The day after the housewarming, Han Chu left San Lin City. Originally, he had planned to stay for a few days, but during the dinner, he received a phone call. Following which, he changed his plane ticket to an early morning flight that day itself. He dragged Yao Zhixing with him, bringing him home to pack before sending him to the airport.
After Han Chu, Fang Mo, and Yao Zhixing left, it was time for Lawyer Lin's group to leave. When Ye Shuang walked them to the door, she saw her own little brother standing outside the door with his backpack, looking like he planned to knock on the door. Pairs of eyes looked at each other; Lawyer Lin's group didn't know Little Brother Ye, and Little Brother Ye was not expecting to see so many people stream out of his sister's home.
Both parties stood at the door for a long time, and it was Ye Shuang who first recovered. "You've escaped from the dormitory again‽"
It was not the weekend, so from the looks of things, Little Brother Ye did not even return to his dormitory but headed for Ye Shuang's place directly.
Before Ye Shuang could stop him, Little Brother Ye slipped into the room and warned, "The school is already locked. If you chase me out, I'll tell mom and dad that you made me sleep on the street."
Ye Shuang smiled embarrassingly at Lawyer Lin and the rest. "This is my little brother, Ye Feng. I am so sorry you had to see that."
She turned back to Little Brother Ye with a serious, mother-like expression. "Come and say hi to the big brothers and sisters!"
Little Brother Ye knew how to act before strangers. He greeted Lawyer Lin's group politely and even managed to earn a box of homemade cookies from Miss Chef. When Ye Shuang was sending her guests off, he snuck into the living room, opened up his suitcase, and marked his territory.
Ye Shuang waved at him from inside the kitchen with soapy hands. "Your timing is perfect. Come help me do the dishes."
"…" Little Brother Ye felt like escaping into the bedroom.
It was a large party with many dishes served, so naturally, there were many pots, plates, and pans to be cleaned. The Ye family siblings were pampered by Mother Ye, so they took more than half an hour before all the dishes were done. Then, they collapsed onto the sofa together, and Ye Shuang finally had the time to interrogate Little Brother Ye.
"So. Tell me, why did you come to me so late at night?" Ye Shuang gave Little Brother Ye a side-eye. She knew something must have happened, so she asked the question directly. It was normal for university students to disappear from their dormitory rooms, like going out for karaoke. Some students were from the same city, so they returned home to spend the night. This was all totally common. However, sneaking out at a time like this and not because he had a date with his gang of friends, now that was weird.
Little Brother Ye hugged his face and lamented. "This is all the fault of my overly perfect good looks…"
Ye Shuang raised the cushion threatening, and Little Brother Ye grumbled, "Every time it goes back to violence. I hate it so much!"
You're just that little bit stronger and little bit faster! Humph!
After some back and forth, Little Brother Ye finally revealed the truth, and it was all thanks to that little girl Ye Shuang saved half a month ago. After Wang San escaped from the wolves, she followed her sister's order and distanced herself from her two 'good friends' at school the next day.
However, due to her weak disposition, she did not dare break off the relationship completely. She needed someone to depend on, and she was reminded of the group of male schoolmates who aided her when she most needed it. Since Little Brother Ye looked to be the closest to her savior, Ye Shuang, he became the new spiritual support for Wang San whether he liked it or not.
Of course, things were not as harrowing as described, but the meaning was clear enough. With the cry for help from Wang San, the group of guys who knew about the secrets volunteered to help segregate the two girls from Wang San. They did things like rushing her away when the two girls came to ask her out to go shopping or came to ask her out for dinner. After this happened more than a few times, even though the girls did not feel that good about it, they were afraid that the boys might expose what they did at the hotel. Even though it would also ruin Wang San's name, if they pushed it too far, it might be Wang San herself who exposed everything.
Therefore, the fake friendship had no reason to be continued. That combined with the pressure from Eva at the company as well as the boss' dwindling interest in Wang San after a few days, the two girls finally stopped harassing Wang San.
Just as everyone thought the case was closed, another rumor started its circulation. Since the two girls had left, Little Brother Ye's group stopped approaching Wang San, but the latter still came to Little Brother Ye's dormitory room every so often to send fruits and gifts. Finally, one of the guys approached Little Brother Ye to ask, "Did you break up with Wang San‽"
F*ck, when have I ever in a relationship with her‽
Little Brother Ye's first reaction was shock. After all, he had been pursuing another girl from his class. Even though he did not state his intention openly, people with eyes knew what was going on. He was waiting for that last step, for the girl to nod. Thinking back, no wonder the girl had been turning her face away from him recently. Before this, she would agree shyly to his invitations out to dinner, but now, she ignored him fully, and their last phone conversation was so long ago because most of Little Brother Ye's recent time had been dominated by Wang San.
