Chapter 78: The Most Beautiful Expectation
Teng Yi held Ruan Yu, kissing her for what felt like ages, yet it didn’t feel like kissing a real person. She was as stiff as a wooden doll—not closing her eyes, not parting her lips—utterly hopeless, like an incompetent teammate who couldn’t be carried. And yet, she had the audacity to claim she knew how? What a brazen lie.
He finally pulled back, rubbing his thumb over her lips, now flushed red from his ministrations.
“Are you sure you don’t need a lesson?” Even the fish in the aquarium kissed more convincingly than she did.
Ruan Yu: “…”
Who would’ve thought karma would strike so fast?
“I… How do you know I don’t know how?”
“Haven’t you never been in a relationship before?” Teng Yi smirked.
Though her limbs were stiff, Ruan Yu’s mind was sharp. Her thoughts raced, and she quickly realized—he had overheard her conversation with Teng Hao in the room that day!
“You eavesdropped on me and Teng Hao?”
“Watch your wording. That’s my house—I was there openly.”
Ruan Yu was thoroughly defeated. She averted her gaze, bending down to stare at the fish in the aquarium, deliberately ignoring him and his mocking expression.
Teng Yi leaned in closer.
“So, I’m your first love, and that was your first kiss, right?”
“…”
Ruan Yu pretended not to hear.
Yes, he was her first love, and that had been her first kiss. But the thought that she wasn’t his first love, that he had kissed someone else before, made her heart twist with jealousy again.
Teng Yi pinched her cheek. “Alright, stop staring. You don’t have to study so hard—I can teach you slowly.”
Ruan Yu pushed his hand away, her gaze still fixed on the pair of kissing fish in the tank.
“You know what? Many fishkeepers love kissing gouramis because they think these fish symbolize lasting love. But in reality, their ‘kisses’ aren’t courtship—they’re fighting, settling territorial disputes,” she said.
Teng Yi paused.
“Top scorer, do you always have to ruin the mood? Can’t you be a little more romantic?”
Ruan Yu huffed. “If I can’t beat you in relationship experience, of course I have to crush you with knowledge.”
“Who said I have relationship experience?”
Ruan Yu’s eyes brightened, her lips parting as if to confirm something—but she was cut off by another kiss.
Teng Yi held her shoulders firmly, taking advantage of her parted lips to invade with his tongue. Neither of them had experience—the earlier peck hadn’t exposed their clumsiness, but now, in deep-kiss mode, their tongues and teeth clashed awkwardly.
Ruan Yu soon struggled to breathe, her body going limp like a drowning person.
Teng Yi held her steady, gradually finding his rhythm and technique.
She was so sweet—her mouth tasted entirely of cola, tempting him to delve deeper…
“Bro!”
At the sudden shout, Ruan Yu startled and buried her face in Teng Yi’s chest.
Teng Yi remained composed, holding her while suppressing his irritation at the interruption. He turned to look at Teng Hao.
Teng Hao had appeared in the hallway at some point, stumbling upon the scene. He looked just as shocked.
“Bro… You two… You two…” He fumbled for words before finally blurting out, “Since when have you two been hooking up?”
Teng Yi shot him a glare, then lightly patted the back of Ruan Yu’s head.
“Have you been slacking off on his Chinese tutoring?”
Ruan Yu covered her face, pressing it into Teng Yi’s chest as she shook her head vigorously, signaling him not to engage with her.
Right now, she just wanted to dig a hole and disappear.To think Teng Hao had seen them kissing—her authoritative image was completely ruined. How was she supposed to keep him in line and tutor him now?
"What are you standing there for?" Teng Yi shot Teng Hao a look.
"I just came to use the bathroom."
"Then hurry up and go."
"Right."
Teng Hao quickly made himself scarce.
--?--
Ruan Yu lifted her head from Teng Yi's embrace, her cheeks still visibly flushed under the blue lighting.
"Scared already?" Teng Yi smirked.
Ruan Yu couldn’t speak. She’d been holding her breath the whole time and was still panting slightly.
After a moment, she looked up again, her eyes glistening with a shy, post-kiss softness.
"What if I can’t keep him under control from now on?"
"From now on, you’re his sister-in-law. You think he’d dare disobey you?"
Ruan Yu thought about it—that did make sense.
The sound of running water came from the bathroom.
Teng Yi gave Ruan Yu’s shoulder a light pat. "You go ahead first," he said.
Ruan Yu murmured an acknowledgment and left the hallway, her heart still fluttering.
When Teng Hao emerged from the bathroom, he saw Teng Yi standing alone by the fish tank. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, the shifting light cast an illusion where the small fish swimming beside him made it hard to tell if he was underwater or right in front of him.
"Come here," Teng Yi said.
