Chapter 6: An Unfamiliar Encounter

Since it was the off-season, there were not many people outside the restaurant—it could even be described as deserted. Standing outside at this moment, one could clearly see through the window that a single man was sitting alone at a table by the window.

This man was named Wang Anli, and he was precisely Chen Simin's seventh-grade mathematics teacher. He was around twenty-seven years old, and a crop of short black hair gave his face an even more heroic and dashing air.

Wang Anli's features were not particularly delicate, but coupled with his innate temperament, he possessed a unique charm. One could imagine this as the very reason he had been able to capture Chen Simin's heart.

"Everything is up to you to choose. I can provide you with most things that ordinary parents cannot give you—whether good or bad, I can offer them to you, as long as it isn't illegal. Of course, even if it just slightly crosses the line, I have ways to make it happen. Yet, can you follow the true thoughts of your heart? Do you genuinely want to be with him, or are you merely treating him as an object of your fantasy, much like the celebrity posters hanging in your bedroom?" Qian Cangyi let out a slight sigh, silently awaiting Chen Simin's decision in his heart.

If she refused, things would truly become troublesome. Telling her parents about this? The situation would only spiral in a worse direction, though she lacked the boldness to do so anyway.

Qian Cangyi began to weigh the potential outcomes of a failure.

"I..." Chen Simin took a deep breath.

Qian Cangyi's appearance served as an opportunity for her—a chance to break through her psychological barrier. Although this matter was the root cause, fundamentally, the pressures from her family and school were also contributing factors to her depression. It was the convergence of all these elements that shaped the Chen Simin of today.

Perhaps, driven by the emergence of these very factors, a shift imperceptible to others had taken place within her heart.

"Can I?" Chen Simin asked softly, "What reason did you use to arrange a meeting with him?"

"Me? I was straightforward. I told him that a student he taught last year wanted to see him, that she missed him very much." Qian Cangyi's tone was flat, as casual as making a simple greeting.

Upon hearing this, Chen Simin's emotions stirred intensely, though she managed to rein them in.

"Did he... did he agree?" Chen Simin turned her head, her eyes red.

"Yes, of course. Otherwise, why would he be sitting over there?" Qian Cangyi nodded.

"Didn't he say anything else?" Chen Simin continued to ask. She figured that the words she had spoken today probably exceeded everything she had said in the past few months combined.

"He was very happy. Which teacher wouldn't be pleased to hear that a student they once taught misses them dearly? However, I don't know whether he regards your longing as ordinary student-to-teacher affection, or as the deep emotion you hold in your heart." Qian Cangyi answered her question, yet he still could not let his guard down.

Where on earth was her threshold?

This was what Qian Cangyi wanted to understand.

Once he knew the other party's bottom line, any operation above that line would be safe. The trouble lay in how one could ever be certain that the perceived bottom line was truly the other person's actual limit.

"You... how exactly did you phrase it to him? Did you mention my condition to him?" The interest in Chen Simin's eyes seemed to grow stronger.

"You mean your depression? No. Did you really think that if someone brought a student suffering from depression to meet a teacher she once had, it wouldn't cause any misunderstandings?" Qian Cangyi raised an eyebrow. Indeed, he had not mentioned this to Wang Anli.

In truth, there was another exceedingly important matter he had kept from Chen Simin: Wang Anli was already married, leading a happy and fulfilling family life, and his wife was currently three months pregnant.

"This matter cannot be told to her yet. After all, I have no idea how fragile her psychological endurance might be." Qian Cangyi dismissed the thought.

"That's true." Chen Simin turned her head back.

"Well? Have you decided?" Qian Cangyi prompted.

Wang Anli had been waiting for him all this time, and he believed it wouldn't be long before Wang called him, seeing as the time and place had been set by himself.

Qian Cangyi calculated the time in his mind.

A stretch of silence ensued, filled with Chen Simin's internal struggle and hesitation.

Courage or cowardice, confrontation or evasion.

What Qian Cangyi was doing right now was also placing pressure on Chen Simin.

Seeing that the timing was nearly right, Qian Cangyi dropped another sentence: "Why not go and meet him first? After all, you can still be friends with him, can't you? Society is so advanced nowadays—once you have each other's social media contact, you can chat anytime you want. You must be wondering what you could possibly talk about with him, but actually, you can talk about anything: your studies, your life. Just treat him like a close confidant. Besides, people are fickle creatures. As time passes, whether it's grand oaths of eternal love or promises of reincarnation together, they will slowly fade and eventually vanish without a trace."

"I plan to... confess my feelings to him..." Chen Simin uttered these words as if mustering a tremendous amount of resolution.

"Ahem!" Qian Cangyi nearly choked. After coughing a couple of times, he asked, "Are you sure?"

Although the probability of Chen Simin making such a choice was exceedingly low, it was still within Qian Cangyi's calculations. His plan was simply to let her confess, and then have Wang Anli—acting as the object of her fantasy—deliver a heavy blow that would shatter her illusions once and for all.

Of course, the outcome would still fall into one of the three scenarios considered earlier.

"As you like. It's not like I know him anyway." Qian Cangyi shrugged, indicating his indifference.

"Let's go in!" Compared to before, Chen Simin's voice carried a great deal of conviction now.

She took the lead, with Qian Cangyi following closely behind her.

A good show is about to begin. Though I am merely a spectator, this time it is a genuine front-row seat, which might provoke a reaction from the two of them. Therefore, it is probably best not to laugh out loud. Well... though that might be hard to guarantee.

Qian Cangyi took a couple of steps forward, clasping his hands behind his head.

Seeing the two enter the restaurant, a waiter stepped forward to greet them, but was dismissed by a single sentence from Qian Cangyi.

The two walked straight to the table where Wang Anli was seated. It was a four-seater table, and Wang Anli was currently looking at his phone, seemingly chatting with someone. Their arrival finally drew his attention away from the screen.

"May I ask... who are you? Aren't you Chen Simin? Why do you look so worn out?" Wang Anli tucked his phone back into his pocket. His initial glance had fallen upon Qian Cangyi, whom he did not recognize, leaving him somewhat puzzled. However, Chen Simin was a student he had taught for a year; although his impression had faded somewhat, he could still recall her appearance.

"My name is Qian Cangyi," Qian Cangyi stated simply, before calling the waiter over. "Would you two like to order anything?" Since it was approaching dinnertime, ordering food now would not feel out of place.