A Calculated Revelation

Chen Hao’s eyes were practically exploding, his breathing growing ragged as his chest rose and fell violently. Within him, reason and raw emotion waged a fierce, back-and-forth battle.

“But she…”

“No ‘buts’!”

‘Please, brother, just hold it together.’

At that very moment, Jiang Chen’s voice, laced with a playful smile, clearly cut through the tension. “Are you confessing your feelings?”

Lin Yating shyly nodded in admission.

The playful smile on Jiang Chen’s face suddenly vanished. He sat up straight, asking with a serious expression, “Then what about Chen Hao?”

The sheer audacity of that direct question made Zhou Yi, who had been desperately trying to prevent Chen Hao from acting impulsively, break out in a cold sweat.

Lin Yating froze for a moment, then blinked in confusion. “Chen Hao? Why are you suddenly bringing him up?”

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you know him?”

Lin Yating gently stirred her coffee, a faint, helpless smile gracing her lips. “Of course I know him; we’re from the same school. It’s just…” She paused at the opportune moment, then spoke softly, “I understand that he’s good to me, but I truly don’t know what to do. If I reject him, he’ll be heartbroken; if I reciprocate, I’d be lying to myself.”

She sighed softly, a ripple of grievance shimmering in her eyes. “Sometimes, I also wish he could just move on sooner.”

‘Move on sooner?’

‘Move on my ass!’

The taut string in Chen Hao’s mind snapped.

“Screech—”

The wooden chair scraped an ear-splitting sound across the quiet cafe floor.

Chen Hao abruptly stood up, and under Zhou Yi’s stunned gaze, he walked step by step towards their table.

When Lin Yating noticed a shadow falling over her, she looked up, and her expression instantly froze as she recognized the person.

“What a coincidence,” Chen Hao said, his gaze fixed on Lin Yating’s face, which had gone instantly pale with shock. “So, your ‘needing time to sort out your feelings’ actually meant sorting out someone else’s feelings?”

“You, how could you…”

“What, is it strange for me to be here?” Chen Hao laughed, pointing a finger at the sea salt latte in front of her. “So… this is your ‘let’s not contact each other for a while’?”

Lin Yating was momentarily speechless. “No, it’s not…”

“Not? Then what do you mean? Do you mean you don’t have time for a childish guy like me, but you have time to come here and confess to someone more charming?”

Chen Hao’s voice began to tremble. “Lin Yating, you really know how to string people along.”

“I, I didn’t…” Lin Yating still tried to argue.

“You never said you liked me,” Chen Hao said, looking at her. “But you never rejected me either, did you? And look at you now, acting so genuinely!”

Lin Yating’s pleading gaze turned to Jiang Chen. “Jiang Chen… quickly say something for me… Chen Hao seems to have misunderstood us…”

But the boy she had placed so much hope in simply leaned back in his chair, calmly scrolling through his phone. He even took a leisurely sip of his coffee, showing no intention of intervening.

She turned her head helplessly, then suddenly spotted Zhou Yi, who had appeared at some point. Like a drowning person clutching a lifeline, she urgently called out, “Senior!”

However, the beautiful Senior merely leaned lazily against the booth, looking completely detached and clearly intent on watching the drama unfold.

It was then that Lin Yating finally realized; from the moment that text message arrived, she had stepped into a meticulously crafted trap.

“I just… haven’t thought it through yet…” She lowered her head, on the verge of tears, her slender shoulders trembling slightly as she made a final, desperate struggle.

“Then I’ll help you think it through right now. You don’t want to be in a relationship; you just don’t want to be in one with me.” Chen Hao suddenly grew calm. “I understand.”

As he spoke, he took his phone from his pocket and opened the pinned chat. He skillfully scrolled up, finding the large transfer from Lin Yating that he had always been reluctant to open.

This money was the result of Zhou Yi’s threatening intimidation—or rather, her gentle persuasion—of Lin Yating at the girls’ dorm the day before yesterday.

