“I won’t.” Wen Zhilu laughed and caught up with Yan Yunning, his arm cheekily draping itself over her shoulder again.

“Wen Zhilu.” Yan Yunning bent slightly at the waist and sidestepped away from him.

Wen Zhilu’s eyes shifted slightly. “Alright, alright, I’ll stop fooling around. Don’t be upset — we haven’t seen each other in over four months. Don’t you miss me even a little?”

Yan Yunning guiltily touched the tip of her nose. She genuinely hadn’t thought of him at all.

“Yan Yunning!!!” Wen Zhilu ground his back teeth, his voice thick with grievance. “We’ve known each other so many years, and you… you haven’t thought of me even once? Am I really worth less than that puppy He Qingxia gave you?!”

Yan Yunning cleared her throat and said placatingly, “That’s not it. A lot has happened lately, and I didn’t have time to think about you.”

Wen Zhilu let out a low grunt and strode past Yan Yunning, walking ahead.

Yan Yunning: “……”

“Where’s the car?” After walking out of the airport, Wen Zhilu turned back to ask.

Yan Yunning lifted her chin and pulled out the car keys from her pocket, tossing them to him. “Here, you drive.”

Wen Zhilu caught the keys and then took the luggage from Yan Yunning’s hands. With Yan Yunning leading the way, they came to the car. He opened the trunk and carefully placed the suitcase and the bouquet inside, then walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for her.

Yan Yunning got in. Wen Zhilu closed the door, went to the driver’s seat, buckled his seatbelt, and started the car.

“Where to?”

Yan Yunning entered the restaurant address into the car’s navigation system. “Follow the navigation.”

“Got it.” The young man withdrew his gaze from Yan Yunning’s face, turned the steering wheel, and pulled out of the parking space.

Yan Yunning rolled down the car window and watched the retreating road for a while. When they were nearly at the restaurant, she took out her phone and started scrolling through a short video app.

The more she scrolled, the more something felt off. She realized she couldn’t find any handsome men anymore — who had marked them as “not interested” for her?!

That was her one and only hobby!!!

“What’s wrong?” From the corner of his eye, Wen Zhilu caught sight of Yan Yunning hanging her head, looking puffed up with irritation, and he furrowed his brow slightly.

“Nothing.” Yan Yunning switched to the background and opened her chat window with SZ. 【???】

The reply came quickly — less than a minute — 【!!!】

Yan Yunning: 【Did you mark those as “not interested” for me???】

Xuan Yanyu: 【What “not interested”!!!】

Yan Yunning: 【😊 Keep pretending!!!】

Xuan Yanyu: 【……😊 I have no idea what you’re talking about!】

Yan Yunning rolled her eyes, put her phone away. The car had pulled into a parking spot. Wen Zhilu leaned over to help her unhook her seatbelt and casually asked, “Who were you chatting with?”

Yan Yunning blinked. “I’ll introduce you all someday.”

Wen Zhilu raised an eyebrow. “A friend?”

Yan Yunning smiled. “He can’t quite be called a friend.”

Wen Zhilu’s gaze fell on the young woman’s pretty, smiling profile. His eyes dimmed slightly. “Yan Yunning, you haven’t actually been dating someone behind my back, have you?”

Yan Yunning was rather lost for words. “Don’t worry. If I were in a relationship, I definitely wouldn’t hide it from you.”

Wen Zhilu let out a cold snort. “When are you going home?”

“Let’s eat first. We’ll talk after.” Yan Yunning opened the car door and got out.

Wen Zhilu drew out the last syllable. “Fine!”

The two walked quietly into the elevator. Wen Zhilu pressed the floor button, a charming smile curving his lips. “Did you order any of my favorites?”

“Of course, of course — how could I dare not?” The elevator doors opened. Yan Yunning walked to the private room, opened the door, and flashed Wen Zhilu a bright smile. “Go in and see for yourself. It’s all your favorites.”

The young man caught sight of Gu Jingye and He Qingxia already inside the private room and frowned with displeasure. “Why are they here too?”

“What do you mean why can’t we be here?” He Qingxia huffed. She and Wen Zhilu had never gotten along; they rubbed each other the wrong way.

“Ah… ow… it hurts… it hurts…” Before Gu Jingye could even say hello, Yan Yunning had already walked over and was pinching his ear hard. He looked to He Qingxia with a plea in his eyes.

