Sang Suiyu: ?
Abruptly, Sang Suiyu was completely dazed.
He had pitched this plan purely because he couldn’t bear Tan Chen pleading with him like that, never once imagining he would end up personally participating in it.
Yet hearing these words with his own ears, all the vague, murky thoughts inside him seemed to freeze abruptly, floating strangely in mid-air.
Even Tan Chen’s tone was so resolute that his pupils couldn’t help trembling, looking at Tan Chen in sheer disbelief.
“Me?”
“Of course it’s you,” Tan Chen said, even more surprised than him. “You proposed the plan; naturally, nobody knows how to execute it better than you.”
Words made sense, yes, but Sang Suiyu practically blurted out: “I can’t.”
“Neither of us has dated. We have no idea how to roleplay as a couple. We need an actor with actual experience.”
Yet this failed to convince Tan Chen at all. “Do you think my parents would actually believe it if I brought in some random actor? Popping out of nowhere, and I’m head-over-heels willing to die for them—is that even possible?”
“Yuyu.” For some reason, Tan Chen’s thought process right now was razor-sharp, as if this script had been rehearsed in his heart countless times. “We have to stand in their shoes.”
“They need to match my conditions, look like I adore them, have a solid relationship with me, and even be someone familiar to them.”
“Actors are ruled out first. It has to come from my circle of friends. Do I have any other friends like that?”
This final sentence rang in Sang Suiyu’s ear like a wake-up bell.
Right, Tan Chen only had him.
Tan Chen had an eccentric temper and, due to family reasons, a strong rebellious phase during youth. Peers from relatives’ families or school alike feared him.
Only Sang Suiyu had accompanied him from childhood to adulthood. Even as they grew more mature with age, Tan Chen showed zero intention of socializing with anyone else.
So if Tan Chen were ever to like someone deeply enough to go spellbound and risk breaking with family, it genuinely could only be Sang Suiyu.
Half an hour later.
The vehicle parked in the villa district a few kilometers away.
Sang Suiyu massaged his cheeks, trying to snap back into his habitual calm, yet restless anxiety bubbled uncontrollably from the bottom of his heart.
Purely pitching a plan versus executing it personally were totally different things. Hidden complications lurked everywhere—for instance, Sang Suiyu actually had a pretty good relationship with Tan Chen’s parents.
When they were very little, the two families lived next door. Sang Suiyu’s parents traveled frequently, leaving him home alone; sometimes Tan Chen’s parents would spot him and take him over to stay.
Whenever Tan Chen erupted in conflict with his parents, he usually ran over to Sang Suiyu’s place. At those times, Tan Chen’s parents wouldn’t chase it up, because they felt Sang Suiyu was well-behaved and sensible, pinning hopes on him spreading such good qualities to Tan Chen.
To this day, Tan Chen’s parents had a very affectionate relationship with him, buying fun or suitable things back for him wherever they traveled.
When the prime mastermind himself stepped out to face them directly, Sang Suiyu’s guilt amplified manifold, sighing despairingly in his heart.
“I still think…”
Before finishing the sentence, Tan Chen’s arm suddenly wrapped around him, half-coaxing, half-forcing him forward: “No more ‘still think’s’.”
At this point, whether withdrawing or sticking the neck out, this sword had to be taken. Approaching the door, Tan Chen paused.
“I’ll go in first and talk to them,” Tan Chen said in a deep voice. “Wait two minutes before coming in, sit in the living room and wait for me.”
“Got it,” Sang Suiyu replied softly.
Guessing Tan Chen thought he’d clash with the parents and wanted to spare him, he stood cautiously tense by the door for a little extra time.
A moment later, he pushed the door open. Sure enough, fruit was already washed in the living room, though everyone was upstairs in the study.
Faint conversational sounds leaked out—Tan Chen clarifying the rumors. Up to here, his parents’ emotions remained controlled, until Tan Chen bluntly confessed he was already in love.
A brief silence.
Sang Suiyu’s heart jumped to his throat, yet all ambient sounds vanished. He could barely keep seated, compelled to move toward the staircase.
Violent crashing and smashing sounds burst out right then, accompanied by angry, incredulous interrogations from Tan Chen’s parents. As the study door swung open, isolation stripped away, rendering sounds crystal clear.
Then Tan Chen walked out. Post-argument, his handsome face turned ice-cold, clearly unwilling to waste words anymore.
This scene made Sang Suiyu’s heart jump wildly, yet he hurried up, caught Tan Chen at the stair landing, and reassuringly grasped his hand.
“Are uncle and auntie…” Sang Suiyu lowered his voice anxiously.
