Chapter 383: Third Update
Mrs. Ma is the wife of the Beggar Gang's Vice Leader and also the early woman of Duan Yu's father. Li Yan immediately understood the meaning behind mentioning this woman, confirming the adage that nothing is more poisonous than a woman's heart!
Mrs. Ma felt humiliated at the Beggar Gang gathering because Qiao Feng, the hero everyone talked about, did not even glance at her, a beauty. This led her to harbor resentment and ultimately led to her conspiring with Elder Bai Shijing to kill Vice Leader Ma Dayuan, obtaining the letter about Qiao Feng's true origins, ruining the reputation of a generation's hero.
Vindictive people are relatively rare in reality. Most people get angry and hold grudges, but eventually forget. Not Mrs. Ma, who coldly and calculatedly planned her revenge. But now that Qiao Huanxuan mentioned this person and this phrase, it's different, because her situation is completely different. Her resentment didn't stem from a single word or event; it has been rooted in twelve years of love turning into hate!
Looking at Qiao Huanxuan approaching him, Li Yan knew she was threatening him. He was never one to be threatened; those who did, he often killed directly!
But... facing this old classmate, Qiao Huanxuan, could he bring himself to kill her?
Besides, she's a cultured and refined architectural designer, and her threats were likely just words and wouldn't actually be carried out.
Helplessly, Li Yan suppressed a trace of discomfort, calmly looking at her and said, "Since you've read Heavenly Dragon Eight Books, and remember Mrs. Ma, you should also remember her ending, right? Why bother? Why suffer?"
"I don't care! I don't accept this!" Qiao Huanxuan got a bit emotional.
"How about this, next time at a class reunion, I'll publicly admit I once had a crush on you, liked you, but left school not because I couldn't handle your rejection, but because I wanted to prove myself in other ways. However, later on, I didn't succeed while you became more outstanding, making me unable to measure up to you, so I hid from you… Will this work? It gives you face and wouldn't make you spread that story around."
Li Yan took a step back, whether this would work was another matter, but at least gave her some time to buffer. With her higher education and the coolheadedness and rigor required for her current job, she should be able to correct herself given time.
Yet Qiao Huanxuan's breath quickened a bit, muttering, "Is this the real reason? Is this your heartfelt expression over the years? You left back then for this reason, and avoided everyone for these years? That's okay, back then I just thought we were too young for romance, didn't look down on you at all..."
Seeing her expression, Li Yan felt dizzy, "Nonsense! I meant, I'll say this to everyone for your sake; it's what everyone will believe but not the actual truth."
"No, no, this is your heartfelt expression! It's definitely your heartfelt expression!" Qiao Huanxuan's gaze turned from confusion to clarity and excitement. Over the years, she had speculated various possibilities, and what Li Yan said seemed the most likely.
Li Yan didn't expect it to backfire, seeing her reaction, hurriedly lowered his voice and said, "Qiao Huanxuan! You're living in your fantasy, thinking this is why, so you disbelieve what I say except for this one, and it's not the truth!"
Qiao Huanxuan laughed brightly, "I know your mindset. You've let yourself drift in your past days, actually still fond of me. You're twenty-eight, yet your girlfriend is under twenty; what's your aim? Aren't you searching for traces of me in her?"
Li Yan slumped onto the sofa, great, this girl seems a bit off…
"I can understand why you say you can't measure up to me, because you feel no longer pure, like a fallen flower..."
Pff... Li Yan nearly spat blood, the cigarette stub in his mouth sprayed out, luckily he quickly grabbed it mid-air.
Never before has he heard a girl describe him as a fallen flower and felt teary-eyed!
Qiao Huanxuan came closer, "I kept myself pure for you, but you've had many women, I can empathize with your guilt. But it doesn't matter, I won't mind..."
"But I do mind!" Li Yan wailed, then realized it was inappropriate; he minded her misunderstanding, not the whole fallen flower thing. Damn, she's misunderstood even further...
"I don't mind, what do you mind? Plus, I'll give you a chance to atone!"
