Volume One, Chapter 43: One Cannot Abandon the Entire Forest for the Sake of a Single Tree

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Luo Jiashuang lay on the bed, crying in distress, her shoulders twitching with sobs. Li Yan watched, feeling a pang of discomfort in his heart. Why did it seem that in this lifetime, his relationship with this girl was even more tangled and complicated than before?

"Ah, please don’t cry, okay? I must have been asleep and missed your call. See, I’m fine now, nothing’s wrong. Besides, what could I do? Zhao Zhengzhong invited me to a bar, said there were lots of girls, but I didn’t go, really."

At times like this, a good brother was meant to be used—without hesitation.

Upon hearing that Zhao Zhengzhong invited Li Yan to a bar with many girls, Luo Jiashuang suddenly sat up, glaring at him. "Don’t you dare go! Hmph!"

Li Yan replied, "Hey, I didn’t go, I swear."

"Good, then I’ll cry a little longer," she said.

Actually, after hearing Li Yan awkwardly coax her, much of her grievance dissipated. It proved he cared about her, that she mattered to him. That scoundrel had made her cry countless times in their past life, and yet he hadn’t changed a bit this time. She truly wanted to bite him to death.

Seeing this, Li Yan knew her anger had likely subsided. He lay down beside her calmly and said, "Alright then, keep crying. I’ll be right here listening. Oh, I’ll record it first and send it to the class group later."

Luo Jiashuang’s ears perked up instantly, her crying stopping as she shot Li Yan a fierce glare. "You dare!"

Li Yan shrugged. "I dare if you keep crying. Who’s afraid of whom?"

Luo Jiashuang, like an enraged leopardess, flipped over and straddled Li Yan. "I’ll bite you to death," she said, baring her soft pink lips and biting at his shoulder.

"Ouch..."

"That hurts! Are you a dog or what?"

Luo Jiashuang rolled her eyes dramatically and glared at him. "Nonsense, I haven’t even bitten you yet, and you’re already yelling."

Li Yan grinned mischievously. "I’m just anticipating in advance."

"Hmph!" She snorted coldly.

Suddenly, she felt something, her delicate face flushing deeply.

Everyone knew that at eighteen or nineteen, a young man’s morning awakening was not just about chasing dreams, but also that firm, unyielding resolve.

Clearly, Luo Jiashuang was sitting right on top of it.

Li Yan felt it too.

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The atmosphere in the room grew somewhat charged with a subtle tension.

Luo Jiashuang’s cheeks were flushed, her beautiful large eyes flickering as she looked at Li Yan.

Though in their past life, Li Yan had been with many women—more than one—any normal man would struggle to resist such temptation.

A pretty, youthful girl sitting on his lap was hard to refuse.

No, this couldn’t go any further.

If they accidentally crossed the line, things would become difficult to handle later.

Li Yan regained his composure first, but in his heart, he didn’t want to let this increasingly bold woman off so easily.

He raised his hand and gave Luo Jiashuang’s pert little bottom a sharp slap.

"Ah—"

She screamed, unsure if it was from pain or surprise.

"Get down quickly! The window’s open; someone might see us."

Blushing, Luo Jiashuang let out a small noise and hurriedly climbed off him.

After this little ruckus, her anger had completely dissipated.

In truth, Luo Jiashuang’s greatest concern now was going to the same school as Li Yan.

Only with him nearby would she feel at ease.

With her grades, there was no pressure to attend school with Li Yan.

"Li Yan, have you decided which school to apply to? Let’s go to the same school," she said, blinking her slightly reddened eyes from crying, looking at him.

Li Yan said, "The same school? Are you crazy? Your scores already meet the cutoff for top universities. If you apply to the same school as me, won’t your dad kill you?"

Luo Jiashuang stubbornly replied, "I don’t care about them. Wherever you go, I go."

Li Yan wasn’t keen on attending the same school as her, especially not the same major.

He didn’t want to be clung to every day. He wasn’t willing to give up an entire forest for the sake of one tree.

"Come on, be reasonable. Don’t waste your scores, or you’ll regret it later," Li Yan tried to persuade her to change her mind.

Luo Jiashuang shook her head resolutely. "No regrets. Wherever you go, I go."

Li Yan felt helpless.

"Fine. My first choice might be to try for the University of Finance, or maybe the Medical University’s liberal arts program. I checked the previous years’ cutoffs; I should be good," he threw out a smoke screen, though he was actually applying to the Agricultural University’s economics program.

"Finance University? Okay, then I’ll apply there too," Luo Jiashuang said, her eyes sparkling as she made up her mind.

That afternoon, Li Yan had planned to go alone to the Lin City Auto Mall to look at cars.

But Luo Jiashuang refused to go home, insisting on following him wherever he went.

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So, the two of them happily went to the Lin City Auto Mall together.

In 2012, Lin City Auto Mall had very few dedicated Four Sons dealerships; most were car agents.

Li Yan hadn’t yet decided what kind of car he wanted—he was just looking.

They first visited a Volkswagen Four Sons dealership, but the sales staff saw two freshly graduated high school students and assumed they were just bored and casually browsing, so they ignored them.

Li Yan didn’t mind; it was quite normal.

After all, how often did a newly graduated high schooler actually come to buy a car?

"Li Yan, what kind of car do you want to buy?" Luo Jiashuang asked, surprised that Li Yan actually had money to buy a car.

On the way over, she heard him say he had already sold the farm, so he must have money.

Otherwise, how could he have returned her ten thousand yuan just like that?

She admired Li Yan more and more; he was truly the man she had her eye on.

While most high school graduates thought about where to travel or what delicious food to eat, Li Yan had already earned his first pot of gold. The difference was vast.

No wonder in their past life, Li Yan had been able to start a business in college and later dominate the business world.

"Just looking for now. I haven’t decided," Li Yan said casually, strolling and considering what kind of car would suit his style.

His budget for his first car wasn’t large—around 300,000 yuan.

If he could get one under 350,000 yuan, that would be perfect, leaving him 2.5 million yuan for startup capital.

As they walked, Li Yan suddenly noticed a sign bearing the colorful emblem of Seven-Colored Sacred Shield.

Huh? This shop sold Yu Huang Emperor cars?

Not bad, very fitting for my style.

As they stepped inside, a young woman in professional attire approached with a standard smile. "Hello, which model…?" But she froze halfway through her sentence.

Li Yan and Luo Jiashuang were equally stunned.

"Gong Leilei?" Luo Jiashuang recognized her first. "What are you doing working here?"

The girl called Gong Leilei, their classmate, still looked surprised, nervously tugging at her sleeve, her tone a bit awkward. "I… I’m working here part-time for the summer."