Chapter 82: The Love-Brain Female Lead Awakens 25

Once Sang Ruo started her internship, this summer somehow became even busier than when school was in session.

The team leader in charge of their batch of interns said Sang Ruo was clear-headed and good at reviewing her work. So she handed all the interns’ data collection and analysis, as well as their work summaries, over to her.

It just meant staying a little late every day.

Of course, this kind of extra work came with a certain performance bonus.

Sang Ruo had come to experience all kinds of jobs in the first place, so she didn’t refuse.

Yi Chen’an was pretty busy with work too, and every now and then he had dinner engagements and social obligations.

Under those circumstances, most of the time they spent together was on weekends.

Ever since they confirmed their relationship, every time she came over to Yi Chen’an’s place, he would definitely take her back to her rented apartment at night.

He firmly refused to let her stay over, and no amount of whining or pestering from her worked.

After it happened enough times, Sang Ruo gradually caught on.

He was drawing a line of defense between her and himself.

Ah, this was probably the romance of an older man.

Once she figured that out, Sang Ruo stopped pestering him about it.

Otherwise it made her look like some kind of shameless hooligan.

Not long after school started, her two-month internship period ended. Once she got her internship certificate, Sang Ruo resigned.

As for novel review work, after actually doing it, it wasn’t as interesting as she’d imagined, and there was a clear ceiling on its growth potential.

Her team leader had even tried to keep her, saying that with her performance, if she kept interning there she could become a full-time employee.

MX was a major company, but after experiencing the atmosphere there, Sang Ruo already knew this wasn’t the job she wanted.

The good thing was, she got paid.

After taxes, she received a little over ten thousand yuan total for the two months.

After getting her salary, she sent red packets to her parents in their family group chat and also bought gifts to mail home.

What followed was a flood of praise.

Those embarrassingly over-the-top compliments made her feel like she hadn’t just finished an internship and earned some pay, but had instead saved some city from being wrecked by Godzilla.

And that wasn’t even all.

That evening, Old Sang shared a photo in the group chat.

In the photo was a framed display about a foot square. Against a white background, right in the center, was a mounted banknote.

Sang Ruo had a bad feeling. “Old Sang, what are you doing now?”

“My precious girl’s first earnings must be framed as a keepsake. Your dad specifically went to the bank to exchange the red packet for a brand-new bill.”

“…”

That really was exactly the kind of thing Old Sang would do.

He was Old Sang, the man who, when Sang Ruo was little, had actually gotten one of the family’s embroiderers to turn her scribbles into a handkerchief.

Sang Ruo complained to Yi Chen’an, “He even hung the frame in the entryway where everyone coming and going can see it. It’s so embarrassing.”

“Uncle Sang and Auntie Sang love you very much.”

Sang Ruo gave a couple of huffs. “Good that you know that. I’m not one of those kids who grew up starved for love. If you’re insincere with me or treat me badly, I’ll know right away… ow…”

Her cheek got pinched.

“Tell me, when have I ever been insincere with you? When have I ever treated you badly?”

Sang Ruo pretended to think about it for a long time, but couldn’t come up with anything.

So she brought up old history instead. “Not long ago, you said you didn’t like me and only saw me as a little sister.”

Yi Chen’an let out a sigh and pulled her into his arms. “This really isn’t going away, is it?”

“I was heartbroken for so long. Shouldn’t you make it up to me a little?”

Yi Chen’an smiled. “How do you want me to make it up to you?”

“Kiss me?”

Yi Chen’an lowered his head, leaning close to her as he brushed aside the hair by her ear.

Sang Ruo closed her eyes, her lashes trembling.

And then… she felt her lips get pinched shut.

Yi Chen’an said, “Don’t you still have group work to finish? Go do your assignment already!”

Ahhhh…

Was that something a human being could do?

Sang Ruo fumed helplessly.

This damned dog of a man!

“Yi Chen’an, are you incapable or something?”

The moment those words left her mouth, the air went still for a second.

