87: A battleground? Doesn't exist.

"Sick?"

"Sigh, she's just a girl all alone in Shanghai with no relatives or friends. Now that she's sick, she's quite pitiful. You're her older brother, so find some time to visit her in the next couple of days."

Shen Qian gave his parents a few more instructions before hanging up the phone.

"Sick... She was fine when she came back, how did she suddenly get sick?"

Shen Qian looked at his phone; Xia Mengling hadn't sent him any messages. This meant she had passed the information to her own parents, who then told his parents.

"She could have just said it directly, why go through such a long way around?"

"Is it to enhance the realism of the event?"

"Or perhaps, this girl also has a tsundere trait."

But regardless of the reason, Xia Mengling had already sent the signal; she wanted him to go find her.

"In her eyes now, I'm a hopeless love-brain.

Besides that, she probably also hopes I'll stay away from Tan Xinxin; after all, she even offered such outrageous conditions before."

After a brief moment of thought, Shen Qian called Xia Mengling. The phone rang only twice before it was answered.

"Are you okay? I heard from my dad that you seem to be sick."

"Ah? Uncle, *cough cough cough*, how did Uncle find out!"

"Don't worry about how my dad found out for now. Is it serious? Is anyone in the dorm? If there's no one there, I'll bring Xinxin to see you."

"Shen Qian! If you dare bring that woman here, don't even think about seeing me again for the rest of your life!!!"

The girl, who had been coughing repeatedly just a moment ago, suddenly started yelling into the phone.

"Why are you suddenly so angry? Even if it's the holidays, I can't enter the girls' dormitory. If I don't bring her, how am I supposed to take care of you?"

Shen Qian had naturally mentioned Tan Xinxin on purpose. He was now almost certain that the girl on the other end was faking her illness. Pity the hearts of parents everywhere; his parents were likely the most worried about her 'sickness,' yet it turned out to be a little scheme of hers.

"I'm not staying in the dorm. My dad helped me rent an apartment near the school. Usually, when I don't want to stay in the dorm, I come to this place."

"Oh~ I see."

"*Cough cough cough*, Shen Qian, I feel so miserable. Can you come and stay with me? I feel like I'm going to die."

"Alright, then I'll go see you tomorrow."

"Come alone, okay? I don't want to see anyone but you."

Shen Qian let out a long breath after agreeing. This Xia Mengling wanted a one-on-one confrontation. Fortunately, he had resisted the temptation from Xie Wan's side; if he could resist once, he could certainly resist a second time. Not to mention, it was impossible for Xia Mengling to go too far, so the temptation he would face would be limited.

But not long after he lay down on the bed, Tan Xinxin sent him a screenshot, which was exactly the chat record between Xia Mengling and Tan Xinxin.

"I'm sick. Tomorrow Shen Qian will come to see me, alone."

"You'd better have the ability to stop him from coming, because as long as he comes, I will devour him."

"You should understand what I mean by 'devour.' He will be my first man in all these years. I don't believe that once he's had me, he'll ever spare you another glance."

Below was Tan Xinxin's reply.

"I will find a way to keep him. Whether you believe it or not, there's a girl in our dorm whose figure and looks are not inferior to yours. Coincidentally, she likes Shen Qian, and I will work hard to bring this Golden Boy and Jade Girl together."

"I'll make sure you're out of the game forever!"

"If you want to play this game, then we'll just wait and see!"

After he finished reading the chat logs, Tan Xinxin sent another message.

"Should I not have provoked her like that?"

"You've already finished provoking her, and now you're asking me. Isn't it a bit too late?"

"Then are you going to blame me? I can accept punishment."

Immediately following the message was a spanking emoji.

"What do you mean?"

"You can do anything you want, as long as you like it, anything is fine." This was a blatant temptation, equivalent to giving Shen Qian full permission to explore.

"And the condition?"

Tan Xinxin's sudden behavior made Shen Qian a bit uncomfortable, but when a smart woman suddenly changes her style, the contrast is immense and extremely alluring.

"I think I understand now why those old married couples like to play various types of cosplay; this contrast thing is truly terrifying."

Instead of sending a message, the other party called him.

"Hello."

"Hello, darling~" The voice was soft and seductive, a tone Tan Xinxin had never used before.

"Tell me the condition." Shen Qian suppressed the impulse in his heart.

"I don't want you to go. I'll just be willful this once, okay?"

Shen Qian fell silent.

Xia Mengling wasn't playing 1-on-1; she was playing 1-on-2. Furthermore, her maneuvers had shifted the battlefield onto him, making each of the three people face a 1-on-2 situation.

A triangle possesses stability.

And at this moment, the triangular relationship had all three people present trapped.

Shen Qian knew that Tan Xinxin trusted him, but no matter how much she trusted him, with her intelligence, it was impossible to believe that any man could refuse a top-tier beauty like Xia Mengling throwing herself at him.

So even if she trusted him, it didn't stop her from being insecure.

She wanted to seek a shred of security from him; even if Shen Qian lied to her, she would be satisfied.

As for Xia Mengling, she had absolute confidence. Since she dared to send those things to Tan Xinxin in text form, she wasn't afraid that Tan Xinxin would show them to Shen Qian.

Perhaps as she said, she had made up her mind. Shen Qian might really gain something if he went this time, but as long as he chose her this time, there was no doubt that Tan Xinxin would become the unimportant one. No matter what, a rift would be created.

Even if Shen Qian ended up doing nothing with her.

But Shen Qian was Shen Qian; he was never tempted by immediate benefits. He always knew what he wanted and walked firmly toward his goal.

He forwarded the screenshot of Tan Xinxin's chat directly to Xia Mengling.

"What exactly do you mean? Is doing this fun?

Because I once liked you, you think I can't live without you, is that it?

Xia Mengling, you are too conceited—so conceited that you think you can toy with someone's sincerity.

If that's the case, I have nothing more to say to you."

After Shen Qian finished speaking, he blocked her directly.

This was a risky move, but it was also a killing move. If this move failed, things with Xia Mengling would completely collapse; if it succeeded, it meant Xia Mengling had essentially been conquered.

"I won't go, but only this once. Next time, if you still want to control me, then we'll break up."

These two women wanted to force him to make a choice, so he would just flip the table.

What Shura Field, what being caught in the middle—those were for cowards bound by their emotions. He never cared about losing; he only cared about whether the next step of the conquest would be successful.