Chapter 8 – Rarely Found

Although Ye Zhou and Guan Heng were neighbors, their relationship wasn’t close enough for them to casually enter each other’s homes. But given the current situation, Ye Zhou couldn’t afford to be picky, though it did disrupt his initial plans somewhat.

Ye Zhou handed the keys to his house over to Guan Heng, asking him to open the door. He had noticed something from earlier: “Are you left-handed?”

“Yes.” Although Guan Heng had trained his right hand to function similarly to a regular person’s, he was naturally left-handed and preferred using his left hand in private. “You’re very observant.”

“Mm, I’m used to it,” Ye Zhou admitted without denial. “It’s probably related to my job; I subconsciously pay attention to these details…”

Guan Heng gave him a smile, accurately locating the light switch after opening the door, then proceeded to push Ye Zhou’s wheelchair behind him. Ye Zhou was momentarily stunned watching Guan Heng’s adept movements before laughing. “If I didn’t know that the two houses have a symmetrical design, I’d think you often visit my home. You look so skilled at this, it startled me.”

Guan Heng responded earnestly but not seriously: “It’s not hard to guess, the previous owner mentioned it when I bought the house.”

“How did you end up wanting to buy the house next door…” Curiosity got the better of Ye Zhou regarding why Guan Heng would choose a villa that shared a courtyard with another, considering his financial capabilities suggested he could have opted for something better. However, as soon as the question left his lips, he regretted it, recalling the morning incident—it couldn’t be because of his breakup with his ex-boyfriend, could it…

Guan Heng seemed to understand the reason for Ye Zhou’s hesitation, showing no significant reaction: “It’s closer to the school.”

Ye Zhou thought it might have been due to his injury, causing him to speak without thinking today. To avoid another slip-up, he simply agreed: “Mm, indeed it’s quite close.”

It was almost time for Guan Heng to leave, as Ye Zhou felt uncomfortable imposing further upon him since they weren’t particularly close.

However, Guan Heng didn’t seem to be in a hurry to go, instead looking at Ye Zhou’s leg: “How did you fall?”

Ye Zhou hadn’t expected Guan Heng to pry into such matters, but it wasn’t as if it was a secret worth hiding. With a helpless chuckle, he recounted what happened at the restaurant: “…and then, fearing the man would escape, I didn’t have time to think much and impulsively threw myself down the stairs, and thus…I fell…”

Guan Heng’s expression remained neutral, but he listened intently. It was hard for anyone to resist his focused gaze.

Ye Zhou was used to handling intense situations, but even he couldn’t help being taken aback by Guan Heng’s intense stare, feeling a sudden warmth on his cheeks. He subtly averted his gaze, joking: “Sounds pretty stupid, doesn’t it?”

As Ye Zhou spoke, Guan Heng had already seated himself on the sofa, speaking calmly: “Not at all, you were brave.”

Ye Zhou looked at him in surprise, expecting a teacher to offer some form of lecture.

“It was just a bit reckless.”

Ye Zhou laughed again at this gentle reprimand, which was new to him but appreciated. He confessed his thoughts openly: “I don’t know how I ended up doing something like this…it must have been a momentary impulse. But that man was really…”

Ye Zhou found himself trailing off. As he described the events, he inadvertently added his own questions to the narrative.

Guan Heng, however, was straightforward in his response: “You mean about forcing girls to wear short skirts?”

“Mm.” Ye Zhou had heard from the police during his record-taking that the man had a peculiar fetish, evident from his prior offenses involving forcing girls to wear revealing clothes or skirts. The short skirt was prepared by the man himself; the victims never wore them and disliked them.

Guan Heng observed Ye Zhou’s expression quietly before saying: “Perhaps he has a fetish, but it’s likely also to prevent her from displaying overtly resistant behavior.”

Ye Zhou was visibly taken aback, having never considered such an explanation. Curious, he asked: “What do you mean?”

“In simple terms, it’s a psychological effect; the shortness of the skirt makes it easy for others to see underneath, making the girl subconsciously more afraid to resist.” Guan Heng’s voice sounded soothing in the quiet living room. His pace was calm, his tone gentle, without any sense of authority or condescension. It felt like a casual conversation, making it interesting to continue listening, yet the content was serious and thought-provoking. “Parents with daughters have likely all done one thing—asked their daughters to be more reserved in public, especially not to spread their legs when sitting in a skirt, not to make indecent gestures…even if not parents, classmates, friends, teachers, elders, strangers…this idea, passed down through word of mouth, has deeply rooted itself in every family, a societal constraint on women, and can also be a subconscious self-restraint for women. The perpetrator may not know the principle, but he knows to do this, it’s what his family background and the entire social environment taught him.”

