Supper Baby

024 Yuan Xing, Do You Know Me?

"That's just my suggestion. What you do in the future is ultimately up to you," Yuan Xing reminded her.

"Mm, okay."

"Although most of the teachers are easy to get along with, I hope you don't run into one of those strict, old-fashioned types..." He looked at the rosy clouds on the horizon.

Back when he was looking for a school far from home that would still satisfy his family, he had investigated Cheng Ye's situation. The teachers were fairly tolerant, and the academic atmosphere was good.

Chatting as they went, they unknowingly arrived at the studio entrance.

In the first-floor restaurant, the stove was already set up on the table with a pot on top.

Du Wentao sat at the table, trying to dump the entire plate of fish balls into the pot. If not for Huai Sheng glaring at him with an extremely fierce expression, he probably would have succeeded.

Huai Sheng enthusiastically guided Tan Mo to sit on Yuan Xing's right. "Little sis, sit right here."

The four of them sat around the table.

Bubbling steam continuously rose from the pot.

Du Wentao slowly chewed the tripe in his bowl, staring at Tan Mo sitting across from him.

He was a tailor by trade, and when he looked at people, his occupational hazard kicked in. He couldn't shake the feeling that this girl's shoulder width and bust measurement seemed oddly familiar.

The measurements matched so perfectly with the clothes Yuan Xing had designed and asked him to make.

Moreover, the way Yuan Xing looked at her was completely different from how he looked at other women.

There was definitely something going on between these two.

"Interesting..." He chuckled to himself, seemingly sensing something.

The next second, he felt a kick on his foot.

Huai Sheng shot him a murderous glare, then quickly sent him a message.

Dreaming of Getting Rich: Big bro, mind your image, okay?! Don't scare the girl away!

Du Wentao was sitting directly across from Tan Mo, and right now his smile was a bit lecherous, making him look like a creep.

If Tan Mo saw that, she might get scared and never come back, right?

But Du Wentao didn't care. Instead, he voiced a doubt.

Dreaming of Finding Love: Is she the future boss's wife?

Huai Sheng received the message and shot him another glare.

Dreaming of Getting Rich: I know you're still here acting like a weirdo!

After reading the message, Du Wentao immediately sat up straight, assumed the posture of a Western nobleman eating steak, and slowly, delicately placed the tripe in his mouth, chewing methodically.

Since he was sitting right across from Tan Mo, his expressions were clearly visible to her.

She watched as the somewhat rough-looking young man across from her exchanged glances with Huai Sheng, then suddenly transformed into an elegant aristocrat, eating with such deliberate slowness.

She could hear clearly—he had just said "interesting." Interesting how?

Du Wentao and Yuan Xing were friends living under the same roof. Could it be that he had noticed some connection between Yuan Xing and her, which was why he found it interesting?

And she remembered that when Huai Sheng first met her, she had also mentioned that a friend of hers knew her.

Could that friend be Yuan Xing?

She'd ask about it on the way back.

She blinked, pretending not to notice anything as she lowered her head to eat a fish ball.

Whatever the hidden circumstances might be, at least for now, Yuan Xing didn't seem to harbor any ill intentions.

"Here's to Mo Mo successfully getting into Cheng Ye University!" Huai Sheng declared boldly, pulling out a case of X-zai milk from under the table.

Without a word, Yuan Xing opened a bottle with one hand and poured a glass for Tan Mo, then opened a beer for Du Wentao.

The four clinked glasses and drank in one gulp.

The atmosphere was cheerful.

After the meal, Du Wentao was kicked into the kitchen by Huai Sheng. "Do the dishes."

Full and satisfied, Du Wentao didn't seem to mind much and carried the pots and dishes over to the sink.

"Mo Mo, come with me for a moment." Yuan Xing led her upstairs.

The basement of this Western-style building was still decorated in a clean, tidy style, but various instruments were installed all around.

"Huai Sheng already gave you the SP monitoring device before, but to be absolutely safe, I'd like to run some tests on you and give you some suppressant medication while I'm at it," Yuan Xing sought her opinion. "The testing process requires a blood draw. It will hurt a little, so you don't have to agree if you're not comfortable with it."

"It's okay." Tan Mo accepted.

She'd been getting daily injections, taking medicine, and having IV drips at the hospital; she was somewhat used to it by now.

Yuan Xing instructed her to lie down on the chair, then began drawing blood for testing.

The blood was drawn, then placed into a machine, waiting for the report to print.

During the wait, Tan Mo stared at the ceiling and suddenly asked, "Yuan Xing, do you know me?"

He didn't answer, remaining silent.

He was a little afraid—afraid that she wouldn't remember—and also a little worried—worried that she might recall some unpleasant memories.

He only knew bits and pieces of her past. But regarding those memories, she had only ever felt panic and fear, wrapping herself up and curling into a ball.

After a long pause, he finally took a deep breath and countered, "Why do you ask?"

"You earlier..." She searched for the right words. "When you were at my house, you said I saved you before, right?"

"Yes." Yuan Xing breathed a sigh of relief and answered honestly.

She hadn't remembered. That was good.

"The part about being blackmailed probably isn't true, is it?"

"Mn. It was something more terrifying than blackmail," Yuan Xing said. "I was on the verge of losing my mind."

Rumors outside claimed that Yuan Xing, the young master of the Yuan family, had disappeared for three months at eighteen. No one knew what happened during that time, but he came back with lifelong psychological trauma and hid away in the Fang family villa, unwilling to see anyone.

Though he was standing here perfectly fine now, he knew that if she hadn't appeared back then, he truly would have spiraled into mental collapse.

"That serious!" Tan Mo sat up straight in the chair.

Yuan Xing just ruffled her hair.

"Look at me now—perfectly normal. All thanks to you.

Feeling somewhat reassured, Tan Mo continued, "So why didn't you just tell me you knew me?"

"Probably wouldn't have been believable. If I'd lost my memory like you, and someone suddenly told me they knew me, I'd think they had ulterior motives," Yuan Xing explained. "So I hoped to get a little more familiar with you first, then tell you the truth."

If she hadn't asked, that was exactly what he'd planned to do.

Now that she had asked, he would answer truthfully.

He lowered his gaze slightly. "For now, just think of me as an elder brother you happened to meet."

Even though Tan Mo now knew they had a history, he still didn't want her to carry too much psychological burden.

"I see." Tan Mo looked into his eyes.

She thought Yuan Xing's approach was a bit too humble—watching someone who'd lost all their memories put on a brave face, pretending he didn't care at all.

It kind of made her heart ache.

Tan Mo lifted her head and smiled softly. "Can you take me home?"

She'd just get a little closer to him for now...

Yuan Xing nodded slightly.

At the Tan residence.

Xu Piao sat in the study, on the phone with Tan Yi's agent.

"Have you found out who that ID is—the one claiming Tan Yi won't get the male lead in 'Eternal Phoenix'?"

The agent shook his head. "No, President Xu. I hired hackers, but the other party's address is hidden."

Xu Piao's brows furrowed slightly.

A message like that, hanging brazenly at the top of the feed, impossible to remove—it was unsettling.

Just as her dissatisfaction was about to peak, the agent added, "But President Xu, this character's style of operation does resemble someone."