Ch.21 – Puppy Love

8:40 A.M.

Shenghua International School has finished its first class.

The lecture buildings in the elementary and middle schools are located at the southern end of the school, separated by a small garden, which is a popular summer spot for students. Now the weather has cooled down and nobody except the gardener has visited it.

Hidden in the shade of the tree on the stone path, Tang Li and Lei Yumeng kept some distance from each other.

Tang Li usually does not like to laugh at school, often he kept a straight face, just looking at his expression any person could guess he is a very difficult person to get along with. Of course, his temper is as bad as people assume.

From Lei Yumeng’s memory alone, the amount of girls Tang Li has caused to cry could not be counted with only two hands.

But because Tang Li is beautiful, good at learning, and holds the teachers and principal in the palm of his hand, whether it was in the elementary school or middle school, there are countless girls who like him.

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Lei Yumeng is the boldest of the girls.

She didn’t care that Tang Li was younger than her, nor did she care that her classmates laughed at her for wanting to rob the cradle [1]. She thought she could wait for Tang Li to grow up. They would go to high school together, go abroad to study together, and later, after they start working, they’ll get married and have children together.

How wonderful…

But when thinking about Tang Li’s attitude towards her, Lei Yumeng became very sad. She just didn’t know how to change Tang Li’s feelings.

While Lei Yumeng was in a state of fantasy, Tang Li stood still.

There were no superfluous expressions on his face. With those dark eyes, he observed Lei Yumeng quietly for a long time, and then calmly opened his mouth: “Don’t you like me? Why are you talking to my brother?

After hearing this question, Lei Yumeng was stunned.

After a moment, she seemed to suddenly realize something, the surprise in her eyes almost overflowed, and the smile on her lips could not be suppressed.

“Are you jealous?” Asked Lei Yumeng.

“Answer me.” Tang Li frowned and repeated the question he had just asked, “Why are you talking to my brother?”

It seems to be jealousy.

Lei Yumeng thought to herself that she was so happy that she would like to show off to some of her close friends and sisters. She spent a lot of energy to suppress the excitement in her heart. She calmly said, “Your big brother is so beautiful and gentle, much better than you.”

Finally, she added smugly, “And your big brother seems to like me a lot.”

Both her parents and relatives said that Shen Yu was an odd-tempered man and was not easy to get along with. Also, it was easier to climb the sky than to see him in person.

But Shen Yu was not at all like what those people had said. He not only laughed and talked with her, but also handed her a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

In a word, Shen Yu is really special to her.

Remembering the way Shen Yu spoke to her in a soft voice, Lei Yumeng felt her cheeks burning faintly, and her whole heart began to pound.

Like a small rabbit thumping continuously.

While Lei Yumeng’s heart was overflowing with emotion, she completely failed to notice Tang Li’s gloomy eyes. When she recovered, Tang Li, who had kept a distance from her not long ago, had moved in close to her, and his expression had returned to normal.

“You think too much. How could my brother like a naive little girl like you [2]?” Tang Li raised the corners of his mouth and gave a cool smile. Just how cold was the look in his eyes?

Tang Li is a growing quickly, but he’s still half-a-head shorter than Lei Yumeng, who is nearly 1.65 meters (5ft 4in) tall. He raised his chin slightly and fixed his eyes on Lei Yumeng.

“Don’t think about my brother. What do you think of me?” Tang Li said, “Although I’m young, don’t you like me?”

Such a ridiculous remark was said by Tang Li in a very serious manner.

Lei Yumeng was stunned for a long time. After a while, her heart began to beat wildly again.

She couldn’t hear the mockery in the Tang Li tone. However, the contents of the words made Lei Yumeng both surprised and happy for a while.

“What do you mean?” Lei Yumeng asked carefully.

“You’re asking what I mean?” Tang Li raised his lips and laughed, always giving off a cool atmosphere, “It’s exactly what you think I mean.”

——————————-

When Shen Yu finished the last meeting of the day, it was already after four o’clock in the afternoon.

After looking at the time, he decided to go to the school with Uncle Zhang to pick up Tang Li and go home.

On the way, Shen Yu, who had nothing to do, was looking through Weibo casually and discovered that Jenny Yang had sent him several messages in the afternoon, all of which were concerned about the health of Tang Li. Finally, she added a note “If you have any news, please reply”.

“…” Shen Yu was speechless.

Why didn’t he find out that Jenny Yang had such a stubborn side when they had dinner last night?

He originally thought Jenny Yang was a shy girl. If he slightly neglected her, she should quit pursuing him.

Shen Yu sighed, deliberated for a while, and then typed, deleted, typed again and responded.

[Sorry for the late reply. Just finished work. Chestnut is much better now. Thank you for your concern.]

In short, every word carries an undertone of alienation.

