Chapter 2792 - 2854: Eating Humble Pie

Of course, it was just a dream. When Wu Shuwei woke up and realized that, she did feel a little wistful. She glanced at the time; she’d originally planned to get up and go to the opening ceremony—today was the official start of term—but in their class attendance was optional. She checked the mirror and saw the blisters on her face and neck still hadn’t fully healed, so she had no choice but to give up that idea.

As for Li Yifei... he hadn’t planned on going either. He’d been chatting with his wives until very late last night, so he woke up a bit late. He ordered two breakfasts directly, and only when Wu Shuwei came downstairs did the two of them start eating.

"Do you want to get to know this year’s batch of students?" Li Yifei asked as they were eating.

Wu Shuwei shook her head and said, "Not really interested. Whoever they are doesn’t matter. I’m just here to study."

"Alright then, I won’t show you," Li Yifei said.

"You went and investigated them?"

"Before I came, Mengxin and the others already helped me look into it," Li Yifei said.

"Oh! They’re really thoughtful." Wu Shuwei commented sincerely. She did feel she could’ve done the same things herself.

Li Yifei chuckled, peeled a tea egg and put it onto Wu Shuwei’s plate, saying, "You’re looking much better today. You’ll probably be fine by tomorrow!"

"Li Yifei!"

"Mm?"

"Are you going?"

"I’m not going either. I’ll stay home and keep you company."

"This isn’t home!" Wu Shuwei said, but she didn’t refute the other part of what he meant—’keep you company.’

Licking his lips, Li Yifei said happily, "This isn’t much different from living at home, you know. No one to bother us!"

"Who’s living at home with you." Wu Shuwei shot him a glare and spat, "In your dreams."

"Exactly, that’s what makes you cute. No need to keep a straight face all the time. There’s no one else here, so who are you putting that stern look on for?" Li Yifei giggled, talking in a totally unserious tone.

He shouldn’t have said it—she’d just gotten over it, but Wu Shuwei instantly started to put on that serious face again. Li Yifei hurriedly reached out and grabbed her hand, saying, "Don’t, don’t, I’ll stop joking around. Just be like you were a moment ago!"

"Let go of my hand!" Wu Shuwei’s cheeks warmed, and she tried to yank it back. Unfortunately, Li Yifei was strong, so after two tugs she still hadn’t pulled free.

Li Yifei gazed at Wu Shuwei with deep feeling, his eyes full of affection. She tried to glare back at first, but within a few seconds she surrendered, dropping her gaze to her bowl and chopsticks. "Don’t be like this, Li Yifei. Don’t push it too far."

Li Yifei didn’t really push it; still smiling, he slowly loosened his grip and said, "Alright, hurry up and eat. We’ll talk after we finish."

The food tasted like nothing now, but she still went on eating. Deep down, Wu Shuwei didn’t actually dislike Li Yifei acting like this. The two of them had been much more intimate than this many times before—holding hands really didn’t count as anything.

After the meal, since neither of them was going to the ceremony, there was no need to go out at all. Holing up in this temporary home turned out to be quite comfortable. Of course, people outside might not feel so calm—for example, Zhang Bai. He’d specially dressed himself neatly and sharply, changed into a set of clothes worth tens of thousands, put on a luxury watch, and even had his hair styled, all so he could leave a good impression on Wu Shuwei at the opening ceremony. A woman like that—if he missed his chance, heaven would punish him. In the end... she didn’t show up at all. Plenty of people skipped it, but Li Yifei also didn’t show up, which made Zhang Bai very unhappy. He couldn’t even focus on the ceremony, and kept wondering why those two people sharing a house hadn’t come.

Could it be... Zhang Bai decided he had to go take a look. Halfway through the ceremony, he came to the villa. Looking in from outside, naturally he couldn’t see anything. He hesitated for less than a minute before stepping forward and pressing the doorbell.

Li Yifei was in the middle of a video game. Hearing the doorbell, he hit pause, walked out, and opened the door. Seeing that it was Zhang Bai, Li Yifei didn’t move aside and said, "Do you need something?"

"Hello, Student Li, I’m Zhang Bai."

"I remember you."

"That’s good. Today’s the opening ceremony, and tomorrow classes officially start, so I came over to say hi."

"If you’re here for me, then sorry, I’ve got some urgent work to deal with on my end. I’ll come visit you another time!" Li Yifei said directly.

Zhang Bai’s expression suddenly froze, and he was already swearing in his heart, but on the surface he still smiled and said, "That’s fine, go do your thing. I remember Wu Shuwei also stayed here yesterday, she’s upstairs, right? Could you help me call her down?"

Damn, if you’re here for Wu Shuwei just say it, why pretend you’re dropping by. Li Yifei nodded, dialed Wu Shuwei’s number, the call connected and as soon as she said hello—her voice sounded really nice—Li Yifei said, "There’s a classmate here to see you, named... Zhang Bai. Is it a good time for you to see him?"

"Zhang Bai? I don’t know him!" Wu Shuwei said. That made Zhang Bai at the door feel pretty depressed; he couldn’t help saying, "Wu Shuwei, I’m that Zhang Bai from yesterday, we were talking at the door!"

