"Ah?" Zhao Ying had not expected Wang Yanqiu to explain it that way, but the explanation did sound acceptable. Still, would Yang Yongjin mind eating what she had left over?

"Sister Ying, that's just Wang Yanqiu's personality—careless and casual. I'm used to it." How could Yang Ce fail to hear that Wang Yanqiu was covering for him? So he put on a helpless look and said with a bitter smile, "I'm used to it."

No sooner had he spoken than Yang Ce felt his foot being stepped on again. He did not need to guess—it was definitely Little Wang.

Hearing Yang Cenbin say this, Zhao Ying nodded and felt relieved. Indeed, back when she had lived together with Wang Yanqiu, the girl had had this same careless personality. Otherwise she would never have come running out in just a camisole to open the door for Yang Ce and herself.

Wang Yanqiu ate a few more bites of noodles, then pushed the bowl over to Yang Ce. "Here, you eat. I'm full. It's tasty, all right, but it's so spicy—it's killing me."

As she spoke, she opened her mouth and fanned it back and forth with her small hand.

Yang Duoran naturally did not mind and took the bowl and began to eat. The beef noodles, which should have been full of flavor, now tasted somewhat bland. Yang Minlan felt full of guilt toward Zhao Ying, always feeling that he had let her down somewhat, and his mood sank as well.

To be continued

955. A Fading Figure

Although Zhao Ying believed Wang Yanqiu's explanation, she still felt a little uncomfortable—she herself had never shared a bowl of noodles with Yan. Sitting there, she did not know what else to say, so she found an excuse and stood up. "I need to get to school. You two go ahead and eat. I'm in a hurry."

"How about I give you a ride in a bit?" Yang Ce said at once.

"No need. I'll take the subway—I have a monthly pass." Zhao Ying shook her head and made her expression look normal. "I'll be off, then. Take your time eating."

"Bye-bye, Sister Ying," Wang Yanqiu said, waving at Zhao Ying.

Zhao Ying nodded and left the noodle shop.

"Hey." Wang Yanqiu sighed, then picked up her chopsticks again and reached toward Yang Juehuan's bowl. "Let me have a couple more bites. What's wrong with you—how can you eat so much? How are there only this few noodles left?"

Yang Ce pushed the bowl toward the middle and said, "Thanks for just now."

"What are you thanking me for?" Wang Yanqiu shook her head. "Sister Ying likes you. I don't know what's so good about you, but Sister Ying just happened to take a fancy to you. And you—you chase after someone else so hard, yet I don't see you chasing after Sister Ying."

"Who do I chase after so hard?" Yang Ce broke out in a sweat. He had always played hard to get.

"Me, for example," Wang Yanqiu said very naturally, without the slightest embarrassment.

"You?" Yang Ce immediately recalled what Wang Yanqiu had said the day before and was caught between laughter and tears. "Actually, that matter really was a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding? So you're not admitting it?" Wang Yanqiu looked somewhat contemptuous. "But suit yourself. Whether you admit it or not doesn't matter anymore."

She did not care, but Yang Ce did. Yang Ce did not want to be misunderstood by Little Wang forever. "That business back then was actually like this—had you just kicked Li Yixun out that day?"

"How do you know that?" Wang Yanqiu thought for a moment and was suddenly stunned, unable to understand how Yang Ce knew.

"Those flowers were actually from Li Yixun. He couldn't give them to you himself, so he asked me to deliver them on his behalf. Those words were his too—he had me repeat them," Yang Jincong said with a smile.

"Really?" Wang Yanqiu was skeptical. "Yang Ce, I've already agreed to be your lover. Lying to me about this is pointless—I'm not going to fall in love with you anyway."

Not fall in love, huh? Yang Lanxu sneered inwardly. Wait until you find yourself in love up to your neck—then you won't say that. But Yang Ce obviously was not going to say much more now.

"You're right, so do you think I have any need to lie to you?" Yang Ce shrugged.

"And after that, you sent me flowers every day—those weren't from Li Yixun too, were they?" Wang Yanqiu sneered. "Your name was written on them."

"Flowers every day, and my name on them?" No way. Yang Ce's eyes went wide as he stared at Wang Yanqiu in disbelief. "Really? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"In your words, do I have any need to lie to you?" Wang Yanqiu shot back at Yang Puqi.

Wait. A thought suddenly struck Yang Ce. That damned flower shop—it must have been their doing. He and Li Yixun had ordered flowers together. They couldn't have delivered the wrong ones, could they?

At that thought, Yang Ce quickly told Wang Yanqiu his guess. Listening to Yang Juehuan's explanation, Wang Yanqiu felt it did not sound like a lie, and she grew a little confused too. "So you never chased me?"

"Of course not. I just got back from Macau, and I haven't even sorted out a lot of my own affairs. Where would I find the time to chase you?" Yang Xunai spread his hands and said.

"Damn." Hearing Yang Juehuan's words, Wang Yanqiu did not know whether to laugh or cry. After all that, it was a huge misunderstanding—the whole thing had been a mistake. She had actually thought Yang Ce was pursuing her. Thinking of what she had said before, her face began to burn. How embarrassing!

Relatively speaking, though, the benefit it brought was that, with Yang Juehuan joining in, Wang Yanqiu was now full of confidence in her life. She felt that she could take charge of her own life.

"Forget it. Let's just say I got the better of you." Thinking of all that had happened between herself and Yan in the car the day before, Wang Yanqiu said with a red face.

"Heh heh. But I've found that I really am starting to like you a little now," Yang Yanzhou said.

Wang Yanqiu rolled her eyes at Yang Puqi. "I really can't figure you out. If I hadn't experienced it myself, I never would have connected you with that person in Macau."

"Life needs some variety, doesn't it? Aren't you the same?" Yang Hengye said. "If I hadn't seen you in Macau, I'd have thought you were just some little punk girl."

"Who's a little punk girl?" Hearing Yang Yanzhou call her a little punk girl, Wang Yanqiu immediately grew upset.

"If you're not a little punk girl, then what's that butterfly tattoo on your butt for?" Yang Ce retorted.

"That's right, that's right." This was a secret kept within the family, and Wang Yanqiu was naturally not about to tell Yang Ce so easily. "It was when I was little—my family had it tattooed on me. Nothing to do with me. Anyway, how did you even see it? It was pitch dark in the car yesterday."

"I saw it before." Yang Lanxu said. Wang Yanqiu's family really were a bunch of perverts, tattooing a child for fun.

"You peeped on me," Wang Yanqiu said with a frown.

"Peeped on my ass. One time I went to Zhao Ying's place and you weren't wearing pants. That's how I saw it," Yang Yanzhou said.

"Did you?" Wang Yanqiu genuinely couldn't remember. She had always been careless and unbothered, often walking around the house naked after a shower—but that was only because Zhao Ying was the only other woman in the house and no man had ever come over. How was she supposed to know Yang Ce would show up out of nowhere?

As for which time Heng had seen it, Wang Yanqiu had no recollection. In any case, every time Yang Ce had come over, she had not been at her best.

Zhao Ying stepped out of the noodle shop, but she could not shake the matter of Yang Ce and Wang Yanqiu from her mind. Even though Wang Yanqiu had explained it, Zhao Ying simply could not feel at ease.