For several days in a row, Xu Zifan taught Yu Sisi how to cook. Every time a dish was cooked, he would take a picture of the finished product and post it on his WeChat Moments.
His friends have accepted that he has fallen in love with cooking and no longer tease him about it; at most, they'll give him a thumbs up. Only Yue Lingling praises him every day with various subtle expressions, conveying her desire to eat his food, but Xu Zifan never responds to her.
Yue Lingling called Xu Zifan twice, but Xu Zifan would only say a few words before hanging up, citing reasons such as working out, cooking, and shooting for a magazine. Yue Lingling felt that Xu Zifan's life seemed to be getting more and more fulfilling, and that everything about him was more important than her, which made her feel incredibly restless and anxious.
She thought about it for several days and finally decided to meet Xu Zifan to see his attitude. So she went through all their mutual friends in her mind, found one whose birthday was coming up soon, and immediately started making arrangements to celebrate that friend's birthday.
The friend's name was Li Dong. He hadn't celebrated his birthday for several years. He was surprised for a long time when he received Yue Lingling's call. Finally, Yue Lingling said that everyone hadn't gotten together in a long time, so it was a good opportunity to get together. He jokingly agreed, "Let's have some fun together, of course!"
Then the friends contacted each other, arranged a time and place, and when Li Dong contacted Xu Zifan, Xu Zifan naturally agreed. He guessed that this was Yue Lingling's idea, but it didn't matter; it wouldn't affect his overall plan for the future.
A dozen or so people gathered for dinner that evening. Xu Zifan went there and immediately sat down between Li Dong and another guy, pouring a drink to wish Li Dong a happy birthday.
Li Dong drank his wine and laughed, "Busy man, it's great to finally see you."
Another friend joked, "What? Zifan isn't showing up because he's embarrassed, right? He got called a scumbag by Zhao Xin the other day, hahaha, Zifan, you're no good. How did you end up making enemies in your relationship?"
Xu Zifan raised an eyebrow and glanced at him, "Better than you, a single dog. You can't even find an enemy to date."
That day, Xu Zifan quickly revealed Zhao Xin's WeChat ID. Many friends who hadn't seen the post asked what had happened.
Yue Lingling gave a helpless smile and shrugged. "Because of me, I don't know what's wrong with Zhao Xin. Ever since we saw me at the last gathering, she's been insisting that Zifan and I are having an affair. I had already rented a place and was moving away from Zifan because her personality is really hard to mess with. This time, I don't know what she misunderstood, but she called Zifan and me scumbags and even posted our photos. Luckily, her WeChat had a problem, otherwise Zifan's work might have been affected. We've really become enemies."
"Wow, that's too domineering! You two grew up together, what's there to misunderstand? Besides, you haven't been in much contact with Zifan lately, is she just too jealous? Wei Yan, what kind of person did you introduce to Zifan?"
Wei Yan quickly poured the wine, "My bad, my bad, I'll punish myself with a drink. Zifan, I'm sorry, I just thought the girl was pretty and liked to act cute, I didn't know she was like this when she was in love. I'll drink this one!"
Xu Zifan laughed and said, "No, what's wrong or not? The girl is just a bit spoiled and not suitable for me. She might be better off dating someone else. It's not your fault. We're a bunch of grown men, so let's not talk badly about the girl. Come on, let's have a drink together, and let's not mention this again."
Among the friends, besides Yue Lingling, there were two other girls who gave a thumbs up upon hearing this. "Zifan is such a gentleman. Why bring this up when you've already broken up? Just treat each other as strangers from now on. Let's all have a drink together and wish Zifan's next girlfriend will be the one destined for him."
Xu Zifan laughed, "Then I'll take your kind words. But don't cause me any trouble later. No, I'll hide my girlfriend so you won't see her, so you don't scare her away. For my lifelong happiness, don't ask me to come out with you later."
"Haha, you haven't even found a girlfriend yet, and you've already dumped us guys. Don't expect us to introduce you to any good girls."
Xu Zifan smiled nonchalantly, "Do I need you guys to find me a girlfriend?"
The two girls laughed and exclaimed, "So handsome! Our Zifan is a big model, maybe he can even snag a celebrity wife for us. Don't let us down!"
"Yes, yes, Zifan's parents are waiting to hold their grandson. Let's all do our part, especially Lingling. No matter what his next girlfriend is like, just avoid them. Otherwise, if Zifan breaks up with you again, he'll blame you. Hahaha, childhood sweethearts always cause misunderstandings."
Yue Lingling was annoyed, but she laughed nonchalantly and said, "Fine, I'll just go abroad and see who can use me as an excuse to argue with Brother Zifan. Don't they realize that if Brother Zifan and I were in a relationship, we would have been together by now?"
Xu Zifan looked at her with a half-smile and said, "You're not getting any younger, hurry up and find a boyfriend. If any of you know a good man, introduce him to her. Come on, let's have another drink, wishing all of us can find a sweet and loving partner soon."
Cheers! Cheers!
Yue Lingling was interrupted by Xu Zifan, and seeing that the topic had changed, she couldn't say anything more. She gulped down a glass of wine, feeling angry. Xu Zifan had so casually told her to find a boyfriend, and didn't seem to care at all; he clearly didn't value her. Are men really this careless? Or are they just so cold-hearted, never paying attention to the people they see all the time?
