When the Heartthrob Meets the Cold-Hearted Ex - Chapter 27

Tang Yeran unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip, nodding approvingly. “Tastes good, much better than the cocktails from last time’s barbecue.”

“Really? These are Xu You’s prized collection. Let me try.” Su Yang reached for a bottle but was stopped by Tang Yeran.

“This is delicious, but it’s not really suitable for you. Do you have no self-awareness about how terrible your alcohol tolerance is? Hmm and your drinking manners aren’t great either.”

Su. Terrible Drinking Manners. Yang withdrew her hand, watching as someone comfortably drank in her own home. Annoyed, she retorted,

“So you’re planning to finish all of these for me? Should I get you some snacks to go with it?”

Tang Yeran held the bottle silently for a moment before turning to Su Yang with an earnest expression.

“That would be great. I just passed by your building earlier and saw a place selling crayfish that looked really good.”

Su Yang was stunned by the sheer audacity of the person before her. Where was the politeness and courtesy from a few days ago?

Shocked as she was, she was actually quite happy inside and ended up trotting downstairs to buy the crayfish.

Tang Yeran watched Su Yang leave, then stroked Yuanbao’s head beside her. “Yuanbao, don’t you think things are pretty nice like this?”

“Meow!”

When Su Yang returned with the crayfish, three of the five cocktail bottles were already empty.

She glanced at the empty bottles on the table and remarked dryly, “Looking at you now, I don’t think you even need any snacks.”

Tang Yeran’s eyes were tinged with a faint redness as she shook her head. “I still do. I rushed over here because of this stray cat hair of yours and didn’t even have time for a proper dinner.”

She pulled out a chair and patted it. “Sit here, don’t be shy.”

Su Yang: ?

This is supposed to be my house.

Seeing that Tang Yeran was already slightly tipsy, Su Yang couldn’t help but tease, “And you were the one saying my alcohol tolerance was bad.”

She reached to take back the unopened bottles but was stopped by a hand pressing down on hers.

“Getting stingy over a couple of drinks, huh?”

Su Yang usually wasn’t one to fall for taunts—unless it was from a certain someone.

The warmth on the back of her hand spread too quickly. Seeing the mix of playful pouting and complaint in the other’s expression, she inexplicably felt a surge of irritation.

Her kindness was being thrown back in her face.

“I’m just worried you’ll start causing a scene if you get drunk. But if you think you’re fine, go ahead and drink. There’s more if you run out.”

With the host’s permission, Tang Yeran indulged freely, eating and drinking while chatting with Su Yang about Yuanbao’s recent antics and the follow-up to their interview.

Though she carried the scent of alcohol, her words remained coherent and logical, easing Su Yang’s initial worries about her getting wasted.

The two of them felt like old friends catching up over late-night snacks and drinks, perfectly embodying the “friendly coexistence” Su Yang had once proposed.

Yuanbao circled around them a few times before Su Yang peeled some crayfish meat, rinsed off the seasoning, and fed it to the cat.

With a small appetite, the kitten was content after just a few bites, hopping onto a chair and purring happily.

A harmonious scene, two people and a cat.

They ate and chatted for nearly an hour before Tang Yeran took charge of cleaning up the leftovers while Su Yang washed the dishes in the kitchen.

After tossing the trash, Tang Yeran leaned against the kitchen doorway, staring absently at Su Yang’s profile as she worked at the sink.

The incandescent light outlined Su Yang’s slender figure, making her appear both delicate and elegant. Though she looked untouched by worldly dust, the domestic chores she was doing lent her an air of grounded warmth.

Su Yang quickly finished washing the dishes. As she turned to dry her hands, she was startled to find someone blocking the doorway.

“What are you doing?”

Tang Yeran tilted her head up to gaze at Su Yang’s cool, composed face and answered irrelevantly, “You’re so pretty.”

“What did you say?” Su Yang wondered if she’d misheard.

“I said…” Tang Yeran reached out and patted Su Yang’s cheek, enunciating each word deliberately, “You are pretty!”

As if to prove the credibility of her statement, she raised her other hand and gave a thumbs-up.

Su Yang caught the mischievous hand on her face, swallowed slightly, and replied impassively, “I know.”

With one hand captured, Tang Yeran pressed her other hand against Su Yang’s face, tracing from her refined brows down to her cool, thin lips, murmuring,

“Such a pretty face but such a nasty mouth!”

As she spoke, she pinched Su Yang’s lips together between two fingers.

Even five years ago, Tang Yeran had rarely been this mischievous so she must be drunk now.

Su Yang restrained her with both hands, freeing her mouth. “If you’re drunk, go rest. And you call me the one with bad drinking manners?”

Tang Yeran, her hands bound, shook her head with reddened eyes.

