Chapter 40: The Girl and the Cat

Alright… Tong Ya began calculating in her heart.

Yichen-gege’s favorability toward me should be about ten right now. After tomorrow’s date, if I show a little effort, it’ll definitely reach thirty.

Then I can give him a compliance test—see if the dirt in the corner of the wall has loosened… If it has, I’ll make use of a meal opportunity next…

Swing the hoe!

Once he realizes that my cute and lively charm is something Lizi’s cold, aloof goddess persona can’t compare to, I’ll be able to secure a place in his heart.

Hehe…

How could a childhood friend ever beat someone who appears out of nowhere?

Excited, Tong Ya broke off another piece of Dove chocolate. The sweetness melted in her mouth, making her think of love.

As long as she could snatch Su Yichen away from Lizi, not only would she have a perfect four years of college life, but…

She could also reject the arranged marriage set up by her family.

Even if things were exposed later… as long as the two of them were deeply trapped in love—

She could just say pitifully, ‘I was afraid you’d reject me, so I didn’t tell you.’

‘I don’t want to lose you.’

How could that not work?

What guy would refuse a girlfriend who’s rich, beautiful, and adorable?

And if that still didn’t work, then sleep with him—if once isn’t enough, then twice!

Tong Ya thought about how Su Yichen behaved in front of Luo Yueli.

A boy like that had an incredibly strong sense of responsibility. He wouldn’t have the heart to hurt his lover.

Otherwise, how could he have stayed by Luo Yueli’s side for so long, even while being hurt all over and treated like a simp, yet still remain so loyal?

Such a precious, handsome boy… why didn’t I meet him earlier?

Originally, Tong Ya’s plan was to cultivate an absolutely loyal simp in college—someone she could use to fulfill the family agreement that ‘if you have someone you like, you can marry them instead of entering an arranged marriage.’

Loyalty meant control. Control meant no betrayal. It was the perfect plan.

That was also why she envied Luo Yueli for having such a useful simp.

But now…

Raise a simp?

No, no, no.

He has to become official. His name has to be added to the household register.

Su Yichen probably didn’t even realize how attractive he was to girls.

Thinking of it this way, Tong Ya felt that when she and Su Yichen got married, she would definitely have to thank Luo Yueli properly for protecting him so well and keeping him from being “tainted.”

At that time, she’d just gift Lizi a villa—after all, they were good besties!

[Tomorrow works.]

“Yay! Got the date!”

Tong Ya kicked her little feet excitedly, causing the hanging chair to sway back and forth with creaking sounds.

Such a cold reply, Yichen-gege.

I hope you can still stay this aloof when you’re in bed~

A boy like you… the way you’d look when being bullied like that would definitely make people unable to stop, right?

Flushed with excitement, Tong Ya unconsciously hummed a tune—until the dorm door behind her suddenly opened.

The click startled her.

“…Lizi?”

Seeing that it was Luo Yueli, Tong Ya froze for a moment, the heat in her head from her fantasies cooling down a bit.

“Mm.”

Luo Yueli looked a little distracted. When she saw Tong Ya, her gaze paused slightly. “What were you doing?”

“Huh?”

Tong Ya felt a thrilling sense of stealing her best friend’s boyfriend—after all, she had just arranged a date with her childhood friend.

And now the “main party” suddenly walked in and asked, “What did you do?” in such a stern tone.

The guilty thrill stimulated her nerves, causing her breathing to quicken unconsciously.

Did she find out? That shouldn’t be possible…

Or did Su Yichen tell Lizi?

Tong Ya started to panic.

Could it be that Su Yichen was that devoted to Lizi?!

No way. Yichen-gege isn’t that kind of loyal man!

He’s a total playboy!

“What did I do?”

After thinking it over, Tong Ya decided to play dumb and observe the situation.

Luo Yueli’s expression was subtle. Her watery eyes blinked as she looked at Tong Ya in a way that made Tong Ya instinctively press her legs together.

She really wanted to say: your face looks like you just… had an orgasm.

But… she couldn’t say that directly.

It’s normal for girls. Completely understandable.

But… aren’t you a bit too bold? Doing something like that in the dorm? What if someone saw?

So reckless.

Luo Yueli asked herself honestly—she couldn’t do that.

At the very least, she’d find somewhere private. Otherwise, if someone saw her, she’d be too embarrassed to live.

And, honestly… she was a bit curious too—what did it feel like?

She had never tried it before.

Not that she had never thought about it—she was a normal girl.

It was just that… she felt it wasn’t right… just like she couldn’t accept her childhood friendship turning into something else.

She had always been suppressing herself.

Curiosity was curiosity, but now definitely wasn’t the time to bring up such embarrassing topics.

Luo Yueli felt it was necessary to remind her close friend.

She couldn’t say it outright, but she could hint at it.

“Xiaoya, girls should be a bit more reserved. Walls have ears.”

Even she couldn’t fully understand what she just said. It sounded like a riddle.

But there was no way she could say it directly. Even though they were the closest in the dorm, they hadn’t known each other for that long.

Maybe after another half a year, once they understood each other better, she could joke about it more openly.

“…seven, eight, nine…”

Tong Ya’s voice was weak, like a little rabbit—like a high school girl caught reading a romance novel in class by the dean, and then forced to read it aloud in front of everyone.

Is Lizi warning me?

She must be warning me!

No way… was I really found out? Did Yichen-gege actually tell her about tomorrow?

But I haven’t even “stolen” anything yet…

Damn Luo Yueli, I underestimated you.

You’ve got Yichen-gege completely under control. What a manipulative woman!

Once Yichen-gege falls in love with me, I’ll manipulate him back! Brainwash him! Make it so he can never love anyone else but me!

With a trace of unwillingness and a bit of lingering hope, Tong Ya took out her phone. After hesitating, she sent Su Yichen a message.

“Yichen-gege, don’t tell Lizi about you accompanying me to the club tomorrow, okay~”

“She’s been busy preparing for the freshman welcome gala lately, so she’s really occupied. I originally wanted her to go with me, but I didn’t want to distract her.”

Considerate, gentle, obedient~

She even explained why she wanted him to accompany her.

Perfect!

Smelling the “green tea” vibe practically overflowing from the phone screen and filling the dorm, Tong Ya nodded in satisfaction.

“Ding~”

“Okay, I was just about to invite her. Good thing you told me in time.”

Yes!

As expected, Yichen-gege wouldn’t betray me!

I knew it—he’s such a playboy, he must be thinking about how to have an affair with me!

Tong Ya happily swayed in her hanging chair. Now the dorm had four hanging chairs, all the same style as Luo Yueli’s.

The movement was so big that Luo Yueli subconsciously glanced over at her.

Unfortunately… her happiness didn’t last long. Su Yichen’s follow-up message came right after.