Chapter Thirteen: The Story of Lin Xiaolei

At this moment, the little house by the sea had already turned off its lights, and Wen Xiuting had gone home. By the way, Wen Xiuting had now transferred her child to a kindergarten nearby. After the kindergarten closed for the day, she would bring Shen Nan to the seaside cottage. Whenever Shen Ye had free time, he would often read fairy tales to Shen Nan or play games with him.

But let's return to the matter at hand.

Shen Ye turned on the dining room light. "What would you like to eat? Can you handle spicy food?"

"I can," Lin Xiaolei nodded.

"Alright. Go wash your face. I'll make Sichuan dishes, mildly spicy," Shen Ye said. The reason the seaside cottage served American food was simply because American cuisine was easy to prepare and clean up. But when it came to his own meals, he rarely ate American dishes, preferring Sichuan cuisine.

The kitchen was equipped with a powerful stove.

Soon, two plates of food were brought out.

One was twice-cooked pork.

The other was mapo tofu.

He scooped a bowl of white rice and placed it in front of the girl. "Eat."

Earlier, Lin Xiaolei, perhaps after wandering for several days, had a face covered with dust. Though it was evident she was a budding beauty, her features were hard to distinguish.

While Shen Ye was cooking, Lin Xiaolei went to the bathroom to wash her face and wipe away the grime. Her skin was as smooth as porcelain, fair as snow, with a delicate oval face, slender willow brows, eyes brimming with allure, a graceful nose, cheeks tinged with pink, and lips ripe with youthful vibrancy. At such a young age, she already possessed a hint of captivating charm.

The girl was only about fourteen or fifteen, yet so striking. Who knew what kind of dazzling beauty she would become in her twenties?

Lin Xiaolei was clearly famished, and with Shen Ye being both a familiar face and someone who had helped her, she felt no reservations. Taking the rice bowl, she picked up a piece of twice-cooked pork and immediately shoveled a mouthful of rice. Throughout, she paid no attention to her appearance, eating several bites in succession before raising her head. "This is delicious. It’s the best meal I’ve ever had."

"That’s because you’ve been hungry for a while," Shen Ye smiled, lighting up a Hong Shuangxi cigarette and taking a drag.

"No, really, it’s amazing," Lin Xiaolei said earnestly, then bowed her head again to eat.

In fact, her reaction was perfectly understandable.

Firstly, judging by her appearance, she had likely gone hungry for some time. When a person is famished, anything tastes better.

Secondly, Shen Ye’s cooking was already above average, and after enduring hardship and exposure, even ordinary food could taste extraordinary—enough to rival a five-star chef.

After a while, Lin Xiaolei finally finished her meal.

Shen Ye took a drag of his cigarette. "Now, can you tell me why you ran away from home?"

"Mm." For some reason, Lin Xiaolei was particularly obedient in front of Shen Ye. "I’m in my last year of junior high. It shouldn’t be too stressful, but I feel like I’m about to go insane."

"Normally, I get up at six thirty. Then, off to school for classes. Lunch break is supposed to be two and a half hours, but I can’t rest. After lunch, I have to go to the teacher’s office for an hour and a half of extra lessons."

"Then, afternoon classes. After school at four, instead of going straight home, I have to practice violin for an hour before I can have dinner."

"Even after dinner, it’s not over. At seven, I have to practice dance for an hour, so it’s eight by the time that’s done. But it doesn’t end there—at eight thirty, I have another hour of calligraphy lessons."

"By nine, you’d think I could finally rest. No such luck."

"Then come the assignments from the teachers. There’s so much homework now—I have to work until eleven or twelve before I can sleep."

"And if it’s a rest day, do I get a break? Not a chance. On weekends, besides the usual violin, calligraphy, and dance classes, I also have extra lessons with teachers and piano practice."

"So, out of twenty-four hours, aside from a few hours of sleep, there’s no rest at all."

"I couldn’t take it anymore, so I skipped a violin lesson and went to an internet café for a bit."

"What happened? My parents found out and went crazy, yelling at me for being lazy and saying I couldn’t touch a computer or go to an internet café ever again."

"I really couldn’t stand it, so I ran away," Lin Xiaolei said, pouting.

Shen Ye was dumbfounded. "You’re only fourteen or fifteen, and you have to take so many classes every day? Besides regular classes, you have extra tutoring, violin, calligraphy, dance, piano? My goodness. Suddenly, my days as an underachiever seem wonderful. I never had to go to tutoring—just finished my regular classes and could relax."

"Exactly! I’m nearly driven mad," Lin Xiaolei nodded vigorously.

"I truly sympathize with you," Shen Ye said, tossing his cigarette butt into the ashtray. "Parents always mean well, but no matter how much they hope their children will succeed, they shouldn’t push so hard. Kids need time to rest and enjoy themselves. So, what do you plan to do next? Your parents must be worried."

"Besides, it’s dangerous outside. Staying out isn’t a solution," he added.

Lin Xiaolei thought for a moment. "Brother Shen, can I stay here for a few days? I don’t want to go home yet."

Shen Ye considered the rebellious mindset of young people. If he sent her home now, she might run away again. This time, she’d been lucky to run into him, but next time, things might not turn out so well.

So he said, "At most, two days. Your parents must be frantic. After two days, I’ll definitely contact Wan Peng."

"Two days," Lin Xiaolei pondered for a moment and finally made her decision. "Two days it is. I’ll have fun for these two days, then I’ll go home. But promise, you won’t contact my cousin or my family during these two days."

"By the way, Brother Shen, do you play League of Legends?" Lin Xiaolei asked.

"I do. Why?" Shen Ye furrowed his brow.

"I heard classmates talking about League of Legends, their eyes lighting up, saying it’s really fun. Now I want to let loose and play League of Legends, just once. I don’t want every day to be about violin, piano, calligraphy, dance. But I’m a rookie—you’ll have to teach me," Lin Xiaolei said, hope shining in her eyes.

She was like a little bird in a cage, escaping home for two days just to play a game. Shen Ye himself was only twenty-three, so he understood how kids think. He nodded. "Alright, let’s go to the internet café, start a new account, and I’ll show you how to play."

"Yes!" Lin Xiaolei’s joy lit up her face, radiant and lively.

(After organizing my thoughts, I’ll continue with three updates today. Please vote for recommendations!)