Faced with what Hu Hanghang had said, Jiang Yan was at a complete loss for words — he even felt that what Hu Hanghang said actually made a strange kind of sense. “……”
Thinking it over, he fell silent for a moment.
Song Yuan noticed that Jiang Yan had been unusually quiet, and clamped a hand over Hu Hanghang’s mouth to stop his rambling. “Bro, I’m begging you, can you please settle down for a second?”
After saying that, he gave Jiang Yan a meaningful look, silently pointing out that something seemed off with him.
Fortunately, Hu Hanghang wasn’t a complete idiot. He caught on quickly, cleared his throat, and said, “Right, well — Yan-bro, everything I just said was totally off the top of my head, don’t take it seriously.”
Jiang Yan glanced at him and let out a sigh. “It’s fine.”
“But,” Hu Hanghang scratched his head and said with genuine earnestness, “Lin Tao’s family really is pretty loaded. One of their bathrooms could honestly buy an apartment around here — and that’s not me making it up, Baidu said so.”
Jiang Yan: “……”
Everyone else: “……”
Song Yuan sometimes truly wondered whether Hu Hanghang had been raised on animal feed — how else could someone have so little awareness of the room.
But no matter how anxious or worried Jiang Yan was, this meeting was inevitable, impossible to avoid. And his strange behavior over the past while had also caught Lin Tao’s attention.
Lin Tao had asked him about it once before, but at the time Jiang Yan had only said he hadn’t been sleeping well. Lin Tao knew she wasn’t going to get anything out of him.
When Friday came, after dinner when they returned for evening study hall, Lin Tao took advantage of a moment when both Jiang Yan and Song Yuan were out of the classroom to pull Hu Hanghang aside. “Pangpang, come with me to the convenience store to grab some snacks.”
Since entering Year Three, Class 18 and Class 14 were no longer close together, and Lin Tao rarely had the chance to browse the school’s little store with Meng Xin. She mostly dragged Hu Hanghang along instead, since he shared her love of snacks.
So this time, the pure-hearted Hu Hanghang didn’t even realize he had unknowingly walked straight into Lin Tao’s trap.
The Year Three building was the one closest to the school’s convenience store.
At this hour, there weren’t many students inside.
Lin Tao grabbed a few bags of chips at random, and glanced over at Hu Hanghang, who was crouched nearby carefully selecting flavors. “Pangpang, what did you all eat when you went out tonight?”
That evening at dismissal time, Lin Tao had originally planned to go along with them for dinner, but she had gotten a last-minute call from Meng Xin and been pulled away.
“Just the same stuff we always eat.” Hu Hanghang scooped up a few bags of chips in different flavors and cradled them against his chest. “You know how limited Uncle Chen’s menu is — it’s always the same few dishes.”
Lin Tao nodded. After a brief silence, she changed the subject without any warning. “Have you noticed Jiang Yan acting a bit strange lately?”
“……”
Hu Hanghang was completely caught off guard. His instinct was to blurt out, “Yeah——”
But the word was barely on his lips when he suddenly remembered that before they came back, Jiang Yan had specifically told him not to say anything. He quietly swallowed his answer, his eyes darting around the room, unable to look Lin Tao in the face. “No? What do you mean, strange? I think he seems perfectly fine.”
“You really don’t think anything’s off?” Lin Tao looked down. “He’s been looking at his phone behind my back lately. I’m starting to wonder if there’s someone else.”
“……”
Hu Hanghang felt like this was getting serious. He hesitated and said, “That can’t be right — Yan-bro isn’t that kind of person.”
“I believe that too.” Lin Tao sighed softly, her voice dropping a little. “But guys all tend to get tired of things, and Jiang Yan and I have been together for quite a while now. It’s not impossible that he might be feeling a little fed up.”
Hu Hanghang, a pure-hearted little white rabbit in all his simplicity, had absolutely no offensive or defensive capability in front of a high-level player like Lin Tao.
The moment he heard her talk about Jiang Yan this way, he immediately felt a surge of indignation on Jiang Yan’s behalf. “Lin Tao, how could you think that? Yan-bro has been acting weird lately, yeah, but it’s not because he’s done something wrong by you. He’s been like that because——”
His voice cut off abruptly.