He Qingxia covered her eyes with one hand, her gaze drifting toward the doorway.

Gu Jingye: “……”

“Lulu, come here and hold him down.”

Wen Zhilu’s ears perked up, and the delight in his eyes was utterly unconcealed. “Coming.”

He Qingxia pursed her lips. Gu Jingye was in for it now.

“Ah… Yan Yunning… we’re friends, aren’t we…” Gu Jingye shouted without any regard for his dignity.

Wen Zhilu half-narrowed his eyes. “Shut up. You stirred up Ningning’s anger, and you still dare make a scene?”

Ten minutes later, Gu Jingye looked at He Qingxia with a tearful, pitiful gaze. She shifted uncomfortably and rubbed her hands together.

“Conspiring against me!!!” Gu Jingye glared at Yan Yunning and Wen Zhilu.

The young man raised his eyes, the corner of his gaze lifting. “Looking for another beating?”

Gu Jingye: “……”

He Qingxia raised her hand. “Can I ask? What exactly did Little Jingye do wrong?”

“What did I do — I was just being kind, sending her a few boxes of ‘little raincoats,'” Gu Jingye said, picking up a piece of red sugar glutinous rice cake and chewing on it with force.

“What does that mean?” Wen Zhilu’s aura cooled.

Gu Jingye looked up and stared at Wen Zhilu with a strange expression. That look — he recognized it. It was the look of someone secretly in love.

Yan Yunning said with exasperation, “It means he slipped something into the apology gift that had no business being there.”

“An apology?”

“An apology?”

Wen Zhilu and Gu Jingye spoke at the same time — the former with a furrowed brow, the latter with a shocked, gaping mouth.

“Yes.” Yan Yunning served up two portions of salmon and vegetable congee, placed one in front of Wen Zhilu, and slowly stirred her own portion, sipping it in small mouthfuls.

“Why did you need to apologize?” Wen Zhilu’s expression darkened slightly.

“……” Yan Yunning looked at him appraisingly. “Where’s your brain? An apology naturally means I offended someone.”

Wen Zhilu pouted: “……”

Gu Jingye raised his thick eyebrows, his face full of curiosity. “Hold on — you, apologizing? You chose a tie and a belt as your apology gift to someone? And they actually accepted it?!”

Yan Yunning suddenly laughed. “Weren’t you the one who picked them out?”

Wen Zhilu pressed his lips into a thin line and sent Gu Jingye a cool sidelong glance.

“Ahem.” Gu Jingye tilted his head slightly to avoid his gaze, then arrived at a conclusion. “Any man who accepts that kind of gift from you is no decent man. For my part, I’d never casually accept a tie or something like that from a woman.”

Those two types of gifts were more appropriate between people in close relationships — typically given between spouses or couples.

Yan Yunning looked at him and curled her lips into a smile. “Say one more word and I’ll want to hit you again.”

“Little Ningning~ is getting protective, huh~” He Qingxia sent Yan Yunning a meaningful look.

“Am I?” Yan Yunning calmly took a sip of her congee.

He Qingxia’s eyes lit up brightly. “Am I? Oh ho, it sounds like something really is going on.”

Then, with a sudden shift in tone, she said, “Yan Yunning, aren’t we best friends? How come I’ve never once heard you mention him?!”

“Do you have a photo? Let me see.” Wen Zhilu curled the corner of his mouth toward Yan Yunning, his eyes blinking without looking away.

“No photo.” Worried they might say too much to Yan Jinzhi, Yan Yunning said offhandedly, “Stop jumping to conclusions. At the time, he only accepted it out of respect for my brother — there were also a lot of people around, so he had no real choice.”

Wen Zhilu’s brow relaxed and he let out a breath of relief. “So you two don’t have any real connection?”

Yan Yunning smiled, her eyes curving. “If there were something between us, wouldn’t I have told you all already?”

Just as she finished speaking, Yan Yunning’s phone rang. She took it out of her bag, saw an unfamiliar number flashing on the screen, hesitated for a moment, then answered.

“Miss Yan, this is Ye Jian. Young Master Xuan is waiting for you in the underground parking garage of the restaurant. Please come down quickly.”

His voice was very urgent. Yan Yunning had just opened her mouth to ask a couple of questions when the call was abruptly disconnected.