The younger sister pretends to be hypnotized, and her older brother gets addicted.

Ruan Yang's eyes widened. "What boyfriend? How disrespectful!"

Jiang Zhuo laughed angrily, "I wanted to say this at dinner: you're younger than me, so who's being disrespectful here?"

Ruan Yang fell silent.

Jiang Zhuo thought he had won, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

Meanwhile, the driver in the front row, who knew the inside story, remained silent.

According to seniority.

The second young master should indeed address Miss Ruan as "elder sister-in-law".

……

Taking advantage of his long arms, Jiang Zhuo ignored Ruan Yang's obstruction and got a clear view of the screen.

【Ruan Yang】: Doubao, how do you flirt with guys?

[Doubao]: Haha, it's very simple!

When he takes a bath, you can say, "Brother, can I buy a ticket to visit?"

When he's bored, you can say, "Let's grow strawberries together."

When you two are arguing, you can say, "Mouths are for kissing, not for arguing."

Do you need me to teach you anything more?

……

Jiang Zhuo read it aloud and burst into laughter.

"Ruan Yang, you're really something! Who are you planning to flirt with using such outdated, cheesy pickup lines?"

Ruan Yang's face flushed, and she lunged forward to snatch it back, shouting, "Give it back to me!"

Jiang Zhuo raised his phone high, quickly exited Doubao, and his fingertip was already hovering over the WeChat icon.

Ruan Yang's heart tightened suddenly.

She didn't delete her chat history with Jiang Yanci; she even pinned it to the top of her chat list.

"...Ruan Yang, did you use a password lock on your WeChat account?"

Jiang Zhuo's voice carried a hint of surprise and suspicion.

Ruan Yang felt a sense of relief. She had almost forgotten that she had added a password lock to her WeChat account because she was afraid Jiang Yanci would change the nickname back.

—Although setting a password might not be enough to stop him.

While Jiang Zhuo was still in a daze, Ruan Yang snatched back the phone, muttering unhappily, "Is that not allowed?"

Jiang Zhuo's expression was tense.

Ruan Yang used to always follow him around, asking him what he was doing, who he was with, and what time he would be back. She was an annoying little shadow.

Now, she feels only estrangement and distance from him.

Jiang Zhuo lowered his eyes and, without further hesitation, sent a message to Jiang Yanci.

[Jiang Zhuo]: Big brother, I want to restore Yangyang's memories.

*

On Ao Island, Tan Yi is attending a friend's gathering.

Extravagant lifestyle, lavish clothes and elegant demeanor.

This is his life, not the life of a hardworking ox in the countryside.

But I don't know why.

He found everything around him rather boring.

He sat in the center of the crowd, ignoring the exciting games and scrolling through boring TikTok videos.

Until he saw Meng Ling in the live stream.

"I'm love-struck, is it wrong for me to send it to my ex?"

He sat up straight.

I saw another comment: "Such pure love-struck behavior! Me too, I stalk my ex on Douyin every day, I can't forget him at all."

So, Meng Ling can't forget him?

His friend asked curiously, "Tan Yi, why are you blushing?"

"You've misread it." Tan Yi tossed his phone aside.

He would never like such a vain, materialistic, and lying old woman.

*

Over the next two days, Song Lejiao was detained for spreading false information.

Ruan Yang's life was the same as usual.

Eating, going to work, practicing dance.

The parents who had previously misunderstood her came to apologize and hoped that their child would transfer back to Ruan Yang's class.

But since Ruan Yang's reputation reversed online, she has gained even more fans.

The school was full by the second day, and there was no way to recruit any new students.

When others wanted to sign up, Ruan Yang suggested that their parents contact Meng Ling.

Ruan Yang's life is filled with work.

But when she thought of Jiang Yanci, she felt empty inside.

The time difference between the two countries meant they didn't have many opportunities for video chats, and mostly communicated via WeChat messages.

On the third day at noon, Ruan Yang asked Jiang Yanci what time he would arrive home.

[Jiang Yanci]: There's a problem with the flight application; I won't be able to return to China until tomorrow.

【Ruan Yang】: Oh.

She put down her phone, feeling a tightness in her chest.

