Chapter 8: Will He Come Back?

　　

　　There were stairs behind him, and Jiang Yining almost missed a step. Even after standing firmly, his heart was still beating fast.

　　Jiang Yining was surprised by He Chi’s appearance. Her eyes fell on He Chi’s hand holding her arm, but she quickly looked away and raised her eyes to look at He Chi.

　　Because of this little accident, she threw herself into He Chi’s arms.

　　He was dressed more formally today than the previous two times I met him, wearing a black shirt and matching trousers.

　　However, the buttons of his shirt were not buttoned to the top, but two were undone, and the protruding Adam’s apple on his neck was very obvious.

　　With his sleeves rolled up, revealing a part of his forearms, he looked casual and uninhibited even in a shirt and trousers.

　　Jiang Yining just took a quick glance and quickly looked away.

　　When He Chi saw her lower her eyes, he took a step back and loosened his hand. His frown had not yet relaxed. “There are often children running up and down the stairs here. You have to keep an eye on them.”

　　What he said seemed like he cared about her, but his tone was too serious. Jiang Yining didn’t know if He Chi was blaming her for not looking at the road just now.

　　Jiang Yining was feeling slightly depressed.

　　She looked up at He Chi and saw that his expression had returned to normal. She managed to calm down and said, “I know. I’m sorry for what happened just now.”

　　Perhaps realizing that he had frightened her, He Chi took the initiative to ease the atmosphere, “Don’t blame you, I left too hastily.”

　　”I’m going to go buy some food. Do you have any snacks you like?”

　　Will he come back?

　　Jiang Yining was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted, “I can make do with anything.”

　　She walked aside and asked He Chi to go downstairs, “Then I’ll go up first.”

　　He Chi did not leave. He looked back at Jiang Yining’s back, feeling a little helpless.

　　I was in a hurry just now. I am usually surrounded by rough men and am used to being straightforward. But when facing the sensitive and delicate Jiang Yining, this approach doesn’t seem to work.

　　Calculating the time, He Chi didn’t come back so soon, and Lin Shu knew that it must be Jiang Yining who came this time.

　　Lin Shu opened the door and said with a smile, “Yining, come in.”

　　She saw Jiang Yining coming with some fruit and said, “Kid, I told you not to buy anything, but you just wouldn’t listen.”

　　Jiang Yining smiled, “Teacher Lin, it’s just some fruit.”

　　A cat’s meow was heard from the living room. Jiang Yining thought he had misheard, but this time it was clearer.

　　Jiang Yining asked curiously, “Teacher Lin, do you have a cat?”

　　She remembered that Teacher Lin said he didn’t like keeping small animals.

　　Lin Shu was worried about He Chi’s cat. “It’s He Chi’s cat. He has to go on a business trip these days and said he wanted to leave it with me for a few days.”

　　”Yining, go sit for a while. I’ll go wash some fruit.”

　　Jiang Yining looked around and finally saw He Chi’s cat behind the sofa. When she saw it was a blue cat, she was dazed.

　　She also raised one two years ago, but it died of heatstroke. If it were still alive, it would probably be the same size as He Chi’s.

　　Blue cats tend to gain weight easily, but He Chi’s cat has a good body shape, strong and not fat.

　　When it saw Jiang Yining, it walked to her feet and rubbed against her a few times. Jiang Yining then touched it tentatively. It did not resist, but rubbed against her palm instead.

　　Lin Shu came out after washing the fruit and saw He Chi’s cat getting close to Jiang Yining, so she said, “This cat is not close to me. While I was sitting here, it was lying lazily next to the sofa.”

　　Jiang Yining couldn’t think of it either, “It looks a lot like the one I had before.”

　　While the father and son were not in the living room, Lin Shu said tactfully, “Yining, several of the sons of teachers in my office are about your age, and they have good personalities and careers. Do you want me to arrange one for you?”

　　Jiang Yining thanked him first, then smiled and declined, “Teacher Lin, I don’t want to think about this issue now. If I need anything in the future, I will ask you.”

　　Lin Shu respected her opinion and did not mention the blind date that Zhao Hong had arranged for her. The two of them tacitly left the topic at that point.

　　After He Chi came back from buying soy sauce, he first took the things Teacher He needed to the kitchen, and then went into the living room.

　　Teacher Lin and Jiang Yining were having a great time together, just like a mother and daughter.

　　Although He Chi seldom saw Jiang Yining, he knew how much Teacher Lin liked Jiang Yining.

