Chapter 16
Tang Yiling was a little dazed, and her steps had slowed too.
Just now, she hadn’t caught what the woman said after that.
Where was she going? To another city?
The two of them passed the restaurant display windows.
Li Lan finally seemed to lose patience with Tang Yiling’s pace. She reached out and took her hand.
Only then did Tang Yiling react belatedly. “You’re going the wrong way.”
“This way leads to the stairwell; the restroom is over there.”
Li Lan didn’t stop.
She dragged Tang Yiling all the way down until the fire door to the stairwell slammed shut with a heavy bang.
The bustle of the mall was cut off. This place was so quiet it was almost eerie.
She stopped and turned to look at Tang Yiling.
Her beautiful phoenix eyes seemed to be covered in frost, and her voice was stern.
“How was the fun?”
Tang Yiling looked up in confusion and suddenly felt a little wronged.
Wasn’t this because Li Lan was out on a date with someone else?
It wasn’t like she had wanted to watch this kind of excitement.
Clearly, the script was forcing her to witness this scene whether she liked it or not.
She lifted her chin stubbornly and glared back at Li Lan.
“That depends on how your date went.”
Li Lan frowned. “Date?”
She paused. “Shouldn’t you be the one giving me an explanation?”
“My employee, and you’re working here?”
“And pretending not to know me on purpose?”
At that, Tang Yiling’s momentum faltered.
She was guilty, and even her voice dropped. “I already said it. I came with my roommate.”
Li Lan’s expression didn’t change much.
Tang Yiling couldn’t tell why she was angry.
Was it because Tang Yiling had come here to work? Or because she’d pretended not to know her?
Or maybe simply because she had seen the moment Li Lan was confessed to?
The two of them stared at each other for several seconds, neither willing to give way.
Tang Yiling looked away first.
As a canary, she still had to have some self-awareness; she couldn’t just act on impulse.
She stepped forward and took Li Lan’s hand.
Holding it with both hands, she gave it a light shake. “The money you gave me is definitely enough to spend.”
“But my roommate invited me. It would’ve been hard to refuse, and I didn’t want to seem too isolated.”
Li Lan’s brows moved almost imperceptibly.
Her gaze dropped to their clasped hands.
Seeing that it was working, Tang Yiling hurried on. “But I promise I won’t delay your work here.”
“I’ll come whenever you call; you’re the most important, after all!”
Before this, she hadn’t realized Li Lan actually ate this sort of thing up.
Afterward, Tang Yiling felt as if she had suddenly learned some peerless martial art, one that only worked on Li Lan.
A smile slowly rose in her eyes and brows, and Tang Yiling shook Li Lan’s hand again.
“Then calling each other senior and junior is perfectly understandable too.”
“I don’t really mind anyway. After the Tang family kicked me out, everyone was just waiting to watch me make a fool of myself.”
“But you’re the campus beauty, so I’m afraid if this gets out, people will gossip about you.”
Since it had come to this, Tang Yiling decided to push a little harder.
She looked at Li Lan, the corners of her mouth turning down, and even her lively peach-blossom eyes reddened slightly.
She slipped into the role.
“Sister, are you on a date with her? Do you like her?”
“Then what about me?”
“You’re not going to care about me anymore?”
Li Lan helplessly shook her head.
The anger in her eyes had long since faded, and her voice had softened too. “No.”
Tang Yiling pressed, “No what?”
“Nothing.” Li Lan’s lashes trembled; she didn’t want to explain.
She lifted her other hand and seemed to pinch Tang Yiling’s cheek rather hard.
That finally eased the last of her anger, and she said nothing more about what had happened today.
“You go on with your work; I’m heading back first.”
Li Lan closed her fingers around Tang Yiling’s fingertips, her tone steady and reassuring. “When you get back, tell my companion to keep calling me President Li.”
With that, Li Lan turned and walked down the stairwell.
She didn’t even deal with the wool dress stained with wine.
