Chapter 20: Being Jiang Nanshu’s ex-boyfriend is at least a little better than being… the other man, right?

Sometimes, Song Ye was also there.

What was his relationship with Jiang Nanshu back then?

Before Jiang Nanshu transferred schools, Song Ye had never liked anyone.

That seemingly casual “You can give it a try” was actually his most sincere wish.

Jiang Nanshu wasn’t very good at pursuing someone.

One of her ways to chase him was by frequently buying soda for him.

She didn’t dare to be too obvious about it, afraid that teachers and classmates would find out.

Later on, it seemed more like Song Ye was pursuing her instead.

During their senior year, he was the most relaxed student in the entire class.

Lin Yao often asked him to bring snacks and drinks from outside the school, but whether Song Ye complied depended entirely on his mood.

Jiang Nanshu would also occasionally ask him to bring things, but very rarely.

Yet, whenever she did, Song Ye always obliged.

At those times, he would conveniently bring something for Lin Yao and the others as well.

After a while, Lin Yao noticed something off and was quite dissatisfied.

“People say ‘brothers are like limbs, women are like clothes,’ but you’ve completely flipped it.

So, was Jiang Nanshu chasing you, or were you chasing Jiang Nanshu?”

Song Ye lazily leaned against the railing, casually watching Jiang Nanshu, who was in the classroom buried in her exercises.

He glanced at Lin Yao.

“Isn’t your mouth full enough?”

“You see Jiang Nanshu as your girlfriend, don’t you?” Lin Yao turned to look at him.

“You put so much effort into tutoring her is it because you want her to get into the same university as you?”

Song Ye didn’t answer.

His silence was an admission.

Inside the classroom, Jiang Nanshu ran into a difficult problem.

She tapped her pen against her forehead in frustration.

After a while, she gave up struggling and decided to seek help.

She looked up and scanned the room.

The moment Song Ye met her gaze, he walked into the classroom.

Jiang Nanshu looked up at him pitifully.

“Song Ye, save me.”

Before liking Jiang Nanshu, he had never liked anyone.

After liking Jiang Nanshu, he never liked anyone else.

Being Jiang Nanshu’s ex-boyfriend was better than being… the third party, right?

Song Ye didn’t deny the “ex-boyfriend” label that Jiang Nanshu had given him.

He cast a cold glance at Li Xun.

“Are you here to gossip, or do you actually have work to do?”

“Of course, I’m here for work,” Li Xun grinned nonchalantly.

“And to gossip on the side.”

“Go test the new version.”

Song Ye didn’t waste more words on him and turned to leave.

Li Xun had been itching to play the test version for a long time.

Now, he finally had the chance.

All thoughts of Jiang Nanshu and the interview were thrown to the back of his mind.

He slipped into the development team, sat in front of a computer, and stared at the screen eagerly while waiting for it to start up.

Gao Xukun and Chen Yang, who were also seeing Li Xun for the first time, turned around to greet him.

However, Chen Yang had a question.

“Uh… how should we address you?”

“Call me ‘big bro,'” Li Xun raised an eyebrow.

Chen Yang: “…”

He knew that Li Xun was older than everyone here.

Gao Xukun had no hesitation.

“Big Xun Bro, welcome to the team.”

“Why add ‘big’? That makes it sound weird.”

Li Xun frowned.

“Besides, I’m not joining your team I was part of the original project, okay?”

“My bad, let me rephrase: welcome back,” Gao Xukun corrected smoothly.

“And what’s wrong with having ‘big’ in a name? You’re making assumptions, Big Xun Bro.”

Li Xun had nothing to say.

He turned his head and happened to see Liang Yun approaching.

He smirked.

“Well, if it isn’t our lead planner.

Long time no see.”

Liang Yun had been in a bad mood since morning.

Seeing Li Xun, he forced a calm expression.

“Long time no see.”

Everyone present knew why Li Xun had returned.

Especially Liang Yun and Li Xun themselves.

Li Xun’s eyes burned with determination as he stared at Liang Yun.

The tables had turned.

Now, it was his turn to take him down.

“Li Xun,” Song Ye’s voice was indifferent as he reminded him, signaling not to go too far.

“Get to it. I’m waiting for your feedback.”

Only then did Li Xun refocus, opening the engineering directory on the computer and diving into the test version.

As he played, he couldn’t help but praise,

“Bro, you’re a genius! This is it! This is exactly what we wanted! No, it’s even better than I expected! If it weren’t for”

Song Ye sat behind him, arms crossed.

“Focus.

Find the bugs.”

This project only came to life because of Li Xun.

His design draft laid the foundation for the game.

His insights and feedback were crucial.

At 11 p.m., the development team gathered all the reported bugs.

Song Ye kept the developers, planners, and QA team behind while the rest were allowed to leave.

To save time, he didn’t even move to a conference room.

He just had everyone gather in the development area for a quick meeting.

“Nine S-level bugs, twenty A-level bugs all of them must be fixed within three days.

For B-level and C-level bugs, fix them if there’s time.

If not, postpone them.

The build locks on Christmas Eve at 6 p.m.”

While packing up her things, Jiang Nanshu heard Song Ye’s calm and firm voice.

She glanced in his direction.

Zhou Jiale yawned and called out,

“Nanshu, let’s go.”

No matter how late or tired she was, Jiang Nanshu always made sure to check Zhou Jiale’s desk before leaving.

Then, she looked at her own spotless workspace.

“Wow, Nanshu,” Zhou Jiale marveled, “Your desk is always so clean!”

Jiang Nanshu smiled.

“Just a habit from when I was little.

My parents always kept my room and desk tidy, so I got used to it.”

Zhou Jiale linked arms with her.

“You must have had a great childhood and a loving family.”

Jiang Nanshu was silent for a moment before forcing a smile.

She didn’t answer.

Before she turned sixteen, before her father died in a car accident, she did grow up in a warm family.

But at twenty, Jiang Yu told her the truth.

Her supposedly responsible and loving father had been cheating for three years before his death.

And the woman he cheated with?

Her deskmate’s mother.

That deskmate was Chen Qingyue.

Jiang Nanshu hadn’t thought about him for a long time.

Some emotions, once ripped apart, left only painful, raw truth.

Her feelings toward her father became complicated.