The two of them stared at each other, feeling like they were on completely different wavelengths.

“Didn’t you ask me to help you win over your brother’s girlfriend’s affair partner? I went to the parking lot next to that hotel and happened to see Lu Fanghuai…” Shen Zhirou briefly recounted what had happened over the past few days.

Xu Jia’s confused expression gradually cleared up.

“Maybe I should just be your brother’s girlfriend to annoy them. If his ex-girlfriend saw me trying to flirt with someone, wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of making her jealous?” Shen Zhirou said seriously, biting her lower lip in distress.

Suddenly, she saw Xu Jia press her hands together in front of her forehead and sincerely apologize, “I’m sorry!”

Shen Zhirou: “???”

“I was just talking nonsense that day!”

“You… were talking nonsense?”

“I might have been drunk, and it affected my central nervous system, making me talk rubbish. Actually, it’s fine if my brother cries over a breakup. Let him cry and cure his obsessive love nature, make him understand that not every relationship will last forever!”

Shen Zhirou: “…”

Xu Jia looked at Shen Zhirou, emotions surging, “So now…”

She truly hadn’t expected Shen Zhirou to actually help her try to steal a man!

This loyalty was off the charts!

Seeing Shen Zhirou’s slightly furrowed brows and her look of grievance, Xu Jia wanted to slap herself for speaking nonsense!

“Wait, I’ll make a call to find out. If that girl saw you flirting with Lu Fanghuai, she definitely would have gone back and fought with him. We can’t let your efforts go to waste without hearing some good news.” Xu Jia nodded and hurriedly grabbed her phone.

“Can your brother find out?”

“If he doesn’t know, I’ll make him find out. Then we’ll know for sure.”

Xu Jia held her phone, dialing repeatedly, “Why can’t I get through to this idiot?”

Pausing, she suddenly realized, “I blocked his number. It’s still on the blacklist. Wait a minute.”

Shen Zhirou watched Xu Jia busily unblocking and calling again.

—

In the office.

Lu Fanghuai watched as Zhou Jiayu kept checking his phone. Unable to hold back, he asked, “What are you looking at all the time? Every few minutes, you check it.”

“Nothing.”

“How can it be nothing! You’re fooling no one!”

“Yes, I’m fooling no one.” Zhou Jiayu straightened up, “The collaboration is almost settled. Tomorrow the money manager will come to sign the contract. Make sure to accompany the client, no slacking off.”

“Slacking off? I’m on legitimate leave, preparing for my wedding. When you find someone and get married, I’ll give you as much time off too.” Lu Fanghuai grinned cheekily.

They had started their business together before graduating from college. Since Lu Fanghuai and Fang Wenting decided to settle in Haishi after getting married, they also decided to open a branch there. Lu Fanghuai would manage the Haishi branch, while Zhou Jiayu would handle the headquarters in Beijing. Zhou Jiayu was currently staying in Haishi to help with the branch setup, given Lu Fanghuai’s busy schedule with wedding preparations and house renovations.

Lu Fanghuai took a sip of tea, noticing that Zhou Jiayu was barely listening and had opened his phone again.

He couldn’t take it anymore, “What are you looking at!”

“Nothing…”

“You weren’t dumped, were you? Wenting’s friend said she saw you with someone you like. You wouldn’t show me what she looked like, and now you’re glued to your phone.”

Zhou Jiayu stayed silent for a while before speaking, “Does Wenting ever not reply to your messages?”

“Yes, often.”

“When doesn’t she reply?”

“When she’s busy, didn’t see it, or forgot…” Lu Fanghuai counted on his fingers, then looked at Zhou Jiayu, “If she’s angry, she might ignore me, or worse, block and delete me.”

“Let me show you!” Lu Fanghuai pulled out his phone, ready to share his experience. After all, he had more relationship experience than Zhou Jiayu, especially with ten years under his belt.

“How long has your girlfriend not replied? Did you text her again without a response?”

