SYLM Chapter 70
by VolareChapter 70: “As You Wish, We’re Done”
Students inside the classrooms were writing furiously, while parents outside were anxiously waiting. Small restaurants and cold drink shops near the school were packed with parents waiting for their children, business was booming.
A BMW was parked by the roadside. Through the car window, Tang Ying stared thoughtfully at the signboard of a cold drink shop diagonally across from her, the straw of the iced Americano in her mouth flattened into a thin piece.
Chen Qing Yu. The mother of that little follower.
Judging from her clothes and demeanor, this woman was undoubtedly wealthy. She appeared at this crucial juncture of the college entrance examination and precisely targeted Gu Wan Jun. What would they talk about?
The iced Americano was long gone, Tang Ying’s thoughts swirled, and she was somewhat worried about Gu Wan Jun’s current situation.
Inside the cold drink shop.
The area around the bar was crowded with people, and ice clattered in the machines. Even with the air conditioning on, the shop couldn’t withstand the heat from the crowd.
In a small private room on the second floor, Chen Qing Yu and Gu Wan Jun sat opposite each other across the table.
The sugary drinks in the cold drink shop didn’t quite suit Chen Qing Yu’s taste, but it wouldn’t be right to occupy the private room without ordering something. So, after ordering a hundred cups of different types of drinks, Chen Qing Yu handed the menu to Gu Wan Jun:
“See if you want anything to drink.”
“Lemonade is fine, no sugar.”
“Two cups of sugar-free lemonade, and the rest of the hundred drinks can be given to the parents waiting downstairs for free after they’re made, thank you.”
Chen Qing Yu’s voice was gentle and pleasant, calm and powerful. The young waiter took a small breath, noted the big customer’s request, and quietly left.
From beginning to end, Gu Wan Jun was staring at Chen Qing Yu’s face.
So similar, really so similar.
This was why Gu Wan Jun immediately believed that this person was Chen Lu’s mother and followed her to the cold drink shop to talk.
The woman in front of her was practically a carbon copy of Chen Lu. Through this face, Gu Wan Jun could almost see what Chen Lu would look like in a decade or so.
“Do I look a lot like Lu Lu?”
Chen Qing Yu curved her eyes and took the initiative to break the silence. She was wearing light makeup today, and her whole person exuded a gentle and intellectual beauty.
Realizing that staring at someone so directly seemed a bit impolite, Gu Wan Jun met those big eyes that were as beautiful as the young girl’s but filled with more complex emotions, lowered her gaze, and nodded slightly:
“Yes, very similar, especially the eyes.”
“I was also surprised when I first saw Lu Lu. They all say daughters look like their fathers. It wasn’t so obvious when she was little, but I didn’t expect her to look so much like me when she grew up.”
At the mention of Chen Lu, both women, strangers to each other, involuntarily revealed an unspeakable tenderness in their eyes.
Chen Qing Yu’s eyes held more guilt and self-reproach towards her daughter, while Gu Wan Jun’s eyes held more pampering and joy for the young girl. She couldn’t help but follow Chen Qing Yu’s words and imagine what Chen Lu was like when she was little, how cute the little girl would be, whether she would be even cuter than Duo Duo.
Before long, the waiter’s arrival ended the two women’s brief reminiscence. The sugar-free lemonade, which didn’t require a complicated preparation process, was brought to the table.
It wasn’t until Chen Qing Yu pushed the straw and a cup of lemonade in front of her that Gu Wan Jun noticed that this person was wearing lace gloves on her left hand.
Her gaze shifted slightly, and her empty right hand was placed flat on the table, fair and slender, looking very suitable for holding a pen to write, playing the zither, or arranging flowers.
Why wear gloves on the left hand?
Gu Wan Jun couldn’t help but think about various possibilities in her mind. Then, Chen Qing Yu’s voice rang in her ears:
“I’ve seen Lu Lu.”