“Also,” she said, stopping on the landing, “settle that table’s bill later and say I paid for it.”
“Deduct the money directly from your living expenses.”
Tang Yiling was anxious. “No, why?”
Li Lan’s voice remained calm as ever, drifting back up slowly. “Because I’m the most important.”
Tang Yiling stood in the stairwell, watching Li Lan leave.
She stayed there a little longer before turning back.
She didn’t know whether she had been too caught up in the moment just now, or what.
In her mind, the scene of that woman touching Li Lan surfaced on its own, and her heart tightened for no clear reason.
The woman was still sitting in the same seat, her head lowered as if she were thinking.
Tang Yiling felt that relaying Li Lan’s words face-to-face would be a little abrupt, so she simply wrote them on a note and handed it over.
The woman was much calmer than expected.
She glanced at the note, then softly thanked Tang Yiling.
The customers at the neighboring table gradually left.
The woman poured herself one glass after another, sipping slowly.
Around 8:30, the boss called Tang Yiling and Chang Yuruo to the cashier.
“You two should head back first; I can keep an eye on things.”
Since they were paid by the hour, there really wasn’t much for them to do if they stayed.
They took their bags and left the mall.
Chang Yuruo took out two packs of cookies and handed one to Tang Yiling.
Tang Yiling shook her head, clearly not in high spirits.
“Still thinking about Senior Sister Li Lan?”
“Come to think of it, Senior Sister really is beautiful and outstanding; she has a lot of admirers at school. I didn’t expect her to have them outside school too.”
Tang Yiling looked at Chang Yuruo and carefully asked, “But that was a girl, though.”
By rights, this novel should be a straight romance, shouldn’t it? Were the characters really this accepting of same-sex feelings?
“Do you care about that?”
Chang Yuruo tilted her head. “As long as it’s sincere, every kind of feeling is beautiful!”
Seeing that Tang Yiling didn’t speak, she continued.
“Especially someone like Senior Sister, who’s capable and beautiful. You wouldn’t occasionally feel even a little moved, would you?”
Tang Yiling was momentarily stumped.
She no longer had the energy to investigate the original heroine’s level of acceptance; instead, she was thinking about how to answer that question.
A little moved?
Li Lan lying in the bathtub suddenly flashed through her mind.
Her neck was pale and slender, like a proud white swan.
She had actually always wanted to know what it would feel like to kiss her.
Her cheeks began to heat.
Tang Yiling waved her hand and didn’t answer. “Oh, I’ve been too busy thinking about that. I just want to make money right now.”
Chang Yuruo linked her arm with Tang Yiling’s. “But Yiling, you adapted really quickly.”
“I thought you wouldn’t be able to handle this sort of thing.”
“Well, first I have to be able to survive.”
Tang Yiling asked in return, “What about you? Don’t you have a scholarship? Why are you still doing so many part-time jobs?”
The muscles in Chang Yuruo’s arm suddenly tightened.
Her voice was tinged with sadness too. “Someone in my family is sick; we really need the money.”
Tang Yiling quickly said, “Sorry.”
She wanted to ask more, but Chang Yuruo had already changed the subject.
“Yiling, they’re selling candied hawthorn over there.”
Chang Yuruo tugged her along. “Come on, I’ll treat you!”
Tang Yiling followed a step behind, looking at Chang Yuruo, who seemed to brighten just from seeing the candied hawthorn.
Her heart softened with pity.
She remembered the plot in the book: Chang Yuruo had grown up living with her grandmother.
Later, when her grandmother fell and became paralyzed, Chang Yuruo took on the family’s living expenses and medical bills.
No wonder she was the female lead; she really was outstanding.
Even under hardship and crushing pressure, she still lived so positively and optimistically.
Tang Yiling took the candied hawthorn. “Thank you.”
“Yuruo, you’re really nice.”
Chang Yuruo smiled, peeled open the wrapper, and bit into a hawthorn. The sourness made her face scrunch up.
