Water and Fire~Chapter 51: Let's Play Fair

 

Chapter 51: Let's Play Fair

The others chatted for a few more moments before leaving. They made a point of greeting Chu Qianmiao, who nodded and promised to talk again sometime.

After they left, Tan Shen, under the pretext of getting some food, pulled Chu Qianmiao into a corner, gave her a wall-bang, and, looking into her eyes, smiled and asked, "Are you pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger?"

The atmosphere was filled with ambiguity.

Chu Qianmiao pushed him away.

"It's your poor eyesight that's mistaking the tiger for a pig."

She stood up and went to the food area to get some food. She had been very nervous just now.

Tan Shen walked around to her again and asked with a smile, "Tell me the truth, have you been secretly learning English just because I'm abroad? You figured if you could ever reunite with me, you wouldn't just be able to say 'how are you?'"

Chu Qianmiao rolled her eyes. She wanted to go out and buy Tan Shen some medicine to cure his narcissism.

"Brother, do you cry every morning when you look in the mirror? Thinking there's only one other handsome guy in the world, you can't help but feel sad?"

Tan Shen actually had the nerve to nod. Chu Qianmiao wanted to slap herself in the face. Why was she giving him a leg up for his shameless narcissism?

Speaking of English, she'd only been at the CET-4 or CET-6 level in school—she could understand but not speak much. However, after graduation, during her year-long internship at a law firm, where she helped partners review English contracts, her legal English skills skyrocketed.

But that was the end of her adventure for today. If she continued, she'd probably be exposed.

Tan Shen ran into someone she knew and was called over to chat. Chu Qianmiao glanced back. Ren Yan was also talking to Li Tang. Li Tang lowered her head slightly, her chin tucked in, giving the cold beauty a touch of pity.

Chu Qianmiao sighed silently and wandered over to the beverage section, hoping to find something that would both stimulate her taste buds and her nerves.

Someone approached from behind. She didn't turn around. She probably didn't know anyone here anyway, so there was no need to turn around and greet them.

But the person behind her called out, "Can I call you Qianmiao?"

Chu Qianmiao turned and saw Li Tang. She smiled at her, "Of course!"

Li Tang looked at her with a surprisingly open gaze. "You should have heard me and the others teasing you just now. I came to apologize."

Chu Qianmiao was stunned. She hadn't expected Li Tang to be so direct.

Li Tang remained the proud and beautiful cold beauty, her self-deprecating smile unfazed. "My performance just now wasn't very good, I apologize. Perhaps it's your youthful beauty that made me feel threatened."

Chu Qianmiao was stunned.

What should she do? She was most afraid of being soft-hearted. If someone swung a knife at her, she'd dared to strike back with two 40-meter-long swords.

But then they suddenly sheathed their swords. Where would she put her 80-meter-long swords?

She hated her enemies becoming less annoying.

"You're beautiful and charming," she managed to say. Li Tang smiled. The cold beauty's smile had the effect of melting icebergs.

Chu Qianmiao and Li Tang walked back to the small table. As soon as they sat down, Ren Yan stood up. "You guys chat, I'm going to meet a friend."

Chu Qianmiao felt inexplicably that Ren Yan was avoiding her.

She and Li Tang suddenly exchanged bewildered glances.

Li Tang smiled at her and tried to find a conversation starter.

"Ren Yan can be difficult to get along with sometimes. Don't take anything he said to you about the project personally."

Chu Qianmiao was stunned for a moment, feeling a strange sensation.

Li Tang's tone, as if she and Ren Yan were one and the same...

She replied, "No, he's actually more caring towards the younger generation."

Li Tang smiled and said, "He's a bit aloof and doesn't often attend parties. I used to have to drag him out. It's kind of his quirk," she said with a smile. "Thank you all for being so tolerant of his quirk."

Chu Qianmiao replied, seemingly innocently, "Senior doesn't have that kind of quirk, does he? We even celebrated his birthday together last year."

Li Tang forced her smile to deepen, then added, "He's sometimes inconsiderate and won't apologize. If he accidentally hurts you, don't take it personally; he's just being stubborn."

Chu Qianmiao replied, "Senior wouldn't be inconsiderate. If he knows he's wrong, he'll apologize."

Li Tang paused, her smile fading. "Apologize?" She repeated, "Did he apologize?"

Chu Qianmiao nodded. "Yes, he did. Senior is actually a very reasonable person."

Li Tang looked at Chu Qianmiao, silent for a long moment.

When she spoke again, she laughed again: "Tan Shen, that fool! Can't he see that you're not thinking about him?" After a pause, she looked at Chu Qianmiao and said, "Just now, I lost to you again."

Chu Qianmiao thought to herself that she was right. Li Tang's words had been deliberate, deliberately showcasing her and Ren Yan's former closeness.

And she had just been playing the pig to eat the tiger, countering every move and preventing Li Tang's display of intimacy from succeeding.

She had never imagined that one day she would be engaged in a series of silent battles with another exceptional woman over a single man.

She thought Ren Yan's life was truly too easy.

She glanced towards the beverage area. Ren Yan and Tan Shen were both there.

Tan Shen was laughing as he spoke to Ren Yan. Ren Yan, listening, suddenly glanced over. Chu Qianmiao's eyes met his, and he immediately looked away.

Li Tang was also watching them, and suddenly she smiled again: "Tan Shen is truly an idiot. Not only can he not see that your heart isn't with him, but he's actually chatting happily with his rival."

Chu Qianmiao's heart skipped a beat. Li Tang was becoming increasingly blunt.

She turned to look at Li Tang, who was also looking at her. She asked bluntly, "You like Ren Yan, right?"

Chu Qianmiao thought for a moment and nodded solemnly. There was nothing to deny.

"I like him too, and I want him back," Li Tang said. "So let's compete fairly."

Chu Qianmiao clenched her hands under the table into fists, then unclenched them, unclenched them, and clenched them again. This was the first challenge she had ever received.

Tan Shen's voice rang in her ears. He had returned.

"What are you guys talking about? You seem quite interested!" Tan Shen asked.

Li Tang replied, "We were talking about finding an opportunity to go shopping and eat together someday. What about you guys? What are you talking about?"

Tan Shen said, "Of course, I'm trying to poach your employees." After a pause, he continued, "I told Senior Ren that if he's working on an IPO project and wants to bring in private equity before restructuring, he should definitely consider contacting me first!"

Li Tang smiled. "He's really trying to poach my employees."

Li Tang looked around and asked, "Where's Ren Yan?"

Tan Shen said, "He just finished talking to me and got a call saying he had something to deal with at the company, so he left first. He even told me to let you know."

Chu Qianmiao felt a little tired and told Tan Shen she wanted to leave. Tan Shen immediately called a designated driver.

"I'm leaving too. I'll take you home first." He looked up and asked Li Tang, "Want to come with me?"

Li Tang shook her head, "I drove myself."

The designated driver arrived. Before leaving, Chu Qianmiao stood up and said to Li Tang with a smile, "Senior Li Tang, I accept your proposal!"

Fair competition, I accept.

The only way to defeat martial arts in the world is to be faster. Isn't it just a competition of who can strike faster?

Li Tang looked at her, raised her chin, and smiled proudly.

"I like you very much. Let's have dinner together sometime."