CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42: JUST A LITTLE BIT OF PLAYFULNESS

"But... the grandfather’s birthday banquet, you as his son, if you don’t attend... "

"When they ask, just tell them I’m sick."

"..." What a half-hearted excuse.

"Still not leaving? What? You worried I might bully this little girl?"

Yin Meng quickly shook her head like a rattle, "No, no, I just didn’t expect you, Uncle... Hehe, alright, I’m off! If anything comes up, call me!"

"Shh... keep it down."

Yin Meng covered her mouth, grabbed her bag, and backed out, closing the door along the way.

The dormitory wasn’t very big, and with a man over six feet tall inside, it instantly felt cramped.

He glanced at Su Xiaomeng, then began to examine the dormitory. Two little girls lived here, and it was much cleaner and tidier than he imagined.

On either side of the door were two desks, each connected to a storage cabinet, showcasing completely different styles.

One desk was piled with many professional books, yet it was arranged neatly. At a glance, he knew it was Yin Meng’s desk, majoring in finance, with minors in Spanish and German.

The one closer to him was a completely chaotic mess like a flea market.

Books and reference materials piled into a thick little hill, looking precarious.

A couple of small snack bags, opened and set aside, with a teacup and skincare products lumped together... carefree to the extreme.

Yin Shixiu pulled out a chair to sit down, glancing at the books stacked on her desk, casually picking up a comic book titled "Passing By Love."

He flipped through it; the protagonist of the comic was a small dog named Daodao.

No storyline, just simple text accompanying the illustrations. To someone like Yin Shixiu in his early thirties, the text felt quite pretentious.

But if the intended audience was someone like Su Xiaomeng, it perhaps wasn’t too hard to understand.

At an age where interest in love is present yet it remains bewildering, carrying hopes yet also fears.

As he flipped through, he suddenly paused and then let out a light chuckle.

The page illustrated Daodao sitting in front of a dining table, holding a big menu, with words printed beside it: "Those who know food are Jun Jie!"

Beside these words was a line penned in graceful handwriting with a ballpoint pen: "Those who do not eat food are also Jun Jie!"

The smiley face accompanying it was quite familiar, with a touch of mischievousness just right to make one’s heart itch.

He closed the book and placed it back.

Finally, his investigative gaze settled on her drawer, and his eyes remained fixed for a long time.

Privacy... this could be a big or small issue.

Yin Shixiu felt his curiosity had never been this intense. After much inner conflict, he succumbed to curiosity and pulled open the drawer.

Raising his eyebrows, the inside of the drawer was no different from the top of the desk, with a bunch of items chaotically piled together.

Casually rummaging through it, he unexpectedly came across two photographs. In one, a young girl around ten years old was with a pair of young parents, the child’s face back then really round, with eyes larger than they are now!

Those young parents, he thought, were probably Su Xiaomeng’s parents?

The father appeared plain, but the mother’s demeanor was quite refined, her smile dignified, and a simple dress exuded a sense of nobility.

Su Xiaomeng resembled her mother a lot, her face was fleshy, not fat but looked blessed.

When the second photo was piled on top, a genuine smile stiffened on Yin Shixiu’s face unconsciously.

The background was a vast ocean, the teens were about fifteen or sixteen years old, both wearing white T-shirts, one in jeans, the other in a short skirt, both soaked, their faces smudged, but when facing the camera, they smiled with great joy, appearing intimately close...