The soup dumplings arrived quickly, appearing on the table in front of Shen Lian in less than twenty minutes.
"Go have fun. I'll come find you when I'm done eating." Shen Lian had found a quiet corner and didn't need Chu Yilan to keep him company.
Chu Yilan looked up and met Zheng Ge's dark, unfathomable gaze, but his expression remained indifferent as he turned and left.
Was I blind before? Master Chu reflected.
Zheng Ge's fingertips went cold. He hadn't seen Chu Yilan for a while, and now he finally saw how the man had changed.
The vicious gloom between Chu Yilan's brows had vanished, leaving his natural composure and aloofness. His heaven-blessed beauty and elegance were on full display. He treated Shen Lian well-not as a deliberate show for others, but with constant attention and consideration. That was what threw Zheng Ge off balance.
Because even when he'd had Chu Yilan wrapped around his finger, the man had never treated him like that.
Shen Lian had guessed right. Zheng Ge's birthday this time was utterly dismal.
A major reason was that Zhou Tangsi's grandmother had returned to the country. The old lady had been a formidable figure in her youth, and she disliked Zheng Ge intensely from the moment she saw him. She made it clear that fooling around was fine, but bringing him into the Zhou Family was out of the question. Unfortunately, Zheng Ge lacked a sense of security. The more she behaved this way, the harder he pushed Zhou Tangsi to prove himself.
Not long ago, Zheng Ge had shown up uninvited at a Zhou Family dinner and angered the old lady so badly that she'd been hospitalized that very night. With such a huge obstacle between them, and their arguments becoming more frequent, both