124: Letting go of the past

"Wait a moment, I'll order a bottle of wine first. Let's drink while we talk."

Cao Lang looked at the stunned Li Shuang, called the waiter, ordered a few bottles of beer, and poured a glass for each of the three.

Li Shuang's cheeks flushed slightly.

This question was too direct, catching her somewhat off guard.

The atmosphere in the private room instantly became subtle, and even the sound of heavy traffic outside the window became exceptionally clear.

Li Qian also stopped her movement of picking up food, her eyes shifting back and forth between the two, with an indescribable sense of tension in her heart.

She knew that during high school, Li Shuang had cared quite a bit about Cao Lang, and she also believed that Li Shuang was interested in him.

"This..."

Li Shuang lowered her head and fiddled with her teacup, remaining silent for a moment before looking up.

"Cao Lang, do you still remember in high school, how you always sat alone in the very last row of the classroom?"

Cao Lang nodded; he remembered those lonely days clearly.

"Every day after school, other students had someone to pick them up, or they went home in groups of three or five. Only you always carried your backpack and walked out of the school gate silently by yourself." Li Shuang's voice was very soft, carrying the tenderness of memory.

"At that time, I thought, why is this boy always alone? Doesn't he have any friends? Doesn't he have any family who cares about him?"

Li Qian listened intently; she never knew her best friend had such delicate observations back then.

"Only later did I find out that you were an orphan." A trace of heartache flashed in Li Shuang's eyes.

"When I was in high school, I was always concerned about you. I would specifically ask you some questions, like which stream you were going into or which university you were applying for. At that time, I wanted to be friends with you."

"It's just that you were really too aloof! At one point, I thought you hated me, but I really wanted to care for you properly, and I also admired you very much."

"Every Lunar New Year, while other students were at home reuniting with their parents, watching the Spring Festival Gala, and eating New Year's Eve dinner... what about you? What were you doing?"

Speaking of this, Li Shuang took a sip of beer, the bitterness making her brow furrow.

A surge of bitterness welled up in Cao Lang's heart.

On those New Year's Eves, he had indeed spent them alone, watching the brightly lit homes of others from his rented room.

"So I would send you a 'Happy New Year' message at midnight every year, just hoping that at the very start of the New Year, someone would remember you and someone would be caring about you." After Li Shuang said this, her eyes became somewhat moist.

"I did have some good feelings for you, but..." Li Shuang paused for a moment, seemingly organizing her words.

"But it wasn't to the level of lovers. It was more that I felt you needed someone to care for you, so I paid extra attention to you. If you're asking about good feelings, there were definitely some. After all, you're good-looking and honest, but it's just..."

"It's just that there was no feeling of a heartbeat, right?" Cao Lang gave a bitter smile.

"Yes." Li Shuang nodded, looking at Cao Lang with some guilt.

Cao Lang fell silent.

So it turned out that all those late nights he spent sitting on the curb, drinking beer can after can, smoking cigarette after cigarette, and staring at the moon while missing her, were all just him indulging in self-indulgent sentimentality.

What white moonlight, what unforgettable mutual pursuit... it turned out that in the other person's eyes, he was just an orphan who needed sympathy... Hearing this, Li Qian actually felt a sigh of relief in her heart.

She had been wondering just now what her best friend saw in Cao Lang; it turned out to be an overflow of maternal instinct.

This way, she no longer felt any psychological burden.

"Cao Lang, don't overthink it." Li Shuang said somewhat bashfully and softly, "You truly are the boy I noticed. If I weren't married now, I definitely wouldn't have introduced you to Qianqian; I would have actively pursued you myself!"

These words were quite sincere.

She was already giving Cao Lang a lot of face!

After all, Li Shuang was already married. If her husband heard this, the marriage would immediately develop cracks.

It was just that the current Cao Lang was completely different from that dull boy of the past. Whether in appearance or temperament, he was enough to make any woman's heart flutter!

