When the Heartthrob Meets the Cold-Hearted Ex - Chapter 12

Tang Yeran’s weekend body clock automatically adjusted to wake an hour later than usual. By nine in the morning, she had finished washing up and stood blankly before the bathroom sink.

Last night, half-asleep, she had been overly intimate with Su Yang as if the five years they’d spent apart had never existed.

But things that had happened couldn’t simply be erased.

Thankfully, she had landed on the squeaky duck in the end, or else she wouldn’t have known how to handle the situation.

She was annoyed at herself for not waking up earlier, so she could have slipped away unnoticed while Su Yang was still asleep.

But now…

“Breakfast is ready. Want some?”

The voice from beyond the door interrupted Tang Yeran’s tangled thoughts. She could no longer dawdle and shuffled into the living room in her slippers.

Su Yang had already set out breakfast milk, egg tarts, and sandwiches, simple yet appetizing.

Seeing her, Su Yang pulled out a chair with an inviting gesture.

Her demeanor was natural, completely unruffled, as if last night’s boundary-crossing and awkwardness had been nothing but a fleeting dream.

Since that was the case, Tang Yeran certainly wouldn’t bring it up.

Having slept well, her mind was now clear. She thanked Su Yang politely, took a seat, and began nibbling on a sandwich.

Her manner was perfectly composed, as though they were old friends reunited, sharing an ordinary breakfast and chatting about trivial matters.

After swallowing a bite of the sandwich and taking a sip of milk, Tang Yeran narrowed her eyes in genuine praise.

“Not bad at all. Where’d you buy these?”

Su Yang didn’t answer, but the delight in her eyes was unmistakable.

Tang Yeran blinked in surprise. “Don’t tell me you made all this?”

“Mhm…” Su Yang finally made a sound, her hum laced with poorly concealed pride.

“Oh. Well, that’s impressive.” Tang Yeran took another sip of milk, her compliment utterly flat.

It came back to her then Su Yang had always been a decent cook, though she rarely bothered. It had been so long since Tang Yeran had tasted her food that she’d nearly forgotten this particular skill.

Well, best to move on from that topic.

Across the table, the two ate in silence, adhering strictly to the principle of “no talking during meals.”

Tang Yeran absentmindedly finished her milk and, when she looked up, caught sight of a familiar yellow object at the edge of the table.

Following her gaze, Su Yang reached over and picked up the squeaky duck placed there, giving it a few firm squeezes.

“Speaking of which, I should thank you for this. I’d been looking for it for days.”

People really did change. Five years ago, Tang Yeran would never have imagined that someone as serious as Su Yang would own something like this.

Her lips curled into a strained smile. “Who knew you had such a playful side?”

Su Yang gave a slight nod, taking it as a compliment. “Want to try?”

Tang Yeran glanced at the beady-eyed yellow duck, her expression screaming refusal.

But the next second, the cool, rubbery toy was shoved into her hand.

Just as she was about to return it, her grip slipped, squeezing the duck’s neck.

“QUACK~~~~~~~~”

The texture was oddly satisfying. Suddenly, she understood Su Yang’s fondness for it.

Unable to resist, she squeezed it a few more times, her smile widening.

Su Yang seized the opportunity to pitch in, “High-elastic cotton filling for premium comfort, relieves stress in seconds, a must-have for home and travel. Want to buy one? I can send you the link.”

Tang Yeran: ?

Are you getting paid for advertising?

Given how enthusiastically she was promoting it, Tang Yeran decided to humor her. “Alright, send me the link.”

The moment she spoke, she suddenly realized she had changed her WeChat account earlier, and Su Yang wasn’t on her current friends list.

The next second, Su Yang had already pulled up her WeChat QR code and held it out in front of her.

Adding a friend to share a shopping link such a mundane thing between acquaintances.

Tang Yeran couldn’t back out now, so she fished out her phone and scanned Su Yang’s code.

Su Yang quickly sent her the link, but Tang Yeran didn’t rush to open it. Instead, her gaze lingered on the profile picture of the newly added contact.

Five years had passed. Tang Yeran had replaced many of her old accounts, deliberately cutting ties with the past.

But Su Yang hadn’t changed a thing same WeChat ID, even the same profile picture.

Tang Yeran stared at the four-leaf clover in the picture for a moment before snapping back to reality before the other noticed anything amiss.

“Thanks, I’ll check the link later.”

After finishing breakfast, Tang Yeran bid Su Yang goodbye.

She took the elevator down to the ground floor of the complex, only to find the spot where she’d parked yesterday cordoned off for construction. She had to take a long detour to the south gate to hail a cab.

The neighborhood where Su Yang lived was newly developed, with many units still unoccupied.

Even on a weekend, the area was eerily empty, barely a soul in sight.

Standing at the gate, Tang Yeran opened a ride-hailing app when suddenly her shoulder bag strap was yanked violently.

The next instant, a blur of motion dashed past her like the wind.

“Stop!” Tang Yeran felt her shoulder lighten and instinctively chased after the thief.

