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墨書 Inktalez
Yan Qing settled down under the elm tree, leaning against its trunk, and called over Tan Ming, who was still standing. No matter how fit an athlete is, standing for too long can be tiring.
Clearly, he had underestimated the physical endurance of athletes. Tan Ming walked over, leaned against the tree, crossed his arms, and glanced down at the person napping with closed eyes. "Aren't you going to ask?"
Yan Qing perked up immediately. Wasn't he being considerate of Tan Ming's pride? He was dying to know—so curious. "What kind of love-hate relationship do you two have?"
Tan Ming's expression froze for a moment; he looked like he wanted to roll his eyes but was also mindful of appearances. "You're overthinking it."
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Tan Ming didn't feel like talking anymore. But he couldn't help but want to see Yan Qing's reaction.
"This is my private matter." He didn’t make it sound too definitive.
"Oh." Yan Qing stretched his arm behind his neck; the rough bark of the tree was uncomfortable. "It's precisely because it's private that it makes people curious. Come on, Tan Ming, just tell me. I can keep a secret; I'm very trustworthy."
After Tan Ming mentioned it being private, Yan Qing understood not to press further. However, Tan Ming's gaze was expectant, even a bit impatient. Yan Qing couldn't quite gauge whether he wanted to share or not.
But after considering Qi Qiuluo's evaluation of Tan Ming—proud—he felt he needed to coax the young man into revealing his secret.
"Well," Tan Ming began, "I grew up with Zhang Liu."
"Is it Zhu Mu Lang Ma?" Yan Qing confirmed.
"The relationship is complicated."
"Complicated?" Yan Qing translated in his mind, feeling intrigued.
"We know each other’s families; our parents are acquainted, and we often played together as kids."
"Family connections," Yan Qing assessed.
His sister liked my brother. After the college entrance examination, she changed my brother's application to ensure they could attend the same university. My brother applied to Capital University, but she didn’t have enough points, so she canceled all of his first-choice applications and switched to Ben San instead.
Yan Qing was shocked. The day she modified my brother's application was the last day, during the final ten minutes allowed for changes. I was at her house playing games with Zhang Liu, while Zhang Yi stayed in his own room. That day, Tan Ming was invited to the Zhang Family three times by Zhang Liu. He thought it was just for gaming, and Zhang Yi warmly welcomed him, even bringing him a plate of snacks—something Tan Ming had never experienced during his many visits to the Zhang Family.
It should be said that Zhang Yi liked Tan Gu; she would treat Tan Ming well because of her affection for Tan Gu. However, that wasn’t the case—Tan Ming and Tan Gu had a tense relationship, and Zhang Yi naturally defended Tan Gu and didn’t like Tan Ming. He had long suspected that something unusual was afoot.
However, he didn’t think much of it; having grown up together, he had grown accustomed to their indifference. My brother found the Zhang Family's address and arrived forty minutes after the college application deadline. In a heated confrontation, Zhang Yi lied, claiming that I had modified my brother's application. My brother hesitated as Zhang Liu pointed out my involvement.
When Tan Gu arrived at the Zhang Family to confront them, Zhang Yi glanced nervously at the open door of her room and then quickly looked at Tan Ming before returning her gaze elsewhere. Tan Gu immediately sensed something was off when he heard Zhang Yi say that they had all been in the living room earlier, and that Tan Ming had excused himself to log into a game website for identity verification in her room, taking over ten minutes to come back out.
Tan Ming denied it vehemently. Zhang Liu knew that Tan Ming hadn’t entered the room; they had been together the whole time. He was conflicted and hesitant but after seeing Zhang Yi cry, he made a harsh decision and unexpectedly pointed fingers at Tan Ming.
Yan Qing’s expression changed. I got into a fight with Tan Gu and then went home to get beaten by my dad. After that, I was locked in my room for two days without food or water. Tan Ming recounted his experiences simply; he quietly stated that no one believed him.
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