Chapter 3: Rats Should Just Stay in the Sewer!

"You're overthinking it. I haven't reached the point of confessing my feelings to her yet."

Chen Ye shook his head as he walked toward Jiang Xin's location.

Weng Jilin quickly caught up with him.

"You haven't reached that point *yet*? Doesn't that mean you're going to confess eventually?!"

"Good reading comprehension. What's your usual score in language class?" Chen Ye turned his head and asked with a smile.

"Uh... can we not talk about grades? I definitely can't compare to you," Weng Jilin said, his expression stiffening again.

His family was in the real estate business. Their financial situation was top-tier in the class, so he had never put too much effort into his studies.

But even so, as a member of the honors class at Luzhou Sixth Middle School, it wouldn't be difficult for him to get into a decent first-tier university.

Just as those words faded, Chen Ye came to a halt.

He heard Tian Kun speaking from behind a tree trunk.

"Jiang Xin, I'm not just comforting you. I really like you. Even if you're a mut... even if you can't speak, I don't care! In fact, I think it's something to be praised, not a flaw!"

His harsh, raspy voice grated on the ears, making Chen Ye frown.

Having memories of his past life, he naturally knew what a disgusting piece of trash Tian Kun was.

Jiang Xin seemed frightened by Tian Kun's words. She couldn't help but clench her hands protectively in front of her chest and take a slight step back.

A trace of loneliness and panic flashed across her face, accompanied by an imperceptible hint of disgust deep in her eyes.

Her inability to speak was the root of her deep-seated insecurity and sensitivity. She never wanted to hear anyone bring it up, let alone spout nonsense about "not caring" or "liking her anyway."

She only felt insulted.

But Tian Kun wasn't willing to give up. He lowered his voice and continued, "Jiang Xin, this little issue isn't a problem for me at all. I like you for who you are, for everything about you. You know that I'm probably the only person in this world who would like a mute girl. If you agree, just nod and accept this gift, okay?"

Hearing this, the disgust in Jiang Xin's eyes grew stronger. Her slender brows knitted tightly together, and she lowered her head even further.

If she could speak, she really would have cursed him out.

Tian Kun's words made her physically uncomfortable. They didn't sound like something a person who genuinely liked her would say. Instead, it felt more like... he simply liked the fact that she was defective.

At that thought, she involuntarily took another step back. Her grip on her notepad tightened until her fingernails dug into her palms, causing a sharp sting.

However, with this step back, Chen Ye—who had also been obscured by the tree trunk—came into her line of sight.

Jiang Xin noticed him and immediately looked his way.

The young girl's collarbones were delicate and alluring, and from the side, her budding figure was already quite well-developed. Chen Ye habitually cast a brief glance before immediately averting his eyes, shifting his gaze to Tian Kun, who had just been revealed from behind the tree.

Following Jiang Xin's line of sight, Tian Kun stepped out from behind the tree. He scanned Chen Ye from head to toe before asking with a hostile expression, "Aren't you that Chen-something guy? What are you doing here?"

He wasn't familiar with Chen Ye. He only knew there was an orphan with the last name Chen in the next class who had decent grades, and that was it.

Under normal circumstances, he might have been polite out of pity.

But right now, this guy was ruining his moment, so naturally, his expression was unfriendly.

Chen Ye didn't answer him directly. Instead, he held out a bag toward Jiang Xin.

"Hold this for me."

A trace of confusion flashed across Jiang Xin's small face. She glanced at Weng Jilin standing behind Chen Ye, seemingly wondering why he didn't ask Weng Jilin to hold it.

But she had never been good at rejecting people. Even with Tian Kun shamelessly confessing to her and making her sick to her stomach, she hadn't known how to refuse him.

Pursing her lips, Jiang Xin reached out and took the bag.

Seeing this, Tian Kun's face immediately twisted in annoyance.

He had been standing here for minutes, spitting out all kinds of cheesy lines he'd learned online, and Jiang Xin hadn't shown the slightest intention of accepting his gift. Yet, Chen Ye merely walked over, said a single sentence, and Jiang Xin took his bag without so much as a shake of her head.

