[Alipay received 50,000 yuan]

When they went out today, Chen Zemian had originally planned to find an opportunity to return the 20,000 yuan that Xiao Kesong had given him last time.

In the end, not only did he fail to return it, he ended up receiving 150,000 more.

He tried to transfer the money back, but Xiao Kesong refused to accept it. First he said, “If you don’t take it, it means you haven’t forgiven me.” Then he added, “Sending it back is useless anyway, I’ve already uninstalled Alipay.”

Ye Chen said, “Just keep it. With his level of intelligence, if you don’t take the money, someone else will scam it off him.”

Chen Zemian looked at Ye Chen and repeated in confusion, “Scam?”

Lu Zhuonian nodded. “He’s easy to fool.”

Ye Chen agreed and added helpfully, “Once he’s old, you can sell him health supplements.”

Lu Zhuonian added concisely, “You can start now.”

Ye Chen laughed. “True. Just last month he got scammed out of 88,000 yuan by someone selling tea. I even told him it was a scam, but he insisted the girl seemed pitiful.”

Xiao Kesong grumbled unhappily, “That girl really worked hard. She sent me videos of the tea garden every day.”

Chen Zemian turned to look at him and said sincerely, “I work super hard too.”

Xiao Kesong looked at him seriously and said, “Too bad you’re not a girl. If you were a girl…”

Chen Zemian raised an eyebrow. “Then what?”

Ye Chen answered coldly and accurately, “He’d be scammed so hard he’d turn into Tom the cat.”

Lu Zhuonian stayed silent, neither confirming nor denying.

From his perspective, Xiao Kesong had already been scammed into Tom the cat.

Chen Zhe, hiding his true abilities behind a harmless and pretty appearance, had fooled Xiao Kesong so thoroughly that he personally brought this dangerous and capable individual into his inner circle.

Lu Zhuonian had shared meals with Ye Chen and Xiao Kesong many times, but they had always kept a clear line between private friendship and social obligations — it was either just the three of them, or a big group.

Never had there been a time when just the three of them had dinner with an outsider.

Until today.

Chen Zhe, smooth and socially astute, had clearly anticipated the implications, which is why he tactfully declined when the bodyguard came to invite him upstairs.

Xiao Kesong’s behavior — summoning Chen Zhe to act as his driver — had come across as dismissive. Lu Zhuonian’s invitation had simply been out of courtesy, to show respect. