’Giving him a ride on my bike last night after school when it was pitch-dark was one thing.’

’But it’s early in the morning, and there will definitely be a ton of people at the school gate. What if they see us...?’

Shen Yi could see Qin Jiao’s hesitation. He said earnestly, "Don’t worry, I promise I won’t touch your waist. I’ll hold onto the seat right here."

Qin Jiao glanced at the time. They’d be late for school if they didn’t leave now. She finally gritted her teeth. "Alright, fine. Get on, quickly. And remember what you said—no putting your arms around me!"

"Yeah."

Shen Yi watched her back, knowing her entire body was tense and on edge because she was upset.

’Even though he really wanted to wrap his arms around her waist right now, he knew better than to push his luck.’

The stares from the students passing by were enough to make Shen Yi happy.

He said, "Shen Zhengfeng came over last night. He told my grandfather that he has nothing to do with Li Xiaomei and that he won’t divorce my mom."

Shen Yi was so disappointed in the man that he didn’t even call him "Dad."

Qin Jiao fell silent as well. The Shen Family’s affairs were complicated, and in her past life, Du Liya had never divorced Shen Zhengfeng, right up until the day she died.

’In Shen Zhengfeng’s mind, his career was definitely more important than any woman. Still, Li Xiaomei was really something else, willing to wait for him for all those years.’

’Later on, she even married Shen Zhengfeng’s younger brother.’

’Those two were far from ordinary.’

Shen Yi continued slowly, "He also suspects that Chen Feng isn’t his son."

"A paternity test would clear that up," Qin Jiao said without thinking.

Shen Yi froze.

’In this day and age, most people in small towns had never even heard of paternity testing. He himself hadn’t been very clear on it as a teenager, either.’

’But Qin Jiao... how would she know?’

An answer flickered at the edge of his consciousness, hazy and indistinct.

Qin Jiao keenly sensed the shift in his mood and immediately blurted out, "I read about it in the newspaper once. It said that with a paternity test—a DNA comparison—you can see if someone is blood-related. Of course, it’s probably really hard to do. I doubt they can do them here. Maybe in the provincial capital?"

"I’m not really sure either. But that’s not important. What’s important is that my dad refuses to get a divorce now. He even signed an agreement promising not to divorce my mom for at least five years."

When he changed the subject, Qin Jiao breathed a sigh of relief. ’I was so careless. I almost gave myself away just now.’

Still... Qin Jiao couldn’t see Shen Yi’s expression from her position, which left her a little puzzled.

She asked tentatively, "Shen Yi... do you want your parents to get a divorce?"

Qin Jiao remembered that in her past life, whenever Du Liya and Shen Zhengfeng argued, Shen Yi would explode like a firecracker. He would scream at them that they could only get a divorce over his dead body.

’Clearly, the Shen Yi of her past life—at least in the very beginning—had been dead set against his parents divorcing.’

’Whether Shen Yi had changed his mind by the end, Qin Jiao had no way of knowing. By then, she herself was too emotionally and mentally exhausted to pay attention to anyone else’s problems.’

Shen Yi was silent for a moment after hearing her question.

Qin Jiao quickly added, "Of course, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I didn’t mean anything by it."

"It’s not that... I’m just really sensitive to the word ’divorce’."

Qin Jiao’s hands tightened slightly on the handlebars.

’Yes, she was sensitive to that word, too.’

’After all, in her past life, when she’d discovered her marriage was a complete mess and had taken the initiative to file for divorce, Shen Yi had stubbornly refused. The moment he finally agreed, her life had come to an abrupt end.’