“I hope you can promise me one thing.”
At breakfast, while eating noodles, Chen Tang looked at Liu Yan very seriously.
Liu Yan hadn’t touched his chopsticks yet, because he was waiting for Chen Tang to finish eating first.
Recently, Chen Tang always talked to him about things at this time.
“You say it first, then I’ll see if I promise.”
Chen Tang didn’t dwell on it too much. “After what happened yesterday, Bai Mengling will definitely have a good impression of you. She is the only daughter of the Bai Clan. Like we discussed last night, when she encounters something like this, her parents can’t possibly not know. I heard the Bai Clan dotes on this daughter to the extreme—her parents will invite you to meet them. It’s a very serious, very formal matter.”
Liu Yan nodded. “I know. I’ve been considering it.”
“But that’s not what I want to talk about.”
“Huh?”
Wait, if that’s not what you want to talk about, then what do you want to talk about?
Are you messing with me?
Seeing his stunned expression, Chen Tang didn’t flash her usual sly smile. Instead, she spoke very seriously. “I guess you definitely think her parents will give you some difficulty or test you, maybe even hint that you two have no future. You’re probably thinking about how to handle it gracefully, how to maintain politeness and a smile, right?”
“Isn’t that obvious?” Liu Yan sighed. “This isn’t easy. My parents are just small restaurant owners. Compared to the Bai Clan… they could crush us with a finger. Can we not talk about this? I feel suffocated.”
Chen Tang’s expression remained serious. “But have you considered the possibility that her parents might be satisfied with your behavior and approve of you as a boyfriend? What then?”
“How is that possible?”
“I mean, what if something like that happens? What would you do? Just treat it as a daydream and imagine that kind of plot.”
Seeing that Chen Tang didn’t look like she was joking, Liu Yan dropped his earlier unserious demeanor. “What are you getting at?”
“Hmm~”
He closed his eyes and imagined that scenario. If Bai Mengling’s parents didn’t reject him but instead approved—like if they were actually parents who respected their daughter’s wishes, or if the Bai Clan didn’t really need a marriage alliance, but rather needed an obedient son-in-law to manage the family assets, maybe the final condition would be that among future children, one son must take the Bai surname and inherit the Bai family estate.
That was the most ideal scenario Liu Yan could imagine.
“Not good.”
He answered honestly. “I can’t imagine myself becoming the Bai Clan’s son-in-law. That kind of life is too far from the life I live.”
Chen Tang knew he was being serious. She was a bit frustrated. “Don’t you have any ambition? Haven’t you ever imagined yourself dominating the business world and becoming the world’s richest man?”
“I’ve imagined it, of course, but imagination, dreams, and ideals are different concepts. I’m not that kind of person. I can’t do that kind of thing.”
Yes, this person is driven by goodwill, not by profit.
For a man named Liu Yan, he only wants to live his own life well.
“Then make a pact with me.”
“What?”
“Never truly fall in love with Bai Mengling. Never truly let her move you. Keep yourself in a position where even if you separate from her, it won’t hurt too much. Stay clear-headed. Know that that’s not the life you want.”
“How can I promise something like that?”
“Just remember it.”
Chen Tang placed her chopsticks in the noodle bowl, then pushed the bowl along with the noodles toward Liu Yan. “You don’t need to promise me anything. Just remember it yourself. After all, no matter how good our relationship is, it’s still your life. I can’t interfere too much. It’s not like I’d trip you up just because I’m afraid you’ll drive a Land Rover, right?”
“Just keep it in mind.”
After saying this, she went to change clothes.
Today, she didn’t plan to stay by Liu Yan’s side—Bai Mengling would definitely look for Liu Yan today. She didn’t want to be an eyesore, and besides, she had things to do herself.
A student’s duty is to study.
Although she called herself the Demon Ball School Beauty, when it came to studying, she was very diligent… Even though she saw this as a novel world, the laws of physics hadn’t changed. She should still study what needed to be studied. After all, this counted as a chance to live another life, and she cherished her time as a student.
Liu Yan silently finished the remaining noodles and thought about what Chen Tang had said.
