Chapter 14

Her thoughts returned to the present.

Duan Shiyan gazed at her silently. The girl sitting across from him had bright eyes, as if she had decided that he was just being arrogant, caring deep down but refusing to admit it.

He lowered his gaze, a faint smile playing on his lips, and suddenly spoke in a low voice, “Jinwu, you’re such a fool.”

Jinwu: ?

Why was he suddenly attacking her character?

But what had he thought of?

His expression seemed to turn melancholic again…

As Jinwu watched, Duan Shiyan handed her the already-cut steak, his usual lazy and unrestrained demeanor returning. “Eat, you silly goose.”

Had he cut the steak for her?

Jinwu blinked in surprise, taken aback.

Noticing her reaction, Duan Shiyan raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong, don’t you like it?”

He remembered she used to love beef.

Whenever the cafeteria served stir-fried beef cubes, she would quietly ask the cafeteria auntie if she could have a little more.

Sometimes her voice was too soft, the cafeteria auntie wouldn’t hear, or wouldn’t respond.

He, who was secretly lined up behind her, would click his tongue. “Can you give her a little more meat? Do you want to starve our top student?”

Then he would see the girl standing in front of him, her ears, peeking out from her hair, turn red.

Click, she was so cute.

If he wasn’t afraid of her getting angry again, he really wanted to pinch her.

“No, I don’t dislike it.”

Jinwu shook her head, honestly saying, “I just didn’t expect you to cut steak for someone else.”

In her stereotype, someone like him, a wealthy young master born with a silver spoon in his mouth, would be used to ordering others around.

He wouldn’t do something like actively serving someone else.

Like Fu Yulchen, he would never do something like cutting steak for her.

Duan Shiyan’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“Do you think I help everyone?”

His tone was lazy, but it was as if he was hiding a burning passion beneath that laziness. “Jinwu, you’re the first.”

And you’ll be the last.

Duan Shiyan leaned back leisurely, his low, magnetic Beijing accent carrying a casual and unrestrained air of a noble gentleman. “So you have to eat more, don’t waste my effort. If it’s not enough, tell me, don’t be polite, okay?”

A slightly spoiled, and somewhat presumptuous statement.

Unexpectedly, it wasn’t off-putting.

Jinwu looked at him, her lips curving into a smile. “Okay.”

—

Elegant cello music filled the performance area.

Jinwu had completely relaxed, enjoying her meal and reminiscing about various high school anecdotes.

The man sitting across from her not only listened attentively, but also accurately recalled what she had done in each story.

As if in this journey of youth, she was the only heroine in his eyes.

So, from the smallest detail, he knew more than anyone, even more than she herself.

Jinwu couldn’t help but mutter, “How come you remember everything about me so clearly?”

Duan Shiyan raised his eyebrows slightly, his tone soft and melancholic. “That’s because back then, a certain little class monitor only had eyes for that scumbag named Fu, she wouldn’t even spare a glance for me.”

A light hum escaped his throat, like a lovelorn young man, his tone drawn out. “She was really so obsessed with him and ignored her friend.”

Jinwu: “…”

Suddenly, her conscience felt a little uneasy, as if she had truly wronged him.

“I was wrong.”

Jinwu lowered her gaze. “I was so stupid back then, I couldn’t tell the difference between a human and a dog.”

This immediately made Duan Shiyan frown.

“What are you wrong about?”

His sharp, arrogant eyes held a clear protectiveness. “It was obviously that scumbag who wronged you. You were completely innocent, you even suffered for him, if anyone did wrong, it was that scumbag.”

“And the dog was so cute.”

Little Dog Duan earnestly defended the dog’s honor. “That scumbag doesn’t deserve to be associated with the dog.”

Yes, that’s right.

It was all Fu Yulchen’s fault.

His Dr. Jin and the dog had done nothing wrong!

Jinwu stared at him as he hummed in agreement, unable to hold back her laughter.

Goodness!

How come she hadn’t realized before that he could be so childish and adorable?

Just like how she had initially worried that tonight’s dinner would be awkward and uncomfortable, it turned out to be unexpectedly relaxed and enjoyable.

“Buzz——”

Just as her eyes were filled with a sparkling smile, and she was about to say something.

The phone on the table suddenly vibrated a few times, and Zhou Yaning’s message popped up on the screen.

You unfilial daughter, I’ve raised you for so many years, this is how you repay me?!

How will you ever understand? In this world, besides your mother, who else will care so much about your lifelong happiness, who will work so hard to plan for your future?!

Don’t think this is over, you won’t be at peace until you get back together with Yulchen, I’ll go to the hospital to find you every day, just you wait!

Every word in the message was like a mountain, suffocating her.

Jinwu pursed her lips, quickly deleting all the messages. The relaxed and carefree look in her eyes that had just been there, was extinguished, and dimmed again.

“Who’s making you upset?”

Seeing her suddenly look downcast, the man who had just been lazy and nonchalant immediately sat up straight, his eyes becoming sharp and cold, his voice laced with suppressed anger, each word grinding out from between his teeth. “Your mother?”

“Yeah…”

If it had been anyone else, she would have been able to cut off all ties without hesitation.

But Zhou Yaning was her biological mother, her blood relative.

If she completely cut off contact, she would lose the only family she had in the world, and she would be left alone…

“Jinwu.”

Just as she was lost in a state of helpless confusion.

She suddenly heard someone call her name. “The suggestion I made last time still stands, you can choose me to get revenge on your ex-boyfriend, or you can let me be your shield, so your mother won’t bother you anymore because you refused to get back together.”

“I would be your best choice.”

Duan Shiyan’s deep gaze met hers, direct and intense, like a scorching sun that could dispel darkness and guide the way. “So, if you don’t hate me too much, don’t reject me too quickly.”

“Take a closer look at me.”