The straw pierced the plastic wrap. The sudden news startled Gu Wan Jun from her thoughts. Thinking of Chen Lu’s resistant attitude when her mother was mentioned before, Gu Wan Jun raised her eyes to look at Chen Qing Yu and asked anxiously:
“You’ve seen her? When?”
“Originally, I wanted to wait until after the college entrance examination to meet her, but I couldn’t help but want to see her. I was just going to follow her secretly and take a look, but I didn’t expect her to find me anyway.”
Chen Qing Yu lowered her eyes slightly, her tone sounding somewhat self-reproaching.
Recalling the unusual events on the way home from evening self-study, and looking at the well-maintained woman in front of her, Gu Wan Jun hesitated for two seconds and still used the honorific:
“So, the person who was following us after evening self-study was… you?”
As soon as Gu Wan Jun’s “you” came out, Chen Qing Yu smiled somewhat forcedly. She shook the lemonade in front of her, which didn’t need shaking at all, and said:
“No need to be like that. Counting the years, I’m only 11 years older than you. At most, call me sister, I don’t count as an elder.”
Gu Wan Jun nodded slightly. She didn’t dwell on the form of address, but after a few seconds, she shifted the focus back to Chen Lu:
“Then what was Chen Lu’s reaction at the time? Is she okay?”
Obviously, compared to how Chen Qing Yu was, Gu Wan Jun cared more, or rather, only cared about Chen Lu’s reaction.
And this question just happened to hit Chen Qing Yu’s sore spot.
She hadn’t come to Gu Wan Jun today to stab herself in the lung.
“Gu Teacher, I didn’t come to you today to discuss the mother-daughter relationship between Lu Lu and me. I came to you to talk about the relationship between you and Lu Lu.”
Seeing Gu Wan Jun’s pupils suddenly constrict when she heard this, Chen Qing Yu paused intentionally, and the lemonade, which she hadn’t taken a sip of, was pushed aside. Chen Qing Yu got straight to the point:
“I know, Lu Lu likes you.”
“…”
Finally, this day had come.
Chen Qing Yu could say such a thing, definitely not just based on guesswork.
The lemonade seemed too cold, so cold that people didn’t dare to touch it. Gu Wan Jun retracted her hand holding the cup, and forced a proper smile on her face: “What do you want to say?”
“Don’t be nervous, I know you’re a good teacher. Although Lu Lu likes you, you’ve maintained a bottom line and haven’t crossed it. I’ve come to you today just to ask Gu Teacher, after the college entrance examination, how do you plan to handle the relationship between you and Lu Lu?”
Finally, they were talking about the main topic. Chen Qing Yu stared quietly at Gu Wan Jun. But who would have thought that after a few seconds of silence, Gu Wan Jun would calmly ask her in return:
“Before I answer, I’d like to ask, does Chen Lu know that you came to see me?”
Not expecting Gu Wan Jun to ask her in return, the smile on Chen Qing Yu’s face faded: “This is a conversation between me and Gu Teacher, it’s unrelated to Lu Lu.”
“If Chen Lu doesn’t know that you came to see me, then I’m sorry, this is between Chen Lu and me. If it needs to be resolved, it will be resolved with Chen Lu’s full knowledge.”
“Hearing this, Gu Teacher’s feelings for Lu Lu aren’t just those of a teacher for a student?”
“I’ve already said it, this is between Chen Lu and me.”
“It seems Gu Teacher doesn’t plan to talk to me.”
After several back-and-forths, the woman who had been navigating the business world for many years habitually revealed her sharpness, with a bit more edge and pressure in her words and actions.
Gu Wan Jun expressed her understanding of this, but didn’t comply. She continued in a good-natured manner:
“Chen, Chen Lu is already an adult. She’s an extremely opinionated person who can make her own decisions. Although you are Chen Lu’s mother in terms of blood relations, Chen Lu has a big knot in her heart regarding you. You should know this better than I do. If Chen Lu knows that you’ve presumptuously interfered in her affairs behind her back, she will definitely be angry.”
