I Start with a Mysterious Island-Chapter 140: Jealousy Makes One Split

Standing beside Su Yue, Zhang Xiaohao kept sneaking glances at the beauty next to him out of the corner of his eye.

The light-blue dress accentuated Su Yue’s well-defined figure, adding a quiet and elegant air to her that was enough to make one’s heart skip a beat.

Just as Zhang Xiaohao was about to say something to the groggy Su Yue, her phone suddenly rang.

"Hello."

"I’m here. Where are you?"

"I’m standing right by the road! Can’t you see me?" Su Yue said, stepping closer to the curb and looking around for Lin Li.

"I see you..." Lin Li said, then hung up.

Not long after she hung up with Lin Li, Su Yue saw an ordinary silver van pull up in front of her. The driver rolled down the window.

"Lin Li???" Su Yue’s pretty face was etched with surprise as she stared at the man in the driver’s seat.

The man in the driver’s seat was indeed Lin Li. Looking at Su Yue’s flushed cheeks, he smiled and said, "It’s me! What’s wrong?"

"When did you buy a van?"

"I didn’t buy it, I rented it. I’ve had it for almost a month now!" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Why would you rent a van?"

"No reason, just for fun," Lin Li said, making up a casual excuse. Being a little tipsy, Su Yue didn’t question it and just nodded blankly.

"Come on, get in! I’ll take you home," Lin Li said to Su Yue. He then glanced at the handsome man standing next to her.

Zhang Xiaohao was dumbstruck by the scene unfolding before him. He never imagined the friend Su Yue mentioned was a guy—and a guy driving a rented van, no less.

What was hardest for him to accept, based on their conversation, was how close they seemed—so close it made him burn with jealousy.

’How could this be? How could this guy, who isn’t as handsome or as rich as me, be so close to Su Yue?’

’She’d rather get into this piece of junk than let me drive her home in my sports car. Could she possibly... No, that’s impossible. There’s no way he’s good enough for Su Yue. She would never fall for him.’

THUD.

Su Yue got into the passenger seat and shut the door. "He’s your friend, right?" Lin Li asked. "Aren’t you going to say goodbye?"

"Oh." Prompted by Lin Li, Su Yue, who was already leaning back in her seat, turned to the devastated Zhang Xiaohao. "Zhang Xiaohao, thank you. I’m leaving now."

Jarred from his thoughts by her voice, Zhang Xiaohao managed to force a smile. "Take care. Be safe."

With that, he glared at the loser in the driver’s seat, his heart burning with a jealous hostility toward Lin Li.

"Hey, buckle up! There are a ton of traffic cameras on the way. You want me to get a ticket?"

Lin Li, who was about to start the engine, noticed Su Yue hadn’t fastened her seatbelt and made a quick complaint. Then, he leaned over close to her and buckled it for her.

Seeing Lin Li’s intimate gesture, Zhang Xiaohao clenched his fists so hard that veins bulged on his forehead.

The already-strained smile on his face completely collapsed.

After rolling up the window, Lin Li started the van and drove off toward Su Yue’s house.

Zhang Xiaohao stood by the road, watching in silence as the van disappeared around a distant corner.

"Damn it! Just a stinking loser. Who the hell does he think he is..." His jealousy finally igniting into rage, Zhang Xiaohao swore loudly.

If Lin Li had known about Zhang Xiaohao’s reaction at that moment, he definitely would have categorized him as a psycho.

’What a psycho! When was I being smug? I was just giving someone a ride.’

"He’s a toad lusting after a swan! He should take a piss and look at his own pathetic reflection!" Growing angrier as he cursed, Zhang Xiaohao raised his right fist and punched a nearby tree.

BAM.

"Ouch."

After all, he was only human. In his fit of rage, he had slammed his fist into a thick tree trunk, and he was the one who ended up getting hurt.

"Fuck..." Zhang Xiaohao swore again, his eyes welling up with tears from the pain. He looked at his scraped knuckles and blamed the entire injury on Lin Li.

While Zhang Xiaohao was losing his mind with jealousy, Lin Li—completely oblivious to the fact that he was being cursed out by a man on the brink of insanity—was driving and chiding Su Yue.

"Su Yue, you’re really something else, making trouble for people this late at night. Next time this happens, you can call someone else, because I’m not coming."

"Hee hee... Thanks for picking me up! What do you want to eat? I’ll cook for you tomorrow..."

’Not bad, you have some conscience after all, knowing to thank me with a home-cooked meal...’ Hearing her offer, Lin Li immediately listed a few dishes.

"You’re the one who offered. I don’t want much, just two or three simple dishes will do. For example, spicy Crayfish, stir-fried pork intestines, salt and pepper pork ribs... Hey, are you even listening?"

When Lin Li finished his list and got no reply, he glanced at the passenger seat and saw that Su Yue had fallen asleep.

"Did she even hear me? Should I remind her tomorrow when she wakes up?" Lin Li muttered to himself, seeing that she was asleep.

Focused on the road, Lin Li didn’t notice that as he muttered to himself, the corners of the sleeping Su Yue’s lips turned up in a sweet smile.

...

Inside Happiness Garden District, Lin Li parked the van and called out to the passenger seat, "Su Yue, we’re home. Wake up..."

With a soft murmur, Su Yue slowly opened her eyes and said groggily, "We’re home already?"

Lin Li had originally planned to have Su Yue get out and head upstairs on her own, but seeing her current state, he quickly changed his mind. He decided he might as well see it through to the end; it would be better to personally help her get settled in her apartment before he left.

CLICK.

Lin Li got out, walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and helped the flushed and thoroughly drunk Su Yue out of the van.

The moment she was out of the van, Su Yue suddenly gagged.

Seeing Su Yue about to throw up, Lin Li had a quick thought and materialized a plastic bag from the Mysterious Small Island, opening it and holding it up to her mouth.

BLECH...

As Su Yue vomited, Lin Li asked in confusion, "Su Yue, you can usually hold your liquor. And didn’t you say you barely drank at the party? How did you end up this drunk?"

...