Chapter 129: Love-Hate Entanglement

Looking at his naive, smiling face, Dong Yanyan felt a slight pang of heartache. "One who is not a fish cannot know the joy of a fish. Some people love themselves more, like me; others feel happy when they can do more for their loved ones, like you. In truth, there is no right or wrong in this."

Xu Cheng looked at her and smiled. "I think you're the same way; you're always worrying about others. It's really great to have a friend like you. Oh, Ren, you're here!" The latter part was directed at someone behind her.

Ren Jiaxuan glared at him with ill intent. "If I hadn't come, would you two still be chatting away?"

"No, no! You two carry on! I'll be off!" Xu Cheng, showing great tact, stood up and left.

Why did Dong Yanyan suddenly feel like there was a green tint hovering over his head? How wretched! Every time she was with him, she felt a sense of temporal displacement. It would be best to see less of him in the future.

She turned back to glare at Ren Jiaxuan, teasingly saying, "Why the big temper right now? You seemed quite calm yesterday; you wouldn't even pay attention to me, just watched them bully me!"

"I was just afraid you'd be angry, and look, you really were," Ren Jiaxuan said, leaning in with a flattering smile. "I even asked Tiantian to greet you. That's the rule in our dorm—every girlfriend goes through that the first time she visits."

"I know," Dong Yanyan replied nonchalantly. "Once that scene is over, everyone is considered familiar, and we're all one big family. That’s why I was so cooperative yesterday! Didn't you notice? But there cannot be a second time for this! If it were me, I would never let the girls in my dorm touch a single finger of yours. You belong to me alone; no one else is allowed to touch you!"

"Rest assured, there will absolutely not be a second time." Ren Jiaxuan put an arm around her shoulder, beaming with triumph. "Yanyan, you're really something. Da Wei was about to cry yesterday. Look at him—you even poked him! And made him streak! Usually, they’re the ones teasing others. Yesterday was the first time they were collectively teased. Didn't you notice how everyone was dodging you today? They're all intimidated by you now."

Dong Yanyan rolled her eyes, caught between laughter and annoyance. "Look at you, so smug because you got the better end of the deal. I bet it felt great bullying other people's girlfriends before, didn't it? I didn't let them take much advantage of me yesterday. You must be feeling great again, right?! Don't think I don't know—you've made several of them cry before! Hmph!"

Ren Jiaxuan laughed shamelessly. "Girl, don't you think we're evenly matched? We're a match made in heaven."

"I don't think being a rascal is anything to brag about. Classmate, your moral compass needs some recalibrating." Dong Yanyan picked up the *Deng Xiaoping Theory* textbook from the desk and tapped his head with it. In truth, she rather liked this wicked-yet-charming nature of his.

"We have an exam on this next, too! No more fooling around, I'll come find you after the exam!" Ren Jiaxuan patted her cheek and turned to leave.

Seeing that her classmates were arriving one after another, Dong Yanyan hurried to prepare her stationery for the exam and took a quick trip to the restroom.

***

The three days of exams ended quickly. After the chaotic battle, the classroom was left with nothing but scraps of paper and disheveled desks and chairs. As the class monitor for domestic affairs, Jiang Fan used a broom to perform the final cleanup of the semester, while Dong Yanyan and Liu Ying helped him arrange the desks.

"Thank you both," Jiang Fan smiled at them.

"What's there to be polite about?" Liu Ying laughed casually. "What time is your train tomorrow?"

"Also a night train, two hours after yours." Jiang Fan pushed up his glasses, his face filled with longing. "I'm eager to get home!"

Dong Yanyan also felt a sense of homesickness. After tomorrow's New Year's party, she would be embarking on the train home. She hadn't been back for a long time and really missed it.

"Yanyan, the newspaper office gave out red envelopes today. Here you go!" Xu Cheng ran in from the doorway, pulled out an envelope with her name on it, and handed it to her. Dong Yanyan opened it to find a hundred-yuan bill inside. At that time, a one-hundred-yuan red envelope was quite significant. Adding in this month's salary and commission, she had a total of nine hundred yuan—in this era, that was almost on par with a white-collar income.

A small windfall at the end of the semester! Her mood was exceptionally bright.

She should buy something for Nannan, her parents, and her grandparents; they were all thinking of her. Oh, and Xu Cheng's little niece—she was about the same age as Nannan, so she should buy something for her as well. Thinking of this, she handed the hundred-yuan bill to Xu Cheng and said casually, "Take this and buy Jiaqi a schoolbag. Consider it a small gesture from me."

Xu Cheng was stunned. "How did you know my eldest brother's child is named Jiaqi?"

"Nonsense, didn't you tell me?" Dong Yanyan bluffed. "Don't try to decline; it's for the child, after all, she's a generation younger than us."

Xu Cheng hesitated, but seeing she was about to get annoyed, he thanked her and accepted it.

"If Xu Cheng hadn't gone today, you wouldn't have gotten this red envelope. It was supposed to be his, yet you're the one being generous with his money," Song Mingcheng walked in from the back of the classroom, looking at Dong Yanyan with a cryptic smile. He turned to Xu Cheng, "See? No one can outsmart her."

Xu Cheng laughed, "Yanyan isn't outsmarting anyone. She knows exactly what she's doing; she thinks of things I can't even imagine."

"That goes without saying? You guys—" Before Song Mingcheng could finish, he received a kick. "Fellow townsman, why are you so free today?" Dong Yanyan asked him with a stiff smile.

"I came to find Xu Cheng," Song Mingcheng said to him, "Old Xu, Jiang Fan, I'm treating you two to dinner tonight."

"You're only treating them? What about us?" Liu Ying asked, dissatisfied.

"Everyone! Everyone! I'll call Li Hui over in a bit!" Song Mingcheng turned to look at Dong Yanyan and said with a faint smile, "You don't need to come."

Dong Yanyan was angry upon hearing this. "Why aren't you taking me?"

"Then you pay?" Song Mingcheng shut her down with a single sentence.

"Forget it, I'll go call the boss for you guys." Dong Yanyan walked to the door, dejected, and ran into Lin Feng and Li Zhe, who were walking in, laughing and chatting.

"Yanyan, brother will give you a piece of candy." Li Zhe casually popped a candy into her mouth. Dong Yanyan frowned as she swallowed it—it was milk-flavored.

"Yanyan, are you going downstairs? Could you please call Liu Siying for me on your way?" Lin Feng smiled at her.

"They have student council activities, let's go," Song Mingcheng said, ignoring the two of them completely. He threw his arms around Xu Cheng and Jiang Fan's shoulders and walked out, followed by Liu Ying.

Dong Yanyan was speechless: Did they really have to be so "lovingly hateful" toward each other?

***

After dinner, finally free from the burden of cramming textbooks, Dong Yanyan felt incredibly relaxed. She found a foam pad and some pushpins in her cabinet, took out her sewing basket, and picked out a red string and several jade beads, preparing to weave a "knot of hearts."