Even the slowest person would have snapped back to their senses by this point. Hu Hanghang slapped a hand over his own mouth, staring at Lin Tao in disbelief. “Lin Tao, how could you do this to me? I trusted you completely.”
Lin Tao looked at him and smiled. “I’m just worried about Jiang Yan. When I ask him, he won’t tell me what’s wrong, so I have to ask you all instead.”
Hu Hanghang looked very put-upon. “Then why didn’t you ask Song Yuan or Xu Yichuan?”
“Those two are too sharp. How would I ever get anything out of them?” Lin Tao paused, as if she sensed something was off. “Pangpang, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Hu Hanghang, whose heart had been stabbed once after another: “……”
Knowing there was no point in hiding it anymore, Hu Hanghang stopped holding back and recounted everything that had happened in the private dining room that evening, word for word.
When she heard Hu Hanghang describe the part where her mom had supposedly handed Jiang Yan ten million yuan to walk away, Lin Tao couldn’t help interrupting with a laugh. “Pangpang, have you been watching too many melodramatic prime-time dramas?”
Hu Hanghang scratched his head. “I just thought I’d try to lighten the mood a bit.”
Lin Tao took the chips from Hu Hanghang’s arms, combined them with her own, and headed to the register. “With a line like that? Lighten the mood? You were more likely to make him even more nervous.”
“……”
Actually, Lin Tao had already half-suspected that Jiang Yan’s strange behavior might have to do with the upcoming meeting with her parents, but she hadn’t been certain. Now, having it confirmed by Hu Hanghang, the heavy stone in her chest finally settled.
At least it wasn’t because of something to do with his family. If strange behavior was the only issue, it wasn’t so serious after all.
As they came out of the store, Hu Hanghang carried the large bag of snacks. “By the way, Lin Tao, I’ve got a question for you.”
“What?” Lin Tao bit into a piece of dried strawberry, tilting her head to look at him.
“I saw on Baidu that one of the bathrooms in your building could buy an apartment around here. Is that actually true?”
Lin Tao: “……”
By the time Lin Tao and Hu Hanghang returned to the classroom, Jiang Yan had also come back and was sitting at his desk, head lowered, doing something or other.
Lin Tao stopped walking and gestured for Hu Hanghang not to make a sound. Then she crept silently up to the empty seat behind Jiang Yan, propped her arm on the desk, and slowly leaned down over him.
She quickly spotted his pale, slender hands — and the lit-up screen of his phone.
Jiang Yan appeared to be searching for something, the page in the middle of loading.
The signal inside the classroom wasn’t very good. Lin Tao waited six or seven seconds before the page finally loaded, and she saw the search bar at the top with a line of text:
“What’s the best thing to wear when meeting a girlfriend’s parents for the first time?”
Before Lin Tao could fully take that in, Jiang Yan had already tapped on the first result — apparently unsatisfied with it, he quickly backed out and started typing a new query.
Baidu’s browser had a setting for whether or not to hide your search history.
Jiang Yan apparently hadn’t turned that on. As he typed in his new question, Lin Tao could see a column of his previous searches appearing below:
“What’s the best thing to wear when meeting a girlfriend’s parents for the first time?”
“What do you need to keep in mind when meeting a girlfriend’s parents?”
“I asked my girlfriend to move in with me, and now her mom wants to meet me — could that be a problem?”
“My girlfriend’s family is very wealthy. Will her parents care about matching social status? Will they try to break us up?”
“What’s the property value of XX Residential Area? Can one bathroom’s worth of floor space buy an apartment somewhere near XX Street?”
When she reached that last one, Lin Tao couldn’t hold it in any longer and laughed out loud. “You’re not actually stupid, so how could you believe something Hu Hanghang said?”
Jiang Yan hadn’t realized Lin Tao was right behind him. His back went rigid, and he froze.
Lin Tao stepped away from Song Yuan’s seat and made her way back to her own.
Jiang Yan, perhaps out of embarrassment or awkwardness, still didn’t say anything.
