Eating hotpot is always lively, even if the siblings had different preferences, with one favoring clear broth and the other spicy. Yet, chatting while dipping ingredients in the pot kept the atmosphere just as lively.

“Are you going to the fashion show in Country M next month?”

“I am,” Song Mianfeng, holding a ladle, scooped meat slices from the spicy broth for Song Zhanyue to pick up, “What are you planning to buy through proxy this time?”

Song Zhanyue put all the meat in her bowl, with half a crystal dumpling still in her mouth, and mumbled, “I’ll make a list for you then.”

“Have our parents been arranging any blind dates for you lately?”

“No,” Song Zhanyue, enjoying her meat, found the topic of blind dates didn’t dampen her mood at all, “I plan to visit home this Sunday. Will you come along, ge?”

Her original plan was to spend this weekend with Song Mianfeng, watching movies and dining out, and then visiting their parents for a day. She didn’t expect Song Mianfeng to ask her out for dinner today, so she thought they could schedule it together.

“Sure,” Song Mianfeng said, “We can also shop around the mall on Saturday and get something for our parents.”

“What about your dear sister?”

Song Mianfeng picked up a piece of beef without even looking up, “When we’re shopping, you always get whatever you want anyway.”

It seemed true. Whenever they went shopping, whatever she liked, her brother would pay for it.

After a moment of thought, Song Zhanyue said seriously, “I know why I can’t find a boyfriend.”

“Why?” Song Mianfeng asked.

“Because you’re too good, no one can treat me better than you.”

Song Mianfeng glanced at her and chuckled, “Think about it, if you find a boyfriend, then you’ll have two people treating you well.”

“No need,” Song Zhanyue smiled and blinked, “You just need to find a boyfriend, then I’ll have two brothers treating me well.”

That sounded reasonable. Song Mianfeng laughed, “I wonder who got jealous earlier, saying if I had a boyfriend, I wouldn’t remember them.”

Song Zhanyue denied, “Huh? Who said that? It wasn’t me.”

Song Mianfeng always had no choice with his sister. He laughed at her words and didn’t continue the topic about boyfriends.

After finishing the hotpot, Song Mianfeng sent Song Zhanyue back home before returning to his own place.

It was already past ten when he got home. He changed out of his clothes smelling of hotpot, took a shower, and then dried his hair while checking his phone. WeChat was quiet, no messages.

He didn’t know if Lu Yin Zhen was still working overtime or if their recent conversations had become too deep, making their relationship somewhat awkward. This made Song Mianfeng feel a sense of disappointment out of nowhere.

He wasn’t afraid of their relationship staying at this stage for a while, but he was worried that Lu Yin Zhen might feel he was too close, making him less interested…

He knew that matters of the heart couldn’t be rushed, but when you truly meet someone you like, who could contain a heart brimming with joy, calmly maintaining a proper distance?

After some thought, Song Mianfeng finally opened the chat box, sent a “goodnight” message, then tossed his phone aside and went to sleep.

After a day’s work, even he, full of exhaustion, had to talk to the person he liked…

…

Lu Yin Zhen’s work indeed became busy, acquiring a company was no small matter, especially when negotiations were at a standstill.

Song Mianfeng was busy too. Originally, he had work scheduled for Saturday, but he promised to accompany his sister to the movies, and on Sunday, they had to visit their parents, so he had to rearrange his work. Coordinating time meant an increase in workload every day.

They found time amid their busy schedules to chat briefly, but their relationship remained in a state of neither progressing nor regressing.

However, Lu Yin Zhen knew Song Mianfeng was busy with work and was concerned he might not eat on time, so he considerately ordered takeout for him for the entire week. The boxes from Mengji were neatly washed and stacked in the kitchen cupboard, indicating Lu Yin Zhen’s intention to continue their relationship.

Song Mianfeng’s heart was filled with Lu Yin Zhen’s kindness, and his stomach was well taken care of by him.

He thought, since Lu Yin Zhen was willing to continue, they should take it slow. Maintaining the status quo for now wasn’t bad either.

On Friday, Song Mianfeng bought movie tickets and reserved a private room at Wangjianglou for Song Zhanyue’s preferred dining. Then he called Song Zhanyue to inform her that everything was arranged and set a time to pick her up.

Girls always needed a lot of time to dress up, so Song Mianfeng chose the 3 p.m. movie session, planning to pick her up at 2 p.m., enough for her to wake up naturally in the morning and have plenty of time to prepare herself.

When they arrived at the cinema, there were still more than ten minutes before the ticket check. Song Mianfeng leisurely collected the tickets, bought popcorn and cola, and soon they began to enter the theater.

While waiting in line, Song Zhanyue took a picture of Song Mianfeng holding popcorn in his left hand, cola in his right, and carrying her bag, and posted it in their “A Loving Family obsessed with Blind Dates” group.

After Song Mianfeng finished checking the tickets and entered the theater, he took out his phone to check the message. Seeing his parents advising his sister in the group chat to “drink less carbonated drinks” and that  “eating popcorn will make you fat”, he couldn’t help but smile.

As Song Zhanyue looked at the messages popping up in the group, she took a sip of cola and then replied.

[Moon: It’s not me, it’s not what I’m eating, it’s what my brother wants to eat!]

[Leisurely listening to the wind sleep: ???]

