Chapter 142: The Rival in Love

(Dear readers, recently I’ve been feeling unwell and lethargic, leading to a lack of focus. The updates have been underwhelming. I will adjust and try to deliver more content over the weekend or next week! Your support is appreciated. There will be another Chapter in the evening.)

Before coming out, Li Yan had already made up his mind. This Liu Yuyang also comes from a good family, and was formerly a classmate of Yurong. Today, he wasn’t invited; he probably came by himself and decided to stay. If the truth were told to him, it might not deter him and could even spur him on; moreover, it would certainly lead to Yurong’s marriage becoming public knowledge.

So, for now, it’s best not to mention their marriage, but Li Yan also can’t just stand by and watch this man pursue his wife; he needs to indicate that he’s her boyfriend at least.

When he arrived in the living room, Zhang Yurong, Liu Yuyang, and Jiang Xueyin were seated, and as Zhang Tianyi came out together with him, everyone stood up.

"Sit, sit, I had a small matter to discuss privately with Little Li," Zhang Tianyi greeted with a smile, though Yurong and Xueyin didn’t require such courtesy from him, the words were clearly meant for Liu Yuyang. Although Li Yan’s identity wasn’t specified, it was clear he had a close relationship with him.

"Uncle, please sit. And this is... Mr. Li? A pleasure to meet you, I guess you must be Xueyin’s boyfriend?" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

It was only at this moment that Liu Yuyang noticed Li Yan. Although he had seen Li Yan enter with Zhang Yurong earlier, once inside he started chatting with Zhang Yurong, while Li Yan remained behind talking with Jiang Xueyin, and then wandered off without introducing himself, leading Liu Yuyang to assume that this was Jiang Xueyin’s boyfriend, accompanying her to celebrate his cousin’s birthday, and having bumped into Yurong outside, she brought him in.

Hearing Liu Yuyang’s opening remark, everyone paused for a moment.

Because while the three of them were chatting in the living room, Zhang Yurong merely asked briefly about his situation at Us, and Jiang Xueyin mostly listened, leaving Liu Yuyang to do most of the talking. Li Yan wasn’t there, and Liu Yuyang didn’t ask, so they hadn’t introduced him.

His current misunderstanding had everyone pondering how to respond; Zhang Tianyi sat down with a smile, opting not to interfere and leaving the young people to resolve it themselves.

Jiang Xueyin wanted to speak up but found it inappropriate. She quickly glanced at her cousin, then at Li Yan. She knew they were married and living together, but wasn’t aware their relationship was in name only, and also knew the disparity in their backgrounds needed to remain confidential.

Zhang Yurong found herself in a dilemma as well; if she didn’t acknowledge her relationship with Li Yan, it wouldn’t be fair to him and might hurt him. If she acknowledged it, their relationship’s exposure via Liu Yuyang would draw a lot of attention.

"Heh..." Li Yan was momentarily taken aback, but forced a laugh.

This question was directed at him, so he had to answer. He was prepared, just didn’t expect Liu Yuyang to mistakenly think he was Jiang Xueyin’s boyfriend.

Hmm, maybe he said it purposely? Who knows?

"Mr. Liu, no need to worry..."

"Worry?" Liu Yuyang was a bit puzzled, when was he worried? How could his words be associated with worry?

"When we came in, Cousin Xueyin had informed me that you were Yurong’s old classmate, and you’re considerably older than Yurong. At that time, Xueyin was still young, so she naturally wouldn’t know you well, yet you call her so affectionately, clearly having an interest in Cousin Xueyin. You were obviously testing me, right?"

Hearing Li Yan’s words, not only Liu Yuyang was at a loss for words, but Zhang Yurong and Zhang Tianyi also broke into a cold sweat.

Jiang Xueyin was even more confounded, rolling her eyes at him. Li Yan was too irritating, unable to confront a rival himself, and was trying to shift the trouble elsewhere.

"So, you don’t need to worry, I’m not Xueyin’s boyfriend, I’m Yurong’s boyfriend."

When Li Yan came over, he only helped Zhang Tianyi sit down and didn’t take a seat himself. After saying this, he walked over and sat down between Liu Yuyang and Zhang Yurong.

Previously, with just the three of them, there was plenty of space in the large living room. Jiang Xueyin sat alone on a sofa to the side, while Liu Yuyang sat with Zhang Yurong. He kept a respectful distance, knowing that Zhang Yurong wasn’t fond of men getting too close, leaving just the right amount of space for Li Yan to insert himself.

Only now did Liu Yuyang see Li Yan as a rival, realizing that the remarks which initially seemed nonsensical now carried a lot of deeper meanings. Addressing directly as ’Yurong’, ’Cousin Xueyin’, emphasized his identity, and he intentionally stressed that he was several years older than Yurong...

Taking a good look at Li Yan, he couldn’t help but sneer inwardly, thinking, "Are you really only twenty years old?"

"Hello, I’m Liu Yuyang, a close friend of Yurong from childhood." Liu Yuyang smiled and extended his hand, offering a business card with the other. His introduction was just right—simply stating his name and identity without boasting about his title, but the business card naturally clued others in.

