Life never changed, but He Zhen would call her over for meals!
[Close enough-we were practically an old married couple!]
[The fictional man I raised!]
[Alive!]
[This was the closest I'd ever been to him!]
"Basketball this afternoon?" Wei Fang casually asked He Zhen between big mouthfuls of food.
"Nah, you guys go ahead. I promised An Qing and the others last week I'd model for them." He Zhen hadn't forgotten.
"The art students really have it tough, glued to their chairs all day. It's a miracle those girls still manage to stay so skinny." Wei Fang found it incredible every time he thought about it.
"You don't get it!" Tang Zhao's girlfriend, Li Yajun, spoke up.
With Fu Xin out of the picture, Li Yajun was quite happy to eat with them. "You boys should stay out of girls' business!"
She looked at Yao Tao for agreement.
Unfortunately, Yao Tao's mind was full of filthy thoughts.
"Huh?" Yao Tao bit down on her spoon. "Right."
[Was this modeling thing done with clothes on or off?!]
[Clothes on was fine, but if it was clothes off...]
[Wouldn't I be missing out big-time?!]
[Oh my god, I never noticed before, but now that I thought about it-good heavens, I'd wasted all that precious time taking pictures of Qin Zhen!]
[I didn't have a single nude of He Zhen!]
[Damn it, maybe I should sneak into the art department this afternoon too?!]
He Zhen: ...
"What are you thinking about?" Li Yajun found Yao Tao pretty entertaining, though she was quite spacey, forever daydreaming in her own little world.
"Nothing." Yao Tao sighed.
[Could I possibly tell you what I was thinking?!]
[I'd scare you to death if I told you!]
[So I should've touched He Zhen's abs before. Why couldn't I remember a single thing about it?]
He Zhen hadn't said a word, yet he still choked on his food.
Yao Tao casually pushed her soup toward him. "Take your time. It's best to chew your food slowly."
[What would my baby do without me?!]
[Could that memory please come back? I wouldn't mind reenacting it either!]
"Little Tao really cares about you." Li Yajun thought they had a real chance.
[Of course~]
Yao Tao thought smugly, while all she needed to do on the outside was smile shyly.
[I'll pretend, I'll pretend, I'll pretend all day!]
[Three hundred and ninety-five different versions-I could pretend to be whatever you liked!]
[Wanna get married?]
[You wouldn't have to be my daddy. I'd be your mommy!]
He Zhen had only just managed to calm down when his emotions spiked again.
Life was like an electrocardiogram-always messing with you.
"What do you think, He Zhen?" Li Yajun was happy to stir the pot.
"Yajun." Tang Zhao sounded helpless. He knew Li Yajun disliked Fu Xin, but he hadn't expected her matchmaking intentions to be so blatant.
"I was just asking. What's got you so worked up?" Li Yajun finished her last bite and pushed her tray toward Tang Zhao. "Boyfriend, help me!"
When Li Yajun smiled, the corners of her eyebrows lifted and her eyes curved, making her look lively and playful.
[Oh, our X University really was full of handsome guys and beautiful girls. Such a feast for the eyes!]
[The mighty Tang had excellent taste!]
[With such a gorgeous girlfriend, he was winning at life!]
"Get out of here! Have some sympathy for us single guys, will you?" Wei Fang grumbled quietly.
"What if you're the only single one left someday, Wei Fang? Whatever will you do?" Li Yajun drank her yogurt and raised her eyebrows, looking from Wei Fang to He Zhen.
"Nooo-" Wei Fang felt his heart break.
After thinking it over, Wei Fang suggested, "How about this, Tang Zhao? Ask your pretty girlfriend to introduce me to someone?"
The six-foot-one Wei Fang openly winked at Tang Zhao while secretly checking Li Yajun's expression.
Tang Zhao said, "Now you want a girlfriend? Weren't you going to marry basketball?"
Wei Fang said, "No, I mean, I'm already at X University. My parents won't let me keep playing basketball."
