The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Ye Shu might have been complaining in her heart, but if she kept refusing, it would seem like she was looking down on the other person.

Forget it, it's just a ride-sharing, what could possibly happen?

Ye Shu tried to reassure herself, thinking that maybe the other person was just a bit too enthusiastic. Had she been too influenced by the melodramatic plots in those novels and short videos? She saw everyone as having ulterior motives, and her heart saw everything as dirty.

"I'm so sorry to trouble you to make this trip."

Ye Shu eventually gave in. There was no point in continuing the stalemate, so it was better to go home early and end this somewhat awkward atmosphere as soon as possible.

He carried two drinks and followed Jiang Yining to the pink car.

Wow, four circles.

Ye Shu didn't know much about cars, but he roughly knew that this car must be expensive.

He subconsciously glanced at Jiang Yining's clothes again. Although they seemed simple, this junior seemed to have done quite well after graduation.

"Get in the car."

Jiang Yining climbed into the driver's seat, and Ye Shu followed suit and sat in the passenger seat.

The car had a faint scent of perfume and was very clean.

Fasten her seatbelt, Jiang Yining gripped the steering wheel, and instead of starting the car, she turned her head and asked:

Which neighborhood do you live in?

"Cloud Garden".

"Cloud Garden?"

Jiang Yining's eyes widened slightly, her expression revealing undisguised surprise.

"Wow, Brother Ye, you've even moved into a luxury mansion."

It was quite unexpected. Yunduanyuan is considered a high-end community in the southern part of the city, known for its environment and security, and its property prices are quite high.

Under normal circumstances, it would be virtually impossible for a coffee shop employee to afford the cost of living there.

Continue thinking along this line of thought, and combine it with the other existing clues.

Ye Shu said his girlfriend wasn't feeling well and he needed to rush back to take care of her. He's so obedient to his girlfriend, and he even works at this coffee shop…

When these fragmented pieces of information are put together, there is only one truth.

A conjecture that she herself found somewhat outrageous, yet perfectly reasonable, emerged.

The surprise and amusement that had been in her eyes when she looked at Ye Shu had faded, replaced by a mixture of disbelief, sudden realization, and a little bit of sympathy that said, "You've suffered."

Ye Shu felt extremely uncomfortable under her sudden change in gaze.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Yining pursed her lips, as if hesitating about something, but in the end she couldn't help but ask in as tactful a tone as possible:

"Brother Ye... your girlfriend, she wouldn't be waiting for you to go back... to turn things around for her, would she?"

Helpless, isn't that what helplessness is?

Ye Shu was utterly speechless. What was all this about? Did she think she had found someone who couldn't take care of himself?

But then I realized that my situation was indeed a bit unusual, and it was no wonder that others would misunderstand.

"What are you thinking? My girlfriend is great, she's a year younger than me! What do you mean, 'wait for me to turn things around'?"

Jiang Yining was a little embarrassed. She stuck out her tongue, shrank her neck, turned around, and stepped on the gas. Her eyes were fixed ahead, and she muttered to herself, her voice growing softer and softer:

"Oh...no...I was just making a reasonable guess. Who told you to live there, work at the bubble tea shop, and then rush back to take care of someone..."

Perhaps feeling it would be impolite to continue on this topic, after a brief, awkward silence, Jiang Yining took the initiative to bring up the subject again:

"Hey, Brother Ye, do you remember the first time we met?"

"Here we go, here we go, starting the reminiscing." Ye Shu responded somewhat vaguely:

"Ah... I remember, it seems... I sold you a campus card, right?"

"Yes, you still remember."

Jiang Yining sounded very happy, but Ye Shu wasn't sure:

"You know what? You're the first guy to talk to me since I started college. You wouldn't believe it, would you?"

How was he supposed to respond to that?

A: Saying "I really didn't expect that" seems a bit fake.

B: Saying "I thought of that a long time ago" seems even stranger. Doesn't that imply that the person is unlikable?

C: Say "Wabi Babu"...

Ye Shu finally gave a dry laugh and mumbled:

"Is...is that so? That was so long ago."

But Ye Shu regretted saying it as soon as he did; his words didn't sound very safe.

As expected, Jiang Yining didn't seem to need his specific response, and instead continued speaking as if to herself:

"Yes, that's why I started paying attention to you after that."

This statement was very clear in the carriage, and it also seemed to carry a deeper meaning.

But Ye Shu was no longer calm. Pay attention? How? Why pay attention? Pay attention to what?

