After taking a shower in the evening, Song Mianfeng lay in bed feeling somewhat detached.

So, he opened WeChat and sent a red envelope to Song Zhanyue, then opened the group chat with Fu Qingshan and others and sent another red envelope.

The name of the red envelopes was “Take it to buy candy.”

After sending them, he threw his phone aside and paid no attention to how the group chat exploded. He went to sleep.

…

The sunlight creeping onto the windowsill from between the curtains at some point illuminated the scattered dust particles in the air, casting faint shadows, creating a serene atmosphere in the room.

The person on the bed blinked sleepily as he opened his eyes, seeing the shadows on the floor. He reached out to grab his phone from the bedside table and checked the time.

10:36

Realizing he was at the Meng family’s place, Song Mianfeng instantly woke up fully aware, feeling somewhat regretful for forgetting to set an alarm and oversleeping.

He glanced at the WeChat icon with a message count of “99+”, opened it, and saw messages congratulating him in the group chat. They were chatting about various topics, including marriage pressure. Both Fu Qingshan and Wu An seemed to have complex moods. In private messages, Song Zhanyue had sent him a bunch of messages—several rows of question marks, along with a sentence, “Are you two together?”

Song Mianfeng replied, “Yes, we’re together,” then put away his phone, got up, freshened up, and changed clothes before heading out.

The door to the adjacent room was open, and the family doctor was giving Lu Yin Zhen an injection.

Standing at the doorway, Song Mianfeng saw Lu Yin Zhen slightly furrow his brows as the doctor inserted the needle into the back of his hand. Song Mianfeng couldn’t help but furrow his own brows.

Lu Yin Zhen turned his head and saw Song Mianfeng’s somewhat resentful expression, as if he were the one getting the injection. He relaxed his brows and smiled, “Awake?”

After adjusting the drip speed, the doctor glanced outside, quickly tidied up his medical kit, and said, “I’ll come back to administer more medication in half an hour.”

With that, he left, nodding slightly to Song Mianfeng as he passed by.

Closing the door behind him, Song Mianfeng walked to Lu Yin Zhen’s bedside, pulled over a chair from the desk, and sat down, “Overslept accidentally…”

He had been busy with work the past few days and was also worried about not being able to reach Lu Yin Zhen. He hadn’t rested properly, so he had slept soundly last night and overslept accidentally.

It didn’t matter what time he woke up at home, but at Lu Yin Zhen’s house, with two elders present, he felt quite embarrassed.

“It’s okay,” Lu Yin Zhen said, “I specifically instructed everyone not to disturb you so you could have a good rest.”

Lu Yin Zhen made a call to Meng Ze to have breakfast sent to Song Mianfeng’s room, then asked, “Did you sleep well last night?”

“I slept very well,” Song Mianfeng replied, glancing at the needle on his hand, “And you? Did you sleep well? Is your body still uncomfortable…”

“My body is better, but I didn’t sleep well. I had insomnia, tossing and turning,” Lu Yin Zhen said, “If it weren’t for thinking that you haven’t slept well these past few days, I would have come to see you last night.”

Song Mianfeng was taken aback for a moment, then smiled suddenly, “Great minds think alike.”

“Hmm?”

“If it weren’t for worrying about your illness and needing proper rest, and also considering that it’s at your home—” Song Mianfeng paused, then chuckled, “I would have come to see you last night.”

Lu Yin Zhen, holding Song Mianfeng’s hand with his right hand, played with his fingertips, “Worried it’s at my home?”

“Why worry.” Lu Yin Zhen seemed to have misunderstood, “Don’t you like…”

Song Mianfeng hadn’t expected him to focus on the latter half of the sentence. He chuckled and held his hand back, intertwining their fingers, “No, I like it very much. Mr. and Mrs. Meng are very kind. But there are elders present, and it’s my first visit, so I should be more formal.”

Hearing this, Lu Yin Zhen felt relieved, but still explained, “Actually, I have another place to stay. It’s just that my grandparents are old, and they live far away. I’m worried about them, and they’re worried about me, so I usually stay at Chongjins Villa.”

“Ah,” Song Mianfeng nodded, “Meng Huai told me.”

On the way here, Meng Huai told him some things about the Meng family.

Lu Yin Zhen was filial, so most of the time, he stayed at the Meng family’s place.

The Meng family wasn’t very complicated. Mr. Meng had an elder brother who passed away several years ago. Mr. Meng took care of his brother’s children a lot, and now the relationship between the two families was very close. Among Lu Yin Zhen’s generation, there were two cousins, both working in the company. During Lu Yin Zhen’s absence from B City, the company was managed with the help of these two cousins.

Meng Ze was hired as a steward by the Meng family when Lu Yin Zhen was nine years old, purely coincidental that they share the same surname. Apart from Meng Ze, there were two housekeeping aunties responsible for cleaning, a driver, making it a household with few servants compared to many wealthy families.

Meng Huai, as Meng Ze’s son, was Lu Yin Zhen’s childhood playmate. However, after Lu Yin Zhen graduated from high school and went abroad for studies, Meng Huai stayed in China. Therefore, Meng Huai didn’t know much about Lu Yin Zhen’s affairs, especially private matters, and dared not inquire. After graduating from college, Meng Huai opened a securities company in B City, responsible for daily operations. This plan was laid out early on and only started to take shape in the past six months.

Lu Yin Zhen’s planning was too deep, fearing that Song Mianfeng would be afraid of him or dislike him, which was understandable.

But knowing everything, Song Mianfeng remained calm, even finding Lu Yin Zhen’s strategic thinking more likable.

“What else did he tell you?”

