Love in the Fast Lane - Novelbike

feel embarrassed. She waved her hand dismissively, seemingly indifferent and not catching any hidden meaning: “Forget it, I’m a bit tired right now. Do what you think is best. Anyways, I’m hungry.”

Tang Ning thought for a moment and said, “How about finding a nicer restaurant?”

Mo Zihan frowned and replied, “Why waste that money? This little bit of money, I bet you won’t even spend it by the end of the year. Better send it back home. Just find a small eatery. Or we could go get some noodles?”

Mo Zihan loved eating noodles, especially spicy and sour soup noodles. Just thinking about the hot, spicy, and tangy soup noodles made her mouth water.

Tang Ning shook his head with a wry smile and stuffed the envelope in his pocket. “If I don’t save this money, I’d have to spend it myself. Sending more money back home, who knows what might happen.”

Hmm? There’s something here that needs clarification!

Curiously, Mo Zihan asked, “What do you mean by that? Wouldn’t your family be happy if you made money?”

Tang Ning sighed, “It’s not that. If I can make money, my family would be happy. But given my previous situation, which you know, I often needed help from home. Now suddenly sending tens of thousands of yuan back home, they wouldn’t think I won the lottery or that my book is a hit. They’d think I did something illegal. Even if I had a hundred mouths to explain, it wouldn’t make any sense.”

Mo Zihan’s intuition told her that Tang Ning hadn’t finished his story.

Apparently, Tang Ning had explained everything to his parents repeatedly over the phone. But up until now, it seemed his parents didn’t believe he had made a decent amount of money on his own. So, what now?

“Then, what will you do?”

Tang Ning spread his hands: “What else can I do? Just go with the flow, I guess.”

Mo Zihan frowned, and Tang Ning said, “I know a noodle shop that’s not expensive but tastes good and gives generous portions. How about we go there? It’s not far from here, about a half-hour walk.”

Half an hour was not far?

Mo Zihan rolled her eyes. This guy was really tight with money, wasn’t he?

“So what did you tell your family? Share with me, maybe I can help you analyze.”

Tang Ning smiled wryly, “What else could I say? As soon as the money hit their account, I got a call from home right away, bluntly asking what was up with the money. I had no choice but to tell the truth. Then they started asking about my situation here. You know, I can’t tell them everything, so I made up a little…”

A little?

Which little bit?

Mo Zihan was very curious. She wanted to hear Tang Ning personally admitting to his lies. Hmm, if he were to describe them in detail, how would that go?

“So, this ‘little bit’ is actually, well, I said I’m doing well here, I have everything I need, right?” Tang Ning said, awkwardly rubbing his hands, with an embarrassed smile.

Hmm? He had everything he needed-what exactly did that mean?

Mo Zihan’s gaze clearly showed a desire to get to the bottom of things. Left with no choice, Tang Ning decided to come clean: “You know, a house and a car are out of the question, but life is pretty decent. The most important part for them… well, I told them that a friend I started dating in college, um, recently came over to stay with me for a while. You get it, right? Hehe, right?”

Mo Zihan suddenly understood: “Oh! Oh! A girl?”

Tang Ning’s smile grew even more awkward and uneasy.

Although she knew that Tang Ning’s love life was practically non-existent apart from a vague hint here and there, and realized this was just a lie, Mo Zihan still felt a bit uncomfortable.

Hmm, having a male friend you’re close to suddenly say he has a significant other can definitely feel weird at first, right? It’s a very normal reaction, nothing to be surprised about!

Mo Zihan quickly processed what Tang Ning had just said. A female friend, alive, currently staying at his place?

Oh boy, this guy’s in trouble. Serious trouble!

Mo Zihan thought about it for a moment and then burst into laughter, nearly doubling over.

Tang Ning scratched his nose sheepishly and did nothing to stop her laughter. He was already stressing over that lie. Seriously, lying never ends well-especially this kind of lie, which could spin out of control so easily.

“I mean, how can you be so funny? You actually lied about something like this? Your family wants to meet the girl now, don’t they? Panicking, aren’t you? Anxious, aren’t you? Let’s see how you handle this!” Mo Zihan said, walking backward as if she had eyes in the back of her head, deftly avoiding every obstacle.

Tang Ning sighed, “What could I do? At the time, I didn’t think too much about it. I just wanted to convince my parents that I’m doing well here and that the money really came from my own effort. Who knew…”

“It backfired!” Mo Zihan pursed her lips. She knew too well how older parents thought. Ask them about your job, and they won’t overthink it or go off-track. But bring up relationships-something they’re already concerned about-and you’re in big trouble.

If you’re just dating, showing them a photo might suffice without them diving too deep. But if you mention living together, that’s a whole different ball game.

Living together already? Then why aren’t you talking about marriage yet? What are you waiting for?

With that mindset, they’ll get more and more eager, more anxious, bombarding you with questions about when you’ll tie the knot, and they might even start preparing baby clothes for your future offspring.

It was clear that Tang Ning had gotten himself into a real mess. Mo Zihan was certain Tang Ning’s parents would want to come here to see his situation firsthand any day now. Who told him to run his mouth?

This guy’s usually so meticulous when dealing with others, even in his lies. It seems that only in front of his closest people does he speak without thinking far ahead.

Suddenly, a strange thought flashed through Mo Zihan’s mind: “I wonder if Tang Ning talks to me as candidly and unhesitatingly as he does with his family?”

Immediately, the schadenfreude she felt from watching his dilemma began to fade, especially when she recalled his earlier comment about her being his “meal ticket.” It felt as though a warm, comforting sensation lightly brushed against her heart.

“So, what are you planning to do?” she asked.

Tang Ning exhaled a puff of breath, shaking his head despondently, “I still don’t know. You can imagine, my parents gave me two choices: either bring my girlfriend home or let them come here to meet her. But you also know, going home isn’t an option for me this year. So they said they’re coming here in the next few days. I’m really worried, where am I supposed to find a college girlfriend from? Looks like I’ll inevitably make my parents angry. My mom is ill, and if she gets upset, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Mo Zihan was at a loss as well. Telling the truth was obviously not an option, but how do you explain things if you’re not telling the truth?

Tang Ning’s situation reminded Mo Zihan of her own problems. Wasn’t his predicament similar to hers? Though her mother hadn’t yet insisted on coming to see her, she remembered the last time at the Tea House…

What a hassle-what gods haven’t I worshiped recently, that all these problems are falling on my head?

In an instant, Mo Zihan’s heart chilled, and she no longer had any desire to tease Tang Ning.

“You’ve got to help me come up with something. You must have an idea, right?” Tang Ning’s voice interrupted her own stream of worries.

Hmm? Suddenly, it seemed like today’s meal wasn’t going to be so appetizing after all!

Footnote：