In TV dramas and novels, these kinds of lines are usually followed by... He didn't dare to think about it anymore.

"Um!"

Ye Shu quickly spoke up, abruptly interrupting the dangerous direction of the conversation:

"What kind of work do you do now? You seem quite busy, even carrying your laptop with you."

Ye Shu prayed frantically in her heart, "Please don't say anything more. What's there to be careful about? What do I have to be careful about?"

In TV dramas and novels, if someone says, "I started paying attention to you from then on," there's a 99% chance that a confession or heartfelt declaration of love is just around the corner.

Although Ye Shu wasn't so narcissistic as to think that every woman would be interested in him, the current atmosphere made it impossible for him not to overthink things!

Jiang Yining was momentarily taken aback by his abrupt change of scenery, like a train abruptly changing course, but she clearly understood Ye Shu's meaning. A slight smile curved her lips, but she quickly smoothed it out.

She followed up on Ye Shu's topic and replied:

"Yeah, just working for a company, everyone's a beast of burden."

Her answer was typical of urban white-collar workers, so Ye Shu didn't ask any further questions; he wasn't curious either.

Jiang Yining then threw the question back at him:

"And you? Have you been staying at this coffee shop since graduation?"

"Yes, the owner is nice, and the atmosphere in the store is relaxed, which I quite like."

Ye Shu spoke casually, but in his heart he was hoping to get home quickly. He was still not good at dealing with Jiang Yining, who had unclear motives and whose words always carried a subtle probing tone.

For the rest of the journey, the two chatted about trivial things, about the weather, the changes in the city over the years, and some inconsequential aspects of university life.

A polite yet distant calm was maintained throughout the carriage.

Finally, the pink Audi slowly stopped at the entrance of Yunduanyuan. Ye Shu immediately unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the car door, got out, and stood outside the car, speaking to Jiang Yining through the window:

"Thank you so much for bringing me back."

Jiang Yining didn't get out of the car; she just sat in the driver's seat, turned her head, and smiled at Ye Shu through the lowered window.

"It's okay, we're going the same way. We agreed to have dinner together another day, bye-bye."

She waved, and Ye Shu simply nodded without responding to the question, only adding, "Drive slowly."

Jiang Yining smiled, rolled up the car window, and drove away.

Ye Shu watched the car drive away before sighing. Holding the drink in his hand, he felt that the ten minutes he spent in the car were more tiring than a whole day's work.

This is a mental drain, requiring constant careful consideration of wording and vigilance regarding the direction of the conversation.

The battlefield outside is too complicated; it's better to go home.

Back at my own front door, I opened it and a familiar, reassuring scent greeted me.

The lights were on in the living room, and a variety show was playing on the TV, but the volume wasn't too loud.

Xia Qing was nestled on the sofa, holding a large glass basin filled with freshly washed strawberries.

She watched TV while slowly popping strawberries into her mouth, her cheeks puffed out, and she chuckled along with the TV.

Hearing the door open, Xia Qing turned around. Seeing Ye Shu, her eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned upwards, but she immediately suppressed it, turning back to watch TV, and even snorted through her nose.

"Hmph, so they really came back? I thought some people were having too much fun to leave and were out having dinner with their junior schoolmate."

After saying that, he sat there pretending to watch TV, and stuffed another strawberry into his mouth, but he didn't look at Ye Shu directly.

Ye Shu changed his shoes at the door, listened to Xia Qing's sour words, and looked at her curled up on the sofa. He walked straight to the sofa.

Xia Qing was still waiting for him to explain or try to appease her, but after a long time she didn't hear anything, so she couldn't help but steal a glance at him.

Then she saw Ye Shu put down the bag in his hand, suddenly bend over, spread his arms, and press his whole body against her.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

As soon as Xia Qing uttered the words, Ye Shu pulled her and the whole bowl of strawberries into his arms.

Ye Shu buried his face in her neck, took a deep breath, and his nose was filled with Xia Qing's familiar scent, along with a hint of strawberry sweetness.

Then he tightened his arms and hugged Xia Qing even tighter.

"What's wrong with you? Let go! The strawberries are going to spill! You'll have to wash the whole sofa!"

Xia Qing was stunned by his sudden bear hug. She gripped the large glass basin tightly in one hand and pushed against Ye Shu's chest with the other. Her face was a little red, whether from anger or something else, it was hard to tell.

Ye Shu ignored him, her face still buried in his shoulder, looking exhausted as if she had just survived a disaster.

"The women outside... are terrifying..."