The anchor I was supposed to meet turned out to be my student.

Could it be that this idiot has been in a relationship before?

I exclaimed in utter surprise, "Who's so desperate they're eating anything?!"

"You're the one who's indiscriminate! I held hands with a boy during a performance at a high school gala!"

"Pfft!" I knew it...

"Why are you laughing at me! I have a great figure and a beautiful face, how can I be as bad as you say!" Xu Lehan said indignantly.

"But you're silly~"

"And I'm also a first-rate writer, having won first place in the newcomer competition!"

"But you're still silly~"

"Aww!!" Xu Lehan glared at me through gritted teeth.

I ignored her and leisurely enjoyed my dinner.

Xu Lehan was furious and stood up, shouting, "You're openly questioning my charm! No way, today I have to make you admit defeat. Come on, let's randomly call a former classmate or friend of the opposite sex from our contacts and confess our feelings. Let's see what they say on the other end of the line. Whoever gets accepted wins, okay?"

Xu Lehan crossed her arms and looked at me with an air of certain victory, she was incredibly arrogant. I naturally didn't back down and said, "Okay, let's agree on the rewards and punishments first, otherwise it's no fun."

Xu Lehan thought for a moment and said, "If I win, you have to lie down and bark like a dog in front of everyone! Like 'woof woof woof,' not like 'howl howl'!"

So, when she was gritting her teeth and howling just now, she was actually imitating a dog barking...

But without a doubt, this is a big deal, involving issues of dignity and the very survival of one's right to choose a spouse for at least the next decade.

"Okay, but if you lose, you have to strip down to your underwear and run two laps around the villa in front of everyone. Of course, I'll avoid looking. Do you dare?"

"What's there to be afraid of! You go first or I go first?"

"I'll go first!" I didn't want to lose to her in terms of momentum.

I took out my phone and handed it to her, saying, "Just find any person of the opposite sex in your WeChat contacts and call them."

"What if I find your relative?"

"So what if she's a relative? Are you scared?" The thought that Xu Lehan dared to challenge me made me want to teach her a lesson and make her back down. I wanted to see if she would dare to talk back to me again.

"So what if we're relatives? I'm not afraid even if you call my dad!" Xu Lehan said, seemingly ready to throw caution to the wind.

Playing this big game, I have to admit, I was really intimidated by Xu Lehan's momentum. I'm in a bind, and I have no choice but to go for it too.

Just then, Luo Yao suddenly stopped her, saying, "I don't agree with Brother Tusheng confessing his feelings to other girls!"

“I also disagree with what my brother did…” Hua Xinning rarely stood on the same side as Luo Yao.

"I...I disagree too..." Lu Xiaojun weakly expressed her opposition.

This put me in a difficult position, but then I heard Xu Lehan taunt me, "Scared, aren't you, my teacher Hua? If you have a way out, hurry up and do it. How dare you question my charm..."

I was successfully provoked by her. Nothing could stop me except for Lu Xiaojun. I made her strip down to her underwear and run around the villa. Ignoring the other girls' objections, I resolutely said, "Come on, stop talking nonsense."

Xu Lehan didn't hesitate to make a voice call for me. I glanced at the name on my phone and, coincidentally, it was the girl whose skirt I had lifted in elementary school! We had each other's WeChat contact information because we were in the same school and even the same class in junior high.

The phone was on speakerphone, and as the voice call rang, the other girls at the table also stared intently at their phones, straining to hear.

The phone rang four times before being answered.

"Hello, Hua Tusheng?"

"Ah, right, it's been a long time since we last contacted each other, Mi Lan..." I quickly organized my thoughts.

"Yeah, it's been quite a while. The last time we contacted each other was at a junior high school reunion in our second year of high school, right?" Mi Lan didn't seem to hold a grudge from elementary school...

"Actually, there's something I want to tell you..."

"You say it."

My breathing became tense without my noticing. Although I knew it was just a competition, it was still a confession, and being rejected would be embarrassing, especially in front of so many people... No, I can't say that, because Luo Yao and Lu Xiaojun definitely wanted to hear that I was rejected. After all, they had confessed to me before, and hearing that I had confessed to someone else and been accepted would be incredibly upsetting. Even if it wasn't just a game, I could tell they were also nervously waiting for my next move.

"Actually, I've liked you since elementary school, but I've never dared to tell you..."

Can I take this as you confessing your feelings to me?

"what……"

"So that's how it is. No wonder she used to lift my skirt when I was in elementary school..."

I was immediately shocked. She actually remembered that. Oh no, I guess I'm doomed...

Sure enough, the next second they heard Mi Lan say, "Thank you for liking me..."

Upon receiving the "friend zone" card, I immediately saw a smug look on Xu Lehan's face.

However, Xu Lehan's smugness vanished instantly as Mi Lan continued, "Actually, I like you too..."

(It's that time of year again for feeling down. Has anyone ever been unaware that a girl in their class had a crush on them?)

Chapter 24, page 195: Early treatment offers hope.

Not only me, but everyone present was stunned. The girl whose skirt I had lifted actually liked me!

But soon Mi Lan's voice came through the phone again: "Of course, don't misunderstand. My feelings for you are from elementary school. But you were so silly back then, you didn't understand my hints at all. I even pretended to not know math problems and went to ask you, and I even bought you drinks during PE class... And what did you do? You just liked to scare us girls with those stinky boys... One day you even suddenly lifted my skirt, I was so angry..."

I was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't say I was happy; I was just filled with regret. The prettiest girl in my elementary school class had actually liked me back then, and I was so clueless. This feeling was indescribable...

In the end, all I could do was laugh and say, "Yeah, I was too young and naive back then. I thought it was cool to scare you girls and make you admire us boys. Looking back now, I feel so stupid..."

