Chapter Twenty-One: Moving House

They soon arrived at her home. Aunt Yu had already received her message and had prepared a table full of dishes, warmly welcoming them.

Yan Mu looked around, sizing up the place before finally speaking, “Your home is quite nice, and the food is really delicious as well.”

Ye Mengxia nodded with a smile. She then turned to look at Ye Xingchen, tapping his arm, “What do you like to eat?” She asked on purpose, wanting to see if he still retained any memories from before.

Ye Xingchen was momentarily stunned, a bit lost, then shook his head. “Anything is fine, I guess.”

It seemed he truly had become a peripheral figure, remembering nothing at all. She picked up some stir-fried pork with chili and placed it in his bowl.

She continued to probe, “So, where are you living now?”

“Oh, he’s living with me now. We both stay in the school dormitory,” Yan Mu replied.

“By the way, are you planning to move from here to somewhere else, or bring your things from the other place here?”

Ye Mengxia paused, realizing she had forgotten about that. She chuckled, “It’s just a place I lived before. I have some daily necessities there. Oh, and I have a Samoyed—it’s pretty heavy. I was thinking of bringing everything here.”

Yan Mu laughed, “No wonder you asked him in the car if he’s strong. I think he’s very strong—carrying fifty to sixty pounds is no problem at all, right?”

Ye Xingchen didn’t say much, just nodded, only speaking up when directly addressed.

After dinner, they went into the apartment complex. As soon as they opened the door, Lucky leapt over to greet them. When the dog saw Ye Xingchen standing behind, its big dark eyes lit up and it jumped over to nuzzle him, looking utterly adorable.

Ye Xingchen looked at her, a little at a loss.

Yan Mu laughed from the side, “Why does this dog like you so much? Hahaha…”

Ye Mengxia glanced at Ye Xingchen, smiled, and picked up Lucky—who was so big she almost tripped.

“What do you need to move?” Yan Mu glanced around. The apartment was small and didn’t seem to hold much.

Ye Mengxia hesitated, then finally carried out a stack of books and a box she’d stored there previously.

“That’s all?”

“And him.” Ye Mengxia smiled, pointing at Lucky, who barked twice as if responding.

Yan Mu said, “I suspect you just invited us over to eat, drink, and have fun!”

It did feel like that.

“I’ll move them,” Ye Xingchen said, taking the things from her hands—it was just some books, really. In the end, she could only lead Lucky out and close the door.

Half an hour later, they returned to her home. Ye Mengxia took a few drinks from the fridge and handed them out. “The college entrance exams are just around the corner. How are your preparations going?”

Yan Mu made an “OK” gesture. “No problem. We may look like slackers, but we haven’t fallen behind. In the last mock exam, I made it into the top hundred in our grade—pretty good, right?”

“And him?”

“Hm?” Yan Mu paused and glanced over. “Oh right, I forgot—what’s your name again?”

Both turned to look at him. In his confused eyes, there was finally a hint of focus.

“Ye Xingchen,” he said.

“Right, that’s it. I must have been studying too hard lately.”

“Well, if there’s nothing else, we’ll be going.”

Ye Mengxia walked onto the balcony alone and watched Ye Xingchen from above. He had really come back. When his figure had completely disappeared, she returned to her room and opened her comic book.

Ye Xingchen: Yan Mu’s good friend, likes basketball.

She gripped the book a little tighter. This was good—so long as he was still here, she wasn’t alone anymore.

At school, she listened attentively as the teacher explained things to watch out for during the exams, taking careful notes. Su Yichen hadn’t sought her out much these last few days, only talking when necessary at school.

That noon, he stopped her and suggested eating out together. She knew it was a plot point, but she didn’t want to go.

“Is something wrong today? The exams are almost here—I’d like to spend more time reviewing.”

Su Yichen stared at her without replying.

She instantly felt uncomfortable, a sense of suffocation pressing down. She pulled her hand from his grasp. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. My car is waiting outside.”

He suddenly became angry, grabbing her roughly, his gaze dark. “Do you even care about me? Is it that if I don’t message you, you won’t come looking for me?”

Ye Mengxia truly thought something was wrong with him—or maybe with the comic book itself. Her tone turned cold. “I said I want to go home. Why do you never understand what I say?”

She tugged at her backpack. “Let go!”

“Ye Mengxia!” he shouted, but she wasn’t afraid. She yanked her backpack away and walked off, ignoring his brooding glare.

Perhaps truly enraged by her attitude, Su Yichen rushed forward and grabbed her again, gripping much harder this time.

Seeing his volatile state, Ye Mengxia exhaled. Before she could react, a hand pulled her away, placing itself between her and Su Yichen.

“Ye Xingchen!”

Yan Mu ran up, panting. The person who had just been beside him had suddenly sprinted off, startling him—but it turned out he’d seen Ye Mengxia.

“Who is he?” Su Yichen demanded.

Sensing the tension, Yan Mu hurried over, trying to pull Ye Xingchen away, but couldn’t move him at all. He simply stood there, shielding Ye Mengxia. “Stop it.”

Ye Mengxia grew a little afraid and reached out to tug Ye Xingchen’s sleeve. “I’m fine, you should go.”

He shook his head and took her hand. “Let’s go together.”

Ye Mengxia’s eyes grew moist. She shook her head and let go. “You go first. I’m really fine, we were just joking around.”

“Come on, let’s go,” Yan Mu seized the chance to pull Ye Xingchen away. “They’re just having a lovers’ quarrel—let’s go, weren’t we going to eat?”

Su Yichen, standing aside, furrowed his brows deeply, staring at her as if demanding an explanation.

“We’re just classmates. Didn’t you want to eat? Let’s go.”

Ye Mengxia hardly enjoyed her meal—it’s always unpleasant to force yourself to do things you dislike. Afterward, her phone rang: it was Su Yichen’s father.

He must have learned she was eating with Su Yichen again.

She didn’t pick up. Instead, she opened her comic book. The story was nearly over, and then he would be free for four years.

They met again at a class reunion four years later.