“By the way, Li Yang, have you been in any relationships these past few years? Or liked any girls?”
An Ling suddenly steered the conversation in that direction.
Casual chatting worked like that—topics shifted fast.
Li Yang’s slow brain didn’t suspect a thing.
But the question was still a little hard to answer.
“I haven’t dated anyone, but as for people I’ve liked…”
Li Yang suddenly stalled when he reached the part about people he had liked.
An Ling was so anxious she was practically screaming inside.
Hurry up and say it!
But on the surface she stayed calm and breezy.
“People I’ve liked… well…”
Li Yang had liked someone a long time ago.
But there was no way he could say it had been An Ling.
Even though he hadn’t known she was a boy back then, he definitely couldn’t say it to her face.
If she thought he was into guys, the wall between them would go up forever and he’d never get close again.
“I haven’t really liked anyone. There just wasn’t anyone suitable.”
Li Yang lied.
This was going to be difficult.
Wasn’t he a total steel straight guy?
If Li Yang already had someone he liked, An Ling could have just helped him pursue her.
That would have been way easier than starting from zero.
“Wait!”
An Ling suddenly thought of something she had to ask.
“Li Yang, you’re not into guys, right?”
“Huh?”
Li Yang was stunned by the question.
Once he recovered he quickly denied it.
He slapped the windowsill and hurried to explain.
“Do I look like it? I have zero interest in men!”
“Oh.”
That was good.
If he really were, An Ling’s whole plan would have fallen apart.
“So you like women, right? What kind do you like?”
That question actually made Li Yang think.
He considered it for a moment, then said,
“If I have to say, someone cute.
Small and petite, the kind I could pick up and carry easily.
And gentle, someone who can take good care of others.”
What Li Yang didn’t say was that he preferred a beastkin with a soft, fluffy tail.
He was afraid An Ling would think he was a pervert.
He was even more afraid she would connect it to herself.
“I see~”
An Ling thought for a second.
It sounded like she could find someone.
Zhou Meng seemed pretty good, but Li Yang sat right next to her and nothing had happened after all this time.
Probably not.
Then who?
She decided to scout at school tomorrow.
An Ling had officially taken on the job of matchmaker.
Li Yang was going to be so lucky.
“What about you, An Ling? What kind of person do you like?”
Li Yang turned the question back on her.
“Me?”
An Ling pointed at herself.
“What kind do I like?”
An Ling honestly hadn’t liked any girls before.
She had been too young earlier, and later there had been too much going on to think about it.
If she really had to name one, it would only be that Chen Ping who tricked her in the memory fragments.
But now that An Ling knew the truth, there was no way she could like her anymore.
“I don’t have anyone I like.
I just want to live my life alone.”
If her body problem wasn’t solved, An Ling couldn’t marry any girl anyway.
“Won’t Aunt An and Uncle An beat you to death?
When you hit your thirties they’ll nag you about marriage every single day and set you up on blind dates nonstop.”
“I just won’t go.
Besides, my mom and dad aren’t that old-fashioned.
At most they’ll complain a little.”
The two of them kept chatting back and forth.
With An Ling actively participating today, the conversation never died.
Time flew by.
“Yawn~”
An Ling let out a yawn.
She was starting to feel sleepy.
“It’s getting pretty late.”
Li Yang pulled out his phone and glanced at it.
“Let’s call it a night and get some rest.”
“Okay.”
An Ling really was tired—her body clock was like that.
She closed the window, drew the curtains, and climbed back into bed.
She hugged her tail to her chest.
In the darkness of her life, a ray of hope had appeared.
She didn’t know if it would work, but An Ling felt much more at ease.
Holding her tail, she quickly fell asleep.
In tonight’s dream it was still the same scene, but something felt a little different.
She seemed to have moved forward quite a bit.
She could now make out faint shapes.
The memory fragment appeared to have many people in it, but she still couldn’t see any details clearly.
How annoying.
How much longer was this going to keep teasing her appetite?
It was even more infuriating than those Pinduoduo group-buy pleas, even though An Ling had never joined one herself.
***
When she woke from the dream again, another morning had arrived.
After washing up and packing her homework, the timing was just right.
When she stepped out, Li Yang was waiting as usual, looking like he was about to die from sleepiness.
He hadn’t forgotten her breakfast.
An Ling hadn’t bought her own breakfast in a long time.
She had been eating the ones Li Yang brought every day and was starting to feel a little embarrassed.
She would have to find a chance to repay him.
It couldn’t keep going like this.
She took her portion of breakfast from Li Yang’s hand.
Today An Ling didn’t have as many reservations.
Her main goals had become keeping an eye on Chen Ping and finding Li Yang a girlfriend.
“The breakfast is good. Thanks.”
An Ling said it easily.
“What’s there to thank me for?”
Li Yang also noticed that An Ling seemed different today.
It was like the clouds had cleared and the sun had come out.
“You’re in a good mood today?” Li Yang asked.
“Mm, yeah, it’s pretty good.
I feel a bit lighter.”
Along the way, An Ling chatted with Li Yang while scanning every girl in a school uniform, looking for potential targets.
Li Yang’s gaze stayed on her the whole time.
“Hey, what do you think of that girl? Cute, right?”
An Ling pointed in one direction.
“Huh?”
Li Yang hadn’t caught up.
An Ling’s question had come too suddenly.
“Which one? I didn’t see.”
“She already walked past.
Pay more attention while you’re walking.”
Li Yang’s eyes returned to An Ling.
“Why have you been so into talking about girls since yesterday?
Looking for a girlfriend yourself?”
“Tch~”
An Ling rolled her eyes at him.
It’s for you, dummy!
“Didn’t I already say?
I’m not getting married, and I’m not wasting time on casual dating either.”
“You’re being so absolute about it?
When you do get married later, I’m definitely going to tease you with this.”
Li Yang joked.
“Sure.”
An Ling looked completely unbothered.
“Then you just wait until we’re both old and dying.
You can say that to me on your deathbed.”
“You’re just being stubborn right now.”
“Heh, just wait and see.”
The two of them bickered their way into school.
An Ling still couldn’t help observing the girls around them.
She spotted a few who seemed promising, but she didn’t know which class they were in.
She casually asked for Li Yang’s opinion a couple of times, but he didn’t seem interested at all.
He kept joking and steering the conversation to other topics.
“Tch. Useless.”
An Ling saw that Li Yang really had no interest in the subject and could only give up.
She would ask someone else once they got to the classroom.