DF Chapter 4

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“None of your business.” Zhen Yi raised an eyebrow. “Even if I burn my money, I’ll do it with a clear conscience.”

“Bitch!” Lin Ziyi was practically fuming with rage. But even as he hurled insults, Zhen Yi remained calm and indifferent, her gaze filled with disdain. He suddenly thought of Tang Shang, and how he always crumbled in front of women like this. These were the kinds of people he wanted to destroy.

“To help you sue me for harassment, I’ll leave you some evidence.” a sinister glint flashed in his eyes as he reached out to grab her chin.

Without hesitation, Zhen Yi kicked him hard between the legs, shoving him backward with force.

She darted into the restroom and locked the door, pressing her ear against it. She could vaguely hear Lin Ziyi groaning in pain. He had the nerve, but not the guts to really harm her. Zhen Yi wasn’t worried. Did he think he could just grope her without consequences?

“You bastard!” Zhen Yi cursed under her breath. She grabbed the mop by the door, ready to go back out and beat him to a pulp. But as she turned her head, her inner mischievous nature took over, and her attention was completely drawn to something else.

A man was standing sideways, slowly zipping up his pants. Just from his composed and graceful posture, she could tell he was the full package—looks, charm, and all.

Zhen Yi bit her lip, and her first instinct was to glance downwards… only to find, much to her disappointment, that she didn’t see anything.

She quickly loosened her grip on the mop’s handle, suddenly feeling like its thickness had a deeper implication.

One second passed. Two seconds. She said nothing, slowly raising her gaze. The man had already turned his head, looking at her silently with those clear, handsome features. Her heart skipped a beat, and then it started racing like a wild horse. “Why are you here?”

Eight years had passed, and he was even more handsome than before. As a self-confessed lover of good looks, Zhen Yi couldn’t have been more thrilled! Her thoughts were simple—pure relief that he hadn’t changed. She remembered back in her third year of university, Si Gui’s sweet first love had come to K City for business. The always-boy-crazy Zhen Yi had tagged along with the lovestruck Si Gui to invite him out for a meal. That’s when she witnessed the most brutal reality of life: standing in front of your first love, only to see he’d become bloated.

Si Gui’s fond memories were completely shattered. On the way back to school, she hadn’t uttered a word. Before bed that night, she suddenly said, “Zhen, if you ever get the chance, never meet your first love again.”

That night, Zhen Yi dreamed of Yan Ge. In her dream, her beautiful teenage crush had turned into a chubby guy, devouring burgers and fries. She was both anxious and furious, shaking his pudgy, squishy arm and yelling, “What happened to you? You’ve gotten so fat!”

The disillusionment of seeing a first love fall from grace was a harsh thing.

But now, standing before her, he was even better than her memories. Eight years had passed, but he remained as elegant and poised as ever.

Her thoughts drifted back twelve years, to when she had pursued him with reckless abandon. He had no choice but to hide in the boys’ bathroom after class. With unyielding determination, she had followed him, knocking on stall doors one by one. The boys had been terrified, pulling up their pants and fleeing in all directions.

There was one door that wouldn’t open, no matter how much she knocked. It had to be him.

With her athleticism, she had climbed up the door frame and pulled herself up, peeking over the top. There he was, not in his school uniform but in a tailored white shirt with a slim black tie. He looked perfect, and she knew she could never get tired of looking at him.

He had his arms crossed, his fair face slightly tilted upward. Under his thick brows, his eyes were deep and serene. His nose had a perfect slope. Among the chaos of shouting boys, he alone remained calm and composed.

“Stop bothering me.” he had said. She had hung from the door, her armpits aching, but her legs dangled happily on the other side. “Yan Ge, I like you.”

“I know. You’ve said it 197 times.”

“But I don’t think you’ve listened even once!”

He had replied coolly, “Why listen to something so pointless?”

“How can it be pointless? ‘I like you’ is such a nice thing to hear.” she had said, resting her head on her arm, her eyes never leaving him. “If you said it to me, even just once, I’d be so happy I’d fly into the sky. I’d run home screaming and be too excited to sleep all night.”

The boys around them had been jeering, but he had remained silent, detached to the extreme.

…

Just like now. Zhen Yi had barged into the restroom, and he was calmly zipping up his pants, not embarrassed or startled in the slightest. Zhen Yi was amazed. “Why are you here?” she asked again. He looked at her for half a second and replied, “Because I walked into the wrong restroom.”

“…”

Typical him, responding with sarcasm. Had he remembered her?

As for Zhen Yi, she explained, “Someone was chasing me, and I accidentally ran into the wrong restroom. But why are you all the way over here, just to use this bathroom?” As soon as she said it, she realized it sounded even more bizarre.

He was washing his hands, not even bothering to lift his head. “I like the design and atmosphere of this restroom.”

“…”

Zhen Yi silently cursed in her heart: Couldn’t he just answer normally for once?

She figured he must have been at the mall shopping. Out of things to say, she muttered, “Well, see you around.”

Yan Ge opened the door. Lin Ziyi was gone, so Zhen Yi followed him out.

The long curved hallway stretched ahead of them. After a few steps, Zhen Yi instinctively asked, “When did you come to K City?”

“December of last year.”

“Oh, right in the middle of winter. It must’ve been freezing.”

“It wasn’t cold.”

“…”

“You got here later than me, so technically you’re the guest. Should I treat you to a meal?”

“No.”

“…”

After walking another few meters, Zhen Yi remembered that day he had visited her grandfather. Desperate to keep the conversation going, she asked, “Are you studying with my grandpa?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“…” She shrugged. Having a conversation with him was like trying to revive a dead atmosphere—not even Hua Tuo, the famous healer, could save it!

After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly said, “I didn’t expect Professor Zhen to be your grandfather.”

Zhen Yi smiled, tugging the corners of her lips. Back then, they had known so little about each other. “What are you doing for work now?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Hmm, sounds fancy.”

Yan Ge, of course, picked up on her sarcastic tone. He stopped walking, and Zhen Yi met his gaze, half-smiling, half-serious.

He said earnestly, “I won’t explain it. But, do you want to give it a try?”

“Try what?” She lifted her chin, intrigued. “Sure, right now?”

“Mm-hmm.” he replied quietly, taking a step closer. His voice was already warm, but when he lowered his tone just slightly, it carried a subtle, irresistible allure.

They stood by the emergency exit, the hallway dimly lit, with a faint scent of flowers lingering in the air.

The world around them seemed to still. The mall’s background music felt like it was coming from a distant place.

Zhen Yi unconsciously swayed for a moment, her gaze locked into his deep, quiet eyes, unable to move. For some reason, her feet felt rooted to the ground.

His long, slender fingers waved gently in front of her eyes, like a white butterfly fluttering in the sunlight—ethereal, unreal, but breathtakingly beautiful. His voice was soft, like a whisper, and though he said something, all Zhen Yi heard was the slow creaking of a door opening.