Lin Tao leaned forward until her face was right in front of his, eyes full of laughter. “If you’re nervous, just say so. Besides, my mom is just coming by for a casual look — it’s not some formal occasion.”
“I know.” Jiang Yan’s lashes trembled slightly, as if trying to hide something. “I’m not that nervous anyway.”
“I mean it.” Lin Tao reached under the desk and took his hand. His fingertips were slightly cold. “If you don’t feel ready yet, I can ask my mom to come a bit later — that’s fine too.”
“It’s okay, no need. Sooner or later it has to happen.” Jiang Yan let out a long breath. “Early or late doesn’t make much of a difference.”
“Then why are you so nervous about it?”
“……”
Who wouldn’t be nervous meeting a girlfriend’s parents for the first time?
Seeing him go quiet, Lin Tao didn’t press further. She reached over and picked up his phone, opened Baidu, and scrolled back through the search history.
Jiang Yan reached out to stop her — and then held himself back.
Lin Tao read through every single question. She found Jiang Yan utterly adorable. “How did I never notice before how cute you are?”
Jiang Yan glanced at her and said nothing. “……”
Lin Tao smiled and let out a little sigh. She studied the list of questions on his phone screen, her lips parting softly, her voice gentle and quiet.
“First question — yes, it’s my mom’s first time meeting you, but like I said, this isn’t a formal occasion. Just wear whatever you normally wear. That’s fine.”
Jiang Yan was slightly stunned.
She had already moved on to the second question. “There’s nothing in particular you need to worry about. I’ve mentioned you to my parents many times before, and my mom has always had a good impression of you.”
“Third one……” Lin Tao’s gaze shifted from the phone to his face. She smiled. “That one I’ve already explained. You don’t need to worry — my mom understands.”
When she reached the fourth question — about a girlfriend’s wealthy family, matching social status, and whether parents might try to break them up — Lin Tao gave a soft “hmm” and didn’t shy away from it. “If we’re talking about money, my family is indeed better off than most. But that has nothing to do with who I choose to be with. My parents built everything from the ground up — they don’t really hold with those kinds of ideas about social standing.”
Jiang Yan’s throat moved slightly, as if he didn’t know what to say.
“As for the fifth question about property values, I’m not entirely sure myself.” Lin Tao set down the phone, thought about it for a moment, and couldn’t help laughing. “But I don’t think one bathroom’s worth of floor space would be enough to buy an apartment around here. You’d probably need two bathrooms combined.”
“……”
Jiang Yan touched the tip of his nose with a hint of self-consciousness, apparently aware that question had been a bit absurd.
Lin Tao didn’t address the rest of the questions. She handed the phone back to him and looked up, meeting his gaze. “Is it a little less nerve-wracking now?”
Jiang Yan let out a soft sound of assent, and the fingertips she held in her palm grew faintly warm.
“Jiang Yan.” Lin Tao said. “In my eyes, you’re better than anyone else — and more worth loving than anyone else.”
Author’s note: Lin Tao must have been an angel in her past life =w=
Almost time for the finale!! Please, please add my upcoming story to your reading lists!!
The follow-up novel is called “I Just Want to Like You” — check my column!
Wen Jiang never could have imagined that the man who had once sworn so confidently that he would never get married would one day come crawling to her in tears, clinging to her legs and begging:
“Jiang-jiang, ballballyou, please marry me.”
Chi Yuan, the second young master of the Chi Family in Xicheng, was known for his wild and unrestrained ways — a man who had played the field for years. In his most decadent and reckless hours, he once declared:
“There are thousands of women in this world, and not a single one worth my love.”
But then came an arranged marriage — something nobody had seen coming.
The notorious playboy suddenly had a master. Overnight, he transformed into a clingy little wolf pup:
“Jiang-jiang, when are you going to come sleep with me?”
“Today’s entry: Chi Yuan, once again requesting cuddles.”
“A world full of beautiful things — but I only want to like you.”
◎ Clingy Wolf Pup Second-Generation Rich Kid × Laid-Back Girl
Thank you to Zhi Yuan, my lovely reader, for the support!!
Love you all!