Chapter 197 - 144: Zhiyu’s Identity Exposed
Outside the bank.
With their business concluded, the two decided to take a stroll.
Shen Yu’s gaze suddenly locked onto a newsstand.
"Jiang He, let’s go check out that newsstand, okay?"
Jiang He suggested, "How about we eat first? I think I’m getting a little hungry."
"Oh, come on, it’s no rush. Just a quick peek, it’ll be fast. Let’s go, let’s go."
They crossed the street and arrived in front of the newsstand.
The newsstand owner was an uncle in his fifties, wearing reading glasses and fanning himself with a cattail fan while reading the *Yangcheng Times*.
Shen Yu asked, "Excuse me, sir, do you sell *Dahe Digest* here?"
The owner replied in Cantonese, "Never heard of it. What’s a *Dahe Digest*? I’ve been selling papers for over a decade and have never seen a magazine like that."
Shen Yu froze.
She couldn’t understand a single word of Cantonese.
She could only ask Jiang He, "What did he say?"
Jiang He translated with a perfectly straight face, "He said they’re sold out of *Dahe Digest*."
"Huh?" Shen Yu looked skeptical. "Really? Is that what he said?"
The owner was a seasoned judge of character.
Watching the interaction between the young man and woman in front of him—the man spouting nonsense with a straight face, the woman looking disbelieving yet helpless—he could tell they were clearly a young couple flirting.
The owner grinned, revealing a few teeth yellowed by smoke, and teased them in Cantonese, "Ah, it’s nice to see young people dating, so happy just chatting. Little lady, your boyfriend is teasing you. There’s no such thing as a *Dahe Digest*."
Shen Yu was completely baffled.
She turned back to Jiang He again. "What did he say this time?"
Jiang He translated, "He said that *Dahe Digest* is really popular and sells a lot. He said people are especially buying it for the articles written by an author named Shen Yu."
Shen Yu’s face filled with surprise. "For real?"
Jiang He just smiled.
In truth, the moment Shen Yu had pulled him toward the newsstand, he realized that Teacher Shen must have figured out he’d completely fabricated the existence of *Dahe Digest*.
So just now, he had been teasing his ’wife’.
Shen Yu might be accomplished in psychology, but when it came to dealing with Jiang He, for every move she made, he was always a step ahead.
’When it came to being the one whose thoughts were an open book, Teacher Shen was still too naive.’
Seeing Jiang He stay silent, Shen Yu simply turned back to the owner and asked again, "Sir, are a lot of people really buying *Dahe Digest*? And are they really buying it because of Shen Yu’s articles?"
The owner watched Shen Yu’s earnest gesturing and smiled even more broadly.
He didn’t explain, just leaned back in his chair, fanned himself, and chuckled without a word, letting out a "Heh heh heh."
Seeing the owner’s meaningful smile, Shen Yu’s heart skipped a beat.
A sudden realization dawned on her.
Just then, Jiang He took her hand and said softly, "Let’s go. There’s no such thing as *Dahe Digest*."
Shen Yu: "!!!"
Social suicide!
The two of them ran until they found a deserted spot.
"Jiang He!"
Shen Yu, her cheeks puffed out in anger, formed her hands into finger guns and jabbed them into Jiang He’s chest.
"You’re too much! You were bullying me on purpose! Grr! I’m gonna poke you!"
Jiang He just chuckled.
"You’re still laughing!" Shen Yu fumed, jabbing even harder.
When Shen Yu grew tired of jabbing, she pulled her hands back and said, "So you admit it! You lied to me! There is no *Dahe Digest*, and all that manuscript money... that was all your own money!"
Jiang He looked at her and admitted it outright. "Yeah."
She was taken aback by his completely unapologetic attitude. "You lied, and you’re acting like you were in the right?"
Jiang He’s smile faded. "I wanted you to come to Southern China sooner. You said you applied for the exchange student program, but I know you’re usually very frugal. I was worried you wouldn’t come because you didn’t have the money, so of course I had to make up the difference for you. If I gave it to you directly, I knew you wouldn’t accept it, so I had to think of something."
"Ohhh—"
Shen Yu drew out the sound, then suddenly took a step closer, tilted her head up, and asked, "So, you liked me even back then?"
Jiang He shook his head. "Nope."
Shen Yu’s brow instantly furrowed. "Then why did you transfer money to me? And go to all the trouble of inventing a magazine publisher to trick me? Just so I would come to Southern China?"
Jiang He said, "Yeah. It’s just that... it had been a long time since anyone cared about me the way you did. You had sprained your own ankle, but you still crossed half the Capital City to run to the hospital and bring me a meal. I was really moved by that."
Hearing this, Shen Yu’s breathing hitched for a moment.
’Was she... just successfully flirted with? What is happening...’
For a girl, compared to slick, practiced lines,
this kind of genuine feedback, based on specific details, was far more devastating.
It meant that not only had your efforts been fully received by the other person, but they had also been cherished.
Jiang He remembered the pain of her sprained ankle, remembered the warmth of that meal box.
This feeling of being seen, being acknowledged, and being deeply remembered was more heart-stirring than any sweet talk.
Shen Yu felt a powerful urge.
’I really want to kiss him.’
’I really, really want to stand on my tiptoes and kiss his lips.’
Just as Shen Yu’s fingers curled slightly,
Jiang He suddenly tilted his head and asked in the most cluelessly straightforward tone, "You’re not mad at me, are you?"
"..."
The atmosphere instantly shattered.
All the romantic feelings Shen Yu had just been building up vanished in an instant.
She rolled her eyes, made a "tsk" sound, and said irritably, "No, I’m not!"
Jiang He breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, oh, okay. That’s good."
Shen Yu screamed internally: ’Idiot! Idiot!’
But what she said was, "Let’s go. I’m treating you to a nice meal. We’ll say you passed for today."
...
「Half an hour later.」
Inside a super high-class, "we-don’t-scam-the-poor," French restaurant.
Shen Yu glanced at the menu: