Lend Me Your Shoulder - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Since Lu Yanbai had already spoken up, openly and firmly defending Xu Yeyu, no one present—including Banna—dared to say anything more to Xu Yeyu.

The atmosphere fell into a long silence.

Xu Yeyu stood behind him, unable to see everyone’s gazes.

After thinking for a moment, uncertain whether she had actually taken the USB drive or not, Xu Yeyu didn’t want Lu Yanbai to get dragged into trouble, so she planned to speak up.

She raised her hand and gently tugged on Lu Yanbai’s sleeve to get his attention.

But before she could step out from behind him, he once again, without hesitation, tightened his grip on her wrist and pulled her back behind him.

Startled, she looked up at his back, scrunching her nose and softly saying, “Professor…”

“You don’t need to come out,” he said, turning his head and giving her a silhouette. “This has nothing to do with you.”

How could he not see that Banna was taking the opportunity to satisfy her own grudges? How could he not sense that Banna had been targeting Xu Yeyu from the start?

If this incident hadn’t happened, Banna would have found something else to use as a weapon against her.

Xu Yeyu was just a single student—how could she handle such a thorny situation?

So she had no choice but to obediently retreat behind him, emotions surging from her heart like an explosive spreading out.

Though she was unsure about what the future held, the moment he held her hand, she inexplicably felt a sense of security.

After a long silence, Banna seemed to have carefully sorted out her thoughts and said, “Fine, Yanbai, you’re protecting her, so I won’t force her to answer. But have you thought about what comes next? Are you still going to look for the USB drive?”

Banna tried to persuade them: “The thing is lost now; we have to find it. If you keep blocking progress like this, how are we supposed to move forward?”

Her words implied that Xu Yeyu was the one who took the USB drive. Unless Xu Yeyu confessed, the issue wouldn’t be resolved.

Xu Yeyu couldn’t hold back and asked, “Why is the first thing after the USB drive went missing not to look for clues, to find who stole it through evidence—but instead rely on subjective guesses like elimination and motive?”

Banna was momentarily stunned.

Xu Yeyu said, “We should first look for clues. I believe we can find them. The urgent matter isn’t to guess whether it was you, me, or him here, but to use all concrete evidence to expose the person who stole the USB.”

Banna looked at her: “Do you think clues are that easy to find? You can find them on your own? Are you sure that person would leave behind any mistakes?”

Xu Yeyu tilted her head, puzzled: “If they weren’t doing something aboveboard, how could they not slip up?”

The tense atmosphere froze for a moment, then one or two people chuckled.

“No wonder you’re a writer—talking gold just like that.”

“Alright, alright. I don’t think she’s a little innocent girl either. For now, let’s ask the hotel if anyone picked up the USB. Since we’re not even sure if it was stolen, let’s not wrong the girl. She looks clean and innocent—doesn’t seem like the type to do this.”

Earlier, many had noticed Banna was targeting Xu Yeyu, but out of respect for their partners, no one intervened. Only now did some speak up.

“Okay, it’s late today. It’s unrealistic to check the surveillance and talk to staff now. Let’s come back tomorrow to look for clues. Tell the owner to keep this room empty for now—don’t let anyone check in.”

Someone proposed at the end.

The intense “accusation banquet” finally ended. When Lu Yanbai went out, Xu Yeyu glanced back, trying to recall what had happened after she got drunk the day before.

It wasn’t just to defend herself that she said “look for clues” — she had an inexplicable sixth sense telling her the USB could be found.

After all, this place was big, and besides them, no one else knew how valuable this small item was. It was either lost somewhere or someone took it.

Lu Yanbai noticed she stopped walking, deep in thought, so he stopped and waited for her.

After a moment, Xu Yeyu turned and saw he was still standing there, stunned for a moment.

She raised her eyes: “You’re not leaving?”

He replied faintly: “I’ll take you home.”

“Oh,” she only then realized and stood by his side, “Thank you.”

When they left the hotel, Xu Yeyu felt a bit tired. She stretched and sighed softly, “I really can’t drink. Drinking causes too much trouble. If something like this happens again, it’ll be a big problem…”

Lu Yanbai glanced at her and said, “It’s not your fault.”

Xu Yeyu was stunned for a moment. His complete trust gave her unexpected confidence.

She’d been nervous in that environment and said a lot, but now she felt thirsty and instinctively licked her lips.

After getting into the car, Lu Yanbai noticed her licking her dry lips again as he turned the key.

Halfway through the drive, Xu Yeyu was “quenching her thirst with an imaginary plum” and thinking about what snacks to eat once home when the car stopped.

The man stopped the car and got out.

Xu Yeyu, a little confused, thought it better to follow him, so she got out as well.

They walked into a milk tea shop.

Standing in front of the counter, Lu Yanbai lowered his eyes and asked her, “What do you want to drink?”

Xu Yeyu was surprised and pointed at herself, “…Me?”

He nodded.

“Not thirsty?”

She rolled her eyes and blinked twice, taking two seconds to react. Suddenly her palms felt like they were burning.

—He actually noticed she was thirsty. Was this care, or is he just naturally attentive?

Looking at the menu, Xu Yeyu browsed briefly and picked something from the special drinks.

“Snow-topped coffee, please.”