Gu Wan Jun maintained her politeness throughout, but every word and sentence undoubtedly expressed her attitude – no matter who it was, they should respect Chen Lu’s ideas.
These words precisely poked at the point that Chen Qing Yu cared about most.
Looking at those peach blossom eyes in front of her that rippled with faint water and seemed to be able to contain everything, Chen Qing Yu was silent for a long time. She seemed to understand why her daughter would fall in love with a woman.
“You’re right. In fact, I’m the least qualified person to interfere in Lu Lu’s life.”
The sharpness that had been revealed earlier fell apart, and Chen Qing Yu sighed deeply, shaking her head with a bitter expression:
“But Gu Teacher, I don’t want my daughter to walk the path I’ve walked and repeat my tragic life.”
Chen Qing Yu sighed several times. She asked Gu Wan Jun if she minded her smoking, Gu Wan Jun shook her head to indicate that she didn’t mind, but the cigarette case came out of her bag and only rotated twice in Chen Qing Yu’s ungloved left hand before returning to the bag untouched.
“Forget it, I won’t smoke. After reaching a certain age, my throat isn’t as good as before.”
After putting the cigarette case back, Chen Qing Yu took the lemonade that had been pushed aside and took a sip. The sugar-free lemonade tasted bland, with only sourness left, just like Chen Qing Yu’s mood at the moment.
Sensing that Chen Qing Yu seemed to be about to say something, Gu Wan Jun didn’t speak, didn’t rush, just waited quietly for the other person to open her mouth.
“When I was 19, which is Lu Lu’s age now, that year I was admitted to a top-tier art school in Yunjiang City. The second year, when I was 20, I became pregnant with Lu Lu.”
Chen Qing Yu didn’t look at Gu Wan Jun’s eyes, but stared at the cartoon pattern on the table, as if only in this way could she continue to speak.
“Lu Lu’s biological father was our class’s instructor, 10 years older than me.”
“…”
Gu Wan Jun felt a sudden pain in her heart.
Teacher-student relationship. Age gap of 10 years.
Could it be that fate really has cycles?
“I didn’t have a father since I was a child. Although my mother loved me very much, when I saw other people’s fathers and mothers by their side, I would also yearn to receive the fatherly love that I had never felt. This yearning never changed until I was 19 and got into college. At this time, a man who was older than me, more knowledgeable and experienced than me, and more capable than me in all aspects appeared just like that.”
“He was very talented, a refined, humorous, and witty man. He was thoughtful and well-rounded in his dealings with others, and he was careful, considerate, generous, and magnanimous to those close to him. Whether it was colleagues or students, they all liked him very much. Knowing that I came from a small place, he would secretly help me carry my luggage, give me umbrellas, treat me to meals, teach me how to use the computer, and remind me how to handle interpersonal relationships… I learned a lot of things from him. These things may not seem like much now, but at that time, the allure and charm of a calm, mature, and reliable elder in the eyes of a younger person was unimaginable. I just fell into it uncontrollably…”
“Later, I became pregnant with Lu Lu.”
“You might not believe it when I say it, but when we were together, I didn’t know he had a family. It wasn’t until I saw him taking a family photo with his wife, son, and dolls in an amusement park that this ridiculous dream was shattered. I couldn’t accept that I was a third party interfering in someone else’s family. I broke up with him and even thought about aborting the child.”
“But my mother wouldn’t let me.”
“I couldn’t bear to either, after all, it was a small life.”
“But I couldn’t face myself, let alone this child.”
“The rest is just backstory, not very relevant to today’s conversation.”
“What I want to say is that when people are young, it’s easy to confuse their feelings, especially people from unhappy families, like me, and like Lu Lu.”
“Lu Lu is young now and can’t see anything yet, but when she reaches my age, after seeing more and more people and experiencing more and more things, now when I look back on that ridiculous first love, I often wonder if I really loved that man back then?”