Song Zhanyue glanced at him, seeing he was about to type something, she snatched his phone and put it in her pocket, saying seriously, “You can’t use your phone while watching a movie.”

Song Mianfeng, who had just opened the chat window with Lu Yin Zhen, was speechless.

Fine, whatever my sister says goes.

Sitting next to them were a couple, the girl sitting next to Song Zhanyue, with a book titled “Nineteenth Floor” on her knees. Song Zhanyue glanced at it and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you also a fan of ‘Night Parade of One Hundred Demons’?”

“Huh?” The girl was a bit excited, “You too?!”

“I’ve read and have all of his series of books. I really love him!”

When fans of the original author meet, there’s always endless conversation. Song Mianfeng’s phone was confiscated by his sister and forgotten on the side. He exchanged a helpless look with the girl’s boyfriend next to them, both of them showing a sense of resignation.

Fortunately, the movie started shortly after. Song Zhanyue and the girl next to her stopped chatting and began to watch the movie.

As a fan of the original work and someone who had thoroughly researched the movie, Song Zhanyue probably knew when the movie’s intense scenes were coming. When she wasn’t scared, she watched intently, discussing the plot quietly with the girl next to her. But when she was scared, she leaned into Song Mianfeng’s side, only daring to peek through her fingers.

Song Mianfeng was truly helpless. During the most intense scenes, when Song Zhanyue hid in his embrace, he reached out to cover her ears, whispering, “You’re always afraid, yet you love watching these.”

Some timid people would scream, especially when it was a girl’s voice, sharp and sudden, more terrifying than the movie itself in the dim, quiet environment. Song Mianfeng, who had accompanied his sister to watch countless horror movies, remained unfazed, even finding it amusing to see the girl’s boyfriend just as scared, closing his eyes, and felt like laughing.

When the terrifying and bloody scenes passed, Song Mianfeng finally let go of her ears, “It’s not scary anymore, you can open your eyes.”

As the last intense scene ended and the movie was about to finish, the girl glanced at her boyfriend, then at Song Mianfeng, pursed her lips, and whispered to Song Zhanyue, “Your boyfriend is really brave.”

Song Zhanyue smiled, “He’s not my boyfriend, he’s my brother.”

The girl sounded envious, “Wow, your brother is really nice.”

Song Zhanyue had received countless envy like this since childhood, but every time she heard it, she felt pleased, smiling happily and chatting with the girl for a few more sentences.

As the movie ended and the lights in the theater came on, everyone began to leave. Song Mianfeng carried Song Zhanyue’s bag, held onto the remaining popcorn and drinks, patiently waiting for his sister and the girl next to her to exchange contact information before speaking, “Let’s go.”

Out of the theater, Song Zhanyue suddenly remembered something, handed the phone back to Song Mianfeng, and pulled him towards the big screen playing trailers on loop.

“Big brother, help me take a picture. I want to take a photo with the name of the male god!”

Song Mianfeng quickly pressed the shutter button repeatedly as the words “Adapted from the novel ‘Night Parade of One Hundred Demons'” appeared, then handed the photo to Song Zhanyue.

His photography skills were impeccable, and the timing was perfect. Song Zhanyue smiled contentedly, opened WeChat, sent the photo to herself, and then returned the phone to him, “Lu Yin Zhen sent you a message.”

Song Mianfeng raised an eyebrow, opened the chat window, and found that Lu Yin Zhen had asked a few minutes ago, “Was the movie good?”

After buying the tickets yesterday, he had told Lu Yin Zhen that he would accompany Song Zhanyue to the movies today. He thought Lu Yin Zhen probably sent the message around the time the movie was ending, and a gentle smile unconsciously appeared in his eyes.

His lips also curved up as he replied with a voice message, “It was okay. Zhanyue enjoyed it.”

[Longevity: Hmm, I still have some work matters to deal with. Have fun both of you.]

Song Mianfeng replied with a “Okay” and put his phone away.

Although they chose a cinema near Wangjianglou for the convenience of dining, it was still a half-hour drive away. Song Zhanyue was posting on Moments and Weibo in the car, in such a good mood that she even wanted to watch the movie again.

But then she thought that Song Mianfeng might be busy and not able to accompany her, so she gave up.

Wangjianglou was a high-end private restaurant under the Lu Group, located by the river with beautiful scenery and antique decoration. However, the prices were high, and Song Zhanyue only dared to eat here when she was with Song Mianfeng.

After all, she wasn’t the one paying.

Wangjianglou had three floors, with the higher floors being harder to book. Song Mianfeng had only managed to book a room on the second floor. They followed the waiter to the room, walking up the stairs with carved handrails, and ran into two men coming down.

The stairs at Wangjianglou were very wide, merging and separating, with separate stairs on each side on the first floor, then merging on the second floor, forming a layout resembling the Chinese character “回” (huí), or “return”.

Both men had exceptionally good looks and were wearing well-tailored suits. Their demeanor was noble and dignified. They descended the stairs at a steady pace, their appearance so pleasing to the eye that it was hard to look away.

Song Mianfeng couldn’t help but stare at the man walking behind them.

But there was no appreciation for beauty in his eyes, only suppressed displeasure.

Coincidentally, the man who had mentioned having some work to deal with on WeChat was none other than the one walking behind them.

^[1]Author’s Note:

Song Mianfeng: Busy with work but still going to Wangjianglou, heh, men.

Lu Yin Zhen: …