Chapter 43 - I Don't Like Him

"You saved me today, so thanks. I'll make sure to have my father reward you, but this doesn't mean I've accepted you or anything- I'll still ask him to fire you." Mengyao said after some hesitation, pursing her lips as she cleared things up.

Lin Yi shrugged, smiling helplessly. "Don't worry, I won't stay if he does." He felt a bit like a failure- was the Miss just too much to handle, or was it because of his inept.i.tude? Lin Yi supposed that it was the same either way. He'd miss the life he had now- spending his days peacefully, going to school, living with two beauties, hanging out with his bro… It was a nice life, but it wasn't a life for him.

Lin Yi's response seemed a bit sad, and it only increased Mengyao's anxiety. Maybe I was wrong? Maybe I shouldn't try kicking him out? It was a first for Chu Mengyao to experience hesitation like this. What did she want to do with Lin Yi?

Lin Yi took his s.h.i.+rt and pants off after entering his room. There were huge splotches of blood on them, most likely not usable any longer. What a waste. Lin Yi threw the pants into a trashcan in the corner a little unwillingly- it was a good pair of trousers, after all. He then put on a backup uniform before walking out to the living room.

Mengyao and Yushu were watching anime on the tv when Lin Yi walked over. He sat down on the sofa the farthest away from the girls, not intending to bother them at all as he watched some tv with them.

It was already 9pm by the time they got home, due to the bank robbery and everything that came after that. Li Fu went straight to the hotel to retrieve their dinner, but it was half past ten by the time he delivered the food.

As usual, Li Fu left right after leaving dinner on the table. He did, however, speak to Lin Yi before leaving this time. "Don't forget to check if the doors are locked. Make sure to keep the girls safe."

"Don't worry, Uncle Fu." Lin Yi replied, a.s.surance in his eyes.

Lin Yi's training during nighttime provided the same effects that sleep would. It rested his body and mind, but it was also when he was most sensitive to any outward disturbances. Nothing could escape his ears, and Lin Yi had confidence regarding any issues pertaining to the villa's safety and security.

"Oh!" Yushu exclaimed as the scent of food reached her nose. "Finally, food! Yao Yao, let's go eat!"

Mengyao stood up and followed Yushu to the kitchen, hungry as well. The blockage in her heart was still there, however, much to her dismay and confusion. As such, she was nowhere near as lively as Yushu was.

Without delay, Yushu pried open the containers excitedly, her saliva running as the delicacies came into sight. "Yao Yao, it's braised chicken! Silk tofu, sweet and sour potato strips, and… ooh! That pig feet soup you wanted for your b.o.o.bs!"

Mengyao shot a glare at Yushu, reminding her that there was now a man in the house- it wasn't just the two of them anymore.

"Ah-!" Yushu closed her mouth instantly, changing the subject. "Silk tofu's my favourite, too! They say your skin gets whiter if you eat tofu enough."

Mengyao glanced at LIn Yi, who was still watching tv all by himself. She put her chopsticks back down. She didn't know why, but Lin Yi watching the tv, all lonely and isolated from the group put a strong discomfort in her senses. He was still eating with them at the table last night, lively as ever… It must have been because of the whole saliva incident yesterday that Lin Yi didn't join them.

"Shu, go tell your s.h.i.+eld Guy that dinner's ready." Mengyao said after some hesitation.

"That's your s.h.i.+eld Guy, okay? I don't need a s.h.i.+eld, remember?" Yushu said, looking at Mengyao funny, as if sensing something was up. "How come you're so nice suddenly, inviting him for dinner?"

"Fine, we'll just eat by ourselves then." She snapped coldly, an unexpected panic seizing Mengyao under Yushu's questioning.

"Okay, okay, I'll go call him." Yushu grinned. She stood up before calling out to Lin Yi. "s.h.i.+eld Guy! Dinner's ready!"

"You guys eat first, I'll come after you're done. Mengyao doesn't like me anyway." Lin Yi replied, slightly thankful towards Yushu- the girl didn't forget about him, even inviting him to the table... So she was a nice person, after all. His noodles this morning weren't for nothing.

Mengyao froze upon hearing Lin Yi's words, her piece of braised chicken dropping from her chopsticks… She felt like crying. She was the one who wanted him at the table, but the a.s.shole was giving Yushu points for being nice to him!! The guy even said that she hated him!! Did her kindness not count for s.h.i.+t?

"But Yao Yao w-" Yushu was about to say something else when Mengyao pulled her back.

"Whatever! Just let him starve!!" Mengyao gritted; she hated that a.s.shole so much!

"Wha… But Yao Yao, didn't you want him to eat with us... " Yushu asked, confused as she looked at Mengyao. Her friend seemed depressed for some reason.

"I changed my mind." Mengyao replied with a hmph, hesitating for awhile before opening her mouth again. "Shu, go call him over, since you like him so much."

"Me? But he said you don't like him anyway!" Yushu reminded her innocently.

"I……" Mengyao wanted to clear things up with 'I didn't say anything about not liking him, okay?', but decided otherwise. That sentence would only make things worse! Wouldn't she be announcing that she liked him? "Whatever, let's just eat…"

A carpet of regret, however, would wash over Mengyao in due time. She'd contemplate in that regret, hoping that time would just turn itself back..! She was sure she'd just stand up the moment Lin Yi finished speaking, shouting at him with not one trace of hesitation: 'Whatever, I like you, I like you okay?! Just come eat, jeez!!'

Yet what happened, happened, and it was simple fate that for many, many nights in the future, Mengyao would cry, sobbing her nights away as she wept regretful tears onto the pillow in her sorrowful embrace…

A shooting star would flash by, and Mengyao would make her impossible wish- to an unfortunate end- for wishes like that yielded no fruit. She'd gaze up at the stars in their mult.i.tudes, and see in them the distance between Lin Yi and her, somehow widening…

It was a deceptively narrow trench separating the two, but that was its existence- deceptive- her touch would never connect.

