Echoes of Rejection and Unexpected Reunions

After rejecting the girl’s deep affection, Ye Hao walked home alone.

As for romance, he felt it was something incredibly distant from him.

Even if he agreed, what would be the point?

Falling in love just for the sake of it, only to part ways in the end—what meaning did that hold?

Not only was it meaningless, but it was also a sign of irresponsibility.

For instance, if you professed to love her, to like her, but couldn’t give her everything she wanted—was that even love?

Wasn’t that just a joke?

Rather than an unhappy breakup later, it was better to avoid this doomed connection from the start.

What was wrong with being alone?

Even alone, he, Ye Hao, lived freely.

If he had to name something he liked, well, Ye Hao didn’t have a single one.

If he had to force it, then it was studying that he liked.

Though it sounded absurd, it was true—he truly hadn’t met a girl who stirred his heart.

Instead, he’d encountered plenty of test papers that did.

And with only two months left until the college entrance exam, he had no time for these frivolous distractions.

He was walking alone just fine when suddenly a figure appeared behind him.

“Aren’t you watching where you’re going? There’s nothing on the ground.”

Hearing that pleasant yet irritating voice, Ye Hao stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the person behind him.

“What are you doing here?”

“Me? Of course, I’m following you~”

Li Mengying.

Looking at the elegant girl before him, Ye Hao felt not the slightest interest.

After all, this one had somehow driven his favorability toward her into negative territory.

In Ye Hao’s words, she was like a rabid wild dog.

He vaguely remembered it clearly—when he finally claimed the top spot, it was this girl, this very one, whose actions had disgusted him.

Though Ye Hao hadn’t been a saint before, this Li Mengying was like a two-faced snake, nagging endlessly with words that cut deep.

It made the reformed Ye Hao want to revert to his old ways and punch this mad dog.

“Oh, goodbye—no, better yet, never see you again.”

He quickened his pace involuntarily—he didn’t want to waste his precious time on her.

She wasn’t worth it.

Watching Ye Hao hurry away, Li Mengying chased after him.

“Don’t go! If I remember right, this is the fifth girl who’s confessed to you.”

“Ah, yeah. So what?”

Indeed, the fifth one.

Ye Hao just found the whole thing ridiculous.

He acted like a total recluse at school, so why wouldn’t people leave him alone?

He really didn’t want to date anyone—this stuff was expensive and exhausting, and he had no clue what the point was.

They were all just kids—what did they know about love?

They hadn’t even figured out what love meant, yet here they were, chasing it.

Wasn’t that a joke?

Truth be told, raising a cat would be more reliable than dating.

“So, don’t you want to completely avoid these moths fluttering toward your flame?”

Hearing Li Mengying’s words, Ye Hao’s heart truly stirred for a moment.

He did want that.

He felt uneasy around those who kept throwing hints his way.

He wasn’t rich, and he was a study maniac—he really didn’t want to be bothered by all this romance nonsense.

Seeing Ye Hao’s expression, Li Mengying thought to herself: This is promising.

“Want to hear my suggestion?”

Ye Hao: “…”

Looking at Li Mengying suddenly trying to act cute in a sinister way, Ye Hao felt goosebumps rise all over.

“Act normal. I’m getting scared. If you’re not cut out for cuteness, don’t force it.”

Damn, this was absurd.

Didn’t she know he saw her like a fly?

Her acting cute was just ridiculous.

If he hadn’t learned to keep his cool over the past two years, he’d have already gone at her with fists.

After all, the old Ye Hao hadn’t exactly been a good person.

“Then how about finding a fake girlfriend? That way, no misunderstandings, and you dodge all these big and small issues. What do you think?”

Ye Hao looked at her like she was an idiot and shook his head helplessly.

“No interest. Goodbye.”

Was she kidding?

A fake girlfriend?

He didn’t even want a real one—why would he bother with a fake?

Was this girl out of her mind, acting like a total fool?

“Won’t you even consider it?”

Li Mengying hurried to keep up with Ye Hao’s steps as she said it.

Ignored

“You really won’t think about it? I can help you.”

Ignored

Go ahead, the mic’s yours, the whole stage is yours—talk all you want.

If he responded, he’d be the idiot, okay?

“I can be your fake girlfriend. Won’t you consider it?”

Pfft!

Hearing that, Ye Hao nearly spat blood.

Stirring up trouble?

Sure, she looked decent enough, but he, Ye Hao, wasn’t interested.

He only loved studying.

From birth, everyone around him had drilled it into him: love learning.

Now, aside from studies, he had zero interest in these so-called seductive vixens.

