Chen Yi had accidentally broken his phone a while back and hadn’t had time to get it repaired, so he dug out his old phone. By coincidence, it was the same model and style as Ruan Mian’s, and both of them used the default system ringtone.

Even more unfortunately, last night Ruan Mian had been sleeping on the left side with her phone placed on the left bedside table, but when Chen Yi came in the second time, she had somehow rolled over to the right side.

Chen Yi hadn’t anticipated this coincidence either. He casually set his phone down and lay down in the empty space on the left.

Now, hearing Ruan Mingke’s puzzled voice coming through the receiver, the two of them exchanged glances. Ruan Mian suddenly snapped back to her senses and grabbed the phone, saying, “Dad, it’s me. Give me a few minutes, I’ll call you back.”

With that, she immediately disconnected the call.

An awkward silence fell over the room. Chen Yi, having slept for a while, no longer felt as groggy. He sat up, though his voice was somewhat hoarse, “Should I call Uncle and explain?”

“Forget it, I’ll call.” Ruan Mian tossed the phone onto the blanket and bent over, burying her face down. Her spine pressed tightly against her sleepwear with this movement, revealing the straight, angular contours of her back, and a section of her slender waist was also exposed.

Chen Yi reached out to pull down the hem of her sleepwear, then pinched the bridge of his nose twice. “I’ll wait outside. You call Uncle back first.”

Ruan Mian responded with a sound of agreement and slowly straightened up. Chen Yi reached out to brush aside the hair hanging over her face, retrieved his phone and handed it to her. “If there are any problems, I’ll take responsibility.”

“Mm.”

Chen Yi rubbed Ruan Mian’s head again, got up from the bed, and took his own phone with him before leaving the room.

With the sound of the door opening and closing, the room fell quiet again. Ruan Mian held her phone and thought for a while before dialing Ruan Mingke’s number.

A few seconds later.

“Dad.” After calling out that single word, she had nothing more to say.

Ruan Mingke’s response was normal, and he didn’t bring up the earlier incident. “Just woke up?”

Ruan Mian traced the pattern on the blanket with her fingers and lowered her head with an “Mm.”

Father and daughter fell silent for a moment. Ruan Mian let out an almost inaudible sigh, gathered her courage and said, “Dad, the person who answered the phone earlier was Chen Yi.”

Ruan Mingke: “I guessed as much.”

“We…” Actually, Ruan Mian had already thought of several reasons in that brief moment to explain why Chen Yi had answered the phone, but when it came time to actually speak, it turned into a confession instead. “Dad, Chen Yi and I are already together.”

Ruan Mingke didn’t seem surprised at all. “When did this happen?”

“When we came back for Dragon Boat Festival last time.” Ruan Mian said, “Chen Yi and I had already met before in Luolin. I didn’t realize he was Uncle Chen’s son. I didn’t deliberately mean to hide it from you.”

“No wonder. That day I noticed something seemed off about both of you.” Ruan Mingke chuckled. “If you’re together, then be together properly. This isn’t a bad thing.”

“Mm.” Ruan Mian rubbed her temple, thought about it, and decided to mention Fang Ruqing’s concerns to Ruan Mingke. “Dad, can you help me communicate with Mom?”

“Alright, I’ll contact your mother later.” Ruan Mingke thought of something. “Mianmian, even though you’re no longer the teenage girl you were before, dating is one thing, but you still need to take proper precautions in certain matters. Chen Yi is the son of a friend of mine, so logically speaking there shouldn’t be any issues with his character, but you’re my daughter. As your father, my only requirement is that I hope in this relationship, whether emotionally or physically, you won’t suffer any harm.”

When Ruan Mian heard the first half of what Ruan Mingke said, she still felt embarrassed, but by the time she heard the latter part, her eyes felt hot. Afraid he would hear the tears in her voice, she could only give a heavy “Mm.”

