Chapter 37 : We Sleep Together Tonight, We Get Married Tomorrow (1/2)

This is the 26th floor, the floor-to-ceiling windows were wide open, and gusts of cold wind rushed in with a whoosh.

Song Ye had just finished showering, and the moisture on his hair hadn’t even dried yet.

The cold wind penetrated his wool sweater, but he didn’t seem to feel the chill.

His hands were in his pockets, standing in their living room, face as indifferent as ever, with no visible emotion.

“She’s single now.”

“There are so many single women out there, why does it have to be her?”

Lin Yao was exhausted, not even sure what to say.

“About what happened back then, can you really pretend it never happened?

No thorn in your heart?”

A thorn?

It had always been in his heart.

But compared to his desire to be with Jiang Nanshu now, it didn’t matter anymore.

It would wear down eventually.

Song Ye was silent for a few seconds, then said coldly: “What happened back then is over.

Don’t bring it up again in the future.”

“How many times have I even brought it up?” Lin Yao felt so wronged.

That night after the college entrance exam, Song Ye looked up with red eyes and told him to “shut up.”

Even after being scolded and humiliated like that, he still wouldn’t let Lin Yao say a single bad word about Jiang Nanshu.

“You told me not to bring it up, have I brought it up these past few years?

Not even a word, right?”

“I’ve been with my girlfriend for years, and I pretty much tell her everything.

This is the only thing I’ve never told her about.

I’ve kept it all bottled up.”

Song Ye didn’t want to talk about it, told him not to, so Lin Yao never mentioned it again.

He wasn’t the type to tear open an old wound for fun.

If Jiang Nanshu hadn’t come back, moved next door, joined the same project group, and been pushed together with Song Ye by Lu Youchuan, he wouldn’t have brought it up.

He actually hoped there’d be no contact between them it would save everyone the heartache.

Now Song Ye wanted to pursue a woman who once cheated on him, and as his good bro, Lin Yao couldn’t even say a few words?

“Then you better keep bottling it up,”

Song Ye said coldly, staring at him, silent for a few seconds.

“Maybe we were too young back then… she’s probably turned over a new leaf now.”

Outside the door

Jiang Nanshu was completely stunned.

She stood stiffly at the doorway, her thoughts tangled like a mess of knotted string, completely confused, even doubting whether she could understand Chinese anymore.

For a moment, she wanted to rush in and ask what they were talking about.

This matter hit her too hard; it left her completely blank, like back in sophomore year when she found out her dad had cheated.

She felt just as lost and helpless.

Why did Song Ye think she was two-timing?

When he rejected her back then and said those harsh words, was it because he thought she was cheating?

She stood there for a long time, then suddenly remembered what Fang Xu said.

She recalled the text message Chen Qingyue sent that night, and the forceful, out-of-control kiss from Song Ye…

“You guys still not leaving?”

Inside the apartment, Song Ye crossed his arms and looked at them, clearly kicking them out.

If Lin Yao and Xu Hao didn’t know him for so many years and understand his personality, they would’ve definitely been offended by this.

Xu Hao was a very rational guy.

He and Song Ye had competed in competitions together back then, and he always thought Song Ye was as rational as he was, someone who knew how to weigh pros and cons and stop losses in time.

But clearly, once Song Ye ran into Jiang Nanshu, all that rationality flew out the window.

He sighed and said, “If anyone’s going to pursue, shouldn’t it be her pursuing you?”

“You…”

Lin Yao scoffed: “Didn’t you notice? Jiang Nanshu probably isn’t into him.”

That really hit hard.

Song Ye looked at him blankly: “Get lost.”

Lin Yao took a hard drag from his cigarette, then stubbed it out and tossed it in the trash can.

He looked up at him and sighed helplessly, then turned to Xu Hao: “Alright, alright, we’re leaving. Don’t delay his pursuit of Jiang Nanshu.”

Lin Yao and Xu Hao put on their jackets, and when Song Ye walked them to the door, he realized it was ajar.

He pulled it open and saw a cat bed for Rousong sitting outside.