The lemonade was too astringent, and Chen Qing Yu pushed it aside after taking a few sips. She raised her head and looked directly into Gu Wan Jun’s eyes, smiling bitterly:
“In this lifetime, no one can escape the word ‘love’. Lu Lu has been lacking love since she was a child. Honestly, in these years abroad, I worry about Lu Lu, worried that she didn’t have her parents by her side since she was little. The long-term lack of love would make her develop inappropriate feelings for older people like me and mistake these feelings for love. Now it seems that I was really worried about the right thing, but what I never expected was that the person who would make her develop this feeling would be a woman older than her.”
“Gu Teacher, honestly, do you really think that Lu Lu’s liking for you is that kind of love? Can two women really have a future?”
“…”
From beginning to end, Gu Wan Jun listened quietly. Until Chen Qing Yu asked the last two questions, Gu Wan Jun felt her heart tremble fiercely.
“Gu Teacher, Lu Lu is still young and will meet many people in the future. She has developed a dependence and temporary infatuation with you. No one can say that this is love. You and I both understand this. The reason I’m telling you this is certainly not from the perspective of doing what’s best for you. No matter what, Lu Lu is always my daughter, and I can’t possibly sit idly by and ignore her future.”
“So…”
Gu Wan Jun took a deep breath, the fingertips clutching the edge of the table turning white from the force: “What does Chen plan to do?”
“After the college entrance examination, I plan to arrange for Lu Lu to go abroad.”
“Have you discussed this with Chen Lu?”
“I will discuss it with her. Gu Teacher doesn’t need to worry about that. Even if she doesn’t go abroad, according to Lu Lu’s grades, she can basically choose any university in the country. She shouldn’t bury herself in this small county town because of someone or some relationship, right?”
“…”
When it came to Chen Lu’s future, Gu Wan Jun hesitated as expected. This was a breakthrough for Chen Qing Yu, who was good at reading people’s expressions. She leaned forward slightly, her tone solemn:
“I’ve heard about what happened to your sister and brother-in-law.”
“…”
At the mention of sad things, the calm mask that had been maintained for so long finally cracked, and Gu Wan Jun’s eyes instantly reddened. She clenched her hands hard, trying to maintain the most basic decency, but the overwhelming bitterness and sourness still rose to her throat and the tip of her nose, choking Gu Wan Jun so that she couldn’t say a word.
Poking at Gu Wan Jun’s sore spot was the last thing Chen Qing Yu wanted to do. To the point that after the words came out, she even didn’t dare to look at the reddened circles around the other person’s eyes:
“Gu Teacher, I know that it’s a bit of a stretch to talk about these things with you at this time, but please understand a mother’s heart.”
“I heard that your sister also left behind a child.”
“…”
Her lower lip was bitten tightly, and Gu Wan Jun tasted a bloody flavor.
She couldn’t answer a single word.
“Your parents are getting old, and you can’t possibly ignore your sister’s child. You wouldn’t want that child to have no father, right? And Lu Lu likes you, according to that child’s personality, if she knows about this, she will most likely give up her great future and choose you. But after all, she’s still a child. How can you let her—”
“I understand.”
Gu Wan Jun interrupted Chen Qing Yu’s words.
If before Chen Qing Yu appeared, Gu Wan Jun could still harbor the last bit of selfish fantasy about the relationship between herself and Chen Lu, then after Chen Qing Yu completely revealed it, Gu Wan Jun could no longer tolerate her unspeakable selfishness.
How could she, how could she, and how could she dare to be so selfish as to want to keep Chen Lu, who had a great future, by her side.
Tiny droplets of water filled her red eyes, and a pair of beautiful peach blossom eyes held heart-wrenching despair. Gu Wan Jun forced herself to make her voice sound less sad:
“I understand what you mean. I won’t delay Chen Lu’s future. I know what to do.”
Everything is fate, not up to anyone.
