From that evening on, Li Wanru seemed to have vanished. She didn't contact anyone.
Even the few goodnight messages she used to send to Chen Jiansheng were gone.
Chen Jiansheng felt a little suspicious. One or two days without her "online" presence would be understandable, but it had been almost a week now.
A sense of loss began to grow in his heart. He wondered if his clumsy way of speaking had hurt the young girl.
He stood on the balcony, looking out at the tranquil sky. He was already in his thirties, no longer able to harbor the emotions of an adolescent.
Chen Jiansheng couldn't identify what it was that made his heart pound chaotically whenever he thought of her.
He admitted that the way she entered his life was a bit sudden.
Like a warrior with no knife or gun in hand, she gently brought him down with her smile and fragile appearance.
Li Wanru kept running towards him, but the preconceptions in his mind pushed her further away.
He told her that her concern for what others thought, when she refused his help, was unnecessary.
But he himself didn't realize that deep down, he was very afraid that if he developed feelings for her, outsiders would have prejudices about their age and generation.
He confidently knew that he would never be the target of others' judgment.
He was also wary of what others thought, and he was afraid that Li Wanru would be hurt.
To say he wasn't moved by Wanru would be a lie, but to place that into deep affection in his heart was not yet possible.
Everything in his heart was a tangled mess.
Chen Jiansheng tried to convince himself to only see Li Wanru as a junior to protect and care for, but his mind kept recalling how Li Wanru would automatically smile whenever she saw him.
Each of those smiles was for him, nestled neatly in a corner of his heart.
While he was melancholic in the jumble of his thoughts, a car stopped in front of the house. He saw his niece get out and wave a very special greeting.
After Chen Licheng got married, he moved out to live separately, but their house compounds were still adjacent.
Currently, Chen Jiansheng was living with the old man, and because the house compounds were connected, everyone still lived together in that arrangement.
The two brothers, Chen Jiansheng and Chen Licheng, even planned that in the future, when their children and grandchildren moved out, they would build a connected house. Chen Licheng's wish was to see his children and grandchildren connect all the way down this road.
He waited for the car to leave. Meijin leisurely entered the house. He whistled towards Meijin and called out.
Meijin startled and looked at him.
"Uncle! Why aren't you asleep yet?"
He raised his hand to show the watch on his wrist, tapping it to indicate how late it was.
"Tomorrow morning, Uncle will tell your dad."
With that, he turned back into the house and locked the balcony door.
Meijin looked blankly at her uncle, muttering, "Childish!"
While Chen Jiansheng was in turmoil, Li Wanru, on the other hand, threw herself into work. On her first day, she lay dejectedly, thinking many negative thoughts, but even if she was sad, she still had to earn money.
Li Wanru had a bold idea: to work hard and save money until the university entrance exam, when she would re-take it for a degree in Business Administration.
What she lacked now was a degree; she already had the knowledge and work experience from the real world. Currently, she only knew how to diligently earn money.
It was past 10 PM when she finished work. Traffic on the road was gradually thinning, and she chose to walk home.
Just as she passed a nearby intersection, a car stopped beside her. The person inside rolled down the window and asked her with a look of doubt.
"Li Wanru?"
She returned the question with the exact same expression.
"Huang Mingjian?"
The other party chuckled, then leaned over and pushed open the car door.
"Get in, I'll give Ruyu a ride for a bit."
What was she thinking?
"Oh, no, it's close enough, I can walk myself."
"I'd rather not have seen it, but it's the middle of the night, and I can't just leave a girl walking alone like that, especially since Ruyu is Meijin's friend. How can I pretend not to know her?"
Seeing that the other party had said so, she didn't refuse. It wasn't that she chose to walk to relax her mind and heal herself; mainly, she couldn't catch a ride. If someone offered to take her home, why bother her feet?
Once in the car, Wanru gave her address and then fell silent, but Huang Mingjian took the initiative.
"I think we've met before, Ruyu, do you remember?"
Li Wanru looked vaguely at Mingjian.
He continued.
"There was a time I went to Ton Duc Thang University and accidentally knocked you over."
Memories in her mind rewound to that day, and she became excited.
"So it was you! No wonder I kept thinking you looked familiar but couldn't remember where I'd met you."
"So you really forgot."
Saying that, Mingjian smiled.
"What?" She asked, puzzled.
"Because the time I went to Meijin's house, I recognized you, but you didn't know me. I thought you were intentionally ignoring me."
No, even if I didn't recognize you, I was intentionally ignoring you.
Li Wanru thought fiercely to herself.
"It's late, where are you going out?" Mingjian asked.
"I have a part-time job. What about you, Jian?"
"Oh, I just dropped Meijin off at home."
Mentioning Meijin's home, the image of Chen Jiancheng involuntarily appeared in her mind.
Her mood instantly deflated.
Noticing the change in atmosphere, Mingjian asked.
"Is something going on between Ruyu and Meijin lately? I haven't seen Meijin hanging out with you recently."
Meijin sighed, and before she could answer, Mingjian asked another shocking question.
"Or did something happen between Ruyu and Uncle Chen?"
She widened her eyes in surprise, looking at Mingjian, and asked in a panic.
"What are you saying? How do you know?"
"The other day at Meijin's house, you two were as clear as day. I'm not a child, how could I not know?"
Wanru blushed and sat quietly, feeling caught red-handed with nothing to say, even though she had been rejected.
"Meijin has been bothered by this lately, that's why I asked you. Ruyu, do you want help? I'll help you!"
Help with what?
"Or did Uncle Chen reject Ruyu?" Mingjian continued.
One, two, three shocks came in quick succession.
Li Wanru was completely defeated.
She looked at Mingjian with an expression of utter astonishment.
Seeing her expression, Mingjian laughed loudly. He had just been guessing, but her expression confirmed he was right.
"I think Ruyu shouldn't be sad. Uncle Chen's behavior towards you, I'm sure five out of ten parts are feelings.
If Ruyu truly likes Uncle Chen, I'll give Ruyu a hand."
"Sir, please lead me."
Li Wanru clasped her hands together in a posture of seeking a master to learn from.
Upon arriving home, Li Wanru returned to her cheerful self.
She had already exchanged contact information with Mingjian.
Although he said he would help her, every other sentence out of his mouth was "Meijin," and every two sentences were "Meijin."
He was acting because he saw Meijin was troubled.
But it was okay, she was still sincerely grateful.
Li Wanru thought this world was truly interesting. In the original story, the supporting female lead seduced the male lead, clashed with the female lead, and met a tragic end.
Now she had transmigrated into the supporting female lead, clinging to the female lead's uncle, and even had the male and female leads working together to bring them together.
It was true that if you lived long enough, you'd see everything. The path Ruyu walked had the male lead's assistance, and the things Ruyu did had the female lead's concern.