Before he died, my grandfather forced me to marry the richest man in the capital.

Hot pot restaurants are a major feature of the food scene; their taste and atmosphere are reasons why many people like them.

Renlai Renwang Hot Pot Restaurant has always been a place that Su Xue, Tang Junyao, and Su Yu frequent.

This hot pot restaurant has the best taste, which is one of the reasons why they keep coming back. Another important reason is that the people eating here are not pretentious; they are really there to eat hot pot, eating meat and drinking alcohol with gusto.

It's very realistic, unlike sitting in a fancy restaurant where you have to use your left hand fork and right hand knife correctly, and if you're not careful, the people next to you will laugh at your posture.

You don't need to constantly pay attention to your eating manners, which is very comfortable.

Whether it's Su Xue, Tang Junyao, or the current Han Guoguo, they are all people who yearn for freedom and dislike being constantly constrained.

The first floor of the hot pot restaurant was bustling with activity. The waiters were busy moving between the tables, serving dishes, refilling water, and providing better service.

To accommodate Ji Hancheng's habits, Su Xue booked a private room on the second floor, which was located in a corner and would not be disturbed.

The private room had a nice ambiance, with a large, pure white round table in the center. Water was boiling in a pot, and the table was already full of people, yet it was unusually quiet; no one spoke.

Today's event belongs to Su Xue's group, so of course they should speak first.

Han Guoguo kept glancing in Su Yu's direction, feeling that Su Xue's brother looked familiar. It wasn't because he was the young master of the Su family that she felt familiar; she hadn't watched the news since she went abroad. It wasn't that she didn't want to watch the news, but that she wanted to block out the news from the capital, so she simply stopped watching.

Besides Lu Jinnan, there were also Ji Hancheng and Han Yue. She really didn't know what the other young masters in the capital would be like when they grew up.

She racked her brains for a long time but couldn't recall where she had seen him before. Her beautiful brows furrowed as she racked her brains, trying desperately to remember. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her, and she stared intently at Su Yu's profile.

After resigning from Blue City early, she traveled to various places. When she arrived in the United States according to her itinerary, an accident happened. She remembered that she wanted to go to the beach in the United States that day. She had done her research and many people said that it would be a great loss to go to the United States and not see the night view of the beach. It would be a regret in life. Han Guoguo was definitely not one to want to have any regrets.

Just as I was about to head back after seeing the photos, several men with tattooed arms appeared on the beach.

He doesn't look like a good person at all. He's slacking off, sleazy, wearing floral pants, shorts, and a sleeveless vest. I don't know if he's deliberately showing his arms to scare people.

Anyway, Han Guoguo didn't feel that the weather was hot enough to wear shorts.

She was now 100% certain that these people were not good people, and it was better to stay away from them.

She lowered her gaze to minimize her presence. She wasn't alone by the river; there were many couples, elderly women, elderly men, and single men...

Noticing that she was about to leave, the group of people instinctively formed a circle around her.

One of them, who seemed to be the leader, said, "Hey beautiful, you're obviously not from around here. You're so pretty, why don't you chat with us for a bit? We'll show you around the US, you'll be satisfied."

Another chimed in, "The boss is right. You play with us, and we'll have some fun for you."

Han Guoguo chose to ignore them; what was the point of wasting words with these people? But she had only taken a few steps when her arm was grabbed.

Several tattooed men brazenly tried to drag her away. The difference in strength between men and women is always significant, and with their numbers, she screamed for help in English, but no one came to her aid.

This was something Han Guoguo hadn't expected. She panicked, her heart pounding in her throat. She didn't want to die far from home.

She thought the online guides were comprehensive and full of positive reviews, saying that there were always many people proposing on the beach at night, as well as entertainment activities, making it very lively, but none of them mentioned any dangers.

She never imagined that something so dangerous could happen in such a lively place.

She cursed inwardly: What a lousy internet, it's killing people.

Afterwards, she learned that those men were local thugs, and no one dared to mess with them. Just as she was about to be dragged to the car, a man wearing a mask and a baseball cap came to her rescue.

The tattooed man, fearing she would escape, slashed her horizontally, knocking her unconscious. Before she fainted, she remembered the man's profile and back.

When she woke up, she had already been taken to the hospital. She knew that it was the man who had saved her who brought her there.

At this moment, Su Xue's brother's profile overlapped with the image of her benefactor in her mind. She thought about it for a while and unconsciously stared at Su Yu for a long time.

Han Yue glanced at Su Yu, then nudged his sister who was staring blankly beside him, reminding her, "She's having an episode."

Han Guoguo snapped out of her daze, turned around, and pinched Han Yue's waist hard to express her displeasure, "Shut up."

