SYLM Chapter 124

Chapter 124 “I don’t trust anyone else to tutor you.”

The moonlight outlined the person’s silhouette, a floral dress traced familiar curves, the scarlet spark between her fingers flickered in the night, and behind the swirling smoke was a face that was faintly visible and excessively beautiful. That face looked much more haggard than in her memory, but her eyes were frighteningly bright.

The first reaction Fu Yi Wen had upon seeing Tang Ying was to run.

How could she not run when she saw Tang Ying?

But the next second, she felt it was unnecessary.

Tang Ying. A thing of the past. She had already decided not to care, so what was there to run from?

A hint of self-deprecation flashed in Fu Yi Wen’s eyes as the two stared at each other across the street.

The cigarette ash drifted in the wind and landed on her expensive high heels, but she didn’t seem to notice. After staring at each other for several seconds, Tang Ying seemed to react. She immediately stubbed out the cigarette, her movements so flustered that she almost burned her fingers.

So it wasn’t an illusion.

It really was Fu Yi Wen.

Standing across the street, Tang Ying’s every action was clearly visible to Fu Yi Wen. She couldn’t describe what she was feeling, and could only force herself to stand there and say a formal “What a coincidence.”

Was this reunion decent enough? Was this goodbye enough to show that she had let go?

Fu Yi Wen didn’t know.

Her mind was still regretting why she hadn’t chosen to suffocate in the booth just now.

The rapid, hurried clicks of high heels echoed on the street until the two were face to face. Fu Yi Wen remained motionless, standing in place.

This reaction, which was abnormal to the extreme, made Tang Ying unsure whether to be happy or sad.

Didn’t she care anymore?

Didn’t Little Fatty care about her anymore?

After months apart, like a squirrel storing food for the winter, she had a pile of things she wanted to say. She even wanted to complain about that embarrassing little episode where she was kicked out.

But Tang Ying couldn’t say a word.

So close, yet so far.

After a long silence, her dry throat finally squeezed out the most realistic sentence: “I’m divorced.”

“Mm.”

Fu Yi Wen nodded. She realized that when you truly let go of someone, you don’t even bother to offer charity. She shrugged her shoulders and added with a remarkably calm reaction:

“What does that have to do with me?”

Tang Ying stared into her eyes, stubbornly repeating: “I said I’m divorced.”

“I heard you.” Fu Yi Wen showed a hint of impatience, rarely revealing her thorns in front of Tang Ying: “What are you telling me this for? Are you planning on making me compensate you for your marriage?”

Why, Tang Ying, why did you have to ruin this last bit of decency?

The night wind ruffled Tang Ying’s carefully styled curls, and a few strands of hair stuck to her slightly sweaty forehead. She suddenly laughed, that familiar, somewhat mocking, yet confident smile that Fu Yi Wen knew so well:

“Fu Yi Wen, let’s start over.”

Start over? Had they ever started? Fu Yi Wen found it laughable: “Don’t you understand what I’m saying? I said, I don’t like you anymore.”

“That doesn’t count, I forgot.”

Fu Yi Wen moved her lips, scoffing: “Tang Ying, you’re really pathetic like this.”

Tang Ying pretended not to hear, reaching out to touch the Little Fatty who had once been at her beck and call, but Fu Yi Wen took two big steps back, until her back hit the fire hydrant on the outside wall of the bar. Coldly, she said:

“Go back, don’t come looking for me again.”

“If you’re here, where can I go?”

Tang Ying’s voice suddenly softened, as if all her strength had been drained away. Fu Yi Wen turned her face away, avoiding that scorching gaze:

“Go wherever you want, just leave me alone, okay?”

“No.”

“Tang Ying!”

“I miss you.”

“…”

After months apart, how much damage did White Moonlight’s “I miss you” do to Fu Yi Wen?

Hearts are made of flesh, and she couldn’t help but be moved by the words, but that’s all it was.

Fu Yi Wen looked up at her, her tone as resolute as the day they separated:

“You say you miss me, but do you know, I’m trying desperately to forget you.”

