Chapter 78: Mind Reading (19) (fixed)

Lu Yifan felt uneasy, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what was wrong.

He stole a glance at Yan Ling and found her still gazing at him with gentle warmth, making his cheeks flush again.

Even when they had been closest before, Lu Yifan had never considered the possibility of their relationship evolving beyond friendship. After all, Yan Ling was Xiao Lingfei’s fiancée.

Though Lu Yifan’s relationship with Xiao Lingfei was the least cordial among their group, he still considered him one of his few true friends.

Lu Yifan didn’t have many friends to begin with. He had spent so much time with Jin Yingyao and the others that he had come to believe they would remain close companions for life. He had naturally welcomed Yan Ling’s arrival, seeing her as another addition to their circle. Even though she was a girl, her kind, patient, and easygoing personality, combined with her striking beauty, made her someone anyone would adore.

But later, Jin Yingyao and the others changed drastically, in ways Lu Yifan couldn’t comprehend.

It felt as if everyone’s relationships had transformed overnight. They had been getting along so well before—why would falling for someone cause such a profound shift in their dynamics?

When Lu Yifan heard that Xiao Lingfei had beaten up Jin Yingyao, he almost couldn’t believe his ears.

But it was true. Lu Yifan knew he couldn’t delay any longer; if he did, his friends would drift apart.

So he went to find Yan Ling.

Yan Ling’s feelings hadn’t settled down. Since his friends’ relationships had changed because of her, she should be the one to set things right.

Lu Yifan’s plan was simple, and he assumed it would be straightforward.

All Yan Ling had to do was choose someone she liked. He would support her no matter who she chose. But… she had chosen him, leaving Lu Yifan utterly bewildered.

“You… don’t you like Gu Li?” Lu Yifan asked, his gaze darting around nervously. “You’re much closer to him than you are to me.”

“Are you saying I’m not close enough to you?” Yan Ling cut to the core of the matter. “If you want, I can be even closer to you than I am to him.”

“No, that’s not what I meant!” Lu Yifan blurted out, his ears flushing crimson. “It’s just that… choosing me seems a little… inappropriate, not quite…”

“Yifan, you’re so adorable and handsome. Out of everyone, you’re the perfect match for me,” Tong Ling said bluntly. “Don’t you agree?”

“Me?” Lu Yifan considered the question for the first time. “Perfect for you?”

Tong Ling pressed, “Don’t we get along wonderfully?”

Lu Yifan nodded. “Yes.”

“Out of everyone, aren’t you the only one who’s never been jealous of my interactions with others?”

Lu Yifan hesitated. ”…Yes.”

“Given your status, wouldn’t it be easy for you to help me break off my engagement?”

“Yes.”

Tong Ling clapped her hands, her eyes sweeping over the handsome young man with admiration. “Yifan, I’m certain I’ve made the right choice.”

“If it weren’t for you, I’d simply maintain the status quo with everyone else,” Tong Ling said with a soft smile. “Think it over carefully.”

Lu Yifan remained silent.

Yan Ling’s words meant that she wouldn’t choose anyone else but him. Maintaining the status quo… that meant his friends would continue to grow resentful of each other, eventually drifting apart…

He didn’t want this… he didn’t want things to end like this!

“Is there really no other way?” Lu Yifan asked softly.

Tong Ling reassured him, “I’m not in a rush. Take your time to consider. I don’t like forcing people. If you can’t love me wholeheartedly, then I won’t choose you either.”

Take his time? His friends would be gone by then!

Lu Yifan felt trapped, with only one path before him. Yan Ling was right, in a way. Given his social standing, no one would object to them being together.

Once his friends realized they couldn’t steal Yan Ling away from him, they would gradually give up. Without the tension of romantic rivals, everyone could return to normal.

So… he had to love her.

Lu Yifan looked at Yan Ling again. He realized that growing to love her wouldn’t be so difficult.