She's been seeing a lot of news about young people dying suddenly online lately, and thinking about herself, she feels a little nervous.

Meng Ling walked over and asked with concern, "Why do you look so pale?"

After recounting what had happened, Ruan Yang asked, "...Senior, do you think I should ask for leave to go to the hospital?"

Meng Ling laughed, "Lovesickness doesn't go under medical insurance."

"What?"

"What else could it be? You've fallen in love. Don't you think about him while you eat, and even while you sleep? Do you wait for his messages every day, hoping he'll appear before you immediately?"

Ruan Yang's breath hitched.

My senior was absolutely right.

So she likes the older brother?

"...But when my ex-boyfriend went abroad for a competition, I didn't miss him this much," Ruan Yang retorted softly.

Meng Ling is absolutely adorable.

"Honey, this means you didn't like your ex-boyfriend at all. Not all couples get together because they like each other; it could be because of the encouragement from people around them, or they might have mistaken feelings for love."

Ruan Yang was stunned.

She asked, "Then what is love?"

Meng Ling said, "It's very simple. When he's not around, you miss him, want to be with him 24 hours a day, want to hug him, kiss him, and even crave his body."

Ruan Yang swallowed hard.

Except for the last one, she seems to meet all the criteria...

*

In the evening, Ruan Yang returned to the Jiang residence in a daze.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw a figure standing in the fountain pool.

It's Qiao Lingling.

It was probably brought back by Jiang Zhuo.

Ruan Yang didn't pay attention and turned to walk inside.

But Qiao Lingling took a step forward and grabbed her sleeve.

"Miss Ruan, I've come today to apologize to you."

Ruan Yang frowned.

She didn't like Qiao Lingling, and she especially didn't like her touching her.

She withdrew her hand.

Then, Qiao Lingling let out an "Ah!" and took half a step back, falling into the fountain pool.

Water splashed everywhere.

"Ruan Yang, what are you doing!"

A furious roar came crashing down.

Jiang Zhuo rushed out of the passageway, shoved the bewildered Ruan Yang aside, and pulled the soaking wet and shivering Qiao Lingling into his arms.

His eyes were filled with icy disappointment as he looked at Ruan Yang.

"Ruan Yang, how could you be so cruel?"

Ruan Yang immediately retorted, "It wasn't me!"

She looked at Qiao Lingling, "Tell me yourself, did I push you?"

Qiao Lingling nestled in Jiang Zhuo's arms, her eyes reddening. "Zhuo, don't blame Miss Ruan. She's just in a bad mood..."

Ruan Yang choked up.

If Qiao Lingling insists that she pushed her, she can still argue with her.

But she chose to adopt this gentle yet magnanimous demeanor.

Ruan Yang gritted her teeth and pointed to the surveillance camera above her head: "There's video footage; it'll be obvious at a glance!"

Qiao Lingling let out a sob.

"Ah Zhuo, I'm soaking wet, I look so pathetic, I don't want anyone to see me like this..."

Ruan Yang's tone calmed down, "Then let Jiang Zhuo go see it alone!"

"Enough!" Jiang Zhuo interrupted angrily, "Ruan Yang, I know you've always been willful, but the person who slandered you was Song Lejiao, not Lingling! It's because your personality is so terrible that your parents prefer the fake heiress to you—"

"Snapped!"

Ruan Yang used all her strength to strike Jiang Zhuo's face.

She can accept Jiang Zhuo protecting Qiao Lingling.

Love is blind.

But she didn't understand why Jiang Zhuo, who had seen her sensitivity and predicament, would write her a note and tell her that she was a good person.

Now, however, they are attacking her most vulnerable heart with the most hurtful words.

"Miss Ruan, how could you hit Ah Zhuo!"

Qiao Lingling screamed, pushed Ruan Yang away, and rushed over to cup Jiang Zhuo's face in her hands.

She looked thin, but that push seemed to come with all her strength.

Caught off guard, Ruan Yang stumbled and fell headlong into the fountain.

The surging white waves magnified before my eyes.

It’s over.

Ruan Yang closed her eyes tightly.

The expected coolness did not envelop me.

A large hand firmly gripped her waist, and a deep, magnetic voice sounded above her head.

"How could you be bullied like this?"