MTB - Chapter 41
Chapter 41: Cherish Your Girlfriend
Tang Yuelou was very quiet after getting sick. Yun Yang wrapped her up in the blanket like a burrito and held on with her hands and feet. Yun Yang herself was sweating, but Tang Yuelou didn’t even kick the blanket off. Fortunately, the illness came and went quickly. After she took some medicine, her fever broke in the middle of the night.
Once her fever was gone, Yun Yang finally relaxed a little. If it hadn’t gone down by the next day, they would have had to see a doctor. She didn’t want to create an urban legend like, “‘Same-sex couple’s ‘game’ lands them in the hospital at dawn.” That would be truly mortifying.
Tang Yuelou’s breathing was shallow as she slept deeply. A bead of sweat on her temple stuck a strand of hair to her skin. Half her face was hidden under the thin blanket. She seemed to be lost in an unpleasant dream, her brows furrowed even in sleep, giving her an inexplicably pitiable and fragile air. By the faint light of the bedside lamp, Yun Yang’s gaze carefully traced the lines of her brows and eyes.
Sleeping Beauty, Yun Yang thought. Except this Sleeping Beauty is black-hearted and ruthless, not a good person at all.
It was already the early hours of the morning, but after the earlier chaos, her fatigue had completely vanished. The drowsiest part of the night had passed, and the more Yun Yang looked at her, the more awake she felt. The more awake she felt, the more she couldn’t lie still and wanted to do something mischievous. She fought with herself for a long time but still couldn’t resist pulling down the blanket covering Tang Yuelou’s face a little and gently brushing her eyelashes.
This Sleeping Beauty is my girlfriend, Yun Yang thought with a touch of pride, and touched her lips. Tang Yuelou unconsciously furrowed her brow. Yun Yang immediately held her breath, watching as she turned her head slightly and fell back asleep.
She really was weaker while sick. Normally, Tang Yuelou was such a light sleeper, she would have woken up long ago.
Before she could even breathe a sigh of relief, the phone on the bedside table lit up. It was Tang Yuelou’s. Yun Yang didn’t pay it much mind, but the caller seemed determined not to give up until the call was answered. A second and then a third call came in quick succession. Yun Yang sat up and glanced at it. The caller ID read “Ye Ziqiu.”
“What’s so important that you have to call someone in the middle of the night,” Yun Yang muttered, reaching over Tang Yuelou for the phone. The movement probably disturbed her, because Tang Yuelou opened her eyes.
“What time is it?” Her voice was a little hoarse and nasal. Realizing this, she cleared her throat, then pulled Yun Yang’s wrist to make her lie down. “Don’t get up. Sleep a little longer.”
She didn’t use much strength. Yun Yang freed one hand and patted the back of her hand, signaling for her to let go. “Teacher, you have a call.”
“Hm?”
“It’s from Ye Ziqiu.”
Tang Yuelou rubbed the space between her eyebrows. Without letting go, she closed her eyes again. “Answer it.”
“Alright, I’ll get it.” Yun Yang sighed and, still in that position, fished the phone over.
“Don’t blame me if I hear something I’m not supposed to…”
This wasn’t even the first round of phone bombardment. The previous two rounds had been three hours ago, from Secretary Li and Madam Tang respectively. Yun Yang had a vague feeling that something major had really happened. The moment she answered, Ye Ziqiu’s loud voice filled the entire bedroom without needing speakerphone: “Hello? Hello? Good heavens, you finally answered your phone! Secretary Li and Madam Tang couldn’t reach you. Something huge has happened, you know!”
Yun Yang: “Sister Ziqiu, it’s me.”
“Ah?” Ye Ziqiu went quiet for two seconds, then gave an awkward laugh. “Is that Yun Yang? Haha, no wonder Tang Yuelou was too busy to answer her phone. Um, is she there? Is it a convenient time?”
“No… it’s not because of that. Of course it’s convenient,” Yun Yang said, feeling inexplicably a little embarrassed. She explained, “Teacher Tang is sick.”
“Sick? What happened? Is she okay?”
“She’s still alive for now, but that might not be the case if you keep shouting.” The noise was hurting Tang Yuelou’s ears. “What is it?”
“As long as you’re okay. It’s President Tang. He passed away.”
Yun Yang froze and looked down, her eyes meeting Tang Yuelou’s.
Tang Yuelou: “When?”
“Three hours ago.”
“Understood.” After a moment of silence, she slowly relaxed and said to the person on the phone, “Thank you for your hard work.”
Ye Ziqiu: “No trouble at all. It’s mutually beneficial.”
After this baffling exchange, she hung up. Yun Yang was completely bewildered. Seeing that Tang Yuelou had no intention of doing anything after hanging up, she asked in confusion, “Aren’t you going back to check?”
“I’m still sick, and you’re already trying to kick me out?” Tang Yuelou sighed, half-joking. “Just a few hours ago you said you loved me. Are you trying to shirk responsibility now?”
“I’m being serious. If you keep this up, then…” Yun Yang wanted to say “get the hell out,” but then she remembered this was Tang Yuelou’s own home, so she quickly changed it to, “…I’ll leave.”
Tang Yuelou chuckled softly. “I don’t need to go back. There are plenty of people fighting to take care of Tang Ruitian’s corpse.”
“Then what does it have to do with Ye Ziqiu?”
“Making money has something to do with her.” Tang Yuelou yawned and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her down to lie beside her. “We want to short the Tang Group.”
Yun Yang: “…”
“Wait, hold on. Did I misunderstand something?” She struggled to process this for half a minute. “You, conspiring with others, to short your own family’s company? Doesn’t that sound so…”
Treacherous.
“Treacherous?” Tang Yuelou supplied the word Yun Yang didn’t dare to say, a half-smile on her face.
Yun Yang: “You said it, not me.”
“That’s not right, because to Tang Ruitian, I’m the ‘outsider’.” She sighed softly.
Perhaps because he knew his “familial bonds were weak,” Tang Ruitian hadn’t chosen an heir from among his many children. So, as soon as he was admitted to the ICU, Tang Yuelou had proactively extended an olive branch to the restless Little Madam Tang at home.
She wasn’t particularly interested in money, but the idea of taking advantage of a crisis to ruin the business Tang Ruitian had been proud of his entire life was indeed very appealing to her. Tang Yuelou felt that even after all these years, she was still a bit childish. Even though Tang Ruitian himself had become a lifeless husk, she still didn’t want to let his final wish be fulfilled. Whether the Tang Group collapsed or managed to barely survive, she would revel on the corpse of this cold “family,” like a form of self-entertaining revenge.
But to get revenge and make money at the same time? Why not?
After hearing all this, Yun Yang was simply stunned.
The world of the rich was truly complicated.
“You really are rotten to the core,” she remarked with a sigh.
Tang Yuelou smiled, tacitly accepting the assessment, and wrapped her arms around Yun Yang’s waist. “Too late. You can’t escape now.”
She held her very tightly, and Yun Yang found it a little hard to breathe. She felt the heat pressing against her back and wanted to turn over, but the person behind her wouldn’t let her. “Don’t turn around. You’ll get sick.”
“Hypocrite.” Yun Yang rolled her eyes, scoffing at this belated attempt at prevention. She added pointedly, “I’ve been holding you all night. It’s already too late for me to escape, so what difference does this make now?”
Tang Yuelou let out a pair of low laughs.
Remaining in that position, Yun Yang looked up at the window. The curtains weren’t fully drawn, revealing a corner of the glass. The heavy snow had long since stopped. In the Beicheng winter, the sky lightened late, and all she could see was darkness, reflecting the dim, warm light of the bedside lamp.
“Last night…”
“About yesterday…”
They both spoke at the same time. Tang Yuelou smiled. “You first.”
“I wanted to say, I’m sorry about last night. I was a little… ahem. Anyone would get angry if they were told something like that during a confession, right?” Yun Yang felt a belated sense of shame. There really had been no need to be so harsh, but Tang Yuelou was a special case. If she didn’t completely burn her bridges, Tang Yuelou would see it as an “opportunity to exploit.”
But thinking back now, what if she had misjudged Tang Yuelou? What if she was just naturally cold-hearted, and Yun Yang herself had overestimated their relationship? Could she really have been cruel enough to make a clean break, or to leave without a word like last time?
“Don’t apologize.” Tang Yuelou’s hand on her waist moved up, and she pressed a finger to Yun Yang’s lips. “Thank you. This was my most relaxing and happiest birthday.”
Yun Yang clasped her hand, feeling the warmth of her palm, and slowly calmed down.
—Thankfully, that was just a “what if.”
“Good, as long as you know.” She huffed. “You’d better cherish your girlfriend. I guarantee this will be your most unforgettable birthday.”
“I will.”
“Good enough. Oh, right,” Yun Yang suddenly remembered. “What were you going to say?”
Tang Yuelou started laughing again.
Yun Yang: “What are you laughing at?”
“I was actually going to say that I was the one who didn’t control my emotions yesterday. Are you okay?”
“…You should just get lost.”
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