I rejected your confession, but you took my best friend home?

Chapter 3 If you leave now, do you have anywhere to go?

Yin Mengran sat at the small table, looking at the noodles, hot water, and medicine on it. Her feelings were complicated, and she hesitated to raise her hands.

Her first instinct was definitely to resist. She and Zhou Heng weren't that close; even though they were classmates, they were the kind of people who would barely exchange a word over the years.

And yet here I am, in his house, wearing his clothes, and eating his food without a second thought—how could that be possible?

But her body was trying to get her to accept it, since hunger had taken over her brain and was now sending her signals to eat something.

She glanced to the side and saw Zhou Heng sitting at another table, holding a pen as if he were doing homework, completely ignoring her and acting as if she didn't exist.

Seemingly sensing Yin Mengran's gaze, Zhou Heng put down his pen and said softly:

"You're not usually this shy, are you? Eat up, and I'll lend you my umbrella before you go."

"..."

Having heard Zhou Heng's explanation, Yin Mengran had no reason to refuse.

She carefully picked up her chopsticks, took a small bite, and put it in her mouth. A warm feeling instantly spread throughout her body.

Then, without further hesitation, she began to eat heartily, though she dared not make a sound.

Ten minutes later, Yin Mengran finished her meal and drank some hot water. She didn't take any medicine because she felt it was probably nothing serious.

Then, she stood up and took something out of the pocket of her wet clothes.

She walked over to Zhou Heng, handed him the things, and whispered:

"Um... thank you..."

"Ok?"

Zhou Heng looked up and saw that Yin Mengran was holding a hundred-yuan bill.

"What do you mean by giving me money?"

"I don't want to owe you anything..."

Zhou Heng looked into Yin Mengran's eyes and saw her serious expression; she didn't seem to be joking.

Zhou Heng didn't take it. Instead, he turned his head, looked at the exam paper in front of him, and muttered, "If you don't want to owe me money, don't give me any..."

"You're a good student, aren't you? I don't know how to do this big problem. You can teach me, and then I won't owe you anything."

Zhou Heng tapped the major questions on the test paper with his pen.

Yin Mengran glanced down and blurted out instinctively, "It's so simple, how could I not do it..."

"I'm sorry, I can't even do such a simple question."

"Uh..."

Yin Mengran awkwardly shut her mouth, then reached out and began to teach Zhou Heng how to solve the problem.

Zhou Heng listened attentively, but had to admit that he wasn't as smart as the other person.

In the end, Yin Mengran explained things so meticulously that Zhou Heng finally understood.

After explaining the problem, Yin Mengran planned to leave. Although her school uniform had been drying under the air conditioner for a while, it was still quite damp, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"I'll return these clothes and umbrella to you when I go to school..."

Yin Mengran stood at the door and spoke softly.

She was wearing her still slightly damp school uniform, with Zhou Heng's clothes underneath. The rest of her wet clothes were packed into a bag.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Heng realized that Yin Mengran hadn't been to school for several days.

She was Tong Yining's good friend, and Tong Yining hadn't been in a good mood lately because she hadn't come.

So when he confessed his feelings, he could tell that Tong Yining was very agitated.

At this moment, Zhou Heng realized something was wrong, so he frowned and asked:

"Let me ask you this: if you leave now, do you have anywhere to go?"

He was particularly averse to meddling in other people's business, so he didn't ask why Yin Mengran was there or why she was crying.

But for some reason, he just wanted to ask this question: he had a feeling that Yin Mengran would probably stay outside after leaving this time.

As expected, when Zhou Heng asked her that question, Yin Mengran was speechless for a moment, lowered her head, and remained silent...

Zhou Heng tapped the table with his pen and said calmly, "If you have nowhere to go, then you can't leave. Did you bring your phone?"

"without..."

Zhou Heng took out his phone, opened the dial pad, and asked:

"What's your parents' phone number? I'll call them and have them come pick you up."

"..."

"?"

Zhou Heng didn't hear Yin Mengran's voice, so he looked up.

When they saw Yin Mengran standing there, motionless, tears welling up in her eyes like crystals.

"you..."

Zhou Heng silently put down his phone. He realized something was wrong. Could this reaction mean something had happened at home?

It's the middle of the night, and I made her cry at home. Isn't that a bad influence?

It seems I can't just ignore this mess...

He thought of many words in his mind—words of comfort, words of inquiry.

However, because he was really bad at speaking, what he finally said was:

"Um... what's going on?"

Yin Mengran sobbed for a long time before slowly opening her mouth and explaining the situation to Zhou Heng.

Her parents tragically died in a car accident a little over a week ago.

She's no different from an orphan now; no relatives want to take care of her, and her grandparents are all gone.

Zhou Heng listened with a furrowed brow, and now he finally understood why Yin Mengran had been sitting there crying alone.

Even though he hadn't been to school for several days, he was still wearing his school uniform.

It's so heartbreaking that she had to bear such a tragic situation all by herself.

"Then...you have no home to go back to?"

Upon hearing Zhou Heng's question, Yin Mengran reacted as if she had heard something extremely tragic; the sorrow on her face deepened.

Although Zhou Heng wasn't good with words, seeing Yin Mengran's expression, he knew he might have asked the wrong question.

Come to think of it, if he had a home to go home to, he wouldn't be standing outside in the rain. Perhaps there's some unspeakable hardship behind it all.

The environment was very quiet; only Yin Mengran's faint sobs could be heard. Zhou Heng's eyes darted around, and he sat there feeling extremely uncomfortable, unsure of what to do.

Yin Mengran is their class monitor. Not only is she academically excellent, but she's also the most popular, with a cheerful, sunny, and optimistic personality.

Without a doubt, he was the core and soul of the class, a good friend to his classmates, and the pride of the teachers. He was the complete opposite of everyone else.

And now, this same person is crying their eyes out in their own home...

If she went to school and told her classmates about it, she would not only become the laughingstock of the class, but also their enemy.

It's really funny to not understand what you're learning and then be ostracized by the whole class.

Now Zhou Heng only understood one thing: no matter what, he couldn't let Yin Mengran leave.

Knowing her situation, how could I bear to let her leave, especially since it was raining heavily outside?

Thinking of this, Zhou Heng stood up, walked over, and took the bag from Yin Mengran's hand...