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Wen Shijin lay on the chair, his sleeping face serene and clean. His long eyelashes rested neatly, evoking a sense of tranquility and peace in those who looked at him.
Ning Qingyan sat down beside him as she asked a question. Wen Shijin slowly opened his eyes, his phoenix-shaped eyes initially filled with confusion but gradually clearing up in just a few seconds.
He glanced sideways at Ning Qingyan, raised his hand to remove the sleeping earplugs from his ears, and finally regained most of his hearing. His voice was gentle:
“I rested with my eyes closed for a while, and I feel much better now. Xiaoyan, are you hungry? Do you want me to take you to get something delicious?”
He had spent the entire morning in the scorching sun, walking around the amusement park while wearing a bear mascot head and selling helium balloons. Naturally, he was exhausted. He had also accompanied Ning Qingyan on a roller coaster ride, making him feel slightly dizzy. So when he had told her earlier that he was feeling unwell, it wasn’t entirely a lie.
Whenever Ning Qingyan was with Wen Shijin, she felt at ease, physically and mentally. She didn’t need to be cautious or filter her words. This gentle and refined young man was actually the male lead of a no-romance story? What a waste—it was such a pity he couldn’t fall in love and get married.
“Brother, I’ve only had that bowl of vegetable and lean meat porridge you gave me this morning. Now, it’s already past noon, and I’m starving.”
Ning Qingyan couldn’t help but act spoiled, her face full of grievance. Seeing this, Wen Shijin’s heart softened completely. He stood up, looking down at her with warm eyes, and extended a hand toward her. His voice was incredibly gentle:
“Come on, I’ll take you to eat something good. I’ve walked around the whole amusement park this morning, so I’ve already memorized where the best food is.”
“Okay!”
Ning Qingyan’s eyes brightened, but instead of taking his hand, she got up on her own.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Yun Dan Yi, who was surrounded by female guests, tightly clenched his fingers, his face slightly pale.
Just a moment ago, he was calmly responding to the female guests’ questions, but now, he couldn’t hear anything. He remained silent.
Was she really like him—a reborn soul? If not, why did she look at him with such unfamiliarity?
He had tested her several times upon their first meeting, but he couldn’t discern anything unusual from her expressions.
Yun Dan Yi tightly grasped the hem of his jersey. Wasn’t this outfit the one she liked most on him? Back when they first met, he was wearing this exact outfit. So why was she showing no reaction at all?
Taking a deep breath, Yun Dan Yi suppressed the turbulent emotions in his clear eyes and stared intently at Ning Qingyan.
The female guests noticed his odd behavior and followed his gaze, looking toward Wen Shijin and Ning Qingyan.
“Who is that guy next to Qingyan-gege?”
The boy’s voice was deep and pleasant, and the female guests couldn’t resist his charm. They even spilled the tiniest details about Wen Shijin, including how he was the team’s walking encyclopedia.
Not far away, Ning Qingyan turned her head and saw this scene. She couldn’t help but internally complain. Looking at these female guests now, they reminded her of how naive she had been when she first met the boy in her previous life.
Despite the waves of emotions in her heart, she spoke naturally and calmly:
“Do you want to join us for a meal? Wen-ge and I haven’t had lunch yet.”
The female guests glanced at the scorching sun outside the tent, shook their heads, and said:
“No thanks, we already ate earlier. You two go ahead.”
Ning Qingyan nodded and was about to turn around and leave when Yun Dan Yi suddenly stood up.
“I haven’t eaten lunch either.”
As he spoke, the young man got up and walked toward Ning Qingyan.
She had already expected this, but at the moment, filling her stomach was more important. Since he was a special guest, there was no way to avoid him, so she might as well act naturally and pretend not to recognize him.
Wen Shijin gave the unfamiliar young man a curious glance and then looked at Ning Qingyan, puzzled. She had no choice but to explain the situation to him again, allowing the two of them to get acquainted.
The boy stood very close to Ning Qingyan. He glanced at Wen Shijin briefly and spoke in a calm, deep voice:
“Sorry to intrude. I also haven’t had lunch yet.”
Wen Shijin remained as gentle as ever, his voice warm and composed:
“It’s no problem. One more person just means one more pair of chopsticks… But, in this heat, maybe don’t stand so close.”
As he spoke, he subtly reached out and gently pulled Ning Qingyan’s wrist, bringing her slightly away from Yun Dan Yi’s side.
Yun Dan Yi’s lips curled into a faint smile, his clear, beautiful eyes bending slightly. He replied obediently,
“Sorry about that. I’ve admired Qingyan-gege for a long time. Seeing him in person for the first time, I couldn’t help but want to be closer.”
Caught in the middle and feeling increasingly awkward, Ning Qingyan: “…”
Throughout their journey, the subtle verbal duels between the two men left Ning Qingyan feeling inexplicably uncomfortable. Just as she was wishing to get to a restaurant quickly to focus on eating, she spotted two familiar figures approaching—Gu Si and Huo Qi.
The moment she saw them, she almost wanted to run away on the spot.
In her past life, she had plenty of rich playboys in her “pond,” but she had always managed them well, making sure they never met. When had she ever faced a direct four-way confrontation like this?
But to be fair, she never considered these three major male leads as “fish” in her pond. Apart from Wen Shijin, to whom she had intentionally revealed her true gender in hopes that he would develop feelings for her, she had approached the other two with a “brotherhood” approach, trying to build goodwill in a non-romantic way.
Who could have guessed that these two were hidden cases of “secretly in love” and insisted on squeezing into her pond, refusing to be driven away?
Ning Qingyan lowered her gaze, focusing on nothing in particular, and pretended not to see them.
However, Huo Qi suddenly stopped in his tracks, his usually indifferent and icy expression unchanged. His deep voice rang out,
“Who is he?”
Gu Si, who had been trying to question Huo Qi about something else, followed his gaze and immediately noticed the boy holding onto Ning Qingyan’s sleeve.
Gu Si was instantly annoyed. There were already enough male and female guests in this variety show, and now another one had appeared.
At first glance, it seemed like a normal guest, but Gu Si’s finely tuned “rival radar” told him something was off. The way the boy held Ning Qingyan’s sleeve and looked at her screamed trouble.
Surrounded by too many romantic rivals, Gu Si had already developed a keen sense of awareness regarding anyone’s emotions toward Ning Qingyan.
Feeling irritated, his words turned sharp as he lazily remarked,
“Where did this little brat come from? Shouldn’t you be in school on a Monday? And what’s with the way you’re clinging onto someone’s sleeve like a little kid?”
Gu Si didn’t hold back, but he didn’t care about offending anyone. He raised an eyebrow at Ning Qingyan, clearly expecting an explanation.
She had no choice but to dryly explain once again that Yun Dan Yi was a special guest.
Even Wen Shijin, who usually smoothed things over, remained silent. As for Huo Qi, he simply continued staring at the boy’s hand gripping Ning Qingyan’s sleeve.
As the tension escalated, Yun Dan Yi’s expression remained innocent, but his eyes flickered with thought. He knew he was being targeted, but when he looked up again, he was once more the picture of purity and innocence.
Yet, the moment he revealed that he knew all of Ning Qingyan’s favorite dishes, all three male leads simultaneously froze.
Huo Qi, usually the most composed and indifferent, was the first to break his cool. His voice turned cold:
“Why does he know your favorite food so well? Aren’t you two supposed to have just met?”