Age of Legends

Chapter 215 What a coincidence!

Watching Qin Tangxi walk away, Pei Yan stood still, his mind filled with what his mother had recently told him.

“Your Uncle Shen’s side also has business dealings with our family, and it involves the use of our export quota. Our quota is also limited, and we can give it to Uncle Shen’s side because we want to establish a deeper partnership. You see, you and Shen Nuoyi have a good relationship, and our two families help and promote each other. You two are also a good match, so don’t just focus on your studies, you should also take care of the girl.”

“Sometimes, high school is the best time to cultivate pure feelings. I really like Shen Nuoyi. She's beautiful, very handsome, and can manage a household well. My future daughter-in-law should be like her. Let me give you a heads-up: if you're not confident you can find someone better than Shen Nuoyi, you'd better keep her with you now.”

Pei Yan had always known that Shen Nuo's family had considerable business dealings with their family's company, the largest electronic component manufacturer in Rongcheng at present, and he was also well aware of Han Zhouxuan and Shen Nuo's feelings for him.

Before leaving this time, Han Zhouxuan took the initiative to confess her feelings to him. Pei Yan's response made her stubbornly say, "I will not give up," and then she ran to the airport crying.

This matter still needs to be resolved eventually. If it isn't, Shen Nuoyi probably won't dare to take it any further because of Han Zhouxuan.

Pei Yan had always known this, but he had ignored it before because he was focused on his studies and put everything else aside. On the other hand, it was also due to his absolute confidence.

He was confident that if he studied hard, he would definitely remain at the top of the foreign language rankings for a long time. He was also confident that he would eventually win Shen Nuoyi's heart because of their past experiences and the things they had done together as they grew up.

The three of them used to take walks together at sunset. When they were playing at Han Zhouxuan's house, Han Zhouxuan and Shen Nuoyi let Han Zhouxuan's Pekingese dog bite him. Of course, the dog, which they had grown up playing with, wouldn't really bite, but it was opportunistic and barked wildly at him, forcing him onto the sofa. Han Zhouxuan and Shen Nuoyi laughed so hard they were doubled over.

When several families were having a meal together outside, Han Zhouxuan instigated Shen Nuoyi to falsely accuse him of bullying them. The two girls simply thought it was fun, but it resulted in him being scolded by his own mother. That was the first time he got so angry that his face turned red.

He even splashed water on their shoes, which led to him actually getting a beating from his mother. The two girls then genuinely felt guilty and indebted to him.

Even now, when Pei Yan recalls those past events, a smile still creeps onto his lips.

He firmly believed that Shen Nuoyi's heart was definitely on his side, but Han Zhouxuan was the obstacle between them. So he decided to go with the flow, solve the college entrance exam first, and then deal with this problem.

But what happened last time, with Zhang Chen suddenly appearing, made him feel that some things were not as he had imagined.

Pei Yan still felt somewhat uneasy about something that wasn't under his control. Coupled with his mother's recent subtle hints, Pei Yan felt it might be necessary to put this matter on the agenda.

So today, he went to Qin Tangxi to ask her about Shen Nuoyi's situation, but he didn't get any clear answers. When he got home that night, Pei Yan wasn't used to living in the dormitory or sharing a large room with others. To make it easier for him to go to school, his family bought a house nearby, which allowed him to stay at his home near the school every day.

Back home, Pei Yan turned on his computer and opened QQ. He saw that Shen Nuoyi's nickname was black, indicating she was offline. He clicked on it and saw their messages. There were quite a few messages from before; for example, when Pei Yan asked her about her recent grades, Shen Nuoyi would analyze her recent exam results, pointing out where she was weak in certain subjects.

Pei Yan would then offer some advice.

However, Shen Nuoyi's recent responses haven't included much of this kind of communication. When he asked her about her school exams, Shen Nuoyi recently replied that she did well and was in the top ten at Yude High School.

That's the problem.

