Shin-Yue: "I know everything about you."
(I love you so much... how else am I supposed to make you understand that?)
"Do I really need an introduction from an idol like you?"
"Anyway, do you like the room?"
Jun-Yu was beginning to suspect Shin-Yue's behavior. Yet she answered so naturally that perhaps she hadn't understood what he had meant at all.
Jun-Yu: "Yes, the room is beautiful."
"Anyway, I ate. Have you eaten?"
The moment Jun-Yu asked, Shin-Yue nodded.
She was secretly overjoyed that he had actually asked whether she had eaten.
She nodded again and answered his question.
As Jun-Yu walked toward the table, he said,
Jun-Yu: "Alright, then come over. I'll serve you some food."
"I'm not very good at cooking, so I'll take you to a restaurant someday. For today, just have my homemade food."
A crooked smile appeared on Shin-Yue's rose-colored lips at Jun-Yu's words.
Jun-Yu served some food onto her plate.
Shin-Yue thought to herself,
"Well... Jun-Yu isn't nearly as rude as he seems."
With that thought, she began eating.
Taking a bite, Shin-Yue asked,
Shin-Yue: "Jun-Yu, you still haven't answered me. You're going to stay with me for a few days, right?"
Jun-Yu had repeatedly avoided answering Shin-Yue's question.
But at the moment, he didn't have a single penny.
He had no house, no car, not even any money in his pocket.
He had absolutely no idea where he could go.
Finally, Jun-Yu said,
Jun-Yu: "I want to take a shower!"
From his words, Shin-Yue immediately understood that he had accepted her request.
Shin-Yue: "Oh, good! I'm so happy."
"Don't feel awkward. We can become good friends."
"Come on, I'll show you the bathroom."
Shin-Yue showed Jun-Yu the bathroom.
But Jun-Yu stood outside the door, clenching his jaw, and thought to himself,
"What am I going to wear after my shower?"
"I've been wearing these same clothes for four days! No way! The smell of alcohol and sweat must have completely soaked into them. That's disgusting."
"The China Road Racing Champion, Jun-Yu, hasn't showered for three days. Ah... what am I supposed to do?"
"Should I shower and then put on the same clothes again?"
"And I'm actually about to use a girl's bathroom?"
Thinking about his situation, Jun-Yu gave himself a crooked, helpless smile.
He was completely confused and had no idea what to do.
Suddenly, Shin-Yue appeared beside him with a pink women's T-shirt and a pair of churidar pants draped over her left arm.
Shin-Yue: "Oh, you haven't gone into the shower yet?"
"Good, then. Here, take these and wear them after your shower."
After saying that, Shin-Yue scratched her ear and forced an awkward smile.
Shin-Yue: "I'm sorry. I already told you—I made a big mistake."
"After your shower, we'll go shopping, okay?"
Jun-Yu: "What nonsense! Jun-Yu is supposed to wear women's clothes? Has she completely lost her mind?"
Just as Jun-Yu was thinking that, he blurted out,
Jun-Yu: "What? Me?"
Before he could say anything more, Shin-Yue interrupted him.
Shin-Yue: "Please, just adjust for a little while."
"And don't worry. After you shower, I'll wash your clothes and dry them with a hair dryer. They'll be dry within five minutes."
"Just wear my clothes for five minutes."
"Jun-Yu, you had a fever of nearly 105°F. Even if you don't want to wear my clothes because I'm asking you to, at least think about your own health and put them on."
The concern in Shin-Yue's eyes was unmistakable.
She was genuinely worried about Jun-Yu's health.
Looking into her eyes, Jun-Yu understood everything.
But he was still so surprised that his eyes widened.
Jun-Yu: "A hair dryer?!"
Shin-Yue answered without hesitation,
Shin-Yue: "Yes."
"If a hair dryer can dry hair with hot air, then why can't it dry a shirt and pants?"
"Now go, please."
With that, Shin-Yue placed the clothes in Jun-Yu's hands and practically ushered him into the bathroom.
Meanwhile, Jun-Yu stared at Shin-Yue's clothes with an irritated expression, turning them over in his hands.
Her logic was so absurd that, as a science student, he felt like he was about to forget the basic laws of science himself.
Jun-Yu muttered to himself,
Jun-Yu: "What a ridiculous piece of logic."
"By the way, even science would surrender in front of this logic."
"If I stay here any longer, I'll forget everything I've ever learned about science."
With that thought, Jun-Yu tossed Shin-Yue's clothes into a corner of the bathroom and closed the door.
Jun-Yu was utterly baffled by Shin-Yue's behavior.
On the other side of the door, Shin-Yue let out a relieved breath and smiled from ear to ear.
"Today is the best day of my life."
"Jun-Yu, thank goodness you happened to end up in front of my car."
"I'm so happy today."
"Taking care of you... cooking for you... and now this..."
"Haha! I'll never forget this moment."
"The Great China National Road Racing Champion, also known as Shanghai University's top science student, Jun-Yu, has actually fallen into my trap and is wearing women's clothes!"
"But love really is strange."
"I still haven't told you how I feel about you, yet just having you by my side makes me feel like the happiest person in the world."
"Will you ever understand my feelings someday?"
"Or will I remain your enemy for the rest of my life?"
★★★
In the drawing room of Jun-Yu's apartment, Shi-Han was standing while Jun-Kai sat on the sofa.
Suddenly, the doorbell of Jun-Yu's apartment rang.