Li Yajun said, "Actually, if you're serious about it, you could still make a career out of basketball."
Wei Fang said, "Can't be helped. Someone has to take over my dad's company. My mom's counting on me."
*[!]*
Yao Tao's memory came flooding back.
[I'd been admiring He Zhen's gorgeous face every day and completely forgotten about Wei Fang.]
[The poor big guy probably had no idea why his mom was so desperate for him to inherit the company.]
[His dad was cheating, and he had a younger brother only a year younger than him!]
[I'd completely forgotten!]
[That was also why Wei Fang wasn't around He Zhen later on.]
[Holy shit, the author really went all out to leave my darling He completely isolated!]
[Poor Wei Fang lost a leg protecting his mom later, then moved abroad with her!]
He Zhen suddenly looked up and stared unblinkingly at Yao Tao.
[What should I do? Wei Fang might be a big lug, but he was actually a decent guy!]
[Hey, a big lug like him would actually be a pretty good match for Zeng Rou.]
[He had no head for business, but the Zeng family did, and Zeng Rou's brother and sister really adored her.]
[Ugh, I shouldn't go randomly pairing people up.]
[How had I only just realized how miserable my baby was?]
[Had second male leads always had it this terrifying???]
Yao Tao's brows knitted together.
He Zhen fell silent for a moment and looked at Wei Fang, who was still bargaining with Li Yajun. He tightened his grip on his spoon.
He needed to help look into it.
If... if things really were as Yao Tao said, then everything she'd said about his future, Han Qinglu's, and the others' really was true.
He Zhen still wanted to verify it.
Even if being able to hear Yao Tao's thoughts was already absurd enough.
"Finished?" He Zhen asked when he saw Yao Tao had stopped eating.
"I'm full." Yao Tao glanced at today's yogurt.
[Sigh, my baby had so many disasters ahead of him. My heart hurt. I wasn't in the mood.]
He Zhen slipped the straw in for her, and Yao Tao picked it up and sucked away enthusiastically.
In just a few slurps, the person whose heart hurt and who wasn't in the mood finished her yogurt.
She obediently placed the empty yogurt bottle on her lunch container.
[Sigh, I didn't want to move. Wasn't in the mood.]
[Baby, hurry up and help me!]
[You make a move, I make a move, and we'll both have a bright future!]
Li Yajun nudged Tang Zhao's arm with her elbow.
Tang Zhao glanced at Yao Tao, who looked like an ordinary girl next door, and didn't find it strange.
He Zhen had always liked sweet, sensible girls.
Yao Tao fit the bill, and she wasn't the fickle type either. It wouldn't be surprising if He Zhen really fell for her.
Fortunately, He Zhen couldn't hear Tang Zhao's thoughts.
"Let's clean up and get going!" Wei Fang eagerly helped Tang Zhao. "I'll do it, I'll do it! I'm leaving my future girlfriend in your hands, Sis Yajun!"
Li Yajun looked at Wei Fang in amusement. "Calling me 'sis' puts a lot of pressure on me!"
"No pressure, no pressure! Just keep an eye out for me, Sis Yajun!" Wei Fang might as well have had "I really want a girlfriend" stamped on his forehead.
[I could reluctantly help too... oh, never mind. I barely had any friends. Bai Jianai counted as one.]
[Bai Jianai couldn't save Wei Fang. She couldn't even get a word out in an argument. She might not be able to help him later and would only end up swallowing her anger.]
[Ugh, I'd already told myself to stop playing matchmaker!]
[There was still time. Things hadn't blown up yet. I needed to think of something. What should I do? This was so hard.]
Yao Tao frowned in frustration.
He Zhen was about to say something when he heard Yao Tao's thoughts again.
[Maybe if I could bury my face in my darling He's abs again, my brain would start working.]
[Tsk, tsk, tsk.]
He Zhen shut his mouth.
Before you continue