Quick Transmigration: The Sweetheart Everyone Loves Is Stuck in Romantic Chaos Every Day - Chapter 97

Ruan Tang was still a little dazed, her head aching—probably from drinking. Her mind was sluggish and slow to react.

Then she heard the system’s voice:

【TangTang, Chi Zheng’s favorability is full now too! Yay! Half the mission is already complete!!!】

Her eyes widened, a good bit of the haze clearing away in an instant.

Yay! This mission was going surprisingly smoothly!!!

So next—

She glanced at the two men brawling fiercely in front of her. After hesitating for two seconds, she decided her next target would be the gentle Senior Lu He.

After all, he seemed much easier to approach. As for Teacher Gu, he didn’t seem to hold any special feelings for her—his care for her was probably only because she was his student.

Yes, that settled it!

But first, she had to break up with Chi Zheng.

Tang · Dutiful Mission Machine · Tang thought it through seriously.

“Chi Zheng-gege!”

Her soft voice called out.

Chi Zheng froze mid-punch. Gu Ming also frowned and drew back his fist.

Both turned toward Ruan Tang.

Their handsome faces were a little bruised, but still striking.

“Sorry, TangTang, did we scare you…”

Chi Zheng softened his tone, ready to walk over and coax her.

But then, with her sweet and gentle voice, she spoke the most terrifying words:

“I’m sorry. Let’s break up.”

Chi Zheng went blank.

Gu Ming, on the other hand, was overjoyed. His eyes narrowed in delight, the corners of his lips rising without restraint.

Chi Zheng’s expression grew lost, his hands by his side clenching tight, his anxious voice trembling:

“TangTang, don’t joke around, don’t scare me like this…”

Ruan Tang shook her head, her long lashes lowering. Her voice was serious—so very serious.

“I’m sorry. I’m not joking.”

Because she had to complete the mission.

She had failed so many times before—this time, she had to succeed.

Although guilt tugged at her, in her mind, she and Chi Zheng hadn’t been together for long. He should be able to forget her quickly.

Better a quick pain than a lingering one. She repeated even more firmly:

“But I really must break up with you.”

In that instant, Chi Zheng felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss. Though it was the warm spring month of March, he was wrapped in a suffocating cold. Even breathing became hard.

He rushed to Ruan Tang’s side, half-kneeling in front of her, clutching her small hand tightly and looking up at her.

His usually fierce features now brimmed with red-rimmed eyes, making him look pitiful, almost humble.

“Did I do something wrong? Tell me, please—I’ll change, TangTang. Don’t leave me—”

Ruan Tang gently returned his grip, her lashes lowered like butterfly wings, her tone soft and obedient.

“Chi Zheng-gege, you’re very good. It’s not your fault.”

Chi Zheng choked, his voice thick with pain.

“Then why—”

Ruan Tang fell silent.

How could she say it? She couldn’t possibly tell him it was because she needed to “conquer the next target.”

At that moment, Gu Ming spoke.

“Do you even need to ask? It’s because she’s fallen for me.”

He stepped beside Ruan Tang, discreetly squeezing her palm to signal that he would play along.

Then he began spinning lies with a calm face:

“Give up. She likes me. No matter how much you beg, it won’t change anything.”

Chi Zheng’s eyes turned bloodshot, glaring fiercely at Gu Ming.

“Bullshit—”

He clutched Ruan Tang’s shoulders in panic, his hoarse voice trembling:

“TangTang, he’s talking nonsense, right? You still like me, don’t you? You won’t leave me, you clearly… clearly…”

He wanted to say, “You clearly promised me.”

But suddenly, realization hit.

Ruan Tang had never once promised to stay with him forever. She had never once said she liked him. She had never responded to his confessions.

She hadn’t lied to him.

From the beginning, he had known she didn’t like him.

But later… she treated him so well, let him hold her so gently, looked at him with those soft eyes as if he were the only one in her world.

He had thought… he had believed… that she had grown to love him.

But in the end, it had all been his wishful thinking.

All the tenderness these past days—had been nothing but scraps she had bestowed on him.

And now that she wanted to leave, he had no right to stop her.

This realization crushed him. His trembling hand accidentally knocked Ruan Tang’s necklace askew—and then he saw it.

He yanked the necklace off.

The fresh and faded hickeys scattered across her skin burned his eyes.

His breath caught.

“So this is… why you’re leaving me? Is it him?”

His hoarse voice trembled as he pointed at Gu Ming.

Ruan Tang instinctively covered her neck, panic flashing in her eyes.

She only wanted to break up—she hadn’t wanted to provoke him, hadn’t wanted to hurt him like this.

But to Chi Zheng, that panic looked exactly like guilty confirmation.

His chest burned with pain. His grip on her shoulders grew harsher.

“When? When did you start liking him? I’ve been right here—why couldn’t you love me… why!!!”

Ruan Tang frowned from the pain, a soft cry slipping from her lips.

“Mm… it hurts…”

Gu Ming yanked the frenzied Chi Zheng off her, his voice cold with fury.

“Enough!!! What’s the point of doubting her now? She was being harassed by a stalker and didn’t tell you because she didn’t want you to worry. And you—you doubt her?”

Chi Zheng froze.

A stalker?

So that’s what Qi Guang’s hesitant, sorrowful expression back then had meant…

So it wasn’t that Ruan Tang was hiding another man. She was being harassed.

Ruan Tang’s eyes shimmered with tears. She bit her lip, lowering her voice:

“I’m sorry. I don’t even know who it is… but someone has been secretly bothering me all this time…”

Gu Ming shoved the devastated Chi Zheng aside, a cold laugh curling from his lips.

“All that energy to lash out at Ruan Tang—why not use it to catch the stalker instead?”

Chi Zheng’s eyes reddened further, staring at Ruan Tang.

“I’m sorry, TangTang. I didn’t mean to doubt you, I just… just…”

Just had no confidence.

Ruan Tang slipped off the bed and stood before him. She rose on her toes and hugged him lightly.

“Chi Zheng-gege, you’re really, really good. But I’m not right for you. I’m sorry. Forget me.”

Chi Zheng’s throat clogged with sobs, unable to speak.

…

After the devastated Chi Zheng left, Ruan Tang took a shower.

When she came out in a bathrobe, she noticed Gu Ming was still there.

“Eh? Teacher Gu? Why haven’t you left yet?”

Gu Ming was already dressed neatly.

Perhaps because he had class, he wore an expensive tailored suit, his crisp white shirt buttoned to the throat, exuding a restrained, almost ascetic air. (t/n: “禁欲气质” literally means “an aura of restraint/asceticism,” often used in romance novels to describe a cold, controlled man who becomes even more alluring because of that distance.)

Combined with his striking features, he looked exactly like a perfect male lead drawn straight from a manga.

Tilting his head, Gu Ming smiled at her.

“What’s this? TangTang just broke up with me, and now you want to throw me away too?”