Chapter 135: Classmate, Can I Have Your Contact Info?
Ye Fuli's temper was so good it even surprised Ye Zhen.
She had actually only said "Get lost"…?
Given her personality, wouldn't she have smashed an egg on the other person's head to express "get lost"?
Jiang Zao's eyes welled up.
This fragile, vulnerable look should have been utterly endearing.
But unfortunately, she had an ugly face, and her overly flashy makeup made her look like a clown.
Jiang Zao sniffed and said, "Then I'll have a pancake."
Ye Fuli glanced at the ingredient bucket beside her and said indifferently, "I can make one, but I haven't had lunch yet, so I can't sell this to you."
"Ye…"
Jiang Zao nearly called out her name.
But the moment she saw Ye Fuli’s icy eyes, she shuddered and dared not continue.
That day, downstairs in the dormitory building, she had only casually mentioned Ye Fuli's name in front of He Ying, causing He Ying's expression to change instantly.
"Who exactly are you? Are you really Ye Zhen?"
He Ying had always harbored doubts about her.
If she hadn't been suspicious, she would have handed over Ye Dad's card long ago.
Now, hearing Jiang Zao mention Ye Fuli with such casual ease only amplified He Ying's suspicions tenfold.
After all, Ye Zhen had suffered terribly at Ye Fuli's hands.
He Ying had never once mentioned Ye Fuli's name in front of Jiang Zao, fearing it might hurt her. Yet here she was, bringing it up on her own?
Compared to Ye Fuli, He Ying was indeed slow to catch on.
But she wasn't so dense that she couldn't see something was off.
"I
lost my memory.
How would I know who Ye Fuli is? I'm just curious… Curious about who she is. Is that so wrong?"
Faced with He Ying's questioning gaze, Jiang Zao felt a surge of panic.
To gather intelligence on them, Jiang Zao had already borrowed money from several platforms, racking up over 200,000 yuan in debt!
The snacks and clothes He Ying had given her had all been sold on secondhand platforms.
But how could that possibly be enough?
She had to play the part more convincingly!
Unfortunately, this time, it seemed she'd backfired.
He Ying sneered coldly. "I never mentioned Ye Fuli's name to you, did I? Given your current financial situation, uncovering the relationship between Ye Zhen and Ye Fuli would be quite difficult, wouldn't it?"
Words that cut straight to the truth always struck fear into people.
Jiang Zao's voice trembled slightly.
"I… that name keeps popping into my head…"
This sentence, however, eased some of the guardedness He Ying had just raised.
Still, she couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.
"You're not still hung up on her, are you? After everything she did to you?"
Should he answer that he had let go, or that he hadn't?
Even after spending so much effort gathering intelligence on Ye Fuli and Ye Zhen, some truths remained utterly beyond her reach.
Jiang Zao was panicking.
She didn't know the answer!
"I… I don't know…"
She didn't know?
She actually said she didn't know?
Looking at Jiang Zao before her, He Ying thought of all the effort and sacrifice she'd made to rescue her from that prison—even nearly getting killed by Ye Fuli—and her heart ached.
She couldn't accept Ye Zhen's Stockholm Syndrome.
Even the mere thought of that possibility made her feel uneasy.
"Jiang Zao, what I can do for you ends here. I won't be visiting you often anymore. Do what you need to do. If you encounter anything you can't handle, contact my assistant."
He Ying felt it was time to pause her efforts to repay the debt.
She needed to look back and think things through carefully.
People and matters that raised doubts needed to be sifted through carefully—nothing could be taken for granted.
So she tossed the lunchbox Jiang Zao had given her and drove away from Mondstadt.
Her thoughts snapped back to the present.
Jiang Zao looked at Ye Fuli before her.
Ye Fuli didn't look at her, instead busily making pancakes, slicing them, and packing them into a bag.
She handed the pancakes to Ye Zhen.
As they exchanged them, their fingers accidentally brushed against each other.
Ye Fuli's heart fluttered in response.
She stared intently at Ye Zhen's reaction, hoping to see some unusual emotion on her face.
But there was none.
Ye Zhen accepted it with a smile, just like everyone else, and replied cheerfully, "Thank you, senior."
Ye Fuli fell silent.
What a "thank you, senior."
What a convincing performance.
Ye Zhen, you're ruthless.
