Two-Level Reversal: The Adult World Doesn't Believe in Tears, Cry Crying Also Counts as Time

In the apartment.

"Damn, Dr. Tang, your takeout barbecue skills are amazing!" Ye Cheng didn’t hold back his praise, enthusiastically giving her a thumbs-up.

Tang Yuyao: "..."

She fell silent. She’d heard plenty of compliments before, but this was the first time someone had praised her for buying barbecue well. Shouldn’t the skill be in grilling it instead?

But for some reason, Tang Yuyao had already grown accustomed to Ye Cheng’s way of speaking. After all, this was the same guy who had shamelessly called her "Mommy" in front of a crowd—expecting him to have any sense of decency was clearly a lost cause.

At this point, nothing Ye Cheng did could surprise her anymore. Unless, of course, he suddenly helped an old lady cross the street—that might actually make her raise an eyebrow.

In Tang Yuyao’s mind, it was far more likely for Ye Cheng to ride an old lady across the street than to help one. And for some inexplicable reason, her brain conjured up an image of him doing exactly that—straddling the old woman like a horse while shouting, "Giddy up!"

Watching Ye Cheng devour the food like a starving ghost, Tang Yuyao started to panic.

"Hey, can’t you slow down? I haven’t even started yet, and you’ve already eaten half of it!"

She quickly mimicked his ravenous eating style, shoving large bites into her mouth without a care for manners. After a few mouthfuls, she felt parched and grabbed two ice-cold beers from the fridge.

Click!

She popped one open and took a huge gulp. Glug, glug.

"Ahhh, so refreshing!" Tang Yuyao abandoned all pretense of elegance, propping her feet up on the couch across from Ye Cheng like some old-school tavern mistress.

Only after doing so did she realize something was off—wasn’t she basically flashing him right now?

Her face stiffened, her heartbeat quickening. Sure, she was wearing safety shorts underneath, but… what if that little brat was sneaking glances at her, pretending to be innocent while secretly reveling in the view?

After all, young guys were all the same—putting on a righteous front, acting all proper, but the moment an opportunity like this arose, their eyes betrayed them.

Clearly, Ye Cheng was exactly that kind of "young guy." Remembering how ridiculous she’d looked earlier with her wild imagination at the door, Tang Yuyao decided it was time to reclaim some dignity.

She’d lost face in front of Ye Cheng more times than she could count. Why "face" and not "dignity"?

Because her dignity had already been utterly destroyed back in the infirmary. Her reputation was in shambles. These days, most people who visited the infirmary weren’t even injured—they just came to gawk at the infamous "C-word Queen" of the campus.

Tang Yuyao felt like a zoo animal, constantly on display for waves of curious visitors. And the root of all this humiliation? That damn brat!

Without changing her expression, she subtly adjusted her posture.

From his angle, the view would be… strategically tantalizing, enough to make any naive young man fall right into her trap.

Then… she’d mercilessly mock Ye Cheng to his face, finally getting back at him for all the embarrassment he’d caused her. She’d suffered long enough—it was his turn to squirm!

She held the pose for a while, timing it just right before "reeling in the catch"—whipping her head around to catch the little pervert red-handed.

And then… Tang Yuyao’s composure shattered.

Her face visibly flushed red.

Because Ye Cheng hadn’t even looked up the entire time. His eyes were glued to the barbecue, his hands moving at lightning speed, shoving food into his mouth like a rabid hamster. He didn’t even have room to speak.

Only then did Tang Yuyao realize—his sudden "quietness" wasn’t because he was sneaking peeks at her. He was sneaking bites of the food!

That’s right.

The moment Ye Cheng heard Tang Yuyao was about to dig in, he’d activated "Ultra Instinct Glutton Mode." The food barely touched his tongue before being swallowed whole, disappearing at an alarming rate.

In the mere minute or two Tang Yuyao had spent "fishing for a reaction," Ye Cheng had already demolished most of the remaining barbecue. All that was left were a few sad potato slices and some stray seasoning crumbs.

