Chapter 029

He Ye was lucky. After getting on the bus, the passenger next to her got off.

She sat down and held her backpack between her legs.

Her phone vibrated.

Lowering her lashes, she took out her phone. Not wanting anyone to see, she tilted the screen toward the window.

Team leader: [I will pick you up in the evening.]

He Ye bit her lip and flipped her phone over.

Counting Sunday, she hadn’t seen Lu Jin for two days and one night and hadn’t replied to his messages.

At first, Lu Jin apologized, but she ignored him. He stopped apologizing and just sent her the lesson plan and then went back to saying good morning and good night, sharing interesting things from his internship, and then sent the recent message.

She could ignore the earlier messages, but now…

She replied: [No, I don’t want to see you.]

Team leader: [I miss you very much.]

He Ye glanced at it, turned off the screen, and tossed her phone into her backpack.

The car’s air conditioning hummed, and the sunlight outside was glaring, even though it was only eight in the morning.

The middle-aged man in front dozed against the window, while the suited man next to him focused on his phone.

He Ye looked out the window again, recalling what happened that afternoon.

He didn’t keep his word. He said it was just once, but it was more than that. She had been pressed against the sofa, and Lu Jin even lifted her shirt…

 He Ye rushed back home, and by the time she arrived, it was already evening. 

The clothes she wore felt uncomfortable against her skin, and her heart felt uneasy too. She didn’t like this feeling, but she felt too weak to express herself. Every time she tried to speak, her voice sounded strange to her.

In the dim and quiet living room, the sounds around her seemed louder.

She felt like Lu Jin was a wolf that wouldn’t let go once he had bitten down on his prey. 

He Ye closed her eyes, wishing for the familiar Lu Jin from her senior year of high school. The person he had become now felt more and more strange to her. 

Was this what growing up meant? If so, He Ye would rather stay a high school student and avoid relationships.

During tutoring sessions, He Ye was always very focused. However, that night, she didn’t even realize the lesson had ended and kept talking for an extra ten minutes. 

Only when the parents of her students came to pick them up did she stop. 

“You’re a very responsible teacher. The tutors we hired before usually left on time,” one parent complimented as He Ye packed her bag. 

She felt undeserving of the praise. If she hadn’t been avoiding Lu Jin, she would have likely left work on time.

“It’s hot outside; let’s eat on the way,” another parent suggested.

As they were leaving, the parents happily handed He Ye a box of ice cream, which was not cheap.

Before stepping into the elevator, He Ye called her father. She put on her headphones to listen to English while opening the ice cream.

When she exited the elevator, she immediately spotted Lu Jin. He was tall and handsome in his usual white short-sleeved shirt, standing under the bright lights. It was hard to believe he could look so greedy in the dark.

He Ye quickly averted her gaze and walked past him as if she didn’t see him. 

She didn’t look back, but she knew Lu Jin was following her. 

The streetlights cast long shadows behind him, which grew shorter before disappearing and reappearing under the next streetlight. 

At the bus stop, He Ye waited for a bus that ran until 11 p.m. 

When the bus arrived, it was mostly empty. He Ye took a seat in the middle on the right side.

Lu Jin sat sideways in front of her. His eyes were dark and heavy, possibly showing regret or something else. He Ye didn’t look closely and continued to eat her ice cream.

After a minute, Lu Jin’s phone screen appeared in front of her, showing: [Are you really not going to say anything to me?]

He Ye remained silent. 

Lu Jin sent another message: [Is this our first fight?] 

He Ye looked out the window, ignoring him. 

He then texted: [I’m sorry; I went too far.] 

Feeling frustrated, He Ye left her seat and stood by the driver, avoiding Lu Jin’s gaze.

The driver glanced back, seeing the handsome boy sitting alone, looking deep in thought. 

Are these young lovers fighting? he wondered.

As the bus approached her stop, He Ye felt anxious; she didn’t want her father to see her getting off the bus with Lu Jin.

She stole a few glances at Lu Jin. Suddenly, he stood up, walked to the exit, and held onto the overhead handrail.

At the second-to-last stop, Lu Jin looked at He Ye, took a step out, and got off the bus.

He Ye watched him pull out his phone.

Her phone vibrated, and she read a message from him: [I’m not far away; I’ll walk back.]

He Ye looked back again and saw Lu Jin walking slowly down the sidewalk, alone in the dark.

It felt like something had poked her heart, leaving a sour feeling.

Over the next week, Lu Jin didn’t ask to see her again, but every night at 8 p.m., he sent her the programming lesson plans that matched her progress.

He was a top student, and his lesson plans were well done. Since their classes weren’t in person, he added many notes and used more PowerPoint slides than usual.

At first, He Ye was very angry and ignored the lesson plans. However, after Wednesday night, she started studying again but still didn’t reply to his messages.

Soon it was another Wednesday, and it was drizzling outside. 

Because of the bad weather, He Ye didn’t stay late for extra tutoring and left her student’s house right at 9:30.