“He said you were very hardworking in City S, dealing with the affairs of both companies alone. For the first month or two, you were flying back and forth between City S and City B, too busy to do anything else,” Song Mianfeng smiled and said softly, “Later, you didn’t come back to City B much, and I didn’t know why.”

What else could it be for… Lu Yin Zhen glanced at the black string around Song Mianfeng’s neck and smiled, “To see you.”

“Knock knock knock—”

The knocking interrupted their conversation, and Lu Yin Zhen said, “Come in.”

Meng Ze pushed the door open, laid a clean tablecloth on the desk, then placed a bowl of plain noodles on it, smiling at Song Mianfeng, “Mr. Song, have a taste. The craft you learned in S City, let’s see if you’ve mastered it.”

There weren’t many noodles, probably just enough for one or two servings. It was close to noon, so eating too much now would ruin lunch. But the soup was clear, with thin ivory-white noodles lying neatly in a pool of clear broth, garnished with green onions, looking delicate and smelling fragrant.

Song Mianfeng pushed the chair back to the desk and sat down, smelling the aroma and feeling a bit hungry, “Thank you, Uncle Ze.”

Meng Ze smiled and left, closing the door. Song Mianfeng glanced at Lu Yin Zhen, “Isn’t it inappropriate to eat in your room…”

Lu Yin Zhen sounded somewhat helpless, “Why are you being polite with me now?”

“This isn’t politeness,” Song Mianfeng replied with his previous statement, “This is courtesy.”

“I thought, in a relationship, there’s no need for such courtesy,” Lu Yin Zhen emphasized the word “courtesy.”

Song Mianfeng laughed when he heard “relationship,” his eyes softened, and his tone lightened, “I was afraid you’d feel uncomfortable with the smell of cooking oil.”

Lu Yin Zhen paused for a moment and then smiled, “It’s okay.”

Due to his illness these past few days, Lu Yin Zhen didn’t have much of an appetite. The smell of cooking oil did make him somewhat uncomfortable, but after Song Mianfeng asked, he didn’t feel that discomfort anymore. His heart was filled with appreciation for how considerate and caring Song Mianfeng was, making him like him even more.

Seeing that Lu Yin Zhen didn’t seem too uncomfortable, Song Mianfeng began eating.

After finishing the bowl of noodles, Song Mianfeng wiped the desk clean, folded the tablecloth neatly, went downstairs, and returned the bowl and chopsticks to the kitchen.

Mrs. Meng was watching TV in the living room, with the family doctor accompanying her to pass the time. Song Mianfeng greeted her somewhat sheepishly.

The doctor checked the time and went upstairs to add medication for Lu Yin Zhen. Feeling awkward about following, Song Mianfeng sat on the sofa and chatted with Mrs. Meng for a while.

They talked about trivial matters, such as how they slept and whether they were accustomed to the food.

Baisui sat obediently beside the sofa, as if listening to their conversation.

The phone on the coffee table lit up, and since Mrs. Meng wasn’t very proficient with phones, she asked Song Mianfeng to check the message for her.

The message was from Meng Yushan, saying he wouldn’t be coming back for lunch.

“Help me reply with ‘Understood’,” Mrs. Meng said, “He went to watch a play. Once he enters the garden, he won’t come back until the show ends.”

Song Mianfeng typed a simple reply, and showed it to her. Mrs. Meng looked at it and liked Song Mianfeng even more.

After all, he was good-looking and so polite; anyone would like him.

Mrs. Meng smiled and said, “Yin Zhen also enjoys watching plays. He’s been brought up like that by his grandfather, always looking old before his time. Most young people like you don’t enjoy these things, right?”

“I do,” Song Mianfeng put his phone back on the sofa and said, “My father enjoys watching plays, so occasionally I accompany him.”

“Yin Zhen is quite good,” Song Mianfeng smiled, “My father really likes him.”

Mrs. Meng was somewhat surprised, “Has Yin Zhen already met your parents?”

Song Mianfeng was embarrassed to say that Lu Yin Zhen had been deceived into coming to their house for a blind date by his father, so he simply replied, “Yes, he has.”

Mrs. Meng hesitated and asked, “Your parents… don’t object, do they?”

“My family has known about my sexual orientation for a long time,” Song Mianfeng said, “They don’t object; they really like Yin Zhen.”

“That’s good,” Mrs. Meng sighed, “Yin Zhen has suffered a lot since he was young. His grandfather and I only hope for his safety and well-being in this life, nothing else.”

After thinking for a moment, Mrs. Meng added, “Once Yin Zhen’s health improves, his grandfather and I will go to City S to meet your parents. Do you have any other siblings? What do your parents like? I need to have Yin Zhen prepare gifts in advance…”

“Grandma,” Song Mianfeng interrupted her as she seemed about to get up to prepare gifts, finding it somewhat amusing, and lightly held her hand, “Don’t worry. You and Grandpa are already so old. My parents definitely wouldn’t agree to such a long journey.”

“When Yin Zhen’s health improves, I’ll bring my parents to City B to visit you and Grandpa,” Song Mianfeng joked, “As long as Grandpa doesn’t give me another check by then.”

“I have a twin sister named Zhanyue.”

Probably because the Meng family mostly consisted of sons, Mrs. Meng showed a joyful smile when she heard that Song Mianfeng had a sister, “She must be a very beautiful girl.”

“Let me show you her photo,” Song Mianfeng diverted the topic. He opened his phone’s album and showed Mrs. Meng photos of Song Zhanyue.

“Your sister is very beautiful,” Mrs. Meng complimented after seeing Song Zhanyue’s photos. Then, she remembered something and brought Baisui over, “Yin Zhen also has a younger sister who’s three years old.”

Song Mianfeng patted Baisui’s head and couldn’t help but laugh, “Our Baisui is also very beautiful.”