“It’s fine!” Jian Mei waved with a smile. “Given your drag-bro’s family background, it’s totally different from us poor students. If he gives it to you, just accept it without worries.”
Yu Qing added, “To drag-bro, a hundred thousand or so is like a dozen bucks, right?”
Jian Mei said, “That’s exaggerated, exaggerated. Rich second-gens just spend money freely, it’s not that they have no sense of money. If he’s willing to spend this on Yingying, it means he really cares about her.”
“A guy being willing to spend money on his girlfriend doesn’t necessarily mean he loves her.”
“But if he’s not willing to spend money, then he definitely doesn’t love her.”
“Girls are actually the same. Lately I’ve been getting more and more annoyed with my boyfriend—I don’t even want to bring him soy milk anymore.”
“Haha.”
“……”
Yu Yingying sat at her desk, propping her chin with her hand, looking at her watch while listening to her friends’ chattering. A thought suddenly popped into her head: she definitely wouldn’t accept the watch, but she could feel Jiang He’s sincerity—so should she… be a little nicer to Jiang He?
Before Yu Yingying could think it through, the lights suddenly went out.
“Damn, why did the lights go out? I haven’t showered yet.”
“Yu Xiaoqing, where’s your flashlight? Lend it to me.”
Yu Yingying climbed onto her bed and tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Not wanting to lie there with her eyes open wasting time, she twisted on her small charging desk lamp and used an app to silently memorize English words.
Yu Qing, who was staying up late reading a novel, lifted the mosquito net and complained resentfully, “Yu Yingying, you study maniac!”
Yu Yingying pressed her lips together and smiled.
She didn’t know how much time passed when the phone in her hand buzzed. A WeChat notification appeared at the top of the screen.
The message was from Jiang He.
She tapped into WeChat and saw, in the chat with Jiang He’s main account, a bright orange transfer message.
In the transfer note, for the first time Jiang He didn’t call her “brat” or send her hearts, but wrote:
【Good night, girlfriend.】
Yu Yingying checked the time—12:52 a.m.
She didn’t accept the transfer.
She turned off the small lamp, stuffed her phone under the pillow, and stared at the night view outside the window in a daze. Jiang He’s face, raising his brows at her with a smile, inexplicably appeared in her mind.
Yu Yingying: “…?”
Girlfriend…
Her face inexplicably grew hot. Embarrassed and annoyed, she tugged the blanket over her head, hiding her slightly reddened ears.
……
The next day, in class.
As soon as Yu Yingying and Yu Qing walked into the lecture hall, Yu Qing knowingly rushed to the middle-back rows, determined not to be her best friend’s third wheel, determined not to survive on dog food. Although she also had a boyfriend, they were in a long-distance relationship—not as outrageously lovey-dovey as Yu Yingying, whose public displays of affection were downright lethal to her friends.
It was still early, and not many people were in the classroom. Yu Yingying had just taken her textbook out of her backpack and placed it on the desk when a bottle of fresh milk, still emitting a chill, appeared by her hand.
She looked up—it was Jiang He, as expected. A faint smile unconsciously appeared in her clear almond eyes.
But when he sat down beside her, his expression was a bit dissatisfied. “Why didn’t you accept the red packet?”
“It’s too much,” Yu Yingying said.
“Too much?” Jiang He froze for a moment, then smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Being my girlfriend, this is something you’ll have to get used to. Holiday money like this is totally normal.”
As he spoke, he directly picked up the phone on her desk, waved it in front of her face to unlock it, opened WeChat, and accepted the transfer.
The whole sequence was smooth and fluid. Yu Yingying didn’t even have time to react—her WeChat balance had already increased by a heavy amount.
Yu Yingying: “…?”
Jiang He said, “You’re too thin. Eat something good.”
Yu Yingying looked at the phone screen with a headache and asked in a small voice, “Then… how about I send you a red packet too?”
That was genuinely sincere.
One hundred yuan—she could eat in the cafeteria for many days with that.
Jiang He wasn’t happy. He frowned and asked, “I’m only worth a hundred to you?”
“That’s not it…” Yu Yingying thought for a moment. “I’d rather you send 520, and I send back 521.”
So he was worth one yuan?
Even with amnesia, was she trying to piss him off on purpose?
Jiang He laughed angrily. He raised his hand, wanting to mess up Yu Yingying’s hair, but thinking of something, awkwardly withdrew it and tapped her desk. “Stop thinking about all that nonsense. Focus on class. I don’t need your hundred.”
Yu Yingying: “……”
Was this about a hundred or not?
This was about fifty-two thousand!
But she knew this money probably couldn’t be returned.
“Why aren’t you wearing the watch?” Jiang He asked again.
Yu Yingying told the truth. “First, I’m not used to wearing accessories or watches. Second… Jian Mei said the watch is very expensive—over a hundred thousand. Wearing it would give me too much psychological pressure. I’d definitely worry about breaking it.”
Jiang He said casually, “If it breaks, just buy another one.”
“I’d feel bad even if my phone got bumped. If I broke the watch, I’d feel bad for even longer.”
Jiang He laughed angrily. “So you’re set on returning it, right?”
Yu Yingying looked at his sulky expression. Not only was she not afraid, she couldn’t help laughing a little inside.
…When she decided to return the watch, she had already expected this reaction.
She didn’t confront him head-on. Instead, she reached out a slender, pale finger and poked his arm, softly saying, “Please, Jiang He.”
Jiang He: “…?!!!”
In that instant, he nearly jumped out of his chair.
The arm she poked felt numb and tingly, like it had been electrocuted. That patch of skin didn’t even feel like it belonged to him anymore.
Damn it—what the hell!
He stared at Yu Yingying in shock. Meeting her clear, smiling almond eyes, there was only one thought in his mind:
That damn gold-medal love coach only taught him how to act cute like a macho—he never taught him how to deal with a girlfriend acting cute!
This was acting cute, right?
Yu Yingying was actually acting cute at him. This was—this was—this was totally unfair play!
“Is it okay?” Yu Yingying asked again.
“…Okay.” Jiang He struggled to find his voice, cleared his throat, and said, “Then, if you don’t like wearing a watch, I’ll give you something else. Clothes, bags, or cosmetics—what do you like more?”
Yu Yingying smiled politely. “I like you being more rational.”
Jiang He: “…?”
This time it was Yu Yingying who spoke. “Alright, class.”
“…Okay.” Jiang He answered casually, secretly raising his hand to pound his chest. His eyes were still filled with panic and shock.
His heart was pounding wildly, like there were a hundred monkeys jumping around inside—lively beyond measure.
Half a class period passed while he remained distracted.
Yu Yingying listened attentively when the person beside her suddenly bumped her elbow. She turned her head and saw Jiang He sitting next to her with a stern face, looking very serious. Lowering his voice, he said, “From now on, you—you poke me less!”