Chapter 66: Regretting Playing the Game

Chapter 66: Regretting Playing the Game

The two phones look the same, but the colors are different. They match well. Whenever the two do their homework together, they always put their phones together to show that they are not playing on their phones and are focused on studying. So when Fang Yuenian saw Cheng Bing put his phone on the table, she instinctively took out her own and put it next to his.

The two looked at each other. Just as Cheng Bing was about to reach for it, Fang Yuenian suddenly grabbed his hand. "Wait."

Cheng Bing paused, his fingers gripped by Fang Yuenian's icy hand, and he frowned slightly.

“Let’s play a game, Brother Cheng,” Fang Yuenian suggested. “You watch mine, and I’ll watch yours.”

Cheng Bing turned to look at him, "You first, let go of my hand."

"Oh," Fang Yuenian let go, "Want to play or not?"

Two more text messages arrived on each of the two phones, one after the other.

Cheng Bing couldn't guess the reason behind Fang Yuenian's suggestion, but his mind started racing—he had just texted someone half an hour ago, and the other person hadn't replied. This was very likely their reply, and if Fang Yuenian saw it…

Fang Yuenian seemed quite open-minded, her eyes saying: I'm not afraid, do you dare?

Cheng Bing nodded, "Okay."

He made the decision after much deliberation, with a certain solemnity and consideration, but Fang Yuenian didn't pay much attention. He chuckled and happily took the other person's phone.

Cheng Bing picked up the other one.

The two of them froze the moment they opened their inboxes.

After a long silence, Fang Yuenian swallowed hard and slowly, in a low voice, said, "That..."

Cheng Bing's breathing became uncontrollable as he stared at the small screen of his phone. "I..."

Fang Yuenian looked at her phone in his hand, "How about we switch back?"

Regardless of what Cheng Bing was thinking at that moment, Fang Yuenian felt extremely regretful about her earlier suggestion to exchange phones.

On New Year's Eve, every household was ablaze with lights, and the sounds of fireworks and firecrackers filled the air. There was also the commotion of people playing cards behind closed doors, the lively singing and dancing on the television, and the laughter of children. Today was also their shared birthday. As in previous years, they brought their own birthday cakes and birthday noodles to share and make wishes. At this moment, Fang Yuenian wondered why she was doing something so foolish.

Cheng Bing's expression was very abnormal, and it shouldn't be like that.

He seemed not to recognize the person in front of him, his gaze fixed on Fang Yuenian, making him uneasy and anxious, his palms sweating so much he almost melted his phone.

"Uh," Fang Yuenian felt more embarrassed than ever before. He rubbed his neck and tentatively reached out his hand. "Give it to me?"

Cheng Bing glanced down at her phone, then silently clenched her fists and slowly put her hands behind her back.

Then I looked at him again.

Fang Yuenian stared at his actions in astonishment. Did this mean he wouldn't give it to him? The cake he had just eaten still seemed to be burning in his throat, and he felt parched.

"Why do you want to look at my phone?" Cheng Bing asked, his eyes seeming to burn you.

"I, I..."

Fang Yuenian stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence. Cheng Bing chuckled very lightly, "Fang Yuenian, are you telling the truth?"

He always managed to put pressure on the other person without them even realizing it. Fang Yuenian's Adam's apple bobbed. He took a breath, licked his lips, and made a series of movements to calm himself down, but his heart was still pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of his chest.

"Because, because..." Unable to look Cheng Bing in the eye any longer, he lowered his head in frustration and helplessness. "I was wrong."

Cheng Bing shook his head. "No," he turned his head to look at his face. "It's okay. You can look at my phone anytime from now on."

Fang Yuenian was even more devastated by these words, so she simply buryed her head in the sand like an ostrich and remained silent, her fingers randomly scratching the casing of Cheng Bing's phone.

Cheng Bing wasn't going to let him go. She kept looking at his face and even moved closer, their breaths almost hitting each other's faces.

Fang Yuenian was caught in a suffocating silence, caught between a rock and a hard place, with no way to escape. His chest heaved involuntarily, and his thoughts drifted to springtime, to the night before the physical education exam, when they slept in the same bed. In fact, Fang Yuenian had a long time before falling asleep that night, and he listened to Cheng Bing's breathing for a while, which was shallow and even, and particularly reassuring.

"I feel like you're hiding something from me." Fang Yuenian mustered her courage and lifted her eyelids, suddenly meeting the other person's gaze.

A wave of heat began to rise from his body. Half hesitant, half frank, his voice was so soft it was like a mosquito's hum. "You used to say that it was fine if we went to the same high school, even if we weren't in the same class. But now, I keep hearing all sorts of messy rumors about you from other people. I don't want to ask you about everything, but if I don't ask, it seems like you don't plan to tell me anything either..."

"Why can't you just ask me?"

Fang Yuenian was in a hurry and almost blurted out, "Because I'm afraid of bothering you," but thankfully she held back.

Looking at his expression, Cheng Bing asked, "Do you feel that our relationship has become distant?"

Fang Yuenian hurriedly denied it: "No, that's not it."

What is that?

Fang Yuenian struggled to say, "That's right, that's right..."

His mind was about to explode. He cautiously handed over the phone. "Why don't you reply to their text message first?"

Cheng Bing seemed to have seen through all his little tricks to avoid the issue. He took the phone and said, "No need."

