Volume 4: Hidden Struggles, Chapter 210: Beyond Expectations

When Chu Tianyu heard this, his mind froze for a few seconds. How come these words sounded so familiar? His thoughts drifted back to the conversation he had with his third uncle during the winter break. Reflecting on it now, he still felt deeply moved—“Do as you please” was truly wise advice!
As for Bai Lei, he still didn’t know what he was up to, so Chu Tianyu couldn’t reveal any secrets to him just yet. Besides, Bai Lei already had someone he liked—so why bring up love issues again? Could it be that Lan Yue was going to leave him? Thinking of this, Chu Tianyu quickly asked sensitively, “Did you argue with Lan Yue again? Does it seem serious this time? Are you telling me you two are going to break up?”
“Go away! What nonsense? Who said anything about arguing or breaking up?” Bai Lei shook his head firmly.
“Then what’s going on?” Chu Tianyu asked curiously.
“Sigh, I already told you—it’s a love issue! Ah, the troubles of love!” Bai Lei said, taking another sip of wine and shaking his head solemnly.
Chu Tianyu really felt like grabbing two knives and chopping him up! But before he could act, Bai Lei, as if reading his mind, quickly added, “That’s why I came to see you this time—to seek your advice and get some guidance too!”
“What kind of guidance?” Chu Tianyu rolled his eyes. So far, Bai Lei hadn’t said anything meaningful. There was nothing he could do but go along with his words and ask reluctantly.
“Tianyu… well, you know, it’s hard to bring this up…” Bai Lei hesitated.
“Yeah, if it were easy, would you still go to such lengths to bring us breakfast every day?” Exhausted by Bai Lei’s antics, Chu Tianyu cut straight to the point.
“Tch. Third brother, that’s not fair. With the bond between us brothers, even if I brought you breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it wouldn’t be a big deal. We’re family after all…”
But before Bai Lei could finish, he saw Chu Tianyu’s murderous gaze and quickly swallowed his words. His expression changed, and under Chu Tianyu’s intense stare, he mustered up courage and finally admitted, “Fine, can I just say it straight?”

After a brief pause, he finally spoke in astonishingly short words: “I’ve fallen for another girl…”
“What!? You, say that again—I must have heard wrong!” Chu Tianyu said in shock.
“I’ve fallen in love with another girl!” Bai Lei said this time with a serious expression, emphasizing each word.
“So, it’s you who wants to abandon Lan Yue?” Chu Tianyu stood up abruptly and asked sternly.
To Chu Tianyu’s great surprise, in response to his question, Bai Lei replied with a puzzled look, “Abandon Lan Yue? My feelings for Yueyue are as unshakable as gold or rocks—no one can separate us!”
“Wait, wait—no need for such exaggerated words. Clarify first. Why does it sound so confusing?” Chu Tianyu hurriedly said.
“It’s not confusing. I’m just doing what you do—liking one person while falling in love with another. You should be quite familiar with this ‘business,’ right? Otherwise, why would I go to such lengths to seek you out? It’s because of this, and only you have the experience!” Bai Lei said, looking at Chu Tianyu with a strange expression.
Thud~~ Chu Tianyu sat back down in his chair. He finally understood the scoundrel’s mindset—after all this, it turned out to be this. He even wanted more, wanting to have multiple lovers—what a scoundrel!
Thinking of this, Chu Tianyu wanted to step forward and give him a stern lecture, but Bai Lei’s next few words struck straight to the heart, leaving Chu Tianyu speechless and without confidence.
“Hehe, Third Brother, I think you understand this well. It’s not that we’re not faithful—it’s that love is too wonderful to describe in words. Actually, in the past, I despised your habit of having multiple wives and concubines, enjoying such pleasures openly. If I hadn’t been weaker than you, I would even have stood up for Li Rou. But now, I truly understand your mindset and the unstoppable passion of that love flame, ah…” As he spoke, Bai Lei became lost in his own fantasies, his words flowing like a waterfall.
Chu Tianyu was completely stunned. He never expected Bai Lei to say such things. His intention to criticize him vanished entirely. He slumped in his chair like a deflated balloon, his mind in chaos.

The two fell into a certain mood at the same time and fell silent. Clearly, however, their moods were quite different. After a long while, Chu Tianyu finally sighed softly and regained his composure. No matter what Bai Lei’s thoughts were or how great his “exemplary” influence might be, the key issue now was to figure out the whole situation first!

