The air conditioning made his head spin. Tan Sizhe clenched his fists. “Mingxuan, listen to me.”
Ye Mingxuan bit his lip, cold sweat trickling down his cheeks. His pale lips parted and closed: “This is my child. I won’t listen to you.”
The words left his mouth before he could stop them. He dared not lift his gaze, afraid to meet Tan Sizhe’s furious stare.
But no matter how angry Tan Sizhe became this time, Ye Mingxuan refused to back down. He hugged his knees tightly. “He’s my child. You never even asked my opinion.”
“He’s my child too.”
“But he came into this world wanting to live.” Ye Mingxuan lifted his gaze, eyes glistening with tears. “You can’t make this decision.”
Tan Sizhe felt as if struck by a whip. His body froze, and it took him a long moment to force out the words: “I disagree with keeping him for your own good.”
“…” Ye Mingxuan closed his eyes, burying his face in his arms like an ostrich.
His reaction stung Tan Sizhe’s eyes. They stood facing each other, frozen in place as the surrounding cold seeped into their bones, chilling their very souls.
“Fine,” Tan Sizhe said, his eyes narrowing. “I’ll give you a few more days. Think it over carefully.”
He pushed open the door and stepped out, startling Bai Yu who was eavesdropping by the doorway.
“Send him back,” Tan Sizhe said before walking away.
Bai Yu stared blankly, uttering a faint “Oh.”
Ye Mingxuan lifted his flushed face from his arms, beads of sweat mingling with tears that fell onto his knees.
…
After that day, Tan Sizhe didn’t return home for several days. He didn’t initiate contact, and Ye Mingxuan didn’t reach out either.
The two rarely chatted to begin with. Their conversation history, frozen at half a month prior, felt eerily quiet.
Ye Mingxuan set his phone down with a sigh. He finished his meal quickly, gathered his things, and headed to Wang Fang’s house.
After National Day, Ye Mingxuan officially began tutoring Lele. He greeted Wang Fang at her home, and Lele came out to welcome him. Ye Mingxuan slipped on slippers and walked to Lele’s room.
Opening the backpack to find only bare textbooks inside, Ye Mingxuan paused for a moment. He took a deep breath, steeled himself, and pulled out the books.
Le Le was a very well-behaved little girl. She didn’t zone out or make noise during class. When she listened to Ye Mingxuan speak, her big eyes blinked rapidly, looking bright and moist.
“Teacher Mingxuan, you seem unhappy today.”
Ye Mingxuan, who was explaining a fill-in-the-blank exercise, froze for two seconds upon hearing this. As if his secret had been exposed, his face flushed. “N-no.”
“But your unhappiness is like little grass sprouting right out of your head.” Le Le gestured with both hands above her head.
Ye Mingxuan touched his head, smoothing down his tousled hair.
He didn’t know how Le Le had noticed, but maybe children were just particularly sensitive to others’ emotions.
“Teacher, are you upset because you didn’t bring any snacks?” Le Le said. “Don’t be sad. I have tons of snacks at home. If you want some, I can bring them to you.”
“No, no need!” Ye Mingxuan hurriedly called Le Le back. “I’m not hungry. Thank you, Le Le.”
Le Le sat back down: “Oh, but the snacks Teacher Mingxuan brought were really delicious. I’ve never had snacks this good before. Can I have some again next time?”
Ye Mingxuan: “…Mm.” He didn’t even know if he’d ever get to eat such delicious snacks again.
Was Tan Sizhe angry? Would he divorce him?
If they divorced, how could he face Ye Xiangkai and Zhao Dongxuan… And what about his mother?
In mere seconds, Ye Mingxuan envisioned himself juggling school, part-time jobs, and single-handedly raising a child.
A college student, financially dependent, raising a child alone—posting that on social media would get him flamed off the internet.
He shook his head violently. The image shifted to Tan Sizhe coldly insisting on terminating the pregnancy, filling Ye Mingxuan with both anger and sorrow.
No matter what, he would protect this child fiercely.
