After finishing the fried chicken, Chen Bin continued to help He Beibei with her studies.
But not long after, his stomach started making a racket.
He quickly ran to the bathroom.
From that point on, he began having diarrhea repeatedly.
After five or six trips, he was completely drained.
His legs wobbled as he walked.
Only when he noticed He Beibei’s flushed face, visibly suppressing her laughter, did Chen Bin realize.
But he was so exhausted now that he didn’t even have the energy to scold her.
He went straight to the living room, collapsed on the sofa, and fell asleep soundly.
The next morning, forcing himself to get up, Chen Bin started being more cautious.
He wasn’t about to let that little troublemaker fool him again.
Before stepping down from the sofa, he carefully observed his surroundings.
Only after confirming there was nothing amiss did he slowly put on his shoes and stand up.
He walked into the bathroom just as He Beibei finished brushing her teeth.
She handed him an unopened toothbrush, smiling as she spoke.
"Hero bro, want me to squeeze the toothpaste for you?"
Chen Bin snatched the toothbrush from her, answering gruffly.
"No need! Who knows what tricks you’ve got up your sleeve again?"
"Hmph, fine, don’t do it then. Why are you so fierce?"
Making a silly face at Chen Bin, He Beibei finally left the bathroom.
Chen Bin opened the toothbrush packaging himself, confirmed there was nothing wrong, and then grabbed the toothpaste nearby.
To be honest, He Chaoping’s family really was thrifty.
The toothpaste was almost completely used up, yet they still kept it around.
As he marveled at this, Chen Bin twisted off the cap of the toothpaste.
He had to squeeze it hard for a while before managing to get a tiny bit out.
While brushing, however, he suddenly felt something was off.
Regular toothpaste always had a cooling sensation—so why was this one so... spicy?!
An intense heat surged straight to his head; Chen Bin felt like his mouth was on fire.
He quickly turned the faucet on, planning to rinse his mouth, only to find the water had been shut off!
In his desperation, he suddenly remembered there was still half a cup of ice water leftover from last night.
He raced to the dining table, grabbed last night’s glass, and downed it in one gulp.
Turns out it was boiling water!
Chen Bin was just about to lose his temper when He Beibei, while changing her shoes, said casually.
"I turned the water back on for you. Oh, and remember to mop the floor later, otherwise, it’ll be covered with your drool."
As soon as she finished speaking, she darted out the door.
Chen Bin couldn’t bother with that anymore; he hurried back to the bathroom, splashing cold water on his mouth over and over.
After about five or six minutes, the burning sensation in his mouth finally started to fade.
While mopping the floor, he decided he absolutely couldn’t let this slide.
If he didn’t do something in return, He Beibei would undoubtedly escalate her antics in the future.
That evening, when he went to pick up He Beibei from her evening study at Tianhai No.1 Middle School, Chen Bin kept a stern face the entire time.
She clearly realized he was genuinely angry and didn’t dare to say a word, quietly following beside him like a well-behaved child.
But Chen Bin had no intention of letting her off the hook so easily.
Back at home, as He Beibei unpacked her bag and prepared to start her homework like usual, Chen Bin pointed at the stationery in front of her, his expression serious.
"Write me a reflection on this morning’s incident—at least 800 words. You have one hour."
"I’m already exhausted from school, and now you’re..."
"I really have a lot of homework tonight, can we..."
"A thousand words in one hour?! That’s impossible!"
"Fine! Stop, stop! One thousand it is; I’ll write it now!"
"It needs to be thorough. If it’s not good enough, you’ll have to rewrite it!"
Slightly sighing, He Beibei felt so wronged she wanted to cry.
It was just a harmless prank in the morning—did he really have to get so angry?
And they weren’t even dating yet. If they became boyfriend and girlfriend, would it turn even worse?
The more she thought about it, the more upset she grew, and tears started streaming down her face.
Chen Bin had initially intended to assert his authority in front of her, but he hadn’t expected to scare the little girl to tears.
Upon reflection, he realized his actions were a bit extreme.
She was only a freshman in high school, and her studies already had her worn out.
Coming home, he didn’t let her focus on homework but instead forced her to write a reflection—that was over the line.
Hurriedly grabbing a tissue, he gently wiped the tears off He Beibei’s face and softly said.
"Never mind, you don’t need to write the reflection. But please, don’t play pranks on me like that again, okay?"
He Beibei leaned against Chen Bin’s shoulder, sobbing even louder.
"I only mess with you because I like you! Why do you have to treat me ?"
Hearing her sobs, Chen Bin felt his heart shatter.
In that moment, he thought of himself as a terrible person.
It took him a long time to comfort her before she calmed down.
Afterward, He Beibei became significantly more restrained.
She obediently finished her homework and even voluntarily handed it to Chen Bin to check.
But for some reason, Chen Bin always felt she was just pretending.
Her mischievous mind must still be plotting ways to mess with him again.
Fortunately, that evening, He Chaoping and Zheng Najiao came back home.
After hearing the details, Chen Bin learned that He Chaoping had a minor concussion from falling down drunk.
The doctor initially recommended a few more days of observation in the hospital, but He Chaoping was worried about He Beibei, so he insisted on being discharged.
"Secretary Chen, thank you so much for everything yesterday. We don’t know many people in Tianhai; it’s a blessing Beibei has you to look after her."
Forcing a polite smile, Chen Bin shook his head.
"It was nothing. I have free time after work anyway, and Beibei is a good girl—very well-behaved."
After bidding farewell to He Chaoping’s family, Chen Bin felt lighter walking down the stairs.
Just as he was about to hail a cab back to his dorm, a WeChat message from Xu Ruoxuan arrived.
"Hey, come to my place; I need to talk to you."
Underneath that was a pinned location.
Chen Bin had never been to Xu Ruoxuan’s home before—after all, it was Feng Lei’s house, and visiting felt a bit inappropriate.
However, since Xu Ruoxuan had taken the initiative, she obviously had her reasons.
He replied immediately, "Okay, I’ll be there soon!"
Taking a cab to the location, Chen Bin rang the doorbell, and Xu Ruoxuan quickly answered the door.
But the scene that greeted him left Chen Bin astounded.
Xu Ruoxuan’s cheek bore five distinct finger marks.
Clearly, she’d been slapped.
Suppressing the fury rising in his chest, Chen Bin asked.
"What happened to your face, sis?"
In his heart, he had long considered Xu Ruoxuan his woman.
Whoever dared hit his woman was asking for trouble!