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“Happy birthday.”
Xu En’tang handed the paper bag in her hand to Lu Jin.
Behind him, a small mountain of gifts, adorned with various brand logos, had accumulated.
Lu Jin took Xu En’tang’s gift, his gaze sweeping over her face as he asked, “Just got back?”
Xu En’tang nodded.
He Jiayu: “You arrived just in time; we were about to play Werewolf. Lu Jin isn’t playing, and we need more players.”
Xu En’tang: “No, I haven’t eaten yet. I’m going to grab something to eat.”
Several girls nearby were watching them.
“I wonder what she gave Lu Jin.”
“The paper bag doesn’t look special.”
“Well, at least she managed to give something!”
“There’s no way; she’s not part of this circle. She’s just here for a stay, and she must be able to afford something decent to give.”
…
He Jiayu was also quite curious about what gift this little tail of Lu Jin’s would bring.
He peered into the paper bag.
It looked like… a toy?
She actually gave Lu Jin a toy? How unusual.
He Jiayu looked again, not quite sure.
This time he saw clearly.
“A high-speed rail model?”
Lu Jin, who had just picked up his phone, shot a glance at him.
He Jiayu clicked his tongue, “She wouldn’t have just thought of this on the train, would she? Like, she didn’t prepare anything and bought it on a whim?”
After giving the gift, Xu En’tang went to get something to eat.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the door to the terrace diagonally across from her being pushed open from the outside. She lifted her gaze.
Three tall and slender figures walked in from the night, drawing attention.
It was Tan Jili and the others.
Yu Chen was saying something, while Tan Jili had a lazy smile on his face, exuding a casual indifference.
“Xu En’tang.”
Hearing her name called, Xu En’tang turned her head back.
Yu Chen quickly spotted her.
With a mischievous lift of his chin, he said, “Tan Er, your ancestor has arrived.”
Jiang Ran: “She’s already his ancestor?”
The reason Yu Chen teased him like this was that during the weekend before National Day, when Tan Jili accompanied him to Nancheng to meet friends from the game, he suddenly received a call from Grandpa Tan, mentioning that Xu En’tang was in Licheng.
Grandpa Tan told him to stop by Licheng on his way back the next day and accompany her back.
Tan Jili had merely asked, “Is she alone?” and was promptly lectured by Grandpa Tan.
He was told things like “It’s concerning for a girl like Tangtang to be alone” and “If you don’t go, don’t bother coming back.”
As if Xu En’tang was the beloved granddaughter, while Tan Jili was some worthless stray picked from the trash.
It wasn’t about needing a brother to take care of her. She was clearly the revered ancestor, the princess.
Yu Chen animatedly recounted Grandpa Tan’s phone call to Jiang Ran, reveling in the mischief.
In the end, he even asked Jiang Ran, “What do you think? Isn’t she his ancestor?”
Tan Jili maintained a nonchalant demeanor throughout, as if the teasing had nothing to do with him. Now he finally interjected, “Isn’t that just your ancestor’s ancestor?”
Yu Chen cursed him for being shameless, “Get lost, stop taking advantage of me!”
The three of them sat down, and Yu Chen glanced over at Xu En’tang again.
She was chatting with someone.
Yu Chen was puzzled: “Why is she talking to Meng Tian? Didn’t they have an unpleasant encounter last time?”
Tan Jili glanced over casually, “Which time?”
It sounded like a casual question.
Yu Chen: “You know, the time we went to participate in my uncle’s company’s basketball…”
Yu Chen: “Didn’t you ask Xiyue to invite your ancestor to a gathering?”
He kept calling her “your ancestor,” causing Tan Jili to raise an eyebrow, “Are you done yet?”
Yu Chen chuckled, “Meng Tian, before even dating Lu Jin, acted like Lu Jin’s girlfriend, calling your ancestor Lu Jin’s sister and trying to set her up with Qin Xingyan.”
Jiang Ran: “Qin Xingyan can date several girlfriends at once. Last year, he got one pregnant, and his father had to clean up the mess.”
Everyone in the circle had heard about this.
“Yeah, who doesn’t know what kind of person Qin Xingyan is?”
Yu Chen: “I heard someone even egged him on at the time, almost causing a scene. Xiyue was furious when she returned home, saying Meng Tian was extremely manipulative. I ended up having to listen to a half-hour lecture on how to spot a manipulative person.”
After teaching Yu Chen, Yu Xiyue asked him to share it with Tan Jili and Jiang Ran.
Yu Chen was dizzy from listening, how could he remember? Of course, he didn’t pass the information on.
Furthermore, they were well-acquainted with all sorts of people, how could they not see through her? They didn’t call her out because it wasn’t worth the effort, or maybe they just didn’t care and enjoyed the show.
Like Lu Jin, Yu Chen was sure Meng Tian’s tricks wouldn’t work on him.
Yu Chen looked again at the scene where the rivals met.
From their angle, only the side profiles were visible.
Even with just a side profile, Xu En’tang’s indifference was apparent.
Clearly, it was one-sided from Meng Tian.
Yu Chen: “Meng Tian isn’t going to cause trouble again, is she? Tan Er, will your little ancestor be taken advantage of?”
Xu En’tang hadn’t expected Meng Tian to approach her.
Meng Tian had a friendly smile on her face. “I’m sorry about what happened last time. I thought you had just arrived in Beicheng and didn’t have many friends, so it would be a good opportunity to make some.”
Xu En’tang said indifferently, “Thank you, then.”
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Meng Tian’s face, but she held back from reacting.
Lu Jin had told her last time that Xu En’tang wasn’t interested in him.
She didn’t believe it.
This time, the main point was to put on a show for Lu Jin.
She had thought she was about to get together with Lu Jin, but things changed after that night.
She couldn’t explain the feeling, Lu Jin was still the same as before, neither rejecting nor saying anything to her, but it left her feeling powerless.
She tried hinting and flirting, but she couldn’t get a reaction from him.
This made her anxious.
Meng Tian smiled and said, “It was all a misunderstanding. Lu Jin told me.”
Xu En’tang didn’t speak, asking the waiter for an apple juice.
Meng Tian: “You don’t know anyone here, why don’t you come sit with me for a while?”
Xu En’tang took the apple juice, looked at her, and refused, “No, thank you.”
“Are you still angry?”
Meng Tian had an “I’ve already apologized, why are you still angry” kind of expression.
Xu En’tang was getting impatient and was about to speak when her phone rang.
It was an unknown number from Beicheng.
Xu En’tang, wanting to get away from Meng Tian, answered the call, turned around with her phone, and started to leave.
“Hello?”
A slow, lazy voice came from the other end: “It’s me.”
Xu En’tang paused, turning in surprise towards a certain part of the private room.
Two people just happened to walk past her, blocking her view.
After a second or two, they passed, and she saw Tan Jili sitting there, holding his phone to his ear.
Their eyes met.
She vaguely saw Tan Jili lift his eyelids slightly, with a casual and arrogant air.
Then, his lips moved.
At the same time, the voice on her phone said:
“If you don’t have anyone to hang out with, why don’t you come over here?”