When the Heartthrob Meets the Cold-Hearted Ex - Chapter 41

The shopkeeper packaged the purple clay teapot in a transparent gift box. Su Yang took the box and stood at the store entrance, holding it up in front of her chest, revealing only half of her profile to those inside. She remained silent, fully committed to her role as a door god.

With her striking looks, standing there made her even more eye-catching.

In just a short while, several groups of people had already been drawn into the store because of her.

The teapot itself was exquisitely crafted and elegantly packaged, but in her hands, its appeal seemed to rise several notches.

At first, some thought she was a store model, musing to themselves how competitive the market had become even selling teapots required hiring models now.

She effortlessly captured the attention of a large crowd. Within minutes, a group of people had gathered around her, inquiring about the purple clay teapot.

Su Yang was feeling rather listless at the moment, and being suddenly surrounded by so many strangers gave her a headache.

She had originally intended to stand there and subtly pressure the people chatting inside the store, but the pressure had instead landed squarely on her.

Faced with the barrage of questions, she chose to remain silent, perfectly embodying a statue.

Some even excused her behavior for her, attributing it to a model’s professionalism. The crowd around her only grew larger.

Though Tang Yeran was inside exchanging pleasantries with Gu Qingci, her attention had never left the ice sculpture at the door.

She had only planned to exchange a few polite words, but Gu Qingci was particularly warm and enthusiastic. Moreover, Su Yang’s earlier behavior had been somewhat impolite, so Tang Yeran instinctively found herself making excuses for her.

But she hadn’t expected such a commotion to erupt at the entrance in just a few minutes.

“Sorry, senior, we still have other places to shop. Take your time browsing, we’ll catch up another time.”

Tang Yeran hastily bid farewell to Gu Qingci. As she reached the store entrance, she saw a stylish young woman relentlessly trying to strike up a conversation with Su Yang.

“What’s your name? Are you working here part-time?”

“That teapot in your hands looks amazing. I’d love to buy one too, do you have any recommendations?”

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you not allowed to talk during work hours?”

“Here’s my contact info. Maybe you could recommend something to me privately later? Or we could just chat about other things…”

The woman pulled out a business card and tried to slip it into Su Yang’s hand. Tang Yeran quickly stepped forward, pulling Su Yang back as she apologized to the woman.

“Sorry, we’re not staff here. Also, she has a sore throat and can’t speak.”

Su Yang, who supposedly had a “sore throat”, shot Tang Yeran a sidelong glance but didn’t expose her.

The woman looked between Su Yang and Tang Yeran and easily bought the excuse.

She sighed regretfully but quickly bounced back, her eyes lighting up as she turned to Tang Yeran.

“No worries! Meeting like this is fate. Here’s my card take it as a gesture of friendship.”

Su Yang, who had been playing mute all this time, nearly broke character when she saw someone else eyeing her beloved Ranran.

Thankfully, Tang Yeran reacted faster, speaking up first.

“Sorry, my family is very strict. We still have errands to run excuse us.”

With that, she dragged Su Yang toward the parking lot. Only after they got into the car and confirmed no one was following them did she finally relax.

Honestly, even going out to buy a gift for Mom could attract unwanted attention, all thanks to Su Yang!

At this moment, Su Yang, the attention magnet was completely unaware of the trouble she caused. She even had the nerve to put on a stern face first!

Tang Yeran considered herself magnanimous and chose not to argue with this sulky gourd. She simply took the purple clay teapot from the other person’s hands and placed it carefully. “We’ve got everything now. Let’s go eat.”

Su Yang rested one hand on the steering wheel but made no move to drive. Instead, she pursed her lips and feigned nonchalance as she asked,

“Earlier, you said ‘my family is strict.’ Who exactly is this ‘family’ you’re referring to?”

Tang Yeran naturally caught the insinuation but deliberately avoided giving the answer Su Yang wanted.

“Of course, I meant my mom. I’m young and gorgeous, she doesn’t want me dating too early.”

Having spent enough time together, Tang Yeran no longer held back, spouting nonsense without a second thought.

Su Yang scoffed lightly. “But if I recall correctly, your mom seems quite dissatisfied with your current single status?”

The mere mention of her mother, who constantly nagged her to find a partner, gave Tang Yeran a headache. Su Yang was just as annoying eavesdropping on her calls and then calling her out on it.

“It was just a convenient excuse. If you think lying is bad, I can go back and ask for that business card right now,” Tang Yeran said, deliberately gripping the car door handle as if ready to step out.

Su Yang turned abruptly and grabbed Tang Yeran’s wrist. Though she wasn’t crying, her eyes somehow looked misty.

That gaze made Tang Yeran feel a twinge of guilt. She softened her voice. “Let go. It hurts.”

Su Yang released her grip but kept her eyes locked on Tang Yeran.

Under that intense stare, Tang Yeran surrendered. “Alright, I was just teasing. I’m a bad liar, okay? But these days, you can’t afford to be too honest otherwise, the business cards at home would pile up in stacks.”

The words offered some comfort, though not entirely.

Su Yang relaxed slightly but still seemed unhappy.

By now, Tang Yeran had gradually figured out what triggered Su Yang’s moodiness.

This woman just couldn’t stand seeing her chat with Senior Gu. Even though their conversations were completely normal, it somehow flipped Su Yang’s switch.

Tang Yeran had experienced a similar feeling earlier when that girl at the teaware shop struck up a conversation with Su Yang.