Did that make any sense at all?

But before he could say a word, Chen Ye stepped up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Because Chen Ye was six or seven centimeters taller and a kid who had grown up doing farm work, a puffy, out-of-shape city boy like Tian Kun, who spent his days fooling around, was completely unable to resist. He was quickly dragged to the side.

"What the fuck are you doing? Do I even know you?!" Tian Kun finally reacted, struggling to pull Chen Ye's hand away.

But the very next second, Chen Ye's words sent a chill down his spine.

"What? Do you want all the students and teachers to know about your disability fetish?" Chen Ye's tone was flat, but Tian Kun could hear the underlying anger and disgust.

His heart skipped a beat, and his expression drastically changed. He was shocked at how Chen Ye could possibly know his secret.

However, he could only bite the bullet and whisper his denial. "What disability fetish? What does that even mean?"

"I don't need to explain what it means. You know better than I do. Jiang Xin's condition is just an illness, not a deformity. Even if you're into that, you've got the wrong person." Chen Ye paused, then chuckled. "If you really aren't willing to give up, I don't mind having a chat with your dad right now. A veteran police officer having a son with this kind of fetish... when word gets out, you'll be facing a lot more than just public humiliation."

"Putting aside the fact that you're spreading rumors about me, even if it were true, what does it have to do with you?!" Tian Kun immediately cut Chen Ye off, his face still looking incredibly displeased.

Chen Ye sneered, tightening his grip on Tian Kun's arm.

"If you were just quietly hiding in your sewer, no one would care to bother with you. But you're affecting me. You disgust me, so is there a problem if I give you a kick?"

Affecting me?

Tian Kun froze for a moment. Then, as if realizing something, he hurriedly looked back at the pale yellow figure still standing by the tree trunk.

So this Chen guy also liked Jiang Xin!

He had always heard that Chen Ye liked Su Siyun, but to think his true target wasn't the older sister, but the younger sister-in-law!

Regardless of where Chen Ye had learned his secret, he figured he wouldn't be able to continue his confession today.

If the conflict escalated and Chen Ye exposed his secret, no amount of explaining would save him.

At this thought, he forcefully shoved Chen Ye's arm away. Glaring hostilely at Chen Ye, he whispered a threat, "I can't be bothered to argue with you. But if I find out you're spreading rumors about me, my dad won't let you off easily. Do you have any idea what his position is at the station?!"

With a cold snort, he cast one last lingering, reluctant look at Jiang Xin, who was watching them from a distance with a worried expression.

A mute girl this pretty wasn't easy to find.

Besides, just being mute wasn't enough. Once he managed to woo Jiang Xin and make her his, he would have to find a way to make her deaf, or even blind. Only then would she be truly perfect!

Thinking about the photos and touching stories shared by the people on those forums, and then looking at Jiang Xin's beautiful face, he nearly got hard right on the spot.

Chen Ye narrowed his eyes at him, feeling a wave of nausea.

In his past life, Chen Ye had only learned of this news later from a class group chat. It was said that Tian Kun from the class next door had such a severe disability fetish that he went to hospitals to molest disabled patients. It had even escalated to the point where he intentionally orchestrated an accident to cripple a beautiful woman, just so he could assault her under the guise of taking care of her.

When the incident was exposed, it not only made the local news, but it was actually Tian Kun's own father who sent him to prison.

He was sentenced to a solid five years.

Thinking about it now, the old rumors about Tian Kun repeatedly harassing Jiang Xin during the three-month summer vacation must have been true.

Even if Chen Ye didn't have feelings for Jiang Xin, he couldn't possibly let such a disgusting piece of trash parade around in front of him.

Not to mention, he genuinely did have a certain amount of fondness for this kind and lovely younger sister-in-law of his.

Tian Kun withdrew his gaze, turned back to give Chen Ye one last deep look, and then turned on his heel and walked away.