“Bai Lei, stop talking nonsense and explain things clearly to me!” Chu Tianyu finally asked calmly.

In response to Chu Tianyu’s question, Bai Lei finally recounted the whole story in detail. It turned out that a month before Chu Tianyu returned, after a party at Qingda University to celebrate Lan Yue’s escape from the brutal freshman military training, Bai Lei encountered this girl the moment he left the university gates.

According to Bai Lei’s description, the encounter was naturally full of romance and charm. But to Chu Tianyu, it simply meant that Bai Lei, still excited from just bidding farewell to Lan Yue, was walking carelessly and accidentally knocked over her books and other items, scattering them all over the place. Apparently, there was also a state-of-the-art virtual network simulation sensor, which allowed Bai Lei to quickly find common ground with her. He was instantly attracted by her charming personality, depth, and allure—once again struck by Cupid’s arrow!

So, taking this as an opportunity to apologize, Bai Lei quickly took on the task of helping her pick up her things and followed her to her dormitory. Unexpectedly, within such a short time, their conversations—especially about online games—made Bai Lei feel as if they were soulmates. Eventually, moved by his charm and demeanor, the girl smiled at him as they parted and left her phone number…

However, given Bai Lei’s evasive words and contradictory statements, there was a lot of exaggeration involved. Chu Tianyu was almost certain that any talk of charm and depth was just the kid’s attempt to justify his ulterior motives because he found her pretty. As for the claim that she admired his talent and demeanor, that was pure nonsense—she was probably just annoyed by his smooth talk and, out of some inexplicable reason, gave him her number.

But Chu Tianyu thought again and realized he really needed to reassess Bai Lei now. With his daily persistent training, Bai Lei indeed seemed much more masculine than before. Especially regarding the online games he mentioned, Chu Tianyu knew Bai Lei well—he was likely using that as a breakthrough point. After all, with his fame online, he was an absolute idol to many, with countless followers. So maybe things weren’t just this scoundrel’s wishful thinking!
At this thought, Chu Tianyu felt a headache coming on and instinctively asked, “Then how will you deal with Lan Yue? Do you plan to play both sides at once?”
Hearing this, Bai Lei’s eyes lit up as he looked at Chu Tianyu excitedly and said, “That’s exactly why I came to you! Give me some advice—help me figure out how to handle both relationships well. Hehe, you’re an expert in this area, and besides, you’re Lan Yue’s brother-in-law. That’s really convincing!”
Chu Tianyu was completely speechless…
“What? Speak up, Third Brother!” Bai Lei urged anxiously.
Now Chu Tianyu regretted it deeply. It was true that borrowing someone’s strength made one weak and flattery made one soft. Who would have thought Bai Lei would throw such a difficult problem at him? Especially regarding this issue, not to mention whether Bai Lei intended to play both sides, even Chu Tianyu himself had planned to have a serious talk with Qin Nianran a few days ago, hoping that spending time together during this trip might help their relationship progress…
So now he really couldn’t say anything to Bai Lei. And if everyone found out about this later, they might even say Bai Lei had been influenced by him and gone astray. Alas, it was truly unjust!
Although he felt wronged inside, Chu Tianyu remained calm on the surface. Facing Bai Lei’s urging, he could only respond, “Is that girl really as good as you say? Can she even challenge the status of your Xiao Yueyue? Also, which department at Qingda University is she in? Is she a first-year student? What’s her name…”
“Hehe, Third Brother, you should know this! Spring flowers and autumn moons each have their own charm—how can we say one challenges the other? How about choosing one from Ouyang Ziyi, Li Rou, Xue Feifei, or Qin Nianran? If you can pick one, I’ll tell you all the details. I’m even willing to take you to meet her in person!” Bai Lei outmaneuvered Chu Tianyu.

Chu Tianyu was speechless for a moment. Just as he felt at a loss, several burly men suddenly rushed into the small restaurant and surrounded them. The already small space was quickly blocked off by them. At the same time, a voice came from outside the door: “Great, I really want to see what kind of guy dares to trouble my sister!”
With those words, a tall, handsome young man with a cold expression stepped in…
Upon seeing him, Chu Tianyu was shocked and blurted out, “Is it you?”