Seeing Su Yao again was on the day of her hospital discharge. He stood at the hospital entrance, wrapped in a black long overcoat, his face as handsome as ever, causing many passers-by to pause and look at him.
He held a smile and quietly gazed at her, his eyes so focused it seemed as if she was the only person in the world.
"Ya Ya," he said, "are you feeling better?"
The emotional walls she had built in recent days crumbled in an instant. She felt useless and spineless. Deep down, she despised herself, but when she spoke, her voice was filled with joy: "Much better."
Su Yao naturally took the luggage from her hand, "I'll take you home."
"I..." She wanted to ask where he had been for the past week, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. It wasn't until they got in the car and Su Yao sat in the driver's seat that she mustered the courage to ask, "Where's the driver?"
"I sent him back," he paused, looking at her with a smile, "Driving Ya Ya is something I should do personally."
"Ah?"
Ye Shuya was stunned, and he couldn't help but pinch her cheek, "Driving Ya Ya is something I should do personally."
"You... You took the driver's license test?"
"Why not? Don't believe me?" Su Yao laughed and started the car. He drove steadily and skillfully, as if he had been driving for decades. At this point, Ye Shuya truly believed him.
When they arrived at Ye Shuya's home, she wanted to invite him up as she had done last time, but remembering what Su Yao had said, she just smiled and thanked him.
"Aren't you inviting me up for a sit?"
Ye Shuya was taken aback before she realized, "Sure, why not."
Ye Shuya lived on the third floor, fortunately not too high, or else Su Yao would have had to climb quite a bit. She felt a bit nervous and anxious as she took out her keys from her bag. She hadn't been home for a week and had no idea what state her place was in.
She certainly didn't want Su Yao to see her home in a mess.
Fortunately, her home was still in perfect order, clean and tidy, not at all like a place that had been uninhabited for a week. She asked Su Yao what he would like to drink.
"Just water is fine."
Ye Shuya remembered Su Yao's cleanliness habits; she had no extra cups at home, not even disposable paper ones. She took her own teacup from the disinfection cabinet and poured a cup of warm water for Su Yao.
When Su Yao took the teacup, he looked at it and said with a smile, "This teacup is really beautiful."
She whispered, "Bought it online, five yuan each." She paused and added, "I always pay attention to cleaning it. I disinfect it every time after using it."
"Is this the one you use?"
She nodded.
"Ya Ya, I do have some cleanliness issues, but not that severe. You don't need to mind it too much." He took a sip of water with an elegant posture, as if he was tasting fine wine.
Ye Shuya's heart fluttered at the sight.
He suddenly smiled, "This is actually my third time at your home."
"Third time?"
He said, "The first time you bumped into me, the second time you called me..."
Ye Shuya abruptly stood up, "You're the one who took me to the hospital?"
"Who else?"
She opened her mouth, "Dani said it was him."
Su Yao frowned, fell silent for a while, and then said to her, "I will handle this matter."
Ye Shuya didn't understand why Dani had lied, and she suddenly felt a strong aversion to him. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have been ridiculed by Qin Wei for an entire week, wouldn't have spent a week in the hospital in low spirits, and wouldn't have been so anxious.
Perhaps because of the minor episode with Dani, Su Yao left after only a short while. Ye Shuya saw him off downstairs, and Su Yao looked preoccupied, his face as if shrouded in dark clouds.
When she returned to the house again, Ye Shuya felt a sense of emptiness. She sat on the spot where Su Yao had just been; the sofa was very soft, and as soon as she sat down, she sank into it.
It seemed that the scent of Su Yao still lingered here.
The phone suddenly rang, and Ye Shuya answered it with high expectations, but it was not Su Yao's voice on the other end, it was Qin Wei's. She said excitedly, "Ah Qin, I have to tell you, Su Yao is not that kind of person."
Qin Wei sneered coldly, "If a man is really interested in you, no matter how busy he is, he will make time to see you. Ya Ya, don't comfort yourself, face the reality. Su Yao is not someone you can afford to provoke."
Ye Shuya grumbled, "Ah Qin, you're so annoying."
With the end of the final exams, the students gradually left the campus, making it unusually quiet.
In the office, Lin Yu was complaining non-stop, "The country says it will solve the problem of hard-to-get tickets during the Spring Festival, what a joke, I can't even buy tickets from scalpers now! Teacher Tang, your home is in the province, it's so fortunate that you can get there in just one or two hours by car."
"Ah, it's always been like this. You should buy a plane ticket to go home this year," said Tang Dan.
Song Xiao also agreed, "Yeah, Lin Yu, you should buy a plane ticket. Discounted plane tickets are not more expensive than scalped tickets."
Ye Shuya, as usual, did not participate in any topics in the office. She was busy revising an annual report. An annual meeting of the school was to be held in an hour, where each department's teachers would give a brief report.
It was obvious that Song Xiao wanted to draw Ye Shuya into their circle. With a quick turn of her eyes, she looked at Ye Shuya and asked, "Shuya, have you prepared any New Year goods?"
"No," Ye Shuya replied to Song Xiao after a long while with just one word.
