Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Yang Ce felt ashamed. He really had been too busy—so busy he had no time to go online. It seemed he would have to spend more time online from now on and keep Zhao Ying company in conversation. Yes—online communication had its advantages over face-to-face. He could carefully analyze Zhao Ying's thoughts before replying.

Yang Ce hurriedly replied to Teacher Youlan: I went out of town for a couple of days and just got back. Why, did you need me for something?

Teacher Youlan didn't reply for a long while, and Yang Puqi grew anxious waiting. Had he said something wrong? By now Yang Ce was ninety-nine percent certain that Teacher Youlan was none other than Zhao Ying.

After quite a while, Teacher Youlan finally replied: Nothing much. I'm just not in a good mood today and wanted someone to talk to.

Yang Ce had thought Zhao Ying might have logged off. He quickly replied: I happen to have time. Tell me about it.

Teacher Youlan was clearly surprised and sent a questioning emoji: How come you're so free today?

Yang Ce replied: Can't sleep, just messing around online. What's wrong with you this time? Don't tell me you've been dumped again? Need me, a seasoned relationship expert, to talk you through it?

Teacher Youlan sent a rolling-eyes emoji: You—you're hardly one to talk. You'd better watch out or your girlfriend will run off, and then you'll be the one crying.

Yang Ce hadn't expected little Teacher Zhao to say such a thing. He burst out laughing and replied: Don't worry, she won't run off. But what about you? Didn't you go to the same school as your guy? How come there's still no progress?

Teacher Youlan: What progress could there be? We're still on vacation. School hasn't started.

School hasn't started? Yang Ce was taken aback. Wasn't she a graduate student? Oh—maybe she meant that she herself hadn't started school yet.

Yang Ce replied: Then have you seen him lately?

Teacher Youlan: I saw him. Saw him this morning. It would have been better if I hadn't—seeing him is exactly why I'm in a bad mood.

Seeing him put her in a bad mood? He hadn't done anything to wrong her this morning—he'd even helped her chase off Jingang. Yang Mo was baffled: Why would seeing him put you in a bad mood?

Teacher Youlan paused a moment before saying: I saw him being very intimate with my best friend. They were eating from the same bowl of noodles—Yang Ce's eyes went wide, and he nearly leaped off the bed. Holy hell—this Teacher Youlan was definitely Zhao Ying. But when had he ever shared a bowl of noodles with Wang Yanqiu? That was after Zhao Ying had left, wasn't it?

At this thought, Yang Ce said at once: You saw it with your own eyes? They did that right in front of you?

Teacher Youlan sent a sweat-wiping emoji: Of course not in front of me. They said there was nothing between them. I sneaked a look after I'd left.

Peeping? Yang Ce broke out in a cold sweat. No way—had one careless moment when he got up this morning really led to such an irreversible mess? Zhao Ying had actually seen him eating noodles with Wang Yanqiu?

Yang Yongjin had no idea how to answer, or how to talk his way out of it. What Yang Ce hadn't expected was that Zhao Ying, after leaving, hadn't gone straight home but had witnessed a scene she shouldn't have.

Still, even without knowing how to answer, he had to try. Yang Ce said cautiously: Maybe their relationship isn't what you imagine. There's a saying—what you see isn't necessarily the truth.

Teacher Youlan sent a bitter-smile emoji: I'm not upset about the relationship between them—it's not their relationship I'm upset about. Then what was it? Yang Mo was puzzled and said at once: Then what is it?

Teacher Youlan: I just feel that I'm the one who's known him the longest. If I say some things, you might laugh at me, but it doesn't matter. The internet is an illusion anyway—you don't know who I am, so there's no harm in telling you.

Yang Jincong smiled. You're right that I don't know who you are—but I do know who you are. Still, if you want to tell me something from the heart, how could I refuse? So he said: Yes, go ahead.

Teacher Youlan naturally thought nothing of it and said: The truth is, he has several girlfriends. I'm just a little angry—why is it that people who met him later all became his girlfriends, while I—Yang Ce was shocked. No way. So Zhao Ying was one of those new-era girls with ideals and aspirations who believed in polygamy? Ha—so Sister Ying had been thinking that all along. She wasn't upset that he was fooling around with her best friend—she was upset that he hadn't made a move on her!

Back when Zhao Ying had turned him down once, Yang Ce had grown unsure of what she really thought. Though judging by her recent behavior, she probably did like him, Yang Shuoxuan didn't dare act rashly—who knew whether he'd hit another wall?

So the matter had dragged on and on. Now, since he understood Zhao Ying's true feelings, it would be unforgivable not to do something.

Yang Ce replied with feigned astonishment: "No way. You want to be the mistress?"

Teacher Youlan sent back a knife emoji: "What do you mean, mistress? That sounds so ugly."

Yet though she had not admitted it, she had not denied it either. How could Yang Ce fail to read Zhao Ying's meaning?

Yang Ce said: "Then why don't you tell him? Haven't you ever heard that when a woman chases a man, there's only a thin veil between them?"

Teacher Youlan said: "How am I supposed to say it? I turned him down once before—how could I go and confess now?"

Yang Ce sighed. Ah, a faint heart truly does a man harm. If Zhao Ying were a little bolder, the two of them might well have ended up together long ago. So he said: "Then you'll just sit there waiting for him to confess? He's already been turned down by you once—how would he dare confess again?"

After a pause Teacher Youlan replied: "I don't know either. That's why I'm in a bad mood. But he ought to know how I feel, shouldn't he?" Yang Ce was somewhat at a loss. He thought to himself, if I hadn't chatted with you a few times, how would I ever know what you really think? I'd have assumed you were just being mindful of the old teacher-student relationship. Yang Ce replied: "Maybe he's about to confess to you. But you won't turn him down again this time, will you?"

Seeing Yang Ce's reply, Teacher Youlan was both annoyed and amused: "Do you take me for a fool? How could I make the same mistake twice?"

Yang Ce burst out laughing at that. He thought to himself, that's exactly the answer I was after. If I confessed to you and you turned me down, now that would be a real loss of face.

But in what manner should he confess to Zhao Ying? Ah, too blunt and Zhao Ying might not be able to accept it; too veiled and she might not understand. This was a task that would cost a good many brain cells.

Let's play a few rounds of Dou Dizhu, Yang Ce sent.

Teacher Youlan: Not playing. I'm not in a good mood. It's so late—you should rest. I'm going to sleep too.

Now that Yang Ce knew Teacher Youlan was Zhao Ying, playing games with her and cheating to screw over other players no longer felt so pointless. But since Zhao Ying was not in the mood, he let it go. Yang Ce replied: "All right. Good night."

Teacher Youlan: Good night. Thank you—talking with you has made me feel much better.

In truth, he had not said anything worth mentioning from start to finish; it had all been Zhao Ying talking. He was merely a listener—though a rather special sort of listener.

After shutting off the computer, Yang Ce began to think over Zhao Ying's problem. It seemed Zhao Ying already knew about his relationship with Wang Yanqiu. Such things could not be hidden, and Zhao Ying was sensitive by nature—and since Wang Yanqiu was her good friend, Zhao Ying was all the more sensitive.

But judging by the present situation, Zhao Ying was not especially averse to his being with Wang Yanqiu. What she brooded over was that he had never confessed to her.