My Idol Turns Out To Be My Ex-Girlfriend - Chapter 48

“Is Teacher Tang still planning to drive back tonight?”

It had snowed heavily all through the night, leaving many roads covered in accumulation. Now that the rain was falling, the highway was bound to be icy.

“Mm,” Tang Hengzhi murmured, shaking the cup of milk tea in her hand, she had already finished half of it.

Lin Sanyuan felt a strange flicker of irritation. “You haven’t had dinner yet, have you?”

“Not yet.”

Sanyuan’s irritation mixed with a touch of nervousness. She hesitated for a moment, her fingers absentmindedly picking at a hole in the plastic bag containing her fried rice cakes. “How about I get a room for you?”

“Hmm?” Tang Hengzhi squinted, accidentally poking her cheek with the straw.

“Ahem…” Sanyuan realized the ambiguity in her words.

She quickly explained, “I mean, driving in this weather is dangerous, and the roads are bad at night. You haven’t eaten, so you’ll definitely need dinner before heading back. By then, you wouldn’t get home until the early hours. You might as well stay here for the night. Of course, it’s just a suggestion, if you aren’t comfortable staying in a local hotel, I won’t insist.”

She hadn’t originally wanted to be this meddlesome. Tang Hengzhi looked so refined and clean, Sanyuan wasn’t sure if she could handle a small-town hotel. In truth, bringing her home for the night wouldn’t have been a big deal.

However, their current relationship was a bit awkward. Sanyuan didn’t really want to bring her home, and besides, Tang Hengzhi’s car was far too conspicuous.

Tang Hengzhi smiled. “I think your suggestion is quite good.”

Seeing that she didn’t insist on driving away, Sanyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Tang Hengzhi naturally pressed the half-finished cup of warm milk tea into Sanyuan’s hand. “I’m a bit hungry, should we go eat first?”

The way she handed over the tea and the invitation to dinner felt incredibly natural.

Sanyuan froze for a few seconds before saying, “Let’s get the room first?”

Damn it!

As soon as the words left her mouth, it sounded even weirder, as if she were in some kind of desperate rush.

Tang Hengzhi’s eyes crinkled as she laughed. She didn’t ask why, simply saying, “Okay.”

She seemed to be in a very good mood.

There was a national hotel chain across from the mall, which was much cleaner and more hygienic than the local guesthouses.

True to the principle that the host should look after the guest, Sanyuan paid for the room while checking her in.

After escorting Tang Hengzhi to the room, Sanyuan first used her phone to scan the bathroom, following a tutorial she’d seen online to check for hidden cameras.

Then she turned on the lights to check the facilities and cleanliness. After turning on the heater, she lined the bathtub with a disposable plastic bath bag.

“Don’t use the hotel’s electric kettle. Why don’t you take off those damp clothes? The heat is on, so it won’t be too cold. Take a hot bath while I head home for a bit.”

Tang Hengzhi leaned against the bathroom doorframe, watching Sanyuan bustle about the room. Her expression was calm and her gaze distant, but the steady rise and fall of her chest betrayed her internal restlessness.

Her voice was as light as the snow outside. “Why go home now?”

Sanyuan turned on the faucet and began filling the tub.

“To grab some undergarments. You can wear the new clothes we bought for the outer layers, but undergarments really should be washed first. I have new panties at home, as for a bra, you can wear your own for now, a second day isn’t a problem in this season.”

Tang Hengzhi hummed in response, not asking why Sanyuan was taking such good care of her.

Her body had long since become accustomed to accepting Sanyuan’s instructions and care. It was a form of self-deception.

She knew perfectly well that Sanyuan didn’t remember any of it. But she wasn’t willing to break the illusion. If she didn’t break it, it felt as if Sanyuan had never left.

She lowered her head, looking at the tips of her shoes as she shifted her weight on the carpet. Her soft voice carried a hint of tenderness. “Then, after you drop off the clothes, will we have dinner together?”

Sanyuan was startled by her tone. She instinctively rubbed her itchy ear.

Was she… acting spoiled?

At a disadvantage due to her lack of memory, Sanyuan didn’t really know how to handle this. How do you respond when someone acts cute with you? Do you coax them?

She felt a bit shy. As she rubbed her ear, it turned deeper shades of red. Sanyuan leaned against the tub, her hands feeling awkward and out of place.

After a moment of hesitation, she spoke with a stiff tone, “Didn’t… didn’t we agree to get the room first and then eat? Why are you even asking…”

The response was very “straight” and very Lin Sanyuan.

But Tang Hengzhi heard a tiny bit of affection in those last few words. Her throat moved as she fought back a smile. “Okay.”

Sanyuan didn’t take a taxi home. Tang Hengzhi gave her the car keys and told her to drive. With the New Year approaching, taxi fares were expensive, so Sanyuan figured driving was better.

Tang Hengzhi’s Maybach was far too eye-catching. When she got close to home, Sanyuan didn’t want to be too flashy, so she parked the car around a corner and walked the rest of the way, only to bump into her mother coming out to throw away the trash.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Her mother let out a weary sigh, knowing that today’s blind date had likely failed again. She didn’t even have the energy to ask why.

Perhaps because they had argued that morning, her mother’s energy was spent, leaving her in a calmer, “sage mode” mood than usual.