But the man shook his head: “Drinking coffee this late at night? You still want to sleep?”

Xu Yeyu compromised: “Then snow-topped milk…”

“Too cold. Drink something milder.”

She pouted: “Okay, fine.”

“Then a cup of coconut juice crystal.”

Coconut juice—mild, nutritious, and healthy.

Lu Yanbai paid and leaned against the side waiting.

As the staff started making the drink, Xu Yeyu fluttered her eyelashes and leaned toward Lu Yanbai, looking up at him expectantly.

“So, professor, were you just caring about me?”

He glanced at her as if he hadn’t heard her flirtatious nonsense and automatically filtered it out.

After a pause, remembering what had happened in the room, his voice turned cold and serious: “Don’t take what happened today to heart.”

If it weren’t for him, Banna wouldn’t have targeted her so much.

Banna’s feelings toward him were openly and covertly obvious, but he always declined.

If he hadn’t taken a liking to Xu Yeyu and brought her along, Banna wouldn’t have been so hostile.

He also knew that if he hadn’t stood up for her back then, Banna’s anger would have grown.

The more he showed he valued Xu Yeyu, the more resentful Banna became.

But at that moment, seeing her standing there alone, trying to explain but unable to speak, the usually smiling girl stunned by sudden accusations—

He couldn’t control himself and had to protect her.

Xu Yeyu only realized later he was talking about Banna.

“It’s not your fault either,” she smiled belatedly, “I’m grateful you helped me today.”

He rested his fingers on the counter and lightly raised an eyebrow: “No need.”

“Because you’re my student.”

The implication: You’re my student; it’s only right I protect you.

Xu Yeyu wanted to say something but was interrupted by the service staff calling out: “Number 26, coconut juice crystal is ready.”

She took the drink; the warmth of the coconut juice permeated through the cup.

Just as Lu Yanbai was about to stand, Xu Yeyu finally mustered courage, looked him in the eye, and finished what she hadn’t said before:

“If it were another student, would you do the same…?”

He hesitated for a moment, his lashes lowering. Just as he was about to reply, a phone call interrupted him.

The milk tea shop had poor reception; Lu Yanbai walked outside to answer the call. Xu Yeyu followed closely.

The call was long and detailed.

Only after he returned to the car and waited for ten minutes was the call finished.

“I understand.”

He hung up, his voice lingering like a soft, flickering neon sign in the night, leaving a gentle pause in the air.

He glanced at the time, then turned to her: “It’s late, let’s get in the car.”

Xu Yeyu fiddled with the plastic wrapper of her drink and got into the car.

He didn’t answer her question—whether he forgot or had other reasons, she didn’t know.

That night, after showering, Xu Yeyu lay in bed, organizing the information she’d gathered about the stolen USB.

Xiang Wei listened to her talk about this strange incident and wore pajamas, cozy in her room.

“Why didn’t you confront Banna directly? Just say you didn’t do it!”

Xu Yeyu shrugged: “But I really don’t know if I did or not.”

“Can’t you be more decisive? If you don’t remember, then you didn’t do it. Didn’t you learn about equivalent exchange before?” Xiang Wei said, “For example, Lu Yanbai taking you home means he’s crazy in love with you or something.”

“…”

Xu Yeyu looked at her phone: “…What if I really took it? Because I have a total blank about that time.”

“You can’t be that drunk and lose your brain, right? Why would you take something you don’t need?”

“But I was representing myself then. Lu Yanbai brought me there. If something goes wrong, people will say Professor Lu’s student not only steals but also lies,” Xu Yeyu rubbed her nose.

Xiang Wei pursed her lips: “Fine. If you care about Professor Lu that much, then based on the clues you have, look carefully where the USB went.”

Xiang Wei said: “Didn’t you say you called a special car for Banna before? Check the order and see if the timing doesn’t add up.”

Xu Yeyu looked at Xiang Wei: “You mean…”

Xiang Wei nodded: “The possibility that the accuser is also the culprit is pretty high.”

Actually, Xu Yeyu already had some thoughts herself.

To get to the truth, she needed to gather all clues and see if anyone’s testimony had contradictions or didn’t match reality.

If she found a loophole, things would be easier.

Xu Yeyu opened the order and checked the time.

She placed the order at 11:10 PM. The driver should arrive within ten minutes. The order ended at 11:45 PM.

To confirm—and to tease Lu Yanbai a little—she sent him a message:

“Professor, are you there? Do you remember what time the party ended that day? When did Banna get in the car?”

Lu Yanbai thought for a moment and replied:

“The party ended at 11. Banna got in the car around 11:20.”

Xu Yeyu: “Okay, got it.”

Xu Yeyu: “That matches pretty well.”

Lu Yanbai: “Are you calculating clues?”

Xu Yeyu felt a little embarrassed, as if she was a professional investigator.

It was a bit embarrassing; many of her friends wrote mystery novels, so she’d picked up some small deduction skills.

Xu Yeyu asked: “Do you do this kind of thing too?”

Lu Yanbai paused.

He was a psychology professor—not really needing to be good at this.

Besides, it was too mentally taxing and troublesome.

“I can’t.”

Soon, a message came back, serious but teasing:

“Men can’t say they can’t do something.”

Lu Yanbai: “…”