Chapter 7 – Adding Each Other on WeChat

Li Hanye’s gaze had hardly shifted from her the entire time, making Si Tiantian feel increasingly self-conscious, her cheeks slightly flushed.

As the dishes were gradually served, Li Hanye kept picking food for her, watching as she ate her dessert in small, dainty bites. Her eyes curved with happiness, and she looked just like a little kitten who had sneakily gotten hold of a candy—completely different from the tense, guarded girl she’d been earlier.

He noticed that when she ate, her cheeks would puff out ever so slightly, her long lashes lowering in a way that gave her an indescribable sweetness.

“The desserts here are made by a chef trained at Le Cordon Bleu in France.”

Li Hanye suddenly spoke, his tone a touch softer than it had been in the car.

“Mmm, it’s really delicious.”

Si Tiantian replied in a small voice, gently scraping a bit of mango mousse from her plate with her spoon and putting it into her mouth, squinting her eyes in bliss.

“You really like sweets?”

“Mm-hmm, I do.” The moment the topic turned to desserts, she became noticeably chattier.

The conversation was a little awkward, and Li Hanye racked his brain trying to think of something to say. But to his dismay, he realized that aside from work, he didn’t really have much else to talk about.

He made an effort to recall the “dating conversation guide” Yan Chengyang had offered him, but those slick pick-up lines just didn’t suit him.

After a moment of thought, he asked, “Are the classes at school difficult?” It felt like a safe and generic enough question.

Si Tiantian hadn’t expected him to ask something like that. She paused for a second before replying, “They’re okay, I can manage.”

But inside, she couldn’t help but wonder—someone as busy and important as him, why would he care about something as trivial as university classes?

“Mm.” Li Hanye nodded, then fell silent again.

“Do the dishes suit your taste?” In the end, he circled back to the safest topic.

“They’re really delicious!” As soon as food was mentioned again, Si Tiantian’s eyes lit up, and her tone became noticeably more cheerful.

Watching her satisfied smile, the sharp lines of Li Hanye’s jaw seemed to soften just a bit.

By the end of the meal, although Li Hanye still spent most of the time silently watching her eat and only occasionally asking a question or two, the atmosphere was noticeably more relaxed than it had been in the car.

At the very least, Si Tiantian wasn’t as scared of him anymore—though the invisible pressure he radiated still made it hard for her to fully let down her guard.

—

After dinner, Li Hanye drove Si Tiantian home. The car glided steadily through the night, streetlights casting flickering shadows across the interior.

Si Tiantian stared out the window at the scenery rushing past, silently counting the minutes until she’d be back home.

As they neared the Si family’s villa, she quietly said, “Thank you, Mr. Li. Dinner was very good.”

No matter what, basic courtesy still had to be shown.

Li Hanye looked at her but said nothing, his gaze dark and unreadable.

The car slowly rolled to a stop at the villa gates. Si Tiantian, feeling like she’d been granted amnesty, quickly opened the door and got out.

“Goodbye, Mr. Li,” she said, then almost ran inside the house without looking back.

Li Hanye stared at the spot where her figure had disappeared, then slowly rolled the window back up, the light in his deep-set eyes obscured by the shadows of the night.

—

Back in his villa’s study, Li Hanye sat back against the wide leather chair.

He wanted to get closer to Si Tiantian, to eliminate the distance between them.

Tapping his fingers unconsciously against the desk, he murmured to himself, “Too little communication? Not familiar enough?” Then why not just completely insert himself into her life until she got used to having him around?

Unlocking his phone, he opened WeChat. The number he’d gotten from Lin Ke was already etched in his mind.

He typed it in and searched.

The page loaded—and the moment the profile picture appeared, his heartbeat skipped.

It was her.

He tapped on the image to enlarge it. The background was the flourishing garden of the Si family estate, captured in vibrant bloom. The soft afternoon sunlight lit up her fair side profile as she tilted her head slightly toward the camera, her eyes crinkling in a bright, pure smile.

That smile pierced straight through the gloom that had clung to his heart for years—like a beam of sunlight breaking through the darkness.

His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as his fingertip moved on its own and tapped “Save.”

WeChat nickname: Sweet and Lovely.

The corners of Li Hanye’s lips curled up into the faintest of smiles—true to her name, sweet and beautiful indeed.

His finger tapped on “Add to Contacts.”

Why did the wait feel so long?

He set his phone on the corner of his desk and casually picked up a financial analysis report, trying to calm himself down.

Five minutes passed. He hadn’t taken in a single word from the report. Frustrated, he glanced at his phone—it was still dark.

Maybe it was on silent? He picked it up to check. Ring mode, volume at max.

He put it back down and tried to focus on the report again. Another five minutes later, he began to feel the phone was too far. What if it vibrated and he didn’t feel it?

So he brought the phone right next to him.

Another five minutes passed. The screen still remained on the “Friend Request Sent” page.

Why hadn’t she accepted yet? Was his phone broken? Or was WeChat down?

Li Hanye finally ran out of patience. The financial report in his hand now felt like a burning potato—every word annoyed him more.

Smack—he closed it and tossed it on the desk, got up, and strode toward the bedroom.

Time to shower and cool down.

He entered the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

Just as he took off his shirt, he suddenly turned back, grabbed his phone off the desk, and strode back to the bathroom.

He carefully placed the phone on a dry spot on the vanity, making sure he could see the screen at a glance.

Hot water cascaded down from above, but every so often, he’d brush his wet hair aside and sneak a look at the phone.

Fifteen minutes later, he finished his shower. Droplets still clung to his hair. A towel hung loosely at his hips, and water trickled down his sculpted abs and sharply defined Adonis belt.

He walked over to the vanity in two strides and snatched up the phone—

No new messages.

Li Hanye’s brows furrowed tightly. The pressure around him dropped several degrees.

As he towel-dried his hair and stepped out of the bathroom, a nameless fire in his chest grew hotter by the second.

—

Meanwhile, downstairs, Si Tiantian was watching TV with her mom, chatting about funny little things that had happened at school.

Seeing that it was getting late, she let out a tiny yawn and said goodnight before slowly heading upstairs to her room.

She took a warm shower first, washing off the day’s fatigue.

Afterward, she applied a hydrating sheet mask, then curled up in bed and picked up her phone, ready for a little scroll through her Moments before sleep.

The moment she opened WeChat, she noticed a small red dot in the “New Friends” section.

She tapped it casually, and there it was—one name stood out among the requests: Li Hanye.

Just seeing those three characters made her fingers—and her heart—tremble slightly.

A mix of surprise… and maybe even a trace of inexplicable joy?

His WeChat avatar was a photo of the Li Group’s headquarters at night. The towering building reached into the clouds, bathed in cold, majestic light under the darkness.

Just like the man himself—distant, aloof, and intimidating, Si Tiantian thought.

He had actually added her on WeChat?

Her mind flashed to those deep, piercing eyes of his and the overwhelming aura he carried.

They hadn’t interacted much, but this man had already left an impression on her far too deep to ignore.

Without overthinking it, she tapped her finger and chose “Accept.”