After finishing his tutoring session, Ye Mingxuan politely declined Wang Fang’s invitation for a late-night snack. He was terrible at saying no, and after a long back-and-forth with Wang Fang, he finally blushed and made his escape.
The moon hung high above the treetops, while a few birds nestled together asleep in their nests. Ye Mingxuan glanced at the cool moonlight and quickened his pace into the residential complex.
As he drew closer to home, only pitch-black windows greeted him.
Ye Mingxuan stomped his foot at the door, triggering the motion-activated lights that flickered on, creating an illusion someone was waiting for him. Yet, pushing open the door revealed nothing but pitch darkness.
After showering, Ye Mingxuan glanced at the study door as he passed by. It was tightly shut—obviously, no one was inside.
After reviewing tomorrow’s lesson in his own study and packing his bag, Ye Mingxuan leaned out the window to look down.
He watched for over ten minutes but saw no familiar car returning with its high beams on. Only a stray dog crouched under a streetlight, gazing back at him through the window.
Their eyes locked. Mistaking Ye Mingxuan’s gaze for a challenge, the stray dog let out a series of sharp barks.
Startled, Ye Mingxuan quickly shut the window and drew the curtains before returning to his bedroom to lie down.
He tossed and turned for a long time before sleep, his mind filled with memories of every moment spent with Tan Sizhe over the past few months.
Recalling their first night together, Ye Mingxuan found sleep utterly impossible. He opened his phone and scrolled aimlessly, suddenly catching an advertisement.
[When his wife got pregnant, he was overjoyed, abandoning the entire company to rush home… A breathtaking romance, a masterpiece of its kind—all at Koukou Literature City. Download link…]
Ye Mingxuan swiped his finger, and the phone slipped, hitting his face and knocking his nose. Rubbing his nose in pain, he picked up the phone again only to find the app had already downloaded automatically.
“…” Seems like a novel-reading app?
Upon opening it, the homepage featured the very title he’d just seen. After a moment’s hesitation, he tapped the book and skimmed a couple of pages.
As he read, his earlier worries faded away, and he became completely engrossed in the story.
He had no idea when he’d fallen asleep. When he opened his eyes, it was already the next day.
Aunt Fu was bustling about in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Spotting Ye Mingxuan come downstairs, she glanced around before asking with understanding, “Mr. Tan didn’t come back last night?”
Ye Mingxuan held his breath and nodded.
Aunt Fu: “Did you and Mr. Tan have a fight?”
Ye Mingxuan: “Aunt Fu…” How did you know?
“I’ve had my share of arguments with my husband. I’ve seen it all in my lifetime. I can spot a young couple’s quarrel at a glance.”
Ye Mingxuan slumped over the desk, listless and wilted like a cabbage leaf dried by the sun.
Aunt Fu comforted him, “It’s okay. Couples who fight often make up. Mr. Tan may seem cold on the surface, but he’s warm-hearted. He’ll be back in a few days.”
“Aunt Fu,” Ye Mingxuan hesitated before asking, “What kind of person is the master in your eyes?”
“You’re asking me?” Aunt Fu dried the water droplets from her hands, pulled out the chair opposite Ye Mingxuan, and sat down. “Before I worked as a maid in the master’s household, I’d worked as a maid elsewhere too.”
“Those employers were terribly harsh. They made me do mountains of work but paid me peanuts, never sparing a kind word. I’m a housekeeper, not a beast of burden! So I quit. I moved from place to place until I found my way to the Master’s.”
“Mr. Tan seems cold and hard to get along with at first glance. I thought he’d be like my previous employers. But I was wrong. Mr. Tan is very empathetic. He knows my family’s situation isn’t good, so he often lets me take home delicious food and drinks. He never skimps on my time off. I’m very happy working here—happier than I am at my own home.”
“So Mr. Tan is an exceptionally kind person to me,” Aunt Fu said. “Mr. Mingxuan, whatever misunderstanding you have, you must clear it up. Don’t let the wound tear too deep.”
