Chapter 044: Overactive Imagination Is a Disease!
Oh no.
Ye Zhen felt utterly defeated, convinced her days were numbered.
She clutched the straps of her backpack tightly, but it took only seconds before it was snatched away.
Mrs. Ye frowned as she opened the bag. Seeing the cheap women's clothing inside, along with underwear clearly not Ye Zhen's size, her expression changed instantly.
"Ye Zhen, explain yourself."
Explain?
How could she possibly explain this?
Ye Zhen was no good at lying. Lying made her nervous, and nervousness made her stutter.
"Don't tell me these are Ye Fuli's clothes! Are you secretly hanging out with her again?!"
SMACK—
Mrs. Ye slammed her hand hard on the table.
She sprang to her feet.
"Are you trying to drive me to my grave?! I've told you countless times—that girl is a virus, a piece of trash! You can't hang out with her! Do you have any sense?!"
Ye Zhen trembled in fear.
She stammered, "This… this isn't Ye Fuli's… and it doesn't have her name on it either."
"If it's not Ye Fuli's, then whose else could it be?"
At that moment.
Huang Li, who had heard the commotion at the door, hurried into the room.
Seeing the scene, he knew immediately that Ye Zhen was in trouble again.
"Mine! Mine, it's mine…" Huang Li held up his hands, stepping forward to claim the stolen goods. "It's not Senior Ye Zhen's fault. It's all my mistake."
Protecting the girl who loved him was a gentleman's unquestionable duty!
Yet, the moment he spoke, he met two piercing stares.
Mrs. Ye's lips visibly twitched as she asked, "This is yours?"
"Huh?"
Huang Li also sensed something was off.
He leaned closer to examine Ye Zhen's backpack. When he spotted the clothes that were clearly Ye Fuli's, his expression instantly turned awkward: "Ah…"
Oh my god!
If divine retribution were to strike him dead right now, it would be a mercy.
What the hell is this?
He shot Ye Zhen a resentful glance, thinking, Little girl, what else couldn't you have hidden? Why this?
Mrs. Ye snorted coldly, swiftly zipping up the backpack to conceal its contents.
"You brat…"
People having peculiar hobbies is perfectly normal.
Compared to Bai Ruoting's utterly outrageous tastes, this was downright easy to accept! At least he wasn't hurting anyone, right?
Mrs. Ye pretended nothing had happened, waving her hand dismissively. "Go on, have fun."
She got away with it that easily?
Ye Zhen could scarcely believe her ears or eyes.
Huang Li himself felt equally incredulous.
Huang Li sighed gloomily, "I'm perfectly normal, really! Senior Ye Zhen, could you please explain this to your mom? Otherwise, I feel like I won't even be able to hold my head up in your house."
"I think you'll just have to take the fall for this one for now."
Explain?
Who dared explain to Mrs. Ye?
The mere mention of Ye Fuli would set Mrs. Ye off like a bomb—she'd go absolutely berserk!
Ye Zhen certainly wasn't going to bring it up. If Huang Li couldn't handle the blame, then let him deal with it himself.
The two of them got into the car and headed to the heart of the commercial district.
Ye Zhen asserted her authority as the young miss, instructing the driver to wait in the parking lot and not follow them.
"We'll just go explore on our own," Ye Zhen assured him repeatedly. "We won't wander too far or take too long. I promise we'll be back in an hour at most. I won't put you in a difficult position, okay?"
The driver looked hesitant.
He was following orders from Mrs. Ye to accompany Ye Zhen.
But this was merely following orders—not his own wish.
He understood the current tension between the Ye family's mother and daughter stemmed from Ye Fuli. He also knew Ye Fuli was a decent girl—studious, often working part-time to help support the household—not some delinquent.
Therefore, he harbored no ill will toward Ye Fuli; he only felt pity for the girl.
All this information about Ye Fuli came from the driver's own daughter, and he would never doubt his own child.