Before long, Ye Zhen's three roommates also received their pancakes and headed toward the dining table across the room.
As they passed by Jiang Zao, not one of them spared her a second glance.
But Jiang Zao still hadn't left. She remained standing in front of Ye Fuli's stall, lost in her own thoughts.
Ye Fuli finished her pancake, packed up her stall, and sat down behind Ye Zhen.
She took a bite of her pancake, chewing expressionlessly.
Stare~
Ye Zhen felt a chill run down her spine under that gaze, choking repeatedly on crumbs from her pancake.
Wang Xiaoya nudged Ye Zhen's arm discreetly and whispered, "Hey, that pretty senior is looking at you! Why is she staring at you like that?"
Ye Zhen swallowed the pancake with difficulty. "Huh? I don't know. Is she looking at me? Maybe she's just staring at that handsome guy across the way."
Her voice wasn't exactly quiet, and Ye Fuli heard every word.
Snap—
Ye Fuli crushed the crispy wafer inside her pancake with a sharp snap.
Qiao Xin's expression darkened as she leaned closer and whispered to Ye Zhen, "Think hard—do you really owe that senior money? She's staring at you with such a fierce look."
Ye Zhen smiled faintly. "Stop joking around! I'm not short on cash—why would I owe anyone money?"
Her gaze was fierce?
Staring at me?
Look! Look!
Ye Zhen completely suppressed the fear and panic in her heart, calmly finishing her pancake.
Not far behind her, Ye Fuli hesitated, words on the tip of her tongue.
She couldn't eat another bite.
More than Ye Zhen's defiance or escape, what pained her most was that Ye Zhen pretended not to recognize her.
No, perhaps it wasn't pretense… but that Ye Zhen truly didn't recognize her anymore, having forgotten her completely.
The thought of this possibility made Ye Fuli's heart bleed.
She had been here for several days now.
Almost every day, she saw Ye Zhen come to the cafeteria to get food. Every day, they exchanged a few words, but every single one of those words was meaningless.
Ye Fuli was reaching her limit.
She could put on a flawless act in front of others, but with Ye Zhen, she had reached her limit.
"Alright! I'm done eating. I'm going to grab some fruit tea. Want any?"
Seeing Ye Zhen about to leave, Ye Fuli couldn't sit still any longer and immediately stood up.
She grabbed Ye Zhen's wrist and pulled her back.
Ye Zhen's heart nearly stopped from the shock!
Damn it, do you have any sense of martial ethics?!
Ye Fuli forced down her irritation and tried to sound as gentle as possible. "Hey, let's exchange contact info… I mean, if we have new products in the future, I'll give you a free sample to try."
Damn it.
That wasn't what she wanted to say at all.
Ye Zhen closed her eyes and sighed inwardly.
Turning back, she met Ye Fuli's gaze, which was filled with hurt.
Ye Fuli abruptly withdrew her hand, visibly flustered.
It was rare indeed to see such unease on her face.
Ye Zhen rubbed her wrist and calmly averted her gaze.
"Lately, I haven't been fond of desserts anymore. I'm truly sorry."
"Then what do you like to eat?"
Ye Zhen thought for a moment before replying, "I don't think I have any particular favorites anymore. Everything just tastes bland to me now."
"Is that so?"
Ye Fuli smiled.
"Alright then."
She knew there was no point in saying more today.
Ye Zhen appeared easygoing, yet her stubborn streak ran deep—something that could never be erased.
Ye Fuli had once tried to mold her into an obedient child, only to push her toward breaking her wings and plummeting into the abyss.
Now, she dared not cling to excessive persistence or self-will.
Ye Zhen had used blood and death to confirm one thing for her—Ye Zhen could never become the person she wanted her to be.
Then, it took her this long to realize another truth—even with aspects of Ye Zhen she disliked, she still loved her.
So, she could only become the person Ye Zhen might want to be.
Otherwise, there would be no future for either of them.
Books say girls all prefer gentle, understanding partners… So she would strive to be that.
Ye Fuli had no intention of forcing Ye Zhen to acknowledge her identity.
This time, she chose to become the person Ye Zhen wanted first, then let Ye Zhen make a choice.
Watching her lonely retreating figure, Lu Chengcheng, the dorm's resident philosopher, stroked her chin thoughtfully.
"Huh? Why do I get the feeling… she looks like she just got dumped?"