Chapter Twelve: The Bet on Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Roses

  Lan Li? Lan Li is upstairs! Tang Yao stopped in her tracks, but Wang Xinyan had already pulled Zheng Yasheng to push open the door and go inside. Before leaving, she turned back to look at Tang Yao with a gaze that was full of schadenfreude, which made Tang Yao come back to her senses. She thought to herself, what is she afraid of? Since she no longer cares about him, why should she still be hiding from him? Moreover, she needs to find him to clear her own name, only then can she avoid receiving mocking gazes like Wang Xinyan's.

  Tang Yao walked firmly onto the rooftop, saw that man who was elegant and charming even when sitting on the ground, looking at him with his eyes closed leaning against the half-person-high railing, and gradually recalled the scene from that day.

  That day was his birthday, he asked her out and drove her to a luxurious villa in the suburbs. He said he only wanted to spend his birthday with her. At that moment, her heart felt warm and sweet. For someone who lived in despair, sunshine and sweets were the most beautiful luxury. She got it, and it came from an excellent young man who made her look up to him. How could she not be overjoyed? So she was tempted, and that solid spiritual wall collapsed so easily, and then she was nakedly hurt!

  In the candlelight of that huge birthday cake, she finally said the three words he had always wanted to hear. Just as she was shy, the hall was brightly lit and countless people rushed out, those familiar and unfamiliar faces all wore mocking expressions, looking at her like a clown!

  She was stunned, then Wang Qing sneered and said: "Fool! Do you think our prince would like a woman like you who is as worthless as trash? This is just a bet. If Lan Li can make you, a timid coward, bravely confess and say 'I love you', then he won't have to pay for this trip."

  Next to him, a boy named Zhang Zishuai burst out laughing: "Lan Li, you're really something! Your family is so rich, what's the big deal if you treat us to some fun? It's just a drop in the bucket! You insisted on chasing after that ugly girl and answering her questions, and these past few months I've seen how gentle you are with her. I thought you actually had feelings for her. Are you disgusting or not?"

  Someone else chimed in, "Right, right! With our school flower as a comparison, you can still smile at that face like a blooming peach blossom. I really admire you, won't you be looking at her while thinking of our beautiful An Da?"

  Anzi stood beside Lanyi, gave that boy a glance, and that one glance was full of charm. Although she was still young, she still made a group of adolescent boys with excessive hormones excited.

  Tang Wan stared blankly at the laughing crowd, her gaze finally falling on Lan Li. He was still smiling, but his eyes were devoid of joy. She hated herself for not realizing it earlier. Beside him stood the beautiful and delicate An Zixi, the two of them really matched perfectly, as if they were born to be together. She thought to herself that she had been blind, how could she have thought that such an outstanding person would take a liking to her? He already had such a great girl by his side!

  Under the shame and anger, she didn't dare to question Lan Li. She didn't have the courage to ask, the fact was so obvious, if she asked, it would only be self-deception. She just escaped, escaped from that overly beautiful nightmare.

  After that, Tang Yao's life became even more unbearable. The ridicule was more blatant than before, and she became increasingly self-abased and timid, never again daring to hope for love. And so she lived a tragic life.

  Now, after a lifetime of time, Tang Yao faced Lan Li again, but found that she no longer had any feelings for him. However, looking at the person who had long been buried deep in her memory, his handsome face didn't have a hint of unfamiliarity. She even remembered that he had a small mole at the end of his eyebrow, and it wasn't until her gaze fell on that mole that she realized how hard it was to forget someone. Even if you don't think about them, as soon as they appear in front of you, every little detail from the past comes flooding back, leaving you unprepared!

  Two men and two women stood in front of Lan Li. At this moment, the one who was shouting loudly with a rough voice was a tall and sturdy young man. Just by looking at his back, he already gave people a threatening feeling. He shouted until he was about to go and grab Lan Li's collar when he was pulled back by another slender man.

  And the two girls, one was An Yishan, who was holding a delicate thermos box for Lan Li, stretching out her arm to hold it in front of Lan Li, as if she had been holding it for a long time and was shaking slightly, but still stubbornly holding on. The other woman supported her, seeing that the firework man had stopped talking, also opened her mouth.

  "Lan Li, what's wrong with you? Why are you mad at Zi Cen? If you have something to say, speak up! What does it mean to sulk and not say a word?! Is it true that you're angry because she said that Tang Yao was born out of wedlock after her mother had an affair with another man?! If so, then you're the one who's wrong. Who is Tang Yao to you? Does it matter to you if she has other men in her life?! Zi Cen is your girlfriend, what's wrong with her talking about other women?! Can't she even mention that woman?! She's your girlfriend, not that woman! And now you're pretending to be a good person?!

  "Wang Qing, don't say that!" An Zixi stopped Wang Qing's sharp words and finally couldn't lift the thermos in her hand. She knelt down weakly in front of Lan Li, placed the thermos beside him, and choked with sobs: "Li, don't ignore me, I didn't do anything wrong, it's not fair for you to treat me like this!"

  Lan Li finally spoke up, his voice a little hoarse and laced with fatigue, saying: "Zi Qian, we need to think about this."

  "NO! I don't need to consider! This life, I only recognize you, and you can only choose me. I'll give you time, even if it's a lifetime, I'll wait for you, but don't think about shaking me off to choose someone else! I won't allow it!" After she finished speaking, she stood up and rushed out, but stopped in her tracks when she saw Tang Yao, and then her sparkling eyes suddenly ignited with anger.

