Chapter 64: The Love-Brain Female Lead Awakens 7

Yi Chen’an opened the umbrella. With one arm around Sang Ruo’s shoulder to hold the umbrella over her, his other hand carried her belongings.

In this posture, it looked as if he was shielding Sang Ruo in his arms, yet he did not touch her even in the slightest.

This indeed allowed Sang Ruo to be better protected from the rain, but more than half of the man holding the umbrella was exposed to the downpour.

Sang Ruo hurriedly tried to refuse, but the man ignored her. He said, “I’m already wet anyway.”

Sang Ruo felt increasingly guilty.

Then she heard him say, “Since you aren’t going back to the dormitory, give your dad a call to explain where you’re staying tonight.”

This was perhaps the benefit of interacting with a mature man; he was thoughtful, gentle, and possessed a perfect sense of propriety in every aspect.

A young girl staying at the home of a man who lived alone, especially at that man’s active invitation, was always somewhat inappropriate regardless of the reason.

But by taking the stance of an elder and asking her to report to her parents before arriving at his home, the nature of the situation changed. It became an elder taking in a junior who had encountered difficulties – a matter of necessity in an emergency.

At the same time, it was his way of putting her mind at ease regarding him.

It was truly considerate.

Sang Ruo used Yi Chen’an’s phone to call Old Sang, giving him a rough explanation of the situation and her whereabouts for the night.

Old Sang’s first reaction upon hearing the news was actually: “Broken up? For real? Hahaha… Good, good. Just hearing you talk about him normally made me feel that kid was unreliable. Our Bubu Guaiguai¹ deserves a better boy.”

“…” This really was her biological father.

“If he keeps pestering you, just tell Daddy. I’ll handle it.”

“Dad! I can handle it myself!” Sang Ruo hurriedly pulled the conversation back to the main point. “So, I’ll be staying at Brother Yi’s place tonight?”

“Fine.” Old Sang started nagging again. “Be mindful while staying at someone else’s house. Don’t act like you’re at home. Put your socks and shoes away properly, don’t just throw them around. Remember to wipe down the sink after washing your face. I don’t even know how you wash your face every time; is your face so big that the basin can’t hold it? You get water everywhere…”

“Alright, I get it!”

Sang Ruo hurriedly hung up the phone, worried Old Sang would say more nonsense. He had a loud voice, and in the quiet car, she didn’t know how much Yi Chen’an had overheard.

Did she not want to save face?!

Sang Ruo handed the phone back and stole a glance at Yi Chen’an. The man was driving while looking straight ahead. He hadn’t even turned his head when taking the phone back, but his expression management had always been masterful; she really couldn’t tell if he had heard anything or not.

She could only comfort herself by pretending he hadn’t heard.

On the way back, they hit the evening rush hour, and the traffic was even more congested than when they had come. Having exhausted their topics of conversation, Sang Ruo counted the miles by the clock. It took nearly two hours to arrive – the awkwardness was enough for her to dig out a scale model of Hogwarts with her toes².

Yi Chen’an’s clothes had been mostly dried by his own body heat. The first thing he did upon returning home was go to change and shower.

Sang Ruo took out the pajamas she had just bought and threw them into the washing machine to be washed and dried.

With all this back-and-forth tossing about, the fruit she’d eaten had digested quickly, and since she hadn’t eaten much for her main meal, she was feeling a bit hungry. She remembered there were leftovers from the earlier takeout and planned to heat them up in the kitchen.

However, she saw a pile of zongzi stacked in the corner of the kitchen, all in the same packaging as the ones Yi Chen’an had given her. She changed her mind and decided to heat up two zongzi instead. But after rummaging through several baskets, she found that while every basket was full, she couldn’t find her favorite chicken flavor.

Sang Ruo was puzzled. Why buy so many if he wasn’t going to eat them, and why were they all missing the chicken flavor? Then how was it that the basket he gave her was entirely chicken-flavored?

Tsk…

The microwave worked diligently.

Thinking about how she wasn’t returning to the dorm tonight, she finally turned her phone back on. Ignoring the flood of WeChat messages and missed calls that popped up, she dialed Yin Xiaoxin directly.

