Wife, please behave yourself.

Chapter 189 The Three Links

Shopping at the mall, a relaxing way to spend your time, turned out to be far more boring than Liu Songyan had imagined.

Although there were some things in the arcade on the third floor that interested him, the three of them only went in for a short while and then came out because there were too many people.

Chi Jinhe went to the restroom, leaving Liu Songyan and Shen Ruzhi to wait outside.

While waiting, Liu Songyan held a flyer and looked at the Ocean Park's promotional slogan.

Before leaving home today, my father, upon learning that I was going out to play, generously slipped me some money, saying that a man only feels at ease when he has money in his pocket, and then patted me on the shoulder as I left the house with a smile.

Although Ocean Park tickets are relatively expensive, it's nothing for Lau Chung-yin, who now has a large sum of money.

Rather than continuing to wander through the boring shopping mall, he preferred to pay out of his own pocket to take the two of them to Ocean Park.

Thinking of this, Liu Songyan was about to put down the flyer in his hand.

Before I could even turn my face away, I heard a plaintive voice in my ear.

"Is it pretty...?"

Shen Ruzhi's voice rang in his ears. When he turned his head to look at his side, he immediately found that the girl who was originally some distance away from him had somehow moved closer to him.

The face so close to his eyes was enough to make Liu Songyan momentarily stunned, even though he had been looking at it for almost the entire morning.

He met Shen Ruzhi's gaze and saw the resentful look in her eyes.

Coming to his senses, Liu Songyan looked puzzled and carefully examined the girl standing close to him. After a long while, he asked in a calm tone.

"What's so interesting?"

"At Chi Jinhe's house."

Liu Songyan was speechless.

Although Shen Ruzhi didn't explicitly state it, he, as someone involved in the matter, instantly understood what she was referring to.

Liu Songyan has never been one to beat around the bush. For him, expressing his true feelings is more meaningful than any pointless sophistry.

Facing Shen Ruzhi's scrutinizing gaze, he slowly nodded after snapping out of his daze.

"She's quite pretty; she's fairer than I expected."

"..."

With her eyes wide open, Shen Ruzhi never expected to hear such an answer from Liu Songyan.

For a moment, he was stunned and stared at the other person. After a few seconds, he suddenly came to his senses and, as if he had been thoroughly angered, raised his leg and kicked the boy next to him.

The toe of the shoe struck the side of Liu Songyan's calf. Although it didn't hurt too much, it still caused some damage to the unsuspecting Liu Songyan.

Liu Songyan gasped, looking puzzled.

After a moment of calm, he turned to Shen Ruzhi, who had kicked him, and began to question her.

"What are you doing?"

"Are you even speaking human language?"

With her fists clenched, Shen Ruzhi grew angrier the more she thought about it.

Although half a day has passed since the incident, if Liu Songyan had simply echoed her sentiments with similar unpleasant remarks, she wouldn't be as angry as she is now.

Who would have thought that Liu Songyan would be so honest about this matter?

Not only did he give himself a very serious answer, but he didn't even try to be tactful.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Looking at Liu Songyan, who showed no sign of realizing his mistake, she suddenly felt that she had to teach him a lesson so that he would remember it.

True to her word, Shen Ruzhi immediately raised her foot again and kicked him with controlled force.

However... the first time he succeeded was because Liu Songyan was completely unprepared.

After taking that blow, he became completely wary of Shen Ruzhi.

Therefore, the girl did not succeed this time. Instead, her kicking foot was caught by her suddenly opened legs.

"..."

For a moment, Shen Ruzhi was stunned; she had never expected such a scene.

After regaining her senses, she first tried to pull her trapped foot out of her hand.

Because of the warmer weather and the fact that she was wearing a skirt, Shen Ruzhi, who usually prefers sneakers, changed into relatively cool women's sandals, which is quite unusual.

Her toes were also twitching and straining, but Liu Songyan's strength far surpassed Shen Ruzhi's. No matter how hard she tried, her captured foot remained firmly fixed between his legs.

