The moment Xia Shule got home, he sent Xiang Lin a message.
Le Shuxia: We're having dinner together tonight? Why didn't anyone tell me? I only heard about it from Zhou Anyang.
To his surprise, Xiang Lin replied instantly.
Xiang Lin: Baby, think about what day is coming up.
Xiang Lin: Your birthday!
Xiang Lin: Old Xia will definitely throw you a birthday banquet, so we won't get any time to ourselves then.
Xiang Lin: So I thought we'd take advantage of Chen Jin being back and surprise you.
Xiang Lin: I ordered you an ice cream cake. See you tonight, baby!
Xia Shule remembered something similar happening in his previous life.
But back then, he hadn't asked the people involved directly. Instead, he'd gotten caught up in Zhou Anyang's word games.
At the time, Xia Shule had thought he'd become an outsider, and he'd made a scene at the gathering, finding fault with everything.
Really, one simple question could have cleared everything up, couldn't it?
Le Shuxia: Go easy on the spicy dishes, Lin.
Xiang Lin: Why? Isn't spicy food your favorite?
Le Shuxia: Boohoo, just thinking about it makes me mad. I hurt my hand. I'll show you tonight.
Xiang Lin: Then I won't order any at all. What's going on with you? I've only been away for two years, and you've done such a terrible job of looking after yourself!
An accusing sticker followed.
Just as he was about to close WeChat, Xia Shule suddenly remembered something and opened his chat with Yan Zhiyi.
He was going to flirt a little. Couldn't forget the important stuff!
Le Shuxia: Don't forget, President Yan~
{Seductive kitten sticker}
Hehe, how could a sticker this cute not win you over?
In truth, what had won Yan Zhiyi over wasn't any sticker, but this adorably clueless person.
That evening, Xia Shule picked out a fairly casual shirt.
The light blue shirt suited his youthful style, while the white T-shirt underneath gave him a fresh, clean look. Black jeans paired with shoes from ry's latest seasonal collection made him look relaxed yet expensive.
His features were so refined that, despite deliberately choosing casual clothes, he still looked polished from head to toe.
That damn man said he'd think about it. Wasn't an entire afternoon enough? And he wouldn't even reply... If he didn't want his phone, he should sell it!
Going from gardener to President Yan hadn't seemed to change much, except he'd gotten even fonder of acting all deep and mysterious, hadn't he?!
Seeing no reply, Xia Shule put his phone away and let out a long sigh. He didn't have much time left to waste.
There were only seven days left until the drowning.
Before he left, Ms. Ming Yue had worried about him and fitted a breathable wrist brace around his wrist, keeping him constantly aware of his injury.
As a result, Xia Shule's outfit now looked a little odd.
Sporty casual-the standard men's look.
The gathering was at Garden Estate, a restaurant specializing in high-end cuisine that Xia Shule had frequented since high school. But he'd wanted to complain about it for ages, because he honestly couldn't see what was so high-end about it.
As a longtime customer, he was already a familiar face, so the moment he arrived, they led him straight to the private room without asking any questions.
There weren't many people inside yet, but Xiang Lin was already there.
"Baaaaby~~~~" Xiang Lin lunged at him like a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey, drawing the word out through countless lilting turns. "Quick, let me see your hand."
Xiang Lin took Xia Shule's hand and examined it.
After asking whether he could remove the wrist brace, Xiang Lin saw the gauze, which was still seeping a little blood despite Xia Shule having had the wound treated that afternoon.
Xu Wenchuan: ...You little menace.
The sight of blood was already more than he could bear. His lips puckered, and he was just about ready to cry.
"Xia Shule, tell me the truth. When did you start having suicidal tendencies?" Xiang Lin's expression was serious.
Xia Shule looked at him with a bright smile. "What suicide? I was drugged at Old Mr. Yan's birthday banquet a few days ago. I did this to stay conscious."
That only made Xiang Lin's heart ache more.
"What little bastard drugged you? I'm getting a machete!"
The little bastard officially made his entrance.
Dun dun dun dun!
Standing in the doorway, Zhou Anyang heard Xiang Lin's curse, and his chest tightened with guilt.