Teng Hao strode over and preempted him, "If you convince Mom about the dancing thing, I’ll keep your secret."
"Tsk. Getting bold, aren’t you? Your opportunistic threats are getting smoother by the day."
First, when he’d made him apologize to Ruan Yu, and now this again.
"Bro, I’m just backed into a corner here," Teng Hao whined.
"Cut the act. Go ahead and tell Mom if you want."
"Really?"
"Of course. It’s not like I’m in some shady relationship. Why wouldn’t I want people to know?"
"But she’s my tutor."
"So what? Did us dating affect your grades?"
"..." Well, no. In fact, he’d improved by over a dozen places.
"Meanwhile, you—that Jingyao girl—"
"How do you know about Jingyao?" Teng Hao’s face instantly burned red, his demeanor shifting from aggressor to the one under pressure.
Teng Yi laughed.
Kids really had no idea how to hide their emotions.
"I’m your brother. Is there anything about you I don’t know?"
Teng Hao had a crush on Wang Jingyao from his class—sneakily writing her love letters, secretly preparing birthday gifts… Teng Yi knew all of it. He’d just turned a blind eye before, but this kid had been getting a little too cocky lately. Time to knock him down a peg.
"I—"
"You what? Want me to go into more detail?"
Teng Hao immediately deflated, surrendering.
"Bro, I was wrong. Forgive me."
"Then promise you won’t bully her anymore."
"When did I ever bully her?" Teng Hao protested. "I’d be thanking the heavens if she didn’t bully me!"
Teng Yi chuckled.
"Stop laughing! It’s true!"
"Well, you’ll just have to endure it."
Teng Hao pressed his lips together, grumbling inwardly. He never expected his brother would be the type to forget his own sibling once he got a girlfriend.
"Alright." Teng Yi slung an arm around Teng Hao’s shoulders. "Quit pretending. I know you like her too."
Teng Hao nearly cracked but refused to admit it.
"I don’t like her at all."
"Is that so?"
Teng Hao stayed silent. A few seconds later, he reluctantly gave a small nod.He actually quite liked Ruan Yu. When he heard that she had fallen in love at first sight with another guy and exchanged WeChat contacts, he had felt genuinely down for a while, always feeling like his family's cabbage was about to be trampled by a pig.
Now, things were better. The fertile water hadn’t flowed into someone else’s field, so he could rest easy.
Ruan Yu returned to the table, where the group was still chatting and joking animatedly. Fang Wan glanced at her, then at the two empty seats beside her, expressionless, before immersing herself back into the lively atmosphere.
A while later, Teng Yi and Teng Hao, the two brothers, also returned.
Ruan Yu didn’t dare to make eye contact with Teng Hao, feeling awkward, but Teng Hao kept looking at her as if sizing up a stranger. Under his gaze, Ruan Yu’s face burned, and she reached for an ice-cold cola to cool herself—only for Teng Hao to press his hand down on the can.
“What are you doing?” Ruan Yu couldn’t help but look at him.
“What are you doing? That’s the one I was drinking from,” Teng Hao said.
Oh. Wrong can.
Ruan Yu’s face grew even hotter. She searched around—the half-finished cola she had been drinking earlier must have been knocked to the floor by someone and had rolled far away.
Teng Hao picked up a fresh can from the table, popped the tab open, and handed it to her with both hands, holding it respectfully. Though silent, his gesture seemed to say, "Eldest sister-in-law, please enjoy."
Ruan Yu laughed and glanced at Teng Yi, only to find him smiling at the two of them as well.
“Thanks,” Ruan Yu said, accepting the cola from Teng Hao.
Just like that, the awkwardness melted away.
Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they left the skewer bar. Teng Yi wanted to walk Ruan Yu back to campus, but she refused—since so many of them were heading the same way, what would it mean for him to escort her alone?
Teng Yi thought about it and agreed, so he didn’t insist.
Back at school, Ruan Yu took a shower first. When she stepped out of the bathroom, she found dozens of new messages on her phone. Opening them, she realized Teng Yi had added her to the Journey to the West group chat.
The first message at the top was from Teng Yi, who had tagged everyone and written: "Let me introduce you—my girlfriend."
The moment the message went out, the group exploded.
Seeing everyone teasing wildly, Teng Yi quickly added another line: "Just managed to win her over—don’t scare her off."
Then, someone started a trend, and the replies below turned into a uniform chorus of "Hello, eldest sister-in-law!"
Hugging her phone, Ruan Yu could only giggle foolishly.
She typed "Hello, everyone" in the chat box, but after some thought, it felt a bit too formal. In the end, she just replied with a shy, face-hiding emoji.
Seeing the female lead appear, the group grew even more excited.
Xiao Qing and Zhou Xihe, taking advantage of their familiarity with Ruan Yu, began bantering back and forth, relentlessly teasing her.
