Cohabitation

“Yeah, I borrowed a little from it. Any resemblance is purely coincidental,” Chen Hai said cheerfully.

“Borrowed a little? It’s exactly the same!” Ye Shuang didn’t believe that someone else just happened to bring Chen Hai home with a cup of instant noodles. What were the odds of such a coincidence?

Chen Hai knew Ye Shuang wouldn’t buy it, so he told him what had actually happened—but naturally, he added a few embellishments. He claimed that when he beat up the thugs, every punch took one down, and every kick sent someone crashing into a wall, leaving behind spiderweb cracks. The story was starting to sound like something out of a fantasy novel.

“So you’re saying that, by sheer coincidence, you happened to pass by when she was being harassed by thugs; by sheer coincidence, you happened to save her; then the very next day, you happened to run into her again while drunk; and by another sheer coincidence, you happened to pass out at home and get taken back by her to be looked after?” Ye Shuang summarized.

“Exactly.” Chen Hai clapped his hands. Wasn’t that precisely how it had happened?

“Can there really be that many coincidences?” Ye Shuang felt that something was off. Hadn’t An Yao appeared a little too conveniently? He couldn’t help wondering whether this had something to do with Jin Sha. Being cautious and keeping an eye out could never hurt.

“You happened to meet Bai Yuyou too, didn’t you?” Chen Hai countered.

“When you put it that way, I can’t really argue.” Ye Shuang decided not to dwell on it. Besides, with a girl like this, a simple background check would be enough to determine whether there was anything suspicious about her. Ye Shuang had become rather sensitive to such matters.

He was afraid of ending up with another Zhou Min. If it hadn’t been for Zhou Min, Chen Hai probably wouldn’t have divorced Feng Shan, and Feng Shan wouldn’t have developed such an extreme personality from her lack of security.

For now, though, An Yao seemed to be nothing more than a girl working her way through school. Whether she and Chen Hai would spark something between them wasn’t Ye Shuang’s concern.

If he stuck his nose into their business, Chen Hai would probably fire back with, “What about you and Bai Yuyou, then?”

That would leave Ye Shuang completely speechless.

“So you really don’t plan on going back?” Ye Shuang asked.

“No. This lifestyle is pretty nice. I feel free and fulfilled,” Chen Hai replied.

He seemed unwilling to discuss the matter any further. Instead, he picked up his glass and said, “Come on, let’s drink.”

Ye Shuang understood what he meant and didn’t say anything more. He simply answered, “Sure.”

After several rounds, it was already very late. Looking at the time, Ye Shuang noticed An Yao and said, “Sure, tomorrow’s the weekend, but it’s already this late. You’re going to let her go home alone?”

“Uh… there’s no rush,” Chen Hai said.

Ye Shuang seemed to realize something. “Or are you two actually living together?”

“Uh…” Chen Hai fell silent.

Seeing his expression, Ye Shuang froze for a moment before narrowing his eyes. “I guessed it, didn’t I? You two are cohabiting?”

“Because of certain circumstances, An Yao is indeed staying at my place. I’m just providing her with somewhere to live.” Chen Hai cleared his throat, then put on a serious expression.

“But there’s really nothing going on between us. She just handles the cleaning and occasionally helps out.”

“I even pay her.”

Ye Shuang: “…”

Ye Shuang glanced at An Shiyu sitting beside him. An Shiyu also looked at Ye Shuang. The two of them simultaneously widened their eyes and said,

“Ohhh…”

“You’re living together, and you’re still telling me there’s nothing going on? You even pay her…” Ye Shuang sensed an unmistakably suspicious odor in the air.

“It’s a long story.” Chen Hai didn’t know how to explain it. “Her family situation is a little complicated, so I let her stay with me.”

“I’ll tell you all about it when we have time.”

“All right, enough.” Ye Shuang waved a hand, deciding not to listen any further.

Just then, several more customers arrived at the stall. An Yao walked over to greet them. “Hello. What would you like to order?”

She looked like a very friendly young girl. After taking in the scene, Ye Shuang said to Chen Hai, “Time to get back to work.”

“Got it.” Chen Hai slapped his thigh and stood up. There were still plenty of skewers in the freezer, so he began grilling them.

Ye Shuang glanced at An Shiyu. “Are you full? If not, go get some more.”

Although An Shiyu had taken quite a lot earlier, she had finished it all in no time. She hadn’t eaten nearly as much as one might have expected.

“I’ll have a little more.” An Shiyu stood up. Despite her slender figure, she was actually a tremendous eater.

When she walked over to Chen Hai’s grill, he noticed her standing beside him and asked directly, “What would you like? It’s all-you-can-eat tonight.”

“Give me five pounds of hundred-yuan bills.”

“Coming right up.”

Chen Hai had only just answered when his brain froze for several seconds.

Huh?

Something seemed wrong…

…

Late that night, Chen Hai finally closed up shop. Ye Shuang helped him pack everything away. The stall was rented rather than being one of those mobile pushcarts, so all the equipment could be left inside. They only needed to pull down the metal shutter.

“What a mountain of trash.” After gathering up all the garbage, Chen Hai began cleaning the place.

Fortunately, there were four of them, so the work went quickly.

Ye Shuang glanced at the time. It was already past three in the morning.

Although many of the surrounding stalls were still open, Chen Hai had decided to call it a night. He would probably sleep until the afternoon after getting home, then repeat the same routine all over again.

Running a food stall was actually even busier. That was something Ye Shuang had realized firsthand.

But Chen Hai clearly didn’t want to discuss going back, so Ye Shuang didn’t press the matter.

The stall wasn’t far from Chen Hai’s home, but Ye Shuang had no intention of going over to sit for a while. He had to work the next day, after all, and they had already said what needed to be said and eaten what needed to be eaten.

Ye Shuang watched Chen Hai and An Yao’s retreating backs, his eyes flickering slightly.

“Hmm…”

“What are you thinking about?” An Shiyu asked beside him.

“Nothing. I was just wondering whether there really isn’t anything going on between them.”

“When you start suspecting that a melon isn’t ripe, it’s probably still a green one.”

“That actually makes a little sense.”

Since Ye Shuang had been drinking, he let An Shiyu, who had only drunk juice, drive. It was already very late, and as he watched the girl adjust the seat beside him, Ye Shuang said, “Be careful. Don’t speed. Safety comes first.”

Although his car wasn’t a sports car, its performance was still quite good. Given Little Yu’s tendency to demolish food like a spicy fish head, he was genuinely worried that she might decide to go for a midnight speed run.

“I always drive very steadily,” An Shiyu said expressionlessly. “Besides, it’s so late that everyone driving is liable to doze off. That’s why I only dare take a nap when I’m the one holding the steering wheel.”

Ye Shuang: “That’s good.”

A few seconds later—

“Wait. That’s not right.”