Yi Chen’an looked at her with an ambiguous half-smile and let out a soft hum.

It felt like silent mockery.

Sang Ruo: “…”

No, seriously, she already had the status of girlfriend, so why was she still getting angry all the time?

So clearly she wasn’t the problem. The problem was that this dog of a man was too much of a dog.

In a fit of indignation, after returning to school, Sang Ruo bought a Shiba Inu plush pillow and had it shipped to Yi Chen’an.

After receiving the package, Yi Chen’an sent her a photo of the pillow along with a message: “What does this mean?”

Sang Ruo: “Its vibe is a lot like yours.”

Yi Chen’an: “Thank you.”

???

That only left Sang Ruo bewildered.

Was his temper really that good?

Sang Ruo: “How exactly are you interpreting its vibe?”

Yi Chen’an’s next message came.

“Single-minded. Loyal.”

“…”

Sang Ruo looked at the photo of the pillow. The dog on it looked ridiculously goofy. How could that cross-eyed dumb-looking mutt possibly show such fine qualities?

But the longer she looked, the more she started to laugh. She pictured Yi Chen’an with cross-eyes, and she just couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from rising.

This was bad. She had actually fallen so far that she needed to use the Ah Q method¹ on herself.

Still, what could she do? He was the man she’d chosen.

There was no way he hadn’t understood her jab. If he answered like this, he was probably trying to cheer her up.

In the new semester, she went shopping with her dorm roommates. Summer still wasn’t over, but the fall collections were already out.

She bought two matching couple outfits.

Actually, they hadn’t originally been couple outfits at all.

She had first browsed the women’s section, then gone to the men’s store of the same brand to look for matching colors and patterns.

Then she discovered a problem: she and Yi Chen’an usually dressed in different styles.

To put it simply, they weren’t even in the same target age bracket for most clothing brands. That made shopping for couple outfits especially hard.

At that point, she began reflecting on the way she dressed. When she went out with Yi Chen’an, people wouldn’t mistake them for a dad taking his daughter out, would they?

They were only eight years apart… that was all.

After a lot of effort, she finally picked out two sweaters from one store with similar colors and styles.

The men’s one had a crew neck, and the women’s one had a V-neck.

They were dark navy, leaning toward a basic style, which meant they’d be able to wear them more often.

When she was paying, she noticed a men’s trench coat being steamed nearby. It looked really handsome, and she was told it was part of the new collection, so she bought that too.

Unfortunately, she thought the women’s style in the same fabric looked too old-fashioned, so only Yi Chen’an got to enjoy that.

After that, she also picked up a belt.

By the time she was done, her internship pay still wasn’t enough, and she had to make up the difference with the card holding her New Year’s money.

Being in a relationship really was expensive.

Yin Xiaoxin, who was shopping with her, clicked her tongue. “So you’ve really gotten together? The guy you mentioned last time, that older brother whose family is close with yours?”

Sang Ruo hadn’t planned to hide it anyway, so she admitted it openly.

Yin Xiaoxin said leisurely, “Zhou Yan was trash, sure, but he never really spent much of your money.”

Sang Ruo understood at once. “You’re saying Yi Chen’an is even worse than Zhou Yan?”

Yin Xiaoxin said, “I’m telling you to be a little more careful. Don’t always act like such a Love Brain and end up getting played without even knowing it.”

Only she knew how good Yi Chen’an was, and she didn’t want to drag the details of their relationship out for other people to inspect.

She only said, “He’s great. And who says Zhou Yan never used my money? I bought him several pairs of sneakers.”

Yin Xiaoxin: “…That’s not exactly something to be proud of.”

That weekend, Sang Ruo carried everything she’d bought for Yi Chen’an over to him in one go.

He tried on the sweater and the coat. Sang Ruo thought they looked really good, and the sizing was just right too.

It gave her the satisfying feeling of playing Miracle An’an².

As for the belt…

Yi Chen’an started laughing the moment she took it out.