Sanyuan told her that a friend from Huacheng had come to shop and couldn’t get on the highway because of the snow, so she was back to grab some fresh clothes.

Her mother frowned, scolding her for being inconsiderate. Why stay in a hotel when there were spare rooms at home? Hotels were dirty and a waste of money.

Sanyuan could only explain that her friend had social anxiety just like her and wasn’t comfortable staying in a stranger’s house.

Her mother didn’t dwell on it. Though she kept grumbling, she went back into Sanyuan’s small room and helped pack a set of T-shirts and some thermal underwear.

Sanyuan stared at the purple-red striped thermals and fell into a deep silence.

She had never liked these things, she thought they looked incredibly tacky. Her mother’s aesthetic was very much that of a traditional village woman. Would a high-cold goddess like Tang Hengzhi, who looked fashionable even in the simplest clothes, actually wear this?

But she knew her mother’s forceful personality. Arguing would only waste time and result in a lecture. She packed up a large pile of things and prepared to head out.

Her mother continued to mumble while wiping the table. “Staying for just one night, and you’re packing like you’re going off to boarding school again. Clothes, packed meals, snacks, fruit… I’ve never seen her put this much effort into a blind date.”

As Sanyuan was leaving, she ran into her younger brother, who was coming back from setting off fireworks with some kids.

The boy had eyes like a hawk. He immediately spotted the half-finished cup of milk tea among Sanyuan’s bags. He looked like a cat that hadn’t seen a mouse in years. “Sis, who’s here?”

Sanyuan’s hands were full, so she couldn’t push him away. She could only glare at her. “Go away.”

Her brother gave a sly, wicked grin. “Someone bought that milk tea for you, didn’t they?”

His sister was incredibly frugal. Unless she was out with friends, she would never waste money on something like milk tea. It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford it, it was just that she never finished it. Plus, her stomach was sensitive, so she didn’t eat much sugar.

Furthermore, blind dates were when her mood was at its worst. There was no way she would have ordered a milk tea then.

Sanyuan frowned at him, finding his behavior strange. “How did you know?”

Lin Shengsheng grinned. “Sis, I want to go downtown too.”

“What for?”

“Introduce me to your friend?”

“No!”

Lin Shengsheng was startled by her reaction. “Why are you so worked up?”

Sanyuan realized she had overreacted. Wait, why am I feeling guilty? It’s not like I’m seeing a secret lover.

“I’m not worked up. Dinner’s almost ready at home, why are you going downtown? Your mom will kill you.”

Shengsheng looked at the packed bags in her hands and pouted. “Didn’t you pack a meal? Can’t I eat with you?”

“I didn’t pack enough for you.”

“Oh, come on, I just want to go to the internet cafe. Sis, just give me a ride since you’re heading that way anyway.”

Shengsheng was curious. That subtle post he’d made on social media had actually managed to “hook” a certain someone. It wasn’t easy. On a snowy day like this, they had actually rushed over. That person really had a heart.

Their mother trusted Sanyuan, but Shengsheng didn’t. He had to keep an eye on things. He didn’t want the New Year to end with him unexpectedly becoming a “great-uncle.”

Sanyuan thought he was being incredibly annoying. “Fine, then help me carry these things.”

“Sure thing, sure thing!” Shengsheng eagerly helped with the bags and fished his phone out of his pocket. “Sis, I’ve got some savings, I’ll call a taxi for us.”

Sanyuan cleared her throat. “No need. I have a car.”

“Huh? A car? A scooter? Do you even know how to ride?”

Sanyuan gave him a bewildered look. Why did this guy think she would ride a scooter back in this freezing weather?

When they turned the corner, Shengsheng watched as his sister pulled out a black, silver-trimmed car key and pressed a button. The black Maybach parked in the shadows chirped twice. In his mind, he let out a massive holy crap, his face going numb.

As Sanyuan sat in the driver’s seat, the light of “Angel Wings” glowed from the sides of the Maybach, followed by the flash of the cool meteor headlights.

Shengsheng had never seen anything like it. His whole body began to shake with excitement. He scurried over to the passenger side, only to find the door wouldn’t open.

Sanyuan said, “Sit in the back.”

She hadn’t mentioned bringing anyone else to Tang Hengzhi, and she wasn’t sure if Hengzhi had any specific feelings about the passenger seat. Sitting in the back was the safest choice.

“Got it, got it, hehe. This seat is your exclusive spot, right? I’ll sit in the back, I’ll sit in the back.”

Shengsheng was quick on the uptake. He hopped into the back seat, looking incredibly excited though his brain was still in a state of shock. He rubbed his face hard. “Sis, is this a Maybach? Is that person really that rich?”

He didn’t even dare to sit all the way back in the plush seat.

“What person?” Sanyuan was completely confused.

Shengsheng wanted to slap himself. Why did he say “that person”? What kind of “person” drives a car like this? This was total CEO status!

“No, no, I just mean that friend who bought you the milk tea.”

Milk tea? Sanyuan suddenly felt like things were developing in a very strange direction, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

When she was focusing on driving, Sanyuan didn’t dare talk much. Besides, this car was obscenely expensive, one scratch and she’d be bankrupt for life.

She drove at a snail’s pace all the way to the hotel’s underground parking garage. Sanyuan grabbed the bags and prepared to head upstairs.

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