Chapter 25

Panda Novel

It was because the man back in those years had already hurt Ye Shu enough. If she were to bring him up again now, it would only sadden Ye Shu even more.

Lin Shasha liked Ye Zhuo very much. It did not take long before the two young girls were acquainted with one another. Even though Ye Zhuo was two years younger than Lin Shasha, Lin Shasha could not feel that age difference between them at all.

They were very fond of chatting with each other and even regretted meeting each other so late in their lives.

In truth, Lin Shasha was feeling slightly anxious at the beginning. In her mind, beautiful girls were usually aloof and arrogant.

For example, there was Mu Yourong. Mu Yourong was beautiful, and she performed well academically. Mu Yourong had never looked Lin Shasha straight in the eyes before.

In contrast, Lin Shasha failed her midterm examination and failed to get accepted into high school. Thus, she came out to work after she graduated from junior middle school. Hence, Mu Yourong despised her even more from then on.

She mocked Lin Shasha both openly and behind her back countless times. Specifically, she mocked her for being an illiterate who could not be valued by others and claimed that Lin Shasha could only be a pauper for the rest of her life.

Lin Shasha wrapped her arms around Ye Zhuo's arm and said, "I was still under the assumption that beautiful people like you are hard to get along with! I didn't expect that you're an exception, Zhuo Zhuo."

To which Ye Zhuo replied, "You're very beautiful too, Shasha." Ye Zhuo did not say that as flattery but genuinely felt that Lin Shasha was very pretty as well.

Lin Shasha was slightly shy, so she said, "I am not. However, I'm telling the truth. Zhuo Zhuo, you're so different from Mu Yourong. Mu Yourong was arrogant and cold to the point where I didn't even have the courage to talk to her…."

Ye Zhuo rubbed her chin and said in all apparent seriousness, "It's possible that she was arrogant and cold because… she is not as pretty as I am."

If an ordinary person were to make such a narcissistic remark, the people around them would be revolted to a certain extent.

However, when Ye Zhuo made the remark, it was not, but on the contrary, it felt like she made a lot of sense. It felt as if she was supposed to say that.

Lin Shasha was clearly elated. What sort of amazing darling was this person!?

"Shasha, do you have WeChat? Shall we add each other on WeChat?"

"Sure." Shasha then took out her phone, and they added each other on WeChat.

Lin Shasha continued to speak, "Zhuo Zhuo, why isn't there anything on your Moments page?"

Ye Zhuo answered, "This is a new account."

Healing that, Shasha adjusted her phone to selfie mode. "Shall we take a selfie?"

"Sure." Ye Zhuo took the initiative to wrap her arm around Shasha's shoulder.

Next, both of them took a selfie together at the sound of the photo snapping.

"Shasha, please send me the photo that we've just taken. I shall post it to my Moments page."

"Alright." Lin Shasha immediately sent the selfie that they had just taken to Ye Zhuo.

Then, she said, "I'm going to post it too." To have a friend as beautiful as Ye Zhuo, she had to show off a little, naturally.

In the living room, Zhou Yuelian was very happy for Ye Shu to be able to reunite with her biological daughter. "Shu, I can see that Zhuo Zhuo is a very well-behaved child, and she is not the same type of person as Mu Yourong. You're about to enjoy the sweet bliss that comes after hardship ends."

One could see a person's moral standing from the person's words and actions. Mu Yourong used to look down on people, and she always behaved arrogantly as if everybody else was beneath her.

However, it was not the same with Ye Zhuo. There was no sign of arrogance at all. To say the least, Zhou Yuelian's first impression of Ye Zhuo was extremely favorable.

Ye Shu smiled and said, "Zhuo Zhuo is a very good child. The reason why we managed to move out from the basement is due to her contribution."

Zhou Yuelian patted Ye Shu's hand and said in all sincerity, "Shu, it's not easy living as a single woman. You shouldn't be stubborn anymore; go and find someone to be with instead. This way, you'll be more at ease too."

Ye Shu shook her head. "I'm living pretty well this way."

After experiencing a series of heartbreaking events in the past, Ye Shu would never believe in love anymore.

In the past, she pledged eternal loyalty to that man. But in the end, what did she get in exchange? She got deceived…

Zhou Yuelian heaved a sigh. "Shu, for a man like that... is it really worth it?"

