Compassion and Liking

The next morning, Liu Muye went to class with Nangong Ye and happened to run into Han Juyou at the stairwell, who was carrying breakfast in her hand.

Han Juyou waved and greeted Nangong Ye politely, "Good morning, Nangong."

"Morning."

Nangong Ye gave a faint smile and replied briefly.

After greeting Nangong Ye, Han Juyou seemed to deliberately ignore Liu Muye as she headed upstairs.

Liu Muye immediately quickened his pace to catch up. "Why are you ignoring me?"

"Hmm?" Han Juyou raised her brows slightly, glanced at Liu Muye, and let out a soft hum. "Morning, Young Master Liu~"

Last night, Han Juyou hadn’t been in the mood to write her novel. Instead, she spent the whole night sorting out her thoughts about her relationship with Liu Muye.

What kind of wealth and background did Liu Muye have?

And what was her own status?

How could a wealthy young master like him possibly fall for someone like her?

In other words, what did she—an utterly ordinary girl—have that would make him like her?

He probably just pitied her, right?

Like any compassionate person who, upon seeing a poor abandoned kitten on the street, couldn’t help but toss it a scrap of food.

That was just sympathy, wasn’t it?

Looking back, everything Liu Muye had done for her was enough to make her fall for him. But for him, it probably meant nothing. From start to finish, the only one who had fallen was Han Juyou herself.

His kindness had simply warmed her when she needed it most.

After careful consideration, the rational young woman decided to maintain a sensible "friendship" distance from Liu Muye to avoid getting carried away again, mistakenly thinking he liked her too.

It wasn’t surprising that Han Juyou was overthinking things. Having grown up starved of affection, she had no sense of security. So, she built high walls around her heart, shutting out anyone who tried to peek inside—like a cunning, wary fox.

Moreover, from Han Juyou’s perspective, Liu Muye’s sudden appearance in her life felt too unexpected, almost like a carefully orchestrated scheme. She couldn’t figure him out, nor could she decipher his intentions. Yet, bit by bit, her defenses were crumbling. That wasn’t good.

So, she had to stay sharp and keep her distance—that was the only way to avoid getting hurt.

Seeing how cold Han Juyou was being toward him today, Liu Muye asked in confusion, "What? Did I do something to upset you again?"

Han Juyou shook her head. "You didn’t."

Liu Muye pressed further, "Then why have you been giving me the cold shoulder since last night?"

Han Juyou arched a brow. "Have I?"

"You turned me down when I asked you to go for a ride last night. Why?" Liu Muye cut straight to the point.

Men and women often approached problems from different angles, and their ways of handling things could be worlds apart.

Both of them had grown up lacking security, but while Han Juyou was cautious and guarded with others, Liu Muye masked his sensitive, fragile self behind a facade of confidence and charm.

His parents had never taught him how to interact with people, so he often overlooked details and ended up doing awkward, nonsensical things.

Whenever problems arose, his first instinct was to blame himself, taking full responsibility before scrambling to fix things.

This time was no different. He couldn’t understand why Han Juyou was being hot and cold with him and assumed he must have messed up again.

He looked at her and asked once more, "Did I do something wrong? Why are you avoiding me?"

"I already told you—I had to go back to my dorm to work on my novel." Han Juyou tilted her head slightly, a playful smile on her lips. "What, Young Master Liu, are you here to interrogate me first thing in the morning?"

"No, I—uh."

Only after Han Juyou pointed it out did Liu Muye realize he might have overreacted.

"You what?" Han Juyou met his gaze. "Why do you care so much whether I ride with you or not?"

"Who—who said I care?!" Liu Muye turned his head away. "I was just asking casually."

"Just casually?"

"Obviously." Liu Muye nodded firmly.

Han Juyou lowered her eyes, feigning hurt. "Fine. I thought you actually cared about me."

"Of course I—"

Liu Muye nearly blurted out, "Of course I care about you!" But just before the words escaped, he caught himself—he was being led by the nose.

Quickly changing the subject, he asked, "So, how’s the novel coming along after working on it all night?"

Seeing Liu Muye swallow his words, Han Juyou pressed her lips together and replied flatly, "Frustrating. No inspiration."

Liu Muye frowned. "Why didn’t you talk to me if you were stuck?"

Han Juyou turned away and murmured, "You’re a busy man, Young Master Liu. Someone like me shouldn’t bother you too much."

What she really meant was that their social standings were too different, and it was better to keep some distance.

But Liu Muye misunderstood. He thought she was subtly mocking him for supposedly chatting with other girls at night—after all, Sun Zihan and Zhang Ning had added him last night.

He hurriedly explained, "Last night, your roommates wanted a ride, but I turned them down. Later, they somehow found my WeChat and sent friend requests, but I didn’t accept them. You can’t be mad at me for that, right?"

"Huh?" Liu Muye’s words left Han Juyou momentarily stunned.

After a brief pause, she realized they were on completely different wavelengths.

With a faint smile, she said, "Who adds you has nothing to do with me. Why would I be mad about that?"

"Huh?" Seeing her indifferent reaction, Liu Muye grew anxious. "I really didn’t accept their requests! I even set my privacy settings so no one can add me without permission. Seriously."

"Pfft—"

Han Juyou covered her mouth, stifling a laugh at his flustered explanation. "No need to explain. I’m not interested in your affairs. Bye~"

With that, she briskly walked upstairs, leaving Liu Muye standing there, utterly bewildered.

"Not going?" Nangong Ye asked, watching Liu Muye remain rooted in place.

Liu Muye turned to him. "Ye, do you know what it means when a girl suddenly starts acting cold toward you?"

Nangong Ye scratched his head. "What does it mean?"

Liu Muye stared at him intently. "It means… she’s fallen for someone else!"

"Oh, really?" Nangong Ye nodded, then asked blankly, "So… who does Han Juyou like now?"

"...Why are you staring at me like that?" Nangong Ye took a step back, frowning. "You don’t actually think Han Juyou has fallen for me, do you?"

"Very likely!" Liu Muye nodded.

He couldn’t think of any other plausible explanation. After all, in the novel, Han Juyou—the scheming antagonist—had pulled out all the stops to win Nangong Ye’s affection.

...