“I… I’ll try my best to fall in love with you,” Lu Yifan stammered, his face flushed crimson. “I don’t know what it means to truly love someone. You… you’ll have to teach me.”

m577 pounded his chest in despair. [ Yifan, no! How did you fall for this? You poor fool, you’ve been tricked! ]

Tong Ling scoffed at the System. “Stop whining. This was Yifan’s own decision. Every adult has to face the consequences of their choices.”

m577 continued to lament Lu Yifan’s fate. [ What a wonderful kid… what a pity. ]

Too bad he’s been targeted by such a terrifying woman.

“First…” Tong Ling extended her hand to Lu Yifan. “Give me your hand.”

Lu Yifan obediently placed his hand in Yan Ling’s palm. “Like this?”

He’s like a little puppy.

A faint smile played on Tong Ling’s lips. She gently grasped Lu Yifan’s hand, then slowly intertwined her fingers with his until their hands were tightly clasped.

Turning sideways to shield their joined hands, Tong Ling gave Lu Yifan’s hand a gentle shake. “The first step is holding hands,” she whispered. “Make sure you hold on tight.”

Lu Yifan nervously glanced around, then breathed a sigh of relief when he confirmed no one was watching them.

Xiao Lingfei and Gu Li were still in the clubroom, and Lu Yifan couldn’t shake the guilty feeling of sneaking around behind their backs like this.

He had never held hands like this before. His palm felt warm and tingly. Are girls’ hands always this soft? And so smooth…?

Lu Yifan suddenly realized what he was thinking, and a wave of heat washed over him, his cheeks flushing.

“How does it feel?” Tong Ling deliberately leaned closer, asking the very question he’d been trying to avoid.

“I-it’s fine,” Lu Yifan stammered.

“Do you still want to hold hands?” Tong Ling teased. “If not, I’ll let go.”

“No! Keep holding hands,” Lu Yifan blurted out. “Let’s just… stay like this.”

He wanted to savor the moment longer. So this was what holding hands felt like! He loved it!

“Then let’s rehearse while holding hands,” Tong Ling suggested, picking up her script with her free hand and gesturing to Lu Yifan. “Yifan, deliver your lines with emotion. Remember, you’ll need to perform like this on stage.”

Lu Yifan had already memorized his lines perfectly during countless rehearsals with Xiao Lingfei.

But unlike his rehearsals with Xiao Lingfei, where he could barely suppress his laughter, reciting those same lines to Yan Ling now made him strangely self-conscious.

“Hermia, we’ve been wandering through the forest for hours. We should stop and rest.”

“Look at this meadow. Isn’t it the perfect place to lie down and rest? Our hearts are so close; we should sleep… on a bed…”

Lu Yifan inwardly bristled. How could the male lead be so shameless? After running away with the female lead until they’re exhausted, he just wants to sleep with her in the grass!

He glanced at Yan Ling, but before he could look away, her soft fingertips lightly brushed the back of his hand. At the same time, Yan Ling smiled at him and said, “My dear, you should lie a bit further away. Don’t get so close to me.”

They were indeed very close—close enough for Lu Yifan to catch the faint floral fragrance emanating from Yan Ling. Shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, her beautiful face was just a turn of his head away…

Lu Yifan’s heart suddenly began to race. Afraid to linger, he hastily tried to continue with his lines, but the next line…

“What’s wrong, Yifan?” Tong Ling’s voice, laced with amusement, interrupted his thoughts. “It’s your line.”

These lines absolutely have to be rewritten! How can I possibly say those things to Yan Ling?!

Yan Ling gently pinched Lu Yifan’s hand again. He opened his mouth and stammered, “Ah, my beloved! Please don’t misunderstand me. Don’t refuse to let me sleep… beside you. Lovers should be like this. I have no… ill intentions.”

As soon as he finished the line, Lu Yifan buried his face in shame. He muttered, “This male lead is hopeless! I need to rewrite this entire scene!”

Instead of reciting the female lead’s lines, Tong Ling leaned close to Lu Yifan’s ear and whispered, “If it’s you, Yifan, it’s okay. I’ll let you sleep beside me.”

