Chapter 141 — Old Buffon's Origins

It was just that yesterday she had been too subjective, convinced there was something between Zhao Ying and Yan. In truth, Chen Shutang was not entirely to blame; Yang Ce's earlier posing as Zhao Ying's boyfriend had left a faint unease in her heart. She had said nothing, but she feared Yang Ce might turn pretense into reality.

And when she saw Yang Ce and Zhao Ying kissing, she instinctively thought of that boyfriend pretense and could not help wondering: could this be Yang Ce pulling the wool over her eyes, claiming it was only a pretense when in fact the two had long since reached an understanding?

With that, it was hard for Chen Shutang not to be angry, and so yesterday's furious scene had come about.

"All right, make up with Yan in a bit." Zhao Ying shook her head. "You two—what a pair of bickering lovers."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible for a while. Yang Ce has gone abroad," Chen Shutang said with a bitter smile, shaking her head.

"What? Yang Ce went abroad?" Zhao Ying's eyes went wide with surprise. "Gone abroad? But didn't we just see him yesterday?"

Seeing Zhao Ying's astonishment, which did not look feigned, Chen Shutang was finally set at ease. It seemed there really was nothing improper between Yang Ce and Zhao Ying. Otherwise, Yang Ce going abroad was not something Zhao Ying could possibly not know.

"He left last night. You didn't know?" Chen Shutang shook her head.

"Last night? After you got angry with him yesterday, we separated. I didn't know he was going abroad either," Zhao Ying said in great surprise.

"I only just found out myself." Chen Shutang sighed. "I called Yang Juehuan's home this morning, and the auntie said Yang Ce went abroad yesterday."

"That Yang Ce—going abroad without telling you a word!" Zhao Ying said indignantly. "He didn't tell me, his sister, either. The brat deserves a beating. When he gets back I'll give him an earful."

Zhao Ying was only saying it in passing. Back in their school days she had never once won an argument with Yan, and certainly not now.

"It's not his fault. Who told me to pick that moment to get angry with him?" Chen Shutang said helplessly. "Sister Ying, I'm rather scared."

"Scared of what?" Zhao Ying asked, puzzled.

"You see, last time Yang Ce got angry with me, he went to Yunnan and ended up bringing back a girl named Lan Ling. What if this time, going abroad, he brings back another one?" Chen Shutang hid nothing from Zhao Ying; she had poured out the whole Lan Ling affair to her before.

"Surely not," Zhao Ying said, dumbfounded. "Yang Ce isn't as bad as you make him out to be."

Zhao Ying thought to herself: if Yang Ce fell in love with every woman he saw, then her own business with Yan would never have dragged on this long. She knew about the Lan Ling affair too; it had been an accident, the sort where you board the boat first and buy the ticket later, a matter of pure necessity.

So she said, "Wasn't that because Zhang Bin acted on his own? And besides, back then you and Yan weren't really together yet. Love is free. If you want to be strict about it, Lan Ling came first—you're the latecomer."

Zhao Ying deliberately or casually planted this idea in Chen Shutang's mind, paving the way for herself as well.

"That's true." Only then did Chen Shutang breathe a sigh of relief. "If he brings back another one this time—then I'll break up with him."

"Heh, I'm afraid you won't have the heart to," Zhao Ying said with a smile, shaking her head.

"Sister Ying, now you're teasing me too." Chen Shutang was deeply embarrassed; Zhao Ying had voiced her innermost thoughts. Chen Shutang truly could not bear to part with him—especially after what had happened the day before yesterday, when Yang Ce had taken her climbing. Since then her attachment to him had only grown.

Still, Chen Shutang felt much lighter now. Yes, yesterday she had only been angry with Yan; she had not said anything about breaking up. The two of them could only be counted as being in a cold war for now. Yang Ce surely would not be entertaining any crooked ideas.

Besides, Yang Ce had gone to a foreign country, and those foreign women all looked like great big draft horses—Yang Ce surely would not take a liking to them. Comforting herself with this, Chen Shutang returned to her room, and Yang Jincong, face grim, called Sun Jie.

"Yang Ce!" The moment the call connected, Sun Jie's furious scolding came through. "You've finally shown yourself!"

"Ugh—what do you mean, shown myself? I've been here all along." Yang Ce was not a man who broke his word, but this time he truly had forgotten. The business with Chen Shutang had left him utterly frazzled, and then he had gone straight off on a mission with Fang Tian, forgetting the matter with Sun Jie completely.

"Yang Ce, where have you been all these days? Your phone wasn't even on!" Sun Jie was clearly beside herself with anger. "I asked where you'd gone, and your parents wouldn't tell me either. Are you deliberately trying to avoid me?"

Yang Ce broke into a cold sweat. He had gone abroad to negotiate a business deal, and since Sun Jie was not well acquainted with his parents, they might not have told her the details. But Sun Jie had mistaken it for him being unwilling to tell her and avoiding her. He hastily explained, "Sun Jie, I've been away these past few days, out of town on business."

If he said he had gone abroad, Sun Jie would surely press him for every last detail, so he might as well say he had gone somewhere out of town.

"Then why didn't you turn on your phone?" Sun Jie was clearly not about to let Yang Ce off so easily.

"My phone doesn't have roaming enabled, so I just left it at home." Yang Yanzhou said, "I'm sorry, Sun Jie. That thing you mentioned—is it still in time?"

"What if it weren't? I've been waiting for you day and night, counting the stars and the moon!" Sun Jie said sarcastically. "My dad already knows about you. At the last minute like this, where am I supposed to find someone else to take your place?"

"Then I'll come over tomorrow," Yang Ce said cautiously. This was indeed his fault—he had already agreed to Sun Jie's request, and then he had vanished and stood her up.

"Hmph, you'd better come quickly," Sun Jie said irritably. "But I'm telling you, my dad has a very poor impression of you. He says you're even more high-and-mighty than he is—that he has to wait so long just to meet you."

"Sorry about that," Yang Ce said, hastily making amends. "Good thing it's not real—it's just an act. If I really were your boyfriend, I'd be done for this time."

"You know it," Sun Jie snorted. "But don't let it show. My dad has a fiery temper. If he finds out you're a fake—hmph, you'll bear the consequences yourself."

"The consequence won't be that I go in standing and come out lying down, will it?" Yang Hengye said.

"That's a possibility," Sun Jie said. "You can try it if you like."

"Then I'd better not try. I'll do my best to behave well," Yang Ce said, dropping the joking tone. "I'll come over tomorrow."

"Mm, I'll drive back to pick you up tomorrow," Sun Jie said.

"No need to put you out. I'll find a car and get there myself," Yang Yanzhou said. "It's a hassle for you to come all the way from over there."

"All right then. Tomorrow, when you get to Donghai City, give me a call and I'll come meet you," Sun Jie said, also thinking this was better. It would take quite a bit of time for her to rush to Songjiang and then return to Donghai.

Besides, if her boyfriend was coming to visit, having to go to Songjiang herself to pick him up would make her seem too unimportant—and it wouldn't look good in front of her father either.

After the phone call with Sun Jie, Yang Shuo could only smile bitterly. Other people, during the New Year, rested at home and enjoyed themselves, but he was busy every day, run off his feet.

He had just returned from training camp and already had to set out for Donghai. Yang Ce called Hou Lin, intending to borrow his car.