Wang Letian’s hand gripped the doorknob, turned it, and opened the door.

Then he came face to face with Li Juansheng.

Wang Letian: “???”

“Oh, it’s you.” Wang Letian’s expression turned disappointed, but he politely smiled when he saw Lu Changyin next to Li Juansheng.

He knew Li Juansheng, although not very well. As for Lu Changyin, she was a complete stranger. They had no professional interactions, and he had missed both of their weddings due to business trips, so he remained courteous towards Lu Changyin.

Li Juansheng, who felt treated differently, said, “…”

“Hahaha, so I guessed right?” Wu An saw Li Juansheng and laughed, slapping the table. “Pay up, pay up.”

Then, he added in a playful manner, “Letian, you can’t blame Brother Sheng just because you guessed wrong. Your sister-in-law is here; show some face.”

Seeing Li Juansheng and Lu Changyin, Fu Qingshan felt relieved and stood up with a smile to invite them to sit in the living room.

Song Mianfeng didn’t participate in this boring bet and was now laughing at the spectacle. “Brother Sheng, Changyin, long time no see.”

“Song.” Lu Changyin smiled faintly, a little puzzled. “What kind of guessing game are you all playing?”

Song Mianfeng explained the bet in the group chat to her, and Lu Changyin smiled and looked at Fu Qingshan. “Until the last moment, the outcome is uncertain.”

Fu Qingshan didn’t say anything but introduced them to Lu Changyin. “The one who opened the door for you just now is Wang Letian, and the one next to Song’er is Wu An.”

“They are both my schoolmates, just like Song Mianfeng.” Li Juansheng continued, “The one sitting next to Wang Letian is his boyfriend.”

Although his relationship with Song Mianfeng and the others was good, it wasn’t close enough for them to use nicknames. Besides, he was their senior, and after graduation, their contact had become less frequent. Sometimes, they only maintained contact through work. It had indeed been a long time since they had gathered together, and he felt somewhat sentimental.

Lu Changyin greeted Wang Letian and the others with a smile and then looked at Lu Yin Zhen, her eyes showing some curiosity. “And who is this?”

She vaguely felt that this outstanding-looking man seemed familiar. She pondered silently, feeling strange. She shouldn’t have met this person before. If she had, why couldn’t she remember when or where she had seen him…

Li Juansheng also looked at Lu Yin Zhen, waiting for Fu Qingshan to introduce him.

When Lu Changyin asked, Song Mianfeng suddenly remembered that Lu Changyin was from the Lu family, and he knew Lu Shi’s family…

He walked over to Lu Yin Zhen and sat down, subtly blocking Lu Changyin’s scrutinizing gaze, and said, “Lu Yin Zhen, my partner.”

He hoped he wouldn’t be recognized so easily. Song Mianfeng thought to himself; he had only felt vaguely familiar when he saw Lu Changhao. Lu Changyin shouldn’t connect the two.

Lu Changyin smiled knowingly and greeted Lu Yin Zhen, “Hello.”

“Hello.” Lu Yin Zhen nodded politely.

Their conversation was courteous yet distant.

Lu Yin Zhen knew Lu Changyin.

Song Mianfeng had gotten drunk at Lu Changyin’s wedding, and he had come to pick him up. Later, he had seen Lu Changyin’s gossip on a secondary account, and he had chatted with Song Mianfeng about Lu Changyin and Li Juansheng…

Although Lu Changyin had no relationship with Lu Shi, and had even sympathized with him, she… was still part of the Lu family. With his thoughts in turmoil, Song Mianfeng glanced at him with some concern.

Lu Yin Zhen squeezed his hand and smiled at him.

But they were just unrelated people.

…

The doorbell rang again, and this time, nobody in the room moved.

Wang Letian only hesitated for a second before Fu Qingshan got up to open the door.

The heavy door was pulled open, and the person outside held up the cake in their hands, raising their head slightly to reveal a pair of shiny black eyes, filled with a smile. “Happy birthday, Fu Qingshan.”

Fu Qingshan chuckled softly. “Thank you.”

“Come in quickly, it’s cold outside.”

Chu Zhaoying stepped inside, changed into slippers, removed her mask, and then realized that everyone in the living room was staring at her.

It was a lively room with familiar and unfamiliar faces, all of whom were Fu Qingshan’s good friends.

Perhaps the room’s heater was too warm, her face felt a little flushed… Before coming here, Fu Qingshan hadn’t mentioned inviting so many friends…

Seeing her unease, Lu Changyin smiled and called out to her, “Zhaoying, come over and sit.”

Only then did Wang Letian react. He opened his palm and tapped the table, “Pay up, pay up, pay up.”

Their bet was just a joke, an unclear mess of accounts.

Wu An had bet on Li Juansheng, winning two dollars from Wang Letian and Mei Siye. Wang Letian and Mei Siye had bet on Chu Zhaoying, and each had won a dollar back from Wu An. In reality, no one had lost or won, but the three of them were still quite happy.

With everyone present, the hotpot began to boil.

With so many people, there were many topics of conversation, and they chatted and drank, keeping the atmosphere lively.

Lu Changyin, intentionally or unintentionally, brought up the gossip about Xia Chunjian. Among the people at the table, except for Lu Yin Zhen and Song Mianfeng, Fu Qingshan could barely be considered an insider. And even though he had helped push this matter along, the others were all just spectators. Now, hearing Lu Changyin bring up deeper gossip, their curiosity was piqued.

