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Not long after walking out of the tavern, Gu Mengyao broke into tears.
She had built up her courage for a long time before coming to see Xu Ye tonight.
In the past, it had always been Xu Ye who reached out to her first.
Tonight was the first time Gu Mengyao had ever taken the initiative to look for Xu Ye.
She felt like she had already compromised.
This shift in dynamics, along with Xu Ye’s cold and distant attitude just now, was something Gu Mengyao couldn’t accept.
Liu Qian gently patted Gu Mengyao’s back to comfort her. “Mengyao, don’t be like this. Didn’t you say you never planned to get into a relationship with him anyway?”
Gu Mengyao said, “I only said I didn’t plan on dating in high school—I never said I wouldn’t date in university.”
“You really like him?”
Gu Mengyao sniffled and replied with grievance, “It’s just that it suddenly feels like there’s someone missing beside me. I don’t feel safe.”
Liu Qian chuckled and said, “It’s okay. Things will be better once we get to university. There’ll be tons of guys more handsome than Xu Ye, and I’m sure plenty of them will be lining up to chase after you.”
“Do you think what Xu Ye said is true?”
“What exactly?”
“That he has a girlfriend.”
“That’s definitely not true. We just finished the college entrance exams half a month ago, and he’s been working a summer job ever since. Where would he find the time to get a girlfriend?”
Gu Mengyao said, “I just want to be sure.”
Liu Qian thought for a moment and said, “Then ask Qin Zhiwei. He and Xu Ye are really close—he’d definitely know.”
Gu Mengyao nodded, took out her phone, and sent a message to Qin Zhiwei.
Rose Girl: “Are you there?”
Lonely Soul: “Playing LoL. Say what you need—I’m about to enter a game.”
Rose Girl: “Did Xu Ye get a new girlfriend?”
Lonely Soul: “You saw something?”
Rose Girl: “Is it true?”
Lonely Soul: “Should be. Xu Ye mentioned it to me a few days ago.”
After seeing that, Gu Mengyao didn’t reply.
Liu Qian glanced over the chat and chuckled. “Don’t worry, his girlfriend’s definitely not as pretty as you. Once you find a boyfriend who’s even better than him, Xu Ye will regret it so much he won’t be able to sleep.”
Gu Mengyao didn’t respond. Her expression was blank, as if lost in thought.
…
Just after the two girls left, Pei Youwei draped her freshly manicured hand over Xu Ye’s shoulder and grinned. “Come on, spill it—what’s going on?”
“It’s a long story.”
“No rush. The night is young—plenty of time to talk.”
Xu Ye gave Pei Youwei a quick once-over, his eyes scanning downward until they reached her chest—then he immediately looked back up. “Madam Boss, why are you always so nosy?”
Pei Youwei lightly patted him on the back and laughed. “Cut the nonsense and start talking, or I’m docking your pay.”
“That girl just now—I chased her all through high school. Then I realized she was stringing me along the whole time, just keeping me as a backup option. After the college entrance exams, I stopped chasing her. That’s all.”
Pei Youwei asked, “So, she came to see you—was it because you scored well on the exams?”
“Maybe. But I think it’s more likely she just got used to having someone fawn over her all the time. Now that no one’s doing that anymore, she feels like she’s lost face.”
“You’ve got some guts, huh? Saying you’re done means you’re really done. That takes nerve.”
Xu Ye grinned. “The wise do not fall in love.”
“So, what’s the deal with you and Chen Qingqing then?”
“We’re friends. Friends—don’t you get it?”
“Honestly, I think you two would make a good match.”
Xu Ye threw an arm around Pei Youwei’s shoulders and shamelessly asked, “Xiaonuan-jie, Zhou Ying-jie, don’t you think the boss and I would make a cute couple?”
“You’re asking for it, aren’t you? How dare you joke around like that with me.”
Pei Youwei pinched Xu Ye’s waist, and he yelped dramatically before quickly slipping away.
…
Home. Driving School. Tavern.
The routine of moving between home, the Driving School, and the tavern continued steadily until the end of the month.
That morning, Xu Ye arrived early at Qin Zhiwei’s house—the two of them were going to fill out their university applications.
Xu Ye had already made up his mind to apply to the Shanghai Institute of Finance. For the past few days, Qin Zhiwei had been torn. If he stayed within the province, his scores were good enough for a decent university. But if he chose to go to Shanghai, where the admission bar was much higher, he might only get into a bottom-tier university.
“Xu Ye, why do you want to go to Shanghai?” Qin Zhiwei asked.