Pei Yan looked at Shen Nuoyi's last message: "I ranked tenth in this exam. Not bad, haha, it's good that I can hold on, after all, my ranking fluctuates quite a bit."

The message remained there. Pei Yan also sent her many encouraging messages in response, such as, "Excellent! Don't be modest, you surprised me!"

"When did you become so amazing? Is it because of my encouragement?"

These words, whether encouraging or joking, only earned Shen Nuoyi a smiling emoji in return.

After that it was gone.

Pei Yan felt something was amiss at the time.

Looking back now, it seems we've discovered what was wrong with it.

That is, when Shen Nuoyi told him about her unprecedented progress, there was no attempt to surprise him or give him a surprise, or anything like that—let's call it "fun"—to do so.

There was no pulling or tugging. There was no further interaction with herself, such as smugness, or any intention to get his praise or make him think she was amazing.

It seemed more like a sense of disinterest; she didn't appear particularly excited or proud of her high score and ranking.

There's even a sense of... self-deprecation and laziness.

Could it be that this state of complete mental emptiness is caused by working too hard?

Pei Yan was aware of this situation. Sometimes you put in a lot of effort and get the corresponding reward, but you are not so happy. Instead, you may even feel a sense of exhaustion from overexertion. You are not always excited or even pleasantly surprised by the result.

Sometimes I even think—that's it? Nothing special!

When you put in a lot of effort, you'll run out of steam and lose interest in the results.

Yes, Pei Yan shut down the computer, confirming that Shen Nuoyi seemed to be in this predicament.

However, Yude is in the top ten.

Pei Yan smiled as he recalled what his mother had said.

She is indeed the best candidate to be a daughter-in-law.

……

That day, the four of them ate at the noodle shop opposite the school gate again. During the whole process, the two witnessed Wang Shuowei and Zheng Xue bickering and arguing.

The arguments between the two sometimes came out of nowhere. For example, Zheng Xue complained that Wang Shuowei was slurping noodles too loudly, so Wang Shuowei revealed that he had seen Zheng Xue licking her hands while eating cold noodles at Nanguang Company, and now he was complaining about the noise he made while eating. The two could even argue for half a day about liking Rukawa Kaede.

Then all I heard was their chattering and babbling.

Afterwards, Zhang Chen and Shen Nuoyi privately agreed that they should stop letting them eat together after school in the afternoon.

Zhang Chen pulled Wang Shuowei away, and Shen Nuoyi pulled Zheng Xue away, not giving the two a chance to meet again.

This meant the two no longer had time to eat together. Of course, this wasn't necessary for Zhang Chen either. Firstly, he couldn't just abandon Wang Shuowei and elope with Shen Nuoyi. What was he thinking? He was in school, in his senior year of high school!
Moreover, he didn't want to be seen with Wang Shuowei hanging around him when he was with Shen Nuoyi; that wouldn't be a good look.

Secondly, it was also considered that Shen Nuoyi also had his own social circle and a regular dining partner, Zheng Xue, so they didn't need to worry about having to eat together every day.

After all... there's still a long road ahead.

It was just my usual morning bus ride to school. After two stops, when the bus arrived at Shuanglin Road from Zhengheng Street, the doors opened and a figure in a hoodie and ponytail stepped inside.

Zhang Chen was slightly taken aback when he saw that figure, because he had never expected to run into it, nor had he arranged to meet it beforehand.

Firstly, he leaves home late and has to take the bus two stops longer, while the other person usually arrives at the classroom ten minutes earlier than him.

Shen Nuo gripped the handrail with her fair hands and blue veins. As soon as she stood up, her phoenix eyes, which made the boys on their way to school in the car hold their breath, fell on Zhang Chen, who was standing in the back row.

The two exchanged a glance, and seeing Zhang Chen's somewhat surprised face, Shen Nuo smiled slightly the moment she turned her head away.

Don't look at me like I've been ambushed by a female knight.

It was just a chance encounter.

What a coincidence!
(End of this chapter)