Su Yao turned and prepared to leave. Yet her figure appeared somewhat hesitant, as if her feet were glued to the floor. She knew very well in her heart that she was making the right choice, but why did an inexplicable sense of loss still well up within her?
Just as she was about to walk out of the corridor, Lin Yu's words echoed in her ear: "Babe, no matter what happens in the future, never leave me." That was the promise Lin Yu made on her birthday. At the time, she was moved to tears, feeling that she had found her true harbor.
"However, what if the worst really does happen?" A wild thought suddenly surged in Su Yao's mind. What if one day Lin Yu's family went bankrupt, or he ran into some insurmountable difficulties of his own? What would become of him? And as for herself, where should she go?
Su Yao's pace slowed down even more. The figures of Lin Yu and Ling Xiao kept flashing through her mind—one a wealthy young master, and the other Ling Xiao, who had now become so handsome and carried a trace of mystery. Her palms began to sweat, and her inner conflict grew deeper and deeper.
Caught between these two men, Su Yao felt as though she had fallen into an inescapable vortex. Her reason and emotion were constantly battling, making her feel incomparably exhausted.
Su Yao stood in place, caught in a dilemma, her heart a whirlwind of mixed feelings. Just as she was still struggling, a sarcastic voice suddenly came from beside her.
"Yo, had some plastic surgery, haven't you? Looking this sharp, are you planning to work as a gigolo?" Lin Yu's arrogant voice echoed in the corridor, instantly breaking the recent silence.
Everyone turned their heads to see Lin Yu walking over with his hands shoved in his pockets and a swaggering stride, his face full of disdain and mockery. He had been walking right beside Su Yao, and seeing Ling Xiao looking like this now, jealousy and a sense of superiority compelled him to utter such biting and sarcastic words.
Hearing Lin Yu's words, Su Yao knitted her brows tightly. She felt somewhat displeased in her heart, yet she did not know how to refute him. After all, harsh as Lin Yu's words sounded, they did carry a hint of something to let one's imagination run wild.
Lin Yu walked up to Ling Xiao and deliberately leaned in close, staring intently at Ling Xiao's face as if trying to find traces of plastic surgery. His arrogant demeanor made the surrounding girls somewhat uncomfortable, and they cast strange glances his way.
Looking at Lin Yu's disgusting face, Ling Xiao felt a surge of anger rise in his heart. Yet there was not the slightest trace of anger or panic on his face; instead, a confident smile appeared.
Lin Yu had expected Ling Xiao to fly into a rage out of humiliation from his taunts, but he never imagined that Ling Xiao would actually smile. That smile carried an unfathomable mystery that made Lin Yu's heart skip a beat.
"Whether I work as a gigolo or not is not something you need to trouble yourself with." Ling Xiao's voice was cold and composed, as though Lin Yu were nothing more than an insignificant ant in his eyes. "Besides, you'd better think about how to fix your three-second problem."
Hearing Ling Xiao's words, Lin Yu's eyes widened instantly, filled with utter disbelief. He never expected Ling Xiao to say such a thing, which made him feel that his dignity had suffered a massive insult. Flying into a rage out of shame, he roared, "What the fuck are you talking about? If you've got the guts, spell it out!"
His ex-girlfriend Su Yao was also shocked. She never imagined that Ling Xiao would actually say something like that, but Su Yao also knew that Lin Yu really did last only three seconds—the day before in the hotel room, just as Su Yao was getting into the mood, Lin Yu was already done. Subconsciously, she looked at Lin Yu, her gaze filled with disappointment. Meanwhile, the others present could not help bursting into laughter upon hearing Ling Xiao's words.
Driven mad by humiliation, Lin Yu's face turned beet red, and he clenched his fists tightly, as if wanting to teach Ling Xiao a lesson. But the moment he remembered how hollowed out he was by wine and women, fearing he couldn't beat Ling Xiao and would instead get beaten to a pulp by him, he forcefully suppressed the anger in his heart.
"Hmph, you just wait! I'll make you pay!" Lin Yu glared fiercely at Ling Xiao, and after dropping those words, he turned around and angrily stormed off. His retreating figure appeared somewhat hunched over, as if his arrogant aura had completely vanished at that very moment.
The surrounding girls laughed even harder. Some were discussing Lin Yu's embarrassing "three-second problem"—given Lin Yu's explosive rage, it was highly likely that what Ling Xiao said was true—while others were looking at Ling Xiao in a whole new light, feeling that this boy whom they had once ignored had now grown increasingly mysterious.
Su Yao also snapped back to her senses. Watching Lin Yu's retreating figure, a myriad of emotions washed over her. Her original feelings for Lin Yu began to waver at this moment; she hadn't expected Lin Yu to have such a hidden affliction. Then, another thought crossed Su Yao's mind: at worst, she could just get the money from Lin Yu first. Once she had money, it would be all the easier to find a Prince Charming later on.
Ling Xiao watched Lin Yu's departing back with a look of indifference on his face. He knew in his heart that his own transformation had made Lin Yu jealous, and coupled with accurately pointing out Lin Yu's three-second problem, that was why Lin Yu had become so furious. But he did not care; he knew that what he pursued was a higher realm, not squabbling with these mere ants.