Chapter 94

#150********#

Xiang Wan pressed the number, which she knew by heart, one button at a time.

Her fingertips were even trembling slightly as she touched the screen, and her brain was still somewhat blank when she heard the male voice coming from the other side.

"Hello, who is this?"

The voice on the other end was somewhere between a boy's and a man's, possessing both the naivety of a youth and the subtle magnetism of a mature man.

The call remained connected, but Xiang Wan didn't speak for a long time. After realizing what was happening, she immediately hung up the phone.

"Beep—beep—"

Hearing the beeping sound from the receiver, Chen Ruilin was stunned for a moment.

He stared at the familiar last four digits of the phone number on the other end, placed the towel he had just used to dry his hair around his neck, and fell into deep thought.

He remembered that phone number.

A week before the holiday, he used the excuse of discussing the physics competition to get Xiang Wan's mobile phone number from Jiang Zhuochun.

He has a photographic memory, and this phone number definitely belongs to Xiang Wan.

Not to mention that the number displayed above is Bei Yi's.

But if she clearly dislikes him, why would she call him?

On the other side, Xiang Wan was holding her phone, regretting her impulsive decision.

'We should proceed cautiously, step by step,' she thought.

Now that it's confirmed the author won't target her anymore, it means that in this life, she might be able to have a normal love affair with Chen Yan.

But Chen Ruilin in this life has no memories of his previous life, so how can she be sure that he likes her now?

Will she scare him if she confesses her feelings abruptly?

Xiang Wan was unsure and couldn't be sure that Chen Ruilin would definitely fall in love with her.

Like someone feeling apprehensive about returning home, she found herself somewhat hesitant and restrained.

'There's plenty of time in the future,' she thought.

However, even though Xiang Wan wanted to take it easy, Chen Ruilin waited a whole vacation, but he simply couldn't wait any longer...

*

Before we knew it, the winter break of a month and a half had come to an end, and not long after the start of the new semester, the winter sports meet of Beiyi High School began.

Xiang Wan had just returned from the principal's office when Che Nanbei, who had been waiting for her, dragged her away.

"Xiang Shuhan, where have you been for so long?"

"..." Xiang Wan looked at the person with the ingratiating expression and suddenly became wary. "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to participate in the 800 later, will you come with me to check in?"

That's it?

"Help me write a few more news articles."

"..."

Xiang Wan pursed her lips and looked at Che Nanbei, then suddenly leaned forward and touched her forehead with her hand.

Che Nanbei blinked: "What's wrong, Wanwan?"

"I want to see where you get all this energy. You signed up for shot put, high jump, long jump, and 800 meters, and you still have the energy to write news reports. This sports meet would be impossible without you."

Che Nanbei wasn't discouraged at all. Knowing that this was Xiang Wan's consistent tacit agreement, he immediately ran happily to the check-in area to check in: "Wanwan!! I love you."

Xiang Wan: "..."

She watched her friend's cheerful figure disappear into the distance, smiled helplessly, and then walked towards Class A's viewing area.

However, Xiang Wan had just stepped onto the stands when she suddenly stopped halfway there.

Looking at the two people standing side by side in front of her, she blinked in surprise.

How could these two people... be like this...?

In the audience seats for Class A, Shen Feiyang was looking up at the man beside her. Her eyes weren't exactly tender, but it was clear that she was smitten.

The man standing next to her was someone they all knew—

Jiang Juncang, the eldest son of the Jiang family and the older brother of Jiang Zhuochun.

Xiang Wan looked at the two of them, feeling as if the dimensional barrier had been broken.

She was still in a daze when Shen Feiyang sensed her presence. He turned around and saw that it was Xiang Wan. She was also stunned for a moment, but her eyes were obviously avoiding and evasive.

"Wanwan, you...you're back."

Xiang Wan looked at Shen Feiyang, who was trying to cover up his blunder, with amusement. She suppressed her laughter, stepped forward, greeted Jiang Juncang politely, and then stood to Shen Feiyang's side.

“That guy Che Nanbei said he wanted to run the 800m race after listening to the news report we wrote for him.” Xiang Wan said, then gestured to the two of them, “I’m going to the broadcasting station now.”

"good."

"I'll be back in a little while."

However, after Xiang Wan delivered the completed news report, she did not return to the audience seats for a long time, but waited for Che Nanbei at the check-in area.