“If you’re that bored and in pain, I suggest buying a set of ‘Five Years of Gaokao, Three Years of Simulations.’ It’s not too hard, but it’ll kill plenty of your idle time—totally worth it.”

(Note: ‘Five Three’ refers to the ‘Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Mock Tests’ study books.)

Li Mengying: ???

Wait, what?

This guy wasn’t playing by the script.

Shouldn’t he mull it over and then happily accept?

Why was it so different from what she’d imagined?

“Um, don’t you dislike me?”

Dislike?

How could he not?

Calling it dislike was too kind—she was a complete fool.

“Heh, you do have some self-awareness, Miss. So, can you stop nagging now?”

“No, I—”

“Enough, enough. You know, when you’re quiet, you look like a lotus in a pond.”

“Really? Well, that’s… not bad~”

“But the moment you open your mouth, you turn into a pile of sh*t. Don’t you have any self-awareness? Want me to plant a tree seedling in that sh*t pile and watch it grow into a towering oak?”

Didn’t she know what she was like deep down?

Did she have to come pick a fight every day, every single day, every day!?

Sometimes Ye Hao wondered if there was something wrong with her brain.

His intentions were so obvious: get lost.

Yet it was like she couldn’t grasp it.

Even after Ye Hao humiliated her relentlessly, Li Mengying stuck close by his side.

“I don’t have a sh*t tree in my heart because… my heart is full of you…”

Hearing Li Mengying’s baffling words, Ye Hao exploded inside.

What the actual f*ck?

You’re calling me sh*t?

Holy sh*t!

Holy sh*t!

Holy f*cking sh*t!

Impressive, truly impressive—not a single curse word, yet she turned it back on him.

Judo-style verbal takedown?

Well played, well played.

He, Ye Hao, who’d roamed the internet for years, had finally met someone this quick-witted.

Brilliant!

Just like that, the two bantered back and forth, one line at a time.

Finally, they reached the familiar crossroads.

“Alright, alright, see you tomorrow. I’m heading home.”

He felt like every afternoon spent walking with this girl burned more brain cells than solving problems.

When had she started clinging to him after school?

It felt like… it had been a while.

Coming to get chewed out, never missing a day—right after dismissal, tailing him, getting roasted every time.

It was all so inexplicable.

“Ah, we’re already here…”

Looking at the familiar crossroads, a trace of reluctance flickered in Li Mengying’s eyes.

Time had passed so quickly…

Watching Ye Hao’s figure grow smaller in the distance, Li Mengying murmured softly:

“See you tomorrow.”

Soon, a black car pulled up before her.

“My lady, he’s clearly not interested in you. Why do you act like you don’t get it?”

“But he said ‘see you tomorrow.'”

“…”

As a maid, this wasn’t really her place to interfere, but… she couldn’t stand by anymore.

Her young miss wasn’t stupid—why couldn’t she read between the lines!?

“Miss, even though the master doesn’t meddle in this, you should at least find someone decent. I just don’t see what’s so great about that guy.”

Hearing her maid’s words, Li Mengying shook her head.

“Pretty faces are a dime a dozen, but interesting souls are one in a million. And he’s got both skin and soul— that’s why I like him. Got it?”

“You’re hopeless…”

Meanwhile, Ye Hao staggered back to his doorstep.

As he inserted the key into the lock, a faint unease hit him.

Hadn’t he locked the door when he left that morning?

But… why did it turn so easily now?

What was going on?

With a touch of panic, Ye Hao slowly pushed the door open.

He stared at the pair of shoes in the entryway and the impeccably tidied living room.

He was dumbfounded.

Holy sh*t, had a thief broken in?

But that was ridiculous—thieves didn’t leave their shoes behind or clean up the place.

That was too far-fetched!

Unless…

Was it haunted!?

At that moment, the figure bustling in the kitchen seemed to hear something.

She wiped her hands quickly and stepped into the living room, spotting Ye Hao standing there in a daze.

“Oh, it’s little Hao. It’s been so long—you’ve grown so tall, even taller than your big sis now.”

Wait—what!?

Who the hell are you?

Ye Hao stared at the young woman before him—scratch that, the mature beauty—and felt his world tilt.

Beautiful lady, who are you?

“Um, excuse me, who might you be…”

Seeing Ye Hao’s head full of question marks, the woman let out a long sigh.

She strode forward and pinched his ear hard.

“Huh?”

“You forgot about me, your sister?! Do you know how I survived abroad? When I heard about your family’s troubles, do you know how worried I was? I’ll pinch you to death!”

“Wait! Stop! I remember now! Let go! I remember!”