She stood up straight, hands behind her back, like a student who had done something wrong: “I didn’t mean to.”

He Shen slowly raised his eyes, playing with the small square box in his hand. He walked over, his gaze fixed on her. He stopped in front of her, bent slightly at the waist, his tone tinged with a hint of amusement: “I know.”

Zhu Yiyi’s face burned.

She snatched it from his hand and shoved it into the drawer, slamming it shut with a “bang.”

She kicked the few boxes on the floor into a corner, out of sight.

“…Why didn’t you throw these away?”

Her voice was muffled.

“I’ve been on business trips all month, I forgot.”

He Shen was someone who would forget to eat when he was busy, let alone such a small thing. Zhu Yiyi firmly believed this.

She put the documents on the desk back in place: “I’ve searched everywhere, still nothing, maybe the USB drive isn’t here, I must have remembered wrong.”

“Go look in the bedroom?”

“No, forget it if it’s lost,” she really didn’t want to continue searching, “Anyway, there’s a backup.”

Forget it if it’s lost.

There’s a backup.

He Shen’s eyes were cold, his tone changed: “I heard your blind dates haven’t been going well lately.”

Zhu Yiyi’s steps towards the door stopped. The question was so awkward that she didn’t know how to answer.

Talking about blind dates with her ex-boyfriend?

What was the difference between that and her current boyfriend talking about his backup?

She chose to play dead.

Zhu Yiyi didn’t want to stay any longer, “I’ve wasted your time today, Mr. He, it’s getting late, I’ll go back now.”

She walked downstairs without hesitation.

She walked downstairs in her slippers, stepping on the fluffy carpet, it felt like the sponge balls in the mall, so relaxing.

She was a little reluctant to leave.

Every step was worth ten thousand yuan.

As she passed the kitchen, she glanced casually, her steps stopped.

Compared to other places, the kitchen hadn’t changed at all. He Shen wouldn’t cook when she wasn’t around, the pots and pans were as good as new.

It was clear that they hadn’t been used for a very long time.

Zhu Yiyi was sure that after she left, He Shen wouldn’t eat on time again.

He also had low blood sugar.

“Mr. He…eat on time.”

The temperature in Beijing was very low in the early autumn evening, the living room was warm, but the balcony was cold and windy.

He Shen was smoking on the balcony.

He turned his back to her, the joints of his fingers holding the cigarette were red from the cold. Outside was the night sky, with lights from thousands of homes, his back was lonely, only the faint spark of his fingertip flickering.

He was even more silent than the night.

After finishing a cigarette, he flicked the ash with his finger, extinguishing it in the ashtray.

He didn’t even turn around.

Zhu Yiyi turned to leave, walked to the entrance, stopped again, and sighed.

The last time I felt sorry for him.

She told herself.

“I’ve wasted so much of your time today, I’ll make you dinner,” she said softly, “He Shen.”

The person with their back to her finally moved.

He slowly turned around, took off his glasses with one hand, his cold brow bones were somewhat arrogant and unrestrained, “I thought you forgot my name.”

Without the cover of the lenses, there was something in the depths of those eyes, as if it was about to spill out.

It was something Zhu Yiyi had longed to see in his eyes a long time ago.

But at this moment, she turned her head away.

Eliminating the last possibility of seeing it.

Zhu Yiyi walked to the refrigerator, opened the door, there was only a pack of instant noodles, a tomato, and an egg.

Even a skilled cook can’t make a meal with these ingredients, not even half a meal.

Zhu Yiyi simply boiled half a pot of noodles.

She served He Shen a bowl, and she also served herself a bowl, the two of them sat at the dining table for dinner.

“It’s bland.” He said.

“Oh, I didn’t put enough salt.”

He Shen ate very lightly, she had deliberately made it bland.

“Didn’t you like it spicy?”

“I used to,” she said, “I don’t anymore.”

He Shen lowered his eyelashes, his lips were tightly pressed together.

Zhu Yiyi had worked all afternoon, she was really hungry, she slurped the noodles loudly.

It was rare that she didn’t have morning sickness.

During the meal, Ms. Zhu sent a message urging Zhu Yiyi to go home.

She replied while eating, making up a story about working overtime.

The other side immediately sent a voice message, she accidentally clicked on it, Ms. Zhu roared: “Zhu Yiyi, are you brain-dead, what overtime, you’re now pregnant—”

Zhu Yiyi abruptly cut off the call.

Her heart almost jumped out of her throat.

She nervously glanced at He Shen, but unexpectedly, she met the man’s deep gaze.

It was like a teacher in class asking a question, and she was the lucky student.

Zhu Yiyi choked: “Cough, cough…”

He Shen poured her a glass of water: “Be careful.”

He patted her back gently.

The second He Shen touched her, Zhu Yiyi jumped up, backing away several meters: “I’m fine!”

He Shen’s hand froze in mid-air, he took it back after a while.

It was already eight o’clock.

No wonder Ms. Zhu was urging her to go home.

Zhu Yiyi walked to the dining table, picked up her bowl and drank the last sip of soup, she picked up her shoulder bag, “Mr. He, I’ll go back now.”

“I’ll take you.”

“No—”

“It’s raining outside.”

When she arrived earlier, the sunset was still red.

Zhu Yiyi didn’t believe it, she went to the window, leaned closer and could see a light drizzle, it was really raining.

This was Beijing’s first autumn rain.

After the autumn rain, there would be the first major drop in temperature, officially entering the autumn and winter transition period.

Zhu Yiyi touched her belly discreetly.

“Okay.”

He Shen asked her to wait again, while she was changing her shoes, he took a coat from the bedroom, “Wear this.”

“I have a coat.”

“It’s cold outside.”

Zhu Yiyi didn’t refuse, she took it and put it on, “…Thank you.”

