Everyone in the world knew that Su Mianmian liked Tang Yunzheng. Only he pretended not to know. Until he put the bracelet, symbolizing "the love of his life," on another girl's wrist.
Some people, feeling indignant on Su Mianmian's behalf, asked him, "What have you considered Su Mianmian all these years?" Tang Yunzheng's lips curled into a casual smile, "My childhood sweetheart, what else could I be?"
...On Su Mianmian's twentieth birthday, the city of Jiangcheng, which had been shrouded in rain for days, suddenly cleared up, the sky a pristine blue. Just as she entered the A University cafeteria at noon, her best friend Song Zhi, like an eel, squeezed through the crowd and mysteriously took Su Mianmian's hand.
"Honey, I took the morning off to buy some materials. Guess who I saw?" Su Mianmian casually grabbed two trays, handing one to Song Zhi. "Who?"
Song Zhi chuckled, leaning close to Su Mianmian's ear. "Tang Yunzheng. He picked out a bracelet called 'My Eternal Love' at the jewelry counter." As soon as she finished speaking, Song Zhi noticed Su Mianmian's earlobes had flushed a deep red.
Her grin widened, and she teasingly nudged Su Mianmian's shoulder. "Hey, do you think Tang Yunzheng is going to confess to you tonight?" Now, Su Mianmian's face turned bright red, not just her ears. "I don't know, don't guess."
Song Zhi picked up a few pieces of braised pork, and seeing its tempting color, couldn't resist taking a few more.
"Tch, if you ask me, that guy should have confessed to you a long time ago. These past few years, he's been hogging the spotlight, always hanging around you, making all those younger students who're infatuated with you have the desire but not the courage."
Su Mianmian found the first part of the sentence agreeable, but halfway through, she realized something was off. Realizing what was happening, she brandished her tongs as if to hit Song Zhi. "You stinky Zhizhi, who are you calling a 'toilet'?"
The two finished getting their food, laughing and joking, and had just found a seat when Su Mianmian's phone beeped twice. She opened it and saw messages from Tang Yunzheng. The first message was a husky holding up an emoji of "Happy Birthday."
Followed by another message: "Tonight at 9 PM, Yunfan Club 888, waiting for you." Song Zhi, with her sharp eyes, immediately spotted the two messages and exclaimed dramatically, "Wow!" "See? I told you so! I don't care, I'm going with you tonight. Such a romantic and momentous occasion, I can't miss it!"
Su Mianmian didn't say anything, but her heart was bursting with excitement. She spent the entire afternoon in class absentmindedly, repeatedly scrolling through the designs of the "love of my life" bracelet on her phone, fantasizing about being confessed to tonight.
She and Tang Yunzheng lived very close to each other. They had grown up together, sharing countless experiences without anyone else in their lives. They had gotten their ears pierced together, watching each other grimace in pain and laughing heartily.
They had skipped school together just to see the light show in Times Square.
They had crossed many New Years together, exchanging "Happy New Year" wishes as the fireworks exploded… Later, they both went to the same university. As they grew older, their relationship deepened. Su Mianmian felt that the only thing separating them from a deeper connection was the thin veil of paper.
And tonight, Tang Yunzheng was finally going to break that veil himself. ...That evening, Su Mianmian and Song Zhi arrived at the entrance of Yunfan Club on time.
Just as they got out of the taxi, a black BL car slowly pulled up behind them. The driver got out and quickly went around to the back of the car to open the door. Song Zhi saw this and tugged at Su Mianmian's hand.
"Hey, let's bet on a super handsome guy getting out of this luxury car, a bald, pot-bellied one at that." Su Mianmian glanced at the conspicuous license plate on the back of the car. "What's the bet?" Song Zhi gritted her teeth. "Whoever loses has to pay for the other's meals for a week!"
Su Mianmian's eyes crinkled. "Deal." Song Zhi chuckled. "Then I'll go first. I bet the guy inside is a bald, pot-bellied man." In her experience, rich, handsome guys usually drive sports cars, like Tang Yunzheng.
Su Mianmian pouted, pretending to be hesitant. "Then I guess I'll just have to bet he's an absolute stunner, maybe even wearing a custom-made suit and gold-rimmed glasses."
The words had barely left her lips when a pair of gleaming leather shoes caught their eye, followed by a well-dressed man casually leaning out of the car.
