Marriage Seduction Addiction

Chapter 365 Waiting for an answer, nine years
Upon hearing Lu Xingyan's words, Ji Yan showed no interest whatsoever, only letting out a cold laugh and saying, "This script is no longer effective. Are you sure you don't want to come up with another one?"

“Since you’ve already decided this is a script, let’s see what the consequences are,” Lu Xingyan said. “Just treat it as a show, as a performance by clowns.”

This statement was so self-deprecating that Ji Yan seemed to sense his sincerity for a moment, and was momentarily stunned.

It wasn't until she came to her senses that she realized how ridiculous her previous thought had been.

A sincere sentiment from a clown?

Why not take a look?
Seeing Ji Yan's reaction, Lu Xingyan pulled her to his car, put her in the passenger seat, and then got into the driver's seat and drove away.

The car drove through the city streets and alleys, finally stopping in front of a cluster of low, old houses that were slated for demolition.

The red "demolish" characters on the walls and gatehouse were particularly eye-catching, yet there was hardly a soul to be seen around.

In places like this, once the original inhabitants have all moved away, no one comes anymore.

Ji Yan didn't know why Lu Xingyan had come here, but she neither reacted nor asked anything. She simply watched everything unfold before her with cold eyes, waiting for the story to unfold.

Soon, Lu Xingyan pointed to a white-painted roller shutter door in front of her—

“About ten years ago, this was a billiards hall. Because regular places didn’t accept minors, shops in small places like this were very popular with students—of course, I’m talking about students who weren’t very studious.” Lu Xingyan’s voice sounded calm, as if she were telling someone else’s story. “This is also where I first met her.”

Lu Xingyan used "she" to tell the story, forcibly separating the person in the story from Ji Yan sitting next to her.

Ji Yan made no comment on this.

"You probably can't imagine how chaotic this place was back then, so when she appeared here in her neat school uniform and with her intact schoolbag, she attracted almost everyone's attention—especially since she was so beautiful."

"When everyone was looking at her, Tang Xu rushed out of the crowd and pulled her away from there. Only then did I realize, oh, so she came for Tang Xu."

This was their first meeting.

Even though they had no interaction, Lu Xingyan still remembered it for a long time.

Afterwards, Lu Xingyan drove the car to the entrance of a shopping mall that was not in a prime location and looked old.

"Although this place looks deserted now, it was just across the street from our high school. Back then, it had the largest arcade and ice rink in the area, so it was a place we loved to gather."

As Lu Xingyan spoke, he pointed to the bus stop ahead—

"That's where we met for the second time."

Ji Yan merely glanced coldly in the direction he pointed.

"She was still after Tang Xu. They'd been deskmates since junior high, but had to separate in high school. Tang Xu was probably going through a rebellious phase, so she'd hung out with our group not long after starting school. That day, the party had already ended, and it just so happened that Tang Xu and I were waiting for the bus at this stop. As soon as she got off the bus, Tang Xu saw her. Probably not wanting to hear her lecture, Tang Xu turned and ran. In her haste to chase after her, she tripped and fell—"

“It was summer, and she tripped and fell while wearing her school uniform skirt, immediately scraping her knee. Tang Xu had run far enough away to see it. I thought of helping her up, but she coldly shook off my hand, then slowly stood up, sat on the chair next to me, took out a pack of wet wipes from her bag, and quietly treated her wound.” “I stood there watching for as long as she treated it… At first, I just wanted to see if she would cry, but she didn’t, not at all. But I still couldn’t help watching for a long time because… that scene was truly beautiful.”

“But from beginning to end, she never gave me a single glance. That’s normal. She’s obviously a good student, the kind that couldn’t be better. If it weren’t for Tang Xu, she probably wouldn’t have come to a place like this during her entire school years, let alone come into contact with people like us… Moreover, in her eyes, it was us who led Tang Xu astray. So, she must have really hated me back then.”

Then, the car drove to the school gate.

"This is our third meeting."

“That day was Sunday, and all the students at our school had to go back to school for evening self-study. When I arrived, she and Tang Xu were arguing at the school gate. It seemed that Tang Xu was about to skip class again, and she was pulling Tang Xu to stop her from running away. I came on a motorcycle, and as soon as Tang Xu saw me, she shook off her hand, ran to my motorcycle and sat down, telling me to drive away from here quickly... I originally wanted to do the same, but as soon as I was about to drive away, she stood directly in front of my wheels, neither saying a word nor looking at me, just staring at Tang Xu.”

"In the end, I couldn't drive the car away, and Tang Xu couldn't escape either, obediently following her back to school..."

Hearing this, Ji Yan seemed to be losing patience. "And then? The fourth time, the fifth time, the sixth time... just how many scenarios have you prepared for our meeting?"

Lu Xingyan did not answer, but drove forward and soon stopped in front of a small shop at the end of the street.

It was a grocery store, but it clearly wasn't ten years ago.

“This is where she first spoke to me,” Lu Xingyan said. “Ten years ago, this was a milk tea shop. I happened to be here that day when she suddenly walked in, stood straight in front of me, and asked me where Tang Xu was.”

“I never expected her to talk to me. I was stunned and it took me a while to tell her that I didn’t know… Generally, people who ask for information will ask a few more questions, but she was different. After hearing my answer, she turned around and left without saying a word. I couldn’t help but follow her and ask her if she had something urgent. If so, I could spread the word to help her find her.”

"But she ignored me completely, seemingly planning to search for her by herself in all the places Tang Xu frequented nearby... I was very free, and I'm also very thick-skinned, so even though she didn't even glance at me, I still followed her for several blocks..."

"Finally, we found Tang Xu in an internet cafe. As soon as Tang Xu saw her, she tried to run away again, but I caught her and told her how long and how many places Xu Xingyang had been looking for her. But she still didn't say a word, glanced at Tang Xu, and turned to leave."

"That's when I realized that some people are far more frightening when they don't speak than when they do... When Tang Xu saw her like that, she panicked and rushed over to pull her back, apologizing profusely... But as she was talking, she suddenly fell straight backward..."

"I later found out that it was her birthday that day. She had a high fever but still searched for Tang Xu everywhere because the two of them had made a promise to spend their birthdays together."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yan finally reacted.

She snorted coldly, her sarcasm undisguised: "It sounds like this Miss Tang isn't someone worth getting to know well."

“Whether it was worth it or not, only the two of them know,” Lu Xingyan said. “Anyway, after that day, Tang Xu gradually toned it down. She stopped skipping school and hanging out, and she always went to and from school with me… After she fainted on her birthday, and I helped Tang Xu take her to the nearby clinic, Tang Xu and I really became familiar with each other… Sometimes when I ran into the two of them at school, I would greet Tang Xu, and she would always pull Tang Xu away quickly, as if she was afraid that I would take Tang Xu back to the same environment as before…”

"Back then, I was also resentful. The more wary she was of me, the more I insisted on appearing in front of her and Tang Xu... So, without realizing it, our time together became a threesome, and internet cafes and billiard halls gradually turned into bookstores and libraries... At first, she still had a cold face, never looking at me, never talking to me, and never smiling at me. It wasn't until later, when I started asking her questions with books, that she finally started to talk to me..."

"She patiently answered every question I asked, except for one—"

"At the end of my junior year of high school, I asked her if she liked me too... but I never got an answer from her—"

"Nine years have passed, and I still haven't waited for it."