Thump-thump, thump-thump! His heart pounded violently.

Lu Yifan’s mind buzzed, Yan Ling’s sweet voice echoing in his ears:

“I’ll let you sleep beside me… beside me… beside…”

Half of Lu Yifan’s body went numb. His throat felt dry, and just as he was about to lean closer to Yan Ling, she suddenly released his hand, straightened up, and stared straight ahead. “Shh, someone’s coming.”

Lu Yifan’s heart tightened. He closed his empty palm, and as Yan Ling moved away, a strange sense of loss washed over him.

Lu Yifan looked up and saw Xiao Lingfei’s impatient face.

“Yifan, you’ve been rehearsing your lines for way too long,” Xiao Lingfei said irritably.

Lu Yifan’s lips moved, but he couldn’t bring himself to reply.

Xiao Lingfei paid little attention to Lu Yifan, turning to Yan Ling with a concerned expression. “Lingling, is he bothering you? Don’t indulge him too much—once he starts talking, he never shuts up.”

Lu Yifan overheard Yan Ling’s reply: “No, Yifan’s adorable. I really like him.”

Xiao Lingfei muttered, “You’re just too easygoing…”

Lu Yifan hadn’t expected Yan Ling to openly admit her feelings for him. A wave of shyness washed over him, but his momentary joy was quickly overshadowed by irritation at Xiao Lingfei’s comment.

Xiao Lingfei seemed completely oblivious to the sincerity in Yan Ling’s words. This wasn’t some casual joke or platonic affection; Yan Ling genuinely saw him as a potential romantic partner. When I finally fall in love with Yan Ling and we make our relationship public, will my friends accept it? But this was the best way forward. Lu Yifan couldn’t let Yan Ling continue to be caught in the crossfire of his social circle…

“Xiao Lingfei!” Lu Yifan called out, stopping Xiao Lingfei from taking Yan Ling away. “I… I haven’t finished rehearsing with Lingling yet. Please don’t interrupt us.”

Lu Yifan needed to fall in love with Yan Ling as quickly as possible and convince her to choose him. He couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

Xiao Lingfei frowned. “You can’t monopolize the entire club activity period. Go find Gu Li.”

“No, I…” Lu Yifan struggled to find a valid reason to keep Yan Ling with him, glancing anxiously at her. “Lingling…”

“Lingfei, I’d rather finish rehearsing with Yifan first. Can I spend time with you later?” Tong Ling, ever eager to please her “little prince,” said apologetically to Xiao Lingfei.

Xiao Lingfei couldn’t bring himself to refuse Yan Ling. He shot Lu Yifan a dark glare before forcing a magnanimous smile. ”…Fine, I’ll wait for you.”

As soon as Xiao Lingfei left, Lu Yifan couldn’t help but grin. “Lingling, we…”

“Are you happy?” Tong Ling asked.

Lu Yifan froze for a moment, then nodded honestly.

“Then you’ll have to work harder, Yifan,” Tong Ling said with a gentle smile. “That way, I’ll only choose you from now on.”

Lu Yifan stepped closer to Yan Ling. In a secluded corner where no one was watching, he reached out and took her hand. “I… I will,” he stammered.

Look at that pit ahead, Yifan, so vast and deep—it’s an abyss… an endless chasm you can never climb out of if you fall in! m577 muttered.

Lu Yifan felt like he was beginning to understand what it meant to like someone. It was the constant urge to be near her, the way every word she spoke sounded beautiful, how her laughter made him want to laugh too, and the simple joy of her closeness.

He shared his feelings with Yan Ling, but she explained that they were still a long way from “love.”

“Love is a hundred times, a thousand times stronger than this,” she said. “We haven’t shared many experiences yet. Yifan, do you want to know what that kind of love feels like?”

”…Yes,” he answered.

“I’ll contact you after the club activity ends.”

“Okay.”

With their agreement settled, the two finished rehearsing and returned to the group.

Lu Yifan didn’t let Xiao Lingfei approach Yan Ling. Instead, he pulled Xiao Lingfei aside to ask the Club President to revise their lines.

