I Just Want to Marry Him

He Li'an had long since memorized Yu An's class schedule.

He timed his trip to the light-meal restaurant around the end of Yu An's class, refreshing his Moments feed the whole way, afraid he might miss an update notification.

Just then, a red "3" had finally appeared on Moments.

He tapped into it with delight, only for the smile on his face to freeze and slowly fade.

Interactions between mutual friends on Moments would notify the person who had not interacted.

And he was that person.

Yu An had liked and commented on Zhu Wen's post, which had been published before his, and Zhu Wen had even replied to Yu An.

Yu An only had a few people on his list, so Yu An had deliberately skipped over his post...

Song Yuechi and Yu An stared at He Li'an. Seeing that he had not moved for ages, Song Yuechi could not help whispering to Yu An, "He looks so grave. Something big must have happened. Don't tell me he's about to go bankrupt?"

It was a vicious and bold guess.

Yu An felt his heart turn cold and said seriously, "Impossible."

His plan had not succeeded yet. He Li'an could not go bankrupt.

Song Yuechi hurriedly comforted him. "I was just talking nonsense."

Yu An said, "Mm."

Song Yuechi: "..." His comfort had been so effective.

Just then, He Li'an seemed to finally notice them and looked over.

Like a rat caught poking around a hole, Song Yuechi instantly ducked his head, while Yu An met He Li'an's gaze head-on.

He Li'an walked over and asked as if nothing were wrong, "Here to eat?"

Song Yuechi secretly looked up. When he saw that He Li'an did not even spare him a glance, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief and shrank into himself, pretending he did not exist.

Yu An shook his head. "No."

The answer was entirely unexpected. A look of bewilderment appeared on He Li'an's face for two seconds. "Then you..."

Yu An spoke calmly. "Anyone normal can tell I'm here to eat. Since you knowingly asked such an obvious question, I thought you wanted a different answer."

For once, He Li'an wore an expression of having nothing to say.

The scene fell silent for a moment.

But it was quickly broken.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... hic!" Song Yuechi had been struck by the joke and was laughing halfway through when Yu An and He Li'an both turned to look at him. Their stares made his scalp prickle, and he hiccuped in fright.

Fortunately, the server delivering their food came to Song Yuechi's rescue.

"Hello, two chicken set meals."

The moment Song Yuechi got his chopsticks, he started shoveling food into his mouth, nearly burying his face in his rice bowl.

After thinking about it, Yu An pushed his meal toward the empty seat beside him and asked He Li'an, "Senior, do you want some?"

He had not forgotten that his original plan was to marry He Li'an.

He should put in some effort toward that goal.

Yu An's initiative pleased He Li'an. The corners of his lips curved slightly. "I'll go buy another serving."

"Oh." Yu An pulled his meal back.

But he did not pick up his chopsticks. He waited until He Li'an's meal arrived before picking them up and eating with him.

Meanwhile, Song Yuechi across from them had already started ordering a second serving.

Yu An was shocked by Song Yuechi's appetite. Song Yuechi explained a little awkwardly, "It's too bland. Eating it feels the same as not eating at all."

Yu An said, "..."

Was it really that bad?

Yu An turned to look at He Li'an.

He Li'an noticed his frustration and reassured him, "He's still growing. It's normal for him to eat a lot."

Yu An was puzzled. "I'm the same age as him."

Song Yuechi was still growing and ate a lot, so should he also be eating a lot?

He Li'an said, "..."

Sure enough, being innocent and being easy to fool were two different things.

Without changing expression, he changed the subject. "Do you want to know how I guessed yesterday that you ordered the cod set meal?"

Yu An was immediately distracted. "Yes!"

Yesterday, He Li'an had guessed over the phone that he had ordered the cod set meal and said he would tell him when Yu An came over. But Song Yuechi had suddenly barged in later, and they had forgotten all about it.

"According to the order on the menu, the second set meal is cod, and the third is chicken." He Li'an gave the chicken set meal in front of Yu An a faintly amused glance.

The kid was a little obsessive about rules and order. Even when ordering food, he followed the sequence exactly.

Yu An looked enlightened. "So that's how it was."

After they finished eating, Yu An saw that He Li'an was in a good mood and asked, "Can I take Song Yuechi to your house to pick persimmons?"

He Li'an's expression immediately cooled somewhat.

Out of He Li'an's sight, Song Yuechi frantically waved his hands at Yu An.

There was a hint of anticipation in Yu An's eyes. In the end, He Li'an could not bear to refuse him. "You can."

He was not completely ignorant about Song Yuechi.

He had investment dealings with the Song family and knew they had a much-dot ed youngest son.

Poor grades, improperly dyed yellow hair, a lively and unruly personality...

In short, there did not seem to be any particular strengths to him. But he was only the young son of a partner family, and He Li'an had no prejudice against him.

However, after Song Yuechi began spending time with Yu An, He Li'an found him increasingly unpleasant to look at. He worried that innocent Yu An would be led astray by Song Yuechi.

But Yu An seemed to really want to be friends with Song Yuechi. Zhu Wen was also keeping an eye on things at home, so nothing should happen. If Song Yuechi really took Yu An out to play elsewhere, the risk would be even greater.

"Thank you, He Li'an." Yu An was never used to calling him Senior, and in his happiness, he called him by name again.

He Li'an did not mind. He only reminded him, "Eat fewer persimmons. Too many can cause stomach discomfort."

"Okay!" Yu An had always been willing to listen when it came to this sort of thing.

After arranging a driver for them, He Li'an left.

Almost as soon as he disappeared from sight, Song Yuechi let out a long breath.

Yu An asked, "Are you very afraid of him?"

Song Yuechi frowned and nodded. "Even though he didn't look at me once, I felt like he was fiercer than last time. When he was sitting here just now, my back felt a little cold."

Yu An comforted him. "Don't be afraid. He Li'an is very kind."

Song Yuechi gave him a strange look. "Love makes everything look beautiful."

Ever since he had stopped idolizing He Li'an and lost his filter for him, he suddenly felt that He Li'an was no longer as gentle and approachable as before. He thought Yu An saw He Li'an that way only because Yu An was too innocent, or because he liked He Li'an too much.

"Love?" Yu An denied it. "It's not at that stage yet."

Song Yuechi became interested. "Then what stage is it?"

Yu An stared steadily at Song Yuechi for a while. Once he confirmed Song Yuechi could keep a secret, he tilted his head and leaned closer.

Song Yuechi curiously tilted his head and pricked up his ears, hearing Yu An whisper in a firm tone, "I just want to marry him."

"What? Marry him?!" Song Yuechi was so shocked he nearly jumped up on the spot.

Everyone around them looked over, and Yu An cautiously pulled Song Yuechi out of the restaurant.

Once they were outside, Yu An seriously warned him, "Song Yuechi, you're my best friend. You have to help me keep it secret. You can't tell anyone."

Song Yuechi nodded blankly, then said faintly, "But He Li'an doesn't plan to make your relationship public either. Does keeping it secret even make a difference?"

Yu An: ...?