"This, this isn't a good idea, is it?" Fang Yuenian looked troubled. "She seems quite upset."

The two new text messages I just received can be strung together to form one sentence: "Can't you give me a chance? I'm sure I'll be better than her. I really like you." Sender: Zhang Qing.

Cheng Bing placed her phone on the table beside her.

"I have said everything I needed to say."

Fang Yuenian looked at Cheng Bingfeng, who seemed calm and collected, but couldn't hide the annoyance that flashed in her eyes. She couldn't help but say, "You must really hate this kind of thing, right?"

"What kind of thing?"

"Yeah, it's just that they're always bothering you, saying all sorts of nonsense, and insisting on doing this or that, things like that."

Cheng Bing looked at him and suddenly smiled, "I'm not bothered by these things, I just don't like her. If it's someone I like, then anything is fine."

Fang Yuenian's eyes flickered with light and shadow as he met Cheng Bing's gaze, but remained silent.

After a long silence, Cheng Bing said, "Did you understand?"

"...Huh?" Fang Yuenian was a little confused. "I understand. I was just thinking that you could handle these things more amicably. After all, you're all classmates, and it's so awkward. Besides, she has such good grades. What if this affects her studies? Wouldn't that be bad?"

Fang Yue Nian had heard Li Pei Xiang talk about Zhang Qing a few times, about how she always got first place in exams, but once she got second place and couldn't take it, so her family immediately found a counselor to talk to her, and so on. This was really bad, and Fang Yue Nian was afraid that Cheng Bing would be hurt by it.

Cheng Bing remained silent for a long while before saying, "I know."

He let out a breath and sat up straight.

As soon as he stepped back, Fang Yuenian felt much less oppressed, so she twisted her shoulders and sat up straight.

"You don't like any of them?" He was a little confused. "Although I haven't paid much attention to Shao Jing, some of them are good-looking, some have excellent grades, and they should have decent personalities, right? You don't like any of them?"

Not wanting to hear a single word, Cheng Bing raised her hand. "Don't you want to know what message you received?"

Fang Yuenian said "Oh", "It must be Li Peixiang. He just sent a group text message saying Happy New Year, but I ignored it."

As she reached out to take it, Cheng Bing unexpectedly dodged, saying, "I'll read it to you."

"Huh?" For some reason, Fang Yuenian suddenly felt a little flustered.

Cheng Bing turned on the screen, opened the inbox, and read aloud: "Fang Yuenian, I'm officially announcing to you that I think you're very outstanding. I heard that Sun Ning is pursuing you, but I think I'm more suitable for you than her, hahaha. Do you want to date me?"

Cheng Bing read these words aloud, word by word, especially the "hahahahaha," which sounded extremely eerie.

Fang Yuenian seemed to have been struck by lightning.

Realizing what was happening, he lunged forward, yelling, "Holy crap, give it to me!"

Cheng Bing grabbed his hand, "What are you trying to steal!"

"Give it to me!" Fang Yuenian used the same trick she used to snatch a failed test paper when she was a child. She glared fiercely at Cheng Bing, but then pleaded cowardly, "Please, Brother Cheng, give it back to me!"

"Isn't this what you asked for? To exchange phones, huh?" Cheng Bing's tone was calm, her arm raised high behind her as she dodged him. "Do you want to date her? Huh?"

Fang Yuenian wished she had three heads and six arms. Without hesitation, she straddled his lap, grabbing his shoulders, and cried, "You—give it to me—"

"I have something I can't tell you, huh?" Cheng Bing asked, one question after another. "I'm not a friendly person when it comes to handling problems, huh?"

"Stop talking!" Fang Yuenian was furious that she couldn't get her phone back no matter what she did. She slapped her thigh hard and said, "I'm not playing anymore!"

With a snap, both of them froze.

Cheng Bing's body was a little stiff, and the hand she was pressing on Fang Yuenian's waist was also a little numb.

A long second later, Fang Yuenian jumped up as if she'd been electrocuted, "Damn it!"

Cheng Bing stood there, one hand holding her phone high, the other still in the same position as before, seemingly embracing someone's waist. She was stunned.

When things get really awkward, you just want to laugh. Fang Yuenian waved her hands repeatedly and said, "I'm really not playing anymore. You can look all you want. I already said I was wrong. But I don't know anything. Did the sender of that text message save their name? Who is it?"

Cheng Bing lowered her head, and another long few seconds passed.

"No recipient."

“Then you really can’t blame me,” Fang Yuenian said seriously. “She liked Fang Ying before, but then she liked several other people. She just wanted to make friends with people she liked. She’s a very straightforward person. Zhang Qing is different from her. You need to give her a proper reply.”

Cheng Bing: "Are you familiar with Fang Ying?"

“They’re not exactly close, they’ve only spoken a few times. Li Peixiang is very familiar with her.”

"What about Sun Ning?"

“There’s really nothing between me and her,” Fang Yuenian said hurriedly. “Last time her cousin called you, I talked to her and made things clear, and she was very agreeable.”

Cheng Bing: "She's her cousin."

"Oh, oh, oh," Fang Yuenian said, getting flustered after a while. "Alright, alright, it's too late. Hurry up and eat your noodles, then hurry home."

Cheng Bing nodded: "Mm."