Chapter 68 - The logic of psyching someone out (Translated and edited by Xing)

Li Yubing asked for Zhou Ran's contact information from Liao Zhenyu and requested to meet her.

For this meeting, Zhou Ran specially dolled up. What she did not know was that as a straight guy, Li Yubing was usually not capable of discerning when girls put in exceptional effort to dress up.

When they met up, Li Yubing started the conversation with the intention of frightening Zhou Ran. "Tang Xue's father received the photos of me and her at RCU. Did you send them? Do you know that Tang Xue was furious after seeing those photos and wanted to teach you a lesson?"

The image of Tang Xue using the broken beer bottle to threaten her the other day flashed through Zhou Ran's mind. She immediately showed an expression of terror and her face paled. "How could I have done it?! Don't speculate blindly! It wasn't me!"

"Mm, I also felt that it wasn't you. Don't worry, I stopped her."

"Thank you, Ice G.o.d…" Zhou Ran's eyes reddened and she looked aggrieved as she thanked him.

Li Yubing waved his hands. "In short, stop badmouthing Tang Xue behind her back in the future. If there's a next time, I might not be able to stop her."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhou Ran nodded hurriedly.

Li Yubing then asked, "Besides that day during the cla.s.smate gathering, did you mention that incident to anyone else previously?"

"I only told it to Bian Cheng."

When Zhou Ran sent the photos and links to Bian Cheng, she actually felt quite gleeful. She and Tang Xue both liked Bian Cheng at the same time but Bian Cheng was nicer to Tang Xue than her. But now, look, look at this! The person you like is tangled up amorously with another guy. Doesn't it feel hurtful and upsetting?

When Li Yubing heard Zhou Ran's words, he further affirmed the suspicion in his heart. He nodded and said, "Thanks."

Zhou Ran watched Li Yubing's good-looking face and suddenly realized that she had thought too much. Rather than specially coming to find her, Li Yubing was obviously there for Tang Xue.

She forced down the bitterness she felt and asked, "Ice G.o.d, can I ask you a question?"

"Mm?"

"Why do all of you like Tang Xue? Even though she's pretty, there are so many pretty girls out there."

"I didn't have a choice," Li Yubing said. For him, liking a fellow like her was extremely exhausting as well.

For once, Zhou Ran stood her ground in front of Li Yubing. "That's not an answer."

Li Yubing took in Zhou Ran's expression and asked, "Actually, what you don't get is why she's always the centre of attention, why there are always so many people revolving around her and doing what she says, right?"

Zhou Ran nodded.

"I can only tell you that for some people, they naturally s.h.i.+ne."

Zhou Ran… sunk even deeper in her envy. This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.

After saying goodbye to Zhou Ran, Li Yubing went to Bian Cheng's residential area and located his house. "Thud, thud thud." He knocked on the door.

Bian Cheng was shocked when he opened the door and saw that it was Li Yubing.

"How do you know my address?" Bian Chen was bewildered.

"Why can't I know your address when you know Tang Xue's address?" Li Yubing's face was enigmatic as if he was an intelligence officer from the Ministry of State Security.

In reality, he obtained this information from his parents. They all stayed in the same city and their circles were bound to cross. With the help of numerous relatives and friends, and also the fact that Bian Cheng's parents were civil servants, it was not too difficult for Li Yubing's parents to find out more.

Seeing Li Yubing's pretentious att.i.tude, Bian Cheng invited him out. The two of them stood underneath a pavilion nearby to talk.

"You're looking for me for something?" Bian Cheng asked.

Li Yubing stared at Bian Cheng's face and a.s.serted, "You're the one who sent those photos."

Bian Cheng pushed up his silver spectacles and looked at Li Yubing expressionlessly before suddenly giving a faint smile. "Oh? Where's your evidence?"

"I'm not here to confront you. I'm curious—when you took such great pains to break us up, aren't you afraid that you're providing an opportunity for Yu Yan instead?"

"Yu Yan has entered the national team and won't be able to return anytime soon… I watched the news."

