Chapter 301

When Tang Yi first heard these words, he did not react at once. It was only when he realized Si Chengyou was talking about him that he felt complicated emotions. Being complimented for being considerate by a love rival was not a good thing. What was even more frightening was that he could actually feel the love rival was sincerely praising him.

"...Thank you."

Fortunately, after Shen Yue swallowed the food in her mouth, she added, "That's why I like him."

Upon hearing these words, Si Chengyou instantly transformed from a mature, calm, dignified man into a big puppy. He got intimate with Shen Yue in front of Tang Yi.

Shen Yue complained while not actually pushing him away.

Seeing the scene before him, Tang Yi unusually did not feel dissatisfied. Instead, he was thinking that even as an onlooker, he could feel the cherishment in Si Chengyou's embrace of Shen Yue.

As for him, when he hugged Shen Yue in Flightless Bird, Shen Yue would often say expressionlessly:

"Tang Yi, you're holding too tight. It hurts."

He never cared about Shen Yue's pain. He thought that having someone to share the pain with made his own pain less.

Tang Yi ate another bite of the dish. This time it was a slice of ginger as thin as a cicada’s wing. Tang Yi thought it was cabbage and put three slices in his mouth at once. He was instantly burnt by the spiciness, his eyebrows squeezing together.

Si Chengyou timely passed him water. After drinking it and relieving the spiciness in his mouth, Tang Yi did not say a word.

But even if he was silent, it did not affect the other two at all. Si Chengyou would step in.

He proactively brought up Tang Yi’s younger sister at home, taking the initiative.

Si Chengyou had gone through this state himself. He knew clearly that the simplest and most effective way to make Tang Yi understand the difference between his current life and Flightless Bird was to mention his family.

Sure enough, when Si Chengyou mentioned Tang Yi's mother, the paranoid aura that had been lingering indistinctly around him dissipated quite a bit. Si Chengyou was eloquent. He looked like a fool in front of Shen Yue but someone who could get to a leadership position relying on himself certainly knew when to say what.

Not to mention his powers of observation and adaptability.

Shen Yue now had a fiancé so it was not very appropriate for some admonishing words to come from her mouth. But it was perfect for Si Chengyou to say them from his position.

"Last time when I was chatting with Big Brother, I heard your sister seemed to have normally become friends with the neighbor's kid. This is good. In a little while, you can send her to the same school as that kid."

"You don't need to worry about admission matters. You can ask Big Brother for help. After all, the most Big Brother would ask of you in return is to work harder."

"Tang Yi, you're a smart man. Sometimes, a happy family, smooth work, being able to eat and drink sufficiently, not having to worry about things outside of yourself, this is already the greatest blessing."

The words were spoken sincerely. No matter who heard such words, it would be hard not to be moved. Tang Yi was no exception.

But at that moment, there was something Tang Yi cared about even more in his heart, which was regarding the love Shen Yue had talked about earlier.

Tang Yi asked, "Why aren't you angry today?"

Si Chengyou thought about it and decided to be truthful: "I'm not angry but I'm scared. Admittedly, my reason tells me I should completely trust my loved one but my heart still can't help fearing, fearing loss. Even if it's impossible, just thinking about this outcome, I can't accept it."

Considering Tang Yi's circumstances in his previous life, to make it simpler for Tang Yi to understand, Si Chengyou added, "If you can't wrap your head around it, imagine if you lost all your family members..."

"Alright, I get it," Tang Yi interrupted Si Chengyou. His expression was a little ugly.

Si Chengyou raised his brows. He had found Tang Yi's weakness.

After the meal, Tang Yi had originally wanted to go foot the bill but discovered Si Chengyou had already paid by card.

They went together to an ice cream shop next. Shen Yue ordered strawberry flavor, Si Chengyou ordered lemon flavor. Tang Yi looked at the rows and rows of ice cream flavors before him, not knowing what to pick.

Seeing this, Si Chengyou took the initiative to ask, "Can't decide?"

Before today, Tang Yi had never considered what flavor of ice cream he liked to eat so naturally he couldn't decide in a short time.

He asked Si Chengyou, "Any recommendations?"

Si Chengyou swept a glance at the list of ice cream flavors and waved his hand domineeringly, "Then buy them all to try."

And so an event that fried Tang Yi's CPU occurred. Si Chengyou bought him every single flavor of ice cream in the shop.

Afraid Tang Yi wouldn't be able to finish them in the shop, he even had the boss prepare dry ice for takeaway packing, skilled in a way that showed this was clearly not his first time doing so.

More importantly, when Tang Yi wanted to refuse, Si Chengyou gave him a reason he could not refuse at all: "Aren't you bringing presents back for your family? Looking forward to going home everyday is a blissful thing."

So Tang Yi bought them. However, he transferred the money for buying the ice cream to Shen Yixuan and had Shen Yixuan pass it on to Si Chengyou since Tang Yi did not have Si Chengyou added on any software.

Si Chengyou did not refuse either. He felt his mission was already accomplished.

Shen Yue ate her ice cream quickly. She not only ate her own but also Si Chengyou's.

By the time Tang Yi's ice creams of all flavors were done and packed for takeaway, Shen Yue had also finished eating. At this time, the sky had also darkened.

Feeling the normal human aura emanating from Tang Yi's body, Shen Yue felt she could say some things to Tang Yi.

She hung her bag on Si Chengyou and said to him, "Just wait for me here, I'm going over to talk to him for a bit."

Si Chengyou displayed rare magnanimity this time and did not kick up a fuss at all. "Alright, I'll wait for you here."

The Si Chengyou on the surface: Understanding and reasonable.

The actual Si Chengyou: Make trouble when back.

Shen Yue felt something slightly off with Si Chengyou but she didn't think too much into it. What she was considering now was bidding farewell once and for all with the past Tang Yi.

Seeing Shen Yue walking towards him, Tang Yi seemed to also understand something. He waited for her in his original spot.

Shen Yue did not get too close to Tang Yi, only standing at a position that was neither too intimate nor too distant.

She looked at Tang Yi and gently began speaking, "Tang Yi, you yearn for love but somehow you don't understand love. You think your feelings for me are love but they're actually just dependence, dependence on the facade I programmed for you. You should be clear about it yourself."

"You already do not lack people who love you now so why remain clinging onto falsities?"

"You chase moonbeams that do not belong to you. No matter how hard you run, the moonbeams will not shine on you."

"Just now I asked what is love. Some people feel love is sex, marriage, being able to endure mundane life together, nurturing children that belong to oneself, having only each other for the rest of one's lives. However, the previous time when Si Chengyou died, I felt that love is the hand you want to reach out but then hold back."

"Love is restraint."

"Of all the people in Flightless Bird, I've actually found it hardest to let you go. I hope the most that you can attain freedom and happiness. You've been trapped for too long by some things. So long that although you're already standing in the light, you still think you're in the darkness. I hope you can open your eyes clearly to see the love and happiness that now belong to you."