Chapter 11

Jiang Yingshan drank a few mouthfuls of bottled water. He was exhausted too. Both of them were young and hadn't bothered bringing anyone along for the talks, heading straight from Li City to Nan City and settling the deal just like that. Their assistants and the others were waiting at the company.

They dropped Chen Lüli off first, since he still had a cat to look after.

It was late, and the residential complex was quiet. Chen Lüli entered the elevator with his coat draped over his arm and his collar loose. Ding-the doors opened, and he stepped out. At a glance, he saw a figure in pale yellow crouching by his front door. He paused until the figure spoke. "Xiao Diu, come here. Hey, what are you afraid of? Let me pet you-"

That voice belonged to Jiang Zao, not Lin Yu.

Chen Lüli walked over and asked, "Weren't you supposed to feed him two hours ago?"

Hearing his pleasant voice, Jiang Zao sprang to her feet. Her makeup was startlingly heavy. She smiled and said, "I streamed for two extra hours tonight, so I only got here to feed him now. Why are you back? Weren't you supposed to be unable to make it?"

"If I'd known you wouldn't come for two hours, I wouldn't have asked you." Chen Lüli's tone was indifferent. Xiao Diu, whose fur had been bristling a moment ago, immediately became much more docile and ran over to meow at his feet.

Jiang Zao's eyes widened. "Why is he so fierce with me but so docile with you? Do you usually hit him?"

Chen Lüli shot her a cold glance.

Jiang Zao coughed. "Just kidding."

Chen Lüli was actually hard to get close to, even after years of being classmates. Only Ming Yu dared come and go from his home as she pleased.

Jiang Zao said, "Your door code is a little hard to remember too. I got it wrong twice at first."

Chen Lüli poured Xiao Diu some water. Straightening up, he said, "If you'd gotten it wrong one more time, I wouldn't have been able to get in either."

"Oh, heh-heh, sorry." Jiang Zao smiled and yawned. "Only Yuyu can remember your code. Say, do you think Yuyu will be the first of us to get married?"

Only the entryway light was on, leaving the apartment dim. Chen Lüli undid his confining cufflinks, his expression indistinct in the light. His voice was low and languid. "I don't know."

Leaning against his door, Jiang Zao said lazily, "I bet she'll be the first. Thinking about being the first to drink her wedding wine makes me kind of excited..."

Chen Lüli picked up Xiao Diu, who had finished drinking and had been rubbing against him the whole time. He ran his large hand through the cat's fur and lifted his eyes. "You can go home now."

Jiang Zao pursed her lips and stood straight. "I helped you feed your cat, and I don't even get a glass of water."

Chen Lüli said blandly, "Do you want one?"

Jiang Zao: "...No."

She turned and said, "Only Yuyu can put up with you, dutifully feeding your cat every day."

Still muttering, she entered the elevator.

Only after the elevator doors closed did Chen Lüli reach back and shut his own door. The lights in the apartment came on then, and Xiao Diu climbed out of his arms. Reeking of alcohol, he was suddenly overcome by the fatigue of traveling. He sat down on the sofa and loosened his collar, revealing his collarbones and the lean muscle beneath.

He rested for nearly ten minutes.

Only then did he feel a little better. He picked up his phone to check the time.

Messages suddenly flooded the group chat.

Jiang Yan'an shouted: This is the guy who stole my Yuyu away! I won't accept it!

Jiang Zao: What good does it do you not to accept it? Li Yin is really good-looking.

Jiang Yan'an: Jiang Zao, shut up. You don't know my pain.

Ming Yu: Hmm, let me see. Not bad, he's worthy of Yuyu. What does he do?

Jiang Zao: I think he's a data engineer.

Ming Yu: Not bad. There's some promise in that field.

Jiang Zao: That's right.

Jiang Yan'an: ...Is nobody going to pay attention to how I feel?

He skimmed through the group messages like flowers flashing past from horseback, then swiped to the photo Jiang Yan'an had sent. Lin Yu held a glass of juice and smiled at the camera with her lips pressed together. Li Yin leaned in close beside her, holding the phone, and snapped the picture. The two of them were in a campsite restaurant, with twinkling lights behind them. It was rather romantic.

In the photo, her makeup was heavier than usual; she had dressed up especially, her lips glossy and vivid, her lashes slightly curled, and a smile in her eyes.

Chen Lüli looked at the photo for a long time, especially at her.

Tsk, tsk, staring in circles again.

CLL, your defenses are about to crumble.

Another 100 red packets for this chapter. See you tomorrow.

Chapter 11

That evening, the campsite restaurant was lively, and with the charcoal fires burning, it didn't feel very cold. Li Yin did the grilling while Lin Yu ate. She also put on a movie and propped up her phone, so they watched and ate at the same time. Beneath the vast open sky, surrounded by woods, it had a charm all its own.

It was quite late when they finished. Once the charcoal fire for the barbecue went out, though, the cold gradually set in. Li Yin tucked her scarf around her and hurried to settle the bill so they could leave. By the time they got back to the car, more than half the lights at the campsite had gone out.

Only inside the car did they feel warm. Li Yin turned on the heater, then looked back and saw that Lin Yu's nose was slightly red. He took her hands, breathed warm air on them, and asked, "Are you really cold? We didn't feel it while we were eating barbecue, but it showed as soon as the charcoal went out."

Lin Yu felt his warm breath fall on the backs of her hands. She smiled. "I'm not cold anymore. It's nice and warm in the car."

