On a lazy afternoon, after finishing preparations for tomorrow’s lessons, I sprawled across the desk, letting out a sluggish yawn.
“Hmm~ As expected, afternoons like this are perfect for a nice nap~”
But just a few seconds after I laid my head down, the notification sound of a WeChat message chimed from my phone.
Who the heck is messaging me in the middle of the afternoon, disturbing my nap?
Pouting and slightly annoyed, I grabbed my phone, brows furrowed, eager to see which guy was so free and not napping in the middle of the afternoon.
When I opened my phone, it was a message from Mo Yu, the guy I met at noon today.
[Yu: Is Miss Gui Ye free after work today? I’d like to invite you to have dinner together~]
Attached to the message was an adorable animated cat emoji with an expectant expression, clearly stolen from some girl.
Wow, we just met today, and you’re already asking me out, skipping the whole chatting phase?
You’re moving way too fast, buddy.
[Ye: Just the two of us? But didn’t Teacher Qian Yin seem so excited about spending the evening with you at noon? She was all over you, asking this and that.]
Even though I could already tell what he was after, I pretended to be clueless and responded casually.
After sending the message, I waited for a long time without a reply.
[Yu: Of course, it’ll be you, me, and Qian Yin, the three of us together. We’ll go to that fancy seafood restaurant in the city center.]
It took Mo Yu a long time to send that message.
If his goal was to pursue me, normally, he wouldn’t be doing other things while texting me for the first time.
Making me wait too long could lower my impression of him.
So, I guessed he was probably hesitating about whether to include Qian Yin.
If he wants to pursue me, bringing Qian Yin along would make things much harder.
But if he didn’t invite her and deliberately created a one-on-one situation, I’d think he’s up to no good.
Plus, if Qian Yin found out, he’d have a hard time explaining himself.
[Ye: Won’t I just end up being a third wheel then?]
[Yu: No, no, I won’t leave Miss Gui Ye out.]
Oh, so you’re planning to make Qian Yin the third wheel instead?
What a sleazy guy!
Well, I guess I’m not exactly in a position to judge him…
Anyway, I’ve had enough fun playing along—it’s about time to wrap this up.
But what’s the best way to handle this?
After a moment of thought, I came up with a great idea.
In situations like this, outright rejecting him might lead to him pestering me endlessly.
The best approach is to give a vague, noncommittal response, stringing him along to make him think I’m wavering.
[Ye: In that case, let me think about it.]
[Yu: Alright.]
With skills like that, you’re still far from being a player~
I turned off my phone screen, set it aside, and flopped back onto the desk, ready to take a nap.
As for the boss checking in?
That’s not a problem for me.
You talk about docking my pay?
I don’t even get paid.
Threaten to fire me?
If I get fired, I’ll just dance on the spot…
Of course, with that jerk Ning Xueyang around, such a happy outcome is impossible.
So, I’m not afraid of the boss checking in.
Sleeping… maybe not.
The premise of not fearing a check-in is that the one doing the checking isn’t Ning Xueyang.
After all, she only shows up for my classes and no one else’s.
If she catches me napping defenselessly in the office…
At that thought, I immediately sat up and scanned the office.
At that moment, there were no other teachers around, which struck me as odd.
Huh?
Where’s Qian Yin?
Didn’t she have no classes this afternoon either?
Just as I was wondering where Qian Yin had gone, a mature, sultry voice came from behind me.
“Is Teacher Gui Ye sleepy? Want to have some coffee together?”
I turned around to see Qian Yin brewing coffee by the water dispenser.
Hmph~ Your precious boyfriend is about to ditch you for me, and here you are offering me coffee.
How can you be this clueless in this world?
Even dumber than before, and so easy to fool.
Mo Yu’s intentions were so obvious at noon, weren’t they?
“Then I’ll trouble you~~
Although that’s what I thought in my heart, I still accepted the other party’s kindness.
Would Qian Yin really be that foolish?
I started to ponder…
Maybe she actually noticed at noon but tolerated it because of her affection for Mo Yu?
‘So, what did you think of your Mo Yu’s performance at noon today?’
‘Really great~ He offered to treat me to lunch and even walked me home.’
‘But when you were talking to him at noon, he was so dismissive and kept staring at me.’
‘Was he dismissive?’
Qian Yin raised her head thoughtfully.
‘I don’t think so, but it’s true he kept looking at Teacher Gui Ye. After all, you’re so cute—who wouldn’t want to sneak a few more glances?’
‘Tch, fine, whatever.’
Faced with Qian Yin’s response, I completely gave up.
I really didn’t know what to say.
There’s got to be a limit to being dense, right?!
‘Teacher Gui Ye, your coffee~’
Qian Yin placed a disposable paper cup filled with coffee in front of me, flashing a cute smile that carried a natural charm.
‘Oh, thanks.’
Ugh! She clearly has the perfect mature figure, yet she’s acting all cutesy and naive, like a little loli who’d follow someone for a lollipop.
A classic case of beauty without brains!
‘What are you and your boyfriend doing after work this afternoon?’
I sipped my coffee and casually asked Qian Yin.
‘No idea. Let me check if he said anything.’
As she spoke, Qian Yin took out her phone and fiddled with it.
‘Hmm… no messages yet. Oh! Here’s one! He says after I get off work, we’re going to a fancy seafood restaurant downtown, and if it’s okay, he’d like to invite Teacher Gui Ye too.’
Well, well, well. So he invited me first and then Qian Yin, huh?
Just as I suspected.
But when I read that he wanted to bring me along, there was a hint of displeasure in his tone!
A rookie playboy and a naive, forgiving older sister type—you two are truly a perfect match.
Sigh, fine.
I’ll help this dummy out.
Otherwise, who knows when Mo Yu might sell her off, and she’d still be counting the money for him.
I’ll help this naive Qian Yin see what her so-called perfect, swoon-worthy boyfriend is really like.
With that thought, I made up my mind and opened WeChat on my phone, only to find another message from Mo Yu.
[Yu: Has Teacher Gui Ye made up her mind? If you’re willing to come, you can order whatever you want for dinner~]
A fancy restaurant where a meal could cost tens of thousands, and I can order anything?
Oh?
So he’s trying to win me over with money, huh?
Didn’t expect this guy to be loaded.
But it’s useless.
Back then, even the heiress of the Ning Corporation failed to win me over with money after I dumped her.
(Though now Ning Xueyang is trying other approaches, like…)
Well, if he thinks a money offensive will work, I’ll play along.
I’ve got a plan: pretend to get close to Mo Yu, let Qian Yin see his true colors, and then reveal the truth to Mo Yu and cut ties with him.
I refuse to believe Qian Yin won’t see through that scumbag by then.
[Night: Really? You’re too sweet, little brother~]
[Yu: Then it’s a date!]
As for why I’m helping Qian Yin… it’s my way of making up for the past. Before my rebirth, I treated her the same way that despicable Mo Yu does now.
But honestly, Qian Yin is way too easy to handle now…
Back then, it took me so much effort to win her over.