After school.
Chu Yanyan hummed an off-key tune, her backpack strap hanging off one shoulder, skipping happily out of the school gate.
So happy, so happy.
She got to hold Bai Zhiyuan’s hand today.
She couldn’t help glancing down at her palm again, as if that bit of warmth still lingered there.
Bai Xu and Yun Xi walked behind them.
Out of reflex, he quickened his pace, lips parting slightly—the words ”Yanyan, what do you want for dinner” already on the tip of his tongue.
Then he suddenly stopped.
Chu Yanyan didn’t live with him anymore.
Her luggage had all been moved to Bai Zhiyuan’s estate, so of course she’d be having dinner there too.
She no longer needed him to worry about what she ate for dinner, no longer needed him to take her out for good food on weekends.
No longer needed him to listen every night as she chattered on about all the trivial little things at school.
He was completely free now.
Bai Xu watched the skipping figure ahead of him, opened the rear door of a black sedan, and bent down to get inside.
The sound of the car door closing was muffled.
His footsteps slowed.
Yun Xi noticed he was lost in thought and tilted her head. “What’s wrong?”
Bai Xu snapped back to his senses, the corner of his mouth curving slightly.
“Nothing. What do you feel like eating? Let’s go to a restaurant.”
Yun Xi nodded, her voice soft and gentle. “I know a good Japanese place. We could try it.”
“Sure, let’s go there.”
The two of them turned and walked off in the opposite direction.
Inside the black sedan.
Chu Yanyan opened the rear door and climbed in.
There was a faint scent of pine in the car, the same as the scent Bai Zhiyuan carried.
Bai Zhiyuan sat beside her, a stack of documents spread across his lap, reading them carefully.
His head was slightly lowered, his lashes casting a faint shadow beneath his eyes, the lines of his profile cold and focused.
Chu Yanyan couldn’t help leaning over, tilting her head toward him, trying to sneak a peek at what was written on those papers.
“What are you looking at?”
His expression unchanged, his slender fingers turned a page, his tone indifferent. “Your report card.”
Chu Yanyan blinked, not yet realizing the gravity of the situation.
“You failed your courses.”
Ah, this…
Chu Yanyan’s smile froze on her face, a little awkward.
She sat up straight and cleared her throat, forcing a casual tone. “Failing classes is totally normal! A college experience without failed courses is incomplete!”
The car fell silent for two seconds.
Bai Zhiyuan didn’t look at her, his gaze still fixed on the report card.
His thin lips moved slightly, and he uttered a number.
“Five.”
At those words, Chu Yanyan’s smile shattered completely.
Her mind went blank for a full three seconds.
Five!
She failed five courses!
One, two, three, four, five!
A whole five courses!
Chu Yanyan’s hand was already on the door handle, her eyes filled with the desire to jump out of the car right now.
Someone, please stop her.
She really was something.
No—the pre-amnesia Chu Yanyan really was something.
Bai Zhiyuan finally looked up, closed the stack of report cards, and set them aside.
He raised a hand, his slender fingers rubbing his temple, the crease between his brows showing obvious exasperation.
“Starting today, you’re not going anywhere at night.”
“You’ll stay home and study. The makeup exams are next month—you have to pass every single one.”
Chu Yanyan’s face turned bright red.
She hung her head, staring at her knees, her voice as faint as a little mosquito’s.
“Okay…”
One word, with a long trailing tail, full of grievance and guilt.
Bai Zhiyuan glanced at her, said nothing more, and signaled the driver to start the car.
The car slowly pulled out of the school gate and merged into traffic.
Chu Yanyan leaned against the car window.
Her cheek pressed against the slightly cool glass, her eyes fixed on the roadside trees flashing backward outside, while inside she was cursing furiously.
That dead Yanyan from before the amnesia, that stinky Yanyan, that rotten Yanyan!
I fulfilled your wish for you—chasing after him, holding hands, living out all those secret crushes in your diary.
And this is the mess you left me?
Five failed subjects!
Why didn’t you fail yourself while you were at it!
The angrier she got, the more her cheeks puffed up and her lips pushed out slightly, making her look exactly like a pufferfish in a huff.
Bai Zhiyuan turned his head, his gaze casually sweeping over her profile.
The last rays of the setting sun fell on her face through the window, gilding her features with a warm orange glow.
