Chapter 17

While they were talking, they had already reached the dormitory building.

Gu Feng still seemed to want to chat with Tang Yiling and Chang Yuruo about something.

But neither girl was interested.

An Qi and Qian Xueqing were both in the dorm.

When they heard the door open, An Qi quickly stood up. “Arou, what good food did you bring me this time?”

Chang Yuruo smiled. Compared with the expression she’d worn downstairs earlier, this one was much more genuine.

She handed over the tanghulu she’d carried all the way back. “Here.”

An Qi hadn’t even seen what it was clearly before she rushed over and hugged Chang Yuruo.

“I knew Arou is the best to me.”

Chang Yuruo patted her head, like she was petting a little dog.

Then she turned to Qian Xueqing beside them. “I know you’re dieting, so I didn’t bring you any.”

Qian Xueqing winked at Tang Yiling.

She teased, “You were already partial to An Qi anyway; why bother explaining?”

Chang Yuruo only smiled and didn’t deny it.

That was as good as agreeing with Qian Xueqing.

Tang Yiling joined in the commotion for a while before sitting down at her desk.

She opened her phone and found a message from Li Lan.

“Back in the dorm?”

“Don’t forget, come home for dinner tomorrow night.”

Tang Yiling glanced at the calendar; it was Friday again.

Time was passing so fast. She seemed to be growing a little more attached to this place, too.

The next afternoon, there was only one class.

Tang Yiling deliberately stuffed several large shopping bags into her backpack and went to the supermarket to stock up.

She absolutely could not spend another two cents unnecessarily!

Unexpectedly, just as she walked out of the teaching building, she spotted Tang GeYun standing at the entrance.

She looked like she was waiting for someone, and there was a very good chance she was waiting for her.

Tang Yiling carefully recalled the plot.

She shouldn’t have any plot point coming up recently.

And by the timeline, her probation period still had three or four days left.

There absolutely could not be any slip-up at a time like this.

She hid by the stairwell and deliberately waited until there were the most students around before blending into the crowd and walking out.

But Tang GeYun seemed to have some kind of radar; she reached out and accurately grabbed the strap of Tang Yiling’s bag.

Tang GeYun had a friend beside her named Kong Chen.

As far as Tang Yiling knew, Kong Chen only became especially close to her after Tang GeYun was brought back to the Tang family.

Kong Chen looked like a little sidekick, and seemed even angrier than Tang GeYun; she glared at people with open hostility.

Tang GeYun unlocked her phone, searched through it briefly, and handed it to Tang Yiling.

Tang Yiling was confused.

She didn’t take the phone, only leaned in to look. It was a photo.

In the photo, there were only her and Gu Feng, standing downstairs by the dormitory building.

The time stamp was last night, when Chang Yuruo had just gone to the delivery locker to pick up a parcel.

Tang Yiling pushed the phone back.

“So what?”

Only after saying that did she suddenly remember.

Tang GeYun’s hostility toward her came not only from her stealing a position that didn’t belong to her, but also because they both liked the same boy.

Gu Feng again!

That novel should just have been called The Legend of Gu Feng; what was all this about two female leads?

Tang Yiling didn’t want to attract too much attention.

She lowered her voice. “We just happened to run into each other and said a few words.”

Tang GeYun’s gaze fixed on her face, as if she were interrogating a criminal.

“What did you talk about?”

“Talked about... ”

Actually, they had talked about nothing at all; the atmosphere had been extremely stiff.

But she couldn’t sell out Chang Yuruo.

According to the plot, Chang Yuruo still shouldn’t have entered Tang GeYun’s line of sight at this point.

To be honest, in order to strengthen her memory, Tang Yiling had only memorized the plot within the probation period until it was burned into her brain.

She had gotten the later content from the book itself and had already forgotten most of it.

She couldn’t tell whether this was the future plot advancing early or a new development emerging.

But whatever it was, it shouldn’t be happening.

Tang Yiling and Tang GeYun seemed to be locked in a contest; neither of them spoke.

It was Kong Chen beside them who couldn’t hold back.

“Tang Yiling, do you have no shame?”

“You’re standing downstairs with a man in the middle of the night. Were you coming back, or were you going out?”

It was right after class, and there were many students coming and going.

Kong Chen’s voice was loud; it drew the attention of many nearby students.

“That’s not what happened.”

Tang Yiling was afraid of deviating from the plot, so she could only deny it weakly. “It’s not what you said.”

Kong Chen looked at Tang GeYun.

When she saw that Tang GeYun gave no response, she took it as tacit approval and stepped forward to grab Tang Yiling’s clothes. “And you dressed up so nicely; what’s that supposed to mean?”

Tang Yiling froze for a moment.

She subconsciously looked down at herself: a long denim skirt paired with a small doll-collar shirt, a very simple outfit.

If it looked nice, that could only be credited to her natural beauty.

For a moment, she couldn’t tell whether that was a compliment or a provocation.

Tang GeYun stopped Kong Chen and stepped forward.

Instead of her clothes, she grabbed Tang Yiling’s arm. “Explain. I’ll give you a chance.”

Explain?

Tang Yiling’s brain spun at full speed.

At this time, Chang Yuruo had no connection with Tang GeYun.

That meant she could only drag Li Lan into it.

Tang Yiling looked at Tang GeYun, her eyes full of sincerity.

“Last night I was helping Senior Sister Li Lan deliver something to Gu Feng.”

“Is that so?”

Tang Yiling had just started to relax when Tang GeYun pressed further, “Since when were you so familiar with Li Lan?”

What a coincidence.

Before Tang Yiling could answer, there was a stir not far away.

“Senior Sister Li Lan is over there.”

Li Lan was wearing a sky-blue shirt dress today.

A matching belt at her waist made her already striking figure look even more pronounced.

Today she was wearing narrow-framed glasses, and a few wisps of hair fell along one side of her forehead.

She was holding several books, walking and talking with a girl beside her, as if they were discussing schoolwork.

Because she was tall, Li Lan stood out especially clearly in the crowd.

No matter how you looked at it, she was a proper campus goddess.

Tang Yiling spotted her very easily.

They were not far apart; Li Lan might even hear the conversation here.

As expected, Li Lan turned her head and looked over.

Her gaze swept across Tang Yiling, then returned to the girl beside her.

Tang Yiling froze.

She raised her hand and waved hard. “Senior!”

She called several times in a row, but Li Lan didn’t look back.

She didn’t even slow her pace for a second; she treated Tang Yiling like a complete stranger.

Tang Yiling lowered her hand, and the corners of her lips followed.

Clearly, at school before, Li Lan would still respond to her; what was going on today?

This gave Kong Chen the perfect opening to explode.

She suddenly stepped forward and shoved Tang Yiling. “You lied!”

Even Tang GeYun was startled by her action, let alone Tang Yiling, who was still trying to think.

She staggered back several steps and nearly fell to the ground.

Someone caught her.

Tang Yiling turned to see her roommates.

Qian Xueqing and An Qi were standing on her left and right.

“What are you doing? Bullying a classmate?”

Kong Chen didn’t take them seriously and continued accusing Tang Yiling.

Chang Yuruo, who had arrived just then, understood what was going on; she walked over and blocked her way.

The three of them were like a solid shield, protecting Tang Yiling in the middle.

Chang Yuruo took the initiative to speak. “Don’t talk nonsense. Yiling was with me yesterday.”

“Running into Senior Gu Feng was only an accident.”

“If you’re so curious, why don’t you just go ask Gu Feng? What’s the point of bullying Yiling?”

This was the first time Tang Yiling had seen Chang Yuruo be so forceful.

Her lips were pressed together, her gaze firm and steady; even her words were sharp and clear.

She had always thought Chang Yuruo was the gentle, soft type; she hadn’t expected her to stand up for her.

Tang Yiling couldn’t help feeling her eyes sting.

Kong Chen was somewhat embarrassed by Chang Yuruo’s words.

Unconsciously, she raised a hand toward Chang Yuruo.