The three of them froze.

Song Ye stared at the cat bed, his expression instantly stiffening.

Lin Yao and Xu Hao weren’t idiots after thinking for a second, they more or less figured out what happened.

Jiang Nanshu probably came to drop off the cat and happened to arrive at the worst possible moment just in time to hear everything they said.

Lin Yao glanced at the tightly shut door across the hall, then looked back at Song Ye with a bit of guilt: “So… what now?”

Mainly, they were worried that if things didn’t go well between Song Ye and Jiang Nanshu, he’d blame them later.

Song Ye snapped out of it and calmed down.

He looked at them and said, “You guys go.”

Lin Yao and Xu Hao exchanged glances for a few seconds, didn’t say anything else, and left.

Once the two of them got into the elevator, they were silent for a while.

Xu Hao spoke first: “This… you think it’ll be alright? Should we go talk to Jiang Nanshu?”

Lin Yao had felt a bit guilty earlier, but now he thought maybe it was a good thing.

“Whatever, let them figure it out themselves.

I think this might be a good thing.”

Xu Hao didn’t agree: “What’s good about it?”

Lin Yao gave him a look: “If it wasn’t for this accident, Song Ye probably would’ve kept this bottled up for life.

Since she overheard it, letting it all out might be a good thing.

Hopefully, Jiang Nanshu has a conscience and will treat Song Ye better going forward.”

Jiang Nanshu tried to stay calm and keep thinking.

She recalled the things Fang Xu had said, like she had finally grabbed onto the loose thread at the root of all this tangled mess.

Why things felt off.

Why was there weird information?

Why Song Ye clearly liked her back then, but still rejected her so harshly.

After reuniting, the occasional loss of control in his words, the cold restraint she couldn’t understand, and the strange moments of probing…

All of it finally made sense.

So… even knowing she had supposedly “two-timed” him, Song Ye still couldn’t control his feelings for her and wanted to pursue her.

Jiang Nanshu sat blankly on the sofa, her whole being swallowed by a deep confusion and sense of emptiness.

It was like a huge wave of information and tangled emotions had crashed into her, leaving her unable to think.

Anger, heartache, and sadness rushed through her repeatedly, until only helplessness and sorrow remained.

For the first time, she felt a kind of despair where even crying wasn’t an option.

She had been heartbroken for years after being rejected and it was because of this… ridiculous rumor??

The doorbell suddenly rang.

She turned to look toward the entryway, then turned back without moving.

Her phone vibrated beside her.

S: [Come out and talk.]

Jiang Nanshu looked down at the screen, and didn’t respond.

S: [Rousong hasn’t been returned yet.]

Jiang Nanshu bit her lip, still didn’t reply.

After a while

S: [I’m going to enter in 10 seconds.]

So what if you know the password! If you’ve got the guts, come in then!

Rage suddenly surged through Jiang Nanshu like a firestorm, rushing to her head.

She shot up from the sofa like she had been revived with full health.

Taking a deep breath, she scooped up Rousong and stormed toward the door.

Outside, Song Ye heard the fast and urgent footsteps, pocketed his phone, and looked up.

The next moment

The door was pulled open forcefully.

Jiang Nanshu stood there holding Rousong, looking up at him with a blank face.

The two of them stared at each other in silence, not missing a single flicker of emotion in each other’s eyes.

Jiang Nanshu didn’t know how Song Ye found out about Chen Qingyue.

Maybe if she hadn’t asked, or hadn’t overheard tonight, he would’ve taken it to the grave.

She took a deep breath and spoke first: “When did you find out about Chen Qingyue?”

Hearing her bring up that name herself, it felt like Song Ye’s heart had been torn open by her own hands.

There was nowhere left to hide.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed the emotion down, and he looked down at her.

“Two weeks before the college entrance exam.”

Jiang Nanshu went quiet for a moment, then asked, “Where?”

He took a deep breath, leaned sideways against the wall, and answered flatly: “During that holiday, you didn’t go to tutoring with us.