Shen Yu did not want to respond to Jenny Yang’s advances. He only wanted Jenny Yang to see his intentions soon, even if she just thought of them as ordinary friends.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the message was sent out, the area in the chat box read “User is texting…”.

Soon Jenny Yang answered.

[No problem, I was just worried.]

[Grandpa Shen said you’ve been fond of drawing lately. A friend of mine gave me two tickets to the art exhibition for next Friday afternoon, do you have time to accompany me? 】

[Please. JPG][3]

Shen Yu didn’t even have to think twice and did not hesitate to reply.

[Sorry, there may be no time to attend. The parents’ meeting is next Friday.]

Jenny Yang immediately replied.

[That’s okay. Let’s go out for a meal this week. We didn’t get the chance to speak last night. I almost forgot that we were dating.]

[Laughing while crying. JPG][4]

Now Jenny Yang made it clear that she was interested in Shen Yu and wanted to further develop their feelings.

Shen Yu sighed and tapped his fingertips lightly on the screen of his mobile phone. He thought he was very straightforward, but Jenny Yang still looked like she didn’t understand anything.

It’s a little annoying.

This reminds Shen Yu of the girls he met before transmigrating. they ran to his shop every day and squatted there. After closing the shop in the evening, they were extremely enthusiastic to send him home. From time to time, they sent him roses and small gifts. No matter what he said, it would not help.

Shen Yu is really scared.

[It’s not convenient for me to go out because I have a leg injury. Miss Yang would be better off having dinner with someone else.]

After replying to the text, Shen Yu put up his mobile phone and looked up at the school gate, which was slowly drawing near the car.

After school, the roadside outside the school gate was filled with luxury cars, and a steady stream of students came out and got into their cars.

Shen Yu rolled down half of the window. Resting his chin idly in his hands, he looked for Tang Li among the students.

In order not to attract attention, Shen Yu specifically asked Uncle Zhang to change his car every three or four days, and every time the car was an inexpensive mid-range car.

Despite that, he was still being watched.

A middle-aged man in black clothes and pants was mixed in the parents’ group not far from the gate. He had been nervously staring at Shen Yu. This action made him especially prominent among a group of parents that were only looking at the school gate.

Shen Yu spotted the man with mere glance.

After the middle-aged man saw Shen Yu, he was a little shocked. Then, as if he were a guilty thief, he quickly turned his head around and pretended to be looking for his child.

Shen Yu pondered for a long time and could not place the man’s face as someone he remembered. Maybe that was someone the original Shen Yu knew.

But the middle-aged men seemed to have no malice, and his way of hiding is also bad, otherwise he would not be discovered by Shen Yu so quickly…

What’s more, he seems to be very afraid of Shen Yu. He was frightened simply by the way Shen Yu looked at him just now.

At present, it seems that the man is not dangerous to him.

Shen Yu, thinking about it, moved his eyes away and his thoughts soon left the middle-aged man behind. In a twinkling of an eye, he saw the cold-faced little villain coming from the gate.

“Chestnut.” Shen Yu greeted with a smile, “This way.”

Tang Li’s black eyes brightened for a while, and the corners of his mouth, which had been pressed into a straight line, could not help turning upward. He quickened his steps subconsciously.

When Tang Li approached, Shen Yu was surprised to find that there was a chattering girl beside the little villain. When he looked closely, was it not Lei Yumeng, who had been talking to the little villain this morning?

The two children looked noisy. It didn’t take long for them to stick together.

Shen Yu smiled helplessly. As long as the villain had no intention of entering that ill-fated love triangle, he would not object to the villain’s development of interpersonal relations.

Lei Yumeng did not mind Tang Li’s indifferent attitude. She followed him incessantly, with a sweet happy smile on her beautiful face.

Coming closer to the car, Lei Yumeng cried out happily, “Big brother Shen Yu.”

Shen Yu smiled, “Hello.”

When Lei Yumeng finished speaking, he turned to Tang Li and whispered, “Let’s go to school early tomorrow so we can have breakfast together.”

“I know.” Tang Li answered coldly, and without looking at Lei Yumeng, he stepped into the car.

As Uncle Zhang drove away, Shen Yu could still see Lei Yumeng standing on the side of the road, looking at them eagerly.

[1] 老年吃嫩草, literally meaning “old age eats tender grass”. Meaning a May-December romance, or an older person dating a significantly younger person.

[2] Tang Li calls her 黄毛丫头. This is one of those statements that can be affectionate or malicious depending on context. It literally means “yellow haired girl” (as newborns often have lighter hair that darkens with age) meaning a girl that’s a virgin or isn’t fully grown. It’s often used with affection in the context of “silly little girl”, or “a chit of a girl”. However, in this context, Tang Li is using the phrase sarcastically, so it’s actually quite cutting.

[3] Of course I’m adding an example.