The call was answered quickly. Yin Xiaoxin was a blunt person and said immediately on the other end, “You finally turned your phone on. Let me tell you, you really caused a stir today.”

“What happened?”

“Zhou Yan came looking for you. We said you weren’t here, but he thought we were lying. Since he couldn’t come up, he shouted from downstairs, both admitting his mistakes and professing his deep feelings. A lot of people gathered to watch and jeer. He only believed us when he didn’t see you return for a long time, then he said he’d wait for you to come back to apologize. He was only pulled away after the rain got heavy. By the way, what happened with you two? How did you break up just like that? Does it really have something to do with Chi Qing?”

Sang Ruo remained silent for a moment. This matter was indeed hard to answer.

Yin Xiaoxin was also considerate and said, “I was just asking casually. We’re definitely on your side.”

“Yeah, thanks. I mainly wanted to let you know that I’m staying at a friend’s place for these two days and will be back on Monday.”

“That’s good. Otherwise, you’d have to run into Zhou Yan if you came back.”

The world is big, but eating is the biggest priority.

There were plenty of leftovers, so Yi Chen’an accompanied her to eat a little more. After the two of them cleared the plates and bowls, he went to tidy up again.

Sang Ruo leaned against the kitchen doorway watching him and asked, “Why do you have so many zongzi here?”

The man glanced at the baskets and said casually, “Gifts prepared by the company’s administrative department for the employees. There were leftovers after they were distributed, so I brought some back.” He added, “The basket I gave you was the same.”

After eating, there seemed to be no other entertainment at Yi Chen’an’s place besides watching television.

The two of them watched TV in silence for a while before Sang Ruo asked him, “What do you usually do after work?”

It was originally just small talk to find a topic, but unexpectedly, Yi Chen’an thought about it seriously before answering: “When there are social engagements, it’s usually very late by the time I get back. When there are no engagements, I’ll spend some time at the gym, then handle some work before I can rest.”

“So boring…” Meeting Yi Chen’an’s gaze, she added, “Uh… everyone has their own hobbies.”

Actually, what she really wanted to ask was whether he was as quiet when he went out for social engagements as he was when he was with her.

Certainly not, otherwise what would be the point of the engagement?

The answer was still that he simply had nothing to talk about with her.

“If you’re busy, go ahead and do your work. You don’t have to stay and watch TV with me,” Sang Ruo said.

“Mhm.”

Yet he didn’t move.

Yi Chen’an glanced at her and said, “I’m not busy.”

“Oh.”

It was truly a conversational rhythm that made one want to claw at the walls in frustration, completely unlike how smoothly they chatted in her dreams.

“Is this how you chat with your girlfriend when you’re together?” Sang Ruo was truly curious.

Yi Chen’an looked over, his gaze sharp.

He said, “I don’t have a girlfriend.” After a pause, he explained, “Too busy with work.”

As if anyone would believe that!

With his conversation-killing style, it would be strange if he could find a girlfriend. And he was blaming it on being too busy with work.

“Don’t you play games at all?”

In her impression, guys all loved playing games.

“I don’t.” The answer was still brief and forceful.

Sang Ruo gave up. This conversation really couldn’t continue. She felt she needed to recover some energy.

“Where is the guest room? I’m sleepy.”

Yi Chen’an led her to a bedroom next to the master bedroom. It had only basic furniture, and the bedding was in dark tones.

After saying goodnight, Sang Ruo heard Yi Chen’an turn off the TV and then enter the room next to hers. Judging by the sound of the door closing, it wasn’t the direction of the master bedroom, but the room directly opposite the guest room. It was likely a study; she didn’t know why he was still so busy on the weekend.

She said she was going to sleep, but she couldn’t actually fall asleep.

Accompanied by the rain outside the window, her ears subconsciously paid attention to the movements outside. She heard him open the door, his slippers making a slight friction sound against the wooden floor; she heard him pour water, the glass clinking crisply against the tabletop; she heard him draw the curtains and close the window; she heard him return to the study again.