As she opened the apartment door, the hallway outside was still as warm as ever.

Zhu Yiyi sighed again, money truly is good.

He Shen closed the door, hooked his car keys with one hand, “Take the elevator directly to the parking lot.”

“Oh okay.”

As soon as Zhu Yiyi took a step, the elevator door opposite suddenly dinged.

This was one household per floor, besides He Shen, the owner, no one else would come to this floor without any reason.

But the elevator door opened.

A woman dressed in bright clothes, with an elegant demeanor, walked out, she was still carrying a food thermos in her left hand, it seemed like she was delivering food.

She saw the man at the elevator entrance and smiled: “He Shen—”

Her words stopped abruptly.

Because she also saw Zhu Yiyi standing next to He Shen.

Lu Pei’s smile froze: “Yiyi is here too, I thought I was seeing things.”

She saw Zhu Yiyi wearing He Shen’s coat, she casually mentioned: “Didn’t you say you broke up, what’s this about today?”

It was like waking a sleeping person.

Zhu Yiyi’s expression had been very calm since she saw her, and now she had no expression at all, “I came to get something, I’ll go home now, I won’t disturb your meal.”

She didn’t care about He Shen and Lu Pei’s reaction, she turned and left.

“I’ll take you.” He Shen followed.

“No,” Zhu Yiyi’s attitude was firm, “It has nothing to do with you, Mr. He.”

She pressed the button for the first floor, before the elevator door closed, she didn’t look at him again.

When she exited the community, the rain had lessened.

Zhu Yiyi stood at the intersection waiting for a taxi, a taxi happened to stop at the curb, “Miss, where are you going?”

“Go to the south of the city, how much?”

The driver quoted a very low price.

Zhu Yiyi was delighted, she put away her umbrella and immediately got into the back seat.

She saved some money.

After getting in the car, Zhu Yiyi started to feel sleepy, strangely, the car was smooth the whole time, the driver didn’t say a word, and there was no messy music or radio playing, it was much better than her previous taxi experiences, she was comfortable all the way home.

When she arrived at the old community in the south of the city, she scanned the code to pay and got out of the car.

When she entered the community, Zhu Yiyi slowed down, she turned her head back unintentionally when she entered the building.

There was a black car parked at the entrance.

It looked familiar.

She subconsciously thought of He Shen’s Bentley.

She shook her head, thinking she was being presumptuous.

Zhu Yiyi disappeared into the hallway.

The autumn rain came in waves, hitting the car body with a crackling sound.

A long time later, the car drove away with its headlights flashing.

Zhu Yiyi took off the coat, folded it, and put it in her bag.

She pushed open the door, the TV in her house was playing “The Temptation of Going Home,” Pinru made a strong comeback and shone brightly at the dance party.

Ms. Zhu sat on the sofa, clapping enthusiastically, and shouted: “Torture the scumbag, beat up the mistress!”

“Destroy other people’s families, shameless!”

“Abandoning the original wife, even more shameless!”

Zhu Yiyi had heard these words so many times that her ears were calloused, she silently changed her shoes, put down her bag, and went back to her room to minimize her presence.

“Some people still know how to come back?” Ms. Zhu snorted, “Where have you been?”

“I said I was working overtime.”

“You’re fooling a ghost, just now Ling Mai, that girl from the neighboring community, she’s your colleague, right? She came to our house to deliver sugar mochi, and she asked me why I didn’t see you today because you got off work early.” Ms. Zhu turned off the TV and threw the remote control, “Tell me the truth, who have you been sneaking around with?”

“A friend.”

“What kind of friend?” Ms. Zhu pressed.

She pursed her lips and didn’t say anything.

Ms. Zhu pulled her over, her voice sharp and serious: “Zhu Yiyi, listen to me, you are pregnant now, the flesh and blood in your belly is not something you can just give up!”

Thinking of something, her eyes turned red, her heartache and anger intertwined, after all, she was her only daughter, she couldn’t bear to hit her or scold her, she could only persuade her earnestly: “Mom knows, because Mom and your deadbeat dad, you suffered a lot of grievances growing up, you don’t trust men, you don’t want to fall in love, you don’t want to get married, Mom understands.”

Zhu Yiyi had always been alone all these years.

Because of her single-parent family, she was introverted and kind-hearted, she was the typical good person and the one who suffered the most grievances in the group. Later, she went to college, graduated, and started working, everyone around her got married and started families, only she remained single, Ms. Zhu asked her, and she always said the same thing, “I haven’t met anyone I like.”

She was her only daughter, how could she not worry.

Finally, one day, Zhu Yiyi came back and told her that she was in love, the other person was a very excellent man.

Her eyes sparkled as she said: “His name is He Shen.”

A very nice, very gentlemanly name.

Once, the man drove to pick Zhu Yiyi up from work, he was tall, when he opened the car door, he bent over slightly, raised his hand to hold the hard door frame, afraid that Zhu Yiyi would hit her head.

He had a faint smile when he spoke.

His temperament was elegant, his brow bones were calm, his words and actions showed that he was a very reliable man.

Ms. Zhu’s heart was slightly relieved.

But the good times didn’t last long, Zhu Yiyi broke up with the man named He Shen, her face was pale, she was depressed for almost a week, occasionally when asked about the reason, she avoided the topic.

She only revealed one thought:

She wanted to remain single forever.

Ms. Zhu had been single when she was young, she had suffered a lot, how could she rest assured that Zhu Yiyi would really be single for the rest of her life, so she arranged all kinds of blind dates for her.

Then things went wrong again.

Her daughter was pregnant before marriage.

“I know my daughter, she couldn’t have cheated,” Ms. Zhu stared at her, slowly asking, “Tell Mom, whose child is it?”

In an instant, the whole world seemed to press the pause button.

Silence.