You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

No, what's Su Qinghe, the piano goddess of Lincheng No. 1 High School and the school beauty who went missing for a month, doing here? And dressed like this?

Wang Kai's brain had completely shut down. He kept pointing at Su Qinghe and then at Jiang Che, his mouth agape for a long time, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Jiang Che was amused by his silly appearance and stepped aside to let him in. "What are you yelling about? Hurry up and come in and close the door. It's freezing outside."

Wang Kai mechanically walked into the room and mechanically closed the door.

He walked up to Su Qinghe and looked her up and down several times before finally confirming that he hadn't misjudged her.

"Brother Che, what... what's going on here?"

Wang Kai lowered his voice and pulled Jiang Che aside, "Weren't you heartbroken over Lin Wanwan's matter? How come you've already brought that campus belle Su home after only one day?"

"I found it." Jiang Che said succinctly.

"You...found it?"

Wang Kai didn't believe Jiang Che's words at all. "Where would you find a school beauty to pick up in broad daylight? Do you think school beauties are as common as cabbages?"

Jiang Che was too lazy to explain the process to him, and just patted him on the shoulder, "Alright, stop talking nonsense, what are you doing here?"

"I was just worried about you!"

Wang Kai had a look on his face that said, "I'm so worried about you. You were so distraught when you left yesterday. You didn't reply to my messages or answer my calls. I was really afraid you were going to do something rash, so I came to check on you."

"And what do you do? You just broke up with Lin Wanwan, and now you're already keeping a mistress?"

Wang Kai has a big mouth, and his voice is quite loud, so Su Qinghe in the living room could hear him clearly.

Especially when she heard the words "keeping a mistress in a golden house," the girl's face immediately turned pink, clearly showing that she was shy.

Jiang Che glared at Wang Kai. "Shut up. If you can't speak properly, then don't speak."

He walked over to Su Qinghe and softened his voice, "Don't listen to his nonsense. This is my friend, Wang Kai, who isn't very bright."

Wang Kai: "???"

Su Qinghe gave a soft "hmm" and didn't dare to look up.

Wang Kai sat with Jiang Che for a while. He first asked about Lin Wanwan, and Jiang Che told him about the phone call Lin Wanwan had made to him earlier.

The two of them huddled together and gave Lin Wanwan a good scolding, while Su Qinghe listened quietly from the side the whole time.

After he finished scolding him, Wang Kai started asking all sorts of questions. Finally, Jiang Che got impatient and chased him away.

Before leaving, Wang Kai winked at Jiang Che with a gossipy look, "Then I won't disturb your sweet time, you two have fun, have fun~"

Jiang Che kicked him out the door.

The room finally quieted down again.

Jiang Che glanced at the clock on the wall; after Wang Kai's antics, it was almost ten o'clock.

He took Su Qinghe's arm and led her towards the guest room. "It's getting late, you should get some rest."

"This is the guest room. Everything inside is new. If you need anything, just tell me and I'll get it for you."

Su Qinghe nodded and obediently followed Jiang Che to the guest room.

After Jiang Che escorted her into her room, he prepared to leave. Before turning around, he glanced at her back, thought for a moment, and then walked over to her again.

He helped Su Qinghe make her bed, then clapped his hands in satisfaction. "Alright, go to sleep now. Call me if you need anything; I'm right next door."

"Um, thank you~" Su Qinghe smiled faintly and thanked her.

Jiang Che glanced at her a couple more times, then went back to his bedroom.

He took a shower, then lay in bed tossing and turning, his mind a jumbled mess.

The faces of Lin Wanwan, Su Qinghe, and Wang Kai flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

Just as I was getting irritated, there was a gentle knock on the bedroom door.

"Knock knock".

Hearing the noise, Jiang Che immediately got out of bed and went to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Su Qinghe was seen standing there, her small face full of shock. She was hugging a pillow, her shoulders hunched, and her body was still trembling uncontrollably.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Che asked.

Su Qinghe raised her head, her clear eyes filled with fear. "I...I'm scared."

She had barely finished speaking—

"Boom—!"

A bolt of lightning ripped through the night sky outside the window, followed by a deafening clap of thunder that shook the windows of the entire apartment building.

Su Qinghe shuddered, acting entirely on instinct, and threw herself into Jiang Che's arms while clutching her pillow.

With a "bang," her little head slammed solidly into Jiang Che's chest.

The pillow in my hand fell to the ground.

Jiang Che froze, completely at a loss.

He lowered his head little by little, and all that could be seen was the top of his furry head.

The girl's body trembled violently in his arms, her hands gripping his clothes tightly, clearly terrified.

So it turns out they were afraid of thunder.

Jiang Che felt that he should reach out and hug her to comfort her at this moment, but he felt that the action was too intimate and seemed inappropriate.

His hand hovered in mid-air for a long time before finally landing stiffly on her back and patting her gently.

"It's nothing, just a clap of thunder. It should stop after a while."

The person in his arms seemed not to hear him, and kept burrowing into his embrace, as if trying to embed themselves completely into him.

"I...I'm alone...I'm too scared..."

Her voice came muffled from his chest.

Another flash of lightning illuminated the corridor in a stark white light.

The thunder that followed wasn't as loud as before, but it was still enough to make Su Qinghe tremble violently again, and she gripped him even tighter.

Jiang Che sighed, somewhat troubled. He couldn't just throw her back into the room like that, could he?

Judging from the way he's acting, she'd probably be scared to death inside if he left.

Should I take her to the living room?

Wouldn't that just leave her alone? Besides, the living room is much bigger, and that girl would probably be even more scared.

Jiang Che's mind was in complete chaos. After thinking wildly for a long time, a last outrageous idea popped into his head.

No way...

He looked at his own bedroom door wide open, then at Su Qinghe's door, feeling incredibly conflicted.

Late at night, a man and a woman alone together... isn't that inappropriate?

But it seems there are no other options right now.

"Alright, alright, stop shaking." Jiang Che was at his wit's end.

He gently pushed the person in his arms away, and led her to his room with his hand on her shoulder. "You can sleep in my room tonight, I'll keep you company."

Su Qinghe looked up, seemingly flattered, her small face filled with panic, and waved her hands repeatedly in refusal:

"Oh? No, no, that won't do! How can you do that! It's too much trouble for you..."

As she spoke, she tried to back away.

"I'm in charge."

Jiang Che grabbed her wrist to stop her from backing down, "You don't need to worry about what I might do. You sleep on the bed, and I'll sleep on the floor."