Xu Ye replied without hesitation, “Shanghai is a first-tier city in China, full of opportunities. If I study in the provincial capital, even after graduating, I’ll probably still end up working in another province.”
Qin Zhiwei had no concrete plans for the future. And he wasn’t the only one—many people his age were just as directionless.
They didn’t realize that whichever university they chose, and whatever major they picked, could end up shaping the course of their entire lives.
“Xu Ye, recommend a university for me,” Qin Zhiwei said.
Xu Ye responded, “How about Shanghai Institute of Applied Technology?”
The reason Xu Ye recommended that university was because, in two years, it would be renamed the Shanghai University of Applied Technology.
Seeing that Qin Zhiwei was still hesitant, Xu Ye said, “Why don’t you go ask your parents?”
“They don’t really understand this stuff,” Qin Zhiwei replied. “They just told me to figure it out on my own.”
Xu Ye reached out and patted him on the shoulder. “Then trust me. Stick with me—you won’t go wrong.”
“Alright! I’ll go with your choice. If the job prospects aren’t great, I’ll just start prepping for the civil service exam in my third or fourth year.”
With that, the two of them got to work and quickly submitted their applications.
After settling their university choices in the morning, the two headed to the vehicle administration office in the afternoon and successfully passed Driving Test Part One.
Xu Ye, of course, had no trouble with the test. Qin Zhiwei had also been brushing up on practice questions these past few days. Having just finished the college entrance exams, his mind was still sharp—passing Driving Test Part One was a breeze.
After the test, the two went their separate ways and headed home.
As soon as Xu Ye opened the door, he realized there were guests.
“Aunt?”
The woman sitting on the couch, chatting and laughing with Zhang Hong, was Zhang Lan. She was thirty-six years old and currently worked as a nurse at a public hospital in the city.
Seeing Xu Ye walk in, Zhang Lan greeted him with a warm smile. “Xiao Ye, you’re back.”
“Xu Ye-gege~”
On the couch, a young girl sitting beside Zhang Lan saw Xu Ye walk in. She immediately jumped up and bounced over to him with excitement.
She was Xu Ye’s little cousin, Wang Yuxin, who was about to start junior high. Back when she was in elementary school, Xu Ye had lived at their grandmother’s house for a while, so he had practically watched her grow up.
“Wang Yuxin, you’ve gotten so tall!” Xu Ye said.
Wang Yuxin had been all smiles just moments ago, but as soon as she heard his comment, she crossed her arms at her waist and puffed up her cheeks in mock indignation, clearly displeased.
She was only about 150 cm tall. Standing next to Xu Ye, the top of her head barely reached his chest.
Girls were different from boys—while boys could keep growing into high school, most girls stopped growing around the age of fifteen.
Looking at Wang Yuxin in her denim overalls, cheeks puffed up in annoyance, Xu Ye stepped forward and roughly tousled her hair with a grin. “What’s with the attitude? Not happy to see me?”
Wang Yuxin immediately ran to complain. “Mom, look at Xu Ye-gege!”
Zhang Lan chuckled. “He’s just teasing you.”
“Stinky Xu Ye-gege! If you keep messing with my head, I’ll never grow taller!” Wang Yuxin huffed, then turned and stormed off.
Xu Ye moved over to join the adults for a chat. After a while, as the conversation wound down, Zhang Lan got up to leave. Before she left, she slipped a red envelope into Xu Ye’s hand.
Xu Ye took it without hesitation—he really had no choice. He was short on money.
“Xiao Ye, I swear your skin’s getting thicker by the day. Your aunt gives you money and you don’t even pretend to refuse it?” Zhang Hong teased.
“Oh, Mom, once Yuxin gets into university, she’ll have to return the favor anyway. By the way, Yuxin, why are you still here?!”
Zhang Hong explained, “Your aunt is going to another city’s hospital for an exchange program, so Yuxin will be staying with us for a while.”
“That can’t be,” Xu Ye said, puzzled. “We only have two rooms in the house. Where is she supposed to sleep?”
Zhang Hong said matter-of-factly, “Of course, she’ll sleep in your room.”
Xu Ye immediately protested, “Mom, Yuxin’s grown up now. You can’t do that—there should be boundaries between boys and girls.”
“What are you thinking? You’ll sleep on the living room sofa.”
“WTF!”
…
Note:
We have chosen to retain certain Chinese terms in their original form to preserve their cultural essence, emotional nuance, and hierarchical context. These expressions often carry layers of meaning that are difficult to fully capture in English. Below is a list of commonly used terms with their meanings:
These terms may appear throughout our translation to preserve the tone and authenticity of the original Chinese text. Thank you for your understanding!