Jiang Nanshu also felt that after reuniting, Lin Yao wasn’t very friendly towards her.
But they were all former classmates, and it was a gathering organized by Song Ye’s group.
She didn’t want to disappoint him.
Besides, Song Ye was really busy and had rejected Lin Yao several times.
It wasn’t easy for him to find time to gather with everyone, so she treated it like a reunion with old classmates.
Shu: [I’m on my way, there’s a bit of traffic, I’ll probably arrive in about 20 minutes.]
Cheng Jiajia: [I went for my car maintenance, I’m taking a taxi. I’m in the lobby on the first floor.]
Jiang Nanshu told Li Yi, “His flight landed at 5.”
As soon as Song Ye landed, he sent her a message.
“Oh, then he should have been home for a while.
” Li Yi coughed. “Your friend, I remember she’s the deputy editor-in-chief of the game and art section at their company, right?”
Jiang Nanshu replied, “She’s the editor-in-chief now.”
Li Yi regretted even more: “I shouldn’t have offended a reporter so easily.”
Jiang Nanshu turned and glanced at him: “Are you nervous? Jiajia is actually very easygoing. Just apologize, that’s all.”
“…I rarely apologize.” Li Yi said frankly.
Jiang Nanshu didn’t know how to respond.
This guy had probably been treated like a king since childhood, and apologizing was like descending from the heavens for him.
She thought for a moment and said, “Then you should toast to her. She likes beer.”
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “I don’t think my brother has any beer at home. Can you check?”
Jiang Nanshu sent a message to Song Ye, asking if he had beer at home.
S: [No, do you want some?]
Jiang Nanshu replied: [No, it’s Jiajia who likes it.]
S: [Tell Li Yi to buy some downstairs.]
Jiang Nanshu said to Li Yi, “He says there’s no beer at home. You should buy some downstairs.”
“Okay.” Li Yi nodded.
S: [Is he there yet?]
Jiang Nanshu looked up at the window and then replied, [He’s at the entrance of the neighborhood.]
Song Ye didn’t arrive much earlier than them.
He got home around six, took a shower, changed his clothes, and then, around 7:30, Lin Yao and Xu Hao arrived.
Ever since Song Ye took over this project, they had only gathered once in the past few months.
This time, if it wasn’t for Lin Yao urging, they wouldn’t have been able to find a time to meet again.
On the long dining table, hotpot ingredients were already spread out, and there was a steaming double flavor hotpot.
Lin Yao looked at Song Ye and asked, “Did you prepare this?”
“I had Auntie help prepare it,” Song Ye said.
He didn’t have time to prepare this himself.
He took a bottle of red wine from the wine cabinet and casually asked, “Didn’t your girlfriend come?”
Usually, Lin Yao would bring his girlfriend to such gatherings.
“She’s working overtime tonight.”
Lin Yao looked around the room and, not seeing the cat, turned back to Song Ye,
“What about your cat?
Did you give it to… who was it?”
Song Ye placed the wine on the table and looked at Lin Yao seriously: “Be polite to her.”
“Who should I be polite to?”
The door was slightly ajar, and Lu Youchuan entered with a box of cherries in his arms, overhearing this exchange and joining in.
Lin Yao glanced at him and, with a sarcastic tone, said: “Your sister.”
At first, it sounded like an insult.
Lu Youchuan froze for a moment, then realized he was talking about Jiang Nanshu.
He put the cherries on the table and looked at Song Ye: “Is my sister coming over to eat too?”
Song Ye replied, “She’s almost here.”
“I just placed a box of cherries outside her door,”
Lu Youchuan looked at Lin Yao, “Don’t get involved in their matters, it’s from years ago.
Song Ye doesn’t mind.”
At that moment, there was a voice from outside the door:
“Who put something outside my door?”
“Did Song Ye put it?”
Lu Youchuan quickly walked outside and saw Jiang Nanshu and Cheng Jiajia.
He immediately explained, “I put it there.
The company bought it for employees, it’s really sweet.
I brought a box over for you.”
“Thanks, brother.”