“Xia Chunjian is still suing Lu Shi for divorce.” Lu Changyin was well-connected in the circle, and combined with her frequent use of secondary accounts on Weibo, she was as well-informed as an entertainment reporter. “Lu Changhao lost money in stocks before, and Lu Shi’s investment failed, leaving him heavily in debt. Most of those debts were paid off by Xia Chunjian. Now, Lu Shi wants a divorce to leave Xia Chunjian, but Xia Chunjian is suing him, not for property, but just to prevent him from living well.”

“Lu Changhao has gone abroad to avoid trouble, and Xia Chunjian gave him a large sum of money. I’m not sure about the rest.” Lu Changyin continued, “But he’s the type to indulge in all vices. Even if he had more money, it wouldn’t be enough for his extravagance.”

“This illegitimate child is really broad-minded.” Wang Letian clicked his tongue twice, “While his parents are divorcing, he’s living it up abroad. Really enviable.”

If it were his parents, let alone a large sum of money, if all the debts weren’t heaped upon him, he would be grateful to the heavens.

While Lu Changyin spoke, she kept observing Lu Yin Zhen from the corner of her eye. However, Lu Yin Zhen remained composed, as if listening to idle gossip about others, politely maintaining silence without commenting or expressing any emotion.

Only under the table, where nobody could see, did he hold the hand that Song Mianfeng had reached for.

Fu Qingshan timely changed the subject, “By the way, Brother Sheng, is your directed movie about to be released?”

“It’s scheduled for the New Year’s holiday.” Li Juansheng raised his glass of wine and clinked it with Fu Qingshan’s. “Your play is set for the 25th, right? Let me wish ‘Phoenix flying’ a huge box office success.”

Fu Qingshan choked on his drink and coughed twice, covering his lips.

Wu An laughed loudly and raised his glass to Li Juansheng. “My film is also scheduled for the New Year’s holiday. Brother, looks like we’ll be competing.”

Some topics and people, although not forbidden to mention, were best left untouched during a happy gathering, as they could dampen the mood.

They had been friends for many years and had a tacit understanding about such matters.

Wang Letian joked, “And you dare to cross professional boundaries like this? Traitor! Besides, you’re just an assistant director, and you dare to say that.”

“Let’s all have a drink together.” Song Mianfeng smiled, raising his glass to round off the conversation. “Here’s to everyone’s movies, may they all be box office hits.”

Lu Yin Zhen smiled, “Wishing for both box office success and critical acclaim.”

“Wishing Fu Qingshan a happy birthday.” Wang Letian raised his glass for a toast.

Mei Siye added, “And may you get out of singledom soon.”

Wu An said, “Shall I give everyone an early New Year’s greeting?”

“Hey hey hey, what’s going on?” According to the seating order, it was Li Juansheng’s turn to propose a toast next, but Wang Letian interrupted loudly, “Everyone is making toasts, what about you, Fu Qingshan? Don’t think I didn’t see you just now pouring the drink from Chu Zhaoying’s cup into your own. If you want to drink that badly, then fill up three cups first.”

Actually, Song Mianfeng had also noticed it, but he pretended not to have seen it out of courtesy.

Wang Letian had a straightforward personality, so he pointed it out as soon as he saw it, and everyone turned to look at Fu Qingshan and Chu Zhaoying. Fu Qingshan was fine, but Chu Zhaoying’s face turned red instantly. “I… I don’t drink alcohol, Fu Qingshan is helping me.”

Wang Letian wanted to say something more, but Mei Siye covered his mouth. “Brother Sheng, you continue.”

“Mm mm mm!”

Li Juansheng laughed, “Qingshan, it’s time for you to consider your personal matters too.”

As Lu Changyin had a good relationship with Chu Zhaoying, she naturally sided with her in her speech. Seeing the topic veering off track, she helped to defuse it, “It’s a good gathering, why bring up marriage?”

“Let’s not talk about these things.” Wu An, who was also single, said with a touch of sadness, “Let’s just drink, drink, drink.”

As the hotpot came to an end, only Chu Zhaoying, who couldn’t drink alcohol, Lu Changyin, who had someone blocking drinks for her, and Lu Yin Zhen, who had the best alcohol tolerance, remained sober. The others were more or less intoxicated.

Song Mianfeng became quieter as he drank more, sitting quietly against Lu Yin Zhen’s shoulder and drinking a bottle of yogurt.

Fu Qingshan also drank a lot, but he didn’t make a scene even when he was drunk, just sitting quietly on the side, holding the yogurt that Chu Zhaoying had passed him, his face flushed with alcohol, smiling contentedly. If fans on Weibo saw this scene, they might imagine something unplayable.

Wang Letian was the most drunk, and he became more boisterous as he drank more, insisting on clapping and performing comedy routines for everyone.

Wu An followed suit, cheering and applauding, while Mei Siye couldn’t stop him, so he just let Wang Letian go wild.

Wang Letian rambled on for a long time, and Song Mianfeng didn’t really listen. Lost in a daze, he suddenly heard Wang Letian slap the table and looked up to see him holding a pair of chopsticks, gesturing wildly. “Let me demonstrate the ‘Night Battle in All Directions – Hidden Dagger Style’ for you.”

The chopsticks slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. Mei Siye added, “Where’s your dagger?”

“I’ve hidden it!”

Laughter filled the room.

The wandering thoughts dissipated in the atmosphere of laughter and conversation. Those moments of silence or inquiry were all drowned in the drinks, no longer needing to be mentioned.