"Do you want me to take you home?" Yang Ke asked Tong Tong, who was following closely behind, as they exited the train station.
"Why do you always rush me away?" Tong Tong said unhappily. "Am I that annoying to you?"
"Of course not!" Yang Ke explained, "It's just that if you don't go home, where else can you go?"
"I can't go to your place!" Tong Tong said. "You just said, 'Let the trouble come even stronger,' so now I'm entrusting you with the 'big trouble' that you guys recognize—I'm entrusting myself to you!"
"I didn't say that to you!" Yang Ke changed his words. "I said it to Ye Xuan. Remember, I said it to Ye Xuan, it has nothing to do with you!"
"Why are you so biased?" Tong Tong said angrily. "Anyway, I don't care. I've decided to stick with you today. You can't shake me off!"
"What if I run away? Can you kill me?" Yang Ke challenged.
"Then you can try!" Tong Tong retorted.
"Let go of me! Help! Catch the thief!" Tong Tong pointed at Yang Ke and shouted loudly.
Immediately, everyone around turned their gaze to Yang Ke, who became nervous, sweating profusely.
"Stop shouting, I beg you!" Yang Ke had to give in. "This kind of play can be fatal!"
"You can go if you want, I didn't stop you!" Tong Tong said triumphantly. "The faster you run, the more people will chase after you. As for me, I just need to go to the police station and wait!"
Yang Ke stamped his foot. He had completely learned the power of this little pepper.
"Can you call the shots today?" Yang Ke completely surrendered, allowing himself to be manipulated.
"You should have done this a long time ago!" Tong Tong insisted, "You brought this upon yourself!"
After wandering through the park, passing by the amusement park, and walking through the pedestrian street, Yang Ke was exhausted, but Tong Tong's enthusiasm remained unabated.
"Can we take a break?" Yang Ke asked Tong Tong pleadingly.
"What break? I'm not tired at all!" Tong Tong pulled Yang Ke into a nearby shop.
"What are you up to now?" Yang Ke said helplessly. "You've already worn me out today!"
"We're taking photo booth pictures!" Tong Tong smiled. "We have to leave a memory for today!"
The two of them posed in front of the camera, striking various poses.
"Yang Ke, look!" Tong Tong pointed to Yang Ke's side.
Yang Ke turned his head but didn't see anything. When he turned back, Tong Tong's lips were already on his cheek. Tong Tong smiled brightly and pressed the button.
"What are you doing?" Yang Ke asked, covering his face.
"It's all your fault!" Tong Tong pretended to be angry. "You suddenly turned your head unexpectedly!"
"Alright! It's my fault! I'm sorry!" Yang Ke said. "Let's not use this one!"
"No way!" Tong Tong insisted. "Since we took it, we should keep it!"
"But what if someone sees it? It would be so embarrassing!" Yang Ke worried. "Aren't you afraid?"
"Exactly!" Tong Tong said. "That's why I have to punish you!"
"Punish? How?" Yang Ke asked.
Tong Tong tore off a sticker and stuck it on Yang Ke's forehead. Yang Ke tried to tear it off, but Tong Tong stopped him.
"Don't move! Trust me, I have a better way to punish you!" Tong Tong said sternly. "I'm going to make everyone who knows you know that you owe this girl on your forehead an apology!"
Yang Ke finally put Tong Tong on the bus. He looked at the night sky, which was already filled with lights and decorations. Yang Ke heaved a long sigh of relief.
Ye Xuan arrived downstairs with her luggage. She looked up at the building and the balcony above. In this city where she had lived for three years, this was the only small harbor left for her. Ye Xuan climbed the stairs and arrived at Yang Ke's door. She took out a key from her pocket and opened the door. This key was obtained from Tong Tong secretly. Ye Xuan followed Tong Tong's example. Today's experience proved that imitating the villain's tactics was a wise move at the time.
Ye Xuan walked into the bedroom on the west side, where Dai Qiang had returned home for the summer, so the house was considered vacated. Most of Dai Qiang's things had been moved out, and the remaining items were neatly arranged in the corner of the wall. The room had been empty for a while, and dust had settled on the floor. Ye Xuan put down her luggage and began to clean the room.
As night fell, Ye Xuan was standing on the balcony looking at the night view. Yang Ke came back, and Ye Xuan hid by the door, waiting for Yang Ke to come in.
"I'm back!" Ye Xuan greeted him suddenly, startling Yang Ke.
"Ah! You're back!" Yang Ke walked towards the bedroom, suddenly realizing something, he turned and asked Ye Xuan, "Why are you here? Didn't you take the train back? And how did you get in?"
Ye Xuan didn't understand why Yang Ke suddenly had so many questions, but she answered them one by one, "I didn't want to go back. I'm staying here for the summer this year! As for how I got the key to this house, you can ask Tong Tong!"
"It's that Tong Tong again! Oh my god!" Yang Ke muttered to himself.
Ye Xuan suddenly noticed the sticker on Yang Ke's head and said with a smile, "Yang Ke, I bet when you were on the bus, many people were staring at you, and someone even said, 'Young man, you're loyal to love,' right?"
"How did you know?" Yang Ke asked in amazement. Indeed, someone had said that to him on the way.
Ye Xuan burst into laughter and pointed at her own forehead. Yang Ke touched his forehead and suddenly realized, tearing off the sticker with embarrassment.
"Yang Ke, you're really creative with advertising!" Ye Xuan said. "I've only seen people writing and drawing on bald heads for advertising on the internet. At first, I didn't believe it, but today I finally saw it with my own eyes!"
"It's all Tong Tong's fault! She made me make a fool of myself!" Yang Ke grumbled, then said to Ye Xuan, "It's late today. You can stay in that bedroom for the night, and I'll accompany you to look for a house tomorrow!"
"Why do we need to look for one?" Ye Xuan asked. "Isn't this house already available? We can split the rent, and it's better to have it occupied than empty! Besides, didn't you used to complain about the high rent here? I can relieve your worries!"
"We can't live together!" Yang Ke said firmly.
"Why not?" Ye Xuan asked. "I used to live here too, didn't I?"
"That's different. Tong Tong was with us back then!"
"What about tonight?" Ye Xuan argued. "Non-couples living together are not restricted by public security regulations anymore. Are you afraid the police will come knocking?"
"That's only in some areas, not nationwide, and it doesn't represent the societal norms!"
"This big city is very open-minded, and no one will gossip!" Ye Xuan said. "Besides, there's nothing between us!"
"Even so, it's not allowed. A straight tree won't fear a slanting shadow!" Yang Ke didn't budge.
"I'm not leaving!" Ye Xuan's stubbornness surfaced. "You said at the train station that you would relieve my worries. Are you going back on your word?"
"I can help with other things, but this matter is non-negotiable!"
"The landlord has the final say!" Ye Xuan argued. "We only have a cooperative relationship, not a subordinate one!"
Ye Xuan walked into the bedroom and closed the door heavily behind her, leaving Yang Ke alone in the living room, feeling both angry and annoyed.
"I'll find a way to make you leave eventually!" Yang Ke waved his fist and said.