As club activities drew to a close, Gu Li approached Yan Ling. He was about to offer to drive her home when she declined.

“I’m sorry, President,” she said, glancing toward Xiao Lingfei. “I’ll have my driver pick me up. Don’t worry, I won’t go out alone.”

With Xiao Lingfei, her fiancé, present, it would indeed be inappropriate for Gu Li to personally escort Yan Ling home.

Understanding her concerns, Gu Li didn’t press the matter. He simply gave her a few more reminders about safety before asking if she was free the next day.

“I’ve already made plans with my friends…” Tong Ling frankly shared her schedule. “I’m booked solid this weekend.”

Resigned, Gu Li abandoned his weekend plans and sighed softly. “Then… I’ll see you on Monday?”

“Yeah, see you Monday.” Tong Ling waved goodbye to Gu Li and left the drama club.

Xiao Lingfei had been talking to the Club President, but as soon as he saw Yan Ling leave, he tossed aside his script, grabbed his backpack, and hurried after her.

Gu Li watched Xiao Lingfei’s retreating figure, his resentment toward the “fiancé” status surging anew. If I were Yan Ling’s fiancé, I’d be the one by her side right now…

Lu Yifan gripped his phone tightly. He knew Yan Ling would contact him eventually; he just needed to be patient. There was no need to be so… anxious.

Xiao Lingfei’s long strides quickly closed the distance, catching up to Yan Ling.

“Ahem.” The usually articulate Xiao Lingfei suddenly found himself at a loss for words now that they were alone.

He desperately wanted to ask if she was okay, but seeing how composed she had appeared in front of everyone, he doubted he would get a straight answer.

His fiancée was too gentle, too considerate, keeping everything bottled up inside instead of confiding in him. This left Xiao Lingfei feeling utterly helpless.

Just as his spirits began to sink, Yan Ling suddenly spoke. “Lingfei, thank you.”

Xiao Lingfei was taken aback. “Thank me… for what?”

“For what happened with Jin Yingyao…” Yan Ling turned to look at him, her expression softening. “I know you confronted him because of me. Thank you.”

So… she knew all along.

Xiao Lingfei felt a little embarrassed under Yan Ling’s gaze. “I… I didn’t really do anything.”

“I’m sorry. If I had realized his true nature sooner, you wouldn’t have had to endure all that…”

“It wasn’t your fault, Lingfei,” Yan Ling interrupted. “After it happened, I wanted to tell you right away, but I just couldn’t bring myself to…”

She clenched her hands tightly, biting her lip. “I’d never experienced anything like that before. I was afraid if you found out, you’d think something was wrong with me…”

“How could you even think that?!” Xiao Lingfei exclaimed, his voice tinged with panic. “Lingling, how could you possibly imagine such a thing?”

“If I hadn’t done something to provoke him, why would he have attacked me…?” A mist gathered in Yan Ling’s eyes. “I was terrified people would say that, and I was afraid you’d misunderstand too—that you’d think I… seduced him. That’s why…”

Xiao Lingfei had never imagined Yan Ling felt this way. Recalling the slander Jin Yingyao had spread about her, Xiao Lingfei’s anger surged, and he wanted to go back and beat that guy up again.

“I absolutely, positively won’t listen to anyone else,” Xiao Lingfei declared, almost swearing an oath to Yan Ling. “No matter what happens, I’ll always believe you. Lingling, you can rely on me. I’m your… your fiancé, aren’t I? I don’t want you getting hurt anywhere I can’t see.”

“I…” Yan Ling stopped walking, as if steeling herself. She gave him one last lingering look before saying, “Lingfei, let’s call off the engagement.”

Xiao Lingfei stared in disbelief. “What?”

“I’ll explain to my family that it’s my fault we can’t be together,” Yan Ling said. “You and Jin Yingyao are such good friends. I’m interfering with your friendship, and… I’m not worthy of you.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and she quickly turned away. “Someone… someone touched me. I’m not worthy of you anymore.”