Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Nowadays, every phone came with a video recording function—millions of pixels, at one's fingertips. Though it was no match for professional camera equipment, it was more than enough for recording ordinary videos.

Zhou Yanning switched her phone to video mode and stood off to the side. From the moment Song Yu ran over, the entire process of the rescue was captured in full by Zhou Yanning.

If the old woman really did try to frame Song Yu in the future, then with this video recording, they would have no way to wrong Song Yu. So, after hearing Yang Juehuan's words and to guard against the worst, Zhou Yanning recorded the whole thing completely, until the old woman said thank you, and Song Yu helped her into a taxi and she disappeared from view.

Only then did Zhou Yanning get back in the car. She saved the video on her phone and said, "The old woman even thanked Song Yu. She probably isn't that kind of person."

"Human nature is a hard thing to predict," Yang Ce said with a dismissive wave.

And so this little interlude passed. The two of them didn't give it much thought—once the old woman left, the road cleared up, and soon they arrived at Huashang Residential Compound, where Yang Ce lived.

Zhao Ying had no idea how she'd managed to finish her shower. She toweled the water off, pulled on her pajamas in a daze, and stepped out of the bathroom. Standing at the top of the stairs, the cold air outside cleared her head a little.

Everything, all of it, was nothing more than her own speculation. Zhao Ying had no proof. Besides, condoms weren't necessarily for that—she had once read an electronics magazine that said condoms could be used to repair a computer's optical drive, serving as a substitute for the drive belt.

Of course, the odds of that were tiny. Zhao Ying knew Wang Yanqiu was no computer expert—there was no way she'd be repairing an optical drive. But maybe it had some other use? Zhao Ying didn't want to think about it, and didn't dare to. She needed to be calm, absolutely calm, to reexamine her own attitude toward Yang Juehuan. Did these things really matter to her?

Even if Yang Ce and Wang Yanqiu really were together, would it affect her? Zhao Ying needed to think carefully, to find a time to seriously consider it. But for now, she had to pretend nothing had happened.

She didn't want to confront Wang Yanqiu, and there was no need to. If Wang Yanqiu didn't tell her, she surely had her reasons. Zhao Ying didn't want to make things too tense between the two sisters, so for now it was better to play dumb.

Downstairs, Zhao Ying tried hard to make her expression look natural, but Wang Yanqiu still noticed that Zhao Ying's smile was a little forced. "Ying-jie, what's wrong? Why are you smiling so strangely?"

Wang Yanqiu didn't think much of it—she just felt that Zhao Ying's smile was indescribably eerie, as if some scheme were brewing behind it.

"Nothing. I suppose I was in the bath so long that my facial muscles stiffened up." Zhao Ying shook her head and gave a small laugh.

"Oh, you really were in there a long while." Wang Yanqiu stretched lazily on the sofa. "I was about to doze off. Ying-jie, why don't you stay the night? It's been ages since we had a good heart-to-heart."

"Ah—" Zhao Ying started, then hurriedly declined. "Not tonight. You start school tomorrow and you need to get things ready, and I still have a paper to finish."

Zhao Ying was afraid that if she stayed too long with Wang Yanqiu, she would give herself away. Today, at least, was out of the question. She needed to go home and settle her nerves properly first.

"I don't have anything to get ready. Besides, tomorrow's just registration—pick up the new books, that's all, nothing to it," Wang Yanqiu said. "You could write your paper here too."

"No—all my materials are at home. Bringing them over would be too much trouble. Next time." Zhao Ying waved her hands in a fluster. "I'd better get going, Yanyan."

"Leaving already?" Wang Yanqiu was baffled. "Ying-jie, your hair isn't even dry. You'll catch cold out there."

"It's fine. I live close—I'll be home before you know it." Zhao Ying waved at Wang Yanqiu, a little flustered, then hurried out the door.

"Wait, Ying-jie—let me walk you out!" Wang Yanqiu rose from the sofa and slipped on her slippers, only to see that Zhao Ying was already out the gate. Wang Yanqiu found it very strange that Zhao Ying should leave in such a hurry. She shook her head, shut the door properly, and went upstairs. She had been drowsy for a while, and now she meant to get a good sleep.

These past few days, with Yang Ce here, he had worn her out so thoroughly that she had not slept well for several nights. Wang Yanqiu was not one to admit defeat—though in the end she could barely keep up, she gritted her teeth and held on.

Lying in bed, she drifted into a daze and fell asleep, and the whole business with Zhao Ying slipped from her mind.

Yang Ce returned to the villa with Zhou Yanning. Auntie Li was mopping the floor, and when she saw Yang Ce and Zhou Yanning come in, she hurried over to greet them. After Chen Shutang had gone home, Yang Ce had not been back to the villa at all—he had been staying at Wang Yanqiu's place the whole time—so it had been several days since his last visit.

Zhou Yanning went upstairs first to get her things ready for school the next day, while Yang Ce was stopped by Auntie Li.

"Is something the matter, Auntie Li?" Yang Ce asked.

"It's like this," Auntie Li said, and she recounted for him the whole strange episode of Zhao Ying waiting there for him all night. Auntie Li had no idea what Zhao Ying wanted with Yang Ce, and when she had offered to phone him, Zhao Ying had refused—but now that she had Yang Ce before her, she told him the whole thing, exactly as it had happened.

Yang Ce had already learned from Wang Yanqiu that Zhao Ying had noticed something. He had not expected that she had waited here for him a whole night. Yang Ce cursed himself inwardly. No wonder Zhao Ying had not contacted him these past few days—he had thought his gift of the memory tree had sunk without a trace. He had never imagined that Zhao Ying had come looking for him and that he had missed her.

And worse, he had hurt her feelings. At the thought, Yang Ce felt a pang of shame. It seemed he really would have to rein himself in from now on. As things stood, Zhao Ying was angry with him; he would simply have to find a chance to talk her round properly.

Fortunately, Wang Yanqiu had already explained things to Zhao Ying—that he was only her stand-in boyfriend, not the real thing. He could only hope Zhao Ying would believe it.

It was not that Yang Ce was willing to tell Zhao Ying about himself and Wang Yanqiu; it was that the relationship between them was genuinely complicated, not something that could be explained in a few words—and such a relationship was hardly something to broadcast. If word reached Chen Shutang's ears, it would be another war. And with Wang Yanqiu's temper, she was not about to take the loss lying down—who knew what might come of it.

"I understand, Auntie Li. Don't mention this to anyone else," Yang Ce instructed. He was afraid that if the other girls heard about it, there would be fresh complications.

"Of course, Mr. Yang. I understand." Auntie Li nodded. She knew as well that the master of this house was Yang Ce, and that as a housemaid she answered to him alone. In fact, the very reason she had waited until Zhou Yanning went upstairs before bringing up the matter of Zhao Ying was precisely that—and in this Auntie Li had done very well. She was a conscientious housekeeper.

Though Zhou Yanning had decided to live at Yang Ce's place, she still had to keep a set of belongings in the school dormitory. This was only a place to stay on weekends; most of the time she would still be living in the dorm.