After simply activating the phone and setting it up, Ye Shuang glanced at the "No SIM" notification in the signal bar before turning his gaze back to the girl. "Get me a SIM card."
"ID and 50 yuan."
Ye Shuang handed over a bill and his ID. The girl glanced at the birthdate on it. "So you really are 26."
"What else?"
"With that disheveled look of yours, you seem more like a middle-aged creep going through a crisis." The girl rested her chin on her hand as she leaned against the glass display counter, her tone as infuriatingly casual as ever.
Truth be told, Ye Shuang’s current situation wasn’t far from a midlife crisis—the only difference was that he hadn’t gone bald yet.
"And why the hell am I a creep?!"
"Because you were staring at me earlier." Her voice was flat.
"You—" Ye Shuang was momentarily speechless. Though he had only spared her an extra glance because she seemed around Bai Yuyou’s age, he couldn’t exactly refute her claim.
Whatever.
Once the phone had signal, he quickly downloaded the essential apps and left the store under the girl’s oddly suggestive gaze.
His first stop was depositing the wad of cash into his bank account. Then, he bought himself a few sets of clothes and changed into them right in the fitting room.
No longer soaked in damp clothes and underwear, Ye Shuang finally felt somewhat comfortable. The moment he shed his formal work attire and slipped into a T-shirt, he had never felt so light.
It was as if the shackles binding his soul had been unlocked.
Seeing that he still had over 9,000 yuan left in his account, Ye Shuang decided to visit the service center to report his lost SIM card.
Though the phone was cheap, it supported dual SIMs. By the time he finished the hassle of reporting the loss, it was almost noon.
"I wonder how she’s doing. I should head back." Walking down the street, Ye Shuang couldn’t help but recall Bai Yuyou’s face.
Come to think of it…
Last night, she had bought instant noodles, right?
"She probably can’t cook. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone out in the middle of the night just for instant noodles." As he pondered, his eyes landed on a vegetable vendor nearby.
This was the old district, full of urban villages with a high turnover of people—vendors were everywhere. Though most stalls had packed up by this hour, he could still find some produce.
After grabbing a few essentials like eggs, tomatoes, and cucumbers, he quickened his pace back home with the grocery bag in hand.
Soon, he arrived at the apartment’s entrance. A faint metallic scent hit his nose, making him glance down at the keyhole.
He suddenly noticed traces of liquid trickling from the keyhole all the way to the ground, the streak stained with coppery rust.
It looked like someone had deliberately poured some kind of liquid inside.
Frowning, Ye Shuang pulled out his key and twisted the lock, only to find the door harder to open than expected.
"Bai Yuyou, are you awake?" Pushing the door open, he stepped inside—only to freeze the next second, his body locking up as if struck by electricity.
The long-haired girl lay collapsed on the floor, her hair splayed out like tangled roots. Her eyes were closed, her face deathly pale.
Ye Shuang rushed over, gripping her shoulders and shaking her gently. But there was no response.
Bai Yuyou’s body temperature wasn’t high—in fact, her skin felt slightly cool to the touch. Sensing that something was wrong, Ye Shuang immediately grabbed his phone to call for emergency help.
But just as he pulled out his phone, he met the girl’s clear, beautiful eyes staring back at him.
“You… you’re okay?” Seeing Bai Yuyou suddenly open her eyes and look at him, Ye Shuang finally let out a small sigh of relief.
Bai Yuyou silently watched him, unmoving for about seven or eight seconds, until a faint growling sound came from her stomach. Following that, she spoke in a soft voice,
“Hungry.”
Ye Shuang: “…”
Who in the world faints from hunger?
“Did you not eat anything yesterday?” Ye Shuang asked, looking at Bai Yuyou, who was sitting on the floor in a duck-like posture.
“Instant noodles… gave them to you.” As she spoke, a single strand of hair stuck up slightly from the top of her head.
Recalling the five-pack of pickled vegetable beef noodles from last night, Ye Shuang’s lips twitched. “Then why didn’t you go out to eat something? There are still breakfast places open outside.”
Bai Yuyou lowered her eyes, a few strands of hair slipping over her shoulders. Her voice carried a hint of dejection. “Couldn’t find the keys.”
Ye Shuang instinctively touched the keys in his pocket—clearly, he had taken them with him. After a brief pause, he admitted,
“My bad.”
Hearing this, Bai Yuyou suddenly leaned in, closing the distance between them completely. Her voice was slow and gentle. “Bad?”
The sudden closeness made Ye Shuang’s heart skip a beat for no reason. Reminding himself of their nearly eight-year age gap, he silently muttered “sin, sin” in his mind before standing up and heading to the kitchen with the groceries.
“Wait a bit. Food will be ready soon.”
“Oh.”
The kitchen looked like it hadn’t been used in a while, though traces of its last use were still visible. This struck Ye Shuang as a little odd.
Logically, if Bai Yuyou didn’t know how to cook, there shouldn’t be any signs of cleaning in the kitchen. Could someone else have lived here before?
But since he didn’t know much about Bai Yuyou’s personal life, he quickly dismissed the thought.
With practiced ease, he sharpened the knife against the base of a bowl, chopped tomatoes, and whisked eggs before quickly stir-frying a simple tomato and egg dish. Since he hadn’t bought any meat, he also prepared stir-fried cucumber and a light soup with sponge gourd and fried eggs.
Throughout the process, Bai Yuyou stayed by Ye Shuang’s side, watching him work with skillful hands. Occasionally, she would pass him a spice bottle or a plate.
The rest of the time, her gaze remained fixed on him—his clean T-shirt, his lean but not frail frame, the casual way his black hair fell over his forehead. Beneath his dark, well-defined brows, his eyes weren’t sharp at all; instead, they held a deep gentleness. Paired with his tall nose and thin lips, he was undeniably handsome.
But then Ye Shuang noticed something off—the girl beside him was practically pressed against him. Even through her school uniform, he could feel the weight and warmth of her body, not to mention the faint scent that occasionally drifted to his nose.
Turning his head, he met her expressionless face and could only smile awkwardly. “Aren’t you a little too close?”
Bai Yuyou seemed a little confused and only tilted her head to ask, "Did I do something wrong?"
"It's not really about being wrong," Ye Shuang replied, then remembered his status as a kept man.
Well, it’s still much better than being scrubbed with steel wool—and honestly, he was more the one taking advantage here.
Especially since Bai Yuyou didn’t seem to understand much, which only made Ye Shuang feel even guiltier.
Just then, Bai Yuyou moved a little closer.