President, please comfort me.

West Lake Garden and Xiangjiang Pearl were indeed not on the way to Datang Family. After a long day, Chen Nuo didn't want Yang Xu to drive for so long, and she didn't dare to trouble Xiao and her to take them.

Since Ye Lin was going that way, that was fine. Her eyes softened as she said to Ye Lin, "Okay, thank you for your help."

After exchanging greetings, Tang Chao and Tang Yue drove off first, followed by Xiao, Wen Qi, Yang Xu, and Lan Ling, who all got into their respective cars.

Ye Lin watched as the three cars drove away and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He raised an eyebrow at Chen Nuo and smiled, "Let's go get the car."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Nuo politely said, "I'll take a taxi home myself. You should go home early too."

Upon hearing this, Ye Lin's smile vanished, replaced by a forced grin. He said, as if throwing a tantrum, "If you didn't want me to take you, you could have just said so earlier. There was no need for this."

Their eyes met, and Chen Nuo felt his gaze pressing down on her. She was slightly taken aback, but immediately realized he had misunderstood, and hurriedly shook her head: "No, no, I didn't want you to see me off."

Ye Lin was skeptical: "Really not?"

"No."

"Let's go then." Hearing the affirmative answer, Ye Lin's expression improved a little.

Chen Nuo glanced at the flashy Lamborghini beside him and asked softly, "Isn't the car here?"

"Drive another one."

Chen Nuo obediently followed him for a few minutes until they arrived at a low-key car. Ye Lin opened the passenger door for her, and the two got into the black Maybach one after the other.

Chen Nuo fastened her seatbelt and turned to look at him: "Then I'll trouble you to take me to West Lake Garden, thank you."

Ye Lin felt much better and replied, "You're welcome."

Ever since Wen Qi told her that Ye Lin wanted to pursue her, Chen Nuo had been feeling inexplicably nervous around him. Adding to that, Ye Lin had just thrown a tantrum—yes, that's how Chen Nuo interpreted it—she felt the atmosphere in the car was oppressive and nervously clutched the hem of her skirt.

Half an hour later, the car stopped at the entrance of the West Lake Garden residential area.

Chen Nuo got out of the car and thanked him again, but Ye Lin called out to her, "Wait."

Chen Nuo was confused: "Huh?"

Ye Lin got out of the car, and Chen Nuo watched as he opened the trunk, fiddled with it for a while, and then walked towards her carrying a pure white teddy bear.

Upon seeing the puppy, Chen Nuo's face instantly lit up with a smile. She laughed heartily, almost like a little girl, and without hesitation, she took the puppy and ruffled its fur, exclaiming, "Wow, so cute!"

Seeing her smile, Ye Lin couldn't help but smile as well, his earlier slight annoyance vanishing completely: "I'm glad you like it. It's a gift for you. All the necessary procedures and documents have been taken care of."

Chen Nuo was stunned. Her beautiful eyes widened, and she slightly suppressed her smile, staring blankly at him: "Give it to me?"

"Hmm." Ye Lin said casually, "I noticed you often have a puppy keychain hanging on your bag, so I guessed you liked it and asked a friend for one."

Anyway, whatever you like, I'll find it for you, he thought to himself.

Chen Nuo was both shocked and happy, then as if remembering something, she frowned and said with a regretful look, "Thank you, but my mom won't let me keep a dog, so I can't take it back."

Her tone and expression were like a child desperately wanting a gift but being denied by their parents, which made Ye Lin's heart race.

"Why?" he asked softly.

Whether it was because of the puppy or something else, Chen Nuo became more talkative. She said helplessly, "My mom thinks it's difficult to raise a dog. She always thinks I can't take care of myself and is afraid that it will suffer if it follows me."

Ye Lin wanted to make her happy, so he had a brilliant idea that would allow them to have a dog and increase their interaction: "It's okay, why don't you leave the dog with me for now? If you don't mind, we can take care of it together. If you like it, then keep it."

Chen Nuo had wanted a dog for a long time, but her mother always found various reasons to refuse. Now that Ye Lin had said this, she was tempted again.

Ye Lin's words suddenly gave her an idea: "That's right, I can keep the dog in Hong Kong Pearl, that way my mom won't know."