"You've really thought this through." Li Yubing almost wanted to clap for Bian Cheng himself. As it turned out, Bian Cheng had planned to first eliminate him, the biggest threat, before positioning himself on the same starting line as Yu Yan. Both of them were in Beijing and equally far from Tang Xue. It was not possible for either of them to gain an advantage over the other.

Bian Cheng accepted the praise. "You're too kind."

Li Yubing said, "You probably think that I won't do anything to you."

Bian Cheng did not say a word but it was obvious from his expression that this was what he thought.

Li Yubing had reason to believe that if he did not deal with this now, Bian Cheng would continue using the gossip on him and Tang Xue to wreak havoc.

"Is Bian Jiang your father?" Li Yubing suddenly asked. Translated by Xing for only teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.

Bian Cheng looked at him coolly and answered with a question of his own in return. "What do you mean by this?"

"Your father's name is Bian Jiang. He used to be the deputy head of the Water Affairs Bureau but because of some problems in their projects, he was almost charged for corruption and subsequently demoted to the Archives Bureau. Discontent with this 'unprofitable' department, he's been finding means to get himself transferred back. It's said that he's been pulling quite a few strings… mm, your family must have sent out numerous gifts this Chinese New Year?"

After Li Yubing said so much, Bian Cheng was finally unable to maintain his calm demeanour. He looked at Li Yubing warily.

Li Yubing gave a faint smile. "While you're keeping tabs on others, others are also keeping tabs on you."

"What are you planning?"

"I'm not planning anything," Li Yubing said. He raised his hand and pointed at the sky. In a more serious tone, he said, "Heaven takes care of those who are despicable."

Li Yubing was well-versed in the logic of psyching someone out. A person would always be more fearful of what he or she does not fully know. Therefore, a few sentences were enough to do the trick and everything else can be left to the other person's imagination. What could be imagined would always be more exciting than reality.

As a result, he did not continue saying anything else, choosing to turn and walk away instead.

Leaving Bian Cheng standing in his original spot, his face looking pale and beyond ghastly.

Xia Menghuan stayed in Lake City for two days. Papa and Mama Tang really liked this young girl. They felt that she was gentle and quiet, and had a dignified demeanour that was completely missing from their daughter. A girl like this was the real cotton-padded jacket! [1]

As for their daughter, even though it was true that she was sometimes a cotton-padded jacket, she occasionally made them feel like puking blood. They could not help suspecting that this cotton-padded jacket was stuffed with poisonous cotton.

On the tenth of the first lunar month, Xia Menghuan was to take the high-speed rail home. At the ticket gantry, she reluctantly bade farewell to Tang Xue and the rest. Then, she gave Tang Xue a hug.

When Xia Menghuan released Tang Xue, Liao Zhenyu opened his arms, wanting to hug her as well. However, Xia Menghuan pretended to not see him and pushed her luggage along while turning back to wave to them. "Bye bye! See you all when school reopens!"

Liao Zhenyu felt a little awkward.  He stepped forward and pretended that he meant to hug Li Yubing.

Li Yubing planted his palm on Liao Zhenyu's face and forcefully pushed him away.

Having been pushed away, Liao Zhenyu could only turn and try to hug his boss.

Then, Li Yubing suddenly hauled him back and gave him a perfunctory hug.

Liao Zhenyu felt that Li Yubing might be a drama king.

Tang Xue asked Li Yubing, "When is the ice hockey team gathering?"

"The day after tomorrow."

"Oh."

The three of them headed out together. Looking at the back of Tang Xue's head, Li Yubing suddenly said, "I'm thinking of going back to our primary school tomorrow. Do you want to come?"

"Sure."

This is an original work of 酒小七 (Jiu Xiaoqi) translated by Tea Fragrance. If you are not reading this at teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation has been reposted without the translator's consent. Head there for extra content or to leave feedback and comments on the novel translation.

Translator's Notes:

[1] Chinese parents call daughters 小棉襖 (xiǎo mián ǎo), cotton-padded jackets, as daughters are supposed to be more thoughtful, caring and sensitive towards their parents' needs, providing a warmth that sons are unable to give.

There won't be a double release next week as the chapter is long ? I need to start preparing for the insanely long chapter coming up as well. It's the longest chapter in this novel at 9.7k words!