Give Me Another Smile

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TL Notes:

I skipped Chapter 143, and the latter half of Chapter 144.

Summary of Chapter 143 + latter half of Chapter 144:

Zhao Yu gets hospitalized. Gao Rang's family come to take care of him and openly acknowledges Gao Rang's relationship with Zhao Yu. Gao Rang's grandfather, who used to be a general in the army, turns out to be Zhao Yu's father's ex-superior. After berating Zhao Yu's father, Gao Rang's grandfather vaguely threatens Zhao Yu's father with his past misdeeds to abandon his custody over Zhao Yu, seeing as Zhao Yu's father would rather disown Zhao Yu than acknowledge his bisexual relationship.

Yin Zhao-an also learned about Gao Rang's family circumstances from her father(Yin Changcheng), who was also a former subordinate of Gao Rang's grandfather.

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After ending the call with her father, Yin Zhao-an dialed Tang Yu's number.

The call quickly connected, but there was a lot of noise coming from the phone.

"Are you eating in the cafeteria, Tang-Tang?" Yin Zhao-an harbored a guess.

While protecting her food tray from the surrounding crowd, Tang Yu answered, "Yes, it's very crowded here."

"I visited Zhao Yu," Yin Zhao-an stated, getting straight to the point.

After finding a seat in the corner of the cafeteria and sitting down, Tang Yu breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Is that so? How is he?"

Yin Zhao-an had already returned home from the hospital, and the first thing she did upon returning to her room was turn on the air conditioning. "His life is no longer in danger, but he's still in a coma."

Tang Yu had witnessed the cruelty of Zhao Yu's father in her past life. However, as far as she knew, the worst Zhao Yu had suffered at the hands of his father in her previous life was only a couple of broken bones. She didn't think Zhao Yu's father would take things so far this time.

"How can he be so ruthless?" Tang Yu's expression darkened, and her heart was filled with anger.

Yin Zhao-an naturally knew who Tang Yu was talking about. However, she could only helplessly sigh and say, "There's nothing we can do. Everyone's family education is different."

After a slight pause, Yin Zhao-an continued, "But I did find out something big."

"What is it?" Tang Yu asked, her emotions hardly fluctuating.

Excitedly, Yin Zhao-an said, "Doctor Gao's parents came to the hospital to take care of Zhao Yu. Also, apparently, Doctor Gao's maternal grandfather used to be a general."

This news came as a surprise to Tang Yu. Although she knew Gao Rang came from a well-off family, she didn't know his family had a military background, much less one of such high standing.

"What about Zhao Yu's parents? Did they show up?" Tang Yu asked out of curiosity.

"No, but I don't know if it's because they didn't want to come or because they couldn't," Yin Zhao-an answered while shaking her head. Honestly, if she didn't know any better, she would have assumed Gao Rang's parents were Zhao Yu's parents.

Tang Yu had a guess, but she wasn't so sure about it, so she didn't bother to voice it.

Since Zhao Yu's father was willing to take such heavy-handed action this time, Zhao Yu had probably done more than go against the path his family had set for him. Most likely, while rebelling against his father, Zhao Yu had also revealed his relationship with Gao Rang. The double stimulation must have caused Zhao Yu's father to take even more ruthless action.

After finishing her meal, Tang Yu left the cafeteria for some fresh air.

Yin Zhao-an heard the noise of the wind blowing through the phone. After switching to a more comfortable sitting position on the bed, she decided to change the topic and asked, "Is military training tiring?"

Looking down at her somewhat reddened skin, Tang Yu said, "It's not too bad. I just got a little sunburned."

"Remember to put on sunscreen. Otherwise, you won't look pretty anymore," Yin Zhao-an lazily said, her voice causing Tang Yu's ear to feel a little itchy.

"You'll have to put up with me even if I don't look good," Tang Yu retorted mercilessly.

"Yes, yes, I'll put up with you. So, let's not settle for a platonic relationship anymore, okay?" Yin Zhao-an asked with a mischievous smile.

Tang Yu immediately blushed when she understood Yin Zhao-an's hint. Gritting her teeth, she threatened, "Just wait until I get back."

Afterward, the two continued chatting casually for a few more minutes. Eventually, Yin Zhao-an reluctantly ended the call, and Tang Yu could feel Yin Zhao-an's clingy affection practically seeping out of the phone.

