Zhao Yiyi felt annoyed by Yu Daochen's stoic expression. He showed no chivalry, leaving two girls standing in the late evening without offering a ride home.
Liu Xiaowei took out her phone, found a number, and dialed it. She then looked at Zhao Yiyi, "Why don't you come with me, Yiyi? Don't bother your uncle."
Zhao Yiyi nodded, giving Yu Daochen an annoyed glare. Yu Daochen, noticing her stare, paid no mind and drifted off to sleep.
An hour later, a Mercedes pulled up outside the shop. Zhao Yiyi watched as two men, around twenty years old, stepped out. Their trendy outfits and fashionable hairstyles were undeniably attractive to girls.
Seeing the two men enter the shop, Liu Xiaowei rushed over and threw herself into one of their arms, her voice filled with feigned distress, "Thank goodness you're here. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to get back."
The man hugged Liu Xiaowei, his eyes casually glancing at Zhao Yiyi. He said with concern, "Alright, my little darling, I'm here now."
The man beside him, however, had not taken his eyes off Zhao Yiyi since he first saw her, staring intently.
Noticing Zhao Yiyi's lack of reaction, Liu Xiaowei linked arms with the man and introduced him, "This is my boyfriend, Li Yang."
Li Yang stepped forward as Liu Xiaowei introduced him, extending his hand and showing off his Patek Philippe watch. "Hello, my name is Li Yang."
Zhao Yiyi nodded and shook his hand, "I'm Zhao Yiyi."
At that moment, the other man who had been staring at Zhao Yiyi spoke up, "Hello, beautiful. My name is Lu Cheng." He took two steps forward and reached out, intending to shake Zhao Yiyi's hand.
Zhao Yiyi, recalling Lu Cheng's gaze, instinctively took a step back. Lu Cheng, seeing her recoil, offered an awkward smile.
Sensing Lu Cheng's embarrassment, Liu Xiaowei interjected, "Let's not just stand here. Get in the car."
Li Yang nodded, "Yes, let's get in the car first."
Liu Xiaowei walked over, took Zhao Yiyi's arm, and started leading her towards the car.
"Wait a moment, Zhao Yiyi," a male voice suddenly called out from behind.
Li Yang and Lu Cheng turned to see where the voice came from. Zhao Yiyi, puzzled, looked towards Yu Daochen, who had gotten up from his rocking chair.
Yu Daochen walked up to Zhao Yiyi and said sternly, "There are still lingering issues regarding your brother, Zhao Yicheng. You need to stay for a bit."
Seeing Yu Daochen trying to detain Zhao Yiyi, Lu Cheng's tone sharpened, "What is it? I'll personally bring her tomorrow."
Yu Daochen ignored Lu Cheng and looked at Zhao Yiyi, his voice serious, "Tomorrow will be too late." He then walked back to his rocking chair.
Upon hearing that it concerned her brother, Zhao Yicheng, Zhao Yiyi's heart tightened. She said to Liu Xiaowei, "I'm sorry, Xiaowei. You guys go ahead. I'll have my dad pick me up later."
Liu Xiaowei nodded helplessly and said, "Alright, but be careful." She linked arms with Li Yang and got into the car.
Lu Cheng, meanwhile, stared at Yu Daochen with a dark expression. Throughout his life, very few people had dared to disregard his words. Today, he was being ignored by some young man. Clenching his fists, he let out a cold snort and turned to get into the car.
The car quickly disappeared from Zhao Yiyi's sight. She glanced at Yu Daochen, who lay in his rocking chair without speaking, and asked curiously, "You're looking out for me, aren't you?"
Seeing Yu Daochen remain silent, Zhao Yiyi continued, "I heard from Grandma Liu that my brother will be fine."
Yu Daochen, finding Zhao Yiyi's chatter tiresome, replied calmly, "Do you know what was strange about their Ouija board session?"
Zhao Yiyi shook her head, distracted, "What's strange about it? You're overthinking it."
Yu Daochen continued his explanation, "First, Zhong Hong, who was supposed to be scared, opened her eyes when Zhang Ping asked if Zhang Jing was dead."
"Second, Zhang Ping smiled when she heard Zhang Jing was dead."
"Third, Liu Xiaowei and the other two invited the Ouija board, but Liu Xiaowei didn't bring them to me for help. No matter how bad their relationship was, they wouldn't joke about something like this."
"Fourth, this is all assuming Liu Xiaowei was telling the truth."
Zhao Yiyi gasped at Yu Daochen's words, "You mean Liu Xiaowei wanted to harm..."
Yu Daochen took a sip of tea and uttered four words, "I won't see you out."
Zhao Yiyi glared at Yu Daochen and hesitated, pulling out her phone to call Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai was rarely home, and with his constant meetings, he was likely already asleep.
She glanced at Yu Daochen, who had closed his eyes, and said in frustration, "How am I supposed to get back now?"
Yu Daochen opened his eyes and shrugged, "How should I know?"
Zhao Yiyi, hearing Yu Daochen's response, felt an urge to punch him. She huffed, "If it weren't for you, I would have already gotten into Liu Xiaowei's car and left."
Yu Daochen picked up his teacup and took a couple of sips, saying indifferently, "You know in your heart whether you want to get in that car."
Yu Daochen's words hit the mark. Zhao Yiyi indeed did not want to get into Liu Xiaowei's car. Lu Cheng's lecherous gaze made her feel as if he wanted to devour her.
Seeing that Yu Daochen had no intention of seeing her off, Zhao Yiyi lowered her voice, "My father can't come."
Yu Daochen took out his phone, opened WeChat, and uttered a single word: "Mm."
Zhao Yiyi, seeing that Yu Daochen still had no intention of seeing her off, added, "It's impossible to get a Didi from the old street."
Yu Daochen nodded, still with just an "Mm."
Zhao Yiyi was on the verge of tears, wondering how such a dense man could exist in the world. Tears welled up in her eyes, "I can only walk out of the old street now."
Yu Daochen, as usual, simply responded with an "Mm."
Zhao Yiyi glared at Yu Daochen, her tears about to fall, "Aren't you going to see me off?"
Yu Daochen put down his phone and asked, confused, "You never said you wanted me to see you off."
Zhao Yiyi was almost driven mad by this dense man. She finally said, "I want you to take me home."
"Wait," Yu Daochen said and walked towards the backyard.
Zhao Yiyi wiped the tears from her eyes and saw Yu Daochen prop up a wooden board and push out an electric scooter from the backyard. He then placed the wooden board at the shop entrance and pushed the scooter down.
Yu Daochen saw Zhao Yiyi staring at his electric scooter and patted the dust off the seat, "What, you don't like the electric scooter?"
Zhao Yiyi shook her head. "No, I just thought you were quite proficient."
Yu Daochen called Zhao Yiyi over, closed the shop door, and then mounted the electric scooter. "Get on," he said.
Zhao Yiyi glanced at the electric scooter and then, holding onto Yu Daochen's shoulder, sat on it. The scooter was already not very large, and as Zhao Yiyi sat down, her chest inadvertently brushed against Yu Daochen's back.
Yu Daochen felt something brush against his back and his brow furrowed slightly.