Li Yan guessed she wanted him to leave Yu Xiaodi and embrace her for redemption, secretly sneering, watching and waiting for her to bring it up.
"To free you from guilt, I've decided..."
He waited for her to mention something about Yu Xiaodi but instead heard her words that startled him, wondering if he heard wrong. What world is this?!
Maybe, now Qiao Huanxuan was in a good mood and became playful.
But when Li Yan looked at her, he didn't see a teasing, mischievous, or joking smile but a face full of excitement and fervor. At this moment, Qiao Huanxuan looked at him like a cat finally catching a mouse, or a lion eager for long-awaited prey!
"What are you up to?" Li Yan asked in a steady voice, never imagining he'd get a chance to be pestered by a woman.
Qiao Huanxuan no longer had the demeanor of a cultured beauty, seemingly overflowing with power, like a wild female warrior or fierce lioness, suddenly leaped and pounced on Li Yan, pushing him onto the sofa.
Damn! Is she serious!
She succeeded of course because Li Yan didn't evade or counterattack; against a beautiful classmate trying to push him down, counterattacking wouldn't be that fierce. Yet he couldn't really have her, so fleeing was his option.
Exerting force at his waist, Li Yan quickly flipped up, trying to turn Qiao Huanxuan down onto the sofa. But Qiao Huanxuan now lacked any gentility, his struggle seemingly making her more excited, more wildly grabbing his arm, trying to straddle him.
Faced with this octopus-like entangling tactic, even Duan Shuiliu's big brother would despair, let alone Li Yan who couldn't truly fight?
Helpless, he could only hug Qiao Huanxuan's slender waist with both hands, then stood up together.
Qiao Huanxuan seemed mistaken, recalling something, more determined to cling to Li Yan.
This made Li Yan sweat profusely, nearly breathless; after calming down, he exerted force to lift her body up, then swung her in the air, finally freeing himself.
Despite the swing, he still had to support her firmly, no putting her in harm's way.
"Ah! So thrilling!" As if a mini roller coaster experience, Qiao Huanxuan excitedly exclaimed.
Li Yan focused, rotated her body in the air to ease the downward force, then tossed her towards the sofa.
This suite was fairly large, yet only that big, the only hiding places were either the bedroom or the bathroom.
The bedroom was too amorous; going there might make him lose his defenses easier. The bathroom where he could splash some cold water was better to clear his head a bit. So he immediately ran inside, pondering calming her down before any proper talk.
Given Li Yan's speed, Qiao Huanxuan couldn't keep up. Even if she was already standing, she couldn't catch up. Once in the bathroom, Li Yan quickly locked the door, preventing the rogue woman from barging in.
Huh? Why can't it lock? It obviously locked when I showered earlier!
Looking down, he saw a slipper blocking the way. Although Qiao Huanxuan couldn't match his speed, she thought quickly, knowing his direction meant hiding in the bathroom, she immediately tossed both slippers over.
Li Yan felt it but assumed she aimed at him, not realizing it was about securing a spot, and one slipper jammed the door, preventing closure.
His speed advantage wasn't wasted, the distance widened little by little, just two meters away; as he discovered the slipper and kicked it aside, intending to close the door again, Qiao Huanxuan rushed barefoot, her arm stretched, fingers hooked onto the door. If he forced it shut, he'd catch her fingers!
Li Yan couldn't ignore her fingers, but while trying to pry them off, she completely came over, extending a leg. Unless tossing her out again, he considered tossing her onto the bed, locking her in the bedroom. But she could quickly follow him out, blocking the door with a wardrobe would be too late. No choice, had to knock her out!
"You run! No matter where you run, you won't escape sister's grip!" Qiao Huanxuan pushed the door open with a cunning grin.
(Most readers ignore Old Lai's extra words, especially ticket pleas, viewing them as unnecessary, yet some will still read, some still vote, making Old Lai very moved. This is an extra for hitting 260 monthly votes, Old Lai follows through, will strive for 270, 280, now at 288, looking forward to 290, 300. Thank you for each vote!)(To be continued, visit www.qidian.com for more chapters, support the author, support legitimate reading!)
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