Chapter 66 Seizing Destiny

Seeing that Zheng Zhe remained silent, Li Mengling withdrew her arm and stood in place.

"Mengling, I didn't mean it that way, and your grades are really good too..."

"My grades are terrible!" Li Mengling interrupted him angrily, "I'm just a bad student, a delinquent!"

"Mengling, you were fine just a moment ago. Why did you suddenly change into a completely different person?" Zheng Zhe stepped closer, smiling as he joked, "Anyone who didn't know better would think you have a split personality. When school just let out, you were so mature and gentle, but look at you now—you're acting like a child, and your temper is far too explosive."

Those words stepped right onto Li Mengling's emotional minefield, and she shouted, "Get lost! Go find whoever is mature and gentle! I never want to see you again!"

"Mengling, I... I didn't mean that."

"Get lost!!!" Li Mengling screamed at the top of her lungs, causing passing pedestrians to turn and look in their direction.

Zheng Zhe had no idea how he had offended her. He had originally wanted to make a pact with her to study hard together so they could be together once they got into college. He had even deliberately worn the outfit he thought looked the coolest today, but he hadn't expected to mess it up anyway.

The look Li Mengling gave him now was filled with disgust. With no other choice, under the gaze of the surrounding pedestrians, he turned and left helplessly.

After Zheng Zhe walked away, Li Mengling's tense nerves seemed to suddenly relax. She let out a long sigh and sat down by the roadside.

"Mengling, what is wrong with you? He didn't know that I was controlling your body earlier; he thought it was you, which is why he said those things..." Fang Xiaoling's voice filled with confusion echoed in her mind. "We were so close to succeeding! The fact that he came to wait for you after school today proves that your bold kiss earlier worked. He clearly misses you and likes you."

"None of that matters." Li Mengling looked at the fallen leaves and dust being stirred up by the wind by the roadside, and murmured, "I'm sorry, Sister Xiaoling, I can't be with Zheng Zhe."

"Why not?"

"Actually, if I really wanted to be with him, I would have told him back when we were in the same class." Li Mengling twisted her fingers together, saying with distress, "It's precisely because I don't want to date him that watching him every day leaves me feeling restless and troubled. That's why I feel so annoyed and don't even want to study hard anymore."

"But don't you like him? Otherwise, I wouldn't have time-traveled into your body!"

"Just because I like him!" Li Mengling struggled with herself for a long time before saying, "I can't hold him back. Being in a relationship will definitely affect his studies. I originally wanted to throw caution to the wind and just keep going like this, but today he brought it up himself—how can I deliberately ignore that?"

"Mengling, Zheng Zhe didn't mean it that way..."

"But what right do I have to ruin someone else's life?" Li Mengling said resolutely, "I don't care what he meant; the point is, I've realized I can't just be with him like this. If my presence causes his grades to drop, I will never have peace of mind for the rest of my life!"

"Then you should study hard too! You can accompany him and work hard together. Both of you can get into good universities—wouldn't that be even better?"

"I have a gut feeling that going down this path will definitely ruin him." Li Mengling slowly shook her head. "Yesterday when he kissed me, he was so proactive, completely unlike his usual self, and also... today he didn't even wear his school uniform. You don't know how strict of a rule-follower he used to be; he has already started changing."

"So what? Are you just going to watch him drift further and further away from you?"

"That's fine too..." Li Mengling murmured. "To support him silently like this, watching him from afar—if we are truly destined to be, maybe we'll still have a chance to be together in the future."

"That's not fine at all!" Fang Xiaoling quickly replied. "If you just watch him from afar like this, as time passes, you will gradually fade from his world. When that day finally comes and you see him holding another woman, your heart will shatter, and you'll feel deep regret. You'll think that if you had just possessed a little more courage and confidence back then, you might never have had to witness such a scene...

Why wait for fate? I waited for years, all the way until Luolan possessed my body to express my feelings for me, before the two of us truly had a chance to walk together. You and Zheng Zhe ended up in the same class the very moment school started—isn't that considered fate? Just like when I was in college, he and I were in the same class, and even during our internships, we ended up in the same place. These are all tangible pieces of fate...

Yet I lacked the courage to cherish this fate, worrying about the future just like you are now. What can waiting possibly bring? If Luolan hadn't time-traveled into my body, this fate probably would have just vanished into thin air. Heaven has already given us so much time to express our love, hasn't it?"

Li Mengling lowered her head and thought for a long time, then still conflictedly said, "Even so, I can't ruin his life just so I can have him, right?"

"And what if you do ruin it? How do you know whether he'd prefer living in a luxury mansion in the future, or being with you? Besides, there are plenty of things that could tempt and distract him, right? Are movies a distraction? Are video games? Even if you act so noble and push him away, can you guarantee no other girls will like him in the future? Do you think those girls would care about his future as much as you do? Instead of letting someone else ruin him, you might as well be with him yourself. At the very least, you would encourage him to study and keep him on the right path, right? That is essentially safeguarding his journey through life."

Li Mengling froze, wondering why she hadn't thought of these things before. "W-Well... that actually makes some sense."

"Do you know what the most important thing is?" Fang Xiaoling's tone grew even firmer. "The most important thing is, you are certain that you love him, and you love him very, very much, right? Since that's the case, him being with someone who loves him most is always better than being with Jiang Tong—I mean, it's certainly better than him ending up in the arms of some manipulative, wicked woman in the future!"

"You're right!" Li Mengling suddenly stood up. "You're right, Sister Xiaoling. I love him, so I need to stay by his side and protect him. Otherwise, relying solely on his own willpower, he could easily be led astray by other bad girls!"

"That's more like it." Fang Xiaoling finally seemed to let out a sigh of relief, but immediately grew nervous again. "Why are you running so fast? Watch out for the cars! Where are you going?!"

"I'm going to find him!"

"He's already gone home! Can't you talk to him at school tomorrow?"

"No way!" Li Mengling dashed straight across the busy street filled with moving traffic. "I can't wait a single moment longer. I'm going to go find him right now and make things clear! You're right, Sister Xiaoling, I need to seize the fate the heavens have given me and never let it slip away before my eyes!"