Chapter 174 - 139: Bring Him to Ruin and Disgrace

Chapter 174: Chapter 139: Bring Him to Ruin and Disgrace

Yan Xici looked at her, smiling. "Okay, then I’ll ask you a question. How many boyfriends have you had?"

To be honest, just about any girl with some dating experience would feel at least a little uncomfortable being asked a question like that in this kind of setting.

Girls tend to be sensitive and very conscious of their reputation. It’s an awkward subject.

But this wasn’t the case for Yan Xici!

After all, this was genuinely her first romance, so the question couldn’t hurt her in the slightest.

This, however, really put Li Yuan on the spot.

’What was she supposed to say?’

After a moment of thought, Li Yuan glanced hesitantly at Zhang Chuan. "Three..."

In reality, she’d had six past relationships, but to save face, she decided to leave out three of them.

Hearing this, Xu Cheng, who was sitting opposite her, said in a teasing tone, "Sounds like you have a rich emotional history. You could probably teach Chuanzi a thing or two!"

His words had a double meaning.

On one hand, it could be taken to mean her dating history was extensive.

On the other hand, it could imply that her feelings were *still* rich—so rich that while she was out with Zhang Chuan, she was still pining for Xiao Ran.

’Some things are clearer to an outsider. He’d seen her attitude toward Zhang Chuan, and he saw her attitude toward Xiao Ran even more clearly.’

’Xiao Ran was undeniably outstanding, but honestly, given her circumstances, she was lucky Zhang Chuan was even interested in her. He was doing her a favor.’

’Wanting what’s in the pot while you’re still eating from the bowl. What a piece of work!’

As expected, Xu Cheng’s comment made Li Yuan visibly uncomfortable. She could only pretend she hadn’t heard and muttered to herself, "It’s my turn again!"

With that, she hastily picked up the spoon in front of her and gave it a spin.

As if fate was on her side, the spoon finally pointed to Xiao Ran. Li Yuan looked at him, smiling. "Brother Ran, what will you choose?"

’She silently prayed that Xiao Ran would pick "Truth" so she could learn a little more about him.’

Xiao Ran chuckled. "Me? I’ll take a Dare!"

’For a couple deep in the honeymoon phase, things like getting intimate weren’t a punishment—they were a reward!’

’He loved it!’

Li Yuan: "..."

’Was he really not going to give her even a sliver of an opening?’

’It’s not like she was trying to jump into a relationship with him right away. She was just humbly asking for a chance to be friends. That wasn’t too much to ask, was it?’

’How could anyone be so dense!’

Li Yuan pursed her lips. Earlier, when she and Zhang Chuan were watching the livestream in their room, she’d thought his singing was incredible. It was a shame he’d only sung a few lines before falling into the water.

’Now that luck was on her side, she could at least get him to sing a song, right?’

"Well then, why don’t you sing a song for us?" Li Yuan said with a smile.

After saying this, she even tucked her long hair back, revealing a gentle smile.

Xiao Ran froze. ’What kind of dare is that?’

’Shouldn’t the dare be to do something flirty with your girlfriend, or potential girlfriend?’

’So why was my dare just to sing?’

’Does she even know how to play this game?!’

Completely oblivious, Yan Xici couldn’t see through Li Yuan’s little ploy. Hearing the suggestion to sing, she happily tugged on the corner of Xiao Ran’s shirt, her eyes shining with unconcealed adoration. "Brother Ran, you should sing a little bit for us."

’I didn’t get to hear enough last time, either!!!’

Xiao Ran: "..."

’Since Yan Xici had spoken, what else could he say?’

’It was his job to keep his girl happy, of course!’

He shrugged and thought for a moment. "Alright, I’ll sing ’I Seem to Have Seen You Somewhere’."

He picked up a glass from the table, took a couple of sips of water, cleared his throat, and slowly began to sing: "I thought my journey had burned out all my passion, but you appeared like a love letter, a feeling so new and raw."

"’People lock away their late-found love behind a password, and with well-articulated speeches, they sever all ties. I heard your voice, and I hid a heart that didn’t dare to be seen. I hid myself in a discerning crowd, searching for that one star as night fell...’"

In truth, that was exactly how he had felt about her at the very beginning.

He hadn’t dared to be with her, so he could only lock his feelings away in his heart.

It was she who had melted him with her love.

She made him understand that some things were within his reach, too.

He was grateful for her selfless love, for her care, and for the way she looked at him with eyes that asked for nothing in return.

She made him feel a warmth he had never experienced before.

Xiao Ran’s voice was magnetic, with a wonderful timbre. He hit the high notes with absolutely no effort.

It was a stark contrast to the deep, bass-heavy voices and raspy "smoker’s voices" that were popular online recently.

In an instant, everyone was drawn in by the emotion in his voice. For a long moment after he finished, no one spoke.

This was especially true for Li Yuan. If before she’d only had a slight crush on Xiao Ran, an impulsive thought that it would be nice to be with someone like him...

...then now, she was completely floored by his talent.

’What kind of person was he? Not only could he write books and livestream, but he could even sing this well. It was no exaggeration to say he was almost as good as a professional.’

’It was just so, so good!!!!’

’He was, without a doubt, the most high-caliber guy she had ever met!’

"Brother Ran, you sing so well! You must have had professional training, right?"

Li Yuan couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

Even Zhang Chuan, sitting beside her, was stunned. "You rascal, you’ve really been holding out on us!"

’After all their years in school together, how had he never realized Xiao Ran had a talent like this?!’

’If he had known, he would’ve tried to start a band with him!’

’He could’ve played the drums or something.’

’If Xiao Ran had made it big, he could’ve gotten a cut of the profits!’

Xu Cheng chuckled. "I think this duo of Ranzi and Xici could really become huge influencers!" By huge, he meant the kind with tens of millions of followers, the kind who could casually go live and instantly have seventy or eighty thousand people watching.