SYLM Chapter 117

Chapter 117: “You’re Right, Tang Ying Really Loves Fu Yi Wen.”

The sunlight streamed through the restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling onto the table. The nearly empty plates had been replaced with two cups of coffee, and the two people sitting across from each other were lost in their own thoughts.

Here we go again.

Jiang Zhen Zhen, feeling guilty for having eaten, was on the verge of tears.

She even had the absurd thought of whether she could throw up what she had just eaten…

Obviously not.

Jiang Zhen Zhen took a deep breath, a troubled look appearing on her porcelain-white face. She sighed and reiterated:

“Teacher Tang, even if you ask me a hundred times, I really don’t know where Fu Yi Wen is.”

Jiang Zhen Zhen had said this countless times today, and Tang Ying could tell she wasn’t lying.

“I know.”

Tang Ying nodded, the silver hoop earrings on her earlobes swaying slightly. “I’m not asking you about that. I want to ask you for a favor.”

With that, she pulled a gold-embossed business card from her Hermes bag and gently pushed it in front of Jiang Zhen Zhen:

“If Fu Yi Wen contacts you, please let me know. This is my contact information.”

“……”

Outside the window, a few scattered sycamore leaves were blown down. The fingers holding the coffee cup tightened slightly. Jiang Zhen Zhen glanced at the business card but didn’t pick it up.

“Why don’t you ask Chen Lu about this? Wouldn’t it be faster to ask her?”

Hearing this, Tang Ying twitched the corner of her mouth, revealing a hint of a cold smile.

She would like to ask, but that certain someone was as difficult as she was and unwilling to help. Besides, there was a henpecked husband standing guard, not saying a word.

It was better not to ask.

“She’s not willing to help,” Tang Ying said truthfully. As if she had expected this answer, Jiang Zhen Zhen nodded slightly, her tone still polite but with an undeniable firmness:

“In that case, I’m afraid I can’t help you with this favor either. I’m sorry.”

“……”

Although she had anticipated this answer, a hint of disappointment still flashed in Tang Ying’s eyes:

“Why? I want to know the reason.”

The sunlight outside the window was gradually shifted by time, drawing a clear line on the wooden table between them. Jiang Zhen Zhen tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her tone particularly earnest:

“Although I don’t know what happened between you and Fu Yi Wen, Teacher Tang, I understand Fu Yi Wen’s character. She’s the most persistent person I’ve ever met. If she chooses to disappear…”

Her fingertip traced circles around the rim of the coffee cup. Jiang Zhen Zhen’s tone sounded like a sigh:

“I think you should respect her decision. After all, even if you find her, it won’t do any good if she doesn’t want to see you.”

Tang Ying’s brow twitched, her tone turning colder: “You mean I should give up?”

Jiang Zhen Zhen shook her head, meeting her gaze neither humbly nor arrogantly: “I can’t control your thoughts or actions. If you insist on me answering, I can only say that, as Fu Yi Wen’s friend, I only hope she can be happy and don’t care what others think.”

“What if I say I’ll be the one to make her happy?”

“Make her happy…”

Meeting Tang Ying’s particularly earnest gaze, Jiang Zhen Zhen pursed her lips, hesitant to speak.

Tang Ying tapped the table with her fingertip, gesturing with her eyes, “Speak plainly.”

“Honestly…” Jiang Zhen Zhen sighed. “I don’t think you’re someone who knows how to love.”

“……”

These words abruptly cut through the air, piercing Tang Ying’s sore spot with precision.

Before, she would have slammed the table and cursed, but she didn’t. She simply listened quietly to the calm narrative of the person in front of her.

“Although I don’t know exactly what happened between you, every time we talked on the phone in the past five years, Fu Yi Wen was always alone, either waiting for you or on her way to meet you. If you could really give her happiness, why would she have lived like that for five years?”

“I said this morning, I’m divorced.”

“Although it’s impolite to say this…” Jiang Zhen Zhen shook her head again. “Don’t you think it’s too late?”

“……”

No wonder they were able to hang out together. Jiang Zhen Zhen looked gentle and soft-spoken, but she used the most polite words to say the most hurtful things, just like Chen Lu.

They were both good friends with Fu Yi Wen. Girls always confide their secrets to their close friends, so probably no one knew Fu Yi Wen better than these two. Now that the two of them had the same resistant attitude towards her, it showed how hurt Fu Yi Wen was.

Silence spread between them. Bitterness crept from the coffee cup to fill Tang Ying’s heart. She turned her head to look at the falling sycamore leaves outside the window, suddenly wanting to smoke.

Seeing the visible change in her expression, guilt welled up in Jiang Zhen Zhen’s heart, and she started to explain:

“I’m sorry, Teacher Tang. Those words just now were a bit offensive…”

“But they’re all true, aren’t they?”

Tang Ying turned her head back to look at her, her tone betraying no emotion.

Jiang Zhen Zhen opened her mouth but didn’t speak.