She leaned against the railing of the playground while replying to Shen Feiyang's message on her phone.

【Wanwan, why aren't you back yet?】

I won't be a third wheel.

"...You've misunderstood. Jiang Juncang and I aren't in that kind of relationship."

I understand.

[...]

Upon seeing the long explanation sent by Shen Feiyang, Xiang Wan chuckled and didn't reply.

She was initially worried that Shen Feiyang would fall in love with Xu Chengran because of his unpredictable behavior, just like in her previous life. However, she never expected that she would fall in love with Jiang Juncang.

However, she wasn't too surprised. It's normal for someone who's seventeen or eighteen to fall in love with a young man in his early twenties.

She was still teasing her friend in her mind when she felt as if a shadow had been cast over her.

Xiang Wan looked up at the person who had come, and saw that the person's face was familiar.

She looked at Chen Ruilin silently, her heart filled with ripples of emotion, but she pretended to be calm: "Chen Ruilin, what's wrong?"

Chen Yan, sitting opposite her, stared at her for a while before finally speaking: "I need your phone number so I can send you my speech for the Xinhua Cup."

The homeroom teacher had spoken to her yesterday, and Xiang Wan knew about it, so she didn't think much of it and directly gave her phone number: "178********".

Chen Ruilin's voice on the other end was also calm: "Okay, I'll send it to you before tonight."

"Um."

After they finished speaking, the two left; one headed towards the playground, while the other headed towards the stands.

But what they had in common was the curve of their lips when they had their backs to each other.

There's plenty of time; don't rush things.

'It's definitely her phone number...'

*

In the years that followed, there were no more dramatic plot twists or unexpected events.

Xiang Wan and Chen Ruilin successfully transitioned from Bei Yi High School to Bei Yi University.

Even after graduating from university, their relationship had changed from being distant at the beginning to becoming a couple that everyone was just one step away from confessing their feelings.

The trio are the leaders of the two-person CP (couple pairing).

Even Zhou Chengze and Zhou Xinyi, the siblings she met in college, became her biggest fans of the couple.

The unspoken understanding between Xiang Wan and Chen Ruilin was truly revealed five years later at an industry exchange meeting...

That day, Xiang Wan, who had become CEO Xiang, saw the invitation on the table. She pressed the internal phone, and soon her secretary and assistant pushed the door open and came in.

"Mr. Xiang, you wanted to see me?"

Xiang Wan picked up her coffee, took a sip, and pushed the invitation towards her secretary and assistant.

Seeing this, the assistant quickly explained, "This was sent to me by Secretary Huang. She said it's an industry exchange meeting, and you, Mr. Xiang, have been invited as well."

"Does this conflict with the afternoon's schedule?"

"No, no." After answering her question, the assistant didn't leave immediately. Before leaving, she asked again, "Ms. Xiang, the driver is already waiting in the parking lot. Shall we depart now?"

"Um."

The secretary's assistant looked at her and asked, "Secretary Huang went to inspect the subsidiary today. Do you need me to go with him later?"

Xiang Wan thought for a moment and said, "No need."

"good."

Upon arriving at the venue, Xiang Wan found her seat and sat down with the help of the staff.

As soon as she sat down, the technical director of Geo Technology turned around and chatted with her. After a few words, the host came on stage.

Neither of them spoke again, and they each sat down.

Xiang Wan sat in her seat and subconsciously glanced at the name tag on the seat next to her, only to find that the empty seat next to her belonged to Chen Ruilin.

A few years after graduating from Beiyi University, he started from scratch and built Sirong Technology.

During the five or six years from high school to college graduation, although the two were closer than ordinary classmates, they still maintained a distance that was more than friends but less than lovers.

Even the ambiguous relationship only started in the last two years.

Xiang Wan glanced at the name tag of Chen Ruilin on the seat next to her, curled her lips, stared at it for a few seconds, and only looked away from the three words Chen Ruilin when the host spoke.

She had initially thought he wouldn't come to the exchange meeting, but to her surprise, he arrived late and sat in the middle or back row.

Until the end of the exchange meeting, Xiang Wan left early due to some matters. She had only taken a few steps after pushing open the door of the venue when she saw Chen Ruilin standing with his back to her in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

And it seems like he's waiting for her.

