Chapter 132 (1/2)
The Complete Guide to the Use and Care of a Personal Assistant
Translator: Jury
Editor: NomNom
First Published on Chaleuria
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Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-two
“Xie Ruoyan and I?” Su Yuyang looked at Ling Miao with a faint smile then smiled broadly: “We were high school friends.”
As Su Yuyang spoke, Ling Miao stared into his eyes. Su Yuyang’s eyes were calm; he didn’t look as if he were lying. Upon further thought, Su Yuyang indeed wasn’t lying. He had just concealed his deeper relationship with Xie Ruoyan.
“Is it?” Ling Miao’s lips quirked into a cold smile. Su Yuyang stared at Ling Miao. For some unknown reason, the Ling Miao in front of him now seemed like a stranger.
Ling Miao’s entire body was radiating a cold air. Su Yuyang felt as though he was standing in a blizzard. His limbs felt frozen solid and he couldn’t move. He could only look at Ling Miao in confusion.
Ling Miao sighed, “If you were really only school friends, then you two wouldn’t have been so agitated at the airport. In front of the two of you I feel like a third wheel.”
Ling Miao’s tone was sorrowful and radiated helplessness. Su Yuyang knew very well that even if he tried to hide it now, he couldn’t guarantee that Ling Miao wouldn’t find out about his relationship with Xie Ruoyan from some other source. At that time it’d be even more difficult for him to explain himself.
Su Yuyang looked at Ling Miao and said slowly, “He was my first boyfriend.”
“I see.” Ling Miao nodded. “You actually met again here. The world’s really small.”
Su Yuyang had intended to go along with Ling Miao and dismiss the matter, but now he saw that Ling Miao’s shoulders were shaking slightly and his eyes were glistening. Although Ling Miao’s tone had been steady, his expression betrayed him.
He was afraid.
Su Yuyang pulled Ling Miao to him, hugging him as he consoled, “Xiao Miao, Xie Ruoyan and I are in the past. I don’t know how we could have met today.”
“It’s all just a coincidence.” Ling Miao’s words were certain but Su Yuyang felt a hint of mockery.
“Xiao Miao, you think I already knew that the person assigned to meet me was Xie Ruoyan?” Su Yuyang suddenly felt that Ling Miao was incomprehensible. If Ling Miao was jealous, Su Yuyang would be happy, but Ling Miao seemed to have reached a dead-end conclusion and Su Yuyang had no other recourse. Anger rose in his chest but he couldn’t express it toward Ling Miao. He took a deep breath and suggested, “I think you need to calm down.”
“You’re the one who needs to calm down.” Ling Miao struggled free of Su Yuyang and said in a low voice, “I don’t think Xie Ruoyan only recognized you when you prompted.”
“What do you mean?”
To Ling Miao, Su Yuyang’s question had two possible meanings. Firstly, Su Yuyang hadn’t understood Ling Miao. Secondly, Su Yuyang had understood what Ling Miao meant, but was questioning why he was suspecting Xie Ruoyan.
“Are you really confused or pretending to be confused?” Ling Miao retorted. “I’m suspicious of Xie Ruoyan. Maybe Xie Ruoyan came with the same motive as Tang Xuan!”
“I believe in Xie-ge’s character,” Su Yuyang assured. “He and Tang Xuan are different kinds of people.”
“People change,” Ling Miao argued. “Tang Xuan now, was he the same Tang Xuan whom you knew before? Tang Xuan changed. Xie Ruoyan may also not be the Xie Ruoyan from before.”
“But he might be?” Su Yuyang used Ling Miao’s own words against him.
Ling Miao paced back and forth in the room, thinking hard about how to refute Su Yuyang’s words. Su Yuyang got dizzy watching him. He caught hold of Ling Miao’s arm and tried to persuade him: “I believe in my senior. Can you believe in me too?”
Looking at Su Yuyang’s sincere and certain eyes, Ling Miao almost agreed. Then he shook his head and said, “Right now I only believe in myself and in the truth.”
“Xiao Miao, what’s gotten into you?” Su Yuyang couldn’t restrain himself from shouting. The Ling Miao before him—was this still his Xiao Miao? Since when had his Xiao Miao become so suspicious and incomprehensible?
“I’m just making preparations for the worst-case scenario.” Ling Miao’s emotions weren’t perturbed in the slightest, as if the ‘Xiao Miao’ Su Yuyang was calling was not himself.
Su Yuyang thought over what Ling Miao had said in this room, from start to finish, hoping to discover therein the reason for Ling Miao’s change. Regrettably, Su Yuyang couldn’t recall a lot of it.
Suddenly, two words flashed through his mind. Shock appeared on his face.
Tang Xuan.
Su Yuyang’s eyes shot open. He went up to Ling Miao, looked downward at Ling Miao’s stubborn expression, and said tenderly, “Is it Tang Xuan? I know that the matter with Tang Xuan affected you heavily, but I didn’t think…”
“Didn’t think that I’d become paranoid because of it? As long as an ex-boyfriend of yours appears, I’ll think that he has ill intentions towards you and towards me, yes?” Ling Miao sneered as he filled in the words Su Yuyang was unable to say. He pushed Su Yuyang away and walked toward the door.
Su Yuyang hurriedly caught up to him and asked, “Where are you going?”
“Didn’t you say I needed to calm down? I’m going to look for a deserted place and calm down.” Ling Miao batted away Su Yuyang’s hand, his cool tone making Su Yuyang feel as if he had fallen into an icy cave.
“I’ll go with you.” Su Yuyang worried that Ling Miao would again write a letter and leave, and his heart jumped into his throat.
Ling Miao could probably tell what Su Yuyang was thinking. His expression didn’t change, but a hint of mockery appeared in his eyes and he laughed, “Relax. I won’t leave. I just think I really need a bit of time to be alone.” Ling Miao emphasized ‘alone.’ Su Yuyang worried that following Ling Miao would have the opposite effect than desired, so he instructed, “If anything’s wrong, call me. I’ll be in the room.”
“I’ll come back before two o’clock,” Ling Miao said pointedly.