Sang Ruo laughed at herself. She was actually paying this much attention to every move of that man who couldn’t even hold a conversation.

She thought back to that dream again, to all the moments they had shared in the hospital.

Was it just a dream? Or had it happened in some other time and space, leaving her with fragments as a warning?

It couldn’t be just a dream. Since waking up that day, the love she had accumulated for Zhou Yan over the years had faded, replaced by a strange feeling as if an entire lifetime had passed. On the other hand, her feelings toward Yi Chen’an…

So, should she allow the seed buried in her heart to sprout?

Curled up under her blanket, Sang Ruo smiled again.

If nothing else, choosing Yi Chen’an wasn’t a bad idea at all. At the very least, the man was handsome, had no bad habits, possessed a solid moral compass, and had a promising future. Having been friends with Old Sang for many years, his background was as clear as day.

What was more, she seemed to truly be developing a bit of a crush on him.

Perhaps she was too deeply influenced by the dream, or perhaps it was the sense of security he provided during their brief interactions…

Outside, the cold rain pattered on without pause, but Sang Ruo’s heart felt like a warm spring day, with flowers blooming one after another.

Sang Ruo sighed. Here she was, agonizing over it all by herself, while she had no idea what the man was thinking.

Would it be difficult to get him to take the initiative? After all, in the dream, he had kept his feelings hidden for over a decade without ever speaking a word.

Then again, maybe not. In the dream, she had gotten together with Zhou Yan very early on, so he never had a chance. This time was different; she was single now.

Hmph, she wondered if he would actually take action?

The more Sang Ruo thought about it, the less sleepy she became. Finally, a question occurred to her. Even if the dream was real, she had no idea when Yi Chen’an had started liking her. In the current timeline, did he already like her, or did he just see her as a junior from a friend’s family? Did he think she was just a little kid?

How annoying!

Sang Ruo wasn’t the type to be coy. Retreating in the face of difficulty wasn’t in her dictionary. Charging forward was more her style. Even if he didn’t like her yet, so what? She had some experience in chasing guys; the first time is awkward, but the second time is familiar.

In that sense, her relationship with Zhou Yan wasn’t entirely meaningless. At least it had left her with valuable experience in how to pursue a man.

She immediately began planning how to conquer Yi Chen’an.

She felt that if he didn’t like her yet, there was only one way to win over a man like him: the “boiling a frog in lukewarm water” approach. A direct approach wouldn’t work; a straight-laced man like him would only think she was a child acting out.

The best way was to invade his life subtly, like a gentle rain that moistens things in silence³. She would disrupt his rhythm, get him used to her, and make it so he could never leave her!

A sense of fighting spirit made her blood boil. The more she thought, the more excited she became, making it impossible to sleep.

But extreme joy often turns to sorrow⁴. After a trip to the bathroom, the dull ache that had been lingering in her lower abdomen finally gave her clear feedback. Yes, she discovered that her period had indeed arrived tonight.

None of the sanitary pads available on the delivery apps were the brands she preferred, and because of the rain, the delivery time was exceptionally long.

The situation was urgent, and time waited for no one⁵.

Fortunately, it wasn’t even ten o’clock yet, so there should still be a convenience store open in the neighborhood. Grabbing her phone, Sang Ruo stealthily reached for the keys on the shoe cabinet. But the sound of a door opening in the middle of the night was exceptionally loud. Just as she opened the door, she heard a deep male voice.

“Where are you going in the middle of the night?”

Who else could that voice belong to but Yi Chen’an? He had come out of the study at some point and was standing in the middle of the room, looking at her.

“I… I’m going to buy something. I’ll be right back.”

The man pulled out his phone. “Are you hungry? Just order delivery.”

“No… it’s…” She decided not to be shy. “I’m going to buy sanitary pads,” she said in a weak voice.

Translator’s Notes

• warm water and the frog: A common idiom (温水煮青蛙) referring to a strategy of gradual, subtle influence—like slowly heating water so the frog doesn’t notice until it’s too late—used here to describe her plan to win him over.