Tang Yin froze slightly. Xiaoxiao was with Lin Yi!
Lin Yi had explained things yesterday, but she still couldnât help but worry.
She found it absolutely unbelievable how she was worried over losing a boy like this. She rubbed her temples and decided that facts were facts. She recalled her mindset from half a year ago, how sheâd looked down on girls in the situation she was in now, worried that theyâd lose their boyfriends. Didnât that just show that the girl wasnât confident in her attractiveness? Tang Yin always thought that sheâd never end up like them, worrying over stuff like this day and night.
But that was how she was now, and the karma made Tang Yin regret mocking people like that in the past. So old proverbs really were true. You were less than someone if you laughed and mocked them.
âLin Yi, did you wait long?â Tang Yin tried her best to look as natural as possible. She turned her eyes to Xiaoxiao. âYouâre the new student, right?â
âHi, Iâm Feng Xiaoxiao.â Xiaoxiao put her hand out. âIâm Lin Yiâs admirer.â
âEhhh?â Tang Yin paused before shaking Xiaoxiaoâs hand, confused. âAdmirer?â
âYeah. Heâs really cool when he drives. I wanna learn from him but he still hasnât taught me anything yet.â Xiaoxiao nodded to Tang Yin generously.
âI see.â Tang Yin frowned subconsciously. Admirer. What does that mean?
âLetâs go. Ignore her.â Lin Yi had no words to describe Xiaoxiao anymore. She was definitely up to something.
And since Lin Yi couldnât bring himself to hit her, he decided that heâd ignore her.
âOkay.â Tang Yin felt a lot more comfortable after hearing what Lin Yi said. She didnât feel that hostile towards the new girl anymore. âWeâre going for lunch. See you next time!â
âThereâs no need for next time. Iâm going to the cafeteria now, too! Letâs go together.â Xiaoxiao didnât care one whit about how much of a third wheel she was being. Her tone still quite passionate.1
Tang Yin wanted to say something, but didnât. She walked on Lin Yiâs right side while Xiaoxiao walked on his left, the two of them sandwiching him. There was an indescribable awkwardness to it.
âTang Yin, have you seen hubby drive before? Heâs so cool when he does!â Xiaoxiao looked at Tang Yin.
âHubby?â Tang Yin froze before she started getting a little angry, not because Xiaoxiao had called Lin Yi her hubby, but because sheâd said it in such an ambiguous way! She straight out said the word without adding âyouâ in front of it, so anyone who didnât know would assume Lin Yi was her husband, or that she shared a husband with her! But Tang Yin didnât correct her. What if Xiaoxiao had misspoken? Wouldnât that be embarrassing if she pointed it out? âYeah, but if you want to learn how to drive, itâs better to do so at a driving school.â
âI have a license. What I want to learn is street racing!â Xiaoxiao said.
Lin Yi found a two-person table upon reaching the cafeteria in an attempt to ditch Xiaoxiao. There was no way sheâd be able to eat with them this way.
As expected, Xiaoxiao went to line up for her food without sitting with them.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âLin Yi, what is up with that Feng Xiaoxiao? I feel like sheâs very clingy,â Tang Yin asked in an offhand manner.
âWhat, youâre jealous?â Lin Yi hit the bullseye with one look at Tang Yinâs expression.
âJuhâ! Jealous? Of course not!â Tang Yin, naturally, wouldnât admit to it. âI just think sheâs weird, thatâs all.â
âHeh.â Lin Yi smiled. âWhat do you wanna eat? Iâll go buy it.â
âAnythingâs fine. One meat dish and one veggie dish is good.â Tang Yin wasnât picky, and usually settled for a plain meal with Lin Yi during lunch, the two of them sharing two dishes without wasting anything.
Lin Yi wasnât picky himself either, so he usually went to the stall windows with the least amount of people lining up. As a result, what they ate during lunch was always random.
There werenât a lot of people lining up for the garlic fried meat and steamed ribs, so Lin Yi walked over to buy some.
The two were about to start eating when Xiaoxiao dragged a chair along as she walked over, a tray filled with food in her hands. She placed it right onto the table before placing the chair at the table!
There were always some spare folding chairs available during the busiest and most crowded hours so that people could use them to join other tables. Lin Yi wasnât expecting that move from Xiaoxiao at all.
âLin Yi, I got you some red braised chicken! Here, itâs really good.â Xiaoxiao moved the chicken drumstick to Lin Yiâs bowl as she spoke.
âWha?!â Lin Yi didnât think Xiaoxiao would go and do something like this. Wasnât she just trying to make things awkward for him at this point? Tang Yin was starting to get jealous too, so what the hell was this woman planning?â
âWhy arenât you eating? Itâs really good!â Xiaoxiao said with a smile as she looked into Lin Yiâs eyes. âI heard from Zhong Pinliang that the red braised drumsticks and barbecued mutton ribs are really good, but the ribs need to be made upon order. I ordered it, but itâll take a while. Eat the drumstick first!â
Lin Yi was at his boiling point. He didnât do anything to her because she was a girl, but she kept on coming with her weird antics again and again! He couldnât take it anymore.
âFeng Xiaoxiao, are you done or not?â Lin Yi glared.
âWh-Whyâre you so mean to me?â Xiaoxiao jumped in shock, her eyes reddening as a tear rolled down her very misunderstood face. She started sobbing. âWhyâre you like that? I just wanted to make you happy so youâd teach me driving. I just admire you, thatâs allâ¦. Whatâs wrong with that?â
Lin Yi stared at that misunderstood and sad, wronged look on Xiaoxiaoâs face in complete disbelief. Was this really the same Xiaoxiao who sneaked up on him in the menâs bathroom with a freaking camera, the same Xiaoxiao who tried to blast his ass with firecrackers?
She didnât even cry after she got her ass blasted, so why was she sobbing because he said something mean to her?
Tang Yin herself was getting rather frustrated at Xiaoxiaoâs lack of self-awareness. She finally got to have some alone time with Lin Yi, and here she was, a huge third wheel! Now that Xiaoxiao was sobbing so sadly, however, Tang Yinâs heart softened up again.
Did she really just admire Lin Yi purely for his driving skills? Was that really all there was to it?
But the thing with admiration was that it was a tricky emotion. It didnât take much for it to turn into good feelings for the person, which was why Tang Yin felt hostile towards Xiaoxiao at first. She couldnât help but feel a little pity for her now. âLin Yi, maybe you can teach her? Donât let her cry like that.â
âDonât fall for it. The girlâs an actress.â Lin Yi grimaced and hardened his heart to ignore Xiaoxiao.
Tang Yin couldnât really say anything to that. Fortunately for them, Xiaoxiao was only quietly wiping her tears away, and hadnât been sobbing too loud. Nobody saw what had happened.
Who knew what theyâd think if they had.
1. Term here used was light bulb instead of third wheel. Not sure if it works in English.