Faced with irrefutable evidence and severe consequences, Lin Yating quickly converted all the items Chen Hao had given her into cash. Along with the red packets containing declarations of love like “1314” and “520,” she combined them into a substantial sum and sent it back to him.

Chen Hao, foolishly, had never dared to accept it. He naively believed that Lin Yating knew he urgently needed money and had found a way to gather funds to help him out. It was laughable how profoundly moved he had been by this supposed act of kindness.

Only at this moment did he finally comprehend that this was “road money,” a payment to clearly delineate their boundaries.

His fingertip hovered above the screen, trembling for a long time. Finally, he pressed the “receive” button with heavy resolve.

[WeChat Payment Received]

The payment notification sound was particularly jarring in the silent cafe.

Chen Hao didn’t spare another glance for Lin Yating, whose face was ashen. He slowly turned to Zhou Yi, forcing an ugly smile. “It’s a wrap, Director.”

Just as Zhou Yi thought the grand drama was about to conclude, Jiang Chen suddenly stood up. He naturally pulled her, who had been watching the show unfold, into an embrace, then flashed a devilish smile at Lin Yating. “I forgot to make it clear just now: my officially jealous girlfriend? That’s her.”

Zhou Yi froze completely. ‘No way, big brother! This wasn’t in the script!’

But facing Lin Yating’s shocked gaze, she immediately switched to “sweetheart mode.” She forced out a shy, fake smile, leaning into Jiang Chen’s embrace, while her fingertips viciously twisted half a turn into his lower back.

“You’re so annoying… We agreed to keep it a secret, didn’t we…” Zhou Yi’s face held a sweet, coquettish pout, but the hand hidden behind her back mercilessly increased its pressure.

“Gentler…” Jiang Chen, without changing his expression, leaned his head close to her ear. The arm around her shoulder suggestively tightened. “If you twist again, I won’t mind proving our relationship in a more intimate way.”

Zhou Yi immediately released her grip, her upward gaze daring him to try.

This seemingly intimate interaction was exceptionally striking to onlookers; every exchanged glance seemed to silently declare their ownership.

Chen Hao stood to the side, coldly watching Lin Yating’s rapidly changing expression.

“Wait… you, you two…” Lin Yating was utterly bewildered. This familiar scene before her gave her a strong sense of déjà vu, as if… just the day before yesterday…

The smile in Jiang Chen’s eyes deepened as his fingertips lightly twirled a strand of Zhou Yi’s hair. “Actually, we’ve been together for a while; we just didn’t want to be too public about it. Consider today our official announcement.”

Zhou Yi nearly choked. ‘Jiang Chen, you’re addicted to acting, aren’t you? Still playing at official announcements here?!’

Lin Yating’s face was no longer merely green; it was ashen. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but not a single word escaped. The immense humiliation and the rage of being toyed with brought her close to fainting.

Zhou Yi, seeing that the atmosphere was perfect and the act had played out long enough, feared that staying any longer would lead to a major incident. She quickly tugged at Jiang Chen’s sleeve, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, “Hey, that’s enough. Let’s wrap up. If we don’t leave, Chen Hao’s going to explode.”

“As you wish.” Jiang Chen obligingly released her. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to give Lin Yating a polite nod. “We’ll take our leave first.”

He naturally took Zhou Yi’s hand in one of his, and with the other, patted Chen Hao’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Lin Yating, meanwhile, sat rooted to the spot, utterly distraught and unable to utter a single word. She watched helplessly as the three walked away side by side.

The cafe waitress silently approached. “Miss, would you like to settle your bill? The gentleman just now said you were treating.”

Lin Yating: “…”

[Ding dong! Target character Chen Hao’s “simping value” has dropped to 15%. This mission has been over-fulfilled, effectively “killing two birds with one stone”! Congratulations, Player!]