Lu Jin was waiting downstairs for her. 

He Ye opened her umbrella early to hide from him.

The same bus was there, with a few tired-looking passengers scattered inside.

He Ye chose a seat, and Lu Jin sat in front of her, sitting sideways and looking back at her with dark eyes.

He Ye turned away, feeling the heat rising on her face under his persistent gaze.

They had shared so many intimate moments before.

Just as He Ye was about to change seats, Lu Jin raised his phone: [Are you not angry anymore? School starts in half a month, and you won’t see me even if you want to.]

That was true; today was August 13th.

Lu Jin continued: [My internship ends on Friday. Starting Saturday, will I still be able to drop you off like before?]

He Ye didn’t agree or disagree.

The rain pattered against the window, and the number of people on the bus decreased. Before they knew it, they were at the penultimate stop^[1]refers to the second-to-last stop before the final destination..

Lu Jin picked up his umbrella and stood up, reaching out to gently rub He Ye’s head as he passed.

When the rear door closed, He Ye looked outside and saw Lu Jin’s gaze through the glass.

She didn’t need to avoid him anymore; the bus moved away from him on the roadside.

The next two days flew by, and on Saturday morning, He Ye stepped out of her building with her schoolbag and saw Lu Jin waiting under a tree with his bicycle.

He looked cool in a clean white shirt, a sharp contrast to the Lu Jin from her high school memories.

He Ye bit her lip, walked around to the back of the bicycle, and sat down with her schoolbag in her arms, feeling Lu Jin’s gaze on her.

Lu Jin smiled and took her to the bus stop at the South Gate. The sunlight shone through the leaves, lighting up his lively eyes.

At 8:30 PM, He Ye had just received the PowerPoint course materials Lu Jin sent when the doorbell, which hadn’t rung in two weeks, suddenly chimed.

She walked slowly to the entrance. 

*Is this considered a reconciliation?* 

It didn’t seem right to refuse to meet him in the stairwell. But some things still felt different. Standing in the narrow, quiet stairwell, He Ye looked down, feeling cautious.

Lu Jin leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, watching her quietly. 

No one spoke, and the lights above quickly dimmed.

In the darkness, He Ye heard Lu Jin move closer. He took her hand and guided her toward the wall.

When she was pushed against the wall, He Ye instinctively raised her hand to separate them.

Lu Jin asked, “Are you really that scared?”

He Ye replied, “I don’t like that.”

Since the stairwell was a public place, they spoke in whispers to avoid being overheard. 

Lu Jin rubbed her forehead, saying, “You didn’t like kissing at first, but you got used to it after a few times.”

He Ye looked at him in disbelief.

He touched the corner of her lips: “I don’t want to rush you, but I can’t help it. I miss you when I see you.”

He Ye’s heart raced. She wanted to leave, but Lu Jin supported himself against the wall with his arms, blocking her way.

“You…”

He Jin hugged her gently and whispered in her ear, “He Ye, I know I’ve been too much, but I’m serious about you. I’ll treat you this way for life.”

His low, pleading tone made her feel heartless if she refused.

“He Ye, can we try again? I’ll be careful this time and won’t kiss you for too long.”

He Ye hesitated, saying, “You…”

Lu Jin interrupted, “Count in your head. When you reach twenty, I’ll stop.”

He coaxed her and kissed her ear softly. Although he held her gently, he seemed ready to let her go if she insisted.

He Ye wanted to leave but thought about how kind Lu Jin had been the past two weeks, how he walked alone on the roadside at night, and how school was starting soon.

He liked her so much, and it had happened before…

Her soft heart made her want to compromise, but she stubbornly said, “Count to ten, and you must stop.”

Lu Jin smiled, lifting her chin: “Okay, but kissing doesn’t count.”

He Ye bit her lip but was quickly pulled close.

The longer he kissed her, the more restless his hands became. He pushed He Ye to the corner of the stairwell and used his back to block her body.

“Ten, here we go!” 

He Ye counted quickly, almost too fast for Lu Jin to respond. 

But he stopped as promised, gently setting her down and holding her face, kissing her deeply again.

He Ye’s heart raced. Even though she felt a bit safer now, she was still anxious that someone might have seen them.

Feeling overwhelmed, she turned her head away from him.

Lu Jin leaned against the wall, breathing heavily above her head.

“I’m leaving,” He Ye said quietly.

Lu Jin held her hand, asking, “Tomorrow is Sunday. Do you want to go out or study programming?”

He Ye quickly chose the first option. He usually behaved himself in public, but at home, he was different.

“Let’s go to the mall. It’s payday, and I want to buy you something,” Lu Jin suggested.

He Ye frowned. “No, I can buy what I need myself.”

Lu Jin insisted, “It’s special. It’s my first paycheck, and it means something different. I have something in mind for you.”

He Ye replied, “That still depends on whether I like it. You can’t buy me anything too expensive.”

“Okay, you decide,” Lu Jin agreed, willing to go along with her.