With her mouth slightly open, Shen Ruzhi faced Liu Songyan, but her gaze frequently wandered to both sides of the aisle.

Seeing the strange looks cast at them by passersby, she felt ashamed and her cheeks flushed instantly. She lowered her voice and anxiously said to Liu Songyan.

"Let me go!"

"Who told you to kick first? If I don't teach you a lesson, I don't think you'll ever get rid of this habit."

"That's...that's because you said something offensive first!"

"I'm just telling the truth."

Liu Songyan stated solemnly.

"After all, Chi Jinhe is indeed much fairer than you and me in terms of skin color."

"..."

Shen Ruzhi, who had originally planned to back down, decided to fight him to the end after hearing the boy's response.

Her tightly pursed red lips testified to the force she was exerting. While trying not to touch Liu Songyan, she could only maintain her balance on one leg and struggle to pull her captured foot away.

However, it is difficult to maintain balance on one leg, and the range of motion becomes larger and larger as force is applied.

Suddenly losing her balance, Shen Ruzhi let out a cry of surprise and was about to fall backward to the ground.

Upon seeing this, Liu Songyan immediately abandoned his intention to teach the other party a lesson.

He quickly released his grip on her, grabbed her waist, and pulled the girl, who was about to collapse, into a tight embrace.

"..."

"..."

Inside the mall, passersby watched this scene unfold.

Liu Songyan and Shen Ruzhi maintained a gaze meeting.

The girl's breath seemed to stop for a moment, and as she leaned back, she looked at the boy who had caught her with shock in her eyes.

For some reason, Shen Ruzhi suddenly had a strange thought at this moment.

If she could, she would love for time to stand still right now.

There was no Chi Jinhe, and no passersby.

Only her... and him.

If that were really the case... how wonderful that would be.

Liu Songyan remained silent until he was sure he had caught Shen Ruzhi. He then breathed a sigh of relief and used a little force to straighten the girl who was leaning backward.

After Shen Ruzhi's feet were firmly planted on the ground, she asked in a low voice.

"Are you still going to cause trouble? Be careful not to fall flat on your face."

"Thanks……"

Having gone through such an event, Shen Ruzhi's resentment had vanished without a trace. She simply looked at the young man in front of her, observing his calm expression.

Unaware of the figure that had appeared beside them as they gazed at each other, Chi Jinhe, emerging from the bathroom, stared blankly at the two who were now cuddling together.

The eyes that were originally full of joy turned dejected after witnessing the scene, and she stared silently at the scene before her.

She stopped where she was and then turned back towards the restroom.

It was as if she had never appeared at all... just like before.

"Behave yourself. If Chi Jinhe sees this, she'll probably worry again."

After hearing Shen Ruzhi's thanks, Liu Songyan continued to speak.

This time, before Shen Ruzhi could even respond, the two of them immediately heard a sound of something being bumped.

The sound drew the attention of the two people who were staring at each other, and they looked toward the bathroom. The two, who had been snuggling together, immediately separated.

"Ouch, that hurts..."

Chi Jinhe's voice rang out, and when she reappeared in front of the two of them, she was rubbing her elbow as she left the bathroom.

He slowly walked up to the two of them, continuing to massage them, and only slowly let go after a few seconds.

Upon seeing this, Liu Songyan frowned slightly, as if he were somewhat worried, and asked him a question.

"what happened?"

"Hehe... I bumped into something by accident, it hurts a little."

"Did you bump into something?"

Looking at Chi Jinhe in surprise, Liu Songyan's gaze followed her to the restroom at the back.

He looked puzzled, unable to understand how he could bump into someone while using the restroom.

"It's okay, I feel much better now."

As Chi Jinhe said this with a smile, she didn't look like she had just bumped her elbow.

If it weren't for the noise she made just now, Liu Songyan and Shen Ruzhi, who were waiting outside, might not have chosen to separate so quickly.