“I asked if she got home safely. She didn’t reply, and still hasn’t.”

Lu Fanghuai: “??? What do you mean? So, you’ve been waiting for her reply and haven’t sent another message? Bro, you can’t do that. Chasing a girl requires persistence. If she doesn’t reply, you have to keep messaging her. Give me your phone; I’ll send one for you!”

Lu Fanghuai was eager to help, mainly to see the girl who made Zhou Jiayu’s heart bloom.

Last night, he and Fang Wenting didn’t even have sex, spending the whole night guessing about this girl, worried about Zhou Jiayu.

Zhou Jiayu glanced at him, silently refusing.

No way, if Lu Fanghuai found out he was using his name, that would be a disaster!

Admitting to Lu Fanghuai that he was chasing someone was already revealing too much.

Zhou Jiayu took Lu Fanghuai’s phone and read through his chat history with Fang Wenting, learning from it.

He was genuinely studying it.

WeChat.

Lu Fanghuai: [Still ignoring me? Fine, you win!]

Transfer of 5200 yuan.

Lu Fanghuai: [Not accepting money? Is money not even working on you anymore!]

Notification of being blocked…

Zhou Jiayu glanced at Lu Fanghuai.

“What? She blocked me, but we made up afterward. See?” Lu Fanghuai showed the chat where they were back on good terms, then switched to Alipay chat, “Men have to take the initiative! Holding hands, kissing, all that stuff, we have to take charge. Apologies too.”

Zhou Jiayu continued to read the Alipay chat.

Lu Fanghuai: [Blocked me? Underestimating me, huh? I’m giving you this money!]

Transfer of 5200 yuan.

Fang Wenting: [Are you insane?]

Lu Fanghuai: [Yes! I’m insane. If you ignore me, I go crazy! I’m giving you money and buying you stuff. Wait for it!]

Fang Wenting: [You bought four cups of milk tea, how can I drink all that!]

Lu Fanghuai: [Drink it with your handsome guy, drink till you puke!]

Fang Wenting: [What handsome guy? You’re insane!]

Lu Fanghuai: [There is! This handsome guy is on his way. I also bought you cake and egg tarts. You’re eating it all!]

Lu Fanghuai: [Add me back on WeChat. If you don’t take the money, I’ll keep sending it.]

Fang Wenting: [You’re insane. Added you back.]

Zhou Jiayu read the conversation, truly grasping Lu Fanghuai’s shamelessness.

Lesson learned…

He understood that waiting passively wouldn’t work. He had to take the initiative.

He had waited for Shen Zhirou’s reply, worried she might not know how to face him after the “disastrous” date.

After two days of waiting, he was getting anxious. He needed to take action.

“Here’s a trick to see if you’ve been deleted. Send a red packet. If it goes through, you’re still friends. If WeChat asks you to confirm their name, you’ve been deleted. You can use this trick if you’re not sure,” Lu Fanghuai advised.

“Got it.” Zhou Jiayu nodded.

Moments later, Zhou Jiayu discreetly opened WeChat and pulled up his chat with Shen Zhirou.

—

Xu Jia finished her call.

She looked at Shen Zhirou, “My brother and his girlfriend made up. When I called, he didn’t understand why I was asking. Turns out, they hadn’t contacted me these past few days.”

“Made up?” Shen Zhirou was puzzled.

“It was a misunderstanding! That guy was her uncle.”

“Her uncle?”

“Yes, Lu Fanghuai is my brother’s girlfriend’s uncle. After crying at my place, my brother got drunk and went to her. She explained it was her uncle! You didn’t actually steal anyone’s boyfriend!” Xu Jia looked relieved, “You can rest easy! Why not just continue dating him? You two already know each other.”

Hearing this, Shen Zhirou’s heart skipped a beat, and she felt a wave of relief.

The image of Zhou Jiayu flashed in her mind.

Just then, her phone buzzed with a WeChat message.