The young lady hired me to help her and the young master have an online romance.

Jiang Wan looked over.

He was wearing a beige V-neck thin knit sweater with a white T-shirt underneath.

A thin silver necklace hung on her collarbone.

Her hair is shorter than when I last saw her at the magazine office; it must be a hairstyle she did for her new drama role.

Her face was covered in makeup, and she seemed to glow in the afternoon sunlight.

He pushed open the door and walked out, holding an exquisite blue gift box tied with a sky-blue ribbon.

Zhou Feiyan froze.

Wang Yurong's mouth opened into an "O" shape.

Li Zhile's eyes widened in surprise.

None of the three were prepared to meet Shen Che.

In other words, they never expected Shen Che to walk out of this small door.

"Wanwan." Shen Che walked up to Jiang Wan and handed her the gift box.

"I bought these chocolates while I was in Switzerland last week shooting for a magazine."

"I remember you really liked this when you were little, take it and have a taste."

Jiang Wan took the gift box and glanced down at it.

It's a Swiss handmade chocolate brand. She'd seen it on a certain book, and a box of it cost at least several thousand yuan.

Although the two had a good relationship when they were young.

But having not been a part of his life for seven years, Jiang Wan felt a little embarrassed to accept such an expensive gift.

She instinctively wanted to decline, "Brother Che..."

Before he could even refuse, Shen Che interrupted, "Don't you want to accept it?"

"Are you becoming distant from me?"

Seeing his instantly serious expression, Jiang Wan's heart skipped a beat, but she immediately smiled and said, "How could that be~"

"I'd be polite to anyone but Brother Che."

Shen Che chuckled softly, his gaze gentle.

He looked at the three girls behind Jiang Wan.

"You must be Wanwan's roommates? Hello, I'm Shen Che."

Zhou Feiyan opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but the sound seemed to be stuck in her throat, and she only managed to utter a muffled "ah".

Wang Yurong was alright; at least she managed to squeeze out a "hello."

Li Zhile, being a man of great experience, quickly regained his composure and smiled, saying, "Hello, Mr. Shen."

Shen Che smiled at the others and turned his gaze back to Jiang Wan.

"I'm going upstairs now, I'm busy later, I'll talk to you when I have time."

Jiang Wan nodded, "Okay."

Shen Che turned and walked into the music building.

The moment the small door closed, Zhou Feiyan seemed to have been pressed play, and she suddenly grabbed Jiang Wan's wrist.

"Jiang Wan!!!"

A shout startled several sparrows that were foraging for food in Wutong Lane.

"You actually know Shen Che? Why didn't you say so sooner?!"

Zhou Feiyan's voice was somewhat high-pitched, and she stomped her feet excitedly.

"Oh my god, he even called you 'Wanwan' and brought you chocolates! The way he looked at you was so tender!"

"No wonder you didn't like the guys at school who were pursuing you; apparently, you had someone even better up your sleeve!"

As she spoke, she grabbed Jiang Wan's arm and shook it vigorously.

"Stop, stop, stop." Jiang Wan was dizzy from being shaken and quickly grabbed her hand. "It's not what you think."

"He was my neighbor when I was a child. I hadn't seen him for many years. I ran into him by chance at the magazine office a couple of days ago."

"Your childhood neighbor?" Zhou Feiyan's eyes widened like saucers. "Wasn't that your childhood sweetheart?"

Jiang Wan explained, "No, they're just childhood friends."

Zhou Feiyan was speechless. "What kind of 'friend'? You're really clueless!"

Wang Yurong chimed in, "That's right, if it were me, I would have already spread the word to everyone around me."

Li Zhile stood to the side with his arms crossed, a smirk playing on his lips. "Xiao Wan, tell me the truth, are you and Shen Che really just neighbors?"

Jiang Wan said helplessly, "They really are just neighbors."

"The way he looks at you doesn't seem like it~" Li Zhile raised an eyebrow.

Jiang Wan patiently explained, "You're overthinking it. He's very gentle with everyone around him; that's just his personality."

"Really?" Zhou Feiyan's eyes were full of gossip. "Jiang Wan, please don't belittle yourself."

"You're the campus belle of S University. If you just beckon, countless men will throw themselves at you."