Li Yin held her hand between both of his to warm it. Lin Yu leaned back in her seat, and the heat in the car soon warmed her neck and back. She reached up and loosened her scarf to let some air in. Seeing her skin flush and her tug at her scarf, Li Yin knew she was no longer cold. Only then did he start the car.

The heater was on rather high, so he took off his coat.

From the Donghua Oceanarium to the campsite restaurant, they had been driving toward the suburbs the whole way. They were now on the outskirts of Li City's suburbs. Leaving the restaurant, they had to follow a forest road for a while before getting on the highway. By the time they reached the city center, the dazzling lights drew them back into their colorful lives.

The car stopped at the entrance to her residential complex.

Lin Yu unbuckled her seat belt, and Li Yin did the same. At this hour, the complex was quieter than ever. Li Yin got out to see her off. "Lin Yu."

Lin Yu stopped and looked back. Li Yin walked toward her.

The streetlight fell across his face, and Lin Yu's lashes fluttered. Li Yin came to a stop in front of her, his ears reddening. He said softly, "Yuyu, good night."

Lin Yu looked at him.

He was refined and handsome, the kind of person who was easy to approach. To put it plainly, he had no sharp edges, so he was especially easy to get along with. Being with him was actually very

easy.

Lin Yu's eyes curved into a smile. "Good night."

Li Yin acknowledged her and opened his mouth, wanting to ask for something. A faint smile on her lips, Lin Yu rose on tiptoe a second later and kissed him on the cheek. Then she said, "Drive carefully on your way back."

Li Yin froze, feeling only a trace of fragrance brush his cheek. The red at his ears spread down his neck, and before he could react, Lin Yu had already walked into the complex.

In fact, there was no perfume left on her; the smell had long since been covered up by the barbecue. The lip gloss Lin Yu wore had left its mark on Li Yin's cheek, along with that hint of citrus.

It was a long time before Li Yin returned to his car, beaming, and drove away.

Lin Yu returned home smelling of barbecue from head to toe. She took off her scarf and coat and went to the master bedroom for her pajamas. Passing the tall cabinet beside the wardrobe, she saw two framed photos on it: one of her with Jiang Zao, and one of her alone. Behind her in the solo photo was a school building. Ming Yu was leaning over the second-floor railing, waving into her camera, and beside Ming Yu was Chen Lüli, chewing gum and looking casually her way.

Ming Yu's face was a little clearer in focus, while Chen Lüli was somewhat blurry. Even so, Lin Yu had kept the photo and put it in a frame.

Because it was the only photo she had with him in it from around the time they graduated from their senior year of high school.

After graduation, Ming Yu had been sent abroad. The arrangements were rushed, with one thing after another to take care of, and Chen Lüli had even collected her diploma for her. Without Ming Yu, Jiang Zao wouldn't have pulled Lin Yu over to take a photo with Chen Lüli, and Lin Yu hadn't dared do it herself. Jiang Yan'an had said he would get the four of them together for a photo, but after setting up the camera, he was called away by a teacher to help take pictures of the teachers. By the time he returned, Chen Lüli had already left, so they never got a complete group photo.

Lin Yu picked up her pajamas, and her phone rang. She saw that it was her mother, Zhong Lixin. "I saw your Moments post. Did you go out with Li Yin tonight?"

Lin Yu answered, "Mm, we went to the suburbs for dinner."

Her mother said, "Sounds like things are going well?"

Lin Yu smiled. "Not bad."

Her mother said, "Since it's going well, give the relationship a proper chance. The main thing is to see what kind of character he has. You don't need to worry about the rest."

"Okay."

Her gaze shifted to the photos in the two frames on the cabinet. Lin Yu put down her phone. Since she couldn't have something blazing and grand, a steady stream flowing on would do too.

Really, her feelings should have been extinguished back in high school. But liking someone wasn't a switch; how could she turn it off just because she wanted to?

Later, in college, it wasn't that she had no hope at all. She did, but very little, and even that quickly went out. Lin Yu touched the two frames and went to take a shower.

The barbecue smell all over her was even more noticeable now that she was home. She'd better wash it off quickly.

When she came out of the shower, the steam had flushed her cheeks. She curled up on the sofa, plugged in the hair dryer, and leaned against the armrest to dry her hair. Its warm air made her drowsy. Remembering the seven-day check-in in Dream Fiend, Lin Yu logged in. As soon as she entered, she saw a friend request and clicked on it.

Li Yin.

She was a little surprised, and he was online too. She accepted his request, and a few seconds later, Li Yin appeared beside her in a default skin.

Lin Yu: You're still awake?

Li Yin laughed and used an in-game action to lift her character up. He said: Not yet. I just got home. I'm happy today, so I can't sleep.

Lin Yu smiled: How did you come to play this game?

Li Yin: I saw it was the only game on your phone, so I downloaded it. This game was developed by President Chen's company, right?

Lin Yu: Mm.

Li Yin laughed: Help out a newbie like me.

Lin Yu smiled: I don't really know how to play either. I just like the skins in the game. Why don't you change yours? Let me see which map has skins you can get.

Li Yin: Okay.

His character put Lin Yu down.

Just then, her friends list lit up. Ming Yu had come online, and she arrived beside Lin Yu at lightning speed. When she saw a male game character standing next to Lin Yu with the name Li Yin over his head, she was startled for a moment. She quickly understood and typed on the public channel with a grin: Yuyu, aren't you going to introduce us?