During the meal, Yue Lingling tried several times to speak with Xu Zifan, but each time she was subtly diverted from the conversation. Their friends didn't notice anything amiss; in their eyes, everyone was a friend, and Yue Lingling was like one of the buddies.
They take special care of you.
Yue Lingling had unknowingly drunk quite a bit of alcohol. Wei Yan glanced at her several times, his eyes filled with worry. He was probably the only one among them who knew Yue Lingling liked Xu Zifan. Seeing her drink so much now, he felt a pang of unease. They were good friends of many years; Yue Lingling was so deeply in love with Xu Zifan. If only Xu Zifan liked Yue Lingling too, childhood sweethearts becoming a couple—wouldn't that be a beautiful story?
But when he looked at Xu Zifan, Xu Zifan hadn't paid any attention to Yue Lingling at all, clearly treating her only as a buddy. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking how cruel fate was.
After dinner, everyone wanted to go to a karaoke bar to sing and play games, but Xu Zifan wanted to go home. Li Dong exclaimed in surprise, "It's only nine o'clock and you're going home? Seriously? It's my birthday today!"
Xu Zifan put his arm around his shoulder and said, "I came here for your birthday, didn't I? But let's skip the party, it's too unhealthy. I've been researching health preservation lately. You said my parents are eager to have a grandchild, so I have to take care of my health. I won't go to any more parties at night from now on."
Are you serious?
"Of course! I've learned from these two failed relationships, and I'm now seriously preparing for my next relationship and even marriage. Aren't you guys going to support me?"
"Support, support, we definitely support this. We'll complain to your wife after you get married. Go back soon, stay healthy, we're waiting to drink your wedding wine."
"Let's go." Xu Zifan had already called a designated driver and waved to them before leaving.
[Shaohua: Host, Yu Sisi has been stopped by a drunk man.]
[Where?] Xu Zifan paused, saw the location on the virtual screen, turned around, and saw Yu Sisi standing in front of the restaurant across the street.
Yu Sisi frowned and held her bag in front of her. A drunken man, grinning, blocked her way. Yu Sisi tried to make a phone call, but the man snatched the bag away.
Xu Zifan glanced at the cars and quickly ran across the road. Yue Lingling was walking near Xu Zifan, wanting to talk to him, when he suddenly ran off. Then she saw Xu Zifan go to the other side of the road and shield a girl behind him. All their friends looked over there, curious about what had happened.
Xu Zifan shoved the drunkard aside, snatched the phone back, and handed it to Yu Sisi. Yu Sisi exclaimed in surprise, "Zifan!"
Xu Zifan pulled her behind him and whispered, "Don't be afraid, it's alright."
Yu Sisi's heart calmed down in a strange way, and she was no longer afraid of anything.
The drunkard across from Xu Zifan had already started fighting. "Who are you? I'm arguing with my wife, mind your own business."
Yu Sisi immediately turned red with anger, "Who is your wife? I don't know you at all!" After saying that, she immediately called the police.
Xu Zifan subdued the drunkard with a clever move. Li Dong and Wei Yan came over and asked him, "Are you alright?"
Xu Zifan said, "It's nothing. These past few days of health maintenance and fitness have been quite effective, and my skills have improved a lot."
The local police arrived shortly after, took a brief statement after hearing the details, and took the drunkard back home. This kind of thing usually only requires two or three days of detention, but it's good to teach him a lesson.
After the police left, Xu Zifan's friends looked Yu Sisi up and down. Wei Yan joked with a smile, "No wonder you've suddenly become so focused on health and fitness, and even thinking about marriage. So you've got a target now."
Yu Sisi blushed upon hearing this, and Xu Zifan laughed and said, "Don't talk nonsense, this is my friend. Alright, it's getting late, you guys go have fun, I'm going back."
"Oh, okay, I understand. Go back early." Li Dong and the others misunderstood when they saw that Xu Zifan was going to leave with Yu Sisi, and happily told them to go first.
Since Yu Sisi hadn't been drinking and could drive, Xu Zifan had the designated driver leave and asked Yu Sisi to take him home.
Yue Lingling had a very bad feeling. She looked at the car and said to everyone, "I think I'm drunk. I have a bit of a headache. I'm going back to sleep first. Have fun."
Wei Yan asked, "Shall I take you back?"
"No need, I'll take a taxi, don't worry," Yue Lingling said, quickly hailing a taxi and leaving.
She told the driver to hurry, and soon they spotted Xu Zifan's car. She then instructed the driver to follow behind. The more she thought about it, the more suspicious she became. If Xu Zifan was taking Yu Sisi home, why was he having Yu Sisi drive? Would Yu Sisi drop Xu Zifan off at home and then take a taxi herself? Definitely not. Yu Sisi had just been harassed; Xu Zifan would definitely have taken her home first. So why did he send away the designated driver?
Yue Lingling had a suspicion in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more upset she became. She could only follow Xu Zifan to confirm it herself.
[Shaohua: Host, Yue Lingling is in the taxi behind you, she's been following you.]
Xu Zifan saw Yue Lingling in the projection on the virtual screen and said nonchalantly, "[Ignore her.]"
Upon arriving at the entrance of the residential complex, Yu Sisi swiped her card and drove in, while Yue Lingling, without a resident's card, couldn't enter. Watching the car ahead drive further and further away, and recalling Yu Sisi's practiced card-swiping technique, her heart sank to the bottom. They were living together!