Tang Yiling reacted quickly; while pulling Chang Yuruo back, she herself rushed to the front.

The slap she had expected didn’t land.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Tang GeYun holding Kong Chen’s hand.

Tang GeYun glared at Kong Chen, apparently blaming her for acting on her own.

She said to Tang Yiling, “Take care of yourself. Don’t do anything that brings shame to the Tang family.”

“Also, next month is Dad’s birthday; remember to come home on time.”

After speaking, Tang GeYun tilted her head and looked at Chang Yuruo behind her.

At this point, the two of them still shouldn’t have known each other.

Tang Yiling moved half a step to the side in self-deception, blocking Tang GeYun’s line of sight.

Tang GeYun withdrew her gaze.

She didn’t know who she was saying it for; her tone still carried the unquestionable arrogance of a spoiled young lady.

“Tang Yiling is my younger sister.”

“What happens between my sister and me doesn’t need anyone else interfering.”

With that, Tang GeYun strode away.

Kong Chen was stunned for a moment, then hurried after her.

The surrounding students who had gathered to watch dispersed.

Tang Yiling and her roommates quickly left this place of trouble as well.

Only after the few of them returned to the dorm did they start reviewing what had just happened.

The other three surrounded Tang Yiling.

“Are you okay?”

Tang Yiling shook her head.

She pressed her lips together, trying very hard to hold it in, but still couldn’t stop the tears.

It wasn’t because she had been humiliated and bullied by Tang GeYun and Kong Chen.

It was because she hadn’t expected her roommates to be so good to her; it was hard not to be moved.

The fact that Tang Yiling had been driven out of the Tang family was something her roommates all knew.

The more they comforted her, the harder she cried.

About half an hour passed before her emotions finally calmed down.

Chang Yuruo gave her one last hug. “Actually, Yiling, you were afraid Tang GeYun would set her sights on me, so you didn’t say I was there yesterday, right?”

“So you were protecting me too.”

As soon as she said that, Tang Yiling felt like crying again.

An Qi hurriedly grabbed a lollipop from the desk and stuffed it into her hand. “The candied hawthorn yesterday was too sour; I ate it with sugar. There’s one piece left, so I’m giving it to you.”

The dorm fell silent for a moment.

Two seconds later, everyone finally burst out laughing.

Since Tang Yiling was fine, everyone returned to their desks.

Qian Xueqing read for ten minutes, then started yawning.

She picked up her phone and opened the delivery app.

“Oh right, it’s Friday today, isn’t it? Yiling, aren’t you going to do tutoring?”

Right!

She had forgotten about that.

Tang Yiling leaned back in her chair and gritted her teeth.

“I’m not going!”

She had called out so many times today; there was no way Li Lan hadn’t heard her.

To this moment, she still couldn’t figure out why Li Lan was ignoring her.

Ignoring her was one thing, but when Li Lan looked at her, it was as if she were looking at a complete stranger.

No, even less than a stranger.

There seemed to be a blade of ice hidden in that gaze.

Now that Tang Yiling thought about it, Li Lan had looked as though she wanted to kill her in that instant.

But why?

She clearly hadn’t offended Li Lan; even if she really had, couldn’t they just talk it through properly?

When Qian Xueqing heard that Tang Yiling didn’t have to work part-time, she got excited all at once.

She suggested, “Then let’s have a feast tonight!”

Everyone agreed.

Qian Xueqing ordered barbecue and milk tea, and even found a movie for them to watch while they ate.

Tang Yiling actually didn’t have much of an appetite; she only ate a little.

Li Lan’s reaction today was weighing on her, growing heavier and heavier in her heart.

By the time the movie ended, it was nearly eight o’clock.

An Qi patted her belly and invited Chang Yuruo to go for a walk to help digest the food, while Qian Xueqing went to shower.

Only then did Tang Yiling sit back down at her own desk.

She hadn’t looked at her phone all this time; when she opened it now, she found two messages from Li Lan.

“When are you coming back?”

When she got no reply, Li Lan sent another one half an hour later: “Come home early.”