If her sister hadn’t had the accident;
If Chen Lu had done well on the college entrance examination;
If Chen Lu still liked her after the college entrance examination;
If they had bravely gotten together;
If she could have successfully gone to work in the city where Chen Lu went to university;
If she could have waited for the young girl to graduate from university smoothly;
If by that time they could buy a small house for the two of them to live in and raise a kitten or a puppy…
Then would it be possible for them to really love each other for a lifetime and be happy forever?
Gu Wan Jun hadn’t not thought about her and Chen Lu’s future.
It’s just a pity that there is no “if” in the world.
From the day her sister Gu Wan Rong had the accident, everything was already destined.
The sea is wide for fish to leap, the sky is high for birds to fly. Chen Lu was destined to be an eagle soaring in the sky, and she also had to shoulder the responsibilities – family, parents, Duo Duo… Everything was more important than her personal feelings.
She couldn’t delay Chen Lu.
——
The three days of the college entrance examination passed quickly.
On the third day, at noon after the exam, Jiang Zhen Zhen’s parents were waiting at the school gate. Fu Yi Wen and Chen Lu went to find their respective teachers.
The first thing Fu Yi Wen wanted to do after the college entrance examination was to ask Tang Ying out for dinner.
Before the results were out, it was still too early to confess. Fu Yi Wen’s meal wasn’t aimed at confession either. She just wanted to have a meal with the person she liked at an important moment in her life, nothing more.
After the two discussed it, they set the time for dinner in the evening.
When the test takers had almost all left, Tang Ying turned to ask Gu Wan Jun and Chen Lu if they wanted to have dinner with them.
“We have other things to do, so we won’t go. You and Fu Yi Wen have a good time.”
After leaving these words, Gu Wan Jun pulled Chen Lu, who had a clearly dazed expression, and left.
On the way home, Chen Lu felt both excited and nervous when she thought about Gu Wan Jun saying to Tang Ying that “we have other things to do”.
What did Gu Wan Jun want to talk to her about? Was it about what happened these past two days? Or was it about the previous matter of her liking her?
Chen Lu was very anxious. She had been secretly looking at the side of the person next to her, but after waiting for a long time, she didn’t see Gu Wan Jun intending to talk to her. So, when she was about to reach the entrance of the residential area, the little girl, unable to hold back, finally took the initiative to ask:
“Teacher, you said to Tang Teacher that we have other things to do.”
“Yes.”
“What is it? Can you tell me?”
“Chen Lu.”
Gu Wan Jun suddenly stopped, turned to look at the person next to her. The sudden gaze startled Chen Lu, and she also stopped, raising her eyes to meet that unclear gaze:
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Are you willing to come home with me to meet my parents?”
“!? ”
Chen Lu’s body suddenly stiffened, and she couldn’t help but gasp!
Meet her parents?! So suddenly?!
Chen Lu was so shocked that, no, to be precise, she was so scared that she couldn’t even speak clearly: “Are, are Uncle and Auntie wanting to meet me? When?”
“This afternoon. If you agree, we’ll leave this afternoon. I drove back this time.”
“?”
This afternoon?!
Chen Lu felt that her heart was a little bit unwell.
She hadn’t said anything yet, so why was she meeting the parents!?
After all, she was young. Even though she was trying hard to pretend to be calm, the panic and bewilderment in Chen Lu’s expression were clearly reflected in Gu Wan Jun’s eyes.
It made her feel distressed and loved.
An imperceptible hint of forbearance flashed through her peach blossom eyes, but it was fleeting, for fear that Chen Lu would notice anything. Gu Wan Jun forced herself to look into the little girl’s eyes and continued in a gentle tone:
“You don’t want to go? It’s okay if you don’t want to, it doesn’t matter.”
“I want to! Of course I want to!”
Chen Lu, busy expressing her attitude, almost bit her tongue. She was embarrassed by the eagerness that was almost overflowing in her tone. The girl, who had always been mature and calm beyond her years, shyly tucked the hair that wasn’t messy at all behind her ear, and explained in a low voice:
“Of course I want to meet Uncle and Auntie, but, but this afternoon is too rushed, I haven’t prepared any gifts yet.”
