"Is there something you need? If not, I’ll head back to my seat."
Ye Liangchen lowered his gaze at a forty-five-degree angle, a signature move he often made in his dreams when he was feeling melancholic.
In his dreams, whenever he did this, the three of them would always worry about him.
"You... didn’t wipe your mouth clean," Li Qingxue reminded him softly.
Hearing this, Ye Liangchen instinctively wiped the corner of his mouth.
Sure enough, he saw a layer of grease on the back of his hand.
It must have been from the fried dough stick he had eaten earlier.
He hadn’t even noticed it himself, but Li Qingxue had.
How could she claim she wasn’t paying attention to him?
"Thank you," he said, glancing at the tissue she handed him before continuing in a low voice, "I don’t need the tissue, but I appreciate the gesture."
With that, he walked straight back to his seat without pause, as if silently telling Li Qingxue that he had already started moving forward.
No one would wait for her forever.
Watching Ye Liangchen’s retreating figure, Li Qingxue frowned slightly.
Then she turned to Gao Quan: "What’s wrong with him? He seems... different."
Gao Quan shook his head helplessly. "I don’t know either. Ever since he woke up yesterday, it’s like he’s a completely different person."
"Gao Quan!"
Hearing Ye Liangchen call his name, Gao Quan shrugged at Li Qingxue and then sat down beside Ye Liangchen.
They were desk mates.
Li Qingxue glanced at Ye Liangchen, puzzled. What was going on with him?
Was it because she had rejected his confession that he no longer wanted to be friends?
But she had clearly told him that she only saw him as an older brother.
And during high school, she had no plans to date anyone.
She had made all of this clear to Ye Liangchen, hadn’t she?
Feeling slightly frustrated, she sighed. Since she had never planned to date anyone, she had no idea how to handle this situation.
Ye Liangchen stole a glance at Li Qingxue and saw her turn away, looking dejected.
He immediately turned to Gao Quan: "What did she say to you just now?"
Seeing Ye Liangchen’s eager expression, Gao Quan couldn’t help but tease him: "Didn’t you say that from now on, I shouldn’t tell you anything about Li Qingxue?"
"You’re so anxious. Could it be that you still have feelings for Li Qingxue... huh?"
Ye Liangchen knew Gao Quan was just teasing him.
Some things weren’t meant to be revealed yet.
He couldn’t very well tell Gao Quan now that he was going to marry three wives in the future, and one of them was Li Qingxue.
Even if he said it, Gao Quan wouldn’t believe him.
It would be better to prove it with facts later than to explain it now.
"Stop messing around. Just tell me."
"Li Qingxue was just concerned about you. You’ve been looking so haggard lately—it’s not like she’s blind. She can see it too."
Hearing this, Ye Liangchen’s expression softened, as if he had expected this.
"Anything else?"
"Not really. She was about to say more, but you interrupted her, so she stopped."
Ye Liangchen sighed. He had been too impatient.
If only he had let Gao Quan and Li Qingxue talk a bit longer.
"What? Should I go talk to her again later?"
"No need." Their encounter just now had been coincidental, and Li Qingxue had been the one to initiate the conversation.
If Gao Quan went over to talk to her now, it would seem too deliberate.
The best course of action was to stay put and wait.
Li Qingxue would eventually lose her patience and come to him.
That’s when the real chase would begin.
Hmph, all you losers who look down on me and think I’m just using another tactic to get Li Qingxue’s attention—just wait and see. You’ll be shocked.
"I wonder how Hu Yuying is doing now?"
"What did you say, Liangchen?" Gao Quan asked.
"Nothing, just some random thoughts."
"Gao Quan, do you think the right person will always appear at the right time?"
Ye Liangchen asked seriously.
Because of Hu Yuying, his heart was never at peace.
He wanted to save her early, to spare her from so much suffering.
But if Hu Yuying didn’t go through the torment inflicted by Long Aotian, how could he save her?
And the most crucial thing was that he wasn’t strong enough yet to take on Long Aotian.
If he provoked Long Aotian now, given Long Aotian’s vengeful nature, he would surely retaliate fiercely, just like in his dreams.
That guy was a lunatic. If pushed too far, he really would kill.
If it weren't for Gao Quan saving him in his dream, Ye Liangchen might have really died back then.
Heaven had given him a chance to be reborn, and he could fully use this time difference to achieve his grand ambitions.
But if he provoked Long Aotian too early...
He should let things unfold as they did in the dream—meeting, getting to know each other, falling in love, and ultimately redeeming one another.
This was why Ye Liangchen was so conflicted. He desperately needed someone to confirm that his current approach was the right one.
Only then would his heart feel less tangled and troubled.
"Probably," Gao Quan thought for a moment and said, "Meeting the right person at the right time is undoubtedly a blessing."
"But if you meet the right person at the wrong time, you're bound to face some hardships."
"So, Brother Chen, you really shouldn't give up. Just wait a little longer."
Gao Quan assumed Ye Liangchen was referring to Li Qingxue in his words.
After all, Brother Chen and Li Qingxue had known each other for nine years.
A person doesn’t have many nine-year spans in their life.
And Li Qingxue had made it clear that she wasn’t ready for a relationship yet, preferring to wait until university to consider such matters.
Brother Chen was just too anxious. He worried that he might not get into the same university as Li Qingxue.
That’s why he was trying so hard to confess his feelings to her during high school.
But the fact that Li Qingxue instinctively cared about Brother Chen suggested that she didn’t dislike him. On the contrary, she might even have some feelings for him.
Otherwise, why would she only remind Brother Chen about the oil stain on his mouth and not mention it to me?
This was clearly a case of the right person at the wrong time.
At this stage, Li Qingxue was clearly focused on her college entrance exams, which was why she kept rejecting Brother Chen’s confessions.
If they waited until university...
Even if they didn’t end up at the same university, as long as they truly liked each other, couldn’t they still be together?
Perhaps by then, when Brother Chen confessed again, Li Qingxue might accept him.
After all, from the looks of it, Li Qingxue still cared about Brother Chen to some extent.
"Right? So you agree—the right time, the right person."
"It seems my thinking isn’t wrong after all."
Ye Liangchen let out a slight sigh of relief. In truth, he wasn’t really afraid of Long Aotian.
But if Hu Yuying didn’t endure Long Aotian’s bullying and humiliation, how could he redeem her?
How could he become her little ray of sunshine?
So, he wasn’t just standing by idly. He was simply waiting for the right time.
In that moment, Ye Liangchen felt a great weight lift from his heart.