And she was the one who dug that trench.

The current Chu Mengyao, naturally, had yet to realize this…...

Chapter 44 - Lemme Tell You A Little Secret

It was eleven by the time the girls finished eating. There was still school tomorrow- they should've been asleep long ago.

Lin Yi stood up as he watched the girls walk upstairs, making his way to the table with a nice smile on his lips. He wasn't paying attention to them when they first started their meal, but he didn't miss anything that came after Yushu's invitation.

They spoke softly, never expecting for Lin Yi to be able to read lips- he caught every single word Mengyao spoke.

So the Miss was a bit of a softie inside, it seemed. Lin Yi smiled softly as he sc.r.a.ped the girls' leftovers together, though they weren't really leftovers. Both girls had a small appet.i.te, and they've barely touched the braised chicken at all, evidently avoiding it for how fattening it was.

For many of the boys at Songshan's First School, eating the leftovers of Mengyao and Yushu was a blessing- someone like Zhong Pinliang, for example, would never get tired of it.

Lin Yi was indeed hungry, and he wasted no time in clearing every piece of food item on the table. He ended the meal with a burp, very satisfied.

Footsteps sounded from behind him, but Lin YI didn't bother turning around- he could easily determine who the approaching person was judging by the footsteps alone, despite how slight the difference the two's walking patterns had.

"Woah, s.h.i.+eld Guy! Are you a pig?? There's nothing left!" It was Yushu, as expected. The girl had come down to quench her thirst when she saw the containers all cleaned up.

Lin Yi laughed. "You guys are pretty wasteful, aren't you? Do you leave this much food behind every day?"

"Well, there's you now, so it's fine isn't it?!" Yushu, naturally, didn't understand the virtue in finis.h.i.+ng your food, not with the family conditions she was born in.

Lin Yi didn't add anything else; he understood the difference in their environments. Yushu and Mengyao would never comprehend the perspective of his kind of people. Not in regards to wasting food, at least.

"Oh, that's right, lemme tell you a little secret!" Yushu offered as she pulled out a bottle of red tea from the fridge, acting very mysterious.

"What secret?" Yushu asked, not knowing where this was going.

"See, Yao Yao told me that she never said she doesn't like you, so you can eat with us tomorrow." Yushu whispered.

"Is that so. I see." Lin Yi nodded in response. "Thanks, but I'll just wait until after you guys finish."

"Why?" Yushu asked, curious.

"There'd be nothing left if I ate first." Lin Yi smiled, pointing at the empty containers on the table.

"Hah!" Yushu laughed. "I'm going up, you get some rest too." With that, Yushu made her way upstairs, waving goodbye at Lin Yi as she left.

Lin Yi watched as Yushu disappeared upstairs. He shook his head. He could never tell what the girl was thinking- she came off as a cutie, but was actually surprisingly smart.

Lin Yi didn't plan on showering due to his bullet wound. He settled with dabbing himself over with a wet towel before going to bed, thinking about how he never expected to get hurt in a place like this- he could have healed his leg faster if he'd brought some of Old Lin's herbs and medicine along.

He closed his eyes, and started his training of the Art of Dragon Mastery. He'd always look forward to a breakthrough every night, but that expectation was never rewarded.

A lazy, warm sunlight s.h.i.+ned its way into Lin Yi's room and onto his back. He stretched, pus.h.i.+ng the windows open as he took a whiff of the morning air.

It was a brand new day, full of possibilities, and a fresh school day to look forward to. He valued the opportunity well- waking up to a school day like this had always been his dream. He didn't know when the Miss would have him kicked out, but he might as well enjoy this life as long as he possibly could.

Song Lingshan sighed helplessly as she stared at the group of people in front of her in the interrogation room.

A whole night, and no progress at all- the information from these people were all useless!

They were the drivers of the decoy A74110 SUVs, but it was evident that none of them knew anything worthwhile.

Lingshan doubted the fact at first, but further research into their backgrounds revealed them to be public transportation drivers on break.

It was just a 500 kuai job they received: to drive a A74110 SUV to a designated location, at a designated time.

These drivers hadn't even reached the location when they got arrested- they even thought the officers to be the traffic police, since they hadn't went through the legal procedures for the SUVs at all, accepting the a.s.signment only due to the high price offered.

It wasn't until they were told of their connection to the bank robbery that they realize they've been had and manipulated by a criminal group. These suspects were no longer suspects, and were to be sent for the traffic police to penalize- Lingshan couldn't just vent her rage on these guys.

A whole night for nothing. It was the first time she was in charge of a case by herself, after all, and Lingshan couldn't help but be in dismal- there was a lot riding on her shoulders.

"Vice-captain, do we expand our search radius?" Liu w.a.n.gli of Team C1 asked.

They'd be searching for a whole night, to no avail. Continuing the search even after daybreak would most certainly impede civilian movement- Lingshan wasn't very willing to go to that length.

A large scale search would involve setting blockades up to halt pa.s.sing cars, so that they could be investigated on.

"I'll consult with Captain Yang." Lingshan had reached her limit- she needed the captain's advice on this one.

She really felt like a failure sometimes- the guy transferred into the team from the military same as her, but he possessed observational and detective abilities a hundred times stronger! Any case that found itself on Yang Huaijun's hands would undoubtedly break open under his a.n.a.lyses and deductions!

But as for me… There's just too much I need to learn! Lin Yi's right, this vice-captain position… It really does look like money and family connections, doesn't it!!

Yet Lingshan understood that she was still deserving of the t.i.tle, especially when her military rank of major and achievements were taken into account.

There was, however, a lot she had to work on.