Upon hearing Chi Jinhe's words, Shen Ruzhi, who had been worried, immediately stepped forward, lifted the arm that Chi Jinhe had just covered, and checked it inside and out. After confirming that there was no injury, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed.

For the three of them, this seemed to be just a minor incident.

As noon approached, the mall began to bustle with activity, marking the start of lunchtime.

Liu Songyan looked at Shen Ruzhi and Chi Jinhe standing together, and held up the Ocean Park flyer and shook it.

After attracting their attention, he then began to explain his plans.

"How about we go eat first, and then go to Ocean Park?"

"Ocean Park?"

Chi Jinhe and Shen Ruzhi both asked in unison.

As soon as they entered the mall, all three of them were given a flyer.

Unlike Liu Songyan, who kept the flyer, the two of them wisely threw it away after seeing that it was a flyer for Ocean Park.

After all, the ticket price alone is not a small amount.

Chi Jinhe's family was of modest means, and even the dress she was wearing was something she had saved up her allowance for quite some time to buy.

Although Shen Ruzhi no longer worries about money thanks to her mother Wen Yunwei's success at work, her long-standing frugality has become a habit, making it difficult for her to spend money freely.

Therefore, when Liu Songyan mentioned going to Ocean Park, both of them expressed their reluctance.

While observing the two people in front of him, Liu Songyan also noticed their concerns.

He smiled and waved the flyers in his hand.

"How about we make an equal exchange? You two can cover lunch, and I... will cover the entrance fees, okay?"

"How can this be?" "Yes, yes!"

Shen Ruzhi and Chi Jinhe spoke one after the other, and then looked at each other after they finished speaking.

Shen Ruzhi then took the lead in speaking.

"Eating doesn't cost much... but the entrance fee is very expensive."

"Students get half price; I already asked the person handing out flyers before entering the mall."

"Even at half price, it's still expensive..."

"Are you going or not?"

Liu Songyan wasn't in the mood to play along with their game of giving way.

He composed himself, reverting to his initial calm demeanor.

This sudden change in indifference stunned Shen Ruzhi for a moment. Before she could react, Liu Songyan continued speaking.

“If you don’t go, then we’ll have dinner and go home as soon as possible. If you choose to go, then you two will have to follow my instructions.”

His gaze swept over the two people in front of him, looking at them who remained silent.

"Answer me, are you going or not?"

"..."

"Then... go ahead."

Chi Jinhe, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

Perhaps they sensed Liu Songyan's seriousness. Although the deal was unfair, Liu Songyan himself had said so. If they refused, the three of them would have no choice but to part ways.

Thinking of this, Chi Jinhe looked at Shen Ruzhi, who was still somewhat conflicted. Seeing that the other party seemed to want to refuse, she took the initiative to speak before the other party could speak.

"It seems he wants to go... Just keep him company, Zhizhi, don't refuse anymore."

"Jinhe..."

"Okay, okay, we finally got out for a stroll, don't be upset~"

Smiling, Chi Jinhe took Shen Ruzhi's hand and held it firmly in his grasp.

Then his gaze turned to where Liu Songyan was, and he took two steps forward, holding Liu's hand with his other hand.

The three of them formed a line.

First, he looked at Shen Ruzhi to the side, and when he saw the look of confusion on her face, he looked at Liu Songyan to the right, and saw the calm expression on the young man's face.

A radiant smile bloomed on her face as Chi Jinhe continued speaking.

"After all... we're good friends."

As Chi Jinhe said these words, his emotions seemed to affect the two of them as well.

They were each being led by the hand by Chi Jinhe, who was positioned in the middle.

Liu Songyan and Shen Ruzhi exchanged a glance.

Finally, all eyes turned back to the beaming Chi Jinhe.

Looking at her beside me...

The differing opinions vanished at that moment.

Only three people remained, connected in a line... linked together.

No one can separate them.

(End of this chapter)