Of course, what everyone was most curious about was how Teng Yi had confessed to her.
"Did he give you flowers?"
"Prepare a gift?"
"Plan a surprise?"
When guys got gossipy, they were even scarier than girls. The messages poured in endlessly, and after reading a few, Ruan Yu’s eyes were already spinning.
Teng Yi didn’t reply, and Ruan Yu didn’t know how to respond either.
After some thought, she realized Teng Yi’s confession wasn’t even worth mentioning—no flowers, no gifts, no surprises. He had just taken her to the rooftop and straightforwardly asked if she’d be willing to fill the position of his girlfriend… Unromantic. Extremely unromantic.
And yet, she had actually agreed.
Thinking about it now, she really got the short end of the stick.The group chat had been lively for a while, but Teng Yi never showed up. Perhaps feeling it was pointless, Xiao Qing, Zhou Xihe, and the others gradually quieted down too.
Ruan Yu opened Teng Yi’s chat window and sent him a "good night." She waited for a long time, but he didn’t reply.
She wondered—had he fallen asleep so quickly?
Ruan Yu slept lightly all night, and the poor sleep quality made it impossible for her to wake up early. She ended up sleeping until 7:30 a.m. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she did was reach for her phone, only to find there were still no messages from Teng Yi.
Feeling a little dejected, she lay quietly in bed for a moment, comforting herself with the thought that he must have gone to bed early and woken up late—that’s why he hadn’t seen her message yet. Otherwise, there was no reason for him not to reply.
After wallowing in uncertainty for a while, Ruan Yu finally got up to wash up.
Her roommates were also gradually waking up.
Just as Ruan Yu finished washing her face, music suddenly drifted up from outside the dormitory building, followed by someone loudly calling her name.
"Ruan Yu! Ruan Yu! Come out!"
"Who’s making such a racket this early in the morning?" Jian Xiangxiang was the first to push open the balcony’s glass door, curiously leaning out to look.
Ruan Yu set down her washbasin and followed her gaze.
Their dorm was on the third floor—not too high—and the balcony was level with the treetops outside, directly facing the main entrance of the girls’ dormitory.
On the cement ground at the entrance stood five boys in perfect formation.
At the front was Teng Yi.
The other four were Zhou Xihe, Xiao Qing, Lin Shan, and Cai Hong—the same group from the school anniversary performance, dressed in the same red outfits, exuding the same vibrant energy.
"Wow! What’s going on?" Jian Xiangxiang shrieked.
Chen Manbai and Xia Qiaofeng also rushed out to watch. Squeezed between the three of them, Ruan Yu’s thoughts were in a daze, but her gaze locked clearly with Teng Yi’s.
His gentle face, bathed in the morning light, wore a smile—his eyes brimming with warmth that unmistakably said, "I came for you."
"I have a dream / Like a rainbow after the rain / Trading all my tears for smiles / And there’s a kind of love / That crosses oceans / Picking up the lost speck of dust / Your breath draws near / Pulling me close..."
The music drifted over with the wind.
The five boys moved in perfect sync, their dance steps smooth and effortless. When the lyrics reached the word "love," they suddenly pulled roses from the large pockets of their hoodies like magic, then all bowed their heads in unison, pretending to sniff the flowers. Amid their youthful charm, there was an unexpected touch of elegant mischief.
Breathless! Heart-stopping!
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
Deafening screams erupted from the floors above.
Before anyone realized it, girls from several dorm buildings had rushed out to watch. Every balcony was packed with onlookers—the scene was nothing short of spectacular.
"Teng Yi!"
"Teng Yi!"
Everyone was calling his name, but he had come for Ruan Yu alone.
"I open my eyes / Wishing you were here / Doesn’t matter if it’s forever or just a moment / I close my eyes / And there you appear / Pulling me from the edge of loneliness / Forgetting right and wrong / No sorrow left / No regrets / I hold onto love... Reluctant to part / Every time I wake / No need to hesitate / You are my most beautiful expectation..."
The roses seamlessly blended into their dance, never feeling out of place. Instead, they infused the entire performance with a sweet, romantic aura.Finally, Zhou Xihe and the others stepped back in unison, leaving Teng Yi alone under the sunlight and the gaze of the crowd.
Teng Yi lightly held the rose between his teeth, supported himself in a handstand, and spun rapidly in place. His movements were as dashing as a gallant martial arts master, brimming with love and sincerity.
"Ruan Yu, I like you!" Teng Yi shouted after steadying himself.
The two silently locked eyes.
The sounds around them faded away, and the world was bathed in a radiant glow.
In that instant, Ruan Yu's heart melted into tender warmth. She gazed at Teng Yi, her eyes glistening with emotion.
In this lifetime, to have received such a heartfelt confession—she had no regrets.
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