Her cheeks were puffed out, her brows knitted into a frown, her mouth opening and closing as she silently muttered something to herself.
He couldn’t make out what she was saying, but that expression made her look like a ruffled little bunny.
He looked away, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly before his expression quickly returned to its usual coldness.
Chu Yanyan followed Bai Zhiyuan out of the car, and the two of them walked into the manor one after the other.
At the entrance, servants were already waiting. One took Bai Zhiyuan’s coat, while another bent down to offer Chu Yanyan a pair of slippers.
She looked down—a pair of fluffy bunny slippers, their pink ears standing straight up.
Pretty cute.
The dining room was brightly lit, the long table laden with steaming dishes.
Chu Yanyan had barely sat down when she heard two servants whispering behind her.
“Sir actually came home for dinner today.”
“Yes, it’s been so long since we’ve seen Sir eat at home.”
Their voices were soft, as if afraid of being overheard, yet unable to keep from talking.
Chu Yanyan’s ears perked up, and a flicker of suspicion rose in her heart.
Did he often not come home for dinner before?
Was he really that busy?
She stole a glance at Bai Zhiyuan. He had already sat down and was rolling up his shirt sleeves, as if he hadn’t heard any of it.
Every dish on the table was one she liked.
Cola chicken wings, sweet and sour ribs, and a steaming bowl of corn and pork rib soup.
No seafood.
Not a single shrimp.
Chu Yanyan’s stomach growled right on cue, the rumble especially clear in the quiet dining room.
Her face flushed red. Pretending nothing had happened, she picked up her chopsticks and dug in.
The cola chicken wings were braised until tender—the meat fell right off the bone at the touch of her chopsticks, coated in a sauce that was the perfect balance of sweet and savory.
The sweet and sour ribs were fried crispy, tangy and sweet, crunching with every bite.
Chu Yanyan ate with her head down, her little mouth chewing away, cheeks bulging.
Grease from the chicken wings smeared onto the tip of her nose, leaving a small shiny spot.
Completely unaware, she kept diligently gnawing on her ribs.
Bai Zhiyuan set down his chopsticks and turned to look at her.
His gaze landed on that spot of grease on the tip of her nose. He was silent for two seconds.
He reached for a napkin, gently turned her face with his left hand, and with the napkin in his right, tenderly wiped the grease from her nose.
“Such a grown-up, and you still get food all over your nose when you eat.”
His voice was low, his tone carrying a hint of helpless indulgence.
His fingertips brushed inadvertently across her cheek, slightly cool, leaving a trail of tingling sensations on her skin.
Chu Yanyan’s heart skipped a beat, as if something had softly burst open in her chest.
She lowered her eyes, not daring to look at him, her lashes trembling faintly.
Her chewing slowed noticeably, turning mechanical—she couldn’t even taste what was in her mouth anymore.
Her gaze fell on his fingers.
Long and fair, with well-defined knuckles, the nails trimmed neat and rounded.
That hand had just touched her face.
And not long ago, her own hand had held it.
A bold thought suddenly popped into her head.
She deliberately turned her head as if by accident, her lips landing right on his fingers.
Soft and light, like a petal settling on a fingertip.
Her lips moved a few times, and warmth spread through his fingertips, along with a faint scent of tobacco.
Bai Zhiyuan froze completely.
His hand stayed stiff beside her face, neither withdrawing nor moving.
A few seconds of blankness.
He looked at her profile, which practically read: I didn’t do it on purpose, I just turned my head a little too far.
But the tips of her ears were red.
Bai Zhiyuan withdrew his hand and set the napkin down on the table.
He gave a light cough, his gaze drifting elsewhere, toward a potted plant in the corner of the dining room.
“I’ll be waiting in the study. Come over when you’re done eating.”
“Okay.”
Chu Yanyan answered obediently, her voice soft and sweet, tinged with a hint of guilt.
Bai Zhiyuan rose to his feet and walked out of the dining room.
She lowered her head and stuffed another chicken wing into her mouth, chewing very, very slowly.
Her ears were still red.
Her heart was still racing.
She took a bite of the chicken wing and mumbled to herself.
“His fingers… smell so good.”
Beautiful and kind-hearted readers, please don’t skip chapters, add this book to your shelf, and don’t leave bad reviews lightly—if you have any thoughts, feel free to leave paragraph comments~
Thank you all (^__^)!