Chapter 66: I won't bet tomorrow with my youth

  "Xiao Ting, I have a question for you." Pang Guang suddenly said after a long silence.

  "En, you said." Zhang Xiaoting raised her head, and her dark, profound eyes were like a gentle black night.

  "If, I'm saying if, I hadn't gotten engaged to another girl, would we have a chance to start over?" Pang Guang asked Zhang Xiaoting with the help of his intoxication. He didn't like Lin Junyun, not from head to toe. After this girl entered his life, everything changed. She not only stole his father's love but also his computer and his pocket money, all just for the sake of putting on a show in front of outsiders.

  Just now he was thinking about this problem, with Lin Junyun being an actor, if he and Zhang Xiaoting got back together, then the play would naturally end. The Pang family only has one son, his father wouldn't let a fake wife hold back his own happiness.

  "You already have a lovely wife by your side, does my answer still make sense?" Zhang Xiaoting swirled her wine glass, as if in thought, yet also as if to conceal the restless soul within: "Pang Guang, I've always hoped you'd mature a bit. I don't know what's bothering you, but I can take a guess or two. Here, I want to say something I shouldn't: now that you're already or soon-to-be walking into the marriage hall, just forget about those pointless questions from earlier. The only thing you should do is use all your heart and mind to cherish and love the woman who shares your daily life."

  "What's the big deal if it's just hypothetical?" Pang Guang hung his head in shame and took a sip of wine, like a student who had done something wrong.

  "Alright, let's just say hypothetically." Zhang Xiaoting, seeing that there was still some time before her scheduled meeting with Zhao Hanquan, couldn't help but ask a few more questions: "Hypothetically, if we were to start over from the beginning, what could you bring to me? You're just a student, after all - what makes you think I'll be happy following you?"

  Without a word from Pang Guang, Zhang Xiaoting continued: "I want a carefree life, I don't want to be looked down on anymore. Can you give me that?" Zhang Xiaoting said a lot in one breath, seemingly talking about Pang Guang, but also worrying about her own future. She and her siblings had an older brother, their father was a civil servant, and their mother worked for a small company, so they lived comfortably. But one day, her father got involved in an economic dispute case and was put in jail, all the family's property was confiscated, and her useless brother left home after the incident, leaving only her and her mother to rely on each other. Friends and relatives from before suddenly became strangers, and she was forced to drop out of school. This event had a huge impact on her heart, making her see through the coldness and warmth of the world. She went far away to work in a big city, hoping that one day she could make a name for herself. This was also the main reason why Pang Guang couldn't contact her for two years, until recently when she felt that the competition in the metropolis was too fierce, it was hard to have a chance to stand out, so she retreated and returned to Dongcheng District where she grew up, not expecting to run into Pang Guang again.

  For all that she had been through, Zhang Xiaoting's feelings were too deep. After being looked down upon by others, she understood a truth: only progress, success, and having the power to control others' comings and goings was the most practical thing. This was a very realistic society, where being poor in a bustling city meant no one would help you, but being rich in a remote mountain would bring distant relatives flocking to your side. As long as you had enough strength, wealth, or power, relatives who used to avoid you would come crawling back, flattering and trying to curry favor with you, and even chasing them away wouldn't work. Pang Guang's appearance reignited her hopes, and she knew that his family background was not bad. If she could start anew with him, she could also rely on his father's power to smooth out some of the bumps in her path. But before this idea had time to warm up, a huge scandal involving an official's son and a hostess girl threw her into an icy valley, shattering her dreams. After regaining her determination to work hard and make progress, she decided to thoroughly forget about Pang Guang. Unexpectedly, what awaited her was the wedding banquet of Pang Guang and another girl, which just so happened to be held at the luxurious hotel where she worked. She couldn't avoid it even if she tried, and the scene of Pang Guang and Lin Junxian flirting shamelessly at the banquet made her feel jealous and resentful. She deliberately avoided them, not appearing in front of them until the end of the wedding banquet.

  Everything in the past has passed, and for a long time after the wedding, Pang Guang did not contact her again. She had already adjusted her mood and devoted herself to work with great enthusiasm. Just when she was about to forget Pang Guang, who was about to become someone's husband, that scoundrel Pang Guang came to disturb her again. With love and hatred intertwined, she couldn't bear to be reserved and bluntly spoke out her true thoughts from the bottom of her heart.

  "You said it yourself, now you're already someone else's fiancé, and what I want, you can't give me. Let's start over, what qualifications do you have?" Zhang Xiaoting said faintly.

  Pang Guang lowered his head and remained silent, seemingly lost in thought. Zhang Xiaoting felt a pang of guilt and continued, "Pang Guang, I'm sorry. I also want to hold onto you tightly, but what can you offer me? I shouldn't gamble with my youth, should I wait for one year, two years, or even ten years?" After finishing her speech, she downed the wine in her cup, her face set with determination. To succeed, she was willing to do anything. Through this confession, she steeled herself and decided to find Zhao Hanquan immediately to settle things quickly, not wasting a single moment.

  In a daze, she saw success beckoning to her. In a haze, she saw a dazzling halo descending from the sky, landing directly on her head. The halo momentarily blinded everyone's eyes. She waved the jade ruyi in her hand, and the earth shook slightly. The 18 o'clock news reported that when she waved her hand, was it with her left or right? Beside her, countless crazed fans shouted loudly: Zhang Xiaoting, I love you! Zhang Xiaoting, I love you!

  She smiled sweetly and turned to leave the frenzied fans behind. Until she disappeared into the distance, the crazed shouting still didn't disperse.