The Only Choice - 42

Zhou Fanfan had received her fair share of confessions in her life.

She had always handled such situations with ease, sometimes playing dumb, other times being direct, always managing to turn them down gracefully.

But at this moment, faced with Guan Yuanbai's words, she didn't know how to react.

Maybe… it was because she had once entertained the idea of being this ‘sister-in-law’.

Or maybe… it was because of their peculiar cooperative relationship, the familiarity they'd built. Or perhaps… she genuinely had been feeling some inexplicable emotions towards him lately.

In short, the threads connecting them were now so tangled that her usual script for rejection simply wouldn't come out.

She could only stare at him, completely stunned by a sober Guan Yuanbai.

"But you don't need to worry about anything," Guan Yuanbai added. "I said it yesterday. I'll give you time to think it over. You… don't have to give me an answer quickly. I'm not in a hurry."

Zhou Fanfan: "But…"

"Give me your ticket."

"Huh?"

Guan Yuanbai said, "I'll get your bubble tea for you."

Her mind was a tangled mess. She stiffly held out her hand.

Guan Yuanbai took the slip of paper from her palm and walked towards the bubble tea window.

He got up with a slight urgency, as if afraid she might say something he didn't want to hear.

Zhou Fanfan, however, didn't notice.

For the rest of the meal, Zhou Fanfan couldn't taste a thing. She ended up leaving more than half of it uneaten.

After leaving the canteen, they walked quietly towards the parking lot.

"Well, the car's right here," Zhou Fanfan finally spoke when they arrived.

Guan Yuanbai said, "Mhm, get in."

Zhou Fanfan made a sound of surprise. "You… you're here now, you can just take the car. Don't worry about me."

Guan Yuanbai watched her flustered state and chuckled softly. "Isn't your car still at Nanheng? Don't you need to pick it up?"

"Then I'll just take a taxi…"

Guan Yuanbai: "Are you afraid of me?"

"Of course not!"

Guan Yuanbai said with interest, "It's not like you haven't ridden with me before. Are you afraid to get in now because of what I said earlier?"

"No, no."

"Then get in." Guan Yuanbai opened the passenger door, gesturing for her to enter. "I'll drive you over."

At this point, Zhou Fanfan had to grit her teeth and get in.

Perhaps afraid the ride would be too quiet and awkward, Guan Yuanbai turned on some music.

It was Zhang Luo again. The love song was melancholic, with a touch of a retro feel. It was pleasant to listen to.

Listening to the song, Zhou Fanfan stole a glance at Guan Yuanbai. Last time, he had suddenly said he wanted to go to the concert because he liked Zhang Luo… But thinking back carefully now, during their chat about it, she seemed to have done most of the talking.

Did he really like Zhang Luo?

Or… had he gone to that multi-star concert that day specifically to go with her?

The moment this thought popped into her head, her face grew warm.

She really didn't understand… Why did he like her? When did he start liking her?

"You want to say something?" Guan Yuanbai seemed to sense her gaze. Keeping his eyes on the road, he spoke.

Zhou Fanfan was already confused enough for one day; she didn't dare ask such loaded questions. She mumbled, "Wasn't going to say anything…"

Guan Yuanbai didn't press her. In fact, he felt he could probably guess what she wanted to ask.

Maybe she wanted to ask him when or why he liked her. But that was a question he himself couldn't even answer clearly.

He just felt that, suddenly, at a certain point, he had become very concerned about her.

Or maybe she would bring up some reason to reject him. Because from her previous comments, it wasn't hard to sense she wasn't very interested in the idea of romance.

He didn't want to hear that, or at least, he didn't want to hear her rejection so soon. So he didn't ask.

You could say he didn't dare.

—

They arrived at Nanheng. Zhou Fanfan retrieved her car and drove home.

Entering the courtyard, she saw her grandmother watering the flowers. She was usually busy, so it was rare to see her in such a leisurely mood.

"Fanfan, you're back."

Zhou Fanfan answered absentmindedly, "Mhm."

"Where's Yuanbai?"

It was as if she'd been poked with a needle. Zhou Fanfan stopped abruptly. "Huh?"

Zhao Dezhen said, "Haven't seen Yuanbai in quite a few days. If he's free, you can invite him over for a meal."

"Uh… I'll tell him next time."

"Alright." Zhao Dezhen put down the watering can, took Zhou Fanfan's hand, and walked with her towards the living room. "How are things between you two lately? Haven't been arguing, have you?"

Zhou Fanfan: "How could we even argue…"

"True, Yuanbai is a few years older than you, and he has a good temperament. He definitely lets you have your way."

Zhou Fanfan smiled. "Grandma, in your eyes, Guan Yuanbai can do no wrong."

"Of course. Don't you think he's very good?"