After hearing this lengthy explanation, Ye Zhou was still processing it. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand, but he hadn’t expected such depth behind a simple matter.

In fact, Ye Zhou’s first thought was that Guan Heng truly lived up to his reputation as a teacher. Accompanying this thought was the realization of Guan Heng’s inadvertent display of powerful confidence and assertiveness in his speech. Yet, Guan Heng’s appearance wasn’t overly aggressive, even now, Ye Zhou only felt the comfort of chatting with a friend. This made him intriguing and compelling, perhaps that’s what embodied Guan Heng’s unique charm.

Ye Zhou was genuinely impressed, not knowing what else to say except to praise him: “You’re amazing, I never thought of that.”

Guan Heng wasn’t being modest, merely stating facts: “It’s habit, I majored in sociology.”

Sociology is a science that studies society, primarily exploring relationships between people, between individuals and groups, and between groups. Ye Zhou’s understanding was limited to the surface meaning, lacking deeper comprehension, but he wasn’t afraid of being mocked by Guan Heng: “I thought this was within the realm of psychology…”

“The scope of sociology is extremely broad, inevitably overlapping with knowledge from other disciplines.” Guan Heng didn’t elaborate further; he wasn’t the type to show off his knowledge, stopping at the point where he needed to. The more knowledgeable someone is, the more humble they tend to be. An intangible foundation shapes a person’s character, with appearance secondary to inner qualities. But if both were present, it was indeed rarely found.

Ye Zhou sensed something amiss. But he couldn’t deny that this side of Guan Heng was attractive.

Guan Heng hadn’t stayed to chat with Ye Zhou, knowing the reason for his visit. He then asked: “Is there anything upstairs you need me to fetch for you? Do you want to change your clothes?”

Ye Zhou was instantly brought back to reality by this question.

Living in a villa had its perks, with upper and lower floors, but the downside was situations like Ye Zhou’s now, unable to climb stairs with his injured foot. He might need to temporarily stay in the guest room on the first floor for a few weeks. There was a bathroom on the first floor, so it wasn’t inconvenient, except that his clothes were upstairs in the bedroom.

Ye Zhou had run and fallen today, leaving his clothes dirty. Even if he couldn’t take a bath, he did want to change his clothes: “Mm…then I’ll trouble you. My room is the first one on the left on the second floor. Just grab me a set of clean clothes and pajamas from the wardrobe.”

“Alright.” Before going upstairs, Guan Heng checked out the first-floor bathroom. When he returned downstairs, he brought not only clean clothes but also fresh towels, a toothbrush, and a cup for rinsing, as the first-floor bathroom clearly wasn’t Ye Zhou’s usual one, clean and empty, lacking daily necessities.

Ye Zhou could tell that Guan Heng was an exceptionally meticulous person, evident from his impeccable attire. Guan Heng’s clothing was simple and elegant, free from flashy designs. It was clear that the price wasn’t cheap, but not outrageously expensive either. Ye Zhou hadn’t dared ask Guan Heng to fetch underwear, finding it too awkward, planning to make do for the night. But when he received the clothes, he discovered a black pair of underwear tucked inside: “…”

In comparison, Guan Heng was more forthright: “Need any help?”

Ye Zhou was momentarily stunned upon hearing this. Help with what? Bathing? Or changing clothes?

But regardless of which, it didn’t seem appropriate given their relationship. Ye Zhou hastily declined: “No, I can manage on my own.”

“Alright, then be careful.”

Ye Zhou realized he was wavering, unwilling to let Guan Heng linger: “Thank you for today.”

“You’re welcome.” Guan Heng likely felt he had overstayed his welcome. He glanced at Ye Zhou’s leg in a cast, then took out his business card for work, placing it on the table. “Call me if you need any help.”

“Okay.”

Watching Guan Heng leave, Ye Zhou sighed as he looked at the business card on the table. He had a feeling of “I knew it would be like this,” his preconceived balance completely disrupted.