The air seemed to freeze.

In the sealed car, only the faint sound of snoring could be heard, as the car smoothly and steadily drove forward. The streetlights outside flickered intermittently, as though mirroring the fragmented, unclear thoughts in Ying Ni’s mind.

What interrupted her train of thought was the ringtone of the car’s system.

Ying Ni’s eyesight wasn’t great. Perhaps it was because the screen of the car was too bright, or maybe it was because she was overly sensitive to that name.

The moment the incoming call notification appeared, she almost instinctively avoided it by looking out the window.

The ringtone lasted for five or six seconds, but it felt as though it had lasted for five or six minutes.

At this moment, Chen Jingjing shifted her position, and unable to stand the noise, Ying Ni turned irritably to look back. Unexpectedly, her gaze met that of Chen An through the rearview mirror.

In their silent exchange, the sleeping person remained oblivious, his neck bobbing left and right. Before the head could crash onto her, Ying Ni quickly reached out with her hand and stabilized it.

Chen An then spoke: “Are you going to pick up?”

Ying Ni pushed the heavy head back onto the headrest, and her tone, as usual, was displeased when she spoke about the scar on her heart: “Why are you asking me about your phone?”

“Then why are you avoiding it?”

Chen An’s voice no longer had the soft quality it previously did; instead, it was deep, like the night around them.

Ying Ni guessed it was probably because he was trying to be considerate of her emotions, but after not receiving the expected response, he was starting to feel a little frustrated.

But she also thought, doesn’t he realize how his words sounded… as if she were overly paranoid, as though she were afraid of Zhou Siyang?

Ying Ni couldn’t resist her fiery temperament. She leaned forward sharply, her arm stretching over the armrest box to forcefully tap the screen.

The music stopped abruptly.

Following that, Zhou Siyang’s somewhat agitated voice came through.

“Why aren’t you answering the phone? Are you busy?”

Chen An turned on the signal light, while Ying Ni leaned forward in her seat, arms crossed, a look on her face as if to say, “I’m just listening to what you guys are talking about.” The car turned right, the signal light still on, and the reflection from the headlights partially illuminated Ying Ni’s face.

“I’m not busy.”

“I thought you were in a meeting.” Zhou Siyang seemed to be troubled by something.

His tone was irritable. “They finally apologized, but the bubble tea shop refuses to come out and handle the PR, saying the matter has calmed down and they don’t want to stir up trouble again.”

When Ying Ni heard the mention of the bubble tea shop, she tightened her arms. As expected, Zhou Siyang continued: “I don’t even know how Ying Ni is doing. Is she upset?”

Chen An turned his head to glance at her. Ying Ni’s head was lowered, and her expression was unclear. Perhaps she didn’t even know how she felt at that moment.

He lowered his gaze, offering a neutral evaluation: “Upset, but not that upset.”

“Is this what Jingjing said?”

Chen An didn’t respond but said, “The hardest part has already passed. Everyone’s gone.”

Ying Ni slowly lifted her eyelids.

That’s right, she was the only one left, during the hardest time.

It was like a sudden wake-up call.

Ying Ni leaned back into the soft leather seat, no longer caring about what Zhou Siyang was saying.

In recent times, finding a job and taking care of Lin Rongyuan had kept her occupied. The repeated stress from the bills and notices left her with no extra energy to worry about Xu Shu’s matters.

Therefore, there was no need to feel strange about his help.

Ying Ni couldn’t help but think that women are always so easily swayed by the smallest bit of kindness.

Zhou Siyang continued, “Thanks to you helping, if I hadn’t recovered the chat records from the platform, they wouldn’t have admitted anything.

Oh, by the way, the PR team’s contact info was also given to me by the company secretary. I don’t even know how to thank you.”

“No need to thank me.”

“No, I really must thank you.”

Zhou Siyang’s tone was sincere, but Chen An was not as polite.

He remained silent for a moment before responding, “We’ll talk later.”

Then, they switched to other topics, discussing business matters.

Ying Ni sat in the backseat, tapping her fingers absentmindedly on her knee. Her gaze naturally drifted to the man in the front seat, focusing on his profile, which was partially obscured by the dim light.

Then her thoughts wandered elsewhere.

