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Chapter 172: You're Different (2)

It was noticeably warmer inside the house and when her mind thought back to Zhao Chengning outside just now, she wondered how long he'd been standing there for. She then sent Shen Jingchen off to dig out a set of clothes for Zhao Chengning to change into once he'd had a nice warm bath and warmed up a bit. Afterwards, she led him to the guest room.

There were two guest rooms on the first floor. Qu Yanxin had stayed in one of the rooms before, so Shen Jingbin brought him to the other room.

"Gimme a minute," Although the room was quite large, it was still reasonably clean in spite of its lack of use so Shen Jingbin had Zhao Chengning wait on a small sofa before she began pulling off the bed sheets.

While the room was clean, it'd still be better to change the bed sheets and the rest of the covers. Aunt Zhang wasn't around and she couldn’t possibly have the guest do it himself, so she took up the task herself. On the other hand, Zhao Chengning remained seated on the sofa and watched her bustle about, his mind brimming with emotion.

Speaking of which, emotions were truly an enigma. Although Jian Cishu had followed in his footsteps for years, he had absolutely no feelings for her; he couldn’t even bear the thought of being near her.

Many of the friends from wealthy families that he'd hung out with in his younger days relied on their wealth and status to mess around. Their love lives especially were in a complete mess. He used to envy these people when he was younger and less experienced, he felt that their spirited way of living was how people their age should really be like.

However, his Grandfather's strict military background prevented him from mixing with that group of friends. His Grandfather cared a great deal about him so in the words of Benjamin Franklin: love well, whip well. His Grandfather would always heavily punish him for the slightest of mistakes.

In the beginning, he felt resentful towards his Grandfather. However, as the years went by, he began to understand his Grandfather's intentions, setting his heart at ease. In the process, he was gradually shaped into a calm and collected individual.

Now, he was beyond thankful for having a Grandfather that reigned him in during his younger days when he was inexperienced. It had also saved him the guilt he'd have otherwise felt when he stood before a girl he liked.

After tidying up the place, Shen Jingbin turned to see Zhao Chengning gently smiling at her.

He was already handsome, to begin with, which caused the smile that now graced his lips to appear even more attractive.

He usually wore a smile when he interacted with others, but that smile of his never felt genuine. In fact, he was an exact replica of his Father – an unscrupulous businessman.

How he acted today was a rare occurrence – she'd only see this side of him when the two of them were alone.

Shen Jingbin couldn't help but pause so folding her arms across her chest, she leaned against the desk beside the bed. Her eyes were full of mirth as she admired the picture-perfect guy in front of her.

Feeling her gaze on him, Zhao Chengning roused himself from his reverie. He looked at her and asked, "Why're you looking at me like that?"

As their gazes met, a peculiar atmosphere pervaded the air.

Shen Jingbin suddenly felt like teasing him. "You're pretty good-looking."

"You just noticed?"

"… I've only just realised that you're so narcissistic," Shen Jingbin's lips curled. "When are you going back?"

"I don't know. The main reason why I came here this time was for that talk at your school. The plan was to originally go back tomorrow, but it looks like it'll have to depend on when Jian Cishu wants to go back now," Zhao Chengning's dashing brows furrowed when he spoke of Jian Cishu.

"Jian Cishu?" She recalled that sweet-looking girl. "You're pretty nice to her."

Zhao Chengning's brows lifted. "She's a family friend, so no matter what, I still have to show some patience on account of the elders, no?"

Shen Jingbin felt like he was insinuating something. "Is that also the case for me?" She asked.

Did that mean that he was only nice to her because their Grandfathers were good friends?

Upon hearing her words, Zhao Chengning immediately retracted the mirth in his eyes. "No," He gave her a profound look and said resolutely, "You're different."

"How am I different?" Shen Jingbin asked on reflex.

She froze once she asked that. She suddenly thought of what happened in B University the previous time.

He'd had the same earnest expression on his face when he'd asked whether she liked guys like him.

Honestly, she was quite dense when it came to things like romance… Well, not exactly dense, but more of her being reluctant to pay attention to things like that. Even so, she could still vaguely tell that Zhao Chengning had feelings for her.

Sometimes, Shen Jingchen would also discuss these kinds of things with her and ask her what type of guys she liked.

She thought back to how she'd replied to him before – she liked guys that were cool, gentle, and charming.

When Shen Jingchen heard her answer, he immediately howled, "Our Guildmaster's exactly like that!" He then immediately decided to tie the red string of fate between the two of them.

Quiet And Steadfast's personality did indeed match the type of guys she liked. However, she didn't want to invest her feelings in someone she'd only ever met in a game.

To her, no matter how realistic the game got, it was still just a game. She wasn't like Shen Jingchen, who genuinely regarded the people he met online as true bros. In a world made up of numbers and data, it was hard to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Take for instance how she was known as the ugliest player in the game, or how much of a disconnect there was between Slight Chill and Jiang Weiwei.

Who knew what kind of person Quiet and Steadfast was like in real life?

Zhao Chengning, on the other hand, was different.

He fit what she had in mind as her ideal partner. On top of that, his looks and background far exceeded her expectations. If for whatever reason, she had to choose a partner to fall in love with, she would definitely pick Zhao Chengning.

This was also why she was always more patient towards him.

"Jian Cishu's just the daughter of a family friend."

But you're the apple of my eye.

Zhao Chengning didn't voice the other half of what he thought. However, given Shen Jingbin's intelligence, how could she not understand what he was hinting at?

Shen Jingbin suddenly felt like she was floating on clouds and smiled as she straightened her back. However, just as she was about to say something, Shen Jingchen dashed in with a set of clothes in hand.

"Ah Ning, I found you some clothes. They're still new so don't worry, I haven't worn them."

"This room has an adjoining bathroom so you can bathe here," Shen Jingchen said as he stuffed the clothes into Zhao Chengning's hands. "We won't disturb you then. Rest well and goodnight!"

With that, he dragged Shen Jingbin out with him.

"Leader, your love rival's too strong, this is all I can do to help. I'll have to turn renegade if you don't make a move soon," Shen Jingchen thought sorrowfully.