In the vast corridor, her high heels clicked crisply on the marble tiles.

She stopped walking, the sound abruptly ceased, and someone turned around from in front of the French windows.

A long-handled black umbrella stood at his feet. The raindrops on the umbrella and the rain streaks on the man's suit jacket proved that he had just run into the car to get the umbrella.

As for why they went and returned, and for whom, the answer is obvious.

Clearly, Xiang Wan had also figured it out.

She raised an eyebrow at him, feigning ignorance as she asked, "What is this?"

"I'll pick you up." The man's expression was slightly helpless, but his eyes were full of affection.

The two walked side by side toward his car. Xiang Wan took out her phone and sent a message to Uncle Zhang, telling him to go back first.

Xiang Wan subconsciously walked towards the back seat, then realized something and turned back to the passenger seat.

Chen Yan started the car, and after Xiang Wan fastened her seatbelt, he looked out the window as usual, only to find that he seemed to have gone the wrong way.

She looked at his profile: "Nan Yilu needs to turn around up ahead."

Chen Ruilin glanced at her briefly and said, "Instead of going back to the company, I want to take you somewhere."

Seemingly afraid of upsetting the other person, he asked again, "Is that alright?"

She had to review the exhibition plan organized by the publicity department that evening. Xiang Wan originally wanted to refuse, but looking at the face in front of her, she found it really hard to say no.

Especially when he was holding the steering wheel, his hair half-wet, and he tilted his head to look at her.

She didn't speak, but nodded in agreement.

Although Chen Ruilin, who was standing to the side, didn't say anything, his eyebrows and eyes clearly curved slightly.

An hour later, just as Xiang Wan was about to fall asleep, the car finally stopped.

She opened her eyes, looked out the car window at the coastal highway, and paused for a moment.

Logically speaking, she should have been afraid of the sea since she committed suicide by jumping into the sea in her previous life. But perhaps because of the fairy tale of the knight and the princess, or perhaps because she saw him again on the day she jumped into the sea, Xiang Wan was not afraid of the sea and even felt a sense of familiarity with it.

Whenever she watched the waves surge, she felt a familiar sense of déjà vu, as if she were seeing an old friend.

She got out of the car, leaned against it, and looked at the sea, looking somewhat relaxed.

A few seconds later, a loud bang came from not far away, followed by several fireworks soaring into the sky and blooming. Xiang Wan looked up at the dazzling fireworks, initially a little surprised, until she looked down and saw Chen Yan kneeling on one knee on the beach, and then she realized what was happening.

Realizing that the fireworks were specially set off for her, she couldn't help but smile.

Fireworks were still bursting in the sky, but the two of them were staring at each other on the dimly lit beach.

"Xiang Shuhan, be my girlfriend."

The man's voice was gentle and soothing, yet one could detect the tension and caution within it.

On the beach, apart from the fish in the sea, there were only the two of them.

In the fleeting light of the fireworks, Xiang Wan looked at Chen Yan kneeling on one knee, her eyebrows curving into a smile.

"Chen Ruilin, it's just a confession, no need to kneel down."

"It's only necessary for a marriage proposal."

As soon as he finished speaking, a hint of embarrassment flashed in Chen Ruilin's eyes. He slowly stood up and walked towards her, his voice a little nervous: "Then will you agree?"

"Promise what?"

"Be my girlfriend."

Hearing this, Xiang Wan did not answer immediately. She looked into his eyes and finally smiled: "Chen Ruilin, let's get married."

Chen Ruilin looked somewhat surprised, and after hesitating for a long time, he said, "It's true that I really want to marry you, but we haven't even started dating yet. Isn't it a bit too fast?"

Xiang Wan stared at him intently, no longer thinking about the long road ahead or any kind of calculated maneuvering.

Her voice was soft, but firm: "I can't wait any longer."

For him, it was just one lifetime, but for her, it was their second lifetime together.

Across from him, Chen Ruilin's eyes were overflowing with tenderness: "Okay."

Although he was somewhat surprised by Xiang Wan's unusual behavior, he was more than happy to take advantage of her vulnerability.

Someone even more radical than her asked: "Can we set the wedding date three months from now?"

"Hmm?" Xiang Wan initially felt something was off, but when the person put their arm around her waist, her expression instantly relaxed. "...Okay."