  "Tang Qiao, how did you end up here?!"

  It wasn't just Lan Li, the three of them also looked over. The young man with a strong back and broad shoulders unexpectedly had a kind face, even though he was now furious, it only made people think he was upholding justice. His loud voice that sounded like a threat was truly two extremes. Tang Yao remembered his name was Zhang Long, and the other boy who was slender, not tall, and had an ordinary appearance but had a pair of fox-like eyes was named Zuo An. They were both friends with Lan Li, but they weren't students at this school. Tang Yao also met them in her previous life when she was at Yingdi High School, unexpectedly meeting them ahead of time in this life.

  Another girl is not only delicate, with long eyebrows and sharp eyes, she looks like a straightforward person. Her name is Wang Qing, and she's a good friend of An Zixi.

  Wang Qing saw Tang Yao and immediately started to provoke her, looking at her with disdain: "Hey! You actually have the nerve to come to school? I thought you'd be too ashamed to show your face again! It seems I underestimated the thickness of your skin. Not only did you dare to come to school, but you also dared to find Lan Li?! Let me tell you, didn't you understand what Lan Li meant last time? He was just playing with you, so don't have any illusions that he'll take care of you again! Leave quickly, or we'll have to chase you away, and that won't be pretty!"

  Zhang Long glared at Tang Yao with a pair of tiger eyes, sizing her up from head to toe, then turned his head to Lan Li and said: "You're getting angry with Zi Sheng just because of this little girl? She's not even as beautiful as Zi Sheng, are you blind?"

  Zuo An saw Tang Yao's face turn black, and she smiled: "A Long, it's possible that we Blue Lei have recently started to like inner beauty." For some reason, he felt that the girl in front of him, with half her face hidden under a hat and glasses, had a shocking yet soothing presence, which was very contradictory, but also mysterious and attractive.

  Lan Li gazed at Tang Yao with those eyes that all the girls in school called "electric eyes" and asked, "Why haven't you come to class these past few days?"

  Tang Wan said coldly: "It has nothing to do with you."

  Lan Li lowered her eyes for a moment, then raised them again and gazed deeply at Tang Yao, saying: "That was just a gamble, do you need to take it so seriously?"

  "Was it just a bet all along?" Tang Yao's anger ignited, staring straight into his eyes: "But that bet was one where I was treated as a tool. You toyed with my emotions and I fell for it - I'm stupid, but I won't argue with you about it. Can't I even care a little?! Congratulations, you won this bet! From now on, we're just strangers. Even if we meet again, let's pretend not to know each other. And even if we do recognize each other, we can only be enemies!"

  Zuo An whistled and said with sparkling eyes: "No wonder Lan Li can't forget, it's actually so stylish."

  Zhang Long glared at Zuo An, but the disdain in his eyes was slightly less.

  Wang Qing was like seeing a stranger, her eyes almost fell off. She took a glance at An Zixian, saw that she was staring fiercely at Tang Yao, and thought to herself: "An Zixian must be joking, right? But this kind of Tang Yao is actually quite attractive. Among men, there are also those who don't care about appearance but love personality. Who knows, maybe some blind man will take a liking to Tang Yao!"

  "So you get angry too." Lan Li looked at Tang Yao's cold face and suddenly felt that she had become very beautiful. "What do I have to do for you not to be angry?"

  Tang Wan's voice couldn't tell if she was angry or not, calmly saying: "What does it have to do with you whether I'm angry or not? Should I still smile even if you deceived me?"

  "It's not like that." Lan Li thought for a moment and said: "I just feel sorry for you and want you to forgive me."

  Tang Xiao smiled, she suddenly felt that her goal was about to be achieved. She said: "Wanting me to forgive you is simple, since our grudge originated from a bet, then let's end it with another bet! What we bet on is up to you, if I win, you have to agree to one request of mine!"

  Zuo An clapped his hands and cheered: "This idea is great, with swords and knives coming and going, a smile can wipe out past grievances! But what to bet on is up to me to suggest, how can we ensure fairness? Of course, you have the right to veto, and this request will not be something impossible like asking you to pick the moon from the sky or fetch pearls from the sea. As long as you try hard, it's still possible to achieve. Do you agree?"

  Tang Wan glanced at Lan Li and nodded.

  Zuo An excitedly smiled, looked up at the sky for a moment, and a sly smile appeared on his face. "This condition is that you can get into Yingdi High School based on your own real level!"

  Yingdi High School, the most famous high school in Linhai City, has the highest admission score line in the city. Tang Yao, who is at the bottom of her class, wants to get into Yingdi High School, which is undoubtedly a pipe dream.

  Anzi let out a sigh of relief, Wang Qing and Wang Xinyan burst into laughter, Zhang Long looked at Tang Yao with some sympathy, Lan Li was expressionless, Zheng Yasheng looked at Tang Yao with some entanglement, while Tang Yao smiled, thinking that this was indeed the will of heaven, it seemed that God had destined her to attend Yingdi High School.

  "I agree to this condition. At the same time, if I win, my condition is: Lan Li, you have to give me 999 red roses in front of all teachers and students on the day of returning to school! Do you dare to bet?"

  This chapter is so fat! Don't I deserve a reward? A flying kiss and votes are fine too!