“…” Tang Ying was stunned for a moment, trying to tug at the corners of her lips, but she couldn’t hide the dust-covered confidence and loneliness in her eyes: “But you can’t forget.”

“Who says I can’t forget!” Fu Yi Wen hated this person’s confidence when manipulating people’s hearts. She raised her voice, shouting as if to convince herself: “Who do you think you are? You’re nothing to me now!”

Tang Ying nodded: “That’s perfect, we can start from the beginning.”

“?”

“You just said that I’m nothing to you, which means you don’t care about me at all. In that case, let’s get to know each other again.” Tang Ying smoothed out her skirt and took half a step forward: “Hello, Tang Ying.”

“…”

Tang Ying extended her hand, making a gesture of a first meeting. Fu Yi Wen’s eyes widened, her face speechless. The roles seemed to be reversed, with Tang Ying becoming the persistent one.

Not wanting to argue with this person, Fu Yi Wen was about to explode when Tang Ying spoke first, cutting off her escape route:

“If you don’t agree, I’ll assume you still can’t let me go.”

“…”

This was truly speechless to the extreme!

Fu Yi Wen was a little angry: “Tang Ying, is this fun for you?”

The answer to this question was a moment of silence. Tang Ying lowered her eyes, as if thinking about something.

Perhaps loving Tang Ying had truly become an unconscious habit for Fu Yi Wen. These short two seconds, no, maybe only one second, felt particularly torturous to Fu Yi Wen. She was wondering if she should say something when the person in front of her suddenly looked up at her, changing the subject:

“Have you had dinner yet?”

“?”

Fu Yi Wen was momentarily speechless.

How did we jump to this topic?

“Don’t bring up other topics. You haven’t answered my question from before.”

“I haven’t eaten yet.” Tang Ying said to herself, her eyes fixed on Fu Yi Wen’s expression.

“? I told you not to change the subject, answer me!”

Fu Yi Wen stomped her feet in anger, but the other person seemed not to notice, unconsciously rubbing the fabric of her skirt with her arms crossed. Tang Ying continued her question: “Where do you live?”

“Can you please stop changing the subject?!”

“Have dinner with me, I’ll treat.”

“Tang Ying!”

Fu Yi Wen was driven to the point of madness and finally exploded:

“I really don’t want to waste any more time on you! I’m very busy right now! I have a lot of my own things to do! Can you please stop disrupting my life!”

“Very busy?” Tang Ying repeated the words with a serious expression, her eyes instantly turning cold. She glanced intentionally at the building next to her, her tone betraying no emotion: “Busy coming to the bar?”

Here it comes again. That condescending, sarcastic tone.

The previous little sparks were instantly ignited. Fu Yi Wen’s voice trembled with anger:

“What bar! I applied to the University of Southern California, I’m busy studying for the TOEFL, I have a ton of messy things waiting for me! Can you please stop—”

Before she could finish speaking, Fu Yi Wen regretted it, because she clearly saw Tang Ying’s eyes light up, even raising an eyebrow.

Damn it, this annoying pest tricked her into revealing information!?

Belatedly realizing that she seemed to have fallen into a trap, she was both angry and speechless, her face even uglier than if she had been struck by lightning. She turned to leave, but was grabbed:

“You’re taking the TOEFL?”

“No.”

“I heard you.”

“You misheard!”

“Little Fatty, people with big eyes aren’t suited to lying.”

“…”

This denial was ineffective. Fu Yi Wen turned her face away and shook off her hand:

“Even if I’m taking the TOEFL, what’s it to you?”

“I can help you.”

“Who wants your hel-” Before she could say it, a drunken man suddenly appeared, interrupting the tug-of-war.

The swaying man whistled at the two with malicious intent. Tang Ying’s face instantly turned cold. She was about to protect the person next to her, but Fu Yi Wen acted first.

The street lamp stretched Fu Yi Wen’s shadow long, completely enveloping Tang Ying. Looking at the thin back blocking her, Tang Ying was slightly stunned.