"Even so, you did not have to escape alone so late at night." Ye Shuang berated Little Brother Ye, but she could not help but gossip a little. "Then again, the whole group of your friends is close to Wang San, why are only you misunderstood? There has to be something else that you have done."
"What I have done is to have f*cking bad fortune," Little Brother Ye cried. "We always used paper-scissors-rock to decide who would go pick Wang San up. No one likes to leave the comfort of the dormitory, and that is how we usually decide who is going to go purchase lunch. For that period of time, for some reason, out of ten games, I lost eight, so you can guess what happened…."
Then came the real reason he escaped to Ye Shuang's place that night. It was unclear whether Wang San was influenced by the rumors or was indeed interested in Little Brother Ye, but it was her birthday that night, and she only invited Little Brother Ye, skipping the rest of the boys. The rest of the guest list consisted of the girls from her class.
If Little Brother Ye accepted this invitation, this would have been a silent admission of their relationship, and the scariest part was one of Wang San's good friends was the girl Little Brother Ye was really interested in. When Little Brother Ye got the insider news, he almost peed his pants from fear. Before Wang San's troop arrived at the boys' dormitory, he snuck out of the backdoor. Going back home would have been too shameful, so Ye Shuang's place was the most convenient. Also, he planned to stay there for a while… at least until this rumor had boiled down.
Ye Shuang laughed until she had trouble breathing. "Such a stupid boy. When you found out something was wrong, you should have told Wang San that you like her friend and asked her to be your matchmaker."
One stone killed two birds. Why should he run‽ The moment he did, he exposed himself for criticism. People would suspect that he had done something bad, and as rumors continued to circulate, no matter how Little Brother Ye denied it in the future, the label 'heartbreaker' could not be shaken off him that easily.
"I'm afraid that she is really interested in me, and I will make her cry on her birthday." Little Brother bit on his fingers and said embarrassedly, "But the biggest problem is that Wang San is close to our Qi Qi. Earlier, Qi Qi knew I'm interested in her, but then this Wang San thing happened. If I now continue to pursue Qi Qi, will they think I'm toying with their feelings‽"
"Well, don't say I didn't warn you." Ye Shuang shrugged. "I'm not getting involved in relationships between little boy and girls, but certain things have to be said to prevent misunderstandings. If nothing works, just go with the flow. After all, a university romance will last for one or two months at most; you'll be free after that."
Just as Little Brother Ye was wrapped in the conflict, his phone that was left in the room rang. The boy jumped up like a spooked rabbit and soon came out with the phone, yelling like the world was going to end, "Sis, what should I do‽ It's Wang San!"
"You're asking for me to answer it‽" Ye Shuang knew that she would need to fix this mess whether she liked it or not. Little Brother Ye was waiting for Ye Shuang to say that. He tossed the phone into her arms. Ye Shuang rolled her eyes, and Wang San's voice came from the other side.
"Ye Feng, why aren't you here yet?"
Ye Shuang coughed. "I'm sorry, I'm Ye Feng's sister. He's currently in the shower, how can I help you?"
Wang San probably did not expect Little Brother Ye's sister to answer the phone. She stammered for a while before explaining shyly, "Sister Ye, I'm… Ye Feng's schoolmate. I've invited Ye Feng to my birthday party tonight, but he has not shown up."
"Oh, about that, there's a family emergency, so he probably won't be able to make it tonight." After all, no one was going to come to her house to check whether she was lying or not. "Is there anything else?"
Wang San quickly said, "Nothing else."
She turned around to whisper to people around her. Wang San soon started speaking again in an embarrassed tone. "Actually, it is my sister who wants to ask Ye Feng some questions, but if he is not available, then it's alright."
Your sister is looking for Ye Feng‽
After hanging up the phone, Little Brother Ye sighed in relief and returned to the room while Ye Shuang scratched her chin to think.
Eva, Wang San, Ye Feng. What is the relationship between these three‽ There does not seem to be any; the only time they interacted was when Wang San was rescued.
But wait, didn't I appear in my male form that night‽