“What are you laughing at?” Sang Ruo looked at it again. “It’s not childish. The style’s pretty similar to the belts you already have. And I asked the saleswoman, this one’s a classic. It won’t go out of style.”

Yi Chen’an arched a brow. “Oh? You’ve been paying attention to my belts? Why were you staring at my belt for no reason?”

“No, who was staring at your belt? I could tell just by looking casually.”

“So you did look.”

Sang Ruo: “…”

She felt like she’d just been flirted with, and she had evidence.

Actually, this man only liked to talk. He never really did anything, otherwise he wouldn’t have sent her back every single time.

After her internship ended, she gave up the apartment she’d been renting before, and now she was staying in the dorms.

One Friday after class, she kept trying to call Yi Chen’an’s phone, but couldn’t get through. When she got to the spot where he always parked to pick her up, the car was the same, but the person inside had become Feng Nan.

Feng Nan said, “He was hospitalized because of his stomach…”

Sang Ruo didn’t hear anything else clearly after that.

She had heard the words “stomach problem.”

The hands clutching her books started trembling uncontrollably.

In that long dream she’d had, Yi Chen’an had died in the end from stomach cancer.

She was usually very careful about helping him take care of his stomach. Whenever she had time, she’d cook foods for him that were gentle on it, and she always kept an eye on him to make sure he ate all three meals on time.

He had never once said he had stomach pain, so she thought none of it would happen, yet just two days ago he had clearly been completely fine.

When Feng Nan saw her face suddenly change, he ended up getting startled by her instead.

“Don’t worry. Old Yi just has acute gastritis. The doctor said he’ll be discharged after three to five days. It’s nothing serious.”

That was what he said, but how could she not worry? Everything had been fine, and then suddenly this happened.

When she got to the hospital with Feng Nan, Yi Chen’an was wearing a patient gown and on an IV. His lips were pale.

When he saw Sang Ruo, he gave her a weak smile. “You came. It’s fine. I wasn’t even planning to have him bring you over. I was afraid you’d be by yourself and start overthinking.”

Feng Nan joked from the side, “Old Yi, you have no idea. The moment I said you were hospitalized because of a stomach problem, her face went white. I was afraid she’d start crying on the spot.”

Ignoring Feng Nan’s teasing, Sang Ruo said, “You two talk. I’m going to ask the doctor.”

The attending physician’s name was listed at the head of the bed. Sang Ruo memorized it and went to the doctor’s office to ask around, then found that doctor.

The doctor was pretty busy, but when Sang Ruo asked about Yi Chen’an’s condition, he reassured her, “Family members don’t need to worry too much. Gastritis isn’t necessarily caused by bad eating habits. It can also be a viral infection. It’s a very common illness. After he’s discharged, just make sure the patient gets plenty of rest.”

Sang Ruo asked a few more things to keep in mind, including diet and how to care for him, and wrote everything down in the notes app on her phone.

When she returned to the room, Feng Nan had already left.

With no one else in the room, Sang Ruo sat down by his bedside. Looking at him like that, she couldn’t hold it back anymore. Tears fell soundlessly, like beads from a broken string.

Yi Chen’an sighed and tugged lightly on her arm.

Sang Ruo leaned forward with the motion and rested against his chest.

Yi Chen’an stroked her hair and raised his head slightly. “What’s wrong? Are you really that timid? Did this really scare you that badly?”

“I’m not timid at all,” Sang Ruo protested. “You don’t know anything.”

“Alright, I don’t know anything. Then tell me.”

Sang Ruo said nothing. She didn’t even want to think back on it again, much less describe the ending Yi Chen’an had in her dream.

Yi Chen’an absentmindedly stroked her back.

“Don’t want to talk? Then cry if you want.”

“You’re not even comforting me.”

Yi Chen’an said, “Aren’t you accusing me first when you’re the one in the wrong? I’m the one sick and lying in bed, and you’re still acting spoiled with me.”

“I want to.”

“Okay, okay. Then can Miss Sang the Little Crybaby move a bit? You’re pressing on the IV tube.”

Translator’s Notes