Random Guessing

Three days after the start of the semester, the Light Music Club was still recruiting members. The posters had clearly had some effect, as several students had come by today hoping to join the club. Unfortunately, none of them had made it through the selection process.

Meanwhile, Ye Shuang received a rather unexpected phone call. He answered it directly.

“Hello, Aunt Xian.”

The person on the other end was Bai Yuyou’s biological mother, Aunt Xian. Ye Shuang had no idea why she was suddenly calling him. After all, Aunt Xian had already reconciled with Bai Yuyou, and in the past, she had usually called only because of matters concerning Bai Yuyou. Since their reconciliation, Ye Shuang had not heard from her in quite some time.

“Shuangzai, it’s not easy to explain over the phone. Could we meet in person?”

“Is that so…? Is this about Yuyou?” Ye Shuang assumed that Aunt Xian wanted Bai Yuyou to visit the Hong Kong area or something similar. He would certainly agree to that. There was nothing wrong with Yuyou going back for a visit, and Aunt Xian no longer forced her to live in Hong Kong. If it was merely a trip, Ye Shuang was entirely in favor of it.

“It’s not about Yuyou…”

Ye Shuang froze for a moment. If it had nothing to do with Bai Yuyou, what could Aunt Xian possibly want to discuss with him in person?

Although he had no idea what it was about, Ye Shuang agreed. Aunt Xian happened to be in Haizhu City, and Ye Shuang was currently at the school infirmary. After arranging a time, he told her that he could come over immediately.

They agreed to meet at the café where he had spoken with Aunt Xian a long time ago. After driving there, Ye Shuang quickly found her in one of the booths. However, Aunt Xian was not alone. Sitting beside her was someone Ye Shuang had not expected to see.

A long mane of golden hair immediately drew attention, and her adorable appearance made her look just like a doll. There was no doubt about it—it was Alice, whom Ye Shuang had not seen in quite some time. She sat there, stirring the coffee in her cup with a silver spoon, seemingly lost in thought.

However, Ye Shuang did not see Bobo anywhere. That was rather strange. Perhaps he had gone to the restroom.

“Shuangzai, over here.”

After seeing Aunt Xian wave to him, Ye Shuang walked over.

“Aunt Xian, Alice.” Ye Shuang smiled and gave them a simple greeting before sitting down. Since the two of them were seated together on one side, he sat on the other.

“Mm.” Alice seemed to be in a particularly bad mood. After seeing Ye Shuang, she lowered her head even further.

Ye Shuang was somewhat puzzled by this. Normally, this girl was incredibly proud, so why did she look so listless now? Even her usually neatly arranged twin ponytails had been left loose, as though she had not taken the time to care for them in quite a while.

“What happened to Bobo?” Ye Shuang had barely spoken when Alice reacted as if he had stepped on some hidden switch.

“He’s gone!”

Ye Shuang paused at Alice’s reaction and shifted his gaze toward Aunt Xian. Clearly, something had happened. Otherwise, Alice would not be acting like this.

“Bobo quit and left behind only a letter,” Aunt Xian explained. “We haven’t been able to contact him. We heard that he went back to his hometown, but aside from that, we don’t know anything.”

“He left without saying a word. I hate him!” Alice was obviously furious. Her cheeks puffed up like a little bun.

“He might as well never come back!”

However, anyone familiar with Alice knew that what she felt toward Bobo was, more than anything else, reluctance to let him go. She was not truly angry with him. After all, Bobo was undoubtedly one of the most important people in Alice’s life.

Bobo had gone back to his hometown…

Yet Ye Shuang sensed that something was wrong. Bobo was not the kind of person who would disappear for no reason. Moreover, considering how much he cared about Alice, he would never do something like this without a reason.

Something must have happened—something that had left Bobo with no choice but to leave.

Jin Sha…

Could Bobo have been discovered after providing the information last time?

As Ye Shuang frowned and pondered, Aunt Xian asked, “Shuangzai, do you know something?”

“Hmm? I don’t know anything.” Ye Shuang shook his head. Apart from suspecting that Bobo’s disappearance might have something to do with Jin Sha, he had no evidence whatsoever. After all, Bobo had left a message before departing instead of being taken away by force. That meant it had been his own choice.

It would be irresponsible to throw out baseless speculation.

“I see.” After realizing that Ye Shuang truly did not know anything, Aunt Xian stated the actual reason she had asked him to meet her. “Actually, there’s something I wanted to ask you about.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“Could you take care of Alice for the time being?”

Aunt Xian’s words caught Ye Shuang off guard. Take care of Alice?

“Ever since Bobo left, Alice has been in a terrible mood. Bobo once told me that Alice was always happy whenever she stayed with you, so…” Aunt Xian’s expression was somewhat complicated.

After all, both of her daughters liked Ye Shuang very much, and she had no idea how she was supposed to deal with the situation. It seemed that all she could do was let things take their natural course.

She simply hoped that Alice could cheer up.

“I see…” Ye Shuang looked toward Alice. She still seemed to be in a poor mood, but it was obvious that she had no objections to Aunt Xian’s suggestion. In fact, she seemed eager to go with him.

“If I remember correctly, Alice already has quite a few idol activities, right?” Ye Shuang asked. Such matters had surely been handled by Bobo as her manager.

“You don’t need to worry about that.” Aunt Xian smiled.

After all, Aunt Xian herself was a celebrity. As far as Bobo’s managerial duties were concerned, she could easily find someone to take over. The important thing was simply to make her daughter happy.

“Also, here’s a card. Any expenses incurred while Alice is staying with you can be charged to it.”

Ye Shuang glanced at the black-and-gold credit card, then shook his head. “There’s no need to be so formal. Alice and I have always had a good relationship.”

“When have we ever had a good relationship?!” Alice’s face immediately flushed red. “And as for expenses, I can pay you too! I make a lot of money, you know!”

“We don’t have a good relationship?” Ye Shuang smiled. “Then I’ll work harder.”

Seeing Ye Shuang say that, Alice seemed to realize that her words had sounded a little harsh. She turned her gaze away. “I-It’s not that we don’t have a good relationship, it’s just… it’s just… Hmph.”

Aunt Xian relaxed a little when she saw Alice’s reaction. After all, this was how Alice was supposed to act—not staying depressed all the time and losing interest in everything.

She put the card away.

Still, sending her daughter away and giving them money on top of that felt a little strange to Aunt Xian.

Sigh…