“Alright, don’t worry too much about your mother’s side either.” Ruan Mingke didn’t say much more, just reminded her not to skip meals in the hot weather before hanging up.

With her worries resolved, Ruan Mian lowered her head and shed two tears, but quickly wiped them away with her hand. She opened WeChat and sent Chen Yi a message.

[Ruan Mian]: I told my dad about us.

Chen Yi didn’t reply immediately. Ruan Mian got up, put on her slippers and went into the bathroom to wash up. While washing her face, she heard the sound of curtains being drawn outside and wanted to turn her head to look, but unexpectedly some facial cleanser foam got into her eyes. Even though it was the non-irritating type, it still felt uncomfortable.

She hurriedly bent down to rinse it off clean. Suddenly a pair of hands appeared at her waist, followed by weight settling on her shoulders as the man’s warm, soft lips fell upon her ear, kissing and sucking.

Ruan Mian instinctively shrank back.

Chen Yi bit her earlobe and lifted his head to look at her through the mirror. “What did Uncle say?”

“Not much.” Ruan Mian rummaged through her bag for an individually wrapped face towel and wiped away the water droplets on her face. “He didn’t seem too surprised about us being together.”

“I also just called my dad and told him about us.” Not only that, Chen Yi had also asked his father for Ruan Mingke’s contact information and specifically called to explain.

He lowered his head and saw the redness at the corners of her eyes, his fingertips touching it. “Were you crying?”

“No, the facial cleanser got in my eyes just now.” Ruan Mian hadn’t expected that the difficult problem she’d been worried about last night had been completely resolved with just a phone call this morning. Although the way it was resolved was a bit awkward, at least it was resolved.

Chen Yi didn’t ask further. He rested his chin on top of her head and reached out to pinch her soft cheeks from both sides. “So dinner at my place tonight?”

“…”

He curved his lips. “What do you want for lunch?”

“Can I order anything?”

“Mm.”

“Braised pork ribs?”

“Okay.” Chen Yi readily agreed, then led Ruan Mian out of the bathroom. After letting her sit on the edge of the bed, he crouched down to check the wound on her ankle.

Not wet, not inflamed, not swollen—all was well.

He released his hand, stood up, and looked down at her. “Take your time getting ready. I’ll go tidy up the kitchen first.”

Ruan Mian nodded and said okay, then turned to look for her phone. She fumbled around on the blanket for a long time without finding it. Seeing this, Chen Yi walked over and found the phone almost effortlessly.

She made a sound of acknowledgment and reached out with a smile to take it.

Chen Yi took the opportunity to grasp her wrist and leaned down to kiss her.

Outside the window, the sunlight was bright and beautiful. Inside the room, tender feelings lingered.

Chen Yi didn’t tell Ruan Mian about contacting Ruan Mingke, and Ruan Mian didn’t mention Fang Ruqing’s attitude to him either.

Both were secretly making efforts for this relationship while keeping things from each other.

After lunch, Meng Xinglan had to return to the hotel where she’d been staying to attend an emergency meeting, and Liang Yiran accompanied her.

Shen Yu was called home by her parents who were temporarily staying in City B—unsurprisingly, for another blind date. After the last time she’d made a fuss about this, Shen Yu’s rebelliousness had caused her father’s high blood pressure to spike, landing him in the hospital for over half a month. Later, the couple had returned to Pingcheng to recuperate for a while.

After returning recently, the couple and Shen Yu had a heart-to-heart talk all night, and both sides made concessions. There would still be blind dates, but only after getting Shen Yu’s consent would meetings be arranged.

Adults can never escape such fate.

After the group left, the previously lively and bustling house suddenly became much quieter. Chen Yi washed some grapes and strawberries and brought them to the coffee table in the living room. Seeing that Ruan Mian was on the phone, he didn’t go over to disturb her.

A few minutes later, the call ended. Chen Yi noticed her somber expression and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Ruan Mian looked down for her slippers, speaking as she walked, “There’s a problem with Senior Sister’s situation. She’s at the hospital now. I need to go over there.”

