As soon as they entered the elevator, Song Ye let go of her hand and pressed the button for basement level two.
Jiang Nanshu looked up at the man beside her.
He had been working overtime excessively, even pulling an all-nighter the night before.
Today, he finally got off work early, and he should have taken the opportunity to rest.
Instead, he was taking her out for a late-night snack, which would probably mean returning home around 1 a.m.
Was it because he was pursuing her?
Was that why he was willing to go through all this trouble?
She looked ahead, staring at their reflections on the elevator door.
After a pause, she spoke softly, “Actually, I’m not that hungry.
You don’t have to take me there… it’s too much trouble.
You should go home and rest early.”
Song Ye, dressed in a down jacket with one hand in his pocket and the other holding his car keys, also looked at the elevator door.
His gaze fell on her as he asked, “So, were you lying when you said you weren’t full?
Why are you in a bad mood?”
Jiang Nanshu wasn’t sure how he had noticed.
She had already exhausted herself explaining earlier in the day.
She lowered her head, pressed her lips together, and mumbled, “I really wasn’t full.”
And just like that, the conversation circled back to the starting point.
Song Ye looked down at her.
“Do you want to eat Hong Kong-style dim sum?”
“That place from last time?”
She blinked.
“Yeah.”
“…I’ll eat.”
As the car drove into the neighborhood, Jiang Nanshu glanced at the time.
It had been less than fifteen minutes since she had entered the residential area.
Cheng Jiajia was probably still on her way home.
If she found out…
Jiang Nanshu hesitated for a moment before sending a message.
Shu: [I’m going to have Hong Kong-style dim sum with Song Ye.
Do you want to come?]
She also shared her location.
A moment later, Cheng Jiajia, who was waiting at a red light, saw the message and immediately sent a voice reply:
[So I rushed to drop you home just so you could spend Christmas Eve with him?]
Jiang Nanshu turned down the volume and held the phone to her ear, listening to the message sneakily.
Feeling a little guilty, she replied:
Shu: [Are you coming or not?]
Cheng Jiajia: [Why would I go play third wheel?]
Shu: […]
Cheng Jiajia: [Just go with Song Ye, eat well, and get a good night’s sleep.
Don’t overthink things.]
Thinking about the past, Jiang Nanshu did feel down.
She would probably have trouble sleeping tonight.
She turned off the screen and secretly glanced at Song Ye.
He always seemed indifferent, sometimes even a little sharp-tongued, making it hard to respond to his words.
But he was also attentive and considerate at least, he had been back in high school.
When they first reunited, things between them were awkward.
She wasn’t sure when, but at some point, their relationship had begun to change.
Maybe… it all started when they found Xiaobei.
The drive was smooth, likely because the old town area wasn’t crowded.
Song Ye parked near the entrance of a small alley, and it wasn’t even midnight yet.
Unlike the bustling malls and downtown streets, the old town didn’t have much of a Christmas atmosphere.
Jiang Nanshu stood by the roadside and glanced toward the alley entrance.
Only two stores had Christmas trees outside.
One of them was a Hong Kong-style tea restaurant at the alley entrance.
The restaurant’s sign read “Chen’s Hong Kong Tea House”, illuminated by red neon lights that stood out in the night.
Song Ye locked the car and walked up beside her.
“Let’s go.”
The tea house wasn’t big only about 70 to 80 square meters but it was packed with customers.
As soon as Jiang Nanshu stepped inside, she heard people speaking Cantonese.
She looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged woman in her fifties wearing a work uniform.
Her hair was styled in curls, and her makeup was refined she looked just like the charming proprietresses in classic Hong Kong movies.
And she was indeed the owner.
She was originally from Guangzhou but had moved here after getting married.
She and her husband had been running this tea house for over a decade.
As she stood by the kitchen window, waiting to serve customers, she turned and saw them, her face lighting up with a smile.
“Handsome young man, you brought your girlfriend?
What do you want to eat?
Come place your order.”
Jiang Nanshu: “…”
She looked up at Song Ye.
“The owner knows you?”
“I’ve been here a few times,” Song Ye replied casually.
“Maybe she remembers me.”
Jiang Nanshu walked up to the counter, smiled at the owner, and spoke in Cantonese.
“I’m not his girlfriend.”
As soon as she finished, she felt a sharp gaze on her.
She hesitated before turning around to look at Song Ye.
“Did you understand that?”
That was practically a self-exposure.
The man remained expressionless, staring at her coldly.
“I heard, but I didn’t understand.”
The owner, delighted that Jiang Nanshu spoke Cantonese, eagerly struck up a conversation with her asking where she was from and even lamenting that it was a pity she wasn’t Song Ye’s girlfriend.
Jiang Nanshu wasn’t that fluent in Cantonese, so while she chatted briefly, she quickly placed their order.
Song Ye sat by the window, leaning back lazily with his arms crossed and his long legs stretched out.
His gaze was focused and unrestrained as he watched her.
She spoke Cantonese beautifully.
Back in university, Song Ye had been a roommate with a Hong Konger who loved making phone calls, always speaking in Cantonese.
Over time, Song Ye picked up most of it.
So, he understood everything Jiang Nanshu had just said.
A few minutes later, she sat across from him.
Looking outside, she turned back and asked, “How did you find this place?
The owner said they’ve been open for nearly twenty years.
Are you two close?”
“Lin Yao’s cousin lives nearby,” Song Ye replied after a pause.
“But I’m not particularly familiar with the owner I’ve just been here a few times.”
Jiang Nanshu’s mood improved a lot.
She propped her face on her hands and smiled at him.
Song Ye glanced at her and smirked slightly.
Actually, the first time he had come here was because Lin Yao told him his cousin’s cat had given birth to a litter.
“When did they give birth?” Song Ye had asked.
Lin Yao checked and replied, “May 15th.”
The same day as Jiang Nanshu’s birthday.
Back in high school, during a major exam, she hadn’t performed well and had been devastated.
She had wanted to get into the same university as Song Ye, but her grades were always just short of the mark.
She had been so upset that she confided in him.
“I didn’t do well,” she had said.
Song Ye had reassured her, “This test was particularly difficult.
A lot of people didn’t do well, so don’t worry too much about the score.”
She had remained silent for a while before murmuring, “But I really wanted to go to the same university as you.”
That day, Song Ye had thought of getting her a kitten as a gift one she couldn’t take home but that he could take care of until they could raise it together in the future.
And as luck would have it, he had found one born on her birthday.