Looking at the school beauty’s joyful expression, Xiang Ran suddenly thought of a psychological strategy: the "door-in-the-face" technique.
The basic idea is to first make an outrageous or unreasonable request, and then, after the other person refuses, follow up with a more reasonable request. The initial excessive request makes the second one seem more acceptable, thereby increasing the chances of acceptance.
“Why can’t I be close to my boyfriend?”
“That doesn’t matter!”
(Shu Yao felt wronged) Don’t all the girls get close to their boyfriends?
“You don’t want to admit it, do you think I’m unworthy of being seen?”
Who would think the school beauty is unworthy?
Now it was Xiang Ran's turn to silently rage.
Dating a school beauty was already stressful enough.
On top of that, dealing with this absurd false relationship...
If he couldn’t handle it and the school beauty regained her memory and dumped him, would anything be more humiliating?
...
Liu Shu Yao looked at Ran, who hadn’t spoken for a long time, feeling even more wronged.
For the first time, she thought her boyfriend was a jerk!
But what if she still liked him...?
Her head buzzed with confusion; she didn’t know that they were already in a relationship and why they needed to set rules!
Though it wasn’t that she couldn’t agree, after all, whatever her boyfriend said was right...
But she had to maintain her dignity, or what if their relationship fell apart?
So she had to fight for her status!
With that determination, Liu Shu Yao, with tears in her eyes, took a deep breath:
“I have a problem with the last rule!”
“When can we be together?”
Seeing the school beauty’s eyes redden, Xiang Ran felt scared...
He was turning into a jerk again!
“Don’t cry; we can discuss it calmly.”
“You’re the school beauty! A prominent figure in the school, with admirers circling from the south gate to the north!”
“So many people like you; everywhere I go, I see rivals, right?”
As he spoke, he realized this sounded wrong, but he pressed on...
“Let’s be rational; I’m just trying to protect you.”
He added, “But you said we’d buy a house with a yard, have two kids, and raise a cat and a dog. I’d plant some flowering crabapples in the yard.”
“......”
Xiang Ran frowned, unable to deny that Liu Shu Yao’s fantasies were quite vivid, but...
“Do you know how much a good standalone villa costs in Ningzhou now?”
“Ah? What?”
“It’s a small goal.”
Liu Shu Yao seemed lost in her earlier vision of crabapples, momentarily not understanding what her boyfriend meant.
“What’s this small goal? Is it expensive?”
Oh my...
She really was a sheltered girl...
After pondering for a moment, Liu Shu Yao appeared to find a solution.
She looked seriously into Xiang Ran’s eyes.
“If I buy you a house, can we be together?”
？？？？
Xiang Ran frowned, unsure how to respond!
Who can tell him how to refuse such a temptation?
Where’s his phone?
Where are his three allies?
...
Luckily, the wind helped him think clearly. He reconsidered their situation and, of course, his predicament.
He seriously proposed a compromise:
“How about this: let’s agree that if we’re still together by our senior year, we can be official!”
“Why wait a year and a half? Can’t we do it in a month?”
Xiang Ran looked at the school beauty, who was getting a bit too demanding, realizing he might be falling for her tears.
Sure enough, caught off guard, Liu Shu Yao stuck out her tongue playfully, her earlier tearful expression replaced with mischief.
“The senior year is because we’ll be facing internships then, and fewer people will care about our relationship. If we can overcome various challenges by then, whatever you say goes—we can buy a house, get a dog, and a cat!”
Liu Shu Yao was a girl good at admitting mistakes and self-reflection; after receiving a heartfelt confession from Xiang Ran, she barely thought of her dignity, wanting to cling to her boyfriend.
In contrast, Xiang Ran remained calm. He had asked a doctor, and Liu Shu Yao’s memory issues generally wouldn’t last long—about a year. As time passed, her memories would likely return, and their relationship might go back to how it was before.
Liu Shu Yao was easily coaxed, often coming up with strange conclusions in her mind.
“Okay, I agree!”
Hearing this, Xiang Ran finally sighed in relief.
After all, he was also struggling; he knew this was a pretend relationship but still had to be very careful not to fall into this romantic trap.
Like now, with her increasingly bold hand...
“Didn’t we say no PDA at school?”
Xiang Ran tried to remind her of their earlier agreement.
“But there’s no one around now~”
“Just a little touch, is that okay?”
“A little touch wouldn’t be noticed by anyone~”
But...
What was with this hand slowly moving down?
Xiang Ran felt that if it went another inch, something would happen. Sure enough, being with a beauty made even sitting in a chair feel risky.
When he glanced down, Liu Shu Yao acted as if nothing was wrong, leaning forward with her elbow resting on his thigh, her hips raised slightly, making her short skirt barely cover anything, highlighting her smooth, delicate thighs.
The most important thing was that she was casually doodling with her hand.
A little to the left,
A circle to the right...
Her serious expression made it seem like she was creating a masterpiece.
Xiang Ran felt electrified, unable to look away, silently reciting a mantra to calm himself!
No!
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to handle the days ahead!
So, as Liu Shu Yao was making her final stroke, he decisively pulled her up and straightened his clothes.
“It’s getting late; I’ll walk you back to your dorm.”
Liu Shu Yao frowned when she heard her boyfriend was leaving, unwilling to part.
Hadn’t they just sat down for a bit?
She hadn’t even finished drawing her rabbit...
Despite her muttering, she obediently followed Xiang Ran, taking small steps.
And she kept reassuring herself:
I just got my boyfriend back; I should act cute; kisses can wait until next time~
Xiang Ran, walking ahead, was oblivious to her thoughts, increasingly focused on the time to close the dorm doors. He didn’t want to delay even a few minutes, only to be forced to find a hotel for the school beauty.
That image was too beautiful; he dared not imagine...
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