Though the bag didn’t hold anything particularly valuable, her ID and USB drive were inside!

The thief was short but lightning-fast, sprinting straight toward the construction zone with the bag.

The once-spacious complex was now segmented by towering metal panels, with construction materials piled haphazardly along the perimeter. Navigating the area required careful footing, let alone running through it.

The thief, nimble and slight, weaved effortlessly through the narrow gaps.

Tang Yeran, unfamiliar with the terrain, nearly tripped several times.

As the distance between them grew, she gritted her teeth, kicked off one shoe, and hurled it at the thief’s back.

But…

She missed. Not only did the shoe fail to hit its target, but she also ended up sprawled on the ground.

“Stop that thief!” she shouted desperately from the ground, her voice drowned out by the roar of construction machinery.

Just as the thief was about to disappear, a white figure shot across the intersection. Arms arcing gracefully through the air, a swift pull and twist and the thief was flat on the ground.

It all happened too fast for Tang Yeran to process. For a moment, it was as if she’d glimpsed a white crane spreading its wings mid-flight.

Then the crane folded its wings, crouched down, and grabbed the thief by the collar with one hand while picking up the fallen bag with the other, lifting her gaze to meet Tang Yeran’s.

Only then did Tang Yeran recognize the face.

Su Yang?!

She’d changed clothes in such a short time.

But that wasn’t the important part. The important part was…

“How did you end up here?”

Tang Yeran wasn’t in a hurry to grab her bag when she spotted a familiar face.

Balancing on one foot, she hopped over to Su Yang’s side and picked up the shoe she had just thrown.

Su Yang, meanwhile, slung her backpack over her shoulder first and hauled the person on the ground to their feet, her gaze never leaving Tang Yeran’s movements, her expression unreadable.

Even after Tang Yeran had slipped her shoe back on, Su Yang still hadn’t answered.

As Tang Yeran straightened up to retrieve her bag, the other girl finally spoke. “I came down to pick up a package.”

“Then where’s the package?”

“Took it back home already.”

“Oh.” Tang Yeran nodded reflexively before realizing something was off.

Huh?

Their casual back-and-forth made the bag-snatcher restless.

Seizing the moment when no one was paying attention to him, he tried to quietly undo his jacket, planning to make a run for it.

“Stay put.” Su Yang’s eyes never left Tang Yeran, but her grip on the thief didn’t slacken in the slightest.

The interruption finally drew Tang Yeran’s attention to the would-be robber.

He looked no older than fourteen or fifteen, shorter than most boys his age, his face smudged with dirt from the earlier scuffle.

“Why’d you try to steal my bag?” Tang Yeran dusted herself off irritably.

The boy’s shifty eyes darted between the two of them, clearly scheming something, but he kept his mouth shut.

“If you don’t want to talk here, we’ll do it at the police station.” Unlike Tang Yeran, Su Yang had no patience for this. She yanked the boy by his collar and marched him toward the nearest precinct.

Troubled teens were a dime a dozen these days she had no interest in delving into every delinquent’s sob story.

The boy was stubborn, though. Even at the station, he kept his lips sealed.

But that was the police’s problem now.

After handing him over and giving brief statements, Su Yang and Tang Yeran left the station.

Tang Yeran bought two fruit teas from a nearby shop and handed one to Su Yang as a token of gratitude for her heroics.

Su Yang accepted the drink but didn’t take a sip right away. Her eyes skimmed over Tang Yeran’s face, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Puzzled, Tang Yeran pulled out a compact mirror and nearly had a heart attack.

Her neatly styled hair had turned into a disheveled bird’s nest from the earlier tumble. A streak of grime smudged her cheek, making her look like a little stray cat.

Ignorance was bliss. Now that she knew, she was furious.

“You noticed this ages ago, didn’t you? And you just watched me walk around like this without saying a word?”

Su Yang handed her a wet wipe, unfazed. “I was busy holding onto him. Didn’t want to get distracted and let him escape.”

What nonsense. Like one sentence would’ve been enough to lose focus. She’d had plenty of time to speak up at the station she’d definitely done this on purpose to embarrass her.

Tang Yeran fumed inwardly, but since Su Yang had just helped her, she could only vent her frustration by scrubbing her cheek aggressively with the wipe.

Su Yang, worried she’d rub her skin raw, gently took the wipe from her. “That’s clean enough.”

Tang Yeran shot a glare at the mirror and shoved her own fruit tea into Su Yang’s hands before starting to redo her ponytail. She wasn’t in the mood to talk.

Su Yang, aware she’d crossed a line, made a rare attempt at consolation. “You actually looked kind of cute earlier. Very lively.”

Messy hair, dirty face and she called that lively?

Tang Yeran tied up her hair and retorted, “Hah, still not as spirited as when you got into a fight at school back then.”

At those words, both of them fell silent simultaneously.

The usually taciturn and solitary ice queen of academics had only ever gotten into one fight during her school days, a memory that remained vivid for both of them.

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