caused his mind to play tricks on him. After all, Su Siyun had zero secrets from him.

Meeting Chen Ye's distant gaze and hearing his rather polite tone, Su Siyun froze.

Was he... really not here to confess to her? Had this entire situation been her own wishful thinking all along?

Impossible! She had seen exactly how Chen Ye had behaved over these past few years of high school, and the whole class knew it too. Even though his living expenses were somewhat tight, Chen Ye frequently brought her breakfast, milk tea, and snacks. He was just one sentence away from saying, "I like you."

Sure, in most cases, she would pay him back the equivalent amount in cash. But her paying him back didn't mean Chen Ye was allowed to stop giving her things. Su Siyun craved the feeling of being relentlessly pursued by the crowd—yet here Chen Ye was, playing this kind of joke on her!

He had called her over, making her think that this boy—who hadn't dared to speak his mind for three whole years—was finally ready to confess. Who would have thought the first words out of his mouth would be asking where Jiang Xin was?

Straightening her posture slightly, the smile remained on her face, glowing even more radiantly than before. Although she had just made a fool of herself, she absolutely could not lose face, nor could she lose her imposing aura. This was her lifelong principle. As long as she was proud enough, the only ones feeling inferior would be the people around her.

"Oh, so you were looking for Jiang Xin. She was actually just called away by someone," Su Siyun replied with a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Called away by who?" Chen Ye pressed.

"Tian Kun from the class next door."

"Where did they go?"

"How should I know? Probably hiding in some secluded corner to confess. After all, Jiang Xin isn't any less pretty than I am." Su Siyun's tone remained breezy, but behind her back, her two small hands were clenched into tight fists.

Of course, she had no idea why Jiang Xin had been called away. But to jab at Chen Ye for making a fool out of her just now, she fabricated a plausible reason on the spot. Other guys knew how to pull a girl aside and confess, but this idiot had chased her for three years and still hadn't said a single romantic word. It was absolutely infuriating!

"If you don't know, forget it. I'll ask someone else." Chen Ye nodded thoughtfully, then turned on his heel and walked away without so much as a backward glance.

He left Su Siyun standing completely alone by the roadside, staring blankly at his retreating figure.

You could never give a woman with such an arrogant disposition an inch. That was a lesson Chen Ye had slowly learned after his divorce.

Seeing Chen Ye leave, Yu Mengmeng—who had been waiting nearby to head to karaoke with Su Siyun—hurried over. Waving a hand in front of Su Siyun's dazed face, she asked, "What's wrong? If you don't like him, reject him; if you do, accept him. Why do you look like you've lost your soul?"

Snapping out of her trance, Su Siyun quickly tucked away her unnatural expression.

"So? How did Chen Ye confess?" Yu Mengmeng bumped Su Siyun with her shoulder, her face burning with gossip.

Chen Ye had liked Su Siyun for at least two and a half years. Everyone in the class knew it; even their homeroom teacher knew. But because Chen Ye's grades had always remained exceptionally stable, the teacher had never pulled him aside for a talk. Therefore, Yu Mengmeng wasn't the least bit surprised that Chen Ye was going to confess tonight.

Since it was incredibly rare to find someone as excellent as Chen Ye who was willing to persist for so long, she actually hoped her best friend would accept him. Even if they only dated for six months or a year before breaking up due to incompatibility, it would at least grant his wish.

To her utter surprise, Su Siyun shook her head slightly. Looking in the direction Chen Ye had disappeared with a gaze full of doubt—or perhaps curiosity—she said with an ugly expression, "He didn't confess to me."

***

"You didn't confess to her?!" Weng Jilin's eyes went wide as he stared at his best bro in disbelief.

His exclamation drew the attention of the other classmates standing by the restaurant entrance, who were busy discussing their next post-dinner activity. Several people couldn't help but look over. Hearing the word "confess" and seeing Chen Ye holding a gift bag, they instantly figured out what had happened.

Chen Ye had definitely confessed to Su Siyun!

A boy who was on fairly good terms with Chen Ye immediately mouthed and gestured with a laugh, "How did it go?"

Chen Ye returned the smile before turning back to Weng Jilin.

"Why are you looking at me? Did you get rejected, or did you just not do it?!" Weng Jilin looked Chen Ye up and down before asking with a bizarre expression, "Don't tell me you chickened out. I already helped you call her over—you can't let your bro down like this!"

"Then why didn't you confess to Yu Mengmeng?" Chen Ye suddenly shot back.

Weng Jilin's expression instantly stiffened. "Is that the same thing?"

Chen Ye chuckled and patted his shoulder. "As your bro, my advice is to go after the girl you like as early as possible. Don't come crying to me when she already has a boyfriend."

Without waiting for Weng Jilin to retort, he immediately asked, "Do you know where Jiang Xin is? I just asked around, and she got called away by Tian Kun."

"Jiang Xin? Isn't that her over there?" Weng Jilin pointed in a certain direction.

Chen Ye's gaze drifted over.

There stood a splash of pale yellow. The young girl in the long dress was gripping a small notebook that hung against her chest with both hands, standing nervously next to a large tree. The dim yellow light of the streetlamp spilled over her through the gaps in the leaves overhead. Her dress was made of soft cotton, devoid of overly complex decorations. Only the hemline and cuffs were embroidered with a ring of delicate little flowers—pale yellow Banksia roses.

The girl's brows were slightly furrowed and her lips tightly pursed, evidently feeling wary and uncomfortable toward the person in front of her. The person blocked by the thick tree trunk had to be the Tian Kun that Su Siyun had mentioned.

Catching the intensely nostalgic yet aggressive look in Chen Ye's eyes, a sudden realization flashed through Weng Jilin's mind. He blurted out, "Don't tell me you're going to confess to Jiang Xin?!"