Please post additional chapters.

Jiang Chen... Why did he have to do this?

She remembered how, back then, he barely had time to sleep. If these study notes were really written just for her, how much effort and time must he have wasted?

Ever since the suspicion crept in, Ye Mian could no longer face her own heart with calm. She thought of so many things.

She remembered being rescued by Jiang Chen and brought home at five in the morning, his arm stained red with blood, the sheets he washed by hand, the way he cared for her in the hospital, how he gave her the soft bed to sleep in while he curled up on the small sofa.

And there were so many other times, those acts of salvation for which she could never find proof.

She could not simply attribute it all to Jiang Chen being a kind-hearted person.

Because she had seen with her own eyes his cold ruthlessness, covered in blood, and the way he set fire to a house.

Something didn’t feel right.

But when she took out her phone, she found herself unable to ask anything.

A faint voice within her held her back.

Perhaps it was just that she had been good to Jiang Chen, and he was simply returning that kindness.

Conflicting thoughts warred in her heart. She thought about it again and again, but in the end, she put her phone away.

No matter the reason, if Jiang Chen had wanted to speak, he would have done so already.

All she could do was strive to become better herself, so that she might step into his world in the future—then she would have all the time she needed to slowly figure things out.

But after a year apart, longing broke free of its shackles in this moment, and she couldn’t help but feel tears prick at her eyes.

How could there be someone you give your all to catch up with, yet still can never reach?

Was she simply not working hard enough?

...

As dusk approached, Ye Haisheng knocked on her door, asking her to get ready to go out for dinner.

Ye Mian chose a simple, elegant dress suitable for meeting elders, applied a touch of light makeup, and then left with her father.

The restaurant was quite upscale.

She’d heard that her aunt was a refined woman, so Ye Haisheng had booked a high-end hotel restaurant.

In truth, Ye Mian felt a little embarrassed. She had never dined in such a place before; though she’d sometimes wanted to try, she found the idea of going alone too lonely.

She didn’t want to shrink back just because of a dinner.

This time, she decided to play the role of a sensible and cheerful girl who enjoyed good food.

Firstly, elders liked that sort of thing.

Secondly, she herself would enjoy the meal.

The car drove out of the city. Father and daughter arrived at the hotel entrance, where the opulent décor and a doorman welcomed them inside.

As the host, Ye Haisheng arrived before his elder brother’s family.

Ye Mian accompanied him to a private room to wait.

The waiting felt endless, each minute and second stretching out.

After more than ten minutes had passed and there was still no sign of their guests, Ye Mian picked up her bag and headed to the restroom.

Just as she stepped outside, she bumped into her uncle’s family.

Her uncle, Ye Changlin, bore a strong resemblance to Ye Haisheng, though he was broader and plumper, exuding a kind of honest warmth. Ye Mian recognized him at once.

The woman beside him must be her aunt—her makeup was immaculate, her style dignified and fashionable, just as her father had described.

Behind them stood a boy and a girl about her age, both good-looking, with a certain cheerful air that marked them as having grown up abroad.

Ye Mian greeted them with a gracious smile, then returned to her seat and shot her father a look. “Dad, I think Uncle and his family are here.”

Ye Haisheng rose to greet them with a smile and invited everyone to sit.

Ye Mian was seated beside her cousins.

Her so-called younger female cousin was, in fact, only a month younger—essentially the same age.

After the elders exchanged pleasantries, the younger generation began chatting amongst themselves.

Ye Mian and her two cousins introduced themselves, and soon enough, conversation flowed easily.

(End of this chapter)