Chapter 65 - "Ego"

Lai Jiayi bit her lips again until blood slowly oozed out. She looked up at Zhao Yang with the edge of her eyes dropped low.

"A-are you mad at me? D-did I do something wrong? I-is it because of my confession– "

"No– no." Zhao Yang instantly panicked. His head went blank. The sight of Lai Jiayi looking like she almost cried just tugged his heartstring. The blood on the girl's lips just made it worse.

"Listen. I– "

"Ah, I-i know. Y-you must hate me because I-i brazenly confess to you, right, b-boss?" Lai Jiayi gripped her left arm tightly. Her voice was shaking, and she sounded like she's crying.

When she's not.

"I-if that's the case, I-i will apologize. I-i am sorry to trouble you. I-i am sorry I make you u-uncomfortable with my confession. I– "

"Enough!" Zhao Yang suddenly raised his voice. The man's loud shout startled Lai Jiayi and even Yaya. The duck almost failed the making of the tear gas.

Lai Jiayi flinched. The girl subconsciously took a few steps back.

'F*ck. Did I choose the wrong choice?! Did I make Zhao Yang mad instead– '

"I am not mad at you!" Zhao Yang abruptly shouted. The man looked at Lai Jiayi with a pained look in his eyes. He stretched his hands, wanting to wipe the blood on the girl's lips, but he paused.

He immediately retracted his hand.

"I– listen. I don't hate you. I'm not mad at you. I don't feel troubled by your confession!" Zhao Yang spoke as his chest went up and down. The guy glared at Lai Jiayi with sharp eyes, looking angry.

But, he's not.

The look in his eyes was more of frustration than anger. The man tightened his fist and gritted his teeth as he continued his speech, not wanting Lai Jiayi to interrupt him.

"Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong."

Lai Jiayi's breath stilled. The girl peeked at Yaya.

[What time is it– ]

[30 seconds, 30 seconds more, quack!]

'Oh, f*ck. Then I have to continue with this.'

Lai Jiayi took a deep breath and meekly looked up at Zhao Yang. "T-then why...you look like you are mad at me...y-you also treat me like a stranger…"

Zhao Yang's heart stopped beating for a second. That look on Lai Jiayi's face just triggered his memory with Jia Biyu. The memory when the girl first cried because they were fighting.

Zhao Yang squeezed his eyes tightly. His chest felt pained for no reason, and it was so suffocating for him.

The guy clutched his chest and exhaled.

"I only think...that I should stay away from you, " Zhao Yang spoke in a hoarse voice. The man looked away from Lai Jiayi as he touched the back of his neck.

"Because I can't return your feelings, I just– "

'Don't want to hurt you. Don't want to hurt….anyone anymore.'

Zhao Yang didn't finish his words, but Lai Jiayi continued his speech.

"I-i already said that my like...might not be l-love. It might be an admiration. So– " Lai Jiayi trailed off.

"T-there's no need for you to worry about me!"

'This guy must think that my trauma of men will deepen because he rejects my feelings. But, dude, I don't even like you a little bit!'

Lai Jiayi just finished her speech when Zhao Yang looked at her in astonishment. He froze as if someone clicked a pause button on his body.

….it is just...like? Admiration?

Zhao Yang's face slowly turned red. The guy kept his head still, not looking at Lai Jiayi, but somehow, he felt like a huge burden just vanished from his shoulders.

Yet, at the same time, there's a tint of bitterness at the corner of his heart.

'Ah. So...I misunderstand. This girl...just admired me.'

TING! [Barometer rises!]

The notification came so suddenly that Lai Jiayi almost slipped.

NANI THE F*CK??

Even Yaya had the same reaction as the girl. He looked at Lai Jiayi with a stupefied face.

'Eh, the barometer just rises by 1% from 23 to 24. But...really? What did Jia even do??'

Lai Jiayi stared at Yaya with a blank face. The girl paused for a few seconds, not knowing what to say when she suddenly snapped out of it.

[Wait, the tear gas! Is it ready??]

'It's all because of this dumb iceberg. I almost forgot about the tear gas!'

Yaya flinched. The duck instantly checked the process and nodded.

[10 seconds left, quack!]

[10 seconds? Then go! Go to Zhao Yang's place!] Lai Jiayi blocked Yaya's body with her head so the duck could activate his invisible mode.

Yaya didn't waste time. He immediately turned invisible as he dashed toward Zhao Yang's place. He stopped next to the guy's left ear to make sure the gas would blow up near his eyes.

At this moment, Zhao Yang still had a blank face. He didn't move and just stiffly looked at Lai Jiayi.

'Admiration. Oh, okay, so my misunderstanding is actually the one hurting this girl. I– if I know...I won't avoid her!'

Zhao Yang blinked as he was deep in thought, regretting his rash decision to avoid Lai Jiayi.

'What the heck. For her sake? I avoid her to protect her feelings? No– that...is just to make me feel better. I just want to satisfy my ego.'

Zhao Yang was looking back at his mistakes when Lai Jiayi counted in her heart.

Okay, 5 seconds left.

5. 4. 3…2...1…

Now!

[Yaya!]

[Okay, quack!] Yaya instantly pressed his belly, and the tear gas sprayed out of his beak. A thick transparent fog flooded out, floating to Zhao Yang's eyes.

Yes, this is it–

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