Chapter 192 — Startled Awake
Years of Heartflutter · Page 1 of 3
Huang Ce and Huang Lin were struck dumb by Li Shu's words. They had never imagined that Zhang Jingyao, who had still been enjoying a cordial business partnership with Li Shu that very morning, would say such a thing.
"Don't look so surprised. I still think doing business with Mr. Yang is the safer bet," Zhang Jingyao said with a smile.
Huang Lin knew that Yang Juehuan's abilities always seemed to surface out of nowhere—as if there were nothing in this world he could not solve. From Songjiang to Macau to Africa, and finally to their own family's troubles, Yang Ce always resolved the messiest problems flawlessly.
So apart from his surprise, Huang Lin was hardly astonished anymore.
Huang Ce, however, had never personally witnessed any of Yang Ce's exploits, and so at this moment he truly began to see Yang Ce in a new light. He had once harbored doubts about Yang Juehuan's abilities; now he was utterly reassured.
Huang Ce even felt a trace of self-mockery. He had once believed that marrying Huang Yan to Li Tianjia was the best possible match for her. Now it seemed he could not have been more wrong.
Yang Ce had merely gone out on a casual errand, and it had made Zhang Jingyao change his mind and cast aside his former partner Li Shu. What formidable power that was!
Huang Rongtian too was astonished that Zhang Jingyao had come to visit their home, but Huang Yan wore a look of quiet smugness. Though she understood little of business, the expressions on her father's and brothers' faces told her enough: the Huang family had turned the tide and escaped its earlier predicament.
All of this, of course, had unfolded without Li Shu's knowledge. He was still gloating, certain that Zhang Jingyao would send men to deal with Yang Ce.
……
Zhao Ying had been out of sorts lately… She would often fall into a daze for no apparent reason.
"Yingying, what are you thinking about?" Sun Jie poked Zhao Ying, who sat beside her. It was class time, yet Zhao Ying's mind had wandered off…
Generally, those who made it into graduate school were students of both good character and outstanding grades; they did not doze off or let their minds drift during lectures. This was an elective course, attended voluntarily—having come, who would not want to learn as much as possible?
Otherwise, one might as well not have come at all. At least, that was Sun Jie's view, and when she learned that Zhao Ying had taken the graduate entrance exam while already a schoolteacher, she was all the more convinced that Zhao Ying could not be here merely to muddle through her days.
"Ah!" Zhao Ying gave a start, snapping back from her drifting thoughts to reality. Yang Ce had not contacted her in half a month. In the past, even without anything in particular to say, the two of them would often exchange a few text messages just to check in.
Now… Zhao Ying looked at her phone's inbox. Apart from messages from family, there were only ones from Sun Jie and Xiao Qing. The three of them had been spending a lot of time together lately. Friendship among women was, in truth, easily built—a few shopping trips, a few meals out, and they were on easy terms. Especially since all three were pretty, clever girls; none felt inferior, none was anyone else's foil. Wherever they went, they drew eyes. Such bonds were rather solid.
Her phone buzzed. Zhao Ying's heart gave a small flutter; she snatched up the phone and read the new message—only to find an advertisement for "diploma services"… She pressed delete with a sigh.
Just moments ago, Zhao Ying had finally been unable to hold back and had sent Yang Ce a text first… After all, the two of them were in the middle of a cold war, and she felt awkward about reaching out to Yang Ce first. But when she calmed down and thought it over, there really was nothing between them, was there?