Ye Yunjin was completely like a young man caught up in the throes of love.
He wanted to cling to Zhu Liuyue’s side every moment of every day. But now that the half-month was up, he had to return. As the General Manager of the Ye Group, there were plenty of matters at the company that required his personal approval.
During this time, Ye Yunche had remained remarkably calm.
Because there were so few volunteer teachers, each person had to teach several subjects. Besides being the Chinese teacher, Ye Yunche was also the history teacher—and even the physical education teacher.
He had taken the initiative to ask the principal if he could teach the children physical education for a month. He had even paid out of his own pocket to purchase a large amount of sports equipment.
Many times during that period, he saw Ye Yunjin and Zhu Liuyue walking hand in hand, coming and going together. He never greeted them or even spared them a glance.
It was as though Ye Yunjin were not his brother, and Zhu Liuyue were a complete stranger.
Yet whenever Zhu Liuyue went to the cafeteria, he would silently follow behind her, order the same food, and sit across from her to eat in silence.
As an onlooker, Bai Shurou understood everything better than anyone.
She watched Zhu Liuyue and Ye Yunjin appear everywhere as a couple, then saw Ye Yunche gnashing his teeth at the side and secretly biting his handkerchief in frustration (figuratively).
All the fantasies she had once entertained—Could it be that Ye Yunjin likes me? Could Ye Yunche have feelings for me too?—had completely vanished.
Bai Shurou was certain that both brothers from the Ye family had fallen for the same person—Zhu Liuyue.
Her feelings were complicated.
To be honest, she was a little envious.
Ye Yunjin was outstanding. To have a fiancé like him—and for them to love each other—how lucky was Zhu Liuyue, especially compared with those trapped in cold business arrangements.
Ye Yunche’s feelings were even more passionate and straightforward. He was pure and sincere. To be secretly loved by someone like that was an enviable thing indeed.
But in the end, Bai Shurou still did nothing.
She was proud and had a strong sense of self-respect. She disdained causing trouble like some vicious second female lead in a television drama.
Her own situation was already difficult enough. The only thing she could do was sever ties with her elder brother, Bai Shucheng.
She would rely on her own knowledge, teach the children in the mountains what she had learned, do her best as a volunteer teacher, and take some time to consider what path she should take in the future.
The principal had never expected Bai Shurou to endure hardship so well. At first, he had worried that she would leave after a week, but now nearly half a month had passed, and Bai Shurou had already adapted to life there.
“Teacher Bai, Mr. Ye is leaving today. We’re holding a farewell party. Would you like to join us?” the principal asked.
Bai Shurou shook her head. Her gaze returned to the lesson plans spread across her desk, and she said with a smile, “No, thank you. I still have work to do.”
“All right.”
The principal had later heard online about the rumors concerning Teacher Bai and Mr. Ye.
However, Doctor Zhu treated Teacher Bai perfectly normally. Perhaps all those things online were simply made up. What white moonlight?
Mr. Ye and Doctor Zhu were clearly very much in love.
People also said that Second Young Master Ye had a strange temper, but the principal did not think he was bad-tempered. He simply always wore a cold, expressionless face.
Indeed.
When the two brothers were compared, Mr. Ye was still much more affable.
He never seemed to stop smiling.
No wonder Mr. Ye had looked so lively in the engagement photos. Clearly, he was in a good mood.
The principal had never once connected the cold-faced Second Young Master with the man in those photographs.
…
The children formed a circle and took turns presenting Ye Yunjin with the cards they had written by hand.
Ye Yunjin’s gaze was gentle and kind. Every time he accepted a card, he could call the child by name and ruffle their hair.
“You must study hard, all right?”
“Yes! When I grow up, I want to become a big boss too. I’ll build lots and lots of schools in the mountains.” A little boy puffed out his chest, his large eyes filled with determination.
“Good. What will you call the school?”
The boy pressed his lips together and thought for a long moment before answering, “Moonlight Elementary School.”
“Why?”
“Because…” The boy shyly glanced at Zhu Liuyue in the distance, his face turning red. “Because I like Doctor Zhu.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the other children chimed in.
“I like Doctor Zhu too!”
“Me too! She doesn’t hurt at all when she gives me shots.”
“Doctor Zhu gives me candy too.”
“Doctor Zhu never gives me candy,” one little girl said, raising her hand amid the chatter.
Ye Yunjin asked curiously, “Why not?”
Before she could answer, another child laughed and said, “Because she has cavities! Her tooth hurt, so she went to the clinic to find Doctor Zhu. After taking her medicine, she still wanted candy.”
The other children burst into laughter.
After the children left, Ye Yunjin walked over to Zhu Liuyue and naturally took her hand, his face full of reluctance.
“I really like Doctor Zhu too.”
“I don’t want to leave. What should I do?”
A man in love for the first time was truly clingy.
The moment Zhu Liuyue pulled her hand free, Ye Yunjin took it again.
With a pitiful expression, he said, “Why won’t you hold my hand? Have you gotten tired of me? I’m so miserable. Luckily, you can’t abandon me—I’m already your fiancé.”
Men in love really did have an IQ of zero.
Zhu Liuyue helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead.
“Mr. Ye, do you hear yourself? What you just said doesn’t make any sense.”
Ye Yunjin stared straight at her with his amber eyes.
“I don’t want to leave.”
Zhu Liuyue patted him on the head in consolation and said, “You can’t stay. Your assistant has called you so many times, and we originally agreed that you’d stay for only half a month. There’s a mountain of work waiting for you at the company.”
Ye Yunjin could not help muttering, “I should have kept Yunche at the company and made him work.”
What made him even more uneasy was this…
He was leaving, while Liuyue would remain there for another half a month. Ye Yunche would be there too.
He had no idea what his younger brother might do.
This current calm was merely the silence before the storm.
Zhu Liuyue joked, “Then why don’t you take Ye Yunche with you right now?”
Ye Yunjin gave a bitter smile.
If only his younger brother would listen to him.
Now that he was leaving, Ye Yunche was probably the happiest person of all. How could he possibly agree to leave with him?
Ye Yunche also came to see him off when it was time to part, but he stood far away.
He did not even call him “Brother.”
In front of him, Ye Yunjin lowered his head and pressed a light kiss to Zhu Liuyue’s forehead.
“I’ll come back for you in half a month,” he said.
“All right.” Zhu Liuyue squeezed the hand they held between them, then pushed him toward the car. “You really should go. If you wait any longer, you’ll miss your flight.”
“I…” Ye Yunjin hesitated and glanced at Ye Yunche before withdrawing his gaze and looking back at Zhu Liuyue.
The words he wanted to say remained unspoken.
At first, he had wanted to ask, Can we trust each other?
But saying that would make it seem as though he lacked confidence in their relationship.
Ye Yunjin was also afraid that it would put pressure on her and make her uncomfortable.
After thinking it over, he swallowed the question.
In the end, it became one simple sentence:
“I’ll miss you very much.”
