Ruan Yu analyzed Teng Hao’s monthly test papers, identified his mistakes, organized the key points, and explained them to him one by one.

Two hours passed in a flash.

Around nine o’clock, Caihong came to knock on the office door.

“The boss is treating us to late-night snacks and wants you both to join.”

Just as Ruan Yu was about to decline, Teng Hao dragged her along: “Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”

The late-night snack consisted of barbecue skewers and beer.

A group of young men gathered around a large round table in the break room, drinking and chatting merrily. Seeing this scene, Ruan Yu immediately felt unsure of where she should stand.

“Over there,” Caihong pointed to a small round table at the side. “The boss said to order some food that girls like. I don’t know what girls prefer, so I ordered some desserts. Help yourself.”

“Caihong, girls are most afraid of eating sweets because they’ll get fat,” Zhou Xihe interjected. “See, you don’t understand girls, that’s why you can’t find a girlfriend.”

“Get lost!”

Everyone laughed.

Caihong looked at the snow-skin mochi and mille-feuille on the small round table, then at Ruan Yu: “You’re not fat at all, eat as much as you want. You’d look good even if you gained some weight.”

“Thank you.”

Ruan Yu was arranged to sit alone at the small round table, which suited her perfectly.

She sat by the window, taking small bites of the mille-feuille. It was very sweet, overwhelmingly so.

When was the last time she ate something this sweet?

She couldn’t remember, but it was certainly a very long time ago.

Today, thanks to Teng Yi, she got to taste sweetness again.

Thinking of him, Ruan Yu looked for Teng Yi in the crowd, but couldn’t find him.

“Hey? Where’s my brother?” Teng Hao noticed too.

“He’s not eating, he’s practicing,” Caihong said.

“The boss is working too hard.”

“The competition is coming up soon, he’s under pressure.”

Competition? What competition?

Ruan Yu perked up her ears, but just as she tried to listen more carefully, they had already changed the topic.

The late-night snack lasted for half an hour. Zhou Xihe and the others seemed to be heading for a second round and asked if Ruan Yu wanted to join, but she immediately shook her head in refusal.

After leaving the training center, Teng Hao took a taxi home while Ruan Yu went to the bus stop. The night breeze was cool, and the bus stop was quiet with only two or three people looking down at their phones.

She instinctively reached for her phone, only to find it wasn’t in her bag.

Heavens, when did her phone disappear?

Ruan Yu immediately rushed back.

She hadn’t used her phone on the way, so it couldn’t have been lost on the road. It must have been left in the office. She silently prayed that Teng Yi hadn’t finished practicing yet – it would be terrible if the doors were locked.

Fortunately, when she arrived, the doors were still open.

Ruan Yu rushed up to the second floor. Sure enough, her phone was in the office, covered by Teng Hao’s draft paper, which was why she hadn’t noticed it when leaving. As her tense nerves relaxed, Ruan Yu realized she had broken into a cold sweat.

Losing her phone would have meant spending a lot of money to replace it.

It was just a false alarm.

Just as she was feeling relieved, she suddenly heard the music on the second floor stop.

Was Teng Yi leaving?

Ruan Yu quietly walked to the practice room door and peered through the gap. What she saw left her stunned.