"Dad, don't be angry. Here's the thing, I thought it over and decided not to buy it just yet. You know, with our family's finances, we can barely cover the down payment for a one-bedroom apartment. But what about after that? The monthly payments are quite a burden."
"This..." Dad knew this very well. Although they could scrape together enough for the down payment, the monthly mortgage payments would indeed be a significant expense.
"But if you don't buy a house, then..." Mom looked at her son worriedly.
"Mom, it just means the right person hasn't come along yet. When the right person comes, she'll marry me even if I have nothing. Besides, your son is still young."
Hearing this, Mom playfully slapped him and said, "Still young, huh? In our village, the boys your age, like Yishou, are already getting married soon. You'll be the only one left."
"Doesn't matter! Worst case, I'll stay with you and Dad for the rest of my life."
"You rascal, what nonsense are you talking about?" Mom gave Ye Chen a playful flick on the forehead.
In the afternoon, Ye Chen helped his parents with some chores and also washed their clothes and bed linens. Since he was back home, he wanted to help out as much as possible.
The next morning, after breakfast, Ye Chen left. Of course, he left two thousand yuan for his parents.
He knew that the money he transferred to them last time was probably saved up by them for his future wedding, as they would be reluctant to spend it.
Ye Chen hurried back because he had to help Fatty set up his wedding room. According to Fatty, the celebratory items he ordered would be delivered that day.
When the two arrived at Fatty's wedding room, the delivery had already arrived. There wasn't much, just one box.
However, the items inside were mostly semi-finished products, like the air pump and streamers. The streamers were easy to handle—just hang them up.
Then there were the "Xi" (double happiness) stickers, which just needed to be pasted. But the balloons needed to be inflated one by one and then stuck onto the walls and ceiling, which was quite troublesome.
But no matter how troublesome, it had to be done. There was no other option.
It took the entire day for the two of them to finish setting up. Although the items weren't heavy, they were tedious to handle.
Looking at their work, Ye Chen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Finally done. I feel like taking a nap now."
"Haha, no problem. Let's get some food first. After that, you can sleep."
"Alright!"
Just as they were about to head out, Fatty's phone rang. He glanced at it and then answered.
"Hello, what's up?"
Fatty then looked at Ye Chen and said, "You guys go ahead without me. I won't be joining today."
The call was from Liu Kun, inviting Fatty to go drinking. But Fatty knew Ye Chen didn't like such occasions.
After a bit more conversation, Fatty reluctantly said, "Alright, wait for me."
"What's up?" Ye Chen asked as Fatty hung up.
"It's Liu Kun. They're asking me to go drinking."
"That's fine, you go ahead."
"Uh, you're not coming with me?" Fatty asked, looking at Ye Chen.
"I'll pass. You know I don't like those kinds of gatherings."
"But..."
Seeing Fatty's troubled expression, Ye Chen said, "I really don't want to go. Besides, I don't have much to talk about with them."
"But Tao Fei will be there too," Fatty said, watching Ye Chen.
Sure enough, Ye Chen's brows furrowed at the mention of Tao Fei.
"Forget it. It's in the past. Whether she goes or not has nothing to do with me," Ye Chen shook his head.
Tao Fei was Ye Chen's high school class monitor and also his girlfriend.
Ye Chen had fought with others and got expelled because of her. But not long after, she started dating someone else.
"Aren't you curious to know the truth?" Fatty felt it was unfair to Ye Chen and couldn't let it go.
"What's the point? It's been so many years, and I've long forgotten about it," Ye Chen said, shrugging.
"No, you haven't. Otherwise, you wouldn't still be single."
Fatty wasn't dumb. With Ye Chen's looks and physique, finding a girlfriend shouldn't be hard. Yet, all these years, he'd never had one.
It had to be related to what happened back then. Fatty was sure of it. That's why he suddenly changed his mind about going; he wanted Ye Chen to move on.
The best way to move on was to confront the person involved. As the saying goes, only the one who tied the knot can untie it, and Tao Fei was the one who tied the knot.
"Come on, let's go. Where's your fearless spirit from back then?" Fatty grabbed Ye Chen's arm and started pulling him out.
"Alright, but let me be clear. I'm not going to bring up the past. I said it's over, and it is. I'm only going to see old classmates," Ye Chen said.
Indeed, he had no intention of digging up old wounds. It wasn't worth it; he had moved on long ago.
Fatty was right. The reason he was still single did have something to do with Tao Fei, but not in the way Fatty thought.