“Crap.”

Xia Liyang’s expression changed immediately as she jumped off the treadmill.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Songnian asked, confused by her sudden panic.

But Xia Liyang didn’t have time to explain. She quickly scanned the area and, catching a glimpse of a mop behind the elliptical machine, rushed over in a few quick steps.

Then, with practiced ease, she picked up the mop, striking a professional cleaning pose, and began to clean the floor.

Xu Songnian paused, bewildered, and set down the dumbbell to follow her. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t talk to me! Lu Huaicheng is here!” Xia Liyang buried her head as if she were an ostrich, quietly shooing him away while keeping an eye on Lu Huaicheng’s movements.

“Ah?” Xu Songnian frowned and turned to glance at the entrance.

Although he had seen Lu Huaicheng’s photo during his investigation, he was even taller and more imposing in person, with deep, three-dimensional features that were even more striking.

His demeanor was warm yet held a hidden sharpness, like a sword that had yet to be unsheathed.

Noticing someone observing him, Lu Huaicheng’s gaze swept over, his sharp eyes glinting with a hint of scrutiny.

Xu Songnian was momentarily taken aback but didn’t look away, meeting Lu Huaicheng’s gaze head-on.

Lu Huaicheng, sensing some underlying hostility in Xu Songnian’s eyes, slightly paused his steps, frowning as he mentally reviewed the people he had offended recently.

It didn’t seem to include this man before him.

Perhaps he was a recently laid-off employee due to his optimization of the group’s organizational structure.

It was normal for him to feel dissatisfied.

And he was already accustomed to such things.

With that thought, Lu Huaicheng couldn’t be bothered to exchange any further glances.

But as he pulled his gaze away, he unexpectedly caught sight of a slender figure that surprised him.

She hunched her back and lowered her head, delicately holding the mop, working hard to clean the floor beside the man.

Once Lu Huaicheng’s gaze shifted away, that man reined in his expression, leaned over, and said something to the girl, causing her to pause momentarily and push at the man’s arm with one hand, as if teasing him.

Lu Huaicheng’s eyes darkened as he focused on the girl.

No wonder she had been so quiet during her last two visits to his home.

It turned out she had switched targets.

After a brief pause, he took long strides toward her. “Xia Liyang.”

Startled by Lu Huaicheng calling her name, Xia Liyang stiffened, slowly turning her head, not forgetting to glare fiercely at Xu Songnian.

She intended to shoo him away, so they could pretend not to know each other and avoid revealing anything in front of Lu Huaicheng.

But Xu Songnian insisted on sticking around, saying he could help provide cover, refusing to leave no matter how much she pushed.

Before they could argue it out, however, the keen-eyed man had already spotted her.

Xia Liyang adjusted her expression, forcing a mildly surprised smile as she said, “Mr. Lu? What are you doing here?”

“Working out,” Lu Huaicheng replied briefly, his deep gaze lingering on her for a moment.

Xia Liyang couldn’t help but swallow hard, relieved she hadn’t worn any luxury brands that day. She continued to chat awkwardly with him, “Oh, so this is the gym you come to? I just got a part-time job here recently; what a coincidence.”

“Why? Is the money I give you not enough, and you need to take on a second job?” Lu Huaicheng’s voice was warm yet somehow tinged with sarcasm as he glanced at Xu Songnian beside her.

“No, no…” Xia Liyang hurriedly shook her head, saying pitifully, “You said I didn’t have to work today since it’s Saturday. I thought it would be a waste to have free time, so I wanted to pick up another job. And you know, my mom’s illness requires a lot of money for treatment.”

Lu Huaicheng narrowed his black eyes slightly but didn’t respond to her.

It was Xu Songnian who seized the opportunity to interject: “Yanyang, who is this?”

“……” Xia Liyang was startled by his sudden question, her heart skipping a beat. She almost lost her composure and kicked him to shut his mouth as she usually would.

She pressed her pounding heart and tried to introduce them casually: “This is the owner of the part-time job I’m doing. I just call him Mr. Lu.”

“Oh.” Xu Songnian paused, looking back at Lu Huaicheng, and politely extended his hand. “I’ve heard Yanyang mention you before. My surname is Xu; nice to meet you.”