With a snap, Han Yue slapped Han Guoguo's hand away, rubbed his aching waist, his brows furrowing in pain, but he didn't make a sound. He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, sunglasses hanging on his chest, looking nonchalant and casual as he leaned back lazily in his chair.

Lu Jinnan, Su Xue, and Su Yu sat on one side, with Su Xue sitting between Lu Jinnan and Su Yu. To Lu Jinnan's right were Ji Hancheng and Tang Junyao, followed by Han Guoguo and Han Yue.

Ji Hancheng didn't speak, but glanced at Su Yu with a disdainful look, which also carried a hint of provocation and smugness.

Su Yu calmly sipped his tea, not looking back; his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses were dull and lifeless.

Tang Junyao pursed her lips, glanced at the man beside her, and greeted Su Yu with a smile, "Brother Su Yu."

Even though the way it calls out is the same as before, it feels completely different.

Hearing this, Su Yu tightened his grip on the cup, forced a smile, and looked in Tang Junyao's direction. She had become even more beautiful, with a touch more womanly charm. The girl he had been waiting for had grown up, but she was already married. With a bittersweet feeling, he said, "Congratulations."

Tang Junyao smiled gently, "Thank you."

Ji Hancheng loosely clenched his right fist, placed his index finger lightly on the tip of his nose, and took the hand that was under the table and resting it on Tang Junyao's hand that was on the table, clasping the two hands together.

The scene was jarring; the two rings were deliberately intertwined, making Su Yu feel a tightness in his chest and a urge to go outside for a smoke.

In fact, Su Yu was also planning to do that, and just as he was about to get up, Su Xue grabbed his arm.

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment. This was not the effect Su Xue had hoped for when she organized the gathering. How could she let it become awkward? She grabbed Su Yu's arm and introduced, "Brother, let me introduce you. This is my good friend, Han Guoguo, who is also Han Yue's sister. You should know the others, so I won't introduce them."

Su Yu suppressed the urge to go out and politely greeted her, "Hello."

The more Han Guoguo looked at it, the more it seemed like her. "Hello, my name is Han Guoguo."

Su Xue stood up, picked up a can of beer from the table, and said, "Today is the day Yao Yao and I get our marriage certificate. Yue Yue and Le Le were born on the same day, and we are able to get our marriage certificate on the same day again. I am really happy. Today is my treat. Eat as much as you want. Xiao Nan is paying the bill."

We got our marriage certificate today.

Su Yu glanced at Tang Junyao without realizing it. Weren't they still married?

Two years ago, after the housekeeper Ji said those words at the airport, he immediately called his friend who worked at the Civil Affairs Bureau and asked him to check Tang Junyao's marital status.

The investigation revealed that he was married. His classmate also said that the system had deliberately changed the status to divorce, but in reality, he was married.

He didn't believe it at first, but after confirming it again and again, he received a definite answer that he was already married.

His world collapsed at that moment. The flowers he had carefully nurtured were picked when he went out, and he could never have them again.

What an irony! He thought she had just been drugged and accidentally became pregnant, but little did he know that the person she was marrying was Ji Hancheng.

After Su Xue finished speaking, she sat down and muttered to herself, "My god, it's like I'm giving an acceptance speech."

Ji Hancheng smiled after hearing this and said to Lu Jinnan beside him, "A walking payment code."

Lu Jinnan rolled her eyes at him. "I'm happy to."

Su Yu's expression was not good. He stood up and said to the others, "I'm going to the restroom."

Han Guoguo, who had been observing Su Yu closely, had already taken in his emotions. She felt as if she had discovered a huge secret, and her intuition told her that something was definitely wrong.

Su Xue assumed her brother was feeling down because he had broken up with his girlfriend abroad, and was completely unaware of Su Yu's true feelings. She urged him, "Brother, hurry up!"

Su Yu did not answer, but pushed open the door and went out.

Han Guoguo's gaze followed Su Yu as he left, and her heart compelled her to get up and chase after him. Su Yu's back looked very familiar; she had to ask him something.

Han Yue hurriedly asked, "Where are you going?"

Han Guoguo raised her chin. "To the restroom, together?"

Han Yue lowered his head and ate, ignoring his neurotic younger sister. He couldn't control her when she needed to use the restroom.

At the bathroom door, Su Yu washed his face, took out a cigarette, leaned against the wall, looking somewhat dejected. Noticing Han Guoguo coming in, he straightened up, turned slightly to the side, and composed himself.

Han Guoguo didn't go to the restroom. She stood still in front of Su Yu, looked up, and stared at him for a while.

Su Yu didn't stop her from staring at him at first, but she became uncomfortable with his gaze and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Han Guoguo asked directly, "Have we met before?"