As for Miss Ye Zhen…
She had suffered all this because of Ye Fuli. That was truly pitiful.
"Alright then, but you'd better hurry back! Otherwise, I'll have no way to account for this to the mistress."
"Got it, thanks Uncle Wu!"
With her temporary freedom secured, Ye Zhen exhaled deeply and quickly signaled to Huang Li.
The two then silently made their way toward the crowded shopping mall.
Once inside, Ye Zhen promptly instructed, "You brought your bank card, right? Go buy me the cheapest smartphone you can find. I'll pay you back after the exam."
"No need to pay me back. I'll buy you an iPhone."
Huang Li suddenly felt the plot twist growing more thrilling by the minute.
In his fantasies, two girls were fiercely competitive over him, yet they also shared a mutual admiration, becoming both rivals and friends!
Good heavens, what had he ever done to deserve such affection from them?
Forget buying one iPhone—he'd gladly shell out for a whole basketful.
Watching Huang Li walk away with a blissful expression, Ye Zhen scratched the back of her head, utterly bewildered.
"What's that kid so happy about? Got too excited and went dumb?"
Never mind. Now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
Half an hour later, she had her hands on the latest iPhones in every color.
Before Huang Li could finish explaining, Ye Zhen cut him off: "Go get me a SIM card too, thanks."
"Here you go, already got it."
Huang Li proudly presented two SIM cards.
"Go ahead and use them—they're mine!"
Where could she find such a dependable brother? Overwhelmed with emotion, Ye Zhen reached out and patted Huang Li's shoulder. "No need for thanks for such a huge favor. I'll definitely treat you to a meal sometime."
To Ye Zhen, it was just a brotherly pat on the shoulder, but to Huang Li, it was a restrained expression of affection.
Senior Ye Zhen wanted to treat him to a meal? That meant a luxurious candlelit dinner on the top floor of a five-star hotel, where she’d surely wear his favorite red dress, exchange flirtatious glances, and send him secret signals.
Just imagining it made his bones feel like they were about to turn to jelly from Ye Zhen's touch.
Ah, so blissful, sniffle sniffle~
"Hehehe, stop it! It's nothing, really nothing, hehehe~"
Ye Zhen: "…"
This kid must be imagining something weird.
But now wasn't the time to worry about him. She had to hurry and meet up with Ye Fuli to return her clothes.
……
…
"Give them back? Just toss that cheap outfit already."
After receiving Ye Zhen's message, Ye Fuli replied with just that one sentence.
On the other end of the screen, Ye Zhen sounded visibly disheartened upon receiving the reply: "Throw it away? I went through so much trouble to get it out here in perfect condition."
Ye Fuli: "Where are you?"
"I sent you my location! But I'm under strict supervision and only have less than an hour to wait for you. If you want to come get it, hurry up."
After sending the location, Ye Zhen sighed and muttered under her breath, "It's something she wanted to throw away in the first place. Why did she bother washing it so carefully last night?"
Huang Li stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe she was worried it would be dangerous for you to come out and return the clothes?"
"Is that so?"
This explanation gave Ye Zhen a glimmer of hope.
But that hope was quickly dashed.
Through her battle of wits with Ye Fuli, she had fully realized the dangers of overthinking.
A cold-blooded person like Ye Fuli would be hard to truly move, no matter what she did!
Therefore, when she said she didn't want these clothes anymore, it was undoubtedly because she genuinely considered them worthless—not because she was weighing the risks of returning them.
"Don't you believe me? Then let's make a bet."
Huang Li suddenly perked up again.
"Here's the deal: if she comes to collect the clothes, I'll pay you a hundred bucks. If she doesn't show up, I'll pay you ten thousand. What do you say?"
Hearing this bizarre wager, Ye Zhen shot him a disbelieving look.
Huang Li feigned nonchalance and whistled.
"Huang Li, if you want to give me money, just hand it over. No need for all these fancy games."
"Hey! I've got money—mind your own business."