Chapter 197 - 195: A False Fate is a Red Thread, a True Fate is a Steel Wire

Chapter 197: Chapter 195: A False Fate is a Red Thread, a True Fate is a Steel Wire

Lin Yanwan sat on the steps by the river. Jiang Xia picked up a stone and threw it hard toward the center of the river, hearing a dull "PLUNK" in the distance.

"Babe, do you think those two have a chance?" Jiang Xia asked. He found a flat tile and bent over to skip it across the water like when he was a kid.

It was a pity he couldn’t see it now. If it were daytime, he would definitely have seen the series of skips and the spreading ripples.

"I don’t know." Lin Yanwan rested her chin in her hand and shook her head gently. "Knowing Yingying’s personality, if she says she doesn’t want to date for now, she definitely means it. I just don’t know if they’ll get together in the future."

"I was watching for a while just now. I had Chen Yao sit next to Old Wang, and Shen Ying secretly glanced over many times. From a girl’s perspective, doesn’t that mean she has at least some feelings for him?"

Jiang Xia stretched his wrists and walked back to sit beside his wife, deftly taking her hand and placing it in his lap.

"Right. If she didn’t have even the slightest bit of interest, she probably wouldn’t care at all who was sitting next to him." Lin Yanwan sighed softly. "But that’s not the real problem. Such a shallow bit of interest will disappear quickly with distance and time."

Thinking about this problem gave Jiang Xia a headache. The main issue was that they were on opposite ends of the country, not attending the same university. So many variables could come into play over four years of college. Never mind that they were just friends; even couples in a long-distance relationship could easily have someone take advantage of the situation.

Thinking about it that way, the probability of them being fated but not destined to be together approached infinity.

"Forget it. Let’s not worry ourselves sick over it. Whether they’re fated to be together is up to the heavens. If they aren’t, then nothing we do will make it happen," Jiang Xia said after a moment of thought.

He had been so eager to set Wang Ming and Shen Ying up before mainly because of his past life. He was afraid that once Wang Ming got to college, the world-lines would converge, and he’d be deceived by that green tea bitch from his previous life all over again.

But this time, he was also in the Imperial Capital. Even if the other woman was the White Bone Demon, he would strike her dead three times over!

’As for Shen Ying... sigh.’

’She wasn’t after Wang Ming’s academic credentials, nor was she after his family’s wealth. Jiang Xia couldn’t see any of the techniques of a high-level green tea in her. It was clear she was a genuinely good girl. Perhaps her feelings for Wang Ming were just a crush for now, not yet strong enough to be called love.’

"Yeah, let’s not worry about it," Lin Yanwan said.

Jiang Xia turned to look at his wife. Under the moonlight, the river reflected shimmering specks of light. Her delicate face was graceful and gentle, her beauty almost dreamlike.

He planted an affectionate kiss on his wife’s face. Lin Yanwan’s cheeks flushed slightly. "What are you doing?"

"I was just thinking that the two of us are truly fated to be together. It’s like Elder Yue swapped the red thread of fate for a steel cable. No matter where I go, there you are. It’s impossible to pretend I don’t see you," Jiang Xia chuckled softly.

"True. I was so annoyed back then. I always felt like you were deliberately messing with me," Lin Yanwan couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him.

"You dare to be annoyed with me? I’ll show you right now why a husband is always a husband!"

He instantly tackled Lin Yanwan to the ground, gently dominating her lips and tasting the sweetness of her tongue.

"Darling, you still haven’t answered me. How about we get married after we graduate from college?"

In the wind, her soft, melodious gasps could be faintly heard.

◇

A few minutes later, the two overlapping figures slowly separated. Lin Yanwan, flushed and annoyed, slapped his hand away, then reached behind her back with both hands to fasten the clasp on her bra.

’What kind of person was he? Wasn’t kissing outside enough for him? All he knows how to do is grope, grope, grope!’

"I’m going back," she huffed softly.

"Okay," Jiang Xia laughed. ’After all, a man lives for boobs. Even when he’s seventy or eighty, that fundamental principle will never change.’

"You’re still laughing! Give me your hand, see if I don’t bite you!" Lin Yanwan bared her teeth, looking like a little kitten.

"Go ahead and bite."

And so, Jiang Xia raised his hand and roughly gagged her with his fingers. She instinctively whimpered and gulped.

It’s unclear what came to her mind, but she spat out his fingers and huffed "Pah!" in flushed annoyance. ’Pervert, pervert!!’

’Don’t even think I’ll... I’ll... Anyway, I’ll absolutely never agree to it!’

And so, pedestrians strolling by the river saw an interesting scene: a couple, with the very pretty girl chasing and hitting the boy.

Half an hour later, Jiang Xia finally escorted his wife to the entrance of her residential complex.

"I won’t go up, unless you let me sleep in your bed," he said shamelessly.

"Get lost!"

Lin Yanwan kicked him lightly in annoyance. ’Hasn’t he taken enough advantage of me already? Now he wants to sleep with me? If I really let him into my bed, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be as simple as just some groping.’

’A man’s mouth is a lying demon; when they’re in bed, even the punctuation in their words is a lie.’

"Alrighty then, I’ll be rolling along now."

"Don’t walk all the way back. Take a taxi, you hear me?"

"I know, I know, you little nag."

Lin Yanwan’s eyes crinkled with a smile. She suddenly stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss.

"You big dummy."

After watching Jiang Xia get into a taxi and leave, Lin Yanwan started humming a tune as she slowly went upstairs to her apartment. The door to her home was open for her, left just slightly ajar.

Ji Wanqiu saw her daughter return and couldn’t help but smile. "Yanwan, why didn’t you invite Xiao Xia upstairs for a bit?"

"Mom, you were spying again!" Lin Yanwan’s face turned red. ’It’s so dark out,’ she thought, ’she probably didn’t see us kissing, right?’

"I wasn’t! I just went out on the balcony to hang some clothes, heard you two talking, and saw you when I looked down," Ji Wanqiu said with a smile. "So, how was it? How many people from your class went to the teacher appreciation dinner tonight?"

"Almost all of my classmates went."

"Isn’t Xiao Xia in a different class from you? How come he went too?"

"Yeah, several of the liberal arts classes held it together to make things easier."

"Oh, I see. That’s nice."

Ji Wanqiu nodded. "Alright, you go take a shower. Go to bed early after you’re done. I’ll be up for a little while longer."

"Mom, how are the designs for the Cat and Mouse merchandise coming along?" Lin Yanwan suddenly asked.

"I have a few preliminary proposals, but the details still need some work. The final decision has to be made after consulting the producers of Cat and Mouse," Ji Wanqiu said after some thought.

This was, after all, the first batch of merchandise. It was the opening salvo meant to blow the market doors wide open. It would play a crucial role in whether Gaoyuan Toy Factory could be brought back from the brink, so there was absolutely no room for carelessness.

"Mm-hm! You can do it, Mom! I believe in you!"

Lin Yanwan made a "fighting" gesture, then turned, went to her room to grab a clean set of pajamas, and headed off to wash up. About half an hour later, she emerged trailing steam to find the living room empty. Only the light in her parents’ bedroom was still on.

She thought for a moment, then took out the five merchandise design sketches Jiang Xia had given her from a drawer and slowly pushed open her parents’ bedroom door.

"Mom, Jiang Xia asked me to give these to you. I’m not sure if they’ll be useful to you or not."