Catch… an affair?
Shen Yutang’s footsteps halted, and she nearly tripped over herself.
He Jin met Shen Yutang’s puzzled gaze, his eyebrows slightly raised. “Your family asked me to keep an eye on you.”
“…So you’re here specifically to watch me? Otherwise, you’ll snitch?”
Shen Yutang hadn’t expected this man to genuinely act as her father’s informant. She had thought He Jin was just casually humoring her dad at the dinner table, but it turned out he was serious.
Damn, that’s so sneaky!
He Jin took a few steps closer, leaning in slightly. His peach-blossom eyes drew near, their pupils dark and profound. His tone sounded both accusatory and probing:
“If I hadn’t come, would you have run off with someone?”
“How could that be!” Shen Yutang hurriedly explained. “He was the one who inexplicably came to block my way. He’s an idiot.”
After cursing Fu Hansheng, the anger in her chest eased a little.
Above her head, a faint, low chuckle drifted down, carrying an indescribable sense of amusement.
He Jin said calmly, “When I called him an idiot before, you scolded me.”
“…”
Shen Yutang felt a bit guilty.
Why bring up old grievances out of nowhere?
She pretended to be calm and casually brushed her hair. “Ah… really? I don’t remember.”
“Don’t remember? Then let me help you recall.”
Back then, Shen Yutang’s heart and eyes were filled with Fu Hansheng. She was someone who had never lifted a finger for household chores, yet she was willing to cook for Fu Hansheng—clumsily holding a kitchen knife to chop vegetables, clumsily turning on the gas stove, clumsily stir-frying.
That day, her hand accidentally touched the scorching hot pan, leaving her fingers red, swollen, and painful.
She waited and waited until the sky grew dark.
Fu Hansheng never came to eat that meal.
He didn’t even send a single message.
Shen Yutang waited until He Jin arrived.
He Jin saw the unsightly band-aid on her finger, his eyes darkening. He sneered and called Fu Hansheng an idiot.
Shen Yutang was furious. “Who are you calling an idiot?”
He Jin replied leisurely, “Fu Hansheng, of course.”
Just as they were about to start arguing,
He Jin suddenly spoke to her slowly and earnestly, word by word:
“Shen Yutang, love yourself before loving others.”
But how could a controlled 2D novel supporting female character have any rationality?
“Shen Yutang” naturally lashed out at him, venting her emotions, pouring all her grievances and anger onto him, telling him to stay away and not meddle in her affairs.
She didn’t know how He Jin left.
She only remembered that the man, who had always been arrogant and aloof, showed loneliness and sorrow in his eyes for the first time.
Like a wounded beast, he silently turned and walked away.
He showed such emotions again a year later, when she was kidnapped.
He half-knelt before her, holding her hand, trembling.
“I was just speaking in anger back then,” Shen Yutang pursed her lips and tugged at his sleeve. “If I told you I was controlled by this world’s Creator, would you believe me?”
He Jin stared at her for a few seconds, unmoving, as if trying to detect something in her pupils.
After a long while, he nodded, his voice low:
“Mm, I believe you.”
Shen Yutang’s eyes lit up. “You really believe me?!”
“After all, you did seem to have lost your intelligence before,” He Jin said expressionlessly. “Your uncle and aunt even secretly invited a master to perform an exorcism on you, saying you were possessed by a ghost.”
Shen Yutang: “…”
Why does it always feel like He Jin is insulting her?
Shen Yutang bit her lip and said seriously, “Everything I said is true.”
“I know.”
He Jin lowered his head slightly, his unruly peach blossom eyes softening with a hint of tenderness. The corners of his eyes curved gently, and the tear mole beneath them seemed to catch a drop of golden light in the sun. His voice was deep and steady:
“Although I don’t know exactly what happened—”
“Welcome back, my true young lady.”
He said…
Her true self.
Shen Yutang’s heart skipped a beat, overwhelmed by a surge of complex emotions.
A breeze swept by, gently lifting the hem of her pink long skirt.
The surrounding green camphor leaves rustled softly, and sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves, scattering like shattered gold across the ground and over their shoulders.