Zhou Fanfan was stumped. "Well, I'm not as big a fangirl as you are!"

"Fangirl… If not, then why is your face red?"

Zhou Fanfan immediately became defensive. "My face is not red!"

Zhao Dezhen pinched her cheek. "Still won't admit it!"

"Ouch, that hurts!"

Looking at Zhou Fanfan's flushed cheeks, Zhao Dezhen felt quite pleased. Nothing made her happier than seeing her precious granddaughter with someone reliable by her side.

"I was just on the phone with his grandmother the other day. Yuanbai's grandmother kept praising you, she likes you so much. She even said she hopes you two can get engaged soon or something." Zhao Dezhen finished, testing the waters as she asked, "Fanfan, any thoughts on that?”

Zhou Fanfan's eyes went wide. "We haven't even been together that long! What engagement? Of course I haven't thought about it!"

"If it's the right person, sooner or later doesn't matter, right?"

"Of course it does! Grandma, don't you two meddle. We'll handle it ourselves."

"Oh, I'm not meddling, I'm just asking…"

"Then my answer is, n, o, t, y, e, t!"

Zhou Fanfan pulled her hand away from her grandmother's and ran upstairs to her room.

Slamming the bedroom door shut, she plopped down in front of her computer.

Engagement…

Their grandmothers really moved at rocket speed!

And Guan Yuanbai…

He really did like her.

So what about her? Did she feel the same way about him?

—

Often, when Zhou Fanfan couldn't figure out a problem, she had a tendency to avoid it.

This time was no different. She was tangled up over how to respond to Guan Yuanbai.

Coincidentally, her advisor assigned a new task around that time. She seized the opportunity to bury herself in her books, giving herself some buffer space.

Guan Yuanbai, probably wanting to give her time to think, didn't disturb her for the next few days.

On the third day of ‘immersing herself in the sea of knowledge’, Zhou Fanfan finally finished the task.

It was past 9 p.m. when she left the library.

As it was late and she was tired, she decided not to go home and just sleep in the dorm.

Walking drowsily to the dormitory building, she suddenly spotted two familiar figures. Her sleepiness vanished instantly.

Walking closer in disbelief, she was shocked when she saw who it was. "Song Li?!"

The two people holding hands at the dorm entrance quickly let go of each other. Xu Xiaoqian turned around, looking flustered when she saw Zhou Fanfan.

Song Li was also taken aback for a moment, but soon put on a cheeky grin. "Fanfan! Long time no see."

"What long time no see! What are you doing?"

Zhou Fanfan walked to Xu Xiaoqian's side, pulling her back by the wrist, and whispered, "Were you just… holding hands with him?"

Xu Xiaoqian pressed her lips together. "Fanfan, I… I hadn't figured out how to tell you yet."

Zhou Fanfan's heart skipped a beat. "So you two—"

Xu Xiaoqian: "We're together."

Zhou Fanfan was dumbfounded. She had thought Xu Xiaoqian would be the last person to like someone of Song Li's type, and now! She was telling her they were together?!

"When did this happen? Why?"

Song Li smiled, looking somewhat innocent. "Just the last couple of days. Why does there need to be a 'why'? It's a mutual thing, dating, just like you and Yuanbai."

Zhou Fanfan glared at Song Li. "But you clearly said before that you weren't pursuing Xiaoqian!"

Previously, when Xu Xiaoqian mentioned Song Li in the dorm, Zhou Fanfan had been wary and specifically mentioned it to Guan Yuanbai. Guan Yuanbai had asked Song Li about it, and Song Li's response at the time was that nothing was going on with Xu Xiaoqian.

Because of that, Zhou Fanfan had let her guard down.

And now… they were already together!

Xu Xiaoqian tugged at Zhou Fanfan. "Let me explain when we get upstairs."

She then glanced at Song Li. "We're going up."

Song Li nodded. "See you tomorrow."

Xu Xiaoqian didn't reply, leading Zhou Fanfan upstairs.

After closing the door, Zhou Fanfan sat Xu Xiaoqian down and looked at her intently. "Explain. What's going on?"

Xu Xiaoqian took a deep breath. "It's… just what you saw."

Zhou Fanfan grew anxious. "Xiaoqian, but you know, he—"

"I know."

Zhou Fanfan frowned. "Then how can you be with him? You were so disgusted by Yang Cheng's unfaithfulness before. Song Li… okay, I admit he's a good friend, but as a boyfriend, he can't meet your expectations."

"You mean he's never been serious about relationships."

Zhou Fanfan had always had a decent impression of Song Li, excluding matters of the heart.

"Yes…"

Seeing Zhou Fanfan's concern, Xu Xiaoqian patted her shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay, Fanfan. If he's not serious, why should I be?"