So now she patiently tried to coax her, yet her rebellious streak refused to let Su Yang feel too smug.

She pulled out a set of handmade needlework from her bag and muttered to herself,

“Ah, I embroidered some little things earlier, thinking I’d reward someone. But seeing how you’re acting now, I guess you wouldn’t want them. Fine, I’ll keep them for myself.”

As she pretended to put them away, Su Yang snatched them from her hands.

Tang Yeran made a half-hearted attempt to grab them back but had no real intention of fighting for them.

Su Yang examined each piece one by one, there were cozies for cups, phone cases, practically every small item she carried daily, each embroidered with a cover.

The stitching was a bit rough but dense, clearly time-consuming. The patterns featured pandas, red pandas, and golden monkeys, all recognizably animal-like.

Su Yang immediately slipped the phone case onto her device, a perfect fit.

The corners of her lips curled up uncontrollably. “You made all these?”

“Hmph!” Tang Yeran snorted smugly before feigning modesty, “Of course, my work still falls short compared to the craftsmanship from the embroidery workshop.”

Just thinking about it made her angry, she’d spent two whole nights painstakingly embroidering these few pieces.

Yet Su Yang, that spendthrift, had gone to the embroidery workshop and bought a whole pile in one go!

Hearing this, Su Yang took out a newly purchased embroidery piece from the workshop and placed it beside the phone case for comparison, nodding thoughtfully.

Tang Yeran immediately flared up, this time for real and tried to snatch it back. “If you don’t like it, then give it back!”

Su Yang clung to it protectively, refusing to let go. “No returns. You gave it to me, so it’s mine now.”

She hastily grabbed the bundle containing the embroidery workshop pieces and tossed it onto Tang Yeran’s lap. “I’ll trade you these for it.”

Tang Yeran, now weighed down by the heavy embroideries: “…”

Weren’t these originally meant as gifts for my mom anyway?

Whatever. Seeing how anxious Su Yang was, she decided not to make a fuss.

Tang Yeran released her grip and sprawled lazily in the passenger seat. “I’m hungry. Drive, President Su.”

Su Yang frowned at the title. “We agreed you wouldn’t call me that.”

“Fine. Drive, Su Yang,” Tang Yeran conceded, her voice dripping with lethargy.

Still unsatisfied, Su Yang added, “And don’t call me by my full name either.”

Tang Yeran: “!”

Is this woman ever satisfied?!

“Just drive already!”

Tang Yeran’s cousin’s wedding was scheduled for May 2nd, so she and Su Yang drove back to her hometown together on the 1st.

The distance from City H to Tang Yeran’s hometown wasn’t too far about four and a half hours via highway.

To save trouble, Tang Yeran had mailed the gifts for her relatives back home a day earlier.

But Su Yang, wanting to preserve the “ceremonial feeling” of her first time giving gifts to elders, had piled all her packages into the backseat for the trip.

Halfway through the drive, they stopped at a gas station to refuel, only to unexpectedly run into an acquaintance.

“Senior Gu.” Remembering how Su Yang had been upset over Gu Qingci just yesterday, Tang Yeran kept it brief this time. “I’m heading back home to visit family.”

The gas station was crowded, and seeing Tang Yeran seemed in a hurry, Gu Qingci didn’t detain her. “Same here. Just refueling since I was running low. Go ahead if you’re busy, we’ll probably see each other again soon.”

Assuming she meant the short May holiday, Tang Yeran waved. “See you after the break.”

With that, she jogged off to find Su Yang, who was paying at the counter.

Close call this time, the other woman hadn’t noticed.

Tang Yeran patted her chest in relief, then caught herself.

Wait, why am I nervous? I was just saying hello like a normal person!

Ugh, it’s all Su Yang’s fault for being so petty and rubbing off on me!

As soon as Su Yang finished paying, she turned and saw Tang Yeran patting her chest as if catching her breath. She rushed over in concern. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Tang Yeran rolled her eyes internally: Yeah, because of your ridiculous jealousy.

Not wanting to complicate things, she brushed it off. “It’s nothing. Just felt a little stuffy earlier, but I’m fine now.”

Her words only alarmed Su Yang further feeling stuffy on the highway could be serious. No matter how much Tang Yeran insisted she was okay, Su Yang remained worried and even pulled out her phone to dial 120.

“Hey, I told you I’m fine! Don’t waste emergency resources!”

When it came to agility, Tang Yeran was no match for Su Yang. Even if she jumped to snatch it, she wouldn’t be able to get it.

Seeing that a number had already been dialed on the phone, Tang Yeran panicked and spread her arms, wrapping them tightly around Su Yang, pulling her into a firm embrace. “I’m fine!”

Su Yang, who had been acting decisively just moments ago, suddenly froze, her words stumbling. “R-really… really fine?”

At this moment, Su Yang’s arms hovered loosely in the air, making it look as though the two were intimately embracing.

And in truth, they were pressed quite close so close that the rhythmic thumping of each other’s heartbeats echoed in their ears.

Due to their position, Tang Yeran’s head was still nestled against Su Yang’s neck as she mumbled, “Really, I’m fine.”

When she lifted her head, she suddenly became aware of the curious gazes from all around them and remembered they were still in a public place. Instantly, her face burned with embarrassment.

She pushed Su Yang away and scolded, “Hurry up and get in the car.”

Support When the Heartthrob Meets the Cold-Hearted Ex