"Oh, it’s you. But I’m really sorry, it’s not convenient right now. Can we do another day?" Wu Shuwei’s tone shifted a bit, not quite as warm as just now, which made Li Yifei feel much more comfortable. Zhang Bai let out an "Ah" and said, "Then... okay. I just came by because you didn’t go to the ceremony, so I wanted to check in on you. If you’re busy, go ahead. See you tomorrow at the start of term."

Li Yifei looked at Zhang Bai with a half-smile. The info he’d seen showed this guy really wasn’t just some Pretty Boy; he actually had some ability. Someone like that, you’re supposed to look up to a bit. But after his behavior these last couple of days, Li Yifei really couldn’t see him that way anymore. Making moves on Wu Shuwei? Tch. You think she’s someone you get to pine over?

As for who actually gets to pine over her, Li Yifei didn’t bother following that train of thought any further.

When the call ended, the energy on Zhang Bai’s face evaporated. Slightly embarrassed, he nodded to Li Yifei and said, "Sorry to trouble you, Student Li. You go on, I’ll go see some other classmates."

"Okay, bye." Li Yifei waved his hand and slammed the door shut.

Zhang Bai had literally trotted over to the door, and hadn’t even gotten one foot inside before he was turned away. You could imagine his mood. And the worst part was, he had no way to vent it. Picking a fight with Li Yifei wasn’t worth it, and barging in to see Wu Shuwei—on what grounds? She’d already said it wasn’t convenient.

This is freaking weird. What exactly is going on between those two? Living together and looking so harmonious... Zhang Bai thought about it on the way back and still couldn’t figure it out.

Back in the room, Li Yifei let out a disdainful little laugh. Sure, at Wu Shuwei’s level she can afford not to care about a man’s background—rich or poor, true love is what matters—but honestly, it’s still best if things are well-matched. On personal achievements, Zhang Bai does tick the "well-matched" box. But that’s all he does—just meets the minimum. Do you have the kind of ties I have with Wu Shuwei? No? Then step aside.

Rubbing his chin, Li Yifei picked up his phone and headed upstairs. Wu Shuwei wasn’t asleep; she never slept much to begin with, and she’d already slept too much these last few days. Hearing footsteps, she sat up and straightened her clothes.

Walking in and seeing her sitting there, Li Yifei said, "What, you didn’t sleep a bit?"

"How could I just keep sleeping, I’m not a pig." Wu Shuwei said.

Li Yifei nodded. "True. But cats can really sleep—those two little rascals at your place do nothing but nap all day, don’t they?"

"Exactly. Aside from eating, occasionally playing and zoning out a bit, the rest of the time they’re sleeping." Mentioning the cats, Wu Shuwei immediately brightened; clearly she was crazy about those two.

There were a few cats and dogs at Li Yifei’s house nowadays too, all very gentle, serving as playmates for the kids. Some were expensive purebreds, some were former strays. Once they got to the Li family, life was pure luxury—good food, comfy beds, and someone waiting on them every day... and by "someone" that meant whichever Li family member went to play with the cats and dogs.

"Got any photos? Come on, let me see." Li Yifei walked over as he spoke.

Wu Shuwei nodded. "Yeah. My phone is full of their photos, tons and tons. Sometimes I think they look so good I just kneel there and keep snapping non-stop—dozens of shots in a few minutes."

"You should at least filter them a bit, otherwise you’re taking way too many." Li Yifei said.

"I think every single one looks great." Wu Shuwei blinked twice, her fingers tapping on the screen as she opened her gallery, then quickly flipped through, showing Li Yifei photo after photo. On the screen, her place looked neat and tidy, with the two cats in different spots, at different times, in different poses. The one thing they all had in common... was how cute they were. Especially their eyes—so stunningly beautiful that even Li Yifei kept nodding, admitting the two cats were really gorgeous.

"You like them, huh." Without realizing it, Li Yifei had already sat down on the edge of the bed, right next to Wu Shuwei. Hearing that, she lifted her head, eyes leaving the screen to look at him, and nodded seriously. "I really like them. Sometimes I think, why didn’t I keep cats before, why did I have to wait so many years. But they’re just so cute. Watching them every day, I basically don’t have any worries anymore."

"Nice. Having them keep you company is really great." Li Yifei nodded.

"Of course. So... I still have to thank you, for giving me two such adorable little treasures." Wu Shuwei finished and then laughed at herself. "No wonder you leaned in—you just wanted to hear me say that, didn’t you."

"Heaven and earth can testify, I really did want to see what they look like too!" Li Yifei said.

Wu Shuwei kept talking, but her face was all smiles. "You know, at the beginning I wasn’t used to it at all, because they’re super clingy. Wherever I go, they go. When I went upstairs to the bathroom, at first I kept the door closed, and they would be outside scratching at it, crying their heads off. I felt bad for them, so I opened the door. Then they’d squat right in front of the toilet, tilt their heads up with those big eyes, staring without blinking. However long you’re on the toilet is how long they’ll watch. I had no idea what they were thinking. At first being stared at like that made me really nervous, but later I got used to it."

"Like this?" Li Yifei said, then crouched by the bed, looking up at Wu Shuwei with his eyes wide open.

"Pfft!" Wu Shuwei couldn’t help laughing, reached out and slapped him lightly. "Get up, quick. That’s way too creepy!"