Quick Transmigration: The Sweetheart Everyone Loves Is Stuck in Romantic Chaos Every Day - Chapter 222

Xia Lan’s heart shattered in an instant, like a flower beaten apart by a sudden storm—scattered, broken.

Pretend. Girlfriend.

Her face darkened. “What do you mean? Are there… others coming tomorrow?”

Ruan Tang answered weakly, “There will be two boys…”

Hearing no response, she cautiously lifted her head—only to see that the proud heiress actually had redness pooling in her eyes.

Startled, Ruan Tang reached up to touch her face. “What’s wrong?”

With a soft slap, Xia Lan brushed her hand away.

Her voice trembled, fighting desperately to hold back tears, but her words still came out sharp and fierce.

“What kind of date brings along other people? What do you take me for?”

Ruan Tang tugged at the hem of her clothes, her voice small and guilty.

“It’s not just anyone—it’s Yan Qing and Lin Yao. Yesterday… Yan Qing confessed to me again…”

Xia Lan’s body stiffened. She lowered her gaze, looking at Ruan Tang, her throat tight.

“You didn’t agree to him, did you?”

Ruan Tang waved her hands in panic. “Of course not—that’s why I planned tomorrow’s thing. I… I want to pair Yan Qing with Lin Yao instead…”

Only then did Xia Lan understand. So that’s what it was.

Though it wasn’t really a date, and she felt a twinge of disappointment, being able to help Ruan Tang shake off a man’s pestering was still a good thing.

Having figured it out, Xia Lan awkwardly took Ruan Tang’s hand and gently rubbed it.

“I slapped your hand just now. Did it hurt?”

Ruan Tang blinked her peach blossom eyes in surprise. “No, it didn’t.”

It had only been a light tap—how could that even count as hitting?

Still, Xia Lan rubbed her hand for quite a while longer, muttering under her breath.

“Next time, say things clearly from the start. Don’t get my hopes up for nothing, honestly.”

“I just thought this kind of thing would be better said in person…”

Xia Lan sighed, then gently mussed Ruan Tang’s hair. “I’ll help you. Yesterday was my fault anyway—I owe you an apology.”

“It’s fine. You didn’t do it on purpose…”

“Yan Qing’s a smart one.”

Xia Lan suddenly blurted this out without warning.

“Mm? I know. He’s good at his studies.”

“Which means—”

Xia Lan abruptly leaned in, close to Ruan Tang’s ear, smiling with narrowed eyes.

“If you don’t act well enough, you’ll get exposed.”

Ruan Tang froze. “Eh?”

Xia Lan pinched her cheek.

“So be good, and listen to me tomorrow.”

Ruan Tang: Why do I have such a bad feeling about this…

…

At the movie theater entrance.

Yan Qing wore a simple white shirt. His handsome, cool face and tall, straight posture drew countless glances from passing girls.

But he only stared at his phone screen.

Five minutes ago, he had sent Ruan Tang a message—

【Tang Tang, I’m here. Where are you? Do you really not want me to come pick you up?】

Still no reply.

Maybe she was walking and didn’t have time to look at her phone?

Anxious, Yan Qing was about to go searching when he looked up—only to see a tall, slender young man with refined features walking toward him.

—Lin Yao.

Yan Qing frowned.

Why was he here? Was it just a coincidence?

Lin Yao also spotted him, his expression immediately souring.

But since his meeting place with Ruan Tang was right under that sign, he could only grit his teeth and walk forward.

He opened his mouth rudely. “Hey, go wait somewhere else. I’m meeting someone here.”

Yan Qing’s voice cooled several degrees, carrying a sharp edge.

“I’m also meeting someone here. You move.”

“Tch.” Lin Yao clicked his tongue, completely disregarding his image. His gaze toward Yan Qing brimmed with malice—and a faint trace of smugness.

“I’m trying to do you a favor. Otherwise, when you see who I’m waiting for, you won’t be able to handle it.”

Yan Qing’s eyes darkened, a faint sense of foreboding sinking in.

He clenched his phone tightly, speaking very slowly. “The one you’re waiting for… is Ruan Tang?”

Lin Yao sneered with delight.

“You guessed it? Yeah, it’s Tang Tang. What, jealous?”

Yan Qing shut his eyes briefly, forcing down his breathing. When he opened them again, his voice was calm and restrained.

“Me too.”

“…What?”

Yan Qing looked at him coldly, his tone laced with self-mockery and a bitter, dragging weight.

“I’m also waiting for Ruan Tang.”

Lin Yao: “…”

At that moment, not far away—

Ruan Tang was hiding around the corner, peeking out with just her little head, too afraid to go out.

Xia Lan pinched her cheek.

“What are you being a coward for? When you invited three people at once last night, you weren’t so timid.”

With her face squished, Ruan Tang’s words came out muffled, like a hamster with its cheeks stuffed.

“Th-their expressions look really scary…”

Xia Lan snorted, almost gleeful.

“That’s not scary—that’s just the despair of a dream shattering.”

She’d experienced it firsthand yesterday, so she knew the feeling well.

But that didn’t stop her from taking pleasure in their misery.

Smiling slyly, she suggested:

“It’s fine. Just walk out holding my hand later, and they’ll change their expressions immediately.”

Not to scary ones. Not even despairing ones.

But the kind that looked like they wanted to devour someone whole.

And honestly—she kind of wanted to see it.

For some reason, though she wasn’t familiar with Lin Yao or Yan Qing, watching them suffer filled her with a wicked glee.

Ruan Tang bit her lip. Long pain is worse than short pain… She might as well face it head-on.

So she clenched her teeth and held Xia Lan’s hand.

The corner of Xia Lan’s lips curled. Instead of a casual grip, she deliberately laced their fingers together in an intimate intertwining.

Hand in hand, she boldly led Ruan Tang toward the two men with dark, stormy faces.

Her voice was bright and cheerful as she greeted them.

“Hi, good evening.”

The first thing both Yan Qing and Lin Yao noticed was the pair of tightly clasped hands.

Their faces sank in unison.

Lin Yao, knowing Ruan Tang’s real gender and aware that Xia Lan knew too, was able to stomach it a little better. He told himself maybe it was just a “best friend thing,” and said nothing.

But Yan Qing was different.

He stared at their intertwined fingers, blood rushing to his eyes.

It felt as though a knife had slashed across his chest.

When he’d received Ruan Tang’s invitation yesterday, he had been so happy.

Now, that joy curdled into despair.

No wonder she’d looked strange when he thanked her yesterday.

So this was it—everything had just been his own delusion.

Ruan Tang must have grown sick of him, so she’d chosen to let him witness the cruel truth with his own eyes, hoping to shake him off.

Yesterday, even just imagining it had left him unable to breathe from the pain.

Today, seeing Ruan Tang holding another girl so intimately before his eyes—

Yan Qing felt as if every organ inside him had been steeped in bitter water, the taste so unbearable he couldn’t even speak.