Everything else? Gone.

Tang Yuyao: "..."

"You little bastard! Stop eating! I’m right here in front of you, and all you care about is stuffing your face?! You—" She was so furious she choked on her words, unable to finish.

A wave of humiliation washed over her. How could she admit that after all that effort to "seduce" him, she’d lost to a sausage on the coffee table?

Did she have no dignity left?!

Fuming, Tang Yuyao wanted to scream at Ye Cheng for being a clueless idiot, but he remained completely unfazed. Even as she yelled, he only ate faster, as if afraid she’d snatch it all away.

Tang Yuyao: "..."

"You monster, STOP!"

Her eyes burning with rage, she vaulted over the couch and kicked Ye Cheng square in the face with a smack! before snatching the remaining barbecue into her arms.

After mentally reciting a disclaimer to absolve himself of guilt, Ye Cheng retaliated—whack!—smacking her fair-skinned foot with enough force to leave a faint red handprint.

"Hiss…!"

Tang Yuyao yanked her foot back, curling up on the couch as she blew on the stinging mark. Seeing the pale imprint on her skin, her eyes welled up.

"You—you hit a woman?! You…" Tears spilled out uncontrollably. Maybe it was because she’d never been bullied growing up—at least not physically. She’d been pampered her whole life, treated like fragile porcelain. This was the first time anyone had actually hurt her.

Ye Cheng wiped his face and declared with absolute seriousness:

"I never hit women or children."

He wagged a finger in front of her, his expression dead serious. Tang Yuyao was so stunned she forgot to cry, her chest heaving as she pointed at him indignantly.

"Then why the hell did you hit me?!"

"Is there a problem, Dr. Tang? You're not a child," Ye Cheng blinked, putting on an "innocent" act.

Tang Yuyao: "???"

"Don’t be naive, Dr. Tang. The adult world doesn’t believe in tears. Instead of wasting time crying, you should’ve protected your skewers—oh wait, no, they’re mine now."

As he spoke, Ye Cheng casually snatched back the potato skewers Tang Yuyao had just grabbed and stuffed them all into his mouth, chewing loudly.

Mmm, delicious. Absolutely love it.

Tang Yuyao looked stunned. The adult world doesn’t believe in tears—yeah, that sounded about right. Back when she left home, she’d cried countless times, but did it help?

No. Crying only wasted time that could’ve been spent solving problems. It was a stupid thing to do. "Enlightened" by Ye Cheng’s words, Tang Yuyao stopped crying, wiped away the tears that were about to fall, and removed her gold-rimmed glasses, placing them on the coffee table.

One by one, she began unbuttoning her blouse.

Ye Cheng’s eyes widened. "Uh… this isn’t appropriate, Dr. Tang. A man and a woman alone together—"

A strangely "gentle" smile curled on Tang Yuyao’s lips. "No, it’s fine. The apartment next door is empty, and the soundproofing here is excellent. No one will hear a thing."

Ye Cheng grew even more excited, his nostrils flaring, heart pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of his chest.

"W-well… if you’ve made up your mind, you beast, then go ahead! I won’t resist!"

"Good. Just leave it to me. All you have to do is… enjoy it!!!"

By the last few words, Tang Yuyao could no longer keep up the act. Her voice turned icy, her grip tightening on the clothes she’d just changed out of—now twisted into a makeshift rope—as she looped it around Ye Cheng’s neck.

Tang Yuyao’s new secret "finishing move," her deadly little combo.

This time, it only took a few minutes to knock Ye Cheng out.

The room fell silent, the sounds of Ye Cheng’s screams and pleas replaced by Tang Yuyao’s MVP victory animation. She stood triumphantly on his head, her expression dripping with disdain.

"Kid, the adult world doesn’t believe in tears. Crying? Crying just wastes time!" Her voice was cold, a wicked smirk playing on her lips.

Talk about a role reversal!

…