Lin Nian was incredibly frustrated. She grumbled to herself, ’Is this really that so-called protagonist’s halo?’

Meanwhile, Shen Yi finished packing his schoolbag. He calmly looked at Chen Feng, who had completely lost his usual composure. "Not only will you never catch up to Qin Jiao, but I’ll surpass you next time, too."

Chen Feng: "..."

Shen Yi ignored the seething Chen Feng, reaching out to tug on Qin Jiao’s schoolbag. "Let’s go. Time to head home."

He actually wanted to take her small hand. A dark glint flashed in his eyes, but he ultimately gave up on the idea, settling for tugging on her backpack strap instead.

Qin Jiao nodded and followed Shen Yi out.

They left the two of them standing there, looking ready to explode with anger.

Once they had left the school grounds, Qin Jiao pulled her scarf tighter around her neck and said, "I knew Chen Feng would be affected, but I didn’t expect his mental fortitude to be so poor. Still, it proves he’s conflicted."

Shen Yi gripped his bicycle’s handlebars. "You know him that well?"

"Oh, not really. I just used to think he had a clear sense of right and wrong and was a serious student. But ever since he got together with Lin Nian, I’ve realized that people can be really multifaceted."

Shen Yi didn’t want to talk about Chen Feng anymore. With one hand on the handlebars, he used the other to adjust his collar. "Qin Jiao, you still haven’t told me why you don’t want to go sketching with me in the park."

When Shen Yi and Qin Jiao had first married, they were like fire and water. There had been no room for things like dating.

By the time he realized his feelings for Qin Jiao, their marriage was already on its last legs. On top of that, his personality made it impossible for him to confess his feelings to her.

But now, none of those terrible things had happened, and Shen Yi wanted to make up for everything he owed Qin Jiao.

In this era, couples would go on dates to parks, take long strolls around town, and things like that.

Walking home from school together every day could be considered their version of taking strolls, so now he wanted to make up for the part about going to the park.

He couldn’t just ask her directly, so he’d used sketching as an excuse.

’But Qin Jiao had agreed before. Why is she backing out now?’

Shen Yi felt a surge of irritation, but he expertly suppressed his volatile temper and waited calmly for Qin Jiao’s answer.

Qin Jiao had no idea about the labyrinth of thoughts in Shen Yi’s mind. She said, "Well, you wanted to go sketching, right? It’s the middle of winter, and all the leaves in the park have fallen. Everything’s bare; there’s not much of a view. This weekend, my dad and the others are going hunting on the back mountain. If we’re lucky, we might bag a wild pheasant. We can also gather pinecones and do lots of other fun things. Let’s go together then."

The fact they couldn’t go to the park alone left Shen Yi a bit disappointed.

But being treated like a close friend and invited to go out with her family made his heart inexplicably warm again.

He struggled to suppress the excitement welling up in his eyes, gave a subdued "mhm," and said nothing more.

Qin Jiao felt the atmosphere turn a little strange. Thankfully, the night wind was cool enough to instantly clear her head.

**

Li Xiaomei had finally calmed down over the past few days. She’d endured so much for so long already. As long as Shen Zhengfeng still had feelings for her, everything would be fine.

Besides, she was a calculating woman; she wouldn’t be brought down by something so trivial.

When she got home from work today, Li Xiaomei had specially made some red-braised pork. She planned to give her son a nourishing meal when he got home that evening. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Her son was going to attend a prestigious university, and his studies were tough. So when it came to food, Li Xiaomei never spared any expense.

"Xiao Feng, you’re back? Quick, wash your hands. Mom made you braised pork with rice. Hurry and have a bowl."