He Jin stared at her intently, his dark, profound eyes almost swallowing her whole—like thick, inscrutable ink.
Suddenly, the man reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist.
“Ah…”
Shen Yutang gasped softly. Before she could react, she was spun halfway around, her back pressed against the slightly rough trunk of a phoenix tree. The texture of the bark pressed against her shoulder blades through the thin fabric of her clothes.
Wait, what?
Her mouth had already fallen open when, in the next moment, the man’s large hand covered her lips.
His palm was dry and warm, his knuckles distinct, carrying a faint, cool scent of mint.
“Shh.”
He Jin leaned closer, signaling her to stay quiet. His warm breath sent a tingling sensation through her earlobes.
Not far away, three girls approached.
They wore pretty pleated skirts with matching best-friend-style uniforms—one in pink, one in white, and one in blue—chatting and laughing as they walked over:
“Hey, are you sure you saw He Jin here just now?”
“Absolutely, a hundred percent sure! This time, I’m definitely going to get his WeChat!”
“Ugh, he’s just so ridiculously handsome. Why don’t we all go for him together? Sisters, let’s share the wealth!”
“Totally! Let’s do it together!”
“I bet his abs feel amazing to touch—probably a six-pack, right? I’m so jealous of his future girlfriend. She’s gonna have the time of her life.”
The three sisters let out a series of “hee-hee-hee” giggles—creepy and terrifying.
Shen Yutang felt her scalp tingle, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end one by one.
Sisters, what kind of wild talk is this?
This is so weird!
But what’s even weirder is…
She’s currently pinned against a tree by He Jin, ahhhh!
“Mmph—” Shen Yutang’s mouth was still covered by his hand, only able to let out soft, muffled whimpers through his fingers, like a kitten held by the scruff of its neck.
He Jin leaned down, his sexy thin lips brushing against her sensitive ear as he said lazily:
“Do me a favor and stay quiet. I really don’t want to be found by these people.”
Shen Yutang nodded, somewhat understanding, and blinked at him.
Only then did He Jin release his hand, his thumb brushing slowly over her lower lip as he withdrew.
On his palm lingered the sensation of the girl’s soft, delicate lips.
So tender.
He lowered his gaze, glancing at his own palm as if an invisible mark had been left there.
The three female classmates drew closer step by step, their footsteps growing louder, almost right beside them now.
“What the—where is he? I swear I saw him here just now.”
“He couldn’t have hidden, could he?”
“Ah, damn it! Just thinking about that god-tier model physique—if I can’t have him, I’ll just feel sorry for myself!”
“Same here, same here!”
“I really want to touch his six-pack abs, ahhh, I’m drooling with envy.”
To avoid being discovered, He Jin took another step forward, his chest nearly pressing against Shen Yutang’s body.
The massive plane tree concealed their figures as the distance between them continued to shrink.
The space was cramped and narrow, making Shen Yutang feel as if even the surrounding air had grown thin.
Her back was pressed tightly against the rough tree trunk, while in front of her was his scorching body—trapped from both sides, she had nowhere to escape.
He Jin’s cool yet domineering masculine scent washed over her, mingled with the crisp fragrance of mint and a hint of sweat.
His peach blossom eyes were strikingly beautiful, with the outer corners slightly upturned and pupils as deep as a pool. The tear mole beneath his eye was particularly alluring, like a drop of solidified ink.
He stared straight at her.
Shen Yutang could even see her own reflection in his eyes.
She quickly averted her gaze, her voice faltering slightly: “We’re… too close.”
He Jin didn’t speak, maintaining his original posture.
After a long while, he asked calmly, “Close?”
If this wasn’t close, did it only count as close at negative distance?
Shen Yutang didn’t know what came over her—perhaps wanting to ease the tension—so, on a whim, she whispered:
“So, do you really have six-pack abs?”
He Jin paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow with interest:
“Why don’t you feel for yourself?”
With that, he grabbed Shen Yutang’s hand, pressing her wrist against his abdomen, and guided it slowly toward his abs.
Shen Yutang instantly exploded!