Mi Lan chuckled on the other end of the phone and said, "How about we grab a bite to eat sometime? It'll be good for old classmates to catch up and I can also explain to you what you just said about confessing your feelings to me..."

As soon as Mi Lan finished inviting me to dinner, I felt the temperature around me suddenly drop, which made me shiver.

I forced myself to reply, "Yeah, let's have a meal together sometime."

"That's all for now, I have things to do, bye."

As soon as I hung up the phone, Luo Yao looked at me with a kind expression.

"Brother Tusheng, are you planning to go see that old flame?!"

I quickly said, "It's just a normal meal with old classmates. We'll definitely invite other old classmates too... The confession thing is just a joke, we'll make things clear..."

"I didn't expect Lanlan to be your former classmate. What a coincidence," Ye Zhi suddenly said from the side.

"You know Mi Lan?" I was a little surprised.

Ye Zhi nodded and said, "Lanlan is my classmate from university abroad. We are all Chinese students and were assigned to the same dormitory."

That's quite a coincidence. But Mi Lan and I are the same age, and Ye Zhi is two years younger than me. How could we be classmates? Then I realized that Ye Zhi and I were classmates in college. At the class reunion, she mentioned that she only studied for two years as an undergraduate and went directly abroad for graduate studies.

However, I was quite surprised to hear Ye Zhi call Mi Lan "Lanlan" just now, because it means that Mi Lan is a good friend of hers, otherwise she wouldn't call her that so intimately. Ye Zhi actually has good friends; nature is truly amazing...

Of course, the most crucial thing hasn't been resolved yet. I turned to Xu Lehan, who was already somewhat lacking in confidence, and said, "So, does this count as a successful confession?"

Xu Lehan shook her head, unconvinced, and said, "They liked you before, but they don't like you now, so it doesn't count as a success."

"Okay, but it's better than just being rejected or friend-zoned, right? If you can't even compare to me later, then you'll have to admit defeat, okay?"

Xu Lehan snorted and said disdainfully, "Fine, fine. If I take action, who would refuse? They'll just think, 'Oh, happiness came too fast, like a tornado. I can't escape the storm's vortex, I can't think about it anymore...'"

Seeing that Xu Lehan was about to start singing, I interrupted her directly and said, "Stop talking nonsense and give me your phone."

Compared to how nervously the women watched me answer the phone earlier, this time they all put down their work, picked up slices of watermelon from the table, and watched the conversation while eating.

Seeing that they were all ready to watch the drama unfold, Xu Lehan was practically bursting with anger. She said, "You guys are really something! Are you even sisters anymore? You're aiding and abetting evil!"

“Um… Sister Lehan, you were the one who declared war just now…” Jiang Yanyi weakly spoke up for me.

Feeling isolated and helpless, Xu Lehan had no choice but to fight a desperate battle, and without hesitation, she handed me her phone.

So I found a man surnamed Liao in my contacts. I remembered that this was Xu Lehan's mother's surname when Xu Lehan's parents came to my office last time. I thought he was very likely a relative of Xu Lehan. So I dialed the voice call directly. Xu Lehan took the phone, glanced at it, and was stunned at first, but quickly calmed down. I don't know if she was faking it.

After three calls, the other end of the line answered.

"Hello, is this Lehan? Why are you calling me all of a sudden?"

The voice sounded quite young, probably someone around the same age.

"Third brother...do you think it's okay for cousins ​​to date?"

Oh wow, it really really is my cousin. I immediately grabbed a watermelon and joined the girls to enjoy the show. Xu Lehan glared at me resentfully, seemingly blaming me for choosing her cousin, but it wasn't my fault; she said she wasn't afraid of relatives...

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, and after a long while, someone suddenly said, "Lehan, you haven't been reading any weird novels, have you?"

"No, no, I just wanted to ask for your opinion, Third Brother..." Xu Lehan's expression became increasingly awkward, which made me chuckle more and more.

The older cousin quickly said, "Of course I disagree! What kind of nonsense is this? I really don't understand what those novel authors are thinking..."

Xu Lehan was getting anxious and stopped beating around the bush, saying directly, "Actually, Third Brother, I've liked you since I was little. I really, really like you, like you to no end!"

Just when I thought my cousin would definitely reject her harshly, I heard him say, "Lehan, are you sure you're serious? You're not lying to me? You're really not lying to me?"

This sudden change of topic surprised not only us onlookers, but even Xu Lehan.

"Yes, yes, so you like me?"

My cousin fell silent. I was stunned. Could it be? Could it be that my cousin had really been hiding his feelings for Lehan for all these years? Had I unintentionally caused a love story destined to end in tragedy?

At this moment, Hua Xinning tugged at my hand and whispered to me, "Brother, could it be that Sister Lehan's cousin really likes Sister Lehan?"

"I don't know either..." I don't care about the stakes anymore. What I care about more is that something like a scene from a novel has happened to my student. It's too unbelievable.

"If he really likes Sister Lehan, would you, brother, bless them?" Hua Xinning asked again in a low voice.

Blessing? I don't think I would, because ethical principles tell me that it's immoral. Yes, it's immoral. Since it's immoral, why bless it? I'm not so degenerate as to become an immoral person.

"I can't," I answered confidently.

“Oh…” Hua Xinning responded softly.

While we were all anxiously waiting for the next installment, my cousin finally gave his reply.

"I just messaged your parents and told them what happened. I think you're very likely influenced by novels and urgently need psychological treatment. I happen to have a classmate who is a psychologist. You should go see him sometime. Trust me, my classmate is very professional. He's seen many patients like you. There's still hope if you get treatment early..."

(I'll update again in the morning, please vote with monthly tickets~)

Chapter 25, Question 196: What gives you the right to apologize on behalf of Ye Zhi?