92: Renting a house?

Ye Cheng punched him a few more times before finally stopping, out of breath.

Just as she was about to sit back in her seat, Jiang Ye, who had been holding his hands up to block her, made a slightly larger movement, and a small box suddenly slid out of his pants pocket, landing on the sofa seat with a "snap."

Jiang Ye's expression changed slightly, and he reached out to grab it, but the quick-handed Ye Cheng beat him to it and snatched it up.

"...Alright, alright, stop messing around."

Jiang Ye immediately put on an incredibly serious expression and gave a dry cough: "Hurry up and sit back down to eat. Look at how much meat we haven't grilled yet; we'll be fined if there's too much left! I told you not to take so much..."

Ye Cheng ignored his urging. She stood there, looking down at the small box in her hand with the words "Sixth Sense" and "Moisturizing Ultra-thin" written on it, her eyelids twitching wildly.

No wonder this bastard was talking about a "man's sixth sense" earlier; he'd been carrying this in his pocket the whole time!

Anyone with half a brain could guess who this was prepared for!

She glared at Jiang Ye with a mix of shame and annoyance, muttering under her breath, "Pervert!" Then, clutching the small box, she walked quickly back to her seat and sat down huffily.

"I'm confiscating this!"

Jiang Ye shrugged indifferently. "Oh, then you keep it safe. It was just to be prepared, anyway. Who knows when we might suddenly feel the spark and just... start the engine..."

He watched Ye Cheng stuff the box into her bag and didn't forget to give a thoughtful reminder: "But remember to bring it with you next time you see me, so we're not caught unprepared."

Ye Cheng wrinkled her nose in annoyance. "Bring it? I'm not bringing it! I'm going to find a trash can and throw it away as soon as I go out!"

Jiang Ye curled his lip and whispered, "If you don't wear it, you don't wear it... I don't really mind..."

Ye Cheng didn't hear him clearly, but she could tell from his expression that it wasn't anything good.

She decided to force a change of subject before she was driven to death by this pervert's antics: "You said earlier you wanted to rent a house?"

"Ah, right."

Jiang Ye nodded. "In the next few days. I'll try to get it settled before New Year's Day. New year, new atmosphere... Do you have any thoughts? After all, you'll definitely be coming over often to... inspect my work."

"Talk to me when you've saved up enough money!"

Ye Cheng gave a "tch," lifting her chin with a hint of pride. "Besides, I still have classes at school, and the lease at Taian Building hasn't expired yet... Cough... I want to live in a Luxury Flat."

Jiang Ye: "?"

"What's with that look? You're the one who asked me!"

She continued listing her requirements on her fingers: "It's best if it's close to my school so it's convenient for me to go back and forth. Hmm... I want smart home appliances throughout! The surrounding facilities need to be complete so shopping is convenient. Oh, right! I also want a walk-in closet; I need a place for my clothes and shoes!"

Listening to this string of demands, Jiang Ye silently picked up his glass and took a sip of water. "Okay, noted. We'll talk about it when I've saved enough money..."

"..."

Ye Cheng acted as if she hadn't heard him. She tilted her head and thought for a moment, a trace of longing appearing in her eyes as she added:

"Right, it should also have a viewing balcony! When there's nothing to do at night, sitting on the balcony and looking at the stars would definitely be very comfortable!"

Jiang Ye rubbed his chin, imagining the scene based on her description: Hmm, doing it on the balcony at night while looking at the stars... that really should be very comfortable.

He nodded subconsciously in agreement.

"What about you?"

After finishing her list, Ye Cheng asked in return, "Don't you have any thoughts? You'll be living there for at least a year or so, right? You should consider it more; every aspect needs to be thought through."

"Me?"

Jiang Ye was quite easygoing about it. "I'm a grown man; as long as there's a bed, I'm fine. Nothing else matters."

Ye Cheng's eyebrows shot up, and the blush that had just faded from her face rushed back. "Hmph, pervert."

This time, Jiang Ye truly felt wronged, his face full of question marks. "No, what did I say that was perverted? Having a bed makes me a pervert? Your stereotypes are way too severe!"

He even felt a bit of empathy for that Buddy, Zhang Wenhai, right now.

The label of 'pervert' was being slapped on him one after another. The key was that he hadn't even properly touched this woman's hand yet; it was all just talk.

Jiang Ye couldn't be bothered to argue further with this woman and her wandering thoughts. He turned his frustration into an appetite and began to focus on devouring meat like crazy, determined to eat back the 148-yuan price of the buffet.

Watching him wolf down food and struggle with the grilled meat, Ye Cheng pursed her lips, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes.

She coughed lightly: "By the way, Jiang Ye, of that hundred thousand you gave me before, I spent about fifty thousand on clothes and a watch. The remaining fifty thousand..."

Before she could finish, Jiang Ye's expression changed drastically. He waved his hand to interrupt her, nearly choking on the meat in his mouth, and coughed violently twice:

"Cough, cough! Stop! Stop right there! Do you understand what 'pocket money' means? If you keep bringing up this nonsense, I'm going to get angry!"

Ye Cheng was slightly stunned by his overreaction.

Seeing his serious expression that said, "If you mention money again, I'll be upset," she suddenly seemed to understand something. The corners of her mouth curled up involuntarily, and she gave a soft "mm." She lowered her head, poking at the meat on her plate with her chopsticks, her heart feeling like it had been dipped in honey.

This duplicitous pervert... He's afraid I'll misunderstand that he doesn't trust me, or that mentioning money will make us feel like strangers, so he's rushing to state his position so I don't feel any psychological burden, right?

Hmph, he looks careless, but sometimes he's actually quite meticulous and thoughtful... Scumbag~"

On Jiang Ye's side, however, he was genuinely startled, his back breaking out in a sweat.

That was close!

Luckily, I reacted fast!

If this woman had blurted out, "The watch I just gave you was bought with your money," then the joke would have been on him.

If the system judged it as a "Fake Gifting" and directly took back that 460,000 cashback, then his current assets would instantly become negative ten thousand, and the last ninety-plus chapters would have been written for nothing.

Close call, close call!

Still shaken, Jiang Ye quickly took a large gulp of his drink to calm his nerves.

Seeing his "anxious" look, Ye Cheng felt even sweeter inside, thinking his reaction stemmed from caring deeply about her feelings.

Her gaze drifted slightly as she asked, seemingly casually, "Jiang Ye, on Christmas Day... is there anything special you want to do?"

Jiang Ye had completely made up his mind.

Since everything he said would be treated as perverted anyway, wouldn't it be a loss if he didn't actually act like one?

Without even looking up, he answered decisively and without hesitation: "Get a room."

Ye Cheng: "..."

She took a deep breath, telling herself to stay calm, then picked up several pieces of grilled pork belly and piled them all onto Jiang Ye's plate, saying through gritted teeth:

"Just eat! Eat more! When you're done, take me back to school immediately! It was a mistake for me to even ask you!"

...The "intense battle" of a buffet finally ended. Jiang Ye rubbed his round belly and satisfiedly settled the bill.

The two of them called a ride-hailing car to go back to school.

On the way, Ye Cheng looked at the glittering night scenery outside the window, seemingly in a very good mood, her fingers tapping her knee lightly to the music in the car.

When they reached the south gate of Shengyin, she hopped out of the car, turned around, and blew a kiss to Jiang Ye with a smile before walking into the campus carrying her various bags.

The car started up again and merged into the traffic.

"?"

Jiang Ye leaned back against the seat, looking at the forty-eight unread messages from Yao Yao on WeChat, falling into deep thought.

What was with this woman today?

She's being unusually clingy... Damn! Did she do something behind my back?!