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The convenience store had been open for over a decade and still retained its old-school charm. Le Ya stared at the small compartments for a while before picking out a few mint candies.
The shopkeeper, engrossed in a TV drama and munching on sunflower seeds, glanced casually. “Five yuan fifty.”
Le Ya rarely bought things herself and thought how cheap it was.
She rarely used cash anymore, so she took off her backpack and pulled out her phone, preparing to pay via WeChat QR code.
At the same time, a shadow appeared beside her. A hand reached out lazily, grabbing a bag of something. The shopkeeper announced the price, and the person paid.
The shopkeeper frowned. “That’s five yuan fifty extra.”
A cool, indifferent voice sounded near Le Ya’s ear. “It’s together.”
Le Ya turned her head and recognized the boy from the bus earlier.
Under his intense gaze, she felt a bit uneasy, momentarily forgetting even to repay him, wanting only to leave.
Just as she turned to go, she heard him call out, “Hey.”
Her ears tingled slightly, sensing that he had deliberately lowered his voice, which carried an inexplicable tension.
When she turned back, his hand was holding a phone, but she could still see his slender, distinct fingers. A red string was tied around his exposed wrist.
Only then did Le Ya remember that he had paid for her earlier.
She blinked, her voice timid. “Thank you... but I have money. I’ll transfer it to you via WeChat.”
Chen Yang replied nonchalantly, “Sure.”
He took out his phone, tapped it twice, and extended it toward her.
Le Ya let out a breath of relief, seeing the QR code on the screen. Without looking closely, she scanned it.
However, instead of the payment interface, a friend request popped up.
Her heart skipped a beat as she prepared to press “back,” but unexpectedly, he bent down slightly and tapped her phone screen, accepting the friend request.
A faint, pleasant scent lingered near her nose. She sniffed instinctively and blushed upon seeing Chen Yang’s ambiguous smile.
At that moment, a male voice shouted outside.
“Bro, some idiots are looking for trouble. Let’s teach them a lesson!”
“Damn, they even brought tools. Bro, hurry down! Forget the candy—what’s so great about candy anyway?”
Le Ya couldn’t hear clearly, often missing words, but she understood enough to know these guys were troublemakers. Bad students—Xie Qingyu had mentioned them before. Recently, a boy from Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School had been hospitalized after being beaten up, and she had even gone to visit him.
Chen Yang ignored the voices outside.
He thought for a moment, then leaned down and said a few words.
Le Ya didn’t catch them. She opened her mouth hesitantly, feeling a bit embarrassed. “What… what did you just say?”
She fiddled with her hearing aid, feeling uneasy.
Chen Yang listened to her voice, soft as falling feathers.
He curved his lips slightly, changing his approach. Leaning closer to her ear, he whispered, “I said remember to repay me. Do you need to hear it again?”
Le Ya’s face flushed red, and she stepped back.
Still clutching her backpack to her chest, her tear-filled eyes gazed at Chen Yang in panic.
Chen Yang stood upright, as if the words hadn’t come from him.
Le Ya mumbled awkwardly, “I’ll pay you back.”
With that, she hurriedly ran out of the shop.
Chen Yang remained where he was, watching her retreating figure—a frightened little rabbit—unable to suppress a soft laugh.
His previous statement hadn’t actually been about repaying money.
Outside, Zhao Mingri and Liang Qian had been shouting for a while. They saw the girl dash out in a panic, her long hair swaying in the air.
It was obvious she had been bullied.
Liang Qian exclaimed, “Wow, Yang-ge has really outdone himself.”
Zhao Mingri was astonished. “You really can’t tell until he acts.”
They had just been discussing whether to barge in and forcefully initiate some romance.
Clearly, they had underestimated him.
The bus hadn’t arrived yet, and Le Ya didn’t want to linger there.
As dusk fell, many students were still hanging around. Across the street were some small stalls, creating a noisy atmosphere.
Le Ya couldn’t hear clearly, but she could smell various enticing aromas. Even though she never ate street food, her stomach began to growl.
She unwrapped a candy and popped it into her mouth.
The mint was refreshingly cool. Clutching the candy in her hand, she pulled out her phone again, ready to return the money.
Her first chat window on WeChat was the person she had just added.
Le Ya noticed his profile picture was white, seemingly blank. Without scrutinizing it further, she sent a red packet for five yuan fifty.
After a moment’s thought, she typed “Repayment” in the notes.
The instant she sent it, Le Ya thought she heard the faint sound of a WeChat notification behind her.
She quickly turned around, alert.
The sky hadn’t fully darkened yet, but the streetlights were already on, casting elongated shadows of a leisurely walking figure nearby.
Just as the person glanced over, Le Ya swiftly turned back and quickened her pace.
Her home wasn’t particularly close to this area. It was quiet there, and it would take her a full twenty minutes to walk.
After walking for over ten minutes, Le Ya glanced back and saw that the boy was still there, maintaining the same distance as before.
She hesitated for a moment, finally stopping. Unable to bear it, she declared, “If you keep following me, I—I’ll call the police!”
Le Ya waved her phone, pretending to be tough.
Perhaps due to her nature, even when angry, her voice remained soft and sweet, almost like a pout.
Seeing her flustered expression, Chen Yang found it amusing.
He drawled lazily, “My house is along this road.”
Le Ya’s ears turned red. She wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth, but the excuse rendered her speechless.
Ignoring him, she continued walking.
About a minute later, Le Ya suddenly stopped and turned around. Sure enough, Chen Yang was still at the same distance as before.
