Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"I thought you two were—" Zhao Ying said, a little embarrassed.

"Thought what? That I'd stolen your boyfriend?" Wang Yanqiu chuckled. "If anyone did the stealing, it wasn't me. I live right next door to him, and I see everything he gets up to, clear as day. In just these few days, three pretty girls have already stayed at his place. Ying, you're in real danger."

"That's just how he is. But that's exactly why I like him." Zhao Ying sighed. "Sorry, Yanyan. I misjudged you."

"It's nothing," Wang Yanqiu shook her head. "We're good sisters. What's all this talk of sorry?"

A sudden impulse rose in Wang Yanqiu's heart: if only one day she could become true "sisters" with Zhao Ying—how wonderful that would be. But her own background would surely never permit it.

To be continued.

1047. Huang Yan's Mishap

Zhao Ying lowered her head, a little embarrassed, and said in a small voice, "Yanyan, but you'd better be careful. Yang Ce—that guy—is always pretending to be other people's boyfriend, and then the pretend turns into the real thing."

"Is that so?" Wang Yanqiu said, though her heart felt thoroughly guilty. Zhao Ying did seem to have a point—she and Yan were... no. Still, she said with a grin, "Ying, you're not talking about yourself, are you? I remember a while back, when you went home for the holidays, you had Yang Ce pretend to be your boyfriend and call you."

Zhao Ying's face flushed red—Wang Yanqiu had hit right on the mark. She hurriedly asked, "How did you know?"

"During the holidays, Yang Ce came by to pick something up. You gave him your key, and it gave me quite a fright. I only found out after I asked around." Wang Yanqiu said.

"Mine's different!" Zhao Ying quickly explained. "I liked him first, and only pretended to be his girlfriend afterward. I'm talking about another girl and Yan."

"Heh, you certainly know a lot," Wang Yanqiu laughed.

"Not really," Zhao Ying waved her hand, blushing.

She had finally talked her way through it. Wang Yanqiu breathed a sigh of relief—but from now on, being with Yan would require real care. She couldn't afford to let Zhao Ying catch any more clues, or it would be impossible to explain.

"Now, can we finally eat?" Wang Yanqiu asked with a smile.

"Yanyan, you're teasing me!" Zhao Ying scolded, suddenly shy.

Wang Yanqiu only giggled and took Zhao Ying's hand. "Still want hot pot?"

"Whatever you have at home, let's just eat here." Now that she was back at the apartment, Zhao Ying didn't feel like going out.

These past few days, Yang Ce and Wang Yanqiu had been staying indoors, and neither was eager to eat out all the time, so Yang Ce had sent Zhang Zhishen to the supermarket to buy some frozen food.

Zhang Zhishen was now working part-time as Yang Ce's errand boy. In truth, there really was nothing at present that required his hand, and rather than sit around idle, he was glad to run errands for Yang Ce—at least it gave him something to do.

"There's some frozen food. Let's go check the freezer in the kitchen." Wang Yanqiu pulled Zhao Ying toward the kitchen.

Zhang Zhishen was a straightforward sort. Yang Ce had casually handed him five hundred yuan, and so he had bought five hundred yuan's worth of food. That much frozen food was enough to fill an entire freezer; no matter how big Yang Ce's appetite, the two of them could never eat it all, so plenty remained.

"Yanyan, why do you have so much frozen food here?" Opening the freezer, Zhao Ying was rather surprised—she hadn't expected Wang Yanqiu to stock so much.

Wang Yanqiu could only smile wryly. Before Yang Ce arrived, the freezer hadn't even been plugged in and was completely empty. Then Yang Ce came and brought all this, and eating it alone, how long would it take her to finish?

The two of them found some quick-fry dumplings and some microwave snacks, and soon produced a fine little meal. This sort of thing was all right once in a while, but eat it too often and it grew tiresome.

It was Zhao Ying's first time eating this frozen food, and she found it quite good. Wang Yanqiu, though, had been eating it for days straight. She had meant to invite Zhao Ying out today for a proper meal, but in the end they had eaten this stuff anyway.

The two of them seemed to have returned to those days when they shared a rented apartment. Every day after Wang Yanqiu finished school and Zhao Ying got off work, the two would sit around the dining table over a simple meal—and looking back on it now, it felt especially warm.

Though Wang Yanqiu didn't think the food was very good, with Zhao Ying there she still ate quite a lot. Both of them overate, and sat on the sofa chatting about old times.

"Yanyan, I still remember the first time Yang Ce came to our place. The fellow barged straight into the bathroom without a second thought—and you were still in the shower! It gave me such a fright." Recalling the past, Zhao Ying found it rather funny.

"And you're the one talking! I thought it was you, but when I opened the bathroom door, there was a strange man in there taking a piss. Scared me to death." Thinking back on it, Wang Yanqiu found it rather amusing too. Back then she hadn't known Yan at all—she could have killed him. But now, looking back, it seemed like nothing at all.

"You're always so muddle-headed. Taking a shower at home and not even locking the bathroom door—that's what gave Yang Mo his chance." Zhao Ying teased with a laugh.

"How was I supposed to know a man would suddenly show up at home?" Wang Yanqiu protested, deeply aggrieved. "Ying, you're the one who brought a man home, and you're blaming me?"

"All right, all right, I'll take the blame for that one," Zhao Ying said. "But the second time, you went to open the door in just a little camisole—you can't blame me for that, can you? You were careless yourself, and Yang Ce got an eyeful of everything."

Hearing this, Wang Yanqiu said to herself: true enough, he has seen it all — these past days he had seen all of her, day after day. But she could not say so aloud. "That time I was drowsy and nearly asleep. When you came back, I got up to open the door. How was I to know Yang Ce would be following along behind you?"

"Right — speaking of baths, that reminds me. I've only just moved in and the gas hasn't been hooked up yet, so I can't take a hot shower. I haven't bathed in days. I'll wash up here at your place," Zhao Ying said.

"Of course. The upstairs bathroom has a shower stall and a tub — go up and wash as you like." Wang Yanqiu pointed toward the stairs. "There are fresh towels and pajamas in the cabinet. Help yourself, Sister Ying."

"All right." Zhao Ying nodded, and did not stand on ceremony with Wang Yanqiu. Back when the two of them had shared a flat, they had shared one bathroom and one shower, so neither was squeamish about the other.

Zhao Ying went upstairs. Wang Yanqiu switched on the television, then took out her phone and sent Yang Ce a message: "Sister Ying seems to have noticed something. She saw us leaving together that day, and saw you go into my flat. But I lied and told her I'd only asked you to play my boyfriend to spite my family. Don't give me away."

Yang Ce was on his way back when the message tone sounded. He picked up the phone while waiting at a light and glanced at it, and his heart jumped. No wonder Zhao Ying had struck him as a little odd just now. So that was it.

Still, it was fortunate that little Wang girl was quick-witted enough to fool her. It was just that his work as a professional fake boyfriend was getting rather too busy — one after another, without a break.

Fearing someone might see the message, Yang Ce pressed delete straight away. He was about to switch the phone off when he noticed a draft sitting in the outbox — an old one that had failed to send. He opened it casually: it was the message he had written to Zhao Ying on Valentine's Day. Yang Ce felt thoroughly deflated. Damn it — a message that had come straight from the heart, and it had never gone out.