Chen Yi followed after her. “I’ll drive you.”

Ruan Mian hadn’t driven here last night. Right now the sun was blazing outside—just walking out the door, one could already feel the heat. So she didn’t refuse.

After getting in the car, Ruan Mian sent Chen Yi the location, then called Lin Jiahui again. “I’ve already left. I estimate I’ll be there in about an hour.”

Chen Yi glanced at the destination on the navigation—it was an obstetrics and gynecology hospital in City B. He vaguely guessed what was going on, but since it was someone else’s private matter, he didn’t ask too many questions. He just squeezed Ruan Mian’s hand reassuringly. “She’s already at the hospital, so things should be fine.”

Ruan Mian sighed. “Mm.”

They indeed arrived at the hospital an hour later. Chen Yi accompanied Ruan Mian into the hospital but didn’t follow her upstairs. “I’ll wait for you in the lobby. Call me if you need anything.”

“Okay.” After going upstairs, Ruan Mian headed straight for Lin Jiahui’s hospital room. It was a double room with a young woman who had just finished surgery lying in the bed next to hers, her face deathly pale. Several women sat by her bed, making the group of people highlight how alone Lin Jiahui seemed lying in the other hospital bed.

Ruan Mian walked over. “Senior Sister.”

“You’re here.” Lin Jiahui had been frightened by the woman next to her, and her complexion was about the same. “I didn’t really want to trouble you, but I couldn’t find anyone else.”

Lin Jiahui and her boyfriend Zhou Yuan had been in a relationship for ten years, from university until now. They should have been at the age to discuss marriage, but due to their respective work and family factors, they still hadn’t gotten married.

Last week, during a routine physical examination at the hospital, she was found to be pregnant. She had originally thought that having a child would allow them to consider marriage, but Zhou Yuan wanted Lin Jiahui to abort the baby.

He told Lin Jiahui: “Jiahui, look at what kind of life we’re living now. Do you think we’re in a position to take on the responsibility of a child?”

“Give me another two years. Once I make it to project manager, we’ll get married. Then you can have as many children as you want, okay?”

Lin Jiahui naturally didn’t want to. The two had a huge fight over this issue and were on the verge of breaking up.

This morning, before Zhou Yuan left on a business trip, he sent Lin Jiahui a message saying basically that if she insisted on having this child, then they would break up.

Lin Jiahui covered her face and began to cry. Ruan Mian didn’t know how to comfort her. Only after she finished crying did she ask, “So you’re planning not to have this child now?”

“I have no choice.” Lin Jiahui choked up. “How can I raise a child by myself?”

…

The surgery had been scheduled before Ruan Mian arrived, and the time was shorter than expected. Ruan Mian busied herself helping Lin Jiahui with various matters. Only after everything was settled did she remember that Chen Yi was still waiting downstairs. Seeing that Lin Jiahui was still sleeping, she informed the nurse and went down to the first-floor lobby.

Seeing her running over covered in sweat, Chen Yi stood up to catch her, turned back to grab an unopened bottle of water from nearby, opened it and handed it to her. “How’s the situation?”

Ruan Mian took a small sip and pressed her lips together. “Not great.”

Chen Yi didn’t ask exactly how not great. He reached up to wipe the sweat from her temple. “So are you staying at the hospital?”

“More or less. After Senior Sister wakes up, I’ll ask if she needs to go back home to get anything.” Ruan Mian sighed, looking thoroughly dejected.

A few seconds later, she thought of something and let go of his hand, urging him, “You should go.”

“Hm?” Chen Yi pulled her back, finding it somewhat amusing. “So heartless? After all, today is still my birthday.”

Ruan Mian had actually been urging him to leave early precisely because she’d remembered it was his birthday. When he brought it up, she felt even more sorry for him. As compensation, she leaned over and kissed the corner of his lips. “Happy birthday, Student Chen Yi.”