After a suffocating moment of silence, Tang Ying suddenly smiled, not the cynical cold smile she usually wore, but a genuine smile with a hint of self-deprecation:

“Aren’t you nervous talking to me now?”

“……”

Jiang Zhen Zhen inwardly gasped.

Was this person trying to liven up the atmosphere…?

With such an authoritative face, even words meant to lighten the mood sounded like an order, making it difficult to truly relax.

Besides, who would want to use someone else’s pain as fodder for conversation?

At least Jiang Zhen Zhen definitely didn’t.

Although she unconditionally sided with her friend, after this conversation, whether it was too late or not, she really felt that Tang Ying seemed to be trying to change something.

If this effort had come sooner, wouldn’t the two of them have ended up in this situation.

The sunlight falling on the table quietly shifted again. On the business card that had yet to be picked up, the two words [Tang Ying] gleamed, but with an indescribable loneliness.

Tang Ying, who had been actively initiating conversation, seemed lost in thought and stopped speaking. Just as the conversation seemed to have reached a dead end, Jiang Zhen Zhen’s video call ringtone broke the deadlock.

It was Chen Lu.

Perhaps it was the tacit understanding between friends, but the moment the video connected, without Jiang Zhen Zhen saying a word, they simply exchanged a look. Chen Lu had her hand the phone to Tang Ying. Tang Ying didn’t refuse either, directly taking it with a blank expression.

Two faces met across the screen, and Chen Lu’s tone was cold:

“Teacher Tang, you act fast. You’re already in Germany.”

Tang Ying raised an eyebrow, her tone equally frosty: “Thank you for the compliment.”

“Zhen Zhen doesn’t know anything. It’s no use making things difficult for her.”

“……”

Tang Ying was choked for a moment. She looked up at the apprehensive Jiang Zhen Zhen opposite her, frowned, and then glared at the face on the screen, annoyed:

“Is that how you talk to the teacher who taught you?”

“Are you planning on choosing your teacher identity now? If so, it seems like there’s no need for us to continue talking.”

“……”

Damn it. Brat.

Tang Ying cursed inwardly.

On the other side of the table, watching Tang Ying’s face, which was so cold it was about to drop ice shards, Jiang Zhen Zhen silently swallowed her saliva, worried about the phone she had just handed over, which was probably about to be crushed…

Oh, no, wait. Rather than worrying about the safety of the phone, she should probably be more concerned about the safety of her own person…

Ultimately, unaccustomed to beating around the bush, Tang Ying switched the phone to her other hand and cut to the chase: “Chen Lu, I’m divorced.”

“I know.”

“Gu Wan Jun told you?”

“Does that matter?” As if realizing something, Chen Lu’s tone suddenly turned colder: “Wait… you’re afraid she wouldn’t tell me, so you deliberately had Zhen Zhen relay the message to me?”

“Isn’t it important to be foolproof when doing things?”

Tang Ying generously admitted it.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Gu Wan Jun. Despite that person’s eloquence, she was completely like a mouse meeting a cat in front of Chen Lu, unable to squeeze out a single fart. Relying on that person to tell Chen Lu, when would she say it? After the grass on her grave was three feet high?

Of course, our Teacher Tang still didn’t know at this moment that her dear friend had already turned from slave to master and was singing.

“Chen Lu, neither you nor I are people who beat around the bush. Where exactly is Fu Yi Wen?”

A brief silence fell on the video. This time, Chen Lu didn’t retort, but she didn’t answer either. Instead, she asked in a rather calm tone:

“Based on your understanding of Fu Yi Wen, what do you think she wants to do most?”

“……”

What she wanted to do most?

Tang Ying’s eyes flickered slightly, and she fell into thought.

What she wanted to do most.

What Fu Yi Wen wanted to do most—

“What do you plan to do after you graduate?”

“Hmm… open a restaurant, so I can cook delicious food for you every day and make money!”

“You like to cook?”

“Well… to be precise, I like watching you eat, especially when you eat the food I make!”

“What’s so interesting about that? I’m not a child.”

“It’s just cute! You look like a cat when you eat!”

“Just say I’m picky about food.”

“Tsk! What! People say beautiful women are like cats! I’m complimenting you!”

“Where did you learn that sweet talk? Alright, what’s for dinner?”

“Sweet and sour pork ribs and cola chicken wings, like you said you wanted to eat yesterday! I’ve already prepared everything!”

“……”

The other person’s appearance and smile clearly emerged in her mind, and Tang Ying was a little dazed, not responding for a long time.

Under Jiang Zhen Zhen’s somewhat worried gaze, Chen Lu’s voice came through the earpiece again:

“What’s the place she wants to go to most, do you know?”

The place she wanted to go to most…

Tang Ying frowned, feeling as if something was forcibly pulling at her brain—

“Where do you want to go during winter break? I’ll have someone arrange it.”

“Hmm… where do you want to go?”

“Hokkaido, to ski. Do you want to go?”

“Of course! Wherever you want to go is where I want to go! Let’s go, let’s go skiing in Hokkaido!”

