Bai Mengling coming to eat at their house was a rare event. For both Chen Tang and Liu Yan, it was the first time they had ever hosted an outsider.
Liu Yan’s family were chefs, and on this matter, he was unexpectedly old-fashioned.
Simply put…this man decided to cook a feast for lunch today.
From Chen Tang’s perspective, regardless of the circumstances, since Bai Mengling was visiting, making a big meal was only right…even if no matter what they prepared, to the Eldest Miss Bai, it might just be worthless stuff. But no matter what Bai Mengling thought, their intentions had to be clear.
Though as the Demon King, Chen Tang didn’t usually handle such matters.
Still, she had her own thoughts.
The electric scooter was at the改装 shop. Liu Yan said he wanted to watch them personally to make sure no parts got swapped, especially the battery.
He told Chen Tang and Bai Mengling to go to the market first, look around and buy things, and after he finished here, he’d drive the scooter over to pick up the groceries, and the three of them could go back together.
Bai Mengling looked very interested.
She had no complaints about going with Chen Tang alone.
Though she herself had hardly ever been to a market.
As soon as she reached the market entrance, she frowned.
The smell of raw meat and fish hit her nostrils.
The Eldest Miss Bai seemed uncomfortable, which was perfectly normal…after all, for someone like her, she’d rarely done such things. She seldom saw ingredients in their unprocessed state.
“President Bai, bear with it. This kind of place always has these smells. If you’re not used to it, wait outside for a bit. I roughly know what Liu Yan plans to buy. Just tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll get it all at once.”
“No, I’ll go in with you. This is also part of life.”
She endured it.
Chen Tang shrugged. She didn’t care either way.
“Speaking of which, President Bai, I know it’s a bit late to ask now, but I don’t really understand why you agreed to Liu Yan’s confession. Saying you want to date or something sounds too forced. What made you choose Liu Yan?”
Here it is, here it is!
She knew it!
Bai Mengling knew that as soon as she was alone with Chen Tang, this woman would definitely probe her!
That was exactly why, even though the market smell was hard for Bai Mengling to bear, she still silently followed along—she had to stay with Chen Tang.
Because Liu Yan wasn’t here.
Chen Tang had been sarcastic with her since their first meeting this morning.
One moment “Eldest Miss Bai,” the next “President Bai,” then talking about different social classes and so on—but you still couldn’t help it, could you? You had to ask me this question, right?
Now it’s my turn to shine!
A contemptuous smile curled on her face. “Oh? You care about this?”
Seeing that expression, Chen Tang knew this woman had been waiting a long time for her to ask. She’d finally spoken up; if she hadn’t, the woman might have burst from holding it in.
“Of course I care.”
But to Bai Mengling’s surprise—contrary to her assumption that Chen Tang would be “tsundere”—Chen Tang immediately and frankly admitted to her counter-question.
That was just Chen Tang’s opening move, though.
She thought back to the painful things from both her lives and let tears well up in her eyes.
She almost admired herself—she felt she had the potential to be an Oscar-winning actress.
The tears came on cue.
“Of course I care…”
She repeated the words, but this time they sounded aggrieved.
“I grew up with him. I’ve always been by his side… I know you, Bai Mengling—you’re powerful, born with a golden spoon, great figure, good temper—you’re every man’s dream girl… It’s only natural he’d fall for you… But…”
Bai Mengling suddenly felt this was tricky.
She didn’t think she was a bad person. So Chen Tang suddenly putting on this pitiful act made Bai Mengling at a loss.
Come on, is it really that serious?
It was just a remark…
“Actually, no matter what, as long as he’s happy, as long as he can live happily, I’m fine with anything.”
This sentence had a bit of sincerity, because for the past ten-plus years, that was exactly how she had acted—even though the price was becoming the so-called Demon Pill.
“But, Bai Mengling… you will definitely hurt him.”
Tears were almost falling.
“I will definitely hurt him?”
