DF Chapter 49
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Yes, she didn’t ask. But she had clearly been trying to avoid him, so why did he still protect her when Yao Feng attacked? Forget saving her—based on his personality, he wouldn’t even care if he witnessed a robbery or murder. Didn’t he know that giving her the slightest bit of sweetness would make her willing to fly into the fire, even if it meant burning to death? Was it really so hard to say a simple, gentlemanly, polite reminder like “I’m getting married”?
“If there’s anything else you want to know, I can tell you,” he said, looking down at her with deep eyes. “But I’m a pretty boring person, and there doesn’t seem to be anything else worth digging into.”
“I don’t want to know anything.” She turned to leave but then paused. “Dr. Yan, considering your current status, I think it’s best if we keep the distance of strangers.” For the first time, she didn’t care about his feelings, and quickly walked away.
Down in the parking lot, she ran into Bian Qian. Seeing her dejected look, Bian Qian grew concerned and insisted on driving her home.
The whole ride, Zhen Yi stared out the window at the night scene, staying silent. Normally, she would be lively and full of energy.
Bian Qian focused on driving, glancing at her occasionally, trying to find something to say. “Is your grandpa not going home tonight?”
“Yeah,” she replied softly. “My cousin said she was worried Grandpa would get tired, so she let him stay at the resort tonight.”
Bian Qian gave a small “oh” and, after thinking for a moment, asked, “It’s about that guy, isn’t it?”
Zhen Yi’s body stiffened, and she pouted in annoyance, “Psychology majors are all bastards.” It had always been this way; he could read her thoughts so clearly.
Bian Qian smiled slightly, a little helpless. He knew this younger sister’s temper all too well.
Over the past eight years, he had watched her grow from a college student to a police officer, and then to a lawyer. His circle of friends had plenty of high-quality men, and many had shown interest in her through him, but she turned them all down. He knew that despite her carefree and bold exterior, deep down, her heart had always belonged to someone.
“Our little Yi has good taste. He’s a really remarkable man.” Bian Qian wasn’t the type to be overly modest, but he was confident in his own capabilities. Still, when he saw Yan Ge, he had to admit that the man’s understated excellence, inside and out, left a deep impression.
“However, I feel like… if little Yi likes him, she’ll probably suffer a lot.”
That one sentence nearly brought Zhen Yi to tears. She bit her lip, staring out the window, refusing to say a word.
When Zhen Yi stepped out of the elevator, feeling down, she unlocked the door and found the lights on and the aroma of food in the air. These two things were truly comforting; suddenly, her heart didn’t feel as heavy. She walked to the kitchen and saw Si Gui and Yang Zi cooking hot pot with an induction stove, eating happily.
Si Gui noticed Zhen Yi first, and seeing her not-so-great expression, she quickly stood up and raised her hand in surrender.
“Zhen, we really should’ve left earlier, but your place is just too comfortable. I soaked in your bathtub all morning. And then the fridge was full of delicious food, and later we found the hot pot base, so we couldn’t resist staying all day. Don’t kick us out—we’ll disappear right after this meal.”
Zhen Yi kept a straight face, sat down at the dining table, and glanced at the delicious food in the pot. The two of them immediately handed her a bowl and chopsticks with utmost enthusiasm.
She took them and scooped up some mushrooms and lamb from the pot, stuffing them into her mouth. She ate with a gloomy expression while Si Gui and Yang Zi watched her anxiously.
After she finished chewing and swallowing, she still wore a stern face and asked, “Soaking in the tub all morning… were you two getting cozy in there?”
The two were stunned for a second, then lunged at her, swatting playfully, “You jerk! We thought you were mad at us.”
Zhen Yi curled up in her chair, dodging their tickles while laughing heartily.
Seeing her friends at home and a steaming hot pot waiting for her made her heart feel so warm.
“How can you eat hot pot without cola and baijiu?” Zhen Yi grabbed a tempered glass, filling it halfway with baijiu and halfway with cola.
