Chen Hai

After putting down his phone, Ye Shuang glanced at Bai Yuyou, who was quietly nibbling on a steamed bun, hesitating whether to ask her to wait in her room. After all, their current relationship was hard to define, and on top of that, Chen Hai was a notorious loudmouth. He was genuinely worried the guy might scare her.

"My friend is coming up soon. Could you wait in your room for a bit?" Ye Shuang thought it over before speaking to Bai Yuyou.

Hearing this, Bai Yuyou's beautiful eyes dimmed slightly as she silently lowered her head. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Ye Shuang was taken aback.

Bai Yuyou replied, "When I do something wrong, I get locked up."

Ye Shuang frowned slightly. "Did your mother say that?"

Bai Yuyou shook her head. "Not Mom… My classmates said it. Sometimes when I made mistakes, they’d lock me in the bathroom and wouldn’t let me out."

"They said I had to stay there for a whole day."

"It was really cold at night, and I’d get hungry too."

The girl recounted this calmly, but Ye Shuang felt an inexplicable heaviness in his chest, as if the pain she described was his own.

After speaking, Bai Yuyou stood up and started walking toward her room on her own.

"Wait." Ye Shuang grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to his side.

He straightened up, bending slightly to meet her at eye level. Gently cupping Bai Yuyou’s face in his hands—her skin was cold to the touch—he looked at her seriously.

"Listen, even if you do something wrong, no one has the right to lock you up. And most of the time, you didn’t even do anything wrong. Understand?"

Bai Yuyou’s eyes reflected Ye Shuang’s face, but she still seemed unsure about right and wrong. "R-Really?"

"You don’t believe me?" Ye Shuang asked.

"I believe you."

"Good." Ye Shuang reached out and stroked her head, his touch as gentle as if he were handling a fragile porcelain doll.

Just then, a knock came from the door.

"He’s here."

Ye Shuang stood and walked over to answer it.

Behind him, Bai Yuyou absentmindedly touched her cheek, where the warmth of his hands still lingered, and quietly watched his back.

When the door opened, Chen Hai barged in, grumbling while carrying several large briefcases.

"Not even an elevator? Wearing a suit and climbing all these stairs nearly killed me!"

"Enough. You’re getting a cut of this huge sum—don’t act like you’re doing me a favor," Ye Shuang retorted. But Chen Hai immediately noticed Bai Yuyou standing behind him.

His chubby face froze in shock, his gold-rimmed glasses even tilting slightly. "Wh-What the—you… you…"

Chen Hai abruptly hooked an arm around Ye Shuang’s neck and dragged him outside, lowering his voice. "Holy hell, are you actually being kept by some rich woman?! And she’s this gorgeous?!"

Ye Shuang was about to argue but realized Chen Hai wasn’t entirely wrong. He changed the subject. "She’s a distant relative. Don’t scare her with your loudmouth antics—she’s pretty introverted."

"Oh, okay, okay." Chen Hai visibly relaxed when he heard she was just family. "For a second there, I thought I lost my chance."

Ye Shuang gave him a weird look. "What ‘chance’? Do you have feelings for me or something?"

"Do I look like I do?"

"You look like a damn sweet potato."

"Cut the crap! You know damn well Chen Qin’s had a thing for you forever," Chen Hai snapped, glaring. "Now that you’re single again, she’s been pestering me nonstop."

"Enough. Let’s focus on moving the money first," Ye Shuang said firmly.

"Fine."

Chen Hai stepped inside and, noticing Bai Yuyou standing quietly in the corner, put on a polite smile. "Hey there, little miss. I’m Chen Hai, Ye Shuang’s best buddy."

Bai Yuyou nodded but kept her gaze fixed on Ye Shuang.

"Hey, why’s your ‘relative’ staring at you like that?" Chen Hai nudged Ye Shuang with his elbow, whispering. "Don’t tell me she’s—"

"Shut up and get to work."

Ye Shuang crouched down and began neatly stacking the bundles of cash into the large briefcases. Chen Hai still had a million questions but followed suit, helping organize the money.

Once everything was packed, Chen Hai remarked, "Must be around six million."

But he didn’t ask where the money came from.

"Did you drive here?" Ye Shuang asked.

"Obviously."

Hoisting the heavy cases, Ye Shuang sighed. "You know, it just hit me—even if money fell from the sky, I wouldn’t be able to carry much of it."

"Bullshit. If money rained down, I’d sprint like an Olympian."

Ye Shuang and Chen Hai lugged the cash-filled cases downstairs with great effort, Bai Yuyou trailing silently behind Ye Shuang.

Chen Hai’s car—a brand-new BMW X5—was parked right outside the building. After loading the cases into the trunk, Chen Hai waved them over. "Let’s go."

Ye Shuang got in, but Bai Yuyou lingered outside, standing alone and staring at him.

"Come here," Ye Shuang called.

Only then did she climb in, her cautious demeanor making Ye Shuang sigh inwardly. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what this girl had been through.

At the bank, after a lengthy cash-counting process, Chen Hai leaned in and said,

"Yep, just over six million—6.15 million, to be exact. How do you want to deposit it?"

"Six million in a fixed-term deposit, the rest for spending," Ye Shuang said.

"Got it. Don’t worry about the large cash deposit proof—your account already has a history of big transactions."

"Good."

Ye Shuang had initially planned to deposit the money into Bai Yuyou’s account, only to realize she didn’t even know what a bank card was. Opening a new account for such a large sum would’ve been a hassle, so he ended up storing it in his own account for safekeeping.

Leaving the bank and seeing his balance back in the millions, Ye Shuang felt a strange mix of emotions.

"Consider the past a lesson. Use this money to start fresh," Chen Hai said, as if reading his mind, giving his shoulder a reassuring pat.

"This money isn’t even mine. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be depositing it," Ye Shuang muttered, lighting a cigarette and taking a drag.

"So what’s your plan now?" Chen Hai asked.

"I want to take a break for a while." Ye Shuang turned, his gaze settling on Bai Yuyou behind him. "There are still some things I can’t let go of."

"Fair enough. At least you’re not running away. The important thing is you’ve got the guts to start over." Chen Hai couldn’t help but sigh. "Oh, by the way—Chen Qin knows you’re with me. She’s on her way here now."

"Damn it, are you that desperate to be my brother-in-law?" Ye Shuang’s cigarette nearly slipped from his fingers as he rolled his eyes.

"Not my fault."

"I’ll take a cab back." Ye Shuang grabbed Bai Yuyou’s hand and started walking off.

"Hey, hey—being your father-in-law works too!"

"Piss off."