"After the meeting, Sister Dan and I are going shopping. Do you want to join us?"
Tang Dan was a bit surprised that Song Xiao would say that, but as a teacher for more than a decade, she naturally had a way with interpersonal relationships. She adjusted her glasses and smiled, "Yes, Teacher Ye, why don't you join us? There's a new dish at the restaurant on Wan'an East Road that's said to taste great. We can go there for dinner after shopping."
Before Ye Shuya could speak, Lin Yu interjected, "Teacher Ye is a big busy person, where does she have time to go shopping and eat?" Lin Yu glanced at the red roses on Ye Shuya's desk and sneered, "Maybe she has a date with her boyfriend today. Besides, Teacher Ye is always driven around in a Bentley, how could she look down on a restaurant on Wan'an East Road?"
Recently, Ye Shuya and Su Yao have been very close, with Su Yao picking her up from work almost every day, having dinner together, and then seeing her home.
Tang Dan and Song Xiao looked at each other. This was the first time Lin Yu had spoken so embarrassingly in front of Ye Shuya. Lin Yu really disliked Ye Shuya, first because of her aloofness, then because of her beauty, and also because of the bunch of red roses that made people envious every day. To be precise, Lin Yu was jealous of Ye Shuya. Every time she heard students talking about how beautiful Teacher Ye was, she wished they would shut up. Later, seeing Ye Shuya sitting in an expensive car and hearing Tang Dan and Song Xiao actively inviting her, the jealousy in her heart turned into a sharp sarcasm.
Ye Shuya didn't care about Lin Yu's words. She said to Tang Dan and Song Xiao, "No, I have an appointment today."
Lin Yu sneered, "I told you, Teacher Ye is not someone we can invite."
"Ah, Teacher Lin, you should stop talking," said someone.
Song Xiao was a bit embarrassed. Tang Dan glanced at Lin Yu and changed the subject, "Teacher Lin, are you going this afternoon too? I remember you like the dishes at that restaurant."
Lin Yu's face eased, and she nodded, "Okay."
The small storm in the office finally passed. The school meeting was as dry as usual. After Ye Shuya finished her report, her phone in her bag vibrated. She took out her phone and saw a message from Su Yao - "Ya Ya, what are you doing?"
She was in a good mood. Sending text messages to Su Yao in this atmosphere made her feel like she was passing notes with classmates in class. She looked around and no one was paying attention to her. She lowered her head and quickly typed a message on her phone - "The school's year-end summary meeting is very boring."
Su Yao: "How about having French food for dinner?"
Ye Shuya: "Sounds good. What are you doing?"
Su Yao: "I'm at C University."
Ye Shuya: "This meeting is estimated to last another hour."
Su Yao: "I'll wait for you."
Song Xiao, sitting next to Ye Shuya, saw her sweet smile and leaned over to ask in a low voice, "Are you texting your boyfriend?"
Ye Shuya was silent for a while before saying, "No."
In the car, the music was flowing quietly, and the driver Xiao Zhang looked at the roadside scenery with a blank face. Dani sat in the back seat, looking at Su Yao with a smile in his bright blue eyes, "Are you texting your girlfriend?"
Su Yao said after a while, "No."
"Are you texting Miss Ye?"
He glanced at Dani, "Yes."
"When are you planning to go back?"
Su Yao didn't respond.
Dani said with an exaggerated expression, "Oh, my God. Su, you're not going to tell me you're not planning to go back, are you?" Seeing Su Yao's lack of response, he said seriously, "Your father and eldest brother will kill me, your mother and younger sister will nag me to death, and oh, the Siberian Husky at your house will crush me with its huge body."
"Adam has always been very well-behaved," Su Yao couldn't help but smile when he thought of the Husky at home, but soon he composed himself, raised his eyebrows and looked at Dani, "I still remember the last account."
Dani was silent. After a while, he said, "Su, do you know about the aura? Everyone has their own aura, and lovers also have an aura between them. The aura between you and Miss Ye is not suitable." He paused and continued, "Although she is beautiful, her beauty is too empty, and according to my several contacts with her, she is a bit... strange."
Su Yao said lightly, "Whether it's suitable or not, I have a number in my heart. Dani, if I find the person I want, I hope my friends will bless me."
"I am willing to apologize for my last behavior, but as your friend, Su, I also hope you can be happy. An unsuitable relationship not only breaks the heart but also hurts the body," Dani said, suddenly remembering an important matter, "Remember to get a check-up next Monday."
"Let's talk about it later," a text message came to his phone, he looked down and said, "Ya Ya's meeting is over, Dani, it's time for you to leave. You need to find a day to sincerely apologize to her, your last behavior caused unnecessary trouble for her."
Dani said "Okay." Not long after he left, Su Yao got out of the car. Ye Shuya was walking towards him in the distance, the afterglow of the sunset shrouded the earth, she was like a glimmer of light emerging from the darkness, inadvertently stepping into his heart.
Whether their auras match or not, only time will tell. But what he can be sure of is that this woman, from the first glance, he fell in love at first sight. Such a strong emotion, even time cannot erase.