Shi-Han stepped forward and opened the door. To his surprise, Mei-Xue had returned, and she had brought Shu-Yang with her.
The moment Jun-Kai saw Shu-Yang, he immediately stood up.
His heart urged him to run forward and pull his son into his arms. But as Jun-Kai looked at Shu-Yang, the young man's eyes seemed to tell an entirely different story.
It was impossible to tell whether those eyes held anger, sorrow, disappointment, and the burning flames of revenge—or whether they carried a mountain of resentment toward Jun-Kai, buried beneath the deepest respect.
Mei-Xue: "Come on, son. Be careful. Let me take you to your room first."
Shu-Yang (in a serious voice): "Mom, I can go by myself. Just take my medicines to my room."
Mei-Xue entered the room and stopped.
Mei-Xue: "Shu-Yang, we're going back to Luoyang City today. There will be a maid to take care of you. Shu-Yang, let me tell you something. You're twenty-four now. You're old enough to get married, yet you haven't even dated anyone. You need a life partner who can take care of you. Listen, son, no one can live alone forever. And you don't want to accept our help. So I'm asking you to listen to the maid and cooperate with her. I'll come here every week. But don't you dare start investigating or taking action yourself for now."
Shu-Yang listened carefully to everything Mei-Xue said.
But hearing her talk about his personal life in front of Shi-Han made Shu-Yang glance at him.
Then he said,
Shu-Yang: "Mom, my life is cursed. And I don't want to bring anyone into my cursed city and let them become part of my dark chapter."
After saying that, Shu-Yang looked directly at Jun-Kai.
Shu-Yang: "It's my life. I'm the one who has to live it, and I'm the one who has to take my revenge. Starting today, I'll try to find Jun-Yu. I'll also investigate what's happening with the company."
With that, Shu-Yang walked into his room.
The moment he disappeared, Jun-Kai collapsed back onto the sofa.
Mei-Xue immediately hurried over to him and asked softly,
Mei-Xue: "Are you okay, Jun-Kai?"
Jun-Kai's heart was overwhelmed with emotion. Seeing Shu-Yang return home safely seemed to make him forget, even if only for a moment, the pain of Jun-Yu leaving home.
After listening to the conversation between Jun-Kai, Mei-Xue, and Shu-Yang, Shi-Han felt as though he could almost smell the smoke of a fire from their painful past.
Although he knew nothing about what had happened between them, something deep inside him told him that all of them were still burning in the flames of an old tragedy.
Jun-Kai had always been an expert at hiding his emotions. He didn't want to reveal anything in front of Shi-Han.
So he quickly composed himself and asked,
Jun-Kai: "Yes, I'm fine. How is the situation at the company?"
Mei-Xue: "Everything is under control. Don't worry. Come on, let's go see the doctor. It would be better to get you checked once."
Mei-Xue suddenly became worried about Jun-Kai fainting earlier and wanted to take him to a doctor.
Seeing this, Shi-Han spoke from beside them.
Shi-Han: "Auntie, I already called a personal doctor. He said that Jun-Kai's blood pressure dropped because of excessive stress, not eating properly, and suddenly becoming highly agitated. There doesn't seem to be any serious problem. If he eats properly and takes care of himself, he'll be fine."
They say that trouble never comes alone. Mei-Xue was exhausted from having to deal with so many things at once. Perhaps she hadn't even noticed Shi-Han until now.
The moment she heard Shi-Han speak, Mei-Xue rose from her seat and took two steps toward her.
Mei-Xue: "Thank you so much, dear. I don't know how close you are to Jun-Yu, but I want to entrust my stubborn son to you. You're so polite, calm, and gentle. I believe you're the only one who can get through to my Jun-Yu."
"We're returning to Luoyang City today. When Jun-Yu comes back, please tell him that his father wants to apologize to him."
"Please ask him not to make Jun-Kai feel ashamed anymore."
As she spoke, Mei-Xue gently took Shi-Han's hand.
Shi-Han placed her other hand over Mei-Xue's and said,
Shi-Han: "Auntie, please don't say it like that. You're his mother. I'll never know Jun-Yu better than you do."
"But from what I've come to understand about him these past few days, I don't think he can stay angry with Uncle for very long."
★★★
When Jun-Yu went to take a shower, Shin-Yue came back to the table and continued eating. She had stopped eating earlier to show Jun-Yu the bathroom. Now she was absentmindedly eating when, suddenly, Jun-Yu came out with a white towel wrapped around his waist. He was bare-chested, holding another white towel in his right hand as he dried his wet hair.
Shin-Yue stared at Jun-Yu in surprise, momentarily forgetting to swallow the food in her mouth. Her eyes remained fixed on him, and for a moment, she seemed completely caught off guard. Jun-Yu noticed her staring and looked at her carefully before saying,
Jun-Yu: "What are you looking at? Chew your food properly. If you don't, you might choke."
At Jun-Yu's stern warning, Shin-Yue started coughing. Seeing that she was choking, Jun-Yu reached for a glass of water from the table and held it out to her. Shin-Yue instinctively lowered her head toward the table and said,
Shin-Yue: "Wait, just stay there. I'm fine."
As soon as she said that, Shin-Yue left the table, hurried into her room, and shut the door behind her. Seeing her run away like that, Jun-Yu frowned in annoyance and muttered,
Jun-Yu: "Nonsense. Maybe she's never seen a man before. Ugh, I shouldn't have left home. Life outside is really difficult. But what else could I do? That woman's clothes were too small for me. I'm so embarrassed I could die of shame."