After speaking, he leaned forward, his gaze passing over Li Yan, and smiled at Zhang Yurong, asking, "Yurong, do you have a boyfriend? How come you never mentioned it?"

"Li Yan, Yurong’s... boyfriend." Li Yan returned the greeting with a smile, using the same sentence structure, especially pausing after ’together,’ which naturally suggested the inclusion of words like ’living together.’

He merely brushed Liu Yuyang’s hand slightly and took his business card, then replied on Yurong’s behalf, "Mr. Liu, you only knew Yurong earlier, but you’re not that familiar with her and don’t understand her character. For some unimportant people and matters, she usually ignores them. She never mentioned you, her ’good friend...’"

He then pretended to awkwardly correct himself, "... I didn’t mean to say you’re unimportant, but dating is a private matter, and generally, friends don’t need to be informed."

His performance was obviously fake, and he didn’t need to overact. Essentially, it was to tell Liu Yuyang that he wasn’t important!

Liu Yuyang initially felt a bit displeased watching Li Yan, but he quickly smiled again. In his eyes, Li Yan’s behavior seemed a bit clownish, and he believed Zhang Yurong would think the same. Given Zhang Yurong’s critical eye, even someone as outstanding as himself couldn’t guarantee her favor; how could someone like Li Yan be her choice of a boyfriend?

He quickly reassessed Li Yan, guessing Li Yan was also pursuing Zhang Yurong, probably trying to ingratiate himself with Zhang Tianyi. He figured this wouldn’t receive Zhang Yurong’s own acknowledgment, so he didn’t mind Li Yan’s attitude and instead displayed his generosity.

"Nice to meet you, let’s keep in touch. By the way, Yurong, I’m back this time to celebrate your birthday and flew to Saike to order a custom birthday gift for you. Have a look and see if you like it?" Liu Yuyang came prepared with gifts for the Zhang Tianyi couple and had just handed over Yurong’s gift first.

He initially felt he had reached the highest level, not needing to show off. But with Li Yan’s glibness, seeming adept at winning people over, and having already charmed Zhang Tianyi and maybe even Jiang Xueyin, he had to appropriately display his strength to make Li Yan retreat in the face of difficulties. He could tell from Li Yan’s clothes and style that he wasn’t from a wealthy family, perhaps only after Yurong’s money?

...

Since their entrance, Zhang Yurong hadn’t spoken, nor had she had much chance to talk. Seeing the two openly and covertly competing, she felt a bit helpless and conflicted.

Seeing Li Yan under pressure facing a romantic rival and becoming more anxious, her heart felt happy and comforted; but Li Yan’s speaking manner seemed slightly petty. Liu Yuyang, being a person with social skills, if the truth was told, rumors wouldn’t bode well; if not, he might misunderstand and persist...

Hearing Liu Yuyang mention the gift, Yurong hesitated before reaching out to take it. Since Li Yan cared so much, she didn’t want him to misunderstand or overthink, so opening it in front of him seemed best.

At this moment, everyone knew Liu Yuyang wanted to pursue Zhang Yurong. As he said, he specially came back from Yus to celebrate her birthday, and the gift, custom-made at Saike, was undoubtedly expensive and meaningful; all eyes were glued to it.

Once unwrapped, a box appeared. Yurong then opened it to reveal a smaller, exquisitely crafted jewelry box.

Taking out the jewelry box, Zhang Yurong hesitated. Judging by the box’s shape and size, the gift could be either earrings or a ring. Earrings are jewelry given between close individuals, while a ring—well, everyone knows its significance...

Everyone watched as Zhang Yurong glanced to the side, seeing Li Yan and Liu Yuyang both watching her. With a determined heart, she directly opened it.

Upon opening it under bright lights, there appeared a dazzling platinum diamond ring!

From Jiang Xueyin’s sitting position, only the box could be seen but not its contents. Filled with curiosity, she immediately came over to sit beside Zhang Yurong, exclaimed upon seeing the platinum diamond ring inside, "It’s so beautiful!"

This platinum diamond ring was indeed very beautiful.

Li Yan admitted this point too, because beyond just the diamond’s value, the key was its uniquely exquisite design, obviously crafted by a master. Wearing it out would surely awe the often scrutinizing wealthy socialites.

For the middle or small affluent classes, any diamond-studded item suffices. ’A diamond is forever, one lasts a lifetime’; a diamond equates to value, identity, taste—insincerely put, satisfying vanity and pretentiousness.

However, for the ultra-wealthy, diamond jewelry is about the artistic level of the design. It needs to project an artistic aura, and not seem vulgar to discerning, high-browed observers. Nouveau riches seek visibility—thicker gold chains, bigger diamonds...

"It’s really beautiful, but it’s too expensive, I can’t accept it. Just remembering my birthday and coming back to celebrate is the best gift." Zhang Yurong closed the cover, placed it back into the box, and handed it to Liu Yuyang.

(Thanks to yesterday’s supporters: jK Liang, s-k-ysss, dongmin8061, zjun971210, Rain’s Destiny, Cp Pampas, Cavalry) (To be continued, for more updates, please visit www.qidian.com, more Chapters available, support the author, support legal reading!)