Yang Zi quickly filled her own glass with just cola, “Don’t expect me to join in. I can’t handle baijiu. You’ve been mixing cola and baijiu since middle school—can’t you change that habit? Si Gui, how did you survive living with her in college?”
Si Gui stared in surprise at the amber liquid in Zhen Yi’s glass, “I’ve never seen Zhen Yi drink before.”
“I quit. But today’s special, so I’m making an exception.” Zhen Yi smiled, tipped her head back, and downed the whole glass. She didn’t even blush after drinking, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand before grabbing her chopsticks to scoop more food. She poured another glass of cola and baijiu and continued eating and drinking, with her feet propped up on the chair like some hero from Liangshan.
Si Gui was horrified. “Zhen, are you okay?”
“What do you mean?” Zhen Yi asked, chewing on a shrimp ball, looking puzzled.
Yang Zi sipped her cola slowly, “Si Gui, relax. She’s been like this since middle school.”
“Really?” Si Gui was half-convinced, still feeling like something was off.
Zhen Yi kept eating and drinking large mouthfuls, as if she had been starving in prison.
“Zhen, slow down. If you eat too fast, you’ll choke.”
The words had barely left her mouth when Zhen Yi grabbed the edge of the table and started coughing violently. Yang Zi quickly poured her water, and Si Gui patted her on the back.
Zhen Yi covered her mouth with a tissue, feeling the burn as chili peppers irritated her throat. She coughed so hard her face turned red, as if she were about to cough her lungs out. By the end, tears were streaming down her face.
Si Gui had never seen Zhen Yi cry and was startled. “What’s wrong?”
Wiping away her tears with her fingers, Zhen Yi softly replied, “I’ve been bullied.” After saying that, she calmly picked up her chopsticks again and shoveled more food into her mouth, as if trying to fill the void in her heart with food.
Si Gui and Yang Zi were at a loss for what to do. They could only watch as Zhen Yi continued to stuff spicy food into her mouth. As she ate, more and more tears fell into her bowl, one after another, like broken strings of pearls.
Si Gui was on the verge of losing it. “What’s going on? Zhen Yi, tell us! Who bullied you? I’ll go get revenge for you!”
She was pacing in circles, pulling at her short hair, wild with worry. “You weren’t… you weren’t assaulted, were you?”
Zhen Yi suddenly burst out laughing, tilting her head back, eyes filled with tears. Laughing and crying at the same time, she said, “I almost wish he did assault me, but he doesn’t even want me. Haha, it’s so funny.” Her tears kept flowing, and soon she couldn’t laugh anymore. Her self-loathing was written all over her face.
“Zhen Yi, you really are pathetic!” She raised her hand and slapped herself hard across the face, the sound echoing crisply in the dining room. Her cheek flushed so red it looked like it might bleed.
The sharp slap sound shocked Si Gui and Yang Zi into silence. Si Gui was on the verge of a breakdown. “What are you doing? What’s wrong with you?”
Zhen Yi covered her eyes with her hands, trembling as she took a deep breath. “Nothing happened. It’s just… I like someone, but he doesn’t like me. I want to chase him, but he’s getting married. It’s that simple.”
Tears gushed from between her fingers like a fountain. Her lips trembled violently, and her breathing became erratic. “I’m so useless. I fell for him again.” Her shoulders shook uncontrollably as she hung her head low, whispering, “What should I do? I like him again, but he still doesn’t like me. What should I do?”
Tears flowed endlessly as she covered her mouth and nose with both hands, sobbing so hard her body rocked back and forth. She kept repeating the same words over and over:
“What should I do? I like him so, so, so, so much. What should I do? He still doesn’t like me. What should I do? Oh God, what should I do?”
My dream has always been simple: when I grow up, I’ll marry Yan Ge from Class 3, Grade 1, of the junior section.
But now, he’s going to marry someone else. What should I do?
Under the influence of alcohol, Zhen Yi drifted into a deep sleep. In her dreams, she returned to many years ago. The school after summer break, the tidy classrooms, the sound of students reading aloud…