Jiang Nanshu hadn’t seen Lu Youchuan for almost a month.
She pointed at Cheng Jiajia, “This is my best friend, Cheng Jiajia.”
Cheng Jiajia smiled and greeted him: “Hello, brother, I have a question to ask.”
Lu Youchuan: “Go ahead.”
“Jiang Nanshu said you didn’t allow her to bring anyone home. Can I come into this house?”
“…”
Lu Youchuan didn’t expect Jiang Nanshu to take things so seriously, not even letting her best friend into the house. He awkwardly scratched his head.
“Of course you can. I… must have been drunk and said that, didn’t expect Nanshu to take it seriously.”
Jiang Nanshu was speechless.
She lifted her eyes and saw Song Ye walking toward the door.
Her smile froze for a moment, and she stared at him.
Other than the first night they video-called, they hadn’t been in much contact these past few days due to being busy.
She had taken the meat floss back to her place, and without surveillance, he couldn’t see her every move. She had been focusing on working on Echo of the Void.
The man had gotten a haircut, and his sideburns were trimmed short, giving his face a sharper, cleaner look.
He appeared very fresh and energetic.
Jiang Nanshu’s gaze met his, and it felt like a cat’s fur brushed lightly against her heart, making her feel a little ticklish.
She blinked and asked, “Should I bring the meat floss over now?”
Song Ye’s hands were in his pockets.
His tall, straight figure stood at the door, staring at her for a few seconds before he said, “Come in and eat first.”
Jiang Nanshu nodded and pulled Cheng Jiajia inside with her.
Just as they stepped in, Li Yi also arrived, holding a bag of beer and a few bottles of yogurt.
The yogurt was bought as per Song Ye’s instructions.
It didn’t take much to guess who it was meant for.
Lin Yao had been warned by Song Ye.
When he saw Jiang Nanshu and Cheng Jiajia enter, he greeted them politely.
Then, he noticed that except for her and Song Ye wearing indoor slippers, everyone else was wearing outdoor shoes.
This made it look like Song Ye and Jiang Nanshu were the hosts, and everyone else was a guest.
He sighed, feeling sorry for Song Ye.
Everyone sat down at the dining table.
Jiang Nanshu and Cheng Jiajia sat together, with Li Yi and Song Ye opposite them.
Li Yi opened a can of beer and placed it in front of Cheng Jiajia.
He smiled and asked, “Sister, can you take me off your blacklist?”
Cheng Jiajia wasn’t petty, and since Li Yi was handsome, she had a good impression of him from before.
Now that he was trying to make amends, she couldn’t stay mad at him.
She lifted the beer and clinked it with his, saying, “Sure, just don’t swear at people randomly next time, kid.”
“What’s going on between you two?” Lin Yao asked, curious.
Li Yi felt a little embarrassed and didn’t want to explain, while Cheng Jiajia didn’t want to get into it either.
She turned to him and said, “Personal matter, can’t say.”
Lin Yao: “…”
“Come on, eat some meat.” Xu Hao scooped a spoonful of beef and placed it in front of Li Yi.
Jiang Nanshu took a sip of the red wine in front of her, thought it tasted good, and finished half the glass in one go.
She looked up at Song Ye and asked, “Is there more?”
Song Ye placed a plate of meat in front of her.
“Eat something first.”
Jiang Nanshu ate a little, then looked up at him.
She wanted to drink more wine.
Song Ye looked at her for a few seconds, then helplessly stood up, walked to the wine rack, and opened another bottle of red wine, pouring her half a glass.
Cheng Jiajia, Lin Yao, and Xu Hao’s gazes turned to them at the same time, and their looks were a bit complicated, as if they had returned to high school days.
Cheng Jiajia looked at Song Ye and felt that, just like in high school, he clearly liked Nanshu.
The way he looked at her and his subtle attentiveness were the same as before, even more so.
Jiang Nanshu noticed their gazes and turned her head, a little confused.
“Why are you staring at me?”
Lin Yao and Xu Hao turned their heads, looking at Song Ye instead.