“I’m not drunk. Your mouth is just nasty either you don’t talk at all, or when you do, not a single word is pleasant to hear.”

As she spoke, she seemed to be nursing some immense grievance. With her hands immobilized, she could only lean forward and bite down hard on those thin lips.

It happened so suddenly that Su Yang barely managed to pull back in time, but her face was still scraped, leaving a metallic tang of blood in her mouth.

Su Yang pressed her lips together, wiping away the blood, her eyes darkening. “Do you know what you’re doing right now?”

Though Tang Yeran’s consciousness was hazy, she could still sense the sudden shift in the atmosphere around her.

A born stubborn mule, she never let herself be at a disadvantage—even with both hands restrained, she straightened up defiantly.

“Of course, I know!”

Hah.

As if you’re the only one who can bite, the only one who can throw a drunken tantrum!

Driven by a surge of frustration, Su Yang cupped that wobbling head in her hands and “bit” back fiercely against that sharp-tongued mouth.

But she was far more restrained than the drunkard—after “biting” for a while, she hadn’t even broken skin, though she grazed her own wound several times, hissing in pain.

Unaware of Su Yang’s mercy, Tang Yeran only felt provoked.

Their lips seemed magnetically drawn, clashing as if competing for dominance.

In the midst of their battle, Su Yang suddenly pulled back slightly and asked, staring intently, “Who am I?”

Tang Yeran blinked dazedly at the face so close to hers reddened eyes, reddened nose, reddened lips pretty yet infuriating.

“Su Yang, Yangyang.”

The next clash was even more relentless than the last.

“Boom!” A thunderclap roared outside as the rain arrived in a sudden, violent downpour.

The torrential downpour washed the wide asphalt road and the trees lining it clean.

Tang Yeran was jolted awake by her seven o’clock alarm. Groggily silencing it, she nudged the figure beside her.

“Wake up. The sun’s already roasting your butt!”

Su Yang pulled the blanket up a little, squinting as she said, “I don’t have any morning classes.”

Just mentioning this made Tang Yeran angry. They were already seniors, yet the Chinese Department still had early morning classes!

Su Yang had it easy, almost all her classes were scheduled for the afternoon, making her senior year more comfortable than her sophomore and junior years.

That alone would have been fine, but ever since they moved in together, Su Yang had become increasingly fond of tormenting her.

Usually cold and expressionless, she could be downright wicked when she wanted to be!

Tang Yeran yawned and kicked the person on the bed. “You might not have class, but I do! Get up, get up!”

There was no way she, the one being tormented, should have to go to class with dark circles under her eyes while the culprit slept peacefully!

Sensing the resentment from her bedmate, Su Yang didn’t dare pretend any longer. She sprang up like a carp, rubbing Tang Yeran’s head.

“I’ve been awake for a while. Breakfast is already bought. Don’t worry, I’ll bike you there, we’ll make it in time.”

Su Yang’s biking skills were solid. Even though the off-campus apartment was farther than the dorms, Tang Yeran still arrived ten minutes early.

After class, she went to the academic office to help a teacher sort materials. On the way, she overheard some classmates chatting.

“Did you hear? The Computer Science Department’s exchange student slots to M Country this year are way fewer than before. Other departments are fighting over them.”

“What’s there to fight about? Because of recent policy changes, our school only got one confirmed spot. Other than Su Yang, who even stands a chance?”

“But Su Yang doesn’t seem to have reacted to this at all. Do you think she’ll go?”

“She’s just being low-key. Only an idiot would pass up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this. Last time I was organizing materials for Professor Chen, I caught a glimpse of the exchange list Su Yang’s name was right at the top.”

“Hey!” Tang Yeran suddenly jumped out, startling them. “Did you just say Su Yang is going to M Country as an exchange student? Is that true?”

“Of course, it is. The list is still on Professor Chen’s desk you can sneak a peek if you’re curious. Wait, aren’t you and Su Yang close? She didn’t tell you about something this big?”

After afternoon classes ended, Su Yang came to pick Tang Yeran up to go home.

Unlike her usual chatterbox self, Tang Yeran was unusually quiet today.

“Why so gloomy? Something on your mind?” Su Yang reached out to touch Tang Yeran’s head, but she dodged.

Tang Yeran walked silently for a while before speaking calmly. “Su Yang, is there anything you’ve been meaning to tell me lately?”

“Like what?” Su Yang walked beside her, thinking carefully. “The joint event between our departments? Do we even need that now?”

“Not that.”

“Then, the competition? You already promised you’d go with me.”

“Not that either.”

“Then senior year internships? But it’s still too early to talk about that.”

“Is there anything else?” Tang Yeran stopped walking, staring straight at Su Yang.

“Nothing else for now.”

Tang Yeran looked at Su Yang’s evasive expression and smiled. “Good. Very good.”