Chapter 23: The Fierce Battlefield Between My Sickly Girlfriend and My Childhood Friend

“Hey, Liuhua, you’re here! Come on, come sit.”
Chen Luo waved awkwardly, casting a guilty glance at Wen Wan, then suddenly sensed something was off.
Wait, hold on—there’s nothing between me and Liuhua, and we’ve never done anything. Why am I feeling so guilty?
Right, it’s not like I’m cheating, so why am I acting like this?
He took a deep breath, steeling his nerves and pushing aside his embarrassment.
You Liuhua walked over to the table, her left eye fixed intently on Wen Wan, radiating an unmistakable hostility.
What’s going on? Didn’t they say Luo-ge doesn’t like Tang Xiwei anymore, that he’s single now? So why is there another woman by his side?
And she’s so beautiful! That face, that figure—she’s dazzling! No, I can’t show any weakness!
I don’t even know what this woman means to Luo-ge yet. I can’t lose at the very start!
Wen Wan, noticing the overtly hostile look in Liuhua’s eyes, didn’t take offense. Instead, she stood up gracefully and extended her hand. “Hello, I’m Wen Wan.”
“Hello, I’m You Liuhua, Luo-ge’s childhood friend.”
Without hesitation, Liuhua reached out and clasped Wen Wan’s hand tightly.
Since she was thirteen, Liuhua had trained in grappling with her father, so her grip was far stronger than an ordinary girl’s.
She decided to use her strength to win the upper hand right away. It might not have been the usual way for girls to compete, but she had no time for that now.
But as her force met Wen Wan’s, Wen Wan didn’t even flinch; her expression remained calm as she gradually increased her grip.
“Ah!” Liuhua yelped as the sudden pressure radiated pain through her palm.
How could this woman, looking so slender, have such strength? No, I can’t lose!
Liuhua doubled down, her face flushing red with the effort, but Wen Wan only smiled at her serenely, her grip still overpowering.
Watching from the side, Chen Luo realized something was wrong. Oh, Liuhua, you’ve picked the wrong opponent to compete with. You’re up against a six-sided yandere warrior.
With this in mind, Chen Luo reached out and placed his hand on Wen Wan’s wrist, shaking his head at her.
Wen Wan understood instantly and released her grip. Liuhua hurriedly hid her hand behind her back; her palm was bright red and trembling, throbbing with pain.
Yandere from the sky versus childhood friend—round one, the yandere wins!
Chen Luo looked at the two of them, bewildered. Why were they at each other’s throats the moment they met?

Was this the infamous rivalry between beautiful women?
“All right, all right, let’s all sit down. I’ll go order some milk tea and snacks.”
Trying to ease the tension, Chen Luo hurried to the counter. Maybe some food would help.
Wen Wan and Liuhua sat down. Liuhua still looked like a bristling tabby cat, glaring at Wen Wan.
“So, what are you to Luo-ge?”
Wen Wan couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh at Liuhua’s directness. “You’re much more straightforward than that cunning Tang Xiwei.”
At the mention of Tang Xiwei, Liuhua realized that this stranger might know more about Chen Luo than she had thought.
“If you know about Tang Xiwei too, how long have you known Luo-ge?”
“Not long. Just these past few days,” Wen Wan replied calmly.
“Heh, I’ve been Luo-ge’s neighbor since we were little. We even took baths together as kids.”
Clack! Hearing that, Wen Wan, though she knew it happened when they were babies, couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger. Her finger tapped lightly on the tabletop, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.
Seeing Wen Wan’s reaction, Liuhua pressed her advantage, recounting all sorts of stories from Chen Luo’s childhood.
“Did you know Luo-ge wet the bed when he was five? I even helped him hide his pants!”
“When he was a kid, he was such a rascal—he swapped his dad’s license with an Ultraman card. His dad was so mad he chased him all the way to my house.”
As Liuhua rambled on about Chen Luo’s childhood, Wen Wan grew calm instead.
So Chen Luo had all these lively stories from his youth. Compared to my own cold and uneventful childhood, his really was much richer.
Clearly, there’s so much about him I don’t know yet. I’ll have to get him to tell me all these stories someday.
Liuhua talked for several minutes until her mouth felt dry and she paused for breath.
“Oh? If you’re so close, does that mean you’re childhood sweethearts, betrothed since birth or something?” Wen Wan teased with a playful smile.
“Uh, no, we’re not,” Liuhua admitted awkwardly.
Right then, Liuhua wished she could travel back in time and force her father to arrange a childhood engagement.
But there was no helping it! Even though she’d grown up with Chen Luo and liked him for years, she’d never confessed, so how could there be a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship?

Ah! How could this woman be so sharp-tongued!
Yandere from the sky versus childhood friend—round two, the yandere wins!
Thrown off by Wen Wan’s retort, Liuhua felt incredibly frustrated, as if she’d been on the losing end the entire time.
She clutched her head in despair, muttering, “There has to be a way, there has to be.”
Watching Liuhua’s bewildered antics, Wen Wan found her bluntness rather endearing.
“Oh, right! I can help Luo-ge with his business! I designed all these!”
Liuhua pulled a stack of blueprints from her backpack and handed them to Wen Wan. They were all themed renovation plans and costume designs for a milk tea shop with an anime motif.
Wen Wan glanced at them. Even without experience in the anime industry, she could immediately judge their quality.
Though the overall look was a bit amateurish, the designs had a certain novelty and catered well to young people—at least, it was a passable plan.
“Well? I put all this together in half a day. Pretty impressive, right?”
Liuhua tilted her chin up proudly, as if to say, Now you see what I can do.
Wen Wan carefully examined the designs. Since this was Chen Luo’s project, she wanted to make sure everything was up to standard.
She didn’t want her darling’s very first venture to end in failure and damage his confidence.
As Wen Wan leafed through the plans with utmost seriousness, Liuhua suddenly realized she hadn’t asked the most important question.
“So, Miss Wen Wan, what exactly is your relationship with Luo-ge?”
Without even lifting her head, Wen Wan pointed to Chen Luo, who had just finished ordering and was walking back.
“Why don’t you let Chen Luo answer that for you?”
Yandere from the sky versus childhood friend—the final round begins!