Damn it! The girl he likes insists on dragging him to a blind date.

Upon hearing this, Xia You immediately understood that Jiang Yunqian hadn't made the appointment with He Yunqi in advance.

I thought that after a period of calm, the two of them had reconnected.

Xia You said to Jiang Yunqian, "I came with Sheng Zongche, and we happened to run into Senior He. What brings you here too?"

As Jiang Yunqian spoke, she subconsciously glanced at He Yunqi, then whispered, "Didn't I tell you that I come to the aquarium to look at the fish when I'm in a bad mood?"

Xia You originally wanted to ask Jiang Yunqian why she was in a bad mood, but her best friend had been visibly depressed lately, and she knew exactly what was going on.

When you like someone so much, it's not something you can just let go of so easily.

Jiang Yunqian hooked her arm around Xia You's, pouted, and said in a coquettish voice, "You don't care about me at all. I posted on WeChat Moments and Weibo that I was coming to the aquarium, didn't you see it?"

Xia You quickly took out her phone: "Oh dear, I really didn't see it. I switched shifts with a colleague today and worked at the coffee shop."

Sheng Zongche nudged He Yunqi secretly, "So you didn't come here to eat grilled fish, you came here to fish."

He Yunqi cursed, "Damn it, Che-ge, why are you talking so rudely? I've been so good to you since we were kids, why do you always try to undermine me?"

"Yeah, you were really good to me. I'm so pretty, and I remember you always dressed up as a woman and even stole a kiss from me," Sheng Zongche's sharp little eyes drifted to He Yunqi's slightly reddened ear tips, "Tell me honestly, how long have you been squatting here?"

Two hours.

In fact, He Yunqi didn't know what was wrong with him. He was so sleepy at home that he was idly scrolling through Weibo when he saw that Jiang Yunqian was coming to the aquarium today. He practically jumped up and went out without even combing his hair.

Sheng Zongche smiled meaningfully: "I've done some calculations, and the thread that the God of Love tied for you has been broken by a shared bicycle. You're out of luck."

He Yunqi: ?

Sheng Zongche then asked Xia You, "How about the four of us eat together?"

Xia You cast a questioning look at Jiang Yunqian, who was startled and blurted out a refusal without thinking, "No need, no need, you guys go eat, I'll just wander around by myself, don't worry about me."

I finally managed to calm down a bit these past few days, and having dinner with He Yunqi again would be like jumping into a fire pit.

Jiang Yunqian knew that He Yunqi didn't like her. In his eyes, she was just a girl who offered herself up, and he might as well take advantage of her.

Since others already think of you as so cheap, if you add that to your image, then you'll truly be cheap, cheap to the extreme.

Sheng Zongche casually leaned against He Yunqi, his body languidly resting on him, and lowered his voice, "You're really pathetic. The fish aren't biting. Maybe your bait isn't attractive enough."

He Yunqi asked, "Then, Brother Che, what kind of bait should we use?"

Sheng Zongche: "Take off all your clothes and jump down."

He Yunqi: "..."

……

After parting ways with He Yunqi and Jiang Yunqian, Sheng Zongche took Xia You to the underwater restaurant at the aquarium.

Around me were flickering candlelight, blue seawater, and schools of lively fish; across the table was the girl who, for the first time in her twenty-one years of life, had stirred my heart.

At this moment, Xia You seemed to have no time to appreciate the colorful fish and the various shapes of the coral reefs. She lowered her head and kept typing on her phone.

Sheng Zongche flipped through the menu and asked, "Wife, would you like seafood lobster soup or cream of mushroom soup?"

Xia You frowned as she typed on her phone, "Whatever."

"For appetizer, would you like beef tartare or burrita with cheese and prosciutto?"

"Whatever."

"Where's the main dish? How about I eat you?"

Xia You: "Okay."

"How will you eat it? Grilled or boiled? How well-done?"

"Either way, it's up to you."

Sheng Zongche was amused and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes. He stood up, reached out, and gently snatched the phone away. He held it in his palm and shook it, saying in a tone that was both reproachful and indulgent, "I'm not taking your phone. I'll give it back to you after dinner."

Xia You propped her elbows on the dining table, leaned forward, and reached for her phone. "Sheng Nini, give me back my phone! There's still a little bit left; let me finish sending this message to Qianqian!"

Sheng Zongche stood up, walked across the dining table, and kissed Xia You's two red lips.

"A kiss, huh? Are you satisfied?"

Xia You covered her mouth: "You?!"

The man casually stuffed his phone into his shirt pocket, patted his long legs, and said, "Want your phone? Come sit on Nini's lap, and I'll give it to you."

"Nonsense, you call yourself 'Brother Nini'? Who's your sister?"

Xia You sat down and spread the napkin on her lap. "You can keep it, I don't want it."

Sheng Zongche gestured to the waiter to pour the sparkling water first, then reached out and patted Xia You's head. "Xia Xiaoyou, instead of studying financial models, you've switched to Cupid's archery? Are you in such a hurry to matchmake He Yunqi and Jiang Yunqian?"

"Of course I didn't try to match them up. I was just reminding Qianqian to be more clear-headed. Since Senior He doesn't really like her and she's decided to give up, she can't waver and can't go back to her old flame."

Sheng Zongche casually twirled his phone and said, "Feelings are like drinking water; only the person experiencing it knows whether it's hot or cold. It's best to stay out of it if possible. Who knows, maybe that prisoner who was originally determined to die will suddenly not want to die anymore, clinging to the iron bars and howling, wanting to start anew?"

Xia You: ?

……

After Xia You and Sheng Zongche left, Jiang Yunqian felt extremely awkward.

She lowered her head, not daring to look at He Yunqi, and whispered, "Senior He, are you waiting for someone? Then I'll go first, so as not to disturb you."

He Yunqi stepped in front of her, raising an eyebrow and saying, "Then tell me, who am I waiting for?"

Jiang Yunqian blinked at him and asked, "Senior, you...you must have come with a girl, right?"

"Hey, why do I have to come with a girl? Can't I just come by myself?"

Jiang Yunqian originally wanted to say that you had been showing off to her before, saying that you had many female confidantes and were constantly on dates, so busy that you couldn't keep up.

That's right, He Yunqi is like that. He never considers her feelings when he speaks, and he doesn't care whether she will be sad or not.

That makes sense, since in He Yunqi's eyes, Jiang Yunqian was no different from any other girl.

Jiang Yunqian bit her inner lip and didn't say anything, then lowered her head again.

After a moment of silence, He Yunqi suddenly asked, "Are you free tonight?"

Jiang Yunqian paused for a moment, then said, "I went back after I finished visiting the aquarium."

"Oh, after we're done shopping, would you like to come to my place?"

Jiang Yunqian: "..."

Seeing the girl's stunned expression, He Yunqi asked again, "Qianqian, are you coming to my house later?"

Suddenly, Jiang Yunqian's eyes started to sting.

She knew all too well the subtext behind that invitation. It wasn't filled with joyful anticipation, nor was it a tentative probe concealing a young man's feelings; it was just a casual, cold jest.

It's just a physical pastime between adults.

But at this moment, Jiang Yunqian hesitated.

Perhaps... if she tries to spend more time with He Yunqi, he will change his mind and fall in love with her?

Reason screamed in her ears, but a faint voice in her heart was pulling her apart, saying that it would be worth it to get even a little closer to him, even if it was just sitting on his sofa.

Jiang Yunqian felt that she was really spineless. If her father found out about this thought, he would definitely kick her out of the house.

He Yunqi pinched her cheek, then took her hand and said, "Let's go to my house for dinner."

Jiang Yunqian acted impulsively, but she managed to calm herself down and stubbornly pulled her hand away: "No, senior. If you want to eat, there are plenty of girls who can keep you company. I'm going home. My parents are waiting for me at home."