Chapter 274: Chapter 274

Except for the sound of her father’s snoring, there was no other sound in the room. Ye Ling sat up, with nothing else to do, regretting not bringing a book along. At least it could have passed the time. Fortunately, the lights in the room were on, and occasionally the sound of firecrackers came from outside. Ye Ling tossed and turned on the bed without realizing it, while Shen Bin, who was sleeping on the bed by the door, raised his head and glanced at her before sitting up.

"Can’t sleep?" His deep voice still carried the hoarseness of just waking up.

Ye Ling looked over and saw Shen Bin sitting up. She felt a little embarrassed to keep lying down, always feeling uncomfortable lying under Shen Bin’s gaze. She took a pillow to lean against her back and dared not speak loudly for fear of waking her father, "Slept too much."

When she went to sleep, it wasn’t dark yet outside; now looking out the window, it’s so pitch black she could hardly see anything. She guessed it was already very late. Having slept so long, how could she still say she couldn’t sleep? Thinking of this, Ye Ling glanced over at Shen Bin. Even just sitting there, he seemed profound, like a mountain firmly pressing down. Not even a tornado could move him.

As she was observing and thinking about this, she saw him get out of bed and walk toward her. Ye Ling got nervous, unconsciously sitting up straight from her half-leaning position, looking up at him, "What are you doing?"

Shen Bin fixated his gaze on the nervous little girl in front of him, seeing her like a startled cat, which inexplicably delighted him, "This is your New Year’s gift."

The watch he handed over, Ye Ling recognized at once as a Plum Blossom, not realizing her stunned expression was all caught by Shen Bin’s eyes. To say in her past life, Ye Ling was a vain person, and this watch was a bride price that only the wealthy received at marriage. Until her death in her past life, she’d never worn a watch. Yet she saw such a watch on Ye Qian’s wrist at the moment of her death. Reborn in this life, Ye Ling didn’t realize she remembered so clearly.

"You’re a university student now; you can’t keep asking others for the time everywhere you go." Shen Bin placed the watch on the bedside, fixing his gaze on the little girl, "This is a gift from Uncle."

He could clearly see the change in the little girl’s expression after seeing the watch, yet he couldn’t fathom why. Watching her solemnly pick up the watch, as if caressing something precious, only deepened the mystery.

"Thank you." Ye Ling lifted her head and forced out a wide smile.

However, seeing this smile, Shen Bin felt it was strained.

Ye Ling wasn’t happy. Her lack of refusal was solely because she thought of the hardships of her past life and Ye Qian’s happiness. Now in university, receiving the watch Ye Qian wore in her past life, Ye Ling suddenly felt as if this life was a dream, or maybe the previous life was just a dream.

No matter what, this watch was something that would serve as a constant reminder to cherish every moment of her reborn life.

"Do you know anything about Fu Lei’s family situation?" Hearing Shen Bin bring up Fu Lei, Ye Ling lifted her head, finding the man had somehow sat down by her bed.

Slightly stunned, Ye Ling quickly became alert, "What do you want to say?"

"From what I know, Fu Lei’s family isn’t well off. We can analyze from here. You can keep your opinions, but keep what I say in mind. Normally, a child from such a poor family would carry a trace of self-pity, yet Fu Lei smiles like sunshine, which doesn’t make sense. Of course, I’m not saying there’s a problem just because he’s sunny; that’s exactly the issue."

"Are you saying his sunny side is fake?" Ye Ling wasn’t naive; she could clearly understand what Shen Bin was getting at.

Seeing her grasp it so quickly, Shen Bin showed appreciation in his eyes, "I’m saying this just to remind you to protect yourself."

"From Uncle’s perspective?" Ye Ling felt uneasy.

Living two lifetimes and only once receiving a confession from a guy, Shen Bin immediately started speaking badly about the other person. Ye Ling was genuinely annoyed and couldn’t help but compare, "Uncle Shen, you don’t know how to make a girl happy. Is that why you got divorced, because you spoke to your partner in a commanding tone?"

Shen Bin tilted his head back and laughed, his voice low, like a stream flowing gently in the dark. Ye Ling was stunned, for this laughter, combined with his chiseled features, made him seem colder, yet the laughter rendered him inexplicably gentle and elegant.

It was the first time Ye Ling saw him laugh .

And after laughing, he didn’t speak, just lowered his head to look directly at Ye Ling, making her feel uncomfortable all over.

"Then can I order you to take responsibility?" His gaze was so profound it seemed impossible to discern the depth.

Ye Ling’s face flushed hot all of a sudden; she pushed forward with both hands, feeling Shen Bin’s body strong and immovable like a wall, but dared not meet his gaze.

This annoying man, divorced already, how had she never noticed he was so thick-skinned?

His head still lowered, a muffled laugh came again, then feeling the person sitting on the bed rise, Ye Ling finally felt relieved. Only when the heat on her face subsided and she looked up again did she see Shen Bin was already lying back in bed, this time with his head toward the door. Ye Ling just glanced and immediately knew he was asleep. How to believe he was asleep was purely her intuition, even though she couldn’t explain why. Original content can be found at novel[f]ire.net

Thinking of Shen Bin’s look at her, and the empty wine bottle on the table, Ye Ling believed Shen Bin must have been drunk; otherwise, how could he have acted like that? In general, drunk people have a certain look in their eyes. And thinking back on his words, they weren’t words he’d normally say, not with his cold and hard nature.

When she quieted down alone, Ye Ling looked at the watch in her hand, recalled Shen Bin’s words, and thought of Fu Lei’s sunny smile. Ye Ling couldn’t imagine Fu Lei being someone with a dark heart.

Early the next morning, Ye Ling was set to return to school. Ye’s father didn’t hold her back, instructing Ye Ling to go back with Shen Bin. Ye Ling felt the awkwardness of last night lingering, but Shen Bin seemed to have forgotten all about it, acting as if nothing happened. Ye Ling, out of courtesy, didn’t bring up last night’s events again. (To be continued. If you work, you’re welcome to qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)