When the Heartthrob Meets the Cold-Hearted Ex - Chapter 40

“Me?” Su Yang’s hand groped empty air, instinctively searching under the blankets until she found the person she needed to hold to feel at ease.

Tang Yeran gave her a light pinch, which Su Yang recognized as a prompt to continue.

Unable to resist, she summoned her ability to summarize concisely and said plainly,

“I went to Uton University in M Country as an exchange student during my senior year. While there, I interned at Storm Entertainment and joined the development team for Magical World as a planner after graduation. Over half a year ago, I resigned and returned home to co-found Qianhe Games with Xu You.”

Five years of her life, condensed into just two sentences. Naturally, Tang Yeran wasn’t satisfied and pinched her again. “Are you reciting your resume?”

“I’m not reciting anything. This is my real experience, and I just phrased it myself,” Su Yang replied honestly.

Tang Yeran laughed in exasperation. Was the phrasing really the point here?

She didn’t want to deal with this person anymore and was about to turn her back when Su Yang caught her hand.

“Ranran, I don’t have your eloquence. How about you ask me whatever you want to know, and I’ll answer? Would that work?”

Tang Yeran: “…”

What was this, an interview in bed?

That said, she had interviewed Su Yang once before, but most of the questions had been tailored for the magazine and the players of Shining Candy.

Under those circumstances, many things simply couldn’t be asked.

“Fine. Then tell me, how did you and President Xu become so close? Skip anything you’ve already mentioned in the interview.”

The answer to this question was technically already in Su Yang’s summary she and Xu You had both worked at Storm Entertainment, and as fellow Hua nationals, they naturally grew close.

Most people wouldn’t find anything unusual about that explanation.

But Tang Yeran knew Su Yang. What kind of person was she? Aloof, arrogant, and unapproachable.

Even in her own country’s university, she’d barely managed to make a couple of genuine friends let alone in a foreign workplace.

A seemingly simple question, yet Su Yang fell silent for several seconds before finally speaking.

“I was a planner for Magical World back then. After the game launched, player feedback was great, but our team had some internal issues that affected me quite a bit.”

“If Xu You and a senior colleague hadn’t helped me back then, I might not have been able to leave Storm Entertainment unscathed.”

“At my lowest point, I was faced with two choices either sign a fifteen-year contract binding me to Storm Entertainment, or have my reputation in the gaming industry completely ruined.”

Su Yang delivered these words with an air of nonchalance, but given her personality, even the gravest matters were downplayed.

If even she admitted it had a “considerable impact,” then the reality must have been catastrophic.

Having spent some time in the digital entertainment department, Tang Yeran had heard plenty of gossip about the overseas gaming industry.

Things like locals forming cliques to exclude outsiders, trusted insiders parachuting in to steal project credits, companies plagiarizing their own games, or one department leeching off another these were all topics people casually chatted about, but as outsiders, no one could verify their truth.

Now, hearing Su Yang briefly allude to it, she finally grasped just how treacherous those waters were.

For someone as detached as Su Yang to develop a bond of trust forged in adversity, for someone with such a bright future to abandon a thriving project and resign, the dangers involved were unimaginable.

Tang Yeran had gotten half the answer but couldn’t bear to press further, deliberately lightening the mood with a joke.

“So now you know Huaguo is better after all, right? Although Qianhe isn’t as big as Storm Entertainment, it truly belongs to you. You can follow your heart in everything you do.”

“Mmm, Huaguo is good. I can follow my heart.” Su Yang murmured softly, tightening her grip on a hand beneath the thin blanket.

Tang Yeran had wanted to say a few more comforting words, but suddenly the atmosphere turned a little strange.

Having just heard Su Yang’s past, she found her pitiable and couldn’t bring herself to be rough now.

But damn, Su Yang was holding on way too tight her palm was practically sweating!

“Ranran.”

“Hmm?”

Please don’t tell me the repeater mode is back again…

“May Day is in three days.”

“I know.”

“Your cousin is getting married.”

“You care more about my cousin than I do.”

“Say… what does your mom like these days?”

Tang Yeran: “…”

“Are you conducting a census or something?”

“It’s been so long since I last saw Auntie. I can’t go empty-handed give me some suggestions?”

Su Yang inched closer, poking at Tang Yeran’s fingers with a hint of a whine in her voice.

A tsundere was manageable, but acting spoiled was lethal.

Tang Yeran kept her expression neutral. “Didn’t you say you’d travel alone during the holiday and didn’t need me to guide you? Decide for yourself.”

Whether it was the change in setting or the mood, Su Yang was being extra clingy now. Rejected, she doubled down on the act of being spoiled.

“I was just being stubborn back then. Ranran, be the bigger person, you wouldn’t want me to make a bad impression on Auntie again, would you?”

Tang Yeran thought to herself: Mom couldn’t care less. She’s just happy to see a living person at this point.

She was about to feign indifference again when Su Yang started tracing circles on her palm, sending tingles from her fingertips all the way down her spine.

Unable to withstand the teasing, Tang Yeran grabbed her wrist and left a faint bite mark, grumbling, “Who taught you this?”

If she still couldn’t tell Su Yang was deliberately seducing her now, she’d be a complete fool.

