Chapter Thirty-Four: Cousin, What a Coincidence!

Wang Jianhui, the male protagonist, worked as a counter clerk in the local environmental department of this small county town.

His family couldn't be called wealthy by local standards, but they were far from poor. His parents owned two apartments and both held stable government jobs with pension benefits.

As for Wang Jianhui himself, he had just secured a position in the local environmental department last year. Within a year, through his own efforts and some family support, he managed to pay off a twenty-thousand-yuan Mai Teng car and recently purchased a 120-square-meter apartment near the county’s top high school. His job was respectable, his appearance decent, and by all accounts from relatives and friends, he was the epitome of someone destined for success.

All this had fostered in him an overwhelming sense of superiority.

In small towns, government employees often looked down on those without official status or government positions.

Take Gu Yin last night, for example.

Wang Jianhui was no fool. When Chen Yunjin suddenly embraced him last night, he keenly sensed it had something to do with the man standing at the street corner.

But he didn't dwell on it, because he believed someone living in that kind of neighborhood couldn't possibly compete with him.

He had been pursuing Chen Yunjin for some time, and no matter what, her embrace was a good start. So Wang Jianhui was determined to seize this opportunity.

He was so excited last night that he couldn’t sleep a wink. He even asked a close friend for advice.

His friend said, “Strike while the iron is hot!”

So early this morning, he got up ahead of time, bought breakfast that perfectly suited Chen Yunjin’s taste, and went to find her, hoping to share breakfast together.

He felt that having breakfast together in his Mai Teng would be a warm and unforgettable memory for both of them.

He also thought he must be pretty thoughtful and caring.

Until the moment he arrived at the entrance of the community where Chen Yunjin rented her place, he was still lost in pleasant anticipation.

But then…

Through the car’s windshield, his eyes caught sight of Chen Yunjin sitting happily chatting with Gu Yin at a breakfast stall near the community entrance.

“Skrrt!!!”

The screech of brakes pierced the air, echoing at the community entrance and drawing the attention of many nearby. Anyone hearing it might have thought a car accident had occurred.

Wang Jianhui sat behind the wheel of his black Mai Teng, eyes hollow and lifeless. The black tire marks on the asphalt and the car’s red taillights that never went out seemed to mirror his inner despair.

He kept pressing the brake pedal, the taillights glowing red.

Yet, the color in Wang Jianhui’s heart was the exact opposite of those taillights.

It was green.

He felt as if above his head stretched a vast green meadow, where a few alpacas were wildly dancing on a grave.

That sensation…

Shattered his composure utterly.

He never imagined that last night…

The woman who had embraced him so intimately, Chen Yunjin, was now sitting and laughing with the very man she had deliberately angered the night before.

This scene reminded Wang Jianhui of those online stories where girls, to provoke the boys they liked, would deliberately interact with other men just to get attention.

So…

Last night, Chen Yunjin’s embrace was a deliberate move to provoke Gu Yin?

So…

To Chen Yunjin, Gu Yin was the “beloved”?

So…

He was the clown?

At that moment, Wang Jianhui felt as if the sky had fallen.

He even resented his advisor for suggesting he get up early to have breakfast with Chen Yunjin.

If not for that advice, he wouldn’t have stumbled upon this scene…

In just a few minutes, Wang Jianhui’s heart was tossed into a whirlwind of bitter emotions.

“Is that your cousin?” Gu Yin glanced over with a teasing smile after hearing the screeching brakes.

“He… no… should not be…” Chen Yunjin’s gentle face betrayed a hint of panic as she stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence.

Wang Jianhui was mentally collapsing; why wasn’t Chen Yunjin?

Last night!

To dispel Gu Yin’s doubts, she had told him Wang Jianhui was her cousin who came from out of town to see her, had dinner with her, and was just giving her a ride back.

A cousin embracing a cousin wasn’t out of the ordinary—no impropriety there. It was a plausible excuse.

But Gu Yin hadn’t responded…

That had made her very anxious.

That was also why she had gotten up early this morning to wait for Gu Yin.

She had risen at dawn but didn’t see Gu Yin; finally, she bumped into him at the breakfast stall and was about to explain, when, out of nowhere, Wang Jianhui drove up!

Only heaven knew how shattered Chen Yunjin’s nerves were at that moment.

If Wang Jianhui got out of the car to greet them, wouldn’t her lie be exposed on the spot?

Then it would truly become awkward.

At that moment…

Chen Yunjin was utterly panicked.

What made her even more desperate was…

After stopping abruptly in the middle of the road, the Mai Teng slowly pulled over to the roadside and halted.

The driver’s door opened, and Wang Jianhui stepped out and walked over.

“Oh my god…”

Chen Yunjin felt utterly hopeless.

She never expected Wang Jianhui to be such a resolute man.

He had clearly seen everything—his jealousy was out in the open—why didn’t he just leave?

Why did he have to get out and confront her?

The only conclusion was…

Chen Yunjin still didn’t quite understand Wang Jianhui.

He was a man of great reason but also prone to self-inflicted emotional torment.

He liked Chen Yunjin and held deep feelings for her. The tender warmth he experienced in her arms last night was etched in his memory.

After that brief moment of pain, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was another possibility…

Had he misunderstood Chen Yunjin?

Maybe she had just come out for breakfast and happened to run into that man from last night, who then clung onto her?

Yunjin was a good girl; if she could embrace him openly in front of that man last night, there was no way she was entangled with him. She wasn’t someone who played both sides.

If, as he suspected, she was the one being pursued by that clingy man…

Then, she needed him now more than ever!

“Hmm!”

As he walked closer, his resolve only strengthened because he noticed Chen Yunjin winking at him—wasn’t that usually a sign of being threatened?

Smiling, he made his way directly to the square table where Chen Yunjin and Gu Yin were eating, pulled over a stool, and sat down.

Clearing his throat and about to speak…

He saw Gu Yin grin widely at him and wave his hand.

“Cousin, what a coincidence!”