“No need to prepare gifts, it’s enough that you’re there.”
“How can that be? This is the first time we’re meeting, there’s no reason to go empty-handed, right?”
“It’s just a meeting, no need to be so formal.”
Gu Wan Jun couldn’t go on. She slightly shifted her gaze, no longer able to look directly into Chen Lu’s eyes:
“You just need to go home and change your clothes later, then go to the parking lot to find me. I’ll send you the location.”
“…”
At this moment, Chen Lu was completely immersed in the huge surprise and tension of meeting Gu Wan Jun’s parents. Otherwise, her sensitive mind would definitely have noticed the sadness and despair hidden in Gu Wan Jun’s gentle eyes.
Gu Wan Jun waited in the parking lot for almost an hour. When she saw Chen Lu again, the little girl came running towards her with big bags and small packages.
“There wasn’t much time, and I didn’t know what Uncle and Auntie like, so I just bought some randomly at the biggest supermarket nearby. Do you think this is okay?”
All kinds of heavy gifts and gift boxes were placed into the trunk one by one. It was clear that Chen Lu really valued this meeting.
Gu Wan Jun’s throat tightened as she watched the little girl busy herself. Her eyelashes fluttered quickly, trying to force back the sourness in her eyes:
“Didn’t I say not to let you buy things? It’s enough that you’re there. Why don’t you listen?”
“No, my grandma said that you must never go to someone else’s house empty-handed, that’s the rule. Besides, Uncle and Auntie are elders, I’d be too embarrassed to go in empty-handed.”
The summer air was hot and humid. After being busy for so long, Chen Lu was already a little sweaty.
Looking at the not-full trunk, the little girl frowned, almost writing “dissatisfied” on her face. If Gu Wan Jun hadn’t forcibly pushed her into the car, Chen Lu would have had to go on another shopping spree.
It took six hours to drive from Ningcheng to Yunjiang City.
On the way, Chen Lu often asked Gu Wan Jun about the two elders’ preferences. When asked what her sister, brother-in-law, and Duo Duo liked, Gu Wan Jun almost couldn’t hold back. Fortunately, the sunglasses on hand saved her.
Even though the days were long and the nights were short in summer, it was already dark when Gu Wan Jun and the others arrived in Yunjiang City.
It seemed to get dark especially early today.
The air under the night seemed to be frozen, stuffy and sticky, making it hard to breathe. Small flying insects surrounded the streetlights in a swarm. This was a sign that a heavy rain was coming.
Before going to the agreed-upon restaurant, Fu Yi Wen specially brought two umbrellas, seeing that it was about to rain.
Although she didn’t use it on the way here, it was always good to be prepared, and she might use it on the way back later.
Fu Yi Wen chose the place to eat. Knowing that Tang Ying didn’t like a chaotic atmosphere, she also paid extra to book a private room.
Fu Yi Wen had been staring at the time on her phone, and she paced back and forth in the private room. Every three to five minutes, she would go out to see if Tang Ying had arrived, unable to sit still at all.
Why hadn’t Tang Ying come yet? Was she not in a hurry to eat?
Fu Yi Wen frowned and couldn’t help but mutter.
If Tang Ying heard this, she would definitely scold her.
The agreed-upon time for dinner was 7 p.m. When she arrived at 6:50, Fu Yi Wen had already cracked several plates of melon seeds in the private room.
When asked what time she had arrived, a small round face with freckles looked pitifully wronged, but in reality, she was grinning so much that she wanted to wag her tail and say that she had arrived at five o’clock.
Arriving two hours early for the appointment? Was this chubby girl so eager to eat? Was she so close to food every day that she was getting so fat? Did she not care about her body? If she didn’t scold her, who would?
Scolding was scolding, but what she had to give still had to be given.
Thus, there was the next scene. After entering the private room, Tang Ying placed a whole set of new and expensive electronic equipment, the latest series of “Apple Full Set,” on the table, and Fu Yi Wen was dumbfounded!