He straightened up, casually smoothing the wrinkles in his suit, his gold-rimmed glasses scanning the room before his eyes inadvertently met those of Su Mianmian and Song Zhi. Song Zhi recognized the man and gasped, secretly pinching Su Mianmian's arm.
"Wow, not just stunner, he's absolutely gorgeous!" "You brat, you can even tell just by looking at his glasses? You might as well set up a fortune-telling stall on the overpass." Su Mianmian smiled, remaining silent, and walked towards the man.
Song Zhi was pulled forward. "Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?" Su Mianmian said casually, "Just saying hello." She stopped three steps away from the man and obediently called out, "Brother-in-law." Brother-in-law?
Song Zhi was stunned. The man nodded slightly, his handsome phoenix eyes sweeping over her before settling on Su Mianmian. "Out with classmates?" His voice was deep and magnetic.
Song Zhi was a complete sucker for voices. Hearing it, her heart melted. She instantly felt like she'd wasted her money on that aloof voice actor boyfriend… Su Mianmian hummed in agreement. "Brother-in-law, are you here to discuss work?" Gu Yizhou nodded succinctly. "I have a social engagement."
After the greeting, the group fell silent. Gu Yizhou checked his watch. "Let's go in together." The three walked towards the lobby, Song Zhi and Su Mianmian lagging behind.
Song Zhi grabbed Su Mianmian's hand, "I don't care, you're cheating! The bet doesn't count!" Su Mianmian covered her mouth with her hand, laughing so hard her shoulders shook. "Who's cheating? You didn't even ask me if I knew the people in the car."
Song Zhi chuckled and playfully tickled Su Mianmian. Su Mianmian cried out and jumped back, bumping into Gu Yizhou's back. Luckily, Gu Yizhou reacted quickly and caught her, preventing her from falling to the ground.
Su Mianmian's face flushed red as she straightened up. "I'm sorry, brother-in-law, I didn't mean to." Song Zhi quickly went over to help her up. "Brother-in-law, did you get hurt? It's all my fault for playing around with Mianmian." Gu Yizhou slowly released Su Mianmian's arm.
"It's okay. Try not to play around in crowded places next time; it's easy to get into trouble." The two of them said "Oh," like quails, until Gu Yizhou's figure completely disappeared down the corridor before Song Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Mianmian, how come I didn't know you had such a perfect brother-in-law?" Su Mianmian looked away and pulled Song Zhi towards room 888. "He got engaged to my sister half a year ago, a business marriage." Song Zhi said "Oh," her eyes shining.
"Your sister must be laughing in her sleep. A marriage of convenience with such a high-quality man—aloof, abstinent, just looking at him makes her want to eat three bowls of rice every day." Su Mianmian didn't say anything. Was it really that exaggerated? But ever since her sister got engaged, she'd been depressed every day.
…After they arrived at room 888, they saw that besides Tang Yunzheng, his group of brothers were also there. The coffee table was piled high with all sorts of wines, and in the middle was a cake; through the transparent box, you could see it was a dreamy princess-shaped cake.
Tang Yunzheng, half-reclining on the sofa drinking, immediately sat up straight upon seeing Su Mianmian and patted the seat next to him, "Little Mianmian, come sit here."
Song Zhi, seeing this, subtly nudged Su Mianmian, "Go ahead, I'll sit over there. I'll record your highlight moments later."
Su Mianmian reluctantly sat down next to Tang Yunzheng. As soon as she sat down, Tang Yunzheng put his arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Happy birthday, Little Mianmian!" He then placed a delicate jewelry box in Su Mianmian's hand.
The two were so close they could hear each other's breath. Su Mianmian blushed from the tips of her ears to the roots of her neck, and her palms, holding the gift box, were slightly damp. Those around them joked, "So it's Mianmian's birthday today! No wonder Brother Zheng went to such lengths."
"Cake and gifts, looks like true love."
"Hey, by the way, didn't Brother Zheng say he had something important to announce today? What is it? Tell us, we can't wait!"
Hearing this, Su Mianmian's heart pounded even harder, feeling like it was about to jump out of her throat. Tang Yunzheng chuckled and kicked the boy who had just spoken. "I'm not in a hurry, why are you?"
Just as he finished speaking, the door to the private room was pushed open from the outside, and a girl in a red sundress appeared before everyone. "Excuse me, am I late?"