Chapter 709: Chapter 91: It Turns Out to Be for This
Chapter 91: So It Was for This
(Sorry, I wasn’t feeling well yesterday and only updated one Chapter. I’ll try harder today and aim for one last burst!)
"Take me back, it’s certain you won’t stay over at my place. You’d have to come back again, which increases your chance of being checked. Even if you’re not checked, it’ll be very late when you go back. Why not find a place to rest? We can chat and save time tomorrow."
Bai Jie’s words seemed to make some sense, but any adult could hear the hidden meaning within. A drunk man and woman going to a hotel just to rest and chat—who would believe that?
Hearing this, Li Yan found it a bit jarring. He had always known Bai Jie to be an active person but never considered her to be particularly promiscuous. Of course, it’s been twelve years since then, and anyone could have changed significantly, just like he had. This was only their second meeting since reconciling, so he didn’t know much about her. However, judging from these two meetings, especially the sincerity of the last one, he believed Bai Jie wasn’t that casual a person. For her to repeatedly take the initiative and hint, maybe because she was married and felt freer, but there had to be some fundamental reasons behind it!
If things remained unclear and ambiguous, even sending her back this time wouldn’t prevent future entanglements unless there were no more gatherings. Besides, she might call him proactively. With this in mind, Li Yan pulled the car over to the roadside and stopped.
They were already in the suburbs, and this section wasn’t bustling. There were no hotels or inns nearby, only greenery and woods. Watching Li Yan park by the roadside, shielded by the shade of trees and away from the streetlights, made the environment seem somewhat dim, causing her face to flush. She thought to herself, "I thought he was honest, but he actually wants to have a wild rendezvous on the roadside..."
"Here...? Ah? This car isn’t spacious enough. Maybe we should..."
Upon hearing her kindly suggestion, Li Yan was speechless. The car wasn’t spacious enough for that kind of activity, but just for sitting and chatting, how would it not be enough?
"Bai Jie, we’re old classmates. At the class reunion, I was only familiar with you few. At the airport, only you recognized me. We’re all adults, so just say what you need to say. I’m a man, and you’re a woman. If it were to happen, I wouldn’t be at a loss! So, I don’t mind it happening, but I mind it being unclear. Understand? If you’re still joking, let me tell you, this joke isn’t funny!" Li Yan said seriously.
Bai Jie felt a wave of shame and embarrassment at his words. Her situation, to put it nicely, was flirtation; to put it harshly, it was proactively seducing a man as a married woman. After repeatedly being subtly rejected and then directly called out, anyone would find it hard to retreat gracefully.
But things had reached this point; if not clarified, meeting again would be difficult for both in the future!
After a moment of silence, Bai Jie leaned her head back on the seat, then opened the window to let the chilly night breeze in. The cold brought some clarity and dispersed a bit of the awkward atmosphere.
"Didn’t I just mention? Back when we were in school, many girls secretly liked you. I... was one of them," Bai Jie said slowly.
"Stop playing around. I’m serious. You were also prettier than most girls back then, developed earlier, adept at organizing, had artistic talent, were lively, and had lots of male attention. Why would you need to secretly like me?" Li Yan might believe it about others but found it hard to believe about her.
Li Yan’s rebuttal, however, was full of praise for Bai Jie back then, which surprised her. One particular sentence made her blush as she quietly asked, "How did you know I developed earlier?"
"Uh..." Li Yan felt a bit awkward. He had just tried to prove she was charming enough not to secretly like him by listing her attributes. In his memory, her chest was the most developed among girls her age, sparking many a boy’s whispered gossip and sneaky glances.
"Were you paying attention to my physique? Sneaking peeks at my chest?" Bai Jie’s line of questioning cornered him further.
"Ahem! Now we’re discussing your issues; how could I remember past details? Maybe I just said it on a whim. Don’t stray off topic!" Li Yan sternly brought the conversation back.
Bai Jie laughed, gaining a lot of confidence at this moment. Turns out, although she wasn’t as pretty as Qiao Huanxuan or as academically excelled back then, she did have her points of pride. Of course, now everyone had matured, and in some areas, Qiao Huanxuan wasn’t any smaller than her. Instead, there were advantages in grace and age. But she wasn’t competing with Qiao Huanxuan, was she?
"Alright then, since you want to discuss seriously, and there’s no one else here, I might as well be blunt with you."
Li Yan nodded: "Rest assured, I won’t tell anyone, not even He Zhexia or Qiao Huanxuan."
Bai Jie’s chest heaved, and after taking several deep breaths, she mustered the courage to say, "I admit, I wasn’t secretly in love with you back then... At that time, Qiao Huanxuan and I were probably the two standout girls, right? I was also a class officer, but just because she was prettier and had better grades, she was always number one in your eyes. Maybe more boys paid attention to and liked me than her, but they were mostly ordinary students. As for the outstanding students, like you, the focus was invariably on her!"