Ye Mingxuan nodded slowly, picking up his chopsticks to eat breakfast.
Today was club activity day. After class, Ye Mingxuan slung his backpack over his shoulder and pushed through the crowd toward the activity room.
Earlier, at Huang Xiaochu’s invitation, he’d met with the club members. They’d introduced themselves and chatted briefly, but the time was too short for Ye Mingxuan to recognize everyone.
He only knew that the boy sitting next to Huang Xiaochu during recruitment was Xu Liang, the vice president. Beyond that, he couldn’t match names to faces.
Xu Liang was exceptionally active in the group chat, the kind who could send hundreds of messages a day. This time, he’d tagged everyone to come to the activity room. Ye Mingxuan wondered what it was about.
Ye Mingxuan was the first to arrive at the activity room. He turned on the lights and air conditioner before stepping inside, where he saw a piano.
Ye Mingxuan took a few steps toward it. Instantly, memories surfaced of Tan Sizhe teaching him piano at the Tan family mansion.
Without realizing it, he sat down, his hands already resting on the keys. He began clumsily playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
The clear, cheerful melody filled the air. Lost in his playing, Ye Mingxuan didn’t notice anyone entering. When he finished, Huang Xiaochu clapped enthusiastically.
“Not bad, Mingxuan! You can play piano too!”
Huang Xiaochu and Xu Liang walked in. Ye Mingxuan blushed and stood up. “Seniors.”
Xu Liang remarked, “Well, that means our program has gained another capable member.”
Ye Mingxuan was confused. Huang Xiaochu told him to wait, and within about ten minutes, the club members had gathered.
Huang Xiaochu informed everyone that an alumni reunion would be held next month. The school would invite distinguished alumni back to campus, and a gala would be organized, requiring active participation from all clubs.
This news struck the socially anxious students like a bolt from the blue.
One person raised their hand: “Sis Chu, when you asked us to sign up for the radio station, you didn’t mention we’d have to perform!”
Another chimed in: “Yeah, weren’t we told it wouldn’t involve appearing on camera? Just reading scripts?”
Ye Mingxuan: ??? Why does this sound so familiar?
Huang Xiaochu froze for two seconds: “Hahaha… did I ever say that?”
“Regardless, you’ve already joined my club. Think you can escape? Not a chance!”
“No one who comes here leaves unscathed. Got it?”
He stroked his chin. “This is a club—my turf. You’d better play nice.”
“So… any volunteers?”
Everyone exchanged glances. No one stepped forward. Ye Mingxuan shrunk into the corner.
Huang Xiaochu scanned the room, then pointed in one direction. “You!”
Everyone turned to look: “Who? Who?”
Ye Mingxuan also looked back—no one!
Huang Xiaochu: “You, Ye Mingxuan!”
Two seconds later, everyone erupted into thunderous applause.
Ye Mingxuan’s eyes widened: “Senior, I can’t do it! I can’t!”
Xu Liang chimed in: “Oh come on, we all saw you play the piano. Stop being so modest, Mingxuan.”
Ye Mingxuan protested: “But… but I only know how to play this one piece!”
Huang Xiaochu reassured him: “No worries, I’m here. We can enter a four-hand piano duet. Basic skills are all you need.”
Ye Mingxuan hesitated: “I…”
Huang Xiaochu: “How could you refuse me? Waaah, there’s really no one else. Please help me out, Mingxuan, waaah.”
Under Huang Xiaochu’s relentless persuasion, Ye Mingxuan reluctantly agreed.
On the way home, he regretted it bitterly. He’d never performed on stage before—how could he possibly play the piano… What if he made a fool of himself?
Ye Mingxuan looked utterly disheartened as he slowly entered the code on the electronic lock.
He had only typed the second digit when unhurried footsteps approached from inside. Startled, Ye Mingxuan froze—the door swung open the next second.
He saw the taut white shirt, broad shoulders, and chest. Looking up, his gaze met Tan Sizhe’s.