Chen An’s earlier question was spoken in a tone that implied, “You should understand, and if not, just think for a moment and you’ll get it.” The calm tone did little to mask the underlying emotional subtext.

But it was also tolerant, so much so that Ying Ni felt there was a hint of mockery in it.

And at that moment, her thoughts extended to a place that, at the time, seemed like a logical conclusion.

However, Zhou Siyang’s call quickly snapped her back to reality.

Chen An knew the ins and outs of the situation because Zhou Siyang was asking him for help.

So what was the emotion hidden behind his words? Was it meant to tell her to be tactful? To realize that Zhou Siyang—his good buddy—was doing all this without asking for anything in return and was genuinely concerned about her?

Of course, it could also be something beyond friendship. Ying Jiaojiao had mentioned they were working on a very big project together.

At this thought, the warmth surrounding Chen An shattered in Ying Ni’s eyes, revealing the reality and smoothness of a man climbing toward the peak, dressed in nothing but the harshness of the world.

She tiredly withdrew her gaze, opened the window, and let the wind blow away the voices of the two men that she despised.

But their conversation suddenly circled back to her, as Zhou Siyang was unaware that she was in the car, and Chen An acted as if she didn’t exist.

Zhou Siyang said, “There’s one more thing I need to ask you.”

Chen An grunted, “Go ahead.”

“Your sister and Ying Ni are getting along well, right? Could you possibly help me…?” The rest of the sentence wasn’t finished, but the meaning was clear.

He hoped that through Chen Jingjing, he could learn about Ying Ni’s situation and maybe use her as a bridge to mend their relationship.

“It’s useless asking me, you’ll have to ask her.”

Zhou Siyang sighed, “Your sister seems to really dislike me.”

Chen An said, “In that case, I can’t help.”

Zhou Siyang sighed deeply, “Alright, in a few days, the internet celebrity who insulted Ying Ni will publicly apologize, and it will trend. Just don’t tell her.”

Chen An replied, “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

Zhou Siyang didn’t understand: “Why?”

Chen An half-lifted his eyelids, his gaze turning to the rearview mirror, passing the conversation to the person in the backseat.

“Because I’m in the car with her,” Ying Ni spoke up.

Then there was a long period of silence.

Chen An stopped the car by the side of the road. Chen Jingjing woke up but didn’t dare open her eyes. Ying Ni’s gaze shifted from the car’s screen to the fingers tangled together in her lap. The call duration on the screen continued to tick down.

Everyone was silent in their own world, waiting for their own opportunity.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Finally, it was Chen An who spoke first: “You two should meet, and settle everything at once.”

Only after it was settled could there be a next step.

Zhou Siyang seemed to strongly agree with this suggestion, carefully calling out her name: “Ying Ni?”

He was testing the waters. Ying Ni pursed her lips, responding without a word.

Chen An finalized it for her, tapping the A-pillar twice. “Jingjing, get out of the car, remember to send a message when you get home.” Then, he looked at the silent person, “I’ll take you there.”

He then asked Zhou Siyang: “Send the address.”

The call ended, and Jingjing disappeared from the car like air. Only the two of them remained inside.

Ying Ni couldn’t help but mock: “You really are his good buddy.”

Chen An restarted the car, accelerating as it sped into the night, heading toward a destination that she both knew and didn’t know.

In response to Ying Ni’s words, he smiled faintly, a smile so subtle that it was hard to discern any meaning from it, “When you don’t say no, the truth in silence is a nod.”

Ying Ni had no retort, she could only scoff and turn her head away from him.

“I can take you home right now.” Chen An added.

Ying Ni shot him a sideways glance, “Shut up.”

Chen An smiled again, as though unaffected.

The road was clear at night, and they arrived at their destination faster than expected.

The car stopped in front of a traditional Chinese tea house-like establishment. Chen An glanced at her, saying, “The private room is called Shui Tian Yi Xian.”

Ying Ni didn’t speak, grabbing her bag as she got out of the car. The door slammed shut, causing the parking attendant to step back in surprise.

She strode forward, as if trying to shake something off, but as she reached the door, she subconsciously looked back

to find the car parked where it was before. Only after she had walked a few steps did she realize she had made a silly mistake.

The streetlights were dim, casting long shadows on the empty street, leaving her standing there, one foot in and one foot out.