Lu Huaicheng glanced at the hand he extended, smiled faintly, and said, “Didn’t she mention that I’m a germaphobe and don’t like shaking hands?”

Xu Songnian frowned slightly and withdrew his hand, tucking it back into his pocket, replying in a nonchalant tone, “No, she hasn’t mentioned you much. Just that she works for you part-time.”

“Looks like you two are quite familiar with each other,” Lu Huaicheng raised an eyebrow, his voice deepening, carrying a hint of displeasure.

Xia Liyang couldn’t help but feel her temples throb, hurriedly answering, “No, we’re not that familiar.”

She didn’t understand what Xu Songnian was trying to do. He had promised to help her cover, yet his words seemed to be selling her out at any moment.

“Being unfamiliar yet so intimate,” Lu Huaicheng glanced at her, his dark eyes swirling with emotions she couldn’t decipher.

But it definitely wasn’t a good emotion.

Xia Liyang felt anxious inside and bit her lip, quickly thinking, “Actually, I met him while working at a café. Back then, we all didn’t use our real names; I’m just called Yanyang, which is easier to remember…”

“Right, Mr. Xu,” she lightly elbowed Xu Songnian, signaling him to follow her lead and not say anything reckless.

“Mm.” Xu Songnian stiffened slightly, responding in a muffled tone.

“And the cleaning job at this gym came about when I asked for part-time work on my social media. He happened to see it and helped me get the job,” Xia Liyang forced a smile, finally managing to wrap up the series of lies.

Lu Huaicheng quietly observed her for a moment before smiling meaningfully, his tone teasing but not entirely so: “Your circle of friends is quite broad.”

“…It’s mainly because I do various part-time jobs,” Xia Liyang tightened her grip on the mop, her palms starting to sweat.

She had to find a reason to excuse herself quickly.

If the conversation continued, she would truly feel suffocated.

“Um, I’m almost done with the cleaning work here, so I won’t take up any more of your time. I’ll take my leave now.”

As Xia Liyang said this, she planned to put down the mop and make a run for it.

But Lu Huaicheng called her back, “Isn’t your cleaning work a bit too perfunctory?”

“Ah…huh?” Xia Liyang stiffened and slowly turned her head.

“The screen of the treadmill is covered in fingerprints; how am I supposed to use it?” Lu Huaicheng pointed to the treadmill she had just used with his sharply defined jawline.

Ah, ah, ah, ah!

His damn germaphobia!

Was he doing this on purpose to make her look bad?!

“…” Xia Liyang’s mouth twitched slightly. Not knowing where to find a cloth, she could only take out a packet of tissues from her pocket and awkwardly wiped the treadmill screen for him.

“Is this okay?” She suppressed the urge to curse at him and looked at him aggrievedly. “The gym hasn’t asked me to do this.”

“But you’ve been proactive in cleaning areas that my home hasn’t requested, right?” Lu Huaicheng looked at her meaningfully, exposing her ulterior motives.

“……” Xia Liyang’s expression stiffened, and she could only awkwardly admit, “I just wanted to win you over a bit.”

Lu Huaicheng smiled noncommittally and glanced over at Xu Songnian, whose expression had noticeably soured after her words.

“Mr. Lu, if you don’t have any other areas you need me to work on, I really have to go now… or else I won’t have enough time to finish my thesis.” Xia Liyang tightened her grip on the tissues and tried to make her escape once more.

This time, Lu Huaicheng finally let her go, not making her do anything else.

But perhaps it was because she felt guilty, she couldn’t shake the feeling that his sharp gaze was still following her.

She couldn’t help but quicken her pace, practically fleeing the gym.

It wasn’t until she entered the elevator that Xia Liyang let out a deep breath, quickly pulling out her phone to message Xu Songnian: “No more communication with Lu Huaicheng! Otherwise, I’ll cut ties with you!”

Xu Songnian, sensing his phone vibrate, glanced at the screen with a slightly dimmed expression.

After a moment, he typed back, “Got it.”

Lu Huaicheng, who had already stepped onto the treadmill, glanced sideways at Xu Songnian, who still looked a bit gloomy.