“What, what is all this?”
“Are you blind? Can’t you see for yourself?”
“This, is this all for me?”
“Your broken phone should have been replaced a long time ago. Consider this an award for your college entrance examination gift.”
“!? ”
“What’s with the expression? What, do you think it’s too little?”
“??! ”
Fu Yi Wen was so shocked that her mouth was open and her head almost shook off!
She had always known that Tang Ying was rich, but when this inhumane superpower of money was materialized and placed in front of her, no one could help but be shocked.
These things might not be much to Tang Ying, but this intention was a bombshell for Fu Yi Wen.
Her chubby little hand gently stroked the packaging box, but her bright puppy eyes, which seemed to be able to overflow with water at any time, stared straight at Tang Ying.
Seeming to realize what this person was about to say, Tang Ying sat down in the chair she had pulled out early and said in a cold tone:
“What are you looking at me for? I’m telling you, don’t say any nonsense like you’re embarrassed to accept it, I don’t want to hear it. I’m giving it to you, so take it.”
“I’ve never received so many gifts in my life. Thank you.”
The person who had been bold and generous for a long time suddenly revealed a soft side. Tang Ying was a little uncomfortable for a while. Seeing that the atmosphere of the conversation was developing in an emotional direction that she didn’t like, Tang Ying reached out and knocked on the table, her tone seemingly dissatisfied:
“I don’t want to hear this either. Quickly order and serve the dishes, I want to eat.”
The two had a pleasant meal.
Although Tang Ying was the one who arranged to serve the dishes, she didn’t have much of an appetite. She was full after picking up a few bites of each dish. In the end, Fu Yi Wen cleaned the plates.
Before paying the bill, Fu Yi Wen said that she wanted to digest her food and asked Tang Ying to sit with her for a while.
Digesting food was true, but wanting to spend more time with Tang Ying was also true.
“I told you to eat so much, you’re stuffed, right.”
“Then I can’t waste it, and I didn’t eat that much…”
“You cleaned all the dishes, and you didn’t eat that much? How much is a lot?”
Tang Ying rolled her eyes unhappily and continued to attack with a sharp tongue:
“You should eat less, you’re almost as fat as a ball. Don’t you care about your body?”
“That’s not true. I’ve already thought about it. I’m going to lose weight after the college entrance examination!”
“Lose weight? Are you sure?”
Tang Ying glanced at the empty plates piled up in front of Fu Yi Wen. This glance made the little chubby girl’s face turn red. She argued:
“I’m going to start losing weight after this meal! Just wait! Don’t be scared by me then!”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. You’d better lose weight into lightning before my wedding and blind a lot of people.”
“Tch, that’s a piece of cake. Before your wedding, I guarantee – wait! What? Wedding!?”
Fu Yi Wen, who had reacted later, was so frightened that her voice cracked. She had a ghostly expression and raised her tone by several degrees: “What wedding? Whose wedding!?”
Fu Yi Wen had never hoped so sincerely that she was hallucinating from eating too much, but until Tang Ying took out a wedding invitation from her bag and handed it to her lightly, Fu Yi Wen realized that she had not misheard.
“Whose wedding else could it be? Of course it’s my wedding. I’m getting married. The invitations were just printed, and this is the first one I’m sending out. You’re lucky.”
Fu Yi Wen didn’t take the invitation and jumped up from her chair with a wrinkled face: “No, you’re getting married!?”
Tang Ying was startled by this sudden action and rolled her eyes unhappily at the person across the table: “How did I not realize before that you have the talent for high jumping.”
“No, who are you marrying? That Jiang guy?!”
“Jiang Wen Xu, it’s written on the invitation.”
“…”
As soon as the words were spoken, the poor invitation was almost broken into “three folds” in Fu Yi Wen’s hand.
Groom Jiang Ying Xu, bride Tang Ying, the wedding was set in two weeks.