“Stop right there!” A stern voice cracked from behind.
Looking back, Sang Suiyu saw Tan Chen’s mother stepping out of the study, followed by Tan Chen’s father—evidently fuming and clutching his chest.
Tan Chen’s mother, Qing Qing, matched Tan Chen’s father, Tan Deming, in status—prominent figures in business circles, carrying an elegant, noble bearing, trembling with fury right now at their rebellious son, pointing at him: “Repeat what you just said.”
“I said I’m in love,” Tan Chen coldly repeated. “Brace yourselves mentally.”
“Listen to yourself!” Qing Qing said in disbelief. “What do you mean brace yourselves? Do you think your romance only needs to be notified to us?”
Tan Chen raised an eyebrow, expressing meaning clearly, further infuriating Qing Qing.
The dating topic had been hashed out countless times in this house. If other topics showed mere rebellion, on this issue Tan Chen bordered on obsessive fixation.
He tolerated zero infringement on dating freedom, guarding territory so intensely Qing Qing long suspected he secretly liked someone protected too well to reveal.
The moment Tan Chen admitted it just now, Qing Qing nearly jumped, followed by overwhelming fury.
Though Tan Chen hadn’t named who it was, someone hidden this tightly—could it be anyone decent? If they were so great, why feel family couldn’t accept them and fight for freedom?
Tan Chen’s current attitude pushed Qing Qing past tolerance: “Let me tell you, Tan Chen, this isn’t that simple!”
“I told you long ago, the family doesn’t accept casual daughters-in-law. Free love means passing our test first! If you can’t bring back someone like Yuyu…”
Sang Suiyu: ? — catching his own name unawares.
He had been listening cautiously through the agonizing argument, thinking Tan Chen had laid the groundwork and it was time for his big scene.
Lay emotional groundwork, set mental blocks against rejecting such girls, then drop his relationship to shatter the block.
Groundwork was done; he just needed to step up. Who knew Qing Qing’s words carried a bizarre, heavy dissonance.
What did bring back someone like me mean? Like me how? She must mean good-tempered and friendly, right? Not anything else, right?!
Unexplained terror churned in Sang Suiyu’s chest, giving a stark intuitive sense that directions were careening totally out of control.
Yet tensions were at a razor’s edge.
Because the rebellious Tan Chen dropped: “Then what can you do.”
Accustomed to their clash patterns, Sang Suiyu’s eyelid twitched violently, watching Qing Qing’s furious, disbelieving hand lift.
Though this slap would surely miss in the end, Sang Suiyu reacted reflexively, blocking right between them, shielding Tan Chen behind his back with all his might.
“Auntie wait!” Impulse overrode inhibition, long-suppressed words breaking barriers unready: “Hit me if you must, don’t hit Tan Chen!”
“Tan Chen did all this for me, he’s terrified you won’t accept me and pushed this hard—it’s all my fault!”
When Tan Chen’s parents snapped their gaze over, attracted by his voice, Sang Suiyu finally delivered those two lines.
“Because I am Tan Chen’s romantic target.”
“I am his boyfriend.”
Air seemed to freeze instantly.
In a flash, from protecting Tan Chen, Sang Suiyu found himself forced into a protected posture, peeking out past Tan Chen’s shoulder.
Tan Chen stood front-row, absorbing his parents’ shocked stares and brain-frozen expressions, gaze dark, gloomy, and churning.
Until Tan Chen’s parents chimed in unison: “What did you say?!”
Their gazes crossed Tan Chen’s shoulder, staring in sheer disbelief at Sang Suiyu. For a second, Sang Suiyu nearly buckled under the heavy pressure, raising his eyes calmly a moment later.
The scene had arrived; events should follow prediction—extreme fury, shock that reality beat baseline bounds.
Enough proof to convince them he truly was Tan Chen’s boyfriend, long-term and inseparable, intensifying their shock.
Sang Suiyu had steeled himself for this, standing quietly waiting for the explosion.
Waited one minute.
Waited two minutes.
Waited…
Sang Suiyu: ?
Expected blistering scolds didn’t arrive; instead, Tan Chen parents’ gazes turned bizarrely spooky, complex, and unspeakable.
Mixed with shock, disbelief, belated realization, and a hint of deep contemplation—not questioning the truth of Sang Suiyu’s words, but utterly failing to grasp by what virtue Tan Chen dared to drag Sang Suiyu home.
Sang Suiyu: ??
“You guys, turns out, this.” Tan Chen’s parents suddenly started rambling incoherently.
After a long pause, emitting a disbelieving, weird tone: “Oh!”
Sang Suiyu: ???