Zhou Yuelian was a witness of that incident back in those years.

She watched helplessly as Ye Shu stepped into the trap of love, step by step.

No one knew better than her how terrible Ye Shu's life was over these years.

"I didn't do it for him." There was no expression on Ye Shu's face as she held Zhou Yuelian's hand and said, "I really do feel that I'm living pretty well alone."

Zhou Yuelian continued to speak, "Shu, you're only 38 years old this year. You're still young, so you can't feel like there's no good man in this world just because of a failed relationship. You should learn to let go of the past and accept new things."

"Little Lian, I know that you're doing this for me. However, I really don't have the time to think about those things now. I only want to protect Zhuo Zhuo." She told the truth.

After experiencing so much, Ye Shu did not have the slightest idea what she wanted now. The only thing she wanted to do was to watch Ye Zhuo grow into an adult and find the happiness that she deserved.

In fact, she had let go of the past. It was water under the bridge, so what was there to be disappointed about anymore?

Every living thing in this world is a life; everything in this life is destined, and not the slightest bit is controlled by man.

"I'm only worried that it's going to be too hard for you to be on your own." Zhou Yuelian turned to the side and hugged Ye Shu.

They were both women, so she was well aware of how difficult life was for a single mother.

Ye Shu patted Zhou Yuelian's back. "Little Lian, I'm fine."

It had been so many years, yet Ye Shu did not find it to be too arduous.

Realizing that Ye Shu was not looking into dating again, Zhou Yuelian did not continue to press on this topic anymore.

It was ten in the morning in the blink of an eye. Ye Shu was preparing to cook.

Ye Zhuo walked out and said, "Mom, there's no need to make lunch anymore. I ordered takeout for us."

"Alright." Ye Shu nodded.

Zhou Yuelian said sulkily, "Child, why are you wasting money on takeout? We're a family, so it will be fine to have anything."

Ye Zhuo smiled and said, "It will be fine as long as you don't mind the takeout, Auntie Lian." Ye Zhuo had just received a large sum of commission, and there were guests in the house, coincidentally. She wanted to seize the opportunity to have a proper celebration.

At half-past eleven, the takeout was delivered, just on time.

Looking at the logo printed on the takeout's packaging, Lin Shasha was rendered speechless.

The restaurant was famous for its scrumptious food, and the average individual's bill there was extremely high.

It was a restaurant that common people could not afford to eat at.

Ye Zhuo was too generous! As a result, the hosts and guests were elated during the meal.

…

Li Boyang saw Ye Zhuo's post on her Moments page at once.

She looked amazing in the photo with well-defined eyes and brows.

Then, he looked at the girl posing next to her.

Quickly, Li Boyang's depression changed. If he was not mistaken, the girl was Lin Shasha… She was his cousin's middle school classmate.

He heard his cousin bring her up frequently during conversations in the past.

From what he knew, Lin Shasha did not do well academically and did not manage to get into high school. She joined the workforce after graduating from middle school. She was also his cousin's so-called "teaching reference" of a bad example.

The saying of 'birds of a feather flock together' was true.

If Ye Zhuo wanted to excel, she would not be mingling with people like Lin Shasha.

Ye Zhuo really had… Abandoned herself in degeneration.

In the evening, Ye Zhuo went to work at the barbecue shop.

Li Boyang was seated at the bar while he worked on his homework. It was the first time he did not take the initiative to greet Ye Zhuo.

It came as a surprise to Li Boyang that when he did not greet Ye Zhuo, Ye Zhuo actually ignored him by not greeting him either.

The feeling… was a little unpleasant.

Li Boyang could not stand it, so he walked over. "Ye Zhuo."

"What's going on?" Ye Zhuo looked up ever so slightly.

Li Boyang said, "Are you acquainted with Lin Shasha?"

"Mmhmm." Ye Zhuo nodded. "She's a good friend of mine; are you acquainted with her too?"

Li Boyang shook his head without any unusual expression on his face. However, disgust visibly emerged in his eyes. "I'm not acquainted with her, but my cousin is. She is my cousin's classmate in middle school, and I heard that Lin Shasha started working after she graduated from middle school… is that true?"