Chapter 28: Clear-headed but Confused at Heart

Shen Yingying couldn’t bring herself to speak too harshly to him, given his good attitude.

“No need,” she said, patting the dust off her hands. She pulled her arm away from his support and endured the pain in her knee as she reached for her fallen bicycle.

The man was quick to react and got to the bike before her, helping her lift it up. “Comrade, I’m really sorry! But are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital? Your leg looks quite serious…”

“I said no.” Shen Yingying’s patience was wearing thin. She got onto her bike. “Stay away from me.”

Her reputation was already bad enough. It was the evening rush hour, and there were too many people around. Even if nothing was going on, rumors could easily turn her into a “loose woman.”

She didn’t care about gossip, but right now, Xie Fangzhu was clearly attached to her. She had no intention of causing unnecessary trouble for herself.

Just as she was about to pedal away, the man who had crashed into her suddenly let out a startled exclamation: “Shen Yingying, it’s you?!”

Shen Yingying frowned and looked at him.

He was a bit shorter than Xie Fangzhu, with an otherwise unremarkable appearance—except for his pair of affectionate peach blossom eyes.

Those eyes, set in such an ordinary face, instantly gave him a certain charm.

It was Li Yanzhao.

One of the men the original Shen Yingying had once tried to “climb up the social ladder” with.

Among all the men she had pursued, Li Yanzhao was one of the few who hadn’t married yet. His position wasn’t particularly high—just like her former fiancé, Shen Zhiyi, he worked as a junior communication officer in the mine bureau’s publicity department.

But his family background was excellent. His parents were both university professors.

That was the main reason the original Shen Yingying had set her sights on him—with such strong family support, his future was bound to be bright.

Li Yanzhao had never outright rejected her advances, nor had he fully accepted them. His responses were different from those of other men—gentlemanly, maintaining just the right amount of distance that made him seem respectful, yet not completely unattainable. That approach had kept the original Shen Yingying hooked.

But he had never made the first move to break the ambiguous tension between them. Eventually, the original Shen Yingying lost patience and directly asked him, “Do you want to be with me? If you do, I’ll get a divorce.”

Li Yanzhao never answered her.

Soon after, the original Shen Yingying met “Director Wu” and stopped wasting time on him.

Now, Shen Yingying tried to avoid ordinary men whenever possible—let alone someone with past entanglements with her original self.

She looked at him as if he were a poisonous snake and fled without a word.

She stomped on the pedals and rode off like the wind.

Watching her escape as if running for her life, Li Yanzhao touched his own face and blinked his peach blossom eyes in confusion. “Am I really that scary?”

Shaking his head, he picked up his own fallen bike. “I just don’t understand her.”

…

With the delay, Shen Yingying figured she was already running late.

Instead of heading to the poplar tree near the mine lamp room, she rode straight toward the bathhouse road.

Sure enough, before she even reached the bathhouse, Shen Yingying spotted that familiar figure in the distance.

“Xie Fangzhu!”

Xie Fangzhu paused in his steps and turned around. When he saw the person riding the bicycle toward him, the usual indifference in his eyes was instantly replaced by a gentle ripple.

As she reached his side, he reached out and brushed off a dried leaf stuck to her hair.

“I thought you weren’t coming today.”

“How could I not?” Shen Yingying got off her bicycle and pushed it alongside him. “I got delayed by something and left home late.”

Xie Fangzhu immediately noticed something off about her gait. “What happened to your foot?”

Shen Yingying made a face. “I was in a hurry and crashed into someone.”

“If something happened, you didn’t need to come pick me up. I’m a grown man, not that delicate,” Xie Fangzhu said, feeling a pang of heartache as he watched her limp.

“I told you, I just can’t bear to let you walk!” Shen Yingying grinned. “Besides, I’m like those little wives who can’t wait to see their husbands.”

Xie Fangzhu stared at her smiling face, momentarily lost in thought.

He had brought her back days ago, and now she was completely different from before.

Could a person really hide their emotions so well? So well that it seemed like they had become someone else entirely?

He didn’t believe it. His rational mind knew she was just a cunning little liar, and at best, only ten percent of what she said was true.

And yet, he was falling for it.

His heart, trembling with emotion, wanted to deceive itself—wanted to deceive even his own mind.

That her words, her kindness, and her affection for him were real.

With a sigh in his heart, he grasped the bicycle’s handlebars and suddenly scooped Shen Yingying up by the waist, placing her onto the bicycle seat.

Shen Yingying yelped in surprise. Before she could react, her feet had already left the ground, and she was seated on the back of the bicycle.

Looking down at her beige Dacron blouse, she saw a dark smudge of coal dust.

She pouted and playfully complained, “Xie Fangzhu, I’m not that delicate! We’re only a few steps from the bathhouse, and now my clothes are dirty. Coal dust is so hard to wash out!”

Xie Fangzhu pushed the bicycle forward without looking back. “It’s fine. I’ll wash it for you when we get back.”

Shen Yingying giggled. “Xie Fangzhu, why are you so good to me? Looks like what people say is true—you really like me, huh?”

She held onto the seat with a sly glint in her eyes, her smile revealing a tiny sharp canine tooth. Yet, the happiness on her face was unmistakable.

His heart softened in an instant.

He nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”

Shen Yingying was surprised. Though Xie Fangzhu had a thick skin when it came to most things—just like her—he was painfully awkward when it came to love.

She had expected him to dodge the question, stammer, or hesitantly admit it.

She hadn’t expected such a direct answer.

“Then me too,” she said, lowering her voice. The next words were so soft that even though he was right beside her, Xie Fangzhu couldn’t hear them clearly.

But he saw them—her lips forming the silent words: I like you too.

A delicate blush crept onto her cheeks. “Did you hear what I just said?”

Her gaze, filled with quiet affection, landed on his face before quickly darting away in shy anticipation, as if she feared his answer wouldn’t be what she wanted to hear.

Xie Fangzhu’s heartbeat thundered.

Could someone really fake emotions so well?

He didn’t believe it.

His heart was convincing his mind now—she wasn’t pretending. Her feelings for him were real.

Suppressing the storm of emotions within him, he rasped, “No. Say it again.”

Shen Yingying raised an eyebrow. When she had said those words just now, she had noticed his subtle reaction. He had definitely heard her—but he was pretending not to.

Taking advantage of the situation, huh?

Well, no choice. He was Xie Fangzhu—he deserved to be spoiled.

“Alright, but this time, listen carefully.” She leaned in slightly and said, “I like you too.”

Clearing her throat, she raised her voice just a little. “Now did you hear me?”

This time, her voice wasn’t silent. Though still soft, it was audible. Xie Fangzhu didn’t just see it—he heard it.

His ears instantly grew warm.

His carefully maintained composure completely crumbled. He turned his head away awkwardly.

“Mm. I heard you…”

Shen Yingying laughed inwardly. Now this is the reaction I expected from him!