"Tell me, did Shen Che ever say anything like 'I like you' when we were little?"

Jiang Wan thought for a moment, then shook her head seriously: "No."

"He's three years older than me. I was in elementary school, and he was in middle school. He treated me like a little kid."

"Moreover, he once said that he wanted me to be his sister."

"Sister?" Zhou Feiyan grasped the key word, "A sister is still a sister."

Jiang Wan rolled her eyes, not wanting to explain anymore.

She is not someone who is delusional.

Shen Che was kind to her because he cherished the past, and because he was a gentle person by nature.

That's it.

"Let's go eat."

Jiang Wan stuffed the chocolate box into her bag and took the first step.

"Wait a minute!" Zhou Feiyan caught up and took her arm. "You still haven't told us what kind of chocolate Shen Che gave us?"

"From Switzerland."

"let me see!"

"I'll check back when I get back; there are a lot of people on the road."

"Then promise me that the first thing you'll do when you get back is open it and show it to me!"

"...Okay, okay."

The four figures gradually disappeared at the end of Wutong Lane.

The afternoon sun shone through the gaps in the sycamore leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

A gentle breeze ruffled the girls' hair.

The sunlight was warm, shining on their dazzling youth.

*

Jiang only had one class in the afternoon, so she went straight to the library to do her homework after class in the evening.

At seven o'clock in the evening, the sky over Haicheng was dyed orange-red by the sunset.

Jiang Wan had just come out of the library when her phone rang.

He's my younger brother.

"Xiaofeng."

Jiang Wan answered the phone in a light tone, but the voice on the other end made her pause.

"sister……"

Jiang Feng's voice trembled noticeably, as if he was trying his best to suppress his emotions.

"Is it a convenient time for you to talk now?"

Jiang Wan's expression was serious. "It's convenient, go ahead."

"I……"

Jiang Feng took a deep breath, his voice broken, "On my way home from school, I saw a creepy guy following a female classmate. The girl kept trying to avoid him, but the guy wouldn't let it go... so I went up and stopped him."

Jiang Wan's heart leaped into her throat. "And then?"

"Then the man suddenly attacked me, so I fought back and we wrestled. He..."

Jiang Feng's voice lowered even further, "He accidentally bumped his head on a stone block by the roadside, broke his head, and bled... He's in the hospital now."

Jiang Wan gripped her phone tightly. "How is he? Is he in any danger?"

"No, he needed more than a dozen stitches," Jiang Feng paused, "His family wants me to pay for the medical expenses and follow-up treatment, about 50,000 yuan. I don't dare tell my parents, afraid they'll worry, and afraid they'll be angry."

"Sis, could you lend me 50,000 yuan?"

Jiang Wan took a deep breath and asked calmly, "Where are you now?"

"At our local People's Hospital, in the emergency room."

Jiang Wan replied, "I can borrow 50,000 yuan. You wait for me there, I'll take a taxi back now."

Jiang Wan hung up the phone and, without even going back to her dorm to put down her books, ran straight to the school gate with her bag on her back.

He used his phone to hail a ride while driving.

It would cost 300 yuan to call from here, but this isn't the time to worry about money.

As long as I can get back quickly, that's all that matters.

After getting into the ride-hailing car, Jiang Wan opened her bank's app.

The account balance shows 35,000.

Of that, 30,000 was Gu Manning's payment for this month, and 5,000 was his living expenses.

We're still short 15,000.

Jiang Wan's first thought was to borrow from Shang Shixu.

She immediately cut off the idea as soon as it came to mind.

Are you out of your mind?

Would you dare ask him for a loan?

How could Gu Manning, with her status, not even have a little over ten thousand yuan?

Borrowing this little bit of money is tantamount to rushing to self-destruction.

Jiang Wan thought of her three roommates.

Li Zhile was the only one with a relatively comfortable budget; the other two didn't have much money for living expenses each month.

Jiang Wan called Li Zhile, who said he could lend her five thousand.

After thanking her, he thought for a moment and decided to call Gu Manning to get an advance on next month's payment.

When I called, the phone was switched off.

Jiang Wan didn't know when she would turn on her phone.

But my brother's matter can't wait.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she called Shen Che.

It rang five or six times before being answered.

"Wanwan."

A gentle voice rang out.