Chapter 19: It Was You After All, Zijin!

"Then you go ahead and freshen up; we can chat again when you're finished."

"By the way, if there's a chance..."

"Can I come visit you?"

Xu Ye's heart began to pound uncontrollably. His hands were trembling, yet he forced his voice to sound calm as he replied, "Of course. Any time at all, you are welcome to come see me."

*I cannot scare this silly girl. In my past life, you protected me until the very end. In this life... it should, and must, be me protecting you.*

*I will protect you for a lifetime!*

"Then you promise to treat me to a meal later?"

"At any time, if you come, I will certainly treat you!"

QQZJ laughed, her voice even more crisp and moving. "Then hurry up and get ready. Remember to eat breakfast after you're done."

"Okay."

Xu Ye rushed into the washroom, grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste, and began to scrub. But just as he finished changing his clothes, his phone chimed again.

QQZJ: "Have you left yet?"

Xu Ye glanced at the breakfast on the table, turned around, and headed straight for the garage without a word.

"I'm on my way as fast as I can."

Nine-thirty, stuck in traffic.

QQZJ: "Where are you? At the dorms?"

Xu Ye felt a sudden wave of daze. Subconsciously, he opened his chat history with Xu Ruowei. There were many messages, but almost every one was initiated by him. Just looking at the content, he could see how pathetic he had been.

Her replies, however, were always nothing more than: "Mm," "Oh," "Okay," "Are you annoying?" or "I'm going to take a shower, I'm going to sleep"...

*I was truly blind in my past life. Such a wonderful girl—why did I never notice her?*

Wild at Heart: "Stuck in traffic, but I'm on my way as fast as I can."

He finally reached the school. After parking, he was only a few minutes' walk from the gate.

QQZJ: "Are you at school?"

Wild at Heart: "Arrived. I'm on my way to the main gate as fast as I can."

After sending the reply, he felt something was off. He hurried back into the car, fished out two mint-flavored Extra gum, and tossed them into his mouth.

*Your Extra—the flavor is great, no need to say more.*

*Zijin, in this life, have I finally... am I about to see you?*

"Xu Ye! You've gone too far!"

A sharp, shrill voice cut through the air. Several burly figures stormed up to Xu Ye, pointing fingers at his nose and unleashing a barrage of insults. Xu Ye frowned, realizing these were Xu Ruowei’s most loyal lackeys.

"Xu Ye, do you have no shame? You’re just a dog raised by the Xu family. How dare you abandon Ruowei and drive her car away?"

Xu Ye was so amused he laughed, looking at the woman with a surreal expression. "First, who told you I’m a dog raised by the Xu family?"

"Second, who told you that car belongs to Xu Ruowei?"

"Third, what exactly is Xu Ruowei? Do I need your permission to tell her to get lost? Who are you, and why is your face so thick?"

Seeing him so brazen and righteous, they were all stunned into a fit of angry laughter.

"Xu Ye, you’re a servant in Ruowei’s house. Who in this school doesn’t know that? Do we need someone to tell us?"

"The second point is even more ridiculous. If that’s not the school beauty’s car, is it yours?"

"And finally, were you kicked in the head by a donkey? What is Ruowei? She is your mistress!"

"Your mother is just a nanny for the Ruowei family. Your whole family are their servants. Ruowei is kind and simple-hearted, which is why she hasn't bothered to hold it against you."

"Otherwise, your whole lot would have been fired yesterday!"

"And you have the nerve to be ungrateful, pushing your luck over and over again?"

"Have you no shame? Are you even human?!"

Their loud voices attracted a large crowd. After hearing the accusations, the onlookers began pointing and whispering at Xu Ye.

"Isn't that the school beauty's dedicated lackey and pathetic simp?"

"I heard he didn't just defy her orders yesterday; he even hijacked her car. He's completely lawless."

"I heard the same thing. It's beyond absurd."

"I couldn't believe it when I heard it. I didn't think such an arrogant servant could exist..."

Hearing the bystanders' comments, Xu Ruowei's lackeys wore smug, satisfied expressions. As dogs raised by Xu Ruowei, they had decided immediately upon hearing about last night's events that they had to teach Xu Ye a lesson today. After all, this was a rare opportunity to curry favor with her. If they didn't seize it, were they even worthy of being good dogs?

"Aren't you going to apologize to Ruowei?"

"You must kneel. And not at the girls' dorm... no, right under the school’s academic building!"

"I'm posting this on the campus network now. Before eleven o'clock, you must apologize in front of everyone in the school..."

Xu Ye could no longer stand it. He looked at them with a cold, mocking laugh. "Are all your brains underdeveloped?"

"Did humanity leave you behind during evolution, leaving you idiots with absolutely no brains?"

Everyone went silent. No one expected Xu Ye to dare speak to them like that. Even less did they expect him to say such a thing.

"You... what did you say?"

"Xu Ye! You dare say we don't have brains?"

"You surnamed Xu—"

They were absolutely furious, but before they could finish, Xu Ye interrupted them bluntly and without ceremony.

"Enough. Stop embarrassing yourselves in front of me, showing off those unevolved, vestigial brains of yours."

"If you have the time, go back to that bitch Xu Ruowei and ask her herself if she’s even worth an apology from me."

With that, he shoved past the group of idiots and hurried toward the school gate.

There was nothing to be angry about. Su Zijin was waiting for him. Besides, another WeChat message had just popped up; he had no time to waste.

QQZJ: "Are you not at school yet?"

Xu Ye sprinted, and suddenly, he saw a familiar yet distant silhouette.

She was a girl at least 173 centimeters tall, slender and graceful, wearing a beige dress and a wide-brimmed bucket hat that matched her outfit perfectly. Just standing there quietly, she gave off an air of文艺 and refreshing elegance.

Her dress was long, nearly covering her legs, revealing only a sliver of porcelain-white ankles above flats that matched her dress. Her dark hair cascaded like a waterfall to her waist. She had two large suitcases beside her, with a white backpack resting on top.

Many people were watching her from the sidelines, with hushed whispers drifting from afar.

"Who is that girl?"

"Is she a new student?"

"She's so beautiful..."

"Please, you haven't even seen her face, and you're saying she's beautiful? She might be a 'back-view killer' (beautiful from behind, ugly from the front)."

"Exactly..."

Xu Ye’s heart rate was already accelerating beyond control. Trembling, he picked up his phone and typed a reply with a surging heart: "I've arrived."

The next second.

The girl in the bucket hat turned around.

She was no "back-view killer," but a breathtaking beauty in the flesh. Her skin was like snow, her eyebrows were like a painting, her eyes were bright and her teeth were white, standing aloof like a plum blossom in winter.

It was truly you.

Zijin!