Rebirth at the Start: This Fate is Too Explosive!

Chapter 554 The Debt-Paying Girl's Diary

Having eaten and drunk his fill, Ye Fan, feeling relaxed both physically and mentally, stretched out with a long yawn, his bones making a slight cracking sound.

He strolled straight to the large, comfortable leather sofa in the living room, plopped down on it, and casually pulled out his phone to browse it.

Through the bright lights between the dining room and the living room, I could see Xian Zuling's slender figure not far away, her head bowed, her hands moving quietly and with unusual focus as she busily cleared away the dishes.

Ye Fan felt an unprecedented, almost luxurious tranquility and peace in his heart.

In the business world, he is a ruthless "capital tyrant" who devours people without spitting out the bones and stirs up huge waves.

In front of Chen Wanyu, he was an insatiable and aggressive "violent prodigal son".

In this small courtyard surrounded by bamboo groves, in front of this girl who is as quiet as a traditional Chinese ink painting.

He can shed all identities and masks, and simply be a somewhat tired student who can quietly look at his phone and enjoy a moment of leisure.

Actually, it wasn't that he was unwilling to get up and help the ancestral spirit with those trivial household chores.

Rather, he knew it better than anyone else.

If he were to actually lend a helping hand, it would not bring Xian Zuling any relief or joy; on the contrary, it would bring her overwhelming fear and guilt.

The thoughts of offering sacrifices to ancestral spirits are far too sensitive, too delicate, and too filled with inferiority.

In her still-unreconstructed worldview, she felt as insignificant as dust, as low as the soil.

Ye Fan, on the other hand, is a god and benefactor who gave her a new life.

Only when Ye Fan took it for granted that he would order her around, make her cook and wash dishes, and treat her like a "useful" little girl, would her extremely sensitive and fragile self-esteem find a tiny balance that allowed her to breathe.

Only under this pretext could she somewhat "reasonably" accept and enjoy the food, warm shelter, and protection from the wind and rain that Ye Fan provided for her.

This is not affectation, but a distorted self-worth formed under long-term extreme suffering.

This is why, every time Ye Fan returns here, in front of the ancestral spirit, he always acts like a "hands-off old man" who "takes everything for granted" and disdains household chores.

This was his unique, hidden beneath his domineering nature, the most clumsy yet most effective way of showing tenderness and protection to this poor girl.

He used his "taken-for-granted" attitude to create a corner where she could temporarily find a place to put her dignity.

......

Ye Fan was aimlessly scrolling through his phone, enjoying this rare moment of relaxation.

Suddenly, a soft voice, almost drowned out by the sound of the heater, called out: "Ye Fan, classmate."

Ye Fan put down his phone and looked up.

The spirit of the ancestors had silently moved to the side of the sofa, standing awkwardly like a mimosa plant.

She wrung her hands tightly in front of the faded cotton fabric, her fingertips turning slightly white from the excessive force.

The moment she met Ye Fan's probing gaze, she seemed to take a deep breath as if she had used all her strength, and then tremblingly pulled out a stack of carefully arranged banknotes from that equally old pocket, and carefully handed it to Ye Fan.

This stack of money varies in thickness and material.

Inside were crisp red 100-yuan bills, as well as lighter-colored 50-yuan and 20-yuan bills, and even a few 10-yuan bills with their creases smoothed out but still rough edges.

They were arranged neatly according to their denominations, edges aligned, and gently bound together with a simple rubber band, held taut at her fingertips due to tension.

Faced with the stack of money, which suddenly appeared before him and had a rough, everyday feel to it, even Ye Fan, who was used to seeing all sorts of things, was genuinely stunned for a moment and didn't quite react.

Xian Zuling lowered her head slightly, not daring to look him in the eye. Her voice was barely audible, yet it carried an undeniable, almost obstinate seriousness:

"I just received my wages from the part-time job I did recently. I'm returning this money to you."

"Um?"

Ye Fan raised an eyebrow in confusion, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the stack of money and her small face, which was tense with nervousness.

immediately!

A playful, slightly teasing smile curved his lips as he deliberately spoke in a relaxed tone:

"What kind of money is this? Is it your salary to be handed over?"

He drawled, "Tsk, isn't it a bit too early for us to talk about this now?"

"No, no!"

Upon hearing the four ambiguous and suggestive words "salary to be handed over," Xian Zuling's fair neck and earlobes instantly flushed a tempting crimson. She waved her hands frantically, her speech quickening:

"This is...this is the money you gave me to buy a phone last time..."

Her voice lowered, but became even more resolute:

"I later secretly went to a mobile phone store outside the school to ask, and that phone wasn't the cheap one you said cost a few hundred yuan at all; it cost over a thousand yuan..."

Seemingly afraid that Ye Fan wouldn't believe her or wouldn't accept the money, she hurriedly pushed the stack of money forward, almost touching Ye Fan's sleeve, her tone carrying a sense of earnestness as if she had completed a mission:

"Here's a total of 1,500 yuan. Besides the money for the phone, there's the money you put on my meal card when school started, and the very expensive groceries you often had delivered. Of course, there are also the daily necessities you bought for me at the beginning of the semester..."

Her voice trailed off as she spoke, but her words remained clear and articulate: "I've written everything down in my diary, word by word."

The playful smile on Ye Fan's lips gradually faded as she earnestly began to "keep accounts."

His eyes, deep as the starry night sky, were now incredibly focused, fixed on her as if trying to see through her lowered eyelids into her sensitive and stubborn inner world.

He pursed his lips and remained silent.

The warm atmosphere in the living room seemed to freeze and cool down in an instant, as his expression changed.

The air became thick and heavy.

Xian Zuling felt uneasy under Ye Fan's silent yet penetrating gaze. The invisible, absolute pressure from a superior made her slender body tremble slightly.

Her sensitive and fragile heart began to pound wildly and uncontrollably, as if it were about to burst out of her chest.

In her panic, she buried her head even deeper, her gaze fixed on the stack of banknotes in her hand, still warm and damp with her own sweat. Her voice began to tremble with a hint of grievance and a soft sob.

"I...I know this money is definitely not enough, but this is all I have right now. I'll give you more when I get my salary next month...I promise...I promise I'll pay it all back..."