She had dreamt of Liang Yufeng marrying someone else many times, and always woke up feeling unwell.
Human possessiveness could be truly inexplicable at times.
Or perhaps, it should be rephrased: her possessiveness towards Liang Yufeng was inexplicable. She had lost count of her past relationships and liked many men, but none before had ever evoked this feeling in her. Even the Liang Yufeng of the past had never done so.
Lan Lan had always been nonchalant in love. She never believed that men could be bound by so-called possessiveness. She disliked being constrained by others, and thus, never tried to control others. Gu Xiao had once said that he experienced a sense of frustration with her after a long time. Gu Xiao was always very popular with women; even when dating her, many women still sought him out, some even being business partners with whom contact was unavoidable.
Once, Gu Xiao was having dinner with a female business partner, and Lan Lan happened to run into them. Lan Lan was very calm at the time. After the partner clearly expressed her admiration for Gu Xiao, Lan Lan still managed to joke with her. Later, the partner must have said something to Gu Xiao, who then asked her if she didn't care about him at all. How had she answered Gu Xiao then?
She had said that jealousy was something only childish people did, and she was an adult. Even if she liked him very much, she wouldn't engage in petty rivalry.
Gu Xiao had then asked her, "Then you have no possessiveness towards me?"
She had replied that only children had possessiveness. Although they were boyfriend and girlfriend, he was still an independent person.
Gu Xiao had later smiled helplessly and said she was too rational. But she knew very well that many men liked her precisely because of this rationality.
The inherent flaws of men were revealed here. If they were constantly jealous and overly possessive, they would certainly get annoyed. But if there was absolutely no possessiveness, they would think it meant she didn't like them enough.
Perhaps this psychological factor was why Liang Yufeng had never let her go. And now, she had actually developed such feelings for Liang Yufeng. Lan Lan felt a sense of foreboding.
Meanwhile, Lin Mei and Feng Feng, with their sharp eyes, had already seen through her thoughts. After all, they were long-time friends, and her thoughts could not escape their notice. "You can't accept it, can you, Ms. Lan? You're very special to Liang Yufeng."
"I suspect it's because I spent too much time with him," Lan Lan analyzed the reason. "It might be habit. Two or three years, and then he suddenly disappeared from my life, and I'm not used to it."
Before Liang Yufeng, no man had stayed by her side for so long, even though Liang Yufeng had used some means to keep her.
However, Feng Feng had seen through everything. "Then why did you stay with him for so long? Don't say it was because he threatened you. If someone else threatened you, would you compromise like this?"
Lan Lan had indeed considered this question before, but had not found an answer. Perhaps it was because she had been too lucky; Liang Yufeng had never encountered anyone who had truly forced her like this before.
The content of her dream replayed in her mind again. Lan Lan felt agitated, and drinking the iced coffee did not alleviate her feelings in the least. She was self-aware when it came to emotions. If she couldn't sense the specialness of her feelings for Liang Yufeng now, then she had wasted all these years.
She truly seemed unable to accept Liang Yufeng marrying someone else. Just imagining watching Liang Yufeng walk down the aisle with Zhou Bing holding his arm… her temper was already stirring.
"You were unhappy today when he bought a qipao for another woman. In the future, when he buys a wedding dress and rings for someone else, are you sure you can remain calm?" Feng Feng asked again.
Lan Lan shook her head. She wasn't being sentimental. "I can't remain calm."
After speaking, she revealed her true feelings. "It's not that I'm making excuses, but before today, I didn't have any particular thoughts when I saw him being intimate with his fiancée."
Liang Yufeng often brought Zhou Bing around in front of her, and she had never "been jealous." She could even chat happily with Zhou Bing. Therefore, when this thought appeared today, she found it unbelievable herself.
"It's because she didn't pose a threat to you, or perhaps you subconsciously felt that Liang Yufeng would never get married," Lin Mei analyzed for her. "He was always within your reach. When you were together back then, he was devoted to you. Even if he brought his fiancée in front of you, you felt he wouldn't get married."
Lan Lan was silent for a moment, then had a sudden realization. She finally understood why she hadn't felt any hostility towards Zhou Bing. It seemed that subconsciously, this was indeed her thought.
After much deliberation, Lan Lan suddenly asked, "Don't I feel a bit like a scumbag?"
"From Liang Yufeng's perspective, yes," Feng Feng said. "At least back then, you were the one who treated him badly."
Lin Mei recalled the scene of Liang Yufeng waiting in the heavy rain downstairs from the dormitory building just to see Lan Lan, and agreed. "I still remember how you treated him in college."
"But he was really annoying back then," Lan Lan said. "He's still annoying now. I really don't like being controlled by others; even my parents didn't manage me that much."
"Okay, I admit I'm a bit of a scumbag," Lan Lan stated her true thoughts. "My current mindset is that I don't want to see him marry someone else, but I also don't want to marry him."
Lin Mei and Feng Feng exchanged glances, and then both wore expressions of helplessness. There was no need to say more; Lan Lan had already frankly evaluated her own thoughts.
"Someone like Liang Yufeng will definitely be aiming for marriage," Lin Mei and Feng Feng's opinions were identical.
However, the word "marriage" was too heavy for Lan Lan. She was already somewhat afraid of marriage and unwilling to bear the full responsibility for another person's future. Liang Yufeng liked children, and if they got married, she would definitely not escape the fate of having children. Thinking of this, Lan Lan began to feel scared.
Lin Mei understood Lan Lan's thoughts well. "Marriage isn't as scary as you imagine. The key is to meet the right person. If there's always affection, it's not that difficult to maintain."
Lan Lan looked at Lin Mei. Her married life was indeed comfortable. She looked radiant, her eyes filled with happiness, and her every move exuded the charm of a wife, completely different from her demeanor when she was single, yet still beautiful.
"Take your time to think. It's good to try more things in life," Lin Mei said, hinting at the possibility without persuading her too much.
That evening, when Feng Feng returned home, a message from Liang Yufeng arrived. He wanted her to come over tonight. But Feng Feng was in a chaotic mood today and didn't want to see him at all, so she simply turned off her phone and played dead.
The next day, when she turned her phone back on, she expected to receive many unread messages and missed calls. However, there were none. After that one message, Liang Yufeng had not contacted her again.
While brushing her teeth, Lan Lan scrolled through her social media feed and saw Zhou Bing posting photos of delicious food around midnight. Lan Lan's focus wasn't on the food, but on Liang Yufeng in the background.
She chuckled. No wonder he wasn't pestering her last night; he was dining with Zhou Bing and was too preoccupied. Then why did he call her over? What a lunatic!