But after a moment's thought, he relaxed again. With Jiang Gechen around, no one would find out. Even if they did, Jiang Gechen would take the heat.
Jiang Gechen had said he'd handle anything that happened. Besides, Zhou Anyang was only an accomplice, not the ringleader. It was fine. It was fine.
Zhou Anyang trusted Jiang Gechen's capabilities, so he walked calmly over to the two of them.
"Linlin, Shu Le." Zhou Anyang took Xiang Lin's hand, then reached toward Xia Shule's as though he wanted to take it but didn't dare. "Long time no see, Linlin. Shu Le's temper has only gotten worse while you've been away. He must really miss you."
Seeing Zhou Anyang's affected little gestures, Xia Shule lifted his eyes toward the ceiling. Keep pretending, you... Never mind.
Everyone knew Xia Shule had a bad temper, but in truth, half of that reputation had been forced on him by Zhou Anyang.
Xia Shule got angry quickly, but he cooled down just as fast and was easy to coax. He was merely a little spoiled, not unreasonable or prone to flying into random rages.
Xiang Lin pulled his hand away. "I've always thought Shu Le was very mild-tempered. Maybe you just haven't found the right way to handle him?"
"Ah... Maybe." Zhou Anyang felt a little embarrassed. Xiang Lin never gave him any face.
"Zhou Anyang, you were there that day too, weren't you? Do you know what exactly happened to Shu Le?" Xiang Lin asked.
Zhou Anyang looked troubled too. "I really don't know. Shu Le was upset with me at the time, and I didn't see him again after that."
Xia Shule regarded Zhou Anyang with a faint, ambiguous smile. Compared with that lunatic Jiang Gechen, these petty tricks barely tickled. "That's true. After all, you don't need to see me in person to pull something."
"Shu Le! You..." Zhou Anyang's voice rose sharply. He wanted to argue, but a sudden voice cut him off.
Even Xiang Lin, who felt he'd been getting close to the truth before the interruption, turned around in annoyance.
"Whoa!" It was Chen Jin.
He slapped Xia Shule on the shoulder with his large hand, the crisp smack echoing through the room.
"Fuck... That hurts!" Xia Shule cursed and swatted Chen Jin's big hand away.
Chen Jin laughed, not taking it to heart. This was how they interacted. He was long used to Xia Shule swearing at him, mostly because he really did deserve a smack.
"Almost everyone's here. Why aren't you sitting down?" With that, Chen Jin grabbed Xia Shule with one hand and Xiang Lin with the other.
Apparently worried about leaving Zhou Anyang out, he added, "Anyang, I don't have a third hand. Hurry up and follow us, okay!"
Only after they sat down did Chen Jin notice the wrist brace on Xia Shule's hand.
"Why are you wearing a wrist brace out of nowhere? Were you working out earlier?" Chen Jin asked.
Xiang Lin said, "You big idiot! Lele's injured. You're really... adorably stupid."
Chen Jin said, "You're calling me adorable?"
Xiang Lin said, "Get lost! I just didn't want to swear too much."
Chen Jin said, "Don't be shy~"
Xiang Lin said, "Piss off!"
Chen Jin turned to him. "How'd it happen, Shu Le?"
Everyone at the table was a close friend. There weren't actually many people-only eight, including their little group.
The table wasn't big either, so almost everyone looked over at the question.
Xia Shule weakly lifted his wrist. "Ah, I have Jiang Gechen and Anyang to thank for that. They got their hands on some drugs by accident, and I accidentally inhaled them when someone covered my mouth and nose. By accident... Ah, what a terrible accident!"
Several stunned gazes locked onto Zhou Anyang at once. He didn't know whether there was hostility or suspicion in them, because he didn't dare look up.
Xiang Lin tossed down his chopsticks. "Xia Shule, don't play word games with me. They were the ones who drugged you, weren't they? I knew something was off earlier. I've never liked that Jiang guy. If you hadn't liked him..."
Xiang Lin fell silent toward the end. He knew that in the past, whenever Jiang Gechen came up, Xia Shule wouldn't let anyone say a single bad word about him.
Xiang Lin's face flushed red with pent-up frustration. He couldn't understand how Xia Shule could still face those two with a bright smile after they'd hurt him so badly.
"Boohoohoohoo!"