After Chen Tang changed into jeans and a rather conservative top, the two left the house together. Liu Yan rode his electric scooter and took Chen Tang to the university.
Fortunately, there was a place to park electric scooters near the school gate; otherwise, they wouldn’t know where to leave it.
According to Chen Tang’s original plan, after the morning class, she would go to the library to study. But unexpectedly, after that class, she received a call from her mother.
“Chen Tang, do you know Liu Yan’s cousin? Yes, Liu Mengmeng. She just finished the college entrance exam. She said she wants to visit your school. Do you have class? Go pick her up.”
Chen Tang was stunned. “Wait, isn’t that Liu Yan’s cousin? Why not ask Liu Yan?”
“Xiao Liu has something to do today, doesn’t he? Hey, speaking of which, your mother wants to ask you—before, when Xiao Liu was dating that Xia You, you said nothing. Now he’s dating someone else, and you still say nothing. What exactly is your intention? What’s going on between you and Xiao Liu? If you don’t like him, that’s a different matter.”
Chen Tang could sense some dissatisfaction from her parents.
Not sure if it was directed at her or at Liu Yan.
One of Liu Yan’s strengths is that he is very honest. When he was with Xia You, he would openly say so, and the same with Bai Mengling—he posted about it on his Moments.
He didn’t intend to hide it from anyone.
So her parents could also see what was going on with Liu Yan. They weren’t out of touch with the times.
“Of course I like him.”
Chen Tang replied casually. “Oh, you don’t need to worry about me and him. No matter what women are around him, he’ll eventually come back to me.”
According to the original novel’s plot, the one who ends up with Liu Yan is clearly herself.
In other words, whether Liu Yan truly dies or fakes his death, the one who stays by his side will definitely be her—that’s also her responsibility.
And now, events have proven that the Hand of Fate will bring slightly deviated plots back on track. Even if it’s not exactly the same, the general outline won’t change.
So, Chen Tang didn’t intend to resist the plot.
She could understand her parents’ worries.
“Aren’t you jealous?”
“What’s there to be jealous about?” Chen Tang replied with a smile. “The more women he’s with, the more women he sees, the more he’ll realize that I’m different. He’ll understand more and more that I’m the one he can’t leave, that I’m the most important person to him. Mom~ Holding onto a man temporarily isn’t a skill; making a man devoted to you is. So, I won’t stop him—I’ll help him.”
She could almost sense her mother’s exasperation through the screen. “You… what meaning does that have?”
“Mom, let me ask you something. What do you think is the most important thing for survival in this world?”
“Food… no, water…”
Chen Tang laughed. “Mom, it’s air~ Without food, you can live for over ten days. Without water, you can live for three days. Without air… in just a few minutes, a person would suffocate and die. To Liu Yan, I am like air. Mom~ He’s so familiar with me that he can’t realize my importance, just like people breathe every day but rarely pay attention to air.
“I need to make him choke on water from time to time. Only then will he truly understand how important air is to him. Do you understand what I mean?”
“…I can’t be bothered with your twisted logic! Just don’t come crying if someone steals your man! And go pick up Mengmeng now!”
“Okay! As you command, Mother.”
Chen Tang hung up the phone.
She slowly turned around and saw Bai Mengling standing behind her.
“Miss Bai of the Eldest Daughter, eavesdropping on someone’s phone call isn’t a good thing.”
“I just had something to discuss with you, and happened to catch your call, so I listened.”
“That’s not proper behavior for a well-bred young lady.”
Bai Mengling smiled lightly. “So I apologize.”
“And? What do you think after eavesdropping on my phone call with my mother?”
Bai Mengling stared at her. “I heard from Liu Yan that you encouraged him to confess to me. I’ve been wondering why… and today I finally understand. So you see yourself as air, and I am the water that would make him feel extremely important and necessary, that would drown him if he lost air? An interesting metaphor, an interesting way of putting it. Are you really that important to him?”