　　When Jiang Yining was in her senior year of high school, her mother was hospitalized due to cancer. Teacher Lin was worried that her family affairs would affect her college entrance examination, so she took special care of her.

　　As a result, the relationship between teacher and student became closer. In addition, Jiang Yining had always been a model student, so after graduating from university, she embarked on the path of teaching and educating people.

　　As both her favorite student and a fellow teacher, Teacher Lin treats Jiang Yining so well that others feel that she is Teacher Lin’s child, and that this son of hers was picked up from a garbage can.

　　He Chi had been out for quite a while, and Lin Shu was wondering why he hadn’t come back yet.

　　But now, I understand why He Chi came back late.

　　In addition to bringing back a bottle of soy sauce for Teacher He, he also carried a bunch of things in his hands, including fruit snacks, and there were seven or eight kinds of fruits alone.

　　He Chi washed some of everything and said, “I didn’t know what you like to eat, so I bought some of everything.”

　　Teacher Lin looked at He Chi in surprise. He was so considerate. Was he still her straight-laced son?

　　Jiang Yining didn’t know how to describe her feelings at the moment. Her face remained calm and she said thank you.

　　Only she herself knew how flustered she was right now.

　　With He Chi present, Jiang Yining became much quieter. She ate some fruit and talked to Lin Shu.

　　Fortunately, He Chi went into the kitchen to help Teacher He. As soon as he left, Jiang Yining breathed a sigh of relief, otherwise she was really afraid that Teacher Lin would notice her mood changes.

　　Jiang Yining was also annoyed that she was easily nervous in front of He Chi. She wanted to see him, but she didn’t know how to get along with him naturally.

　　After chatting with Lin Shu for a while, Jiang Yining looked down at the cat sleeping at his feet, thought for a moment and said, “Teacher Lin, I’m free now, I can help take care of it for a few days.”

　　Lin Shu was not polite to Jiang Yining. Seeing that she took the initiative to help take care of the cat, he said with a sense of relief, “You have helped me a lot.”

　　Then she complained, “He Chi brought the cat here without saying a word. I was not mentally prepared at all.”

　　Jiang Yining picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. Listening to Teacher Lin’s complaints about He Chi, she put down the teacup and laughed softly.

　　When He Chi came out of the kitchen, he saw Jiang Yining smiling with her lips curved and her brows relaxed.

　　But the moment she saw him, Jiang Yining put away her smile.

　　The sudden eye contact made Jiang Yining feel at a loss.

　　He Chi stared at her with his dark eyes, and only looked away when he saw that she was nervous.

　　He went to take the birthday cake out of the refrigerator.

　　Seeing He Chi take out the cake from the refrigerator, Jiang Yining guessed, “Mrs. Lin, happy birthday.”

　　She said embarrassedly, “I didn’t even know it was your birthday today. I didn’t even bring a present.”

　　Lin Shu: “I’ll be happy if you can come over. No gifts are needed, and I didn’t tell you about the birthday in advance.”

　　She changed the subject, looked at He Chi and said, “He Chi, Yining said she would help take care of your cat for a few days, and you haven’t thanked her yet.”

　　He Chi was surprised and raised his eyebrows slightly, his thin lips twitched slightly, he looked at Jiang Yining, “Then I’m sorry to bother you for the next few days.”

　　Jiang Yining pretended to be calm, “No trouble, I like it very much. By the way, does it have a name?”

　　He Chi: “Yes, He Xiaohui.”

　　When He Xiaohui heard He Chi calling his name, he meowed in cooperation.

　　Teacher Lin knew his son well and shook her head, “You are so lazy even to choose a name.”

　　After dinner, several people were watching TV in the living room. Teacher Lin didn’t care that Jiang Yining was there, and asked He Chi, “Last time you told the girl you were dating that you like men…”

　　He Chi coughed lightly and interrupted Teacher Lin, “Mom, today is your birthday, let’s not talk about this.”

　　He saw Jiang Yining turned her head and looked at him, her eyes full of surprise.

　　He and Jiang Yining had a blind date in a cafe on the same day and he couldn’t refuse. If he didn’t go, Teacher Lin would sever the mother-son relationship. So he just made up an excuse to get away with it.

　　Now that it was brought up in front of other people, He Chi sighed. As expected, one must pay for one’s actions.

　　Teacher Lin was not going to let him go, “Do you think I want to mention these things on my birthday? You usually say I’m busy when I call you, and hang up after a few words.”

　　”The daughter of Mr. Zhang, the head of the history department of our school, is one year younger than you. She took the postgraduate entrance examination after work and will graduate this year. If you are free, I will arrange a meeting for you.”