Rebirth begins with an arranged marriage

Chapter 53 Don't be fooled

Seeing Tang Huaiyi chatting and laughing without any urgency, and even Guan Xiaolin laughing along, Zhao Weimin's expression gradually turned ugly.

As a high school student from a small county, Zhao Weimin had been quite patient in getting to know Tang Huaiyi, and he believed he had a good grasp of what he was saying to Wang Man.

Would Guan Xiaolin repeatedly ask her friend Wang Man in person for the sake of Tang Huaiyi, this poor young man?

This was something Zhao Weimin hadn't expected.

Tang Huaiyi's decision to stand up wasn't out of anger or frustration, but rather to mock him and Wang Man, which surprised Zhao Weimin even more.

Under normal circumstances, as Zhao Weimin imagined, Guan Xiaolin would have overheard Wang Man's conversation after leaving the classroom. Even if she didn't believe it, she would have developed some opinions and doubts about Tang Huaiyi—after all, given her family's circumstances, it was impossible for her to like Tang Huaiyi.

Then Guan Xiaolin and Tang Huaiyi will gradually stop having contact.

Even if Tang Huaiyi couldn't stand the cold treatment, he would probably turn against Guan Xiaolin and Wang Man, or one of them, first.

But now, having just used a tactic, on their first meeting that very evening, before the cold shoulder could even be delivered, he was directly confronted in the face, which was naturally unexpected.

When Wang Man saw Tang Huaiyi and Guan Xiaolin joking about what she had said, she was immediately swayed.

"Xiaolin, what... what happened?"

Guan Xiaolin rolled her eyes at her, annoyed: "What do you think? Did you see with your own eyes what Tang Huaiyi said?"

"No, not at all..."

Wang Man said, "Zhao Weimin told me that someone else heard it too."

"You believe him just because he says so?"

"Some people are talking badly about you, and others have heard it. How can I not believe them?" After saying that, Wang Man looked at Zhao Weimin and Tang Huaiyi with suspicion. "Xiaolin, is that not how it is?"

"Does he look like the kind of person who would say those kinds of things?" Guan Xiaolin asked, pointing at Tang Huaiyi.

"How would I know? I don't even know him."

When Wang Man heard Guan Xiaolin say this, she explained, "I'm just worried about you, afraid you'll be deceived; Zhao Weimin told me that what he said was really nasty, like he was going to do something to you..."

"Don't be afraid, I'm fine."

Guan Xiaolin's expression turned slightly cold as she turned to Zhao Weimin: "Dare you say those things to Wang Man in front of me and Tang Huaiyi?"

Zhao Weimin opened his mouth slightly, his face embarrassed: "Is this appropriate, Xiaolin...?"

"You don't need to call me that. I'm not familiar with you," Guan Xiaolin said coldly. "You dare to fabricate such unpleasant things to involve me. Aren't you afraid that after it gets out, people will talk about me behind my back and ask me if it's appropriate?"

"This isn't my opinion, it's what Tang Huaiyi said," Zhao Weimin said. "Don't be fooled by his quiet demeanor in front of you; he can be quite rude behind your back."

"How awful does it sound? You tell me, and I'll repeat it for you," Tang Huaiyi said with a smile, reminding Zhao Weimin.

Zhao Weimin was speechless. Seeing that Guan Xiaolin's face remained cold and she didn't believe him, and even Wang Man, whom he had initially convinced, was starting to have doubts, he simply rolled his eyes slightly, saved face, and waved his hand, saying, "Forget it, I won't say anything more!"

"Nobody here believes me. I'm not saying anything more, I'm leaving!"

"Guan Xiaolin, if you ever get scammed again, don't say I didn't warn you."

After saying that, he turned and walked away quickly.

After he left, Wang Man wavered a little and secretly glanced at Tang Huaiyi: "Xiaolin, do you think... we misunderstood Zhao Weimin? He looked quite aggrieved."

Guan Xiaolin shook her head: "I don't think so."

He then said to Tang Huaiyi, "Tang Huaiyi, I want to apologize to you... I guess Zhao Weimin's matter is because of me that he came to you."

"It's alright, class monitor, I can tell the difference between good and bad."

Tang Huaiyi said with a smile, "You should hurry home while there are still many people around after school."

Guan Xiaolin nodded, then said, "I'm so sorry to have dragged you into this," before she and Wang Man hurriedly left.

After leaving the school gate, the two rode their bicycles home.

Wang Man said, "Xiaolin, I still feel that Zhao Weimin might not be lying... You see, he walked us home after school, wasn't that nice? We know him, after all."

"We're not familiar with that Tang Huaiyi."

"You may not know him, but I do," Guan Xiaolin said. "He's not that kind of person."

"You can know a person's face but not their heart; who can truly know..."

"Wang Man, if you keep making these kinds of assumptions about my classmate, I'm really going to get angry." Guan Xiaolin raised her voice slightly. "I never intended to get closer to Zhao Weimin; he just came up to me on his own. If we're talking about knowing someone's face but not their heart, I think he's the one who's more like it."

Seeing Guan Xiaolin's response, Wang Man stopped insisting on her point of view.

"Anyway... Xiaolin, just be careful. No matter who it is, don't fall for their tricks."

…………

"This matter..."

After Zhao Weimin, Guan Xiaolin, and Wang Man left one after another, Li Xiujuan whispered to Tang Huaiyi, "What should we do?"

"It's just a little troublesome," Tang Huaiyi said. "Squad Leader Guan brought us food twice, and she deliberately stayed until the very end to wait for us every day when we got our meals. She's a kind person. I'll keep an eye on things for her and make sure those two 'brainless' and 'unhappy' don't lead us astray."

Li Xiujuan was initially a little worried, but when she heard Tang Huaiyi describe Wang Man and Zhao Weimin as clueless and unhappy, she couldn't help but chuckle softly—that description really did sound quite accurate.

The two sat in the classroom for a short while longer when the power went out, so they packed up and left.

Li Xiujuan went back to the girls' dormitory first, while Tang Huaiyi paused on campus to wait for the bird he knew.

Two dark figures descended from a nearby poplar tree. One landed on Tang Huaiyi's shoulder, tilting its cat-like head. The other dark figure let out a "caw," swerved in the air, and landed on Tang Huaiyi's other arm, watching the owl warily.

When Tang Huaiyi saw that it was a crow, he was immediately delighted and carefully examined it.

This wasn't the crow Guan Xiaolin kept at home, but another crow that hadn't appeared for several days—it had a feather missing from its body, clearly also injured.

"Good bird, where have you been these past few days?"

Tang Huaiyi reached out to help the crow preen its feathers.

Whether it was dissatisfaction or not, the owl made a low "clucking" sound, much like a hen showing off its egg-laying glory.

"I'll preen your feathers for you in a bit..." Tang Huaiyi said to the owl. "You're a good bird, don't be angry."

The owl stopped hooting and stared intently at the crow.

The crow also looked at it, then pecked at Tang Huaiyi's arm with its beak, spread its wings and flew away.