“Just a joke, Miss Bai, don’t mind it. There’s no such feeling between Liu Yan and me—I was just placating my mother. You know, for childhood friends like us, our families always think we were meant to be together. Maybe they even arranged a betrothal when we were kids, but Liu Yan and I were too young to know.
“They always think we should end up together. But I don’t think so, and obviously Liu Yan doesn’t either, so don’t worry about it. If you’re unhappy because of what I just said, I apologize. I hope you won’t take it out on Liu Yan.”
“It sounds like you think I’m petty.”
Chen Tang didn’t want to get tangled up with Bai Mengling. “Anyway, I have things to do. You heard—I have to go pick up his cousin to tour the school. Liu Yan just told me you asked him to go with you to a restaurant to meet your parents. Shouldn’t you be with him instead of looking for me? Did you want to say something? Time is limited, so please get to the point.”
“No need. Hearing what you said was enough.”
“See? You’re jealous because of what I said.”
“I’m his girlfriend. Shouldn’t I be jealous? Hearing another woman say that my boyfriend will eventually come back to her… I think I’m being quite composed by staying calm. Don’t you think, Miss Chen Tang?”
Chen Tang smiled. “Alright, I apologize again. Now I should go. Enjoy your day.”
She waved her hand and took the electric scooter keys, riding off.
X City Key High School—Liu Yan’s cousin Liu Mengmeng, although a third-degree relative, shared the same surname. This family’s background was slightly better than Liu Yan’s… after all, they could afford a school district apartment near X City Key High School, which was even more expensive than the place the two families bought together. She was also a pretty good student.
She said she had a slight slip-up in the college entrance exam, so she couldn’t get into a truly top university domestically, so she planned to apply to X City University, which was also a very good key university.
Her family was quite satisfied.
After all, this family valued having their daughter close to home.
“Sister Tang!”
Riding the electric scooter near the key high school, Chen Tang picked up Liu Mengmeng.
The girl was still dressed quite plainly—clearly not yet recovered from the college entrance exam.
Still in high school student attire… but over this summer vacation, many girls would start to learn how to dress up and transform into more adult-like appearances. Boys were usually slower; they might not look like adults until their junior or senior year of college.
Chen Tang did a sharp turn and stopped in front of Liu Mengmeng.
“Beautiful lady! Alone? Come on, get on!”
To be honest, Liu Mengmeng had an unspoken crush on her cousin—Chen Tang knew that. When the new semester starts in September, and they move into their sophomore year, this girl would enter as a freshman. Then the classic plot of “Cousin, there’s this annoying guy who wants to chase me, can you pretend to be my boyfriend?” would be triggered.
In that plot, this seemingly good-girl girl would, with some scheming, send a photo of her and Liu Yan acting as fake boyfriend to Bai Mengling.
Of course, Bai Mengling would see through it immediately—but she wouldn’t say anything directly.
She had already started to think about breaking up with Liu Yan, so she used this as an excuse to argue with him. Then, after two weeks, due to various things, the conflict between them seemed to deepen, and finally Bai Mengling said, “We’re not the same kind of people. Our thoughts are completely different. We can’t be together.”
Ending that romantic relationship.
School starts in September, and it’s now just the teens—by the way, we have final exams in two weeks. Vacation starts on the thirtieth.
Liu Yan and Bai Mengling break up in March of the following year, just after the New Year, when the new semester begins.
“Sister Tang! What’s wrong?”
“Ah! Nothing. Your cousin is on a date with a beauty today, so he asked me to pick you up. Are you disappointed?”
“No! I’m really happy that Sister Tang can pick me up! Cousin is a bad bug! I’m going to tattle!”
Hearing her sweet voice, so cute and well-behaved.
But actually, she’s a scheming girl.
Not that it matters much to me—in the end, the cousin role isn’t that important. She’s more like a tool to move the plot forward, like Shi Yiyi. Xia You, Bai Mengling, and the future advisor are the important characters.
“Alright, let’s go! I’ll take you to tour our school, and I’ll treat you to lunch.”
“Yay! Long live Sister Tang!”
awesome speech, clever metaphors. even I’m wondering if it’s real.