Chapter 4: The Online Love Rival Becomes a Charmer (4)

Chapter 4: From Online Side Character to Campus Heartthrob (4)

Yang Mingyue still couldn’t quite describe the feeling he had when he first heard Tang Qing’s voice—velvety, alluring, with a hint of honey. It was like being hit by a freight train, his heart pounding violently, wanting to grasp at it but catching nothing.

Tang Qing’s voice was unlike any of the popular female streamers. Unlike their fake personas, she simply said, “Hi there,” and he couldn’t bear to end the call.

At first, Yang Mingyue hadn’t intended to get romantically involved with Tang Qing. He just genuinely liked her voice and enjoyed the feeling of chatting with her.

The more they interacted, the more Yang Mingyue found himself unable to resist wanting to talk to Tang Qing longer and about more things.

Even the slightest hint of flirtation between them made his heart race.

So when Tang Qing said she had forgotten her bank card password and couldn’t pay her rent, Yang Mingyue didn’t hesitate—he immediately transferred her 5,000 yuan…

It wasn’t until Yang Mingyue saw the exposé about Tang Qing on the forum and read her chat history with others that he realized he was just another fish in Tang Qing’s sea. Every time she told him she was busy with schoolwork, she was actually sharing every little detail of her day with different men.

She had greeted each one of them, shared her life, and even had exclusive flirtatious nicknames for them.

It was all an elaborate romantic con orchestrated by Tang Qing.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became—especially when he saw his own profile picture on that debt repayment list. Yang Mingyue wished he could scratch that profile picture right off his phone!

Beyond humiliating!

Compared to getting his money back, Yang Mingyue would rather just disappear from Tang Qing’s list altogether.

“Brother Yue?” The bleached-haired teammate waved his hand in front of Yang Mingyue’s face when he got no response. “You still haven’t answered—is this you?”

“Shut up!” At this moment, Yang Mingyue didn’t want to hear anything related to Tang Qing. His expression was dark with fury. “Not enough drills today? Got nothing better to do?”

“If you’re so full of energy, hit the track for five laps.”

The previously excited blond instantly deflated. “Seriously? Brother Yue…”

“I don’t even have any matches coming up. Why the sudden extra laps…”

Yang Mingyue’s face remained impassive. “One more word, and I’ll add a weight vest. You’re also competing in next month’s university track meet.”

“Representing our department is your responsibility.”

“But—” The blond tried to protest, but Yang Mingyue had already brushed past him, pulling out a chair with a loud screech.

He sat down heavily, radiating an aura that warned everyone to stay away. It was clear to all that Yang Mingyue was in a terrible mood.

“Stop talking!” Another guy from the Department of Physical Education yanked the blond back. “Are you stupid? Why rub salt in Brother Yue’s wound?”

“He didn’t deny it—that avatar is definitely him.”

“Tang Qing played him, and you just had to run over and ask if he was the sucker. Did you really expect him to be happy about it?”

The blond seemed to half-understand. The group exchanged glances, and for a moment, no one spoke.

Yang Mingyue was a well-known campus heartthrob and star athlete at A University—handsome, from a well-off background. Wherever he appeared, girls would swoon.

Every day, different girls would come trying to catch the eye of Yang Mingyue, hoping to give him water. But Yang Mingyue was immune to their advances—so far, not a single girl had managed to get him to accept that bottle of water.

The one who managed to topple the campus idol was Tang Qing.

Not long ago, Yang Mingyue had announced that he had a girlfriend and even said he’d introduce the future Mrs. Yang to everyone. No one could have guessed that this woman would turn out to be a notorious catfish.

"Tang Qing, what should we do? Yang Mingyue's affection meter for you is now at -47," the system spoke up. "An affection meter of 0 means the person feels nothing for you, and a negative value means they dislike you."

"Anything below -30 means they really hate you."

"It seems Yang Mingyue is really upset about that catfishing incident. Last month, his affection meter for you was 40, and now it's gone negative."

"Love built on lies? Only an idiot would fall for that." Tang Qing continued sipping her millet porridge unhurriedly, squinting as she traced the muscles on Yang Mingyue's back with her gaze. "This Second Male Lead is quite good-looking. I really like the lines of his shoulders."

"At a time like this, you're still analyzing the shape of Yang Mingyue's muscles?" The system was exasperated. "The problem is, he hates you now. How are we supposed to raise his affection meter?"

"You promised me we'd work together to boost affection meters and help me return to my master."

"Yes, I did promise you." Wiping her mouth, Tang Qing finished the last of her porridge, the hollow feeling in her stomach vanished completely. A faint flush of vitality returned to her pale face.

"Let's go talk to the Second Male Lead and pledge my loyalty."

In her past life, Tang Qing had hardly ever been single. She had encountered men like Yang Mingyue before and knew exactly how to play him.

She asked the shop owner for a mask and put it on before walking straight to the table where the student athletes were sitting.

"Excuse me, are you Yang Mingyue?" A sweet voice suddenly rang out. The jocks looked up in surprise, seeing Tang Qing standing before them.

Black-framed glasses paired with a mask, dressed in a simple T-shirt—for a moment, no one realized that the person in front of them was the very Tang Qing they'd been gossiping about.

None of them had heard her voice before, so they couldn't place her.

But Yang Mingyue recognized her the moment she spoke her first word—this was the same Tang Qing who had been lovey-dovey with him online just last month.

Squinting slightly, Yang Mingyue studied the girl standing before him. From head to toe, she was dressed in the most ordinary way, nothing to write home about looks-wise—just an average passerby you might see on the way to class.

The only thing that stood out was her voice, naturally sweet and refreshing, like honey to the ears.

If her appearance was utterly unremarkable, then Tang Qing’s voice alone could add at least 30 attractiveness points.

And he himself had been drawn in by that very voice.

"Yang, could I speak with you alone for a moment?" Tang Qing spoke again, her voice even sweeter this time. Now, even the other jocks could tell—this girl has a killer voice though. They began whispering among themselves:

"Holy shit, this girl doesn’t look like much, but has a killer voice though."

"I agree. Is she here to confess to Brother Yue?"

Girls approaching Yang Mingyue was nothing new, so they all exchanged knowing glances, ready to enjoy the show. "Hahaha, Brother Yue’s still as popular as ever."

"Bet he won’t agree, though. He’s in a foul mood right now." Having just suffered heartbreak, they figured this girl was barking up the wrong tree.

To their shock, Yang Mingyue actually stood up!

"Let’s talk outside."

Tang Qing followed behind Yang Mingyue. Their footsteps fell in sync—one tall, one short—and oddly harmonious.

The group was stunned. What? Normally, he wouldn't even acknowledge water deliveries, and now, without even seeing this girl’s face, Brother Yue was actually going to talk to her alone?

"What’s going on? Does Brother Yue know her?"

The blond guy pondered for a while. "Couldn't tell if Brother Yue was pleased or not, but this is the first time he’s ever been alone with a girl, right?"