167: Solve problems in advance

After two days of psychological counseling, Shen Qian felt refreshed. Fang Hui's looks were indeed not as good as Tan Xinxin and the others, but the expression in her eyes was truly alluring.

When he returned to the dormitory, only Wei Mingtian was there; the other two were nowhere to be found.

"Hey, Old Second, why are you the only one here? Where are the others?"

"Oldest went to work out; he's training three times a week now. Old Fourth went to the Student Union. Word is he's getting along well with that Student Union President and is currently hitting it off with a senior from the Student Union."

"Oh? Not bad, not bad. And you? You're just here alone?"

"I'm memorizing vocabulary. I'm planning to pass the CET-4 first next year. Oh, by the way, while you were away, we were discussing how to spend New Year's Eve. Do you want to join us?"

Shen Qian thought for a moment.

"We'll see. What are your plans?"

"We're planning to go to The Pearl. There should be a lot of people there that day."

Shen Qian frowned slightly.

"You guys really love joining the crowds. When we went there during National Day, it was packed with people. I can't even imagine how terrifying it will be on New Year's Eve."

"But for New Year's Eve, that's the only place we can think of."

Shen Qian thought about it and realized it made sense. They were college students with limited funds, so they naturally gravitated toward wherever there was cheap excitement.

He didn't ask more about it, as he was considering a problem of his own.

If it was New Year's Eve, who would he spend it with?

This problem hadn't surfaced yet because it was only early December. Once it reached late December, Xia Mengling would definitely bring it up. Xie Wan might not bring it up herself, but she would likely care.

As for the others, with these two in the picture, everyone else was just a backup.

If he chose Xie Wan, she probably wouldn't mind spending New Year's Eve with multiple people. But if he chose Xia Mengling—in her mind, he only had Tan Xinxin as his official Girlfriend. If she found out he had other women, she would likely blow a fuse.

"I need to give her a heads-up first."

The next day, at the entrance of the Normal University, Xia Mengling was overjoyed to see Shen Qian and practically sprinted toward him.

"Brother, I missed you so much!"

"I know, I know. You say it every day."

"Then do you miss me?"

"Of course. I missed you so much I couldn't sleep, so I came."

Even though she knew Shen Qian was just sweet-talking her, the girl still couldn't stop her lips from curling up in happiness.

"You don't have classes this afternoon, right? Accompany me to my class."

"Sure."

In the afternoon, Shen Qian accompanied the girl to her classroom. The sudden appearance of a handsome guy in the class drew quite a bit of attention, but seeing Xia Mengling constantly clutching his arm, the other girls sensibly stayed away.

That night, the two of them went straight to the house they rented off-campus. After the girl was exhausted and breathless, Shen Qian felt he had laid enough groundwork.

"Xiao Meng, I actually came today because I have something to talk to you about."

Shen Qian's sudden serious look took the girl by surprise.

"Can I not listen? You're being so serious, I'm a little scared."

"No, this concerns you. You have to listen."

"Go ahead then."

The girl sat up and looked at Shen Qian, tears already welling up in her eyes. It seemed that if he said anything bad, she would burst into tears immediately.

"I haven't broken up with Tan Xinxin."

"I know that. What about it?"

"I have other women."

"..."

Xia Mengling fell silent, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.

"Is it the one named Guo, or the one named Tao?"

Xia Mengling was referring to Guo Shuangcai and Tao Yan. Shen Qian shook his head.

"Neither."

Shen Qian didn't care if Xia Mengling wouldn't accept the others, but there was one person she had to accept. If she didn't, although he would be reluctant, the only outcome would be a breakup.

Xia Mengling fell into deep thought.

"There's someone who has appeared in your Roommates' conversations more than once. It's the one named Xie, right?"

"Yes, it's her."

"Then why are you suddenly mentioning her?"

"I don't want to lie to you. I'm afraid that one day in the future, if you run into me with her, you'll feel like I deceived you."

"Does Tan Xinxin know she exists?"

"Not currently, but I think she will accept it."

"What if I don't accept it?"

"Then I don't want you to suffer."

"So you'd break up with me for her, right?"

Shen Qian shook his head.

"Whether you believe it or not, you were the first woman I ever loved. Perhaps because it's just my nature, I fell in love with Xie Wan after that. It started as a joke during the summer vacation, but I didn't expect it to become real. I've truly become a scumbag."

"If you can't accept me like this, then I can only choose to let go, so that you won't be in so much pain."

"Shen Qian! How could you do this to me? My body, my heart, my everything—I gave it all to you! I thought there was only Tan Xinxin!"

"Fine, I could wait. That woman isn't a match for you in terms of social status anyway; sooner or later she'd have to step down and I'd take her place. I kept thinking that as long as I loved you more and gave more of myself, the process would speed up, and we'd get closer and closer to happiness."

"And now you've brought up this Xie Wan! Where did this bitch pop up from? And those ones named Guo and Tao... Shen Qian, have some limits to your fickleness!"

"Are you blaming me?"

Seeing that normal communication wasn't working, he could only resort to his signature move: high-level acting.

"I originally wanted to have a good relationship with someone, all the way to marriage and children, being with only one person for a lifetime. But what happened?"

"Xia Mengling, don't forget, it was you in that apartment who said I didn't need to take responsibility. It was you who made me kiss you!"

[achievement: scumbag's Deflection]

[achievement: I am Innocent]

[scumbag behavior recorded]

"You were the one who opened Pandora's Box! You were the one who made me realize that besides a Girlfriend, I could have other women!"

"And now you're blaming all of this on me? Fine, I admit it. It's all my fault. I'm a bastard, a scumbag, I deserve the worst. I shouldn't have told you the truth; I should have just broken up with you directly on some calm and peaceful afternoon! Right?"

His voice was cold, and anger was clearly audible, though he was obviously suppressing it.

"Mengling, resent me then. I love you."

"Don't say things like that at a time like this! You're making it so I can't even hate you! Let me be quiet for a bit. I... I really don't know what to do."

"Then can I hold you?"

The girl opened her arms, and the two of them embraced once more. However, the girl forcefully pummeled his back, venting her anger.

When they pulled apart again, the girl's eyes were red, and she was still sobbing.

"If tonight is the last time, then love me and hate me at the same time!"

As Shen Qian spoke, he locked in a kiss with the girl again.