The zipper on her side waist had unknowingly slid down quite a bit, exposing her underwear straps and waist, and a little lower, the edge of her black lace panties.

“Did it look like this when you came in?” Ying Ni asked, awkwardly pinching her clothes.

Chen An replied, “I didn’t notice.”

Ying Ni frowned, her eyes showing a hint of anger.

Chen An seemed to understand what she was upset about. “If I had seen it earlier, I would have told you right away.”

Ying Ni wasn’t really angry with him, just frustrated.

She turned her gaze away and tried to fix her clothes. The zipper was at the back of her waist, making it difficult to pull. She struggled for a while, but the zipper didn’t budge. In the end, she lost her balance and stumbled, falling against the wall near the skirting board.

An arm reached out to her.

Ying Ni, who had never been one to accept help from men, slapped away Chen An’s hand and cursed as she climbed back up.

She felt embarrassed, and before she had even managed to stand steady, she hurried to grab her cigarette box and lighter from the windowsill, wanting to go outside.

Just as she took a step, her arm was grabbed.

Chen An was a head taller than her and much closer, his gaze from above gave off a sense of pressure, especially with those deep eyes that seemed to want to pull you in.

The light in the room was dim, and Ying Ni lifted her face, her brows arching.

“What?” she asked.

His eyelids half-closed as his gaze lingered for a moment on the exposed spring light at her waist, and the room fell into an almost suffocating silence.

Ying Ni’s mind raced, but fortunately, after a brief standoff, her arm was released.

She adjusted her skirt, took a step back, and prepared to curse him out. Suddenly, a suit jacket, still warm, was tossed into her arms.

Her expression froze for a moment, but she instinctively wrapped her arms around it.

Chen An’s gaze rose, meeting her angry eyes.

“Put it on before you go out.”

She tightened her grip on the jacket, letting one sleeve fall loosely in the air. Still, it was shoved into her arms.

The scent of laundry detergent filled the air, faint and odorless.

Ying Ni guessed it was fragrance-free laundry detergent made from soapberry, colorless and scentless.

Just like the man before her—utterly unremarkable.

Ying Ni, feeling stubborn, muttered, “What’s wrong with going out like this?”

Chen An’s gaze briefly swept downward, quickly reaching a conclusion. “Forget it.”

“…” Ying Ni’s lips twitched slightly, and she crumpled the jacket into a ball and threw it back at him. The action startled Chen An, and he stepped back a half-step.

Under Chen An’s watch, Ying Ni reached up to remove her hairpin.

Her long hair cascaded over her shoulder, gently swaying with the movement, covering her side and the exposed spring light.

Chen An stood still, holding the jacket that had been thrown back at him, not making a sound.

Fortunately, the side zipper had been pulled halfway up, and her hair now covered her front just right. After fixing her clothes, Ying Ni applied lipstick in front of her phone. Her full lips pressed together a few times, and she walked past Chen An as if ignoring him.

Her chin lifted high, prouder than a peacock.

Chen An watched her leave, only turning his gaze away after she blended into the crowd.

The last event at the reunion was a group photo. Afterward, he was once again surrounded by people.

He hadn’t intended to come to this reunion, but Lu Shengzhi had blocked him downstairs at the office, and Luo Zan from their high school dormitory had asked a few times, saying it had been a long time since they’d seen each other.

He thought it was fine—reunions weren’t a bad thing.

As the sky grew darker, the crystal chandelier sparkled, filling the hall with lavish light, illuminating every corner.

Chen An was caught between two groups of people—Lu Shengzhi and his group were in front, while a group of female classmates were behind. The sharp voices of the women pierced through the loud chatter, standing out even more.

After Ying Ni left, their discussion became unrestrained—

“If it weren’t for the sake of being classmates, I wouldn’t even help her. She has to be a graduate student to enter my mom’s company. She’s not even a college graduate.”

“She didn’t go to college! Is that true?”

“Didn’t she go abroad?”

“No, she didn’t finish. She couldn’t afford the tuition.”

“That’s impossible! The skinny camel is bigger than the horse, there’s no way she couldn’t scrape together that little money.”

“Why lie? I had someone check. She has no assets under her name, she’s so poor she can’t even pay off several credit cards. Her credit report is all red.”

“That’s so sad…”

“She deserves it. She used to act so proud, looking down on everyone, always thinking she was the sun, and everyone had to revolve around her!”

Upon hearing the last sentence, Chen An couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

Aren’t they all revolving around her now?

At that moment, his phone rang, and he walked to the side. Lu Shengzhi noticed his move and followed him.

When Chen An didn’t pick up immediately but instead replied to a message, Lu Shengzhi raised an eyebrow, “Not answering? Whose is it? Is your girlfriend checking in on you?”

Chen An chuckled, “The minister from the energy department. I’m meeting them tomorrow to sign a partnership agreement. I’ll step out to return the call.”

The energy department was a large state-owned enterprise. Lu Shengzhi let go of him and glanced at his watch, saying, “I’ll give you twenty minutes. If you’re not back, I’ll grab you with Luo Zan. Can’t let my good wine go to waste.”

Chen An agreed, “No problem, it’s just a few minutes.”

After Chen An left, Lu Shengzhi asked Luo Zan, “Do you contact him often?”

Luo Zan shrugged off his hand, “We’re all busy, no time to meet up.” He shot a sidelong glance, “You seem to be close with Chen An.”

Lu Shengzhi ignored Luo Zan’s disdain, wrapping an arm around his neck, “You know, if you don’t stay close to old classmates, who will you stay close to?”

Luo Zan pushed him off coldly and walked away.

Lu Shengzhi didn’t mind, laughing to himself as he turned his attention back to Chen An, thinking about how they had become acquainted.

Back in high school, they hadn’t spoken a word. After graduation, Chen An never attended reunions. It wasn’t until a charity banquet three years ago that they began to connect.

At that time, Chuanyuan Times was starting to show its potential, and Lu Shengzhi, who had been a bit too eager to flatter, realized Chen An didn’t put on airs. He treated everyone the same, never looking down on anyone, and even though his business had grown large, he wasn’t arrogant.

At first, it was for business reasons, but over time, Lu Shengzhi realized Chen An was someone worth befriending. Though decisive in business, he never played dirty behind people’s backs. His temperament was rare—stable and calm to the point of being enviable. He could even tolerate a bit of loss for the sake of friends.

As for his personal life, there was nothing to be said—no smoking, no gambling, and no playing around with women. This had caused Lu Shengzhi some trouble initially, but eventually, Chen An had to step in and say, “Why are you doing all this? We’re classmates.”

Lu Shengzhi had been embarrassed because, before Chen An became successful, he had treated him no differently than Ying Ni did.

He hadn’t even considered him a true classmate.