The thin invitation, as heavy as a thousand pounds, weighed Fu Yi Wen down so that she couldn’t breathe. Her entire chest was filled with anxiety and sourness, and when she opened her mouth again, she faintly had a crying voice:
“Didn’t you say before that you didn’t want to get married in this lifetime?”
Meeting those anxious and red eyes, Tang Ying was stunned for a moment, and her tone wasn’t as cold as before: “When did I say that?”
“You said it! You did say it! I heard it! You liar!”
“Lower your voice, what are you shouting for? What are you going crazy for because I’m getting married?”
“You can’t get married! You can’t marry him! Because I… because I…”
“Because you what?”
“Because I like you!”
Speaking so quickly, Fu Yi Wen never thought that she would confess to Tang Ying in this situation.
All the air in the private room seemed to have been drawn out, and even the sound of her heartbeat seemed to have stopped abruptly.
Looking at Fu Yi Wen’s eyes, which were dripping with tears, Tang Ying tilted her head and raised her eyebrows, her voice still seemingly without any warmth:
“Just because of this?”
“What do you mean just because of this? Didn’t you hear what I said! I said I like you!”
“I know.”
“My liking for you isn’t the kind of liking a student has for a teacher!”
“I know.”
Tang Ying gave the same answer twice.
She knew that Fu Yi Wen liked her. Not just a student’s liking for a teacher.
How could the older person not see the younger person’s every secret glance, joy, and little thought, let alone Tang Ying, who had a clear understanding of the world and a clever mind.
Similarly, Tang Ying also knew that this kind of firework-like temporary infatuation was hot, but not long-lasting.
She didn’t need it at all either.
Fu Yi Wen was confused by Tang Ying’s two “I know”s. Looking at the woman’s clear and cold phoenix eyes, the grievances in her heart couldn’t be held back, and she cried and dripped down with tears:
“You knew I liked you all along?”
“I knew, you made it too obvious.”
“Then what about you for me?”
“What am I for you?”
“Don’t you have any liking for me at all?”
If you have a little bit of liking for me, then how could you get married so suddenly.
The wedding invitation on the table seemed to have already given the answer, but Fu Yi Wen wanted to hear Tang Ying say it herself.
“Fu Yi Wen, I won’t fall in love with anyone.”
Tang Ying’s answer was quite direct.
Marriage and love had never been within the scope of her life considerations. People who grew up in political and business families were accustomed to weighing the pros and cons from an early age. Tang Ying was destined not to be the kind of love brain that didn’t care about anything. She knew very well that she could be reckless and spend money like dirt, relying entirely on her family. So, even though she was very disgusted by her parents controlling her life, she wouldn’t go against her parents on some unimportant issues.
Such as marriage.
Using a marriage that she didn’t care about at all, superficially under the banner of love, but in reality, it was a mutually beneficial exchange of family resources to protect everything she had, this was a worthwhile deal.
Of course, Tang Ying wasn’t a puppet to be manipulated either. The reason why Jiang Ying Xu was able to stand out among a group of blind date partners was because Jiang Wen Xu’s family had a huge influence and the military background that her parents valued, and because Jiang Ying Xu agreed to a marriage of convenience, with no interference after marriage except for dealing with the family together.
It was also from the day the agreement was settled that the roses that Jiang Ying Xu sent finally had the opportunity to be on Tang Ying’s desk.
Of course, Fu Yi Wen didn’t know these things.
Tang Ying’s words completely shattered Fu Yi Wen’s last bit of hope. Tears smeared her face, but she still choked and insisted on asking to the end:
“Then what about this Jiang Ying Xu, why are you marrying him if you don’t like him?”
“He has things that are worth me liking. Little kids like you who haven’t entered society won’t understand.”
“Liar!”
Looking at Fu Yi Wen’s crying and gasping appearance, Tang Ying, who was scolded as a liar, wasn’t angry at all, but instead found this chubby girl a bit interesting.
How long can a child’s liking last? She was crying and pear blossoms with rain, and she was baring her teeth and claws, but maybe she would fall in love with someone else tomorrow.
The woman