Chapter Twelve: It's Not That I'm Impressive, It's That You're Too Incompetent

“What’s this? You like it too?” Ouyang Junyan was taken aback.

“I do! I’ve loved it since I was little!” Yet, in her memory, Ouyang Junyan rarely ate chicken.

Ouyang Junyan thought she was being strange, shot her a sidelong glance, and sat down to eat.

He seemed to genuinely like Lin Nana, purposefully sitting beside her, talking only to her during the meal, treating everyone else as if they were invisible.

At that moment, a young boy stormed over to their table.

He was clearly headed for Lin Nana.

“Nana!” he called out.

Lin Nana’s face filled with terror, and instinctively, she clung to Ouyang Junyan’s arm.

Fang Zhiyin’s eyes widened in shock at the sight.

“What are you doing?” Ouyang Junyan was the first to stand, as if… he was Lin Nana’s actual boyfriend?

Fang Zhiyin gritted her teeth in anger.

“I’m talking to her. What does that have to do with you?” The boy didn’t know Ouyang Junyan and spoke sharply. “Nana, can’t you reconsider? If you agree to be my girlfriend, I promise I’ll treat you really, really well…”

So, it was an unsuccessful suitor. Fang Zhiyin glanced at Lin Nana, thinking this girl was quite popular.

Then it occurred to her—Lin Nana had the face of a sweet drama’s female lead. How could seventeen or eighteen-year-old boys, just learning about love, not be moved by her?

See! Even Ouyang Junyan at eighteen was moved!

“I don’t like you! I’ll never agree to date you.” Lin Nana’s face flushed bright red. After all, with so many people coming and going in the cafeteria, being the center of attention was quite embarrassing.

Ouyang Junyan looked at her for half a minute, then quietly asked, “Has he been bothering you for a while?”

“Since the start of the semester…”

Outrageous!

“She already has a boyfriend. She won’t say yes to you.” No sooner had Ouyang Junyan finished his “hero saves beauty” declaration than the boy’s face twisted in anger. His fist shot out, landing squarely on Ouyang Junyan’s chin.

“Ah! He hit him!”

“Nana! Go!” Ouyang Junyan started to say, but before he finished, Lin Nana had already disappeared with the other students.

Ouyang Junyan: ??

The furious boy, now red-eyed, swung again, this time striking Ouyang Junyan’s right chest.

Ouyang Junyan staggered to the ground, trying to get up, but the boy pounced like a bear, aiming to pin him down…

“Ouyang!”

At Fang Zhiyin’s shout, she raised her leg and landed a solid kick to the boy’s backside. In the next instant, she slapped him sharply on the back, sending him flying.

Ouyang Junyan stared at Fang Zhiyin in disbelief as she helped him up. “You…,” he looked at her for a long moment, “you’re that strong?”

“It’s not that I’m strong—you’re just too weak.” Fang Zhiyin thought to herself that if it were the real Ouyang Junyan, he’d never be this helpless…

“Big sister, can you teach me?” Ouyang Junyan’s eyes suddenly sparkled.

“What… did you say?” Fang Zhiyin’s eyes widened in shock.

“Big sister, let me be your disciple!” Ouyang Junyan only dared to say this because Lin Nana wasn’t there. Normally, his pride would never allow him to ask Fang Zhiyin for help.

Fang Zhiyin was a little annoyed. “Is this because of Lin Nana?”

“If you know, don’t say it out loud!” His face turned crimson, like a boy discovering love for the first time. “You’re so skilled! Teach me!” He gripped Fang Zhiyin’s hands, gazing at her imploringly.

Fang Zhiyin felt her heart soften…

Is it only when one truly falls for someone that they’re willing to do things they’ve never done or wanted to do before?

Suddenly, Fang Zhiyin felt a pang of sadness.

When Ouyang Junyan at twenty-eight returned to his body, he found himself sitting on the ground, holding Fang Zhiyin’s hands. “What am I doing?”

“You… you’re back?” Fang Zhiyin recognized her real husband.

Ouyang Junyan nodded awkwardly, let go of her hands at once, and stood up. “I’m back at school?”

“You went to class, played the hero to save the damsel—or tried to, anyway!” Fang Zhiyin said irritably at the mention of Lin Nana.

“Hmm?”

“Forget it! Let’s go!” Fang Zhiyin strode off in a huff.

Ouyang Junyan sensed he must have done something wrong and dared not ask further, hurrying after her as they left S University together.

On the way, Fang Zhiyin stopped by the magazine office.

Since Ouyang Junyan fell ill, she hadn’t had a chance to visit her company.

The magazine she founded had only eight or nine staff, including printing workers and drivers, and fewer than ten contracted online authors. Each month, fewer than five thousand issues were printed. In fact, every single day, the company was losing money. Her employees were all recent graduates—anyone with experience or real talent wouldn’t waste their youth or career on a company like hers.

“Boss, you’re finally back!” called one of the girls in charge of HR.

“There was some trouble at home lately…” Fang Zhiyin looked apologetically at her colleagues, who, despite knowing the company was losing money every day, still stuck by her. She felt a bit guilty. “I’ll treat everyone to hotpot at Haidilao for lunch today!”

“Hooray! Boss, you’re the best!”

Fang Zhiyin took her small team out to Haidilao. Not long after, someone walked in from outside. He wore sunglasses, a GUCCI outfit, and his hair was perfectly styled—he looked like a movie star from afar.

Even up close, he still looked the part!

“Chen Chen?” Fang Zhiyin was the first to spot him. She paused in surprise, then broke into a delighted smile. “You’re back from Europe?”

Chen Chen took off his sunglasses and smiled at her warmly. After a month of traveling in Europe, he was still strikingly handsome, his fair skin the envy of many girls.

Chen Chen was not only the most attractive of her contracted authors, but also a true heir to a wealthy family. He was young—at twenty-two, he had already published three best-selling novels and had a promising future.

Fang Zhiyin herself had handled his contract. She’d never expected him to sign with her company. The publishing industry was struggling, sure, but a few big companies were still going strong. With his writing talent, he could easily have signed with a much better publisher.

Yet, he’d agreed to her offer almost without hesitation. When it came time to sign, he barely glanced at the contract before boldly signing his name.

He committed for five years.

“I missed you, so I cut my European trip short. I wanted to see you sooner.” Perhaps because they were close, Chen Chen often dropped by the studio to hang out, and sometimes said things that were a bit too familiar.