Bai Mengling couldn’t let that slide. “What makes you say that?”
“Are you going to marry him? Are you going to be with him till the end?”
Chen Tang asked back.
She looked a bit stubborn, but it made Bai Mengling fall silent.
“See! You can’t answer! You won’t marry him! You won’t stay with him! From the start, you never intended to respect his feelings!”
“Then Liu Yan also dated Xia You! And they broke up!”
“So Xia You is a bitch!”
Chen Tang made a direct judgment. “She’s a bitch! She never deserved Liu Yan! If you keep dating him, you’re just hurting him!”
Bai Mengling narrowed her eyes. She caught the hidden meaning in Chen Tang’s words. “You mean… I shouldn’t be with him?”
“Exactly! Because he hasn’t fully fallen for you yet. He doesn’t truly like you right now. You two should break up!”
“Oh? That’s interesting. According to you, isn’t he the one deceiving my feelings? Why don’t you blame him instead of picking on me?”
“Because you should never have agreed!” Chen Tang retorted, sounding a bit guilty. “None of you women truly care about him! Only I do! I will always stay by his side! Let me ask you, now that we’re all in college, if Liu Yan asked you to marry him right now, would you say yes?”
“No.”
Bai Mengling disdained to lie about this.
“I would! If he needed it, I would marry him immediately!”
Chen Tang wasn’t lying either. It was just a nine-yuan certificate; what did it matter? It wasn’t like she’d marry anyone else anyway.
In the end, it all depended on how the person involved saw it.
So she said it confidently.
Bai Mengling finally saw it clearly. This woman had put on that injured act earlier just to shock her and seize control of the conversation… It was all calculated.
What a high-level green tea bitch.
So she smiled.
A bright, happy smile. She adjusted her nearly zero-prescription glasses, displaying great composure. “I don’t doubt your sincerity, Chen Tang. But have you ever considered one thing?”
“What?”
“You talk big—saying everything is for Liu Yan, that Xia You and I are both bitches, that you’re the only one who truly cares for him—but after he broke up with Xia You, he chose me. He confessed to me, not you. You say if he needed it, you’d go get a marriage certificate with him immediately. So let me ask you: Has he ever asked you to? Has he ever thought about marrying you? Does he need you to marry him?”
She was a debater aiming for the finals; she was never afraid to argue with Chen Tang.
Chen Tang’s breath caught…
“Chen Tang, I’ve heard many people call you the Demon Pill School Beauty, doing all those unreliable things—I suppose to some men, you might be attractive, with your so-called interesting soul or whatever—but to Liu Yan, you are, without a doubt, an unattractive woman. He doesn’t even see you as a woman, as an option.
Though Liu Yan and I aren’t that close yet, I, Bai Mengling, have some skill in reading people. Just like you said this morning: if you were going to have something with Liu Yan, you’d have had it by now… So the question is, why don’t you? Could it be that someone who lives with him, who has been accepted by both families, still can’t make him fall for her?
And now you come barking at me, the one he confessed to—what, is it that after exhausting all your tricks and still not getting his love, you have to work on me? Hoping I’ll listen to you and break up with him so you can have him again? Sorry, but I really don’t think that just because you once had him—or even if I break up with him—you’ll end up with him. I suspect he’ll just choose another girl.”
That was seriously aggressive.
Although the woman’s counterattack was mostly within her expectations, Chen Tang silently raised her assessment of Bai Mengling.
This was no easy opponent. Bai Mengling had strong opinions and her own ideas; she wasn’t someone who just went with the flow.
“You!”
She put on an expression of being speechless. “He just hasn’t realized it yet!”
That was just being stubborn.
“Oh? Then why don’t you confess to him? Reveal your feelings and make him realize?”
“This…”
“Is someone afraid that if she confesses and gets rejected, she won’t even be able to stay friends?”
Chen Tang’s eyes instantly turned red.
She felt she should seriously consider an acting career after this—her performance was amazing!