At that moment, he finally figured out where his hostility towards him stemmed from.

It seemed that her clumsy flirting skills were still capable of attracting some inexperienced wealthy men.

Clearly, her technique was so poor, yet she was still casting her net widely.

Moreover, she hadn’t asked for his WeChat contact until now, and there seemed to be a trend of her becoming quieter.

Did she think he was a fish that was hard to catch?

Lu Huaicheng snorted softly through his nose, his eyes darkening as he averted his gaze.

Worried that Xu Songnian’s frequent replies might raise Lu Huaicheng’s suspicions, Xia Liyang refrained from questioning him further about what he had intended to do earlier.

It wasn’t until she returned to the office after his workout, sitting at his desk, that she squinted her eyes and stared at him, asking, “Did you want me to slip up so that we could end this plan immediately?”

“…No.” Xu Songnian’s expression was slightly strange as he looked away. “I just got used to it and accidentally called you Yanyang.”

“Then why did you butt in?” Xia Liyang didn’t believe him.

“I just stood next to you. It would be strange if I didn’t say anything,” Xu Songnian defended himself.

“That’s why I told you to keep your distance from the beginning!” Xia Liyang pulled the corner of her mouth and suddenly thought of something else to say, “Wait, didn’t you see him when you were working out before? Did you deliberately take me there!”

“I really have never seen him. I hadn’t worked out at this time before,” Xu Songnian said innocently, looking a bit hurt.

“……” Xia Liyang stared at him for a moment and sighed helplessly. “Fine, just don’t get involved anymore. Luckily, I didn’t get a membership at your gym.”

“You can still come after you decide to give up the plan,” Xu Songnian said, his eyebrows slightly drooping as he turned his back to take off his sweaty clothes and toss them into the laundry basket.

“I wouldn’t come even if I gave up. How awkward would that be? How would I explain that I suddenly have money to work out?”

“Just say you’re with me; after all, it’s not a big deal to tell him a few lies,” Xu Songnian shrugged.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Xia Liyang rolled her eyes at him.

Xu Songnian forced a bitter smile; he couldn’t quite articulate what he wanted to achieve today.

In fact, after countless misunderstandings about his feelings for her during the summer after their senior year, he had already convinced himself to give up liking her.

Someone as emotionally dense as her might take ages to realize anything.

They were better off as friends.

Stable and lasting.

But the moment he heard she wanted to actively experience romance, his dead heart seemed to reignite.

Even if her intention was just to write a novel and she didn’t truly like Lu Huaicheng.

He still couldn’t simply support her plan as a friend.

Especially when he saw Lu Huaicheng appear before him today; he couldn’t help but want to assert his relationship with her.

He even considered ruining her plan.

Until she sent the message about “cutting ties,” it snapped him back to reality.

He really didn’t need to be in such a hurry.

Once she faced a few more setbacks with Lu Huaicheng, she would naturally give up.

Having talked about everything they needed to, Xia Liyang didn’t linger at Xu Songnian’s office.

Seeing that there was some traffic on the elevated road according to her navigation, she chose to take the road below.

While waiting at a traffic light, she suddenly saw a familiar pen name on a book signing promotional poster at a bookstore at the intersection.

It was her mother, Li Qingying.

So, she had been in Jiangcheng all week.

But she hadn’t thought to come see her.

In a daze, she was transported back to the amusement park she had once been abandoned at.

The carousel spun round and round.

The intermingled lights made her dizzy.

And she felt like a drowning person, submerged in a sea of unfamiliar faces.

Xia Liyang stared blankly at the poster until the ringing of her phone pulled her back to reality.

She scoffed, glancing at the caller ID.

Seeing it was Lin Shen, Xia Liyang felt a little tense and cautiously pressed the speaker button. “Mr. Lin, are you looking for me?”

“Mm. Is it convenient for you to come back to clean on Saturday?” Lin Shen asked.

Xia Liyang was slightly taken aback. “Is this Mr. Lu’s intention?”

“Mm.” Lin Shen hesitated for a moment, a little helpless, and added, “He said if you can’t make it, you don’t need to come back anymore.”