The Guilty Look

Ye Shuang felt that his mind was even more chaotic after chatting with Tang Keke about An Shiyu. Upon hearing that An Shiyu often stayed in his school infirmary and even had her own designated spot, he decided to head out and make a trip to Yinshan Academy.

As for going to the hospital, that could wait until later; Chen Qin hadn't woken up yet anyway.

Driving his small white sports car, Ye Shuang arrived at Yinshan Academy.

The academy was extremely quiet during the winter break. Hardly any students could be seen. Since the Spring Festival was approaching, almost all the students had started their holidays early and gone home for the New Year.

Ye Shuang drove into the underground garage and skillfully parked his car in the middle of three parking spaces. Although he didn't know why he parked there—after all, there were empty spots further ahead—perhaps it was just pure habit.

The quiet corridors lacked the usual greetings from passing students. Ye Shuang returned to his school infirmary. The moment he opened the door, he was stunned. Next to his office desk sat a computer desk, the computer quietly turned off.

Ye Shuang: ...

So it really is true?

Ye Shuang tried to boot it up, only to find a lock screen password. The password hint was a fish.

He didn't know the password.

Ye Shuang thought for a moment, and ultimately shut the computer down in silence. He took another lap around the infirmary and then sighed softly.

It seems it really is true.

Those two girls really were very important to him; they truly were like girlfriends to him. Suddenly forgetting them must have made them incredibly sad.

Shaking his head as he left the infirmary, Ye Shuang noticed an old man standing right at the door.

"Why... are you here? Isn't it the holidays?" The old man stared at Ye Shuang for a good while before speaking.

Ye Shuang paused. He didn't recognize the man, so he simply said, "I just had some things to take care of, so I came back for a bit."

"Don't be sad. I know you've already done your best." The old man reached out and patted Ye Shuang's shoulder.

These baffling words made Ye Shuang freeze.

[Character: Anshi Yilang

An Shiyu's grandfather, immersed in the grief of his granddaughter's passing.]

An Shiyu's... grandfather? Wasn't Anshi Yilang a school board director at this academy?

Granddaughter's passing?

What did that mean... Did An Shiyu have other sisters?

Ye Shuang was silent for a long moment before saying to Anshi Yilang, "Please don't be too sad either. It's not good for your health."

Anshi Yilang merely gave a bitter smile. "Yeah..."

"But despite all this, I am actually still very grateful to you," Anshi Yilang said. "Kid, when are you going to marry my little Yu?"

Ye Shuang was stunned.

So it really is like that?

Even An Shiyu's grandfather was coming over to urge them to marry. It seemed that what those two girls said was indeed true.

But for a moment, Ye Shuang didn't know how to answer the old man. He just chuckled, "Um... haha."

Anshi Yilang shook his head and then left.

His hunched back just looked a little weathered. Ye Shuang, having forgotten things, watched his retreating figure, unable to tell whether the man's spine was bent by the weight of the years, or if he was so grief-stricken by the passing of a loved one that he could no longer stand tall.

"So they really are my girlfriends?" Ye Shuang no longer doubted it. Although he didn't understand the cause of his amnesia, since that was the case, he still had to find a way to make it up to those two girls.

Turning to leave, Ye Shuang, having confirmed the information, drove back home.

It was already nine o'clock. Just as Ye Shuang opened the door, he saw Chen Qin coming downstairs in her nightgown, yawning. "Morning."

"Ye, where did you go?"

"I... I just went out for a walk." Ye Shuang didn't know why, but meeting Chen Qin's eyes made him feel a bit guilty.

An inexplicable guilt. After all, from Ye Shuang's perspective, he was basically engaging in an underground romance without understanding the situation at all.

Now that he had made a trip to Yinshan Academy and even met Old Master Anshi, he was even more afraid to tell Chen Qin about this matter.

How could he even bring it up?

He couldn't exactly say he suddenly had two twin girlfriends, could he?

He was still hiding this underground relationship from Chen Qin, but Ye Shuang didn't actually plan to keep it a secret forever. He still wanted to find a time, or rather a suitable opportunity, to tell her.

"It's okay, take your time with the amnesia. It'll get better." Chen Qin thought Ye Shuang was still worrying about his memory loss, so she stepped forward and gently stroked his cheek.

Chen Qin's gentle demeanor made Ye Shuang feel even guiltier. The look in his eyes as he looked at her even carried a trace of apology, helplessness, and remorse.

It was just like the look a cheating partner gives the victim in a soap opera—that was exactly how Ye Shuang was looking at Chen Qin right now.

He could only wait for a chance to properly explain the situation regarding An Shiyu.

"Come here, a kiss from your wife will make it all better." Chen Qin wrapped her arms around Ye Shuang's neck and kissed him on the cheek with a smile.

Which only made Ye Shuang's gaze even more guilt-ridden.

At breakfast time, Bai Yuyou soon came downstairs as well. She seemed like she hadn't slept enough, her ahoge sticking straight up.

"Sleepy..." Bai Yuyou started nodding off as soon as she sat down, her head dropping forward from time to time. Beside her, Tang Keke even reached out to pinch her cheek.

Ye Shuang had bought quite a few steamed buns on his way back. Under the temptation of the meat buns, Bai Yuyou finally half-opened her eyes and started eating breakfast.

Noticing that Ye Shuang wasn't quite himself, Chen Qin spoke up to change the subject. "By the way, Ye, let's go back to my family's place for the New Year's Eve dinner tomorrow. My mom and dad just asked me about it."

"New Year's Eve dinner, New Year's Eve." Ye Shuang thought about it. It really was that time already. Even though the winter break had only just begun, the Spring Festival had arrived in the blink of an eye.

Speaking of which, he seemed to have been busy with something these past few days, but why couldn't he remember what it was?

However, Ye Shuang didn't dwell on it and instead asked, "If we go back, Yuyou..."

"Yuyou will come with us, of course. Right?" Chen Qin said, looking at Bai Yuyou.

Bai Yuyou, still munching on a bun, let out a muffled voice, "Wherever Ye Shuang goes, I go."

Chen Qin continued, "Things like New Year's Eve dinner are only lively when there are a lot of people. There will be lots and lots of relatives coming over."

"Sounds impressive," Tang Keke said. "Our family's New Year's Eve dinner is much simpler, though. We just go out to eat with our relatives."

"I see..." Hearing this, Ye Shuang realized it was probably time to start putting up couplets and such. Perhaps because his parents were no longer around, Ye Shuang wasn't entirely clear on what needed to be done on the first and second days of the lunar new year.

Sure enough, growing up and having no one to rely on meant he had to learn all of this from scratch by himself.