Su Yang smiled faintly, her eyes curving up as she gazed at Tang Yeran’s face.

Even in the dark, the weight of that stare was unmistakable.

Tang Yeran’s heartbeat suddenly raced: Please don’t say I taught you. Back in college, I wasn’t this… mushy.

Regardless of who taught the trick, it worked. After a few seconds of silent standoff, Tang Yeran surrendered.

“We’ll go pick something together after the holiday starts.”

Ever since sharing a bed two nights ago, the connection between Tang Yeran and Su Yang had visibly intensified.

They seemed to have talked about a lot, yet also nothing at all.

Their chat logs overflowed with mundane daily exchanges, yet neither brought up the most crucial words again yet their closeness felt natural.

Compared to their school days, it wasn’t entirely the same.

Back then, Tang Yeran had been straightforward and fiery, while Su Yang preferred a gentler, subtler approach.

Now, Tang Yeran had grown more composed and reserved, while Su Yang, though often maintaining a cool demeanor, would occasionally drop shocking remarks.

When no one else was around, acting cute and clinginess came to her effortlessly.

Although Tang Yeran had given verbal warnings, they seemed to have little effect.

Su Yang would always say she knew she was wrong, but next time she’d dare to do it again anyway.

This girl was really sharp she could see right through Tang Yeran’s current reluctance to be harsh.

The two of them were stuck in this push-and-pull for now. Calling them close friends felt too intimate, but calling them lovers lacked the weight of commitment.

The day before May Day, Tang Yeran fulfilled her promise and accompanied Su Yang to pick out a gift for her mother.

Truth be told, the old lady was easy to please she just loved H City’s tea sets and embroidery.

Tang Yeran had originally planned to bring some back to her hometown herself, but this time, she decided to let Su Yang take the opportunity to win favor by presenting gifts on her behalf.

As for why she was being so kind well, naturally, she hoped the old lady would go easier on her scolding out of respect for Su Yang.

“This one, this one, and this one, don’t take these three. Wrap up all the rest.” Su Yang finished speaking and handed her card to the cashier.

The embroidery shop had suddenly landed a big customer, and the owner and sales staff were beaming with joy so much so that Tang Yeran, alarmed, pulled Su Yang aside.

“What are you doing? We came here to buy gifts for visiting family during May Day, not to stock up for the New Year!”

Su Yang blinked innocently. “But I think all of them are beautifully embroidered. Didn’t you say your mom really likes H City’s embroidery?”

“Liking them is one thing, but she doesn’t need this many! Besides, my house doesn’t have the space for them.”

Su Yang, usually so obedient, was oddly insistent this time.

“It’s fine. Your… our mom has plenty of friends, right? She can pick her favorites first, and the ones she doesn’t like can be given away as gifts.”

By now, the shop owner had already handed the neatly packaged embroidery to Su Yang, a rather hefty load.

Fortunately, Su Yang had martial arts training, so she effortlessly carried the bundle with one hand, entered her PIN at the counter, and retrieved her card.

Tang Yeran watched the seamless coordination between these people, realizing she had no chance to back out now. She sighed in resignation.

She was starting to regret bringing Su Yang along to buy gifts. She had thought the embroidery wasn’t too expensive, but when someone was determined to splurge, they’d find a way no matter what.

Su Yang, on the other hand, was visibly excited, perfectly embodying the nervous enthusiasm of someone meeting their partner’s parents for the first time.

Though she had met Tang’s mother twice back at H University, the circumstances then were entirely different from now.

Still unsatisfied after buying the embroidery, she urged, “Ranran, let’s go look at tea sets now.”

Tang Yeran grew wary. “Forget it. I’ll buy the tea set myself. Actually, how about this, I’ll just tell my mom everything was bought by you.”

Yeah, right. While embroidery could be stacked and bundled, tea sets were fragile.

Su Yang naturally refused this pretense.

After repeatedly promising not to go overboard and swearing she’d follow Tang Yeran’s lead acting only as a quiet ATM, she finally earned the right to tag along.

Tang Yeran browsed the tea set shop for a long time before settling on a Water Purple Clay set. Just as she reached for it, another hand brushed against hers in midair.

Gu Qingci, failing to grab the teapot, finally noticed the two familiar figures beside her.

The tea shop was fairly spacious, with shelves dividing the space, and they had approached from different directions.

Delighted to run into acquaintances, Gu Qingci greeted them, “Tangtang, Su Yang.”

“Senior Gu.” Tang Yeran withdrew her hand upon seeing her and exchanged pleasantries. “I’m heading back home for May Day, so I came to pick out some gifts. If you like this pot, go ahead and take it.”

Gu Qingci’s interest in chatting was clearly greater than her interest in the teapot at the moment. With a smile, she said, “Since you’re calling me ‘senior,’ how could I possibly compete with you as your senior?”

Tang Yeran, accustomed to being polite, replied, “It’s fine. I think those over there look quite nice too. I can take a look at more options. Senior, you don’t have to yield to me.”

While the two were still exchanging pleasantries, Su Yang silently picked up the teapot, walked past them, and went straight to the counter to pay.

Tang Yeran: “…”

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