Zhou Fanfan was stunned. "What do you mean?"

Xu Xiaoqian smiled and said, "If men can treat love like a game, why can't I? Fanfan, don't worry. I'm just dating casually too. I feel different with Song Li—relaxed, comfortable, happy. Isn't that enough?"

"But you before…"

"Before was before. Now I understand. Some things, you can't always force an outcome."

Zhou Fanfan knew she couldn't interfere too much in other people's relationships. Right now, she was just worried about her friend.

"So how did you two end up together?"

Xu Xiaoqian said, "You know I've been tutoring, right? The kid I'm teaching is Song Li's niece. We ran into each other at his niece's place. Once, he drove me back and we ran into Yang Cheng. To get Yang Cheng to leave me alone, I said… Song Li was my new boyfriend. Anyway, that's how we got involved."

"Then… do you like him?"

"I do. Like I said, being with him makes me happy."

Zhou Fanfan: "What about him?"

Xu Xiaoqian shrugged. "I'm not sure if he likes me, but he must be interested, otherwise why would we be together?"

Zhou Fanfan knew that what Xu Xiaoqian said wasn't entirely wrong. If you're just dating without seeking a specific outcome, then being happy should be enough, right?

Even so, she was still worried.

She knew how Xu Xiaoqian used to be in relationships—fully invested, unable to tolerate infidelity or two-timing.

Could she really prevent Song Li from hurting her?

Zhou Fanfan wanted her friend to be happy, but she was also afraid she might be stepping into another whirlpool. She tossed and turned for a long time that night.

It was right then that Guan Yuanbai sent a WeChat message.

It was the first message from him in three days. Seeing it, Zhou Fanfan's heart tightened.

Guan Yuanbai: [Are you free tomorrow?]

Zhou Fanfan stared at his words for a long moment before replying honestly: [I have to put the finishing touches on my assignment tomorrow morning…]

Guan Yuanbai: [Okay.]

After that, the "typing…" indicator appeared intermittently above the chat box, but no message came through for a while.

Zhou Fanfan hesitated, feeling she should say something more to break the stalemate.

After thinking for a long time, she decided to bring up Song Li.

[By the way, I wanted to ask, have you been in touch with Song Li recently?]

The "typing…" indicator appeared again.

Guan Yuanbai: [We met last week. Why?]

Zhou Fanfan: [Just suddenly wanted to know a bit about his situation…]

Guan Yuanbai: [Is it convenient to call now?]

Zhou Fanfan felt nervous again, but regarding Song Li, she did want to get some clarity.

So, glancing at her roommates who were already in bed, she opened the door, stepped out into the hallway, and replied: [Yes]

Soon, Guan Yuanbai's call came through.

His familiar voice came through the receiver, calm and still pleasant to hear. "Hey."

"I'm here…"

Guan Yuanbai made an affirming sound. "You were saying, about Song Li. What about him?"

Leaning against the window, Zhou Fanfan gathered her thoughts. "It's like this. I'm staying at school tonight. When I was going back to the dorm, I saw Song Li. He's together with Xu Xiaoqian now."

Guan Yuanbai was clearly surprised. "Him and your friend? Last time I asked him, he said they weren't in contact."

"Xiaoqian said they really weren't in much contact back then. They only confirmed their relationship in the last couple of days." Zhou Fanfan continued, "I just wanted to ask, does Song Li have any other girlfriends right now? He wouldn't be two-timing, would he…?"

"To my knowledge, he just goes through girlfriends quickly." Guan Yuanbai said. "Of course, his behavior isn't good either. Has your friend thought it through?"

Zhou Fanfan sighed. "She said she's just dating for fun, to be happy, and not overthink it… But I'm still a little worried."

"Alright, I'll remind Song Li."

Zhou Fanfan made a sound of acknowledgement, but then thought again and said, "But they're both adults. If they've really decided on something, others can't interfere much."

"It's fine. Just a reminder."

"Okay, then… thanks." Zhou Fanfan gripped her phone tighter. "Well, if there's nothing else… should I hang up?"

"Wait." Guan Yuanbai said. "You said you're finishing up tomorrow morning. Does that mean you're free afterwards?"

The nervousness she had just managed to ease surged back, but this time, she gripped her phone and chose not to run away.

This matter couldn't be resolved without meeting him anyway.

"...I'm free."

"Perfect timing."

"Perfect for what?"

Guan Yuanbai said, "Do you want to come to my place for dinner tomorrow?"

"Go… go to your place?"

"Mhm." Guan Yuanbai let out a soft laugh. "Have you forgotten? You promised me before."

---

Author's Note:

Concerning the matter of the hundred meals making a comeback (Just kidding, just kidding...)

My boy Yuanbai: Can't just let her keep thinking about it; gotta get her over here!

---

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