Chen Nuo was happy again, and explained to him with a smile: "Hong Kong Pearl is the apartment I rent. It's close to the dance studio, and I live there most of the time. My mother doesn't go there."

"Whatever makes you happy. In that case, I'll take you there. Get in the car."

Chen Nuo glanced at him, then dared not mention taking a taxi again.

Ye Lin opened the passenger door directly: "I live in Lansheng, which is very close to Hong Kong Pearl. I don't feel comfortable letting you take a taxi so late."

"Hmm." Hearing him say that, Chen Nuo's heart started racing. She bit her lower lip, picked up the puppy, and got back into the car.

Half an hour later, downstairs in the Xiangjiang Mingzhu residential complex.

Ye Lin got out of the car, carrying a full load of dog supplies in both hands, and walked up to Chen Nuo: "Let's go, I'll take you upstairs."

Seeing that his hands were full, Chen Nuo didn't know what to say and nodded, "Mm."

Ye Lin easily carried the things up to the ninth floor. It was a small two-bedroom apartment with a living room, very cozy, small but complete.

It was too late, and they were alone together. Chen Nuo stood there, unsure of what to say. After Ye Lin put the things inside, she sensibly gave a few instructions and then prepared to go downstairs.

Chen Nuo followed behind and gently reminded him, "Drive carefully, and send me a message when you get home."

"Well, I'm leaving."

"Bye-Bye."

By sheer coincidence, the Pearl of the Rising Sun was indeed very close to Ye Lin's place, Lansheng. Ten minutes later, he arrived home.

Ye Lin sent a message to Chen Nuo, and the two chatted briefly.

-

Ah Chen drove Xiao He and Wen Qi back to Chunfengli. On the way, Xiao He thought about what happened that afternoon and asked jokingly, "You can fight too?"

Wen Qi turned her gaze away from the window and nodded somewhat casually: "We used to fight a lot when we were kids, but it's rare now that we're older."

Upon hearing this, Xiao He's smile vanished: "Why are you fighting?"

"I don't understand. Those girls wanted to beat us up whenever they saw Lanling and me. Maybe they offended someone unintentionally with just a word or a glance."

“We can’t just stand there and let them hit us, so we’ll fight back. The more we fight, the better we’ll become,” Wen Qi said, raising one hand and clenching her fist.

Xiao He wanted to ask her why she didn't tell her parents, but he was afraid that she would be sad and upset. He felt sorry for her and said, "You don't need to fight anymore. With me here, I won't let anyone hurt you."

Wen Qi smiled at him, saying nothing, but her mind drifted back to her childhood.

At that time, Wen's parents were busy running the supermarket and had no time to take care of her. Lanling was their neighbor at the time, and her parents' jewelry store was just starting out. Only her older brother, who was six years older than her, took care of her. The three of them grew up together.

Twenty minutes later, the car stopped in the spring breeze.

Xiao He noticed that Wen Qi seemed to be in a bad mood, so as soon as he entered the house, he deliberately trapped Wen Qi behind the door, blocking her with both hands on the door, his deep gaze carrying a seductive quality: "How many points will you give me?"

Wen Qi pretended not to know and asked in return, "What points?"

Xiao He bent down and leaned closer, his familiar scent hitting him: "Trying to cheat? Hmm?"

It turns out that before Wen Qi got off the Ferris wheel, she specifically warned Xiao He not to talk nonsense and promised to give him extra points, which made Xiao He obediently shut up in front of everyone.

Xiao lowered his voice and said ingratiatingly, "I haven't said anything out of line, so please give me a few extra points today, baby."

Wen Qi bent down and slipped out from under his arm like a little eel, then walked upstairs without looking back: "Don't call me 'baby,' call me by my name."

Xiao He followed behind her and suddenly called out, "Qi Bao!"

Wen Qi turned around and glared at him slightly: "You've lost your points."

"I'm not convinced." Xiao He's sharply defined face immediately stopped smiling; he was now truly serious.

Beneath his cold exterior, he uttered those three words stiffly, yet it made one feel inexplicably stifled.

Wen Qi was a little flustered, almost amused by his appearance. She suppressed a laugh and asked, "What do you want to do if you're not convinced?"

Xiao He approached her, his lips pressed into a straight line, and asked emotionlessly, "Is it okay if I want to do everything?"