“You… don’t think you’ve already won! I’m the one who has been with him the longest! I know where every mole on his body is!”
“Oh.”
Chen Tang stomped angrily toward a stall, acting like she didn’t want to talk to Bai Mengling anymore.
Bai Mengling felt incredibly satisfied, like downing a bottle of ice water in August. The pleasure was exquisite.
Demon Pill School Beauty?
Just a clown!
Her fighting power is nothing!
She happily followed, not saying a word, just watching Chen Tang with a smile.
“Mm-hmm, two dragon bones, chop them into small pieces—hey! Uncle! Put those two pieces back under your cutting board! Or I won’t buy!”
Chen Tang had entered shopping mode. She immediately caught the butcher trying to slip two pieces of collar meat into the ribs she was buying.
The butcher was about to argue, but when he saw this young girl with reddened eyes, looking like she was about to start screaming, and thinking of some recent online stories, he broke out in a cold sweat. He sheepishly removed the two pieces of collar meat and packed up the ribs for her.
“Miss, that’s forty-two, just give me forty.”
Chen Tang scanned the code and paid.
Bai Mengling watched this with great curiosity. “What was that just now?”
“He had a notch in his cutting board facing him, where he kept low-quality meat. When he chops your ribs, he sneaks in a couple of pieces to add weight. Then when he weighs it, it’s heavier, and he charges you more. Then you take it home—if someone like Liu Yan handles it, he’ll throw those two pieces away. If someone doesn’t notice, they cook them together, and sometimes you get a bad taste or bad texture. It’s embarrassing.”
After explaining, Chen Tang seemed to remember something and snorted discontentedly at Bai Mengling, then turned away, not wanting to talk.
Bai Mengling thought to herself that this woman was actually kind of cute.
Too bad she was destined to be her rival; otherwise, they might have been friends, and she could have teased her sometimes.
But she never expected that buying ribs, just forty yuan, could have so many tricks.
She felt like she was learning.
Chen Tang walked ahead for a bit, then seemed to think of something else. She looked back at Bai Mengling with dissatisfaction. “So what do you want to eat?”
“You’re still willing to ask me?”
“Well, you’re his girlfriend… If I don’t ask and only buy what I want, he’ll scold me when we get back.”
Sigh!
Just what kind of charm did Liu Yan have?
Making Chen Tang so devoted? After being provoked like that, she still acted like she was bowing her head just because she was afraid of Liu Yan’s reprimand.
Suddenly, Bai Mengling felt that Liu Yan was filled with special mysteries. His charm increased a notch…
For women, a man desired by other women is more attractive.
Especially when the other woman is beautiful—it stirs a sense of conquest.
Even if the man himself is only average.
“I want fish.”
Chen Tang’s expression changed. “This market only has freshwater fish, no seafood—if you, Eldest Miss Bai, want seafood, have someone buy it yourself!”
“I never said I wanted seafood.”
Bai Mengling enjoyed her victory. She felt pushing Chen Tang too far might not be good. “Just pick a fish Liu Yan is good at. I’m looking forward to his cooking.”
Chen Tang bought a bighead carp.
This fish had fewer bones than silver carp and was good for braised fish, pickled fish, or boiled fish. Of course, Liu Yan also did a good steamed fish, which was better with sturgeon.
None of these were expensive ingredients—just a few yuan per pound.
Chen Tang handed the bag with the cleaned fish to Bai Mengling. “If you want to eat it, you carry it yourself!”
Bai Mengling took it with an unconcerned expression.
“Mm… for side dishes, lotus root, bean sprouts, ham sausages… Eldest Miss Bai, do you eat ham sausages? If you think it’s junk food, I won’t buy it.”
“Just buy it. If I don’t eat it, I won’t pick it.”
The Eldest Miss Bai wasn’t as strict as people imagined in this regard.
Just then, Liu Yan arrived on the electric scooter and found them. “Come on, put the stuff on the scooter! Then we’ll look around a bit more together.”