The person in front of her was the same as before, wearing the simplest white T-shirt, jeans, and canvas shoes. In a matter of months, everything had changed, but it was as if nothing had changed.

She always protected her, took care of her, just like now, even though she was the older one.

Like pulling a thread that moves the whole body, this thought was like a secret key that opened Tang Ying’s memory box. She unconsciously recalled the details of their past interactions.

She always let her walk on the inside when they went for walks, she always held her hand when they crossed the street, the barbecue skewers handed to her were always wiped clean, she always had band-aids and sneakers ready when her high heels rubbed her feet raw while shopping, she never had to worry about which takeout place was clean or which one she was tired of eating for lunch, she could always come home from work to a warm meal, she could always see her favorite foods and drinks when she opened the refrigerator, she always got the first bite of whatever they ate…

Tang Ying had never noticed these details before, or perhaps even if she had noticed them, she hadn’t paid much attention to them.

She knew that Fu Yi Wen was good to her, but whether it was genuine or fake, she was never lacking people who were good to her.

Tang Ying had always wondered why she had fallen in love with Fu Yi Wen, who was fourteen years younger than her and also a woman. If someone had asked her the specific reason just before Fu Yi Wen subconsciously blocked her, she might not even have been able to say it.

What did she like about Fu Yi Wen? Did she really like Fu Yi Wen?

These thoughts only lingered in Tang Ying’s mind for a few seconds before being kicked away by a certain reckless Little Fatty.

Tang Ying saw how Fu Yi Wen treated her.

It was a wholehearted cherishing of her, it was protecting her even after they had separated, and it was a love that Tang Ying could never get from another person.

This love had become a habit, etched in her bones and flowing in her blood. Even if she covered her mouth, it would run out of her eyes, and even Fu Yi Wen herself didn’t realize it.

After all, they were in front of a crowded bar, and the drunken man only symbolically whistled at the two of them a few times before leaving, muttering and cursing as he hugged his bottle of wine.

Fu Yi Wen breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the drunken man staggering away.

The small pepper spray in her hand was almost crushed. She didn’t know if this thing was useful or not.

Turning her head with lingering fear, she found Tang Ying staring straight at her.

Fu Yi Wen suddenly felt that it wasn’t easy to breathe outside either.

People are really strange animals. Even though she had decided not to care, even though she was very annoyed and angry a second ago, she couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful Tang Ying’s eyes were when she met her gaze.

Yes, she couldn’t ignore her beauty.

There were many things she couldn’t ignore.

No one knew how hard she had tried to force herself not to look at Tang Ying’s ankles, which were rubbed raw by her high heels, from the moment they met.

Quickly distancing herself from the other person, Fu Yi Wen’s tone sounded quite dissatisfied:

“What are you looking at? I don’t have words written on my face.”

“I have good IELTS and TOEFL scores, I can tutor you.”

“…”

Here we go again.

Fu Yi Wen put the pepper spray back in her pocket, her eyebrows and eyes returning to their cold and indifferent look: “No need.”

“You put so much into me over the past five years, don’t you want to get something back?”

Tang Ying tried to provoke Aries’ desire to win, but after hearing this, Fu Yi Wen just shook her head, a self-deprecating smile appearing on the corner of her lips:

“No need, those were all voluntary.”

Voluntary?

Tang Ying took half a step forward, stubbornly shaking the hand that always shook her off: “This time is also voluntary, I don’t trust anyone else to tutor you.”

Don’t trust? Funny, what do you have to not trust? And what right do you have to not trust?

Fu Yi Wen sneered and shook off her hand, refusing: “I don’t accept.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Tang Ying suddenly pulled her into her arms, and quickly let go before the person in her arms could react. The whole series of actions took no more than two seconds, leaving Fu Yi Wen completely stunned!

“You…you! Tang Ying!”

“See? You have to accept, otherwise you’ll see me at the University of Southern California every day after this.”

“…”