There was air conditioning in the dormitory. When Tang Yu stepped into the room, she felt as if she had stepped into a completely different world.

At this time, the dormitory's other occupants had already washed up, changed out of their military uniform, and were currently busy doing their own things. Seeing this, Tang Yu grabbed a change of clothes from her cabinet. However, just as she was about to head for the bathroom, a soft moan sounded in the room.

The moan came from the bed to her upper left. Currently, the bed's thick curtains were drawn, preventing anyone from seeing what was happening behind them.

Tang Yu was momentarily dazed, but she didn't think too deeply about the matter as she continued her way toward the bathroom. As for the two other occupants in the room, both had their earphones on, so they probably hadn't heard the suggestive moan.

In reality, it was entirely possible the moan resulted from something other than that. Perhaps, the person behind the moan was just turning in bed or doing some stretches.

Anyway, this was the explanation Tang Yu had come up with for the moan just now.

The sound came from Wu Na's bed. Tang Yu didn't know much about Wu Na. Even when she searched her memories of the past, she only recalled incomplete fragments. After all, she only had eyes for one person at the time, so she naturally didn't pay much attention to others.

However, from what little memories Tang Yu did have of Wu Na, most weren't particularly good as they were of Wu Na getting called away by the dean and school counselor.

After coming out of the bathroom, Tang Yu climbed into her bed and drew the privacy curtains as well. She did so not to block out light but to create a private space for herself. Then, she began exchanging messages with Yin Zhao-an on WeChat.

The two of them talked about various things. After some hesitation, Tang Yu ultimately chose to tell Yin Zhao-an about the moan she heard not long ago, perhaps because she subconsciously trusted Yin Zhao-an and wanted to hear the other party's opinion.

This time, Yin Zhao-an no longer replied instantly, so Tang Yu stared blankly at the chat interface as she let her mind wander.

Suddenly, the phone vibrated, pulling Tang Yu back to her senses. When she saw that Yin Zhao-an had sent her a long voice message, she quickly pulled out a pair of earphones from under her pillow, plugged them in, and put them on.

When Tang Yu played the voice message, Yin Zhao-an's lazy voice entered her ears once again. Hearing this voice, Tang Yu couldn't help but be reminded of Garfield sunbathing. Meanwhile, what Yin Zhao-an said in her voice message was as followed:

"That kind of sound might have been made unintentionally, but the other party might also be doing exactly what you're imagining. We're basically adults now, so it's not strange for us to have certain needs. But since you don't have a clear grasp of your roommate's character, it's best if you keep this discovery to yourself. Also, you should use this as a reminder to pay more attention to your personal privacy, understand?"

Yin Zhao-an started her message with a leisurely explanation, but her voice turned serious toward the end. Meanwhile, Tang Yu could hear the concern in Yin Zhao-an's words, and she couldn't help but feel warmth in her heart.

However, Tang Yu didn't dare to respond to Yin Zhao-an with a voice message, so she typed: "I understand. I'll pay attention."

A short moment later, another voice message came from the other side. This time, it was only a three-second-long voice message, but when Tang Yu listened to it, her face instantly turned red.

"Are you missing me yet, honey?"

Following this, several more voice messages arrived, both very short. But Tang Yu's heart pounded, and her breathing accelerated when she was done listening to these messages.

"I miss you so much."

"What should I do? It's so hard to live without my honey."

"Do you miss me too, honey?"

Tang Yu covered her burning earlobes and subconsciously bit her lower lip.

While Yin Zhao-an was delightedly waiting for Tang Yu to reciprocate her flirting, the text message she received next caused her expression to sink.

Tang-Tang: Did you forget to take your medicine?

An-An: …

Tang Yu contentedly smiled at her own response. She could already picture Yin Zhao-an's speechless expression in her mind, and just thinking about it delighted her. Yin Zhao-an would always tease her in their daily conversations, so she couldn't help but feel as if she had got one back at the other party.

However, while Yin Zhao-an had indeed been rendered speechless, in accordance with her principle of spoiling her beloved Tang-Tang, Yin Zhao-an still helplessly sent another voice message, saying:

"I'll stop disturbing you. Rest early; good night."

A moment of tenderness flashed in Tang Yu's eyes. Then, she leaned closer to her earphones' microphone and whispered, "Good night."

After saying so, Tang Yu put her phone away and got ready to rest. The military training lasted for half a month, and only half of it had passed. So, she still needed to get up early tomorrow.