Unable to contain herself any longer, she threw a candy at him, then turned and ran.
Chen Yang hadn’t expected this. Catching the mint candy, he watched as Le Ya, in a panic, quickened her small steps.
The two of them walked down the road, one in front and the other behind.
Chen Yang casually unwrapped the candy and popped it into his mouth—it was a bit sharp.
His phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that it was a call from Liang Qian.
After answering, the other side erupted into noisy chatter. Liang Qian exclaimed loudly, “Yang-ge, you just walked in the wrong direction! There’s only one bus route that goes there—what are you doing over there?”
Chen Yang replied casually, “I’m escorting a kid home.”
There was silence on the other end for a moment, followed by bursts of laughter, with Liang Qian laughing the hardest, his voice cracking.
Chen Yang ended the call without any expression.
On the other end, Liang Qian’s laughter abruptly stopped halfway through.
A boy nearby slapped the table and laughed hysterically, “Hahaha, serves you right for laughing too hard—he hung up on you! And you dared to laugh at Yang-ge!”
Liang Qian put away his phone and muttered, “Shut up.”
Half an hour earlier, after Chen Yang left the convenience store, he didn’t let them follow him. Instead, he chased after the girl.
After they parted ways, Liang Qian and the others went to sing karaoke, booking a large private room. The room was spacious, with half the group singing and a few lounging on the couch chatting idly.
Zhao Mingri asked, “What did he say?”
Liang Qian grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and replied, “He said he’s escorting a kid home.”
Zhao Mingri was dumbfounded.
Liang Qian added, “No way—I’m curious now. I need to find out who that girl we saw tonight is.”
Everyone at Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School knew Chen Yang’s personality.
Just a few days ago, a girl from another school had pursued him, spending a fortune to buy him gifts and even bribing classmates to help her approach him—but none of it worked.
In the end, all those gifts ended up in their stomachs, untouched by Chen Yang.
Back in freshman year, everyone found out about Chen Yang being sponsored. At the time, the school bully took offense and tried to pick a fight with him.
Liang Qian had just met Chen Yang then. All he remembered was how the school bully got thoroughly trashed. He vividly recalled the scene: Chen Yang standing there, the glow of a cigarette flickering in his hand, smoke curling around his indifferent face. When his gaze swept over, it carried a dangerous edge.
Everyone assumed Chen Yang would get beaten up badly.
But the exact opposite happened.
“A classmate of mine goes to the main campus,” a boy chimed in, fawning. “I guarantee I’ll find out who she is in a couple of days.”
Liang Qian smirked. “You haven’t even seen her. How do you know anything?”
The boy laughed nervously. Even though he hadn’t seen her, he was determined to track her down. “This is Yang-ge we’re talking about—I can’t not care.”
Liang Qian said, “Forget it. After the holiday ends, she’ll definitely transfer to the new campus. We’ll see her again then.”
Chen Yang usually didn’t care about anything, but tonight he suddenly decided to escort someone home. Liang Qian didn’t believe it was out of goodwill.
That look in his eyes—it was like he couldn’t take his gaze off her.
Along the way, Le Ya almost finished all the candies.
When she finally caught sight of her residential complex, she exhaled in relief. Her tense heart finally relaxed.
Her neighborhood was a high-end community with strict security. Even if someone had followed her, without an access card, she wasn’t worried about strangers getting in.
Just as she thought this, Xie Qingyu’s call came through: “Le Ya, are you home yet?”
Le Ya replied, “Almost. I’m at the entrance of the complex right now.”
Xie Qingyu asked on the other end, “Why are you so late? It’s been a while since school ended. Did something happen on the way?”
Her friend looked so delicate that even running was difficult for her. Xie Qingyu regretted not accompanying her home herself.
Le Ya hesitated for a moment before replying, “I got off the bus to buy something, so I decided to walk back. Nothing happened.”
Xie Qingyu never doubted her words and reminded her, “Then hurry home. I’ll video call you later—I have something good to show you.”
Le Ya’s ears twitched slightly. Though she didn’t catch everything, she understood it wasn’t bad news. She softly replied, “Okay.”
She needed to go back and change her hearing aid—it was uncomfortable like this.
After hanging up, Le Ya quickly ran into the residential complex.
The guard at the gate recognized her and greeted her before warning, “Be careful when you come home next time. People these days can’t be trusted—they target young girls specifically.”
Not far away, a phone rang.
Le Ya instinctively glanced outside. Someone was probably on the phone, but with her impaired hearing, she couldn’t make out what they were saying.
The guard seemed to imply something and prepared to go out and warn the person.
Le Ya felt a bit flustered. “Um… he’s my classmate.”
Hearing this, the guard sat back down and said, “I thought he was some troublemaker. Go ahead and head home.”
Le Ya gave a faint smile and walked into the complex. The candy wrapper she’d forgotten to throw away crinkled softly in her hand.
By the time she reached the building where she lived, she pulled out her phone to check.
The red packet she sent half an hour ago was still unclaimed. Perhaps he hadn’t seen it.
Le Ya stared blankly for a few seconds before sending him a message to remind him.
Then, puffing up her cheeks, she sent two more messages.
…
Chen Yang ended the call. By now, the figure in the distance had disappeared from sight.
He scrolled through his phone screen and saw four new messages in WeChat—all from Le Ya.
— “I’ve already repaid you.”
— “Stop following me. You can’t get in anyway.”
— “I’m deleting you.”
Chen Yang chuckled unexpectedly.
Deleting someone and still giving such a serious heads-up—so damn cute.
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