Song Ye maintained his usual demeanor, glancing at them briefly, “Eat your food.”
The group chatted while eating hotpot, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant.
Jiang Nanshu drank quite a bit of wine, her face flushed but not drunk.
Lin Yao, on the other hand, seemed a bit tipsy, having mixed wine and beer.
Li Yi didn’t drink a drop.
He said, “I need to go back and revise a project proposal tonight, don’t want to be fuzzy-headed from the alcohol.”
After finishing his meal, he said he was going to leave.
“You live where?”
Cheng Jiajia asked Li Yi.
Li Yi told her the name of a neighborhood.
Cheng Jiajia: “Oh, that’s not on the way. Never mind.”
“It’s fine, I can take you,” Li Yi said nonchalantly, tossing his car keys in the air before standing up.
He looked at her, “Let’s go, sister.”
Cheng Jiajia raised an eyebrow.
“Thanks then.”
Jiang Nanshu accompanied them to the elevator.
Lu Youchuan followed behind them.
“Let me help you carry the stuff inside.
The cherries are heavy.”
Jiang Nanshu opened the door and entered the apartment, while Lu Youchuan placed the cherries on the dining table.
He glanced at the cat in the living room and asked, “Are you two… dating now?”
“Not yet,” Jiang Nanshu replied, looking at him.
“You didn’t tell my mom and Uncle Lu, did you?”
Lu Youchuan shook his head.
“Don’t worry, I won’t mention things that haven’t happened yet.
Sometimes, elders get too eager, and it ends up backfiring.”
“…” You really understand.
“I’ll head back now,” Lu Youchuan said, glancing at the time, which had passed 10 PM.
“Get some rest early.”
Jiang Nanshu felt like she smelled like hotpot, and even her hair had absorbed the smell.
She was a little uncomfortable, so as soon as Lu Youchuan left, she went to the bathroom to wash her hair and take a shower.
Next door, Lin Yao and Xu Hao were helping clean up the aftermath.
After cleaning up, Song Ye opened all the windows to air out the smell.
He then went to take a shower and change his clothes.
When he came out, Lin Yao and Xu Hao were standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, smoking and chatting.
Xu Hao still didn’t know that Song Ye was pursuing Jiang Nanshu.
Lin Yao hadn’t told him. He only knew that Jiang Nanshu lived next door and that she and Song Ye were colleagues now.
Tonight, the atmosphere between the two seemed off, so he asked Lin Yao what was going on.
Lin Yao had always hoped that Song Ye was just momentarily caught up in the situation, hoping something unexpected would happen to make him change his mind and not dive headfirst into pursuing Jiang Nanshu.
But tonight, it seemed like Song Ye was already too far gone.
Lin Yao took a deep breath of the cold air, feeling a bit clearer-headed.
He smoked his cigarette, glanced back at Song Ye, and coldly snorted.
“He’s chasing Jiang Nanshu. Didn’t you notice?”
After the college entrance exam, Lin Yao had seen the insulting email from Chen Qingyue on Song Ye’s computer, as well as the video where a guy was affectionately stroking Jiang Nanshu’s face…
Song Ye, such a proud person, had become the third wheel for someone else and had even been mocked by that person’s boyfriend.
Lin Yao still remembered the look in Song Ye’s eyes, red and filled with pain.
In these years, Song Ye hadn’t been in a relationship.
Lin Yao thought it was because he had been deeply hurt and had a psychological scar.
But now, he realized that the truth was, he just couldn’t forget Jiang Nanshu.
Outside the door, Jiang Nanshu, holding the meat floss and the cat bed, walked to the door.
She noticed that the door was slightly ajar.
Suddenly, Xu Hao’s shocked voice came from inside: “You’re chasing Jiang Nanshu?
Are you crazy?
Didn’t you reject her back then because she was ‘playing both sides’?”
Jiang Nanshu: “!!!???”
She froze in place, confused.
What was Xu Hao saying?
“Playing both sides?”
Who was playing both sides?
Was it her?
She had no idea there were such rumors.
Who was spreading this?
She was going to sue them!