Cao Lang smiled slightly; he understood everything now.

Those sentiments from his youth were mostly just one-sided wishful thinking.

If Cao Lang had actively pursued Li Shuang back then, they probably wouldn't have ended up together either.

But it was for the best; knowing the truth finally unraveled the knot in his heart.

"So we've completely cleared the air now?" Cao Lang raised his teacup. "A toast to our friendship?"

"Cheers!" The three clinked glasses, and the atmosphere became relaxed once again.

The light in Li Qian's eyes grew even brighter; she felt that now was finally her "home field" time.

"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for unlocking the tag [Letting Go of the Past]. A new system function has been unlocked: successfully holding hands and binding with a female will grant Enhancement Points. Enhancement Points can be used to strengthen skills, physical attributes, and a series of other functions. For the first use of this function, 1 free Enhancement Point is gifted."

The system's voice rang in Cao Lang's mind.

Unintentionally, he had actually unlocked another system tag.

It seemed this was a blessing in disguise.

The only woman Cao Lang couldn't forget was his white moonlight from high school. Because Li Shuang had married and had children, he always felt many regrets.

Perhaps it would have been better if this tag hadn't been unraveled.

Having learned the truth, he felt a faint sense of loss.

Loss aside, Li Shuang's character was beyond reproach. She had always remembered that Cao Lang was an orphan and had looked after him quite a bit.

Cao Lang made up his mind; he would definitely solve Li Shuang's job problem for her.

At this moment, Cao Lang called up his attribute panel, and many new attributes were displayed.

"[Host]: Cao Lang"

"[Age]: 27"

"[Height]: 180"

"[Constitution]: 80"

"[Stamina]: 95"

"[Agility]: 60"

"[Spirit]: 70"

"[Charm]: 95"

Due to the golden kidney and the Beauty Marrow-Cleansing Pill, Cao Lang's Charm and Stamina were the highest, both reaching a high score of 95.

The rest could only be described as mediocre, but they still exceeded the passing line.

The three of them drank a few more glasses.

During this time, Li Shuang felt a foot constantly kicking her. Just as she was wondering about it, she suddenly remembered something.

"Cao Lang, don't try to play dumb. Tell me quickly, are you actually interested in my Qian'er or not?"

As soon as these words were spoken...

Li Shuang and Li Qian, the two delicate flowers that the boys in their class had dreamed of back then, both looked at Cao Lang.

Li Qian coughed a few times and spoke softly, summoning the courage to be the first to state her position:

"Cao Lang, we are all adults now. Compared to high school, everyone has changed a lot. I want to tell you that I'm willing to give it a try with you."

Cao Lang touched his hair; his damn handsome face was bound to hurt many people unknowingly!

"I'm sorry, I'm really not interested in you."

Hearing this, Li Shuang was stunned for a moment.

Li Qian felt as if she had been struck by lightning, her face turning pale instantly.

No one had expected that Cao Lang would refuse so bluntly!

"But it's okay. You can come to my company to be an Internet Celebrity. I'll give you a salary of 100,000 a month."

Cao Lang said this very sincerely—so sincerely that Li Qian didn't even react.

After Xingyao Media became popular, the current standards for recruiting Internet Celebrities were very high. Logically speaking, Li Qian was not yet qualified.

But since Cao Lang had spoken, even Li Qian's distant aunts and uncles could join and be promoted as Internet Celebrities.

Although Li Qian's scores were slightly low—Beauty 73, Figure 79—with good management, she could still reach a million followers.

Because beauty can be enhanced with filters, and with proper exercise, her Figure Score could also go up.

Li Qian's basic foundation was great; after losing some excess fat, she would definitely be a top-tier stunner.

Chengdu Yang Yuhuan's Beauty Score is only 72, but that doesn't stop her from making money... Warm tip: The website is about to be revised, which may cause loss of reading progress. Please save your "Bookshelf" and "Reading Records" in time (screenshot suggested). We apologize for any inconvenience!