Chapter 167: I Say He's My Boyfriend, Who Agrees? Who Disagrees?
Their palms were touching, really touching, yet he still called that “helping her walk”?
Come on, look closely. This is clearly holding hands, not just helping!
Lin Yibai quickly gave up trying to pull her hand away. Well, if it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen, maybe you can’t avoid it anyway.
But still… didn’t they look like a couple?
Lin Yibai swore that if it were the old version of herself, she would’ve already looked disgusted and said, “Gross!”
But now?
She looked down at her girl’s body, and her face, which was even prettier than most actual girls.
All of this showed that there was no going back. She was just struggling to accept kindness from another boy. Was that really so strange?
She felt torn, confused… many emotions crossed her face, and Xia Changyu could tell something was bothering her.
So he asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong? Did I do something that made you unhappy?”
Lin Yibai shook her head. “No.”
“Then why do you look kind of upset and low on energy?”
She didn’t want to face her true feelings, and definitely didn’t want to show them in front of this annoying “love rival.”
So she let out a deep breath and said, “Really, it’s nothing. Maybe I’m just tired… I want to get back to Fucheng early. I’ve got a part-time job tomorrow.”
Xia Changyu understood what she was going through. After all, living alone in a strange city was never easy. And compared to most people, Lin Yibai was already doing an amazing job.
He didn’t pressure her. He supported her.
Not like one of those overbearing guys who force their will on girls. If a girl doesn’t want something, why insist?
Eventually, the two of them made it down the mountain path and got into the car at the parking lot near the scenic area exit.
Xia Changyu drove straight onto the highway.
This trip had already brought him more than he ever expected. So many memories, it was almost too much to hold.
When he saw that Lin Yibai looked tired, he said, “Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll wake you when we get to Fucheng.”
Lin Yibai yawned. “Oh~”
And just like that, she fell into a deep sleep.
To be fair, she was really exhausted. Sure, wedding planning jobs pay well, but they also have really long hours, working over ten hours a day was totally normal.
And now hiking too?
If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn’t have invited this annoying “love rival” to join. He was making her feelings all complicated.
Zzz...
Lin Yibai was completely out cold.
She had no idea how many kilometers passed between Chongshan Ancient Town and Fucheng.
All she knew was that when she opened her eyes, what she saw first was the golden light of the setting sun, still hanging on the edge of the sky, refusing to go down.
The late summer sunset in July and August was really beautiful.
And standing in front of the car was a handsome young man, leaning against the hood while casually scrolling through his phone.
Knock knock knock!
Lin Yibai raised her hand and knocked on the window.
Xia Changyu, who had been reading work messages in a group chat, was startled at first. But quickly turned off his phone and walked over to the passenger side window, smiling brightly.
“You’re awake!”
Lin Yibai asked, “Where are we?”
Xia Changyu smiled and answered, “We’re at Fucheng’s Maoyan Mountain. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake you up. So I made the decision to stop here for a while.”
Lin Yibai stretched and, feeling more awake, said, “Actually, you could’ve just taken me straight to my apartment and woken me up when we got there. I’m not that delicate, you know.”
Xia Changyu shook his head and said, “No, I don’t think it’s being delicate. It’s just… I couldn’t bring myself to wake you up.”
Then he got back in the car.
This time, they were finally heading back home.
Honestly, Xia Changyu really wanted to take Lin Yibai back to his place. But sadly, that girl didn’t seem to feel like his home was her home just yet.
A Golden Nest, a Silver Nest, a Man’s House. None of them feel as good as my own little doghouse!
Xia Changyu brought back a lot of local products from the Chongshan Ancient Town tourist area, planning to give them to Lin Yibai. When he arrived downstairs, he helped carry everything up to her apartment.
Lin Yibai brushed aside a lock of her now longer and smoother hair and asked, “Do you want to stay for dinner? It won’t be anything fancy like a real chef’s meal, but it’ll be enough to fill you up.”
Xia Changyu replied without hesitation, “I want to eat rice.”
Lin Yibai tilted her head and smiled, “Fine, fine, I’ll make rice with that high-quality Wuchang rice you gave me...”
Then Xia Changyu added another request. “I want to help you in the kitchen too. How about that?”
Lin Yibai frowned and said with a cold snort, “You really do ask for a lot. The kitchen is small, it’ll be cramped with two people!”
Xia Changyu: “But...”
Lin Yibai finally got impatient and said, “Fine, I’ll cook dinner, and you wash the dishes. Okay?”
Xia Changyu looked at the lively way she spoke and couldn’t help but laugh happily, “Okay, okay, deal... Hey, don’t you think the two of us right now really seem like a married couple?”
Lin Yibai walked into the kitchen and waved lazily behind her, “Stop trying to turn everything into romance. I don’t even want to talk to you right now!”
Dinner was kept simple!
There was clam and tofu soup, shredded pork stir-fried with green peppers, and a plate of delicious stir-fried sweet potato leaves.
While she was stir-frying the pork, the doorbell to the apartment suddenly rang.
Xia Changyu went to open the door and saw a woman in middle-aged clothes with a spotted pattern.
As soon as the door opened, the woman peeked inside. Xia Changyu immediately frowned and asked, “Excuse me, who are you looking for?”
The woman gave him one glance and then said rudely, “Looking for who? This is my house, who are you to question me? Bringing random strange men into the house... so unlucky. Go get that girl inside and tell her to come out!”
The woman’s attitude was very mean.
And especially rude to the girl Xia Changyu liked, so he instantly felt annoyed.
Even I wouldn’t speak to her like that! And now you’re talking down to her like this?
“If you have something to say, you can talk to me,” Xia Changyu said, stepping in front of the woman and blocking her view of Lin Yibai. He added coldly, “Or get out.”
The middle-aged woman widened her eyes and said with a smug look, “You brat, do you even know who I am? Do you know who owns this apartment? This is my house, and now you're telling me to get out?”
As expected, the woman turned out to be the landlady. And from the way she talked, she clearly looked down on people from other places. That kind of attitude is unfortunately pretty common in big cities.
Because the argument was loud and heated, Lin Yibai had already turned off the stove and came out of the kitchen to check.
She saw Xia Changyu standing up to the landlady, clearly upset, and his tone was already turning sharp, nearly kicking the landlady out.
The landlady started swearing, shouting lots of local curses, some involving parents and other insults. Even using terms like “outsider dog,” which made it obvious she was looking down on people not from the city.
Lin Yibai knew why the landlady had come.
This apartment was subleased from her college senior, and the landlady was unhappy about it, often coming to cause trouble.
Was she trying to raise the rent? Force a new lease agreement?
Either way, Lin Yibai was never going to agree. If it weren’t for the low price, she wouldn’t have rented here in the first place.
But the landlady’s insults got worse and worse, even calling Xia Changyu a “random guy” Lin Yibai brought home, implying she wasn’t a decent girl.
That was it, Lin Yibai wasn’t going to stay quiet anymore.
She walked over and gently held Xia Changyu’s arm. Then she smiled and said to the landlady.
“‘Random guy’? I don’t know what you’re talking about… May I ask, what’s wrong with me bringing my boyfriend home?”
If I say that this “random guy” you’re talking about is actually my boyfriend. What will you say to that?