Chapter 113 — What Excuse Should We Give
Years of Heartflutter · Page 1 of 3
"Oh—Zhao Ying." Yang Cheyan thought for a moment. "She's the teacher who tutored you for free every day back in high school, isn't she?"
"Yes, Dad, that's her." Yang Ce nodded quickly.
"So it's her. Then you really ought to go and see her. Without her, you'd never have gotten into Songjiang Engineering University," Yang Cheyan said with a nod.
"Dad, Mengyan helped me a great deal back then too," Yang Ce reminded him.
"That's not the same thing. What's between you and Mengyan—studying together is only natural. But a teacher helping you, that's free service," Chen Fei cut in. "Since she was your teacher, you should go and see her."
"Mengyan and I were thinking the same thing—we were just about to discuss it with you all." Yang Ce hadn't expected things to go so smoothly, and he shot Chen Shutang a grateful glance.
"But it's too late tonight. How about this: first thing tomorrow I'll book you a flight, and the two of you can go and see her," Chen Fei said. "I happen to have a classmate from police academy in that city. I'll ask him to receive you."
"Great, then we'll be troubling Uncle Chen," Yang Ce said happily, nodding at once.
Yang Shuxuan had no choice—going to see Zhao Ying now was hardly practical, so it would have to wait until tomorrow. He sat down beside Chen Shutang, and the two families went on watching the Spring Festival Gala, though Yang Ce's mind was no longer on the television.
Zhao Ying—Chen Shutang cared for her only as a friend, but Yang Ji was different; his feelings for her ran deeper than friendship, with something of love mixed in.
So the moment something happened to Zhao Ying, Yang Ce was instantly thrown into a fretful agitation.
The phone rang again. Yang Ce shook his head. He normally got hardly any calls—so why, on New Year's Eve of all days, had they suddenly started pouring in?
Yang Ce took out his phone and saw that it was Zhao Ying's mobile number. He naturally assumed it was Zhao Ying's mother calling. Carrying the phone into Chen Shutang's room, he answered: "Hello, Auntie?"
"Yang Ce, it's me—it's Zhao Ying." The voice that came through was Zhao Ying's.
"What? Ying-jie, it's you! How are you doing? Are you at the hospital?" Yang Ce asked anxiously.
"What hospital? I'm at home watching the Spring Festival Gala. I'm perfectly fine—why would I be in a hospital?" Zhao Ying said helplessly. "My mom and you have been making things up."
"Ah—making things up? So you mean you weren't hurt by a firecracker set off by the neighbor's kid?" Yang Yanchuan said.
"What are you talking about? At this hour everyone's at home watching the gala—who'd be outside setting off firecrackers?" Zhao Ying said. "Besides, I'm a grown woman. Would I be careless about my safety? Would I go standing next to a firecracker?"
"Phew." Yang Ce breathed a sigh of relief. "You really scared me to death. Mengyan and I were about to buy plane tickets to come see you."
"Sorry for putting you to so much trouble," Zhao Ying said in a small voice.
"Forget it—so long as you're all right," Yang Ce said. "But your mother took that joke a bit too far, didn't she? It's not April Fools' Day."
"Oh, my mom called you behind my back. She just wanted you to come over and see you—and to test whether our relationship is real or not while she was at it. Seeing how worried you were, she can rest easy now," Zhao Ying said, a little embarrassed.
"So that's how it is. Then do I still need to come over?" Yang Yanchuan said.
"Of course there's no need for that. When my dad found out, he gave my mom a good scolding, saying she didn't know better—how could anyone joke about something like that?" Zhao Ying said, refusing.
"All right. The important thing is that nothing's wrong with you—that's better than anything," Yang Yanzhou said. "Happy New Year, and give my best to your mother for me."
"Yes, Happy New Year to you too. Say hello to Chen Shutang for me. I'm hanging up now—I'll be back in a couple of days," Zhao Ying said.