Tang Yiling was the same.
The two of them looked at each other.
In the somewhat empty plaza, they burst out laughing without the slightest concern for their image.
The mall was very close to the school, so they decided to walk back.
Just as they reached the school gate, Tang Yiling spotted someone she disliked at a glance.
Gu Feng got out of the driver’s seat of a car.
He went around the vehicle and checked it carefully, then turned back in satisfaction.
Tang Yiling wanted to hide, but it was already too late.
Gu Feng called Chang Yuruo’s name. “Junior, what a coincidence.”
Chang Yuruo still looked pretty happy.
She and Gu Feng walked and talked, keeping roughly ten centimeters between them.
They talked about Chang Yuruo’s part-time job, then about Gu Feng’s new car.
Gu Feng was in the same year as Li Lan.
He would graduate from graduate school next year, and his family had prepared this car for him ahead of time during this summer break.
If Tang Yiling remembered correctly, Gu Feng’s mother and Li Lan’s parents were coworkers.
And his father was the company president; he would take over the family business in the future.
Tang Yiling let out a soft huff.
Same novel, both female leads supporting themselves through their own efforts, and only the male lead relying on his family.
Just what exactly was so great about Gu Feng?!
She wasn’t interested in their conversation and was thinking about finding an excuse to leave first.
While her mind wandered, Tang Yiling caught sight of the tote bag in Gu Feng’s hand.
This bag was identical to the one used to deliver food to Li Lan last time.
She couldn’t help turning her head to look again; could it really be the same one?
The temperature in Tang Yiling’s face dropped slightly; she couldn’t think of any reason for the two of them to exchange a tote bag.
It couldn’t be that Li Lan had cooked a meal for Gu Feng as thanks, right?
Chang Yuruo noticed it too.
She pointed at the bag, her voice soft. “Senior, did you go eat at the mall?”
Tang Yiling seized the opportunity to look openly for a couple more glances.
It really was from a mall restaurant, a national chain; it was probably just a coincidence.
Gu Feng gave an “Mm.”
Chang Yuruo asked again, “Were you there with Senior Sister Li Lan?”
Tang Yiling, just starting to relax a little, tensed up again.
She had originally been walking a little ahead, and now deliberately slowed her pace.
Gu Feng probably hadn’t expected Chang Yuruo to ask so directly.
His momentary freeze was already the best answer.
“Yes, today was to thank Sister Lan for helping me pick out a birthday present for my mom.”
Before Gu Feng could finish, he paused again.
Chang Yuruo knew he liked Li Lan; half the school knew.
Trying to explain only made things seem a little strange, so Gu Feng awkwardly changed the subject.
“Oh? Junior, did you buy candied hawthorn?”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had any. I actually kind of miss it.”
Chang Yuruo still wore her usual good-natured smile.
She smiled at Gu Feng. “Sorry, Senior, this is for my roommate.”
Only then did Tang Yiling realize that the extra skewer was for An Qi.
She had stupidly thought Chang Yuruo hadn’t bought enough to eat!
Gu Feng’s expression grew even more awkward, his face turning a little red.
He looked toward Tang Yiling. “Junior, are you free this weekend?”
The area went quiet for a few seconds before Tang Yiling realized he was asking her.
“Me?”
“Yes.” Gu Feng smiled politely. “I’ve made plans to go hiking this weekend with Yuruo and some friends.”
“What do you like to eat? I can bring more later so the two of you girls don’t have to carry anything.”
Tang Yiling frowned and looked at Gu Feng in disbelief.
Why did she feel like Gu Feng had already assumed she would be going?
Right; in the script, Tang Yiling’s character was also one of Gu Feng’s secret admirers.
But in the plot Tang Yiling needed to complete, there was no such item.
She shot Gu Feng a glare.
Her voice was even colder and more merciless than Li Lan’s.
“I’m not free. I’m not going.”