“Tsk, don’t pull me, my arm is about to fall off.”

“I’m just happy that I can go out with you! Hehe, I’ll search for travel tips and pack my luggage!”

“It’s still almost a month away, what’s the rush?”

“I can’t wait!”

“……”

Those beautiful memories flooded into Tang Ying’s mind like a tide, but now they seemed particularly cruel, hurting her so much that she couldn’t say a word.

As if anticipating this outcome, Chen Lu sighed on the other end of the phone: “Never mind, I forgot, you don’t understand Fu Yi Wen at all.”

“……”

A certain nerve deep in her brain was struck, hurting Tang Ying so much that she almost shattered her back teeth. All the beautiful memories instantly crumbled into sand, drifting away with the wind, leaving only the day Fu Yi Wen went to the hospital to tell her about breaking up—

“Let’s just end it here.”

“I’m really tired.”

“Tang Ying, let’s break up peacefully.”

“I won’t love you anymore.”

“……”

Fu Yi Wen’s words continued to swirl and echo in Tang Ying’s ears, tormenting her day and night. She didn’t dare forget a single word.

Noticing that Tang Ying seemed a little off, Jiang Zhen Zhen tentatively asked, “Teacher Tang? Are you… are you alright?”

The memories stopped, and the pain in Tang Ying’s eyes was hidden. She looked up at Jiang Zhen Zhen and shook her head. At that moment, she put on the cold mask she had worn before.

“Since you don’t plan to tell me Fu Yi Wen’s whereabouts, then there’s really no need for us to continue talking. Whether you tell me or not, I will definitely find her.”

After Tang Ying finished speaking, she made a motion to return the phone to Jiang Zhen Zhen.

“Have you looked for Fu Yi Wen’s parents?”

“……”

In the earpiece, Chen Lu’s voice stopped the action of handing over the phone. Tang Ying and Jiang Zhen Zhen exchanged a look, then Tang Ying raised the phone to her face again:

“Fu Yi Wen isn’t in Ningcheng.”

“So, you’ve looked for her parents?”

Chen Lu said this with good reason. After all, Tang Ying had even looked for Jiang Zhen Zhen, who was far away in Germany, so it was impossible that she hadn’t thought of Fu Yi Wen’s parents.

Tang Ying didn’t deny it: “Yes, I went to her parents’ barbecue restaurant. She wasn’t there.”

“Did you tell them about your relationship with Fu Yi Wen?”

“No.” Tang Ying paused, her tone betraying no emotion. “I tested the waters. They thought Fu Yi Wen was still running a restaurant in Yunjiang City and didn’t know what had happened to her recently.”

“Then why didn’t you directly tell Uncle and Auntie that Fu Yi Wen wasn’t in Yunjiang City? That way, they would anxiously contact their daughter, and Fu Yi Wen wouldn’t even answer her parents’ calls. Wouldn’t that give you an opportunity?”

“……”

Chen Lu’s words were inexplicable, causing Tang Ying to frown and her face to turn gloomy. The voice tinged with anger was almost squeezed out from between her teeth:

“Chen Lu, what kind of person do you think I am?”

Chen Lu shrugged, a mocking smile on her face: “What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong? Don’t you want to find Fu Yi Wen?”

“I really want to find her, but I’m not so despicable as to stoop to exploiting her parents!”

Tang Ying was obviously angered. The suddenly raised voice drew dissatisfaction from other customers in the restaurant, who turned to look in this direction. Jiang Zhen Zhen felt a little embarrassed and nodded apologetically to them one by one.

Tang Ying suppressed her anger and lowered her voice: “Chen Lu, I know you have a problem with me because of Fu Yi Wen, so I’ve been tolerating it again and again. You better not take an inch—”

“Fu Yi Wen is in America.” Chen Lu interrupted Tang Ying’s anger, her tone sounding somewhat complicated.

“……Wh, what?” Tang Ying suspected she was hallucinating: “You said Fu Yi Wen is in America?”

“Believe it or not, I can only say so much. As for whether you can find her, it all depends on fate.”

With that, the video call ended.

……

When the video call ended, it was already evening in China.

On the sofa in the living room, the phone that had been quickly hung up was thrown onto the coffee table. As if afraid that its owner would regret it, Chen Lu changed the cold appearance she had had during the phone call, directly bending over and lying on the legs of Gu Wan Jun, who was peeling an apple for her, with a distinctly blank expression:

“Damn, why did I say it?”

Gu Wan Jun lowered her head and gently pecked the little girl’s unconsciously bitten lower lip, her eyes and eyebrows softly mimicking the other person’s murmur:

“Yeah, why did you say it?”

“I shouldn’t have said it.”

“Then why did you say it?”

“Because…” Chen Lu stretched out a finger and hooked Gu Wan Jun’s palm, her voice somewhat muffled: “Because I think you’re right.”

“Right about what?”

“Tang Ying really loves Fu Yi Wen.”

“……”