Su Yu took a drag of his cigarette, exhaled a smoke ring, and the smoke drifted onto Han Guoguo's face. She didn't wave her hand, but simply held her breath for a moment.

Su Yu looked at the girl with collarbone-length hair in front of him. Her hair color made her skin appear even whiter. Her delicate face was looking up at him intently, as if she wanted an answer. It didn't seem like she was trying to flirt. "No."

Undeterred, Han Guoguo asked again, "Have you been to the US this year? I'm not trying to hit on you, I just think you look a lot like the person who saved me. I don't mean anything by it, I just want to express my gratitude."

Su Yu remained silent for a moment, then threw his finished cigarette into the trash can and said calmly, "No."

Han Guoguo looked at his profile and the more she looked, the more she felt he looked like him. She asked repeatedly, "Really not? When I was traveling abroad before, I accidentally ran into some thugs. One of them helped me, but those guys were carrying weapons. The person who saved me must have been injured. I really want to find him and thank him."

After listening, Su Yu's face remained expressionless; he simply said, "Good luck. I'm not the person you're looking for."

Han Guoguo looked a little disappointed. As he turned around, she blurted out, "You like Yao Yao."

It is an affirmative sentence, not a question.

Han Guoguo was sure she couldn't be mistaken, but the next second Su Yu denied it, "Miss Han must be mistaken, she is my sister."

But look into her eyes—the sadness of loss, regret, emptiness, and confusion. How could these be something only seen in her eyes when she's looking at her sister?

Since the person involved didn't admit it, she didn't want to meddle. Everyone has a secret, and it's impolite to pry into other people's privacy. Realizing this, Han Guoguo apologized, "I'm sorry, I was presumptuous. I apologize to you."

Su Yu didn't mind. The sadness from before was gone from his face, replaced by his usual gentleness, though it looked a little fake. "I hope Miss Han won't be mistaken in the future."

Han Guoguo politely replied, "Okay."

The two entered the private room one after the other and sat down in their respective seats.

They had already started eating hot pot. Su Xue carefully served her brother a large bowl to comfort him about his supposed heartbreak while he was abroad. Of course, it was his own interpretation of heartbreak. Su Yu accepted it and picked up his chopsticks to eat.

Lu Jinnan kept serving Su Xue. Whenever Su Xue wanted to eat something, Lu Jinnan would refill her bowl after she finished eating, never leaving it empty. Su Yu was quite satisfied with this scene.

Tang Junyao was worried that Ji Hancheng wouldn't be used to the food, so she leaned closer and whispered, "Can you eat it? Why don't you eat the non-spicy version?" to avoid getting an upset stomach.

Su Yu looked up and saw this scene. His chest ached. He froze for a few seconds, his eyes reddening. When he looked away, he met Han Guoguo's gaze and she nodded politely.

Su Yu had a feeling of being caught in the act of adultery.

The result was clear, and it seemed he had guessed correctly. Han Yue picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks and rolled it into Han Guoguo's bowl, admonishing her in a low voice, "Mind your own business, eat more vegetables and talk less."

Han Guoguo looked at Han Yue with a surprised expression, tilted her head, and mouthed, "You figured it out."

Han Yue didn't answer that nonsense. "Eat your food. You can't even fill your stomach anymore, can you?"

Han Guoguo lowered her head and ate her food, no longer speaking, but inwardly she thought to herself, "You see so clearly, yet you still can't see how you've sorted out your own feelings."

They have a whole repertoire of ways to talk about others.

Ji Hancheng raised his hand and pinched the back of her neck. "It's okay, I'm used to the food. I'll get you whatever you want to eat."

Tang Junyao looked at him questioningly, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure, honey."

That night, Su Yu was riddled with wounds, his heart repeatedly pierced by Ji Hancheng. He regretted agreeing to come to the dinner with Su Xue. He had long expected this scene to happen, but seeing it in person still made him uncomfortable.

That's good. She's completely given up. You can see from the details that Tang Junyao is genuinely happy, and you can also see that Ji Hancheng really likes her.

Su Yu picked up a piece of spinach covered in chili oil and stuffed it into his mouth, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot.

Lu Jinnan reminded him, "Brother, have some water." He had originally wanted to ease the rivalry between Su Yu and Ji Hancheng, but now it seemed a bit strange.

I suddenly felt so sorry for my brother-in-law; there were three of them, and he was all alone.

I don't know if it was a mistake for Xiaoxue to invite her brother-in-law over today.

At the dinner table, only Su Xue, Tang Junyao, and Han Guoguo came voluntarily. Han Yue came because of his sister's conditions, Ji Hancheng came to please Tang Junyao, and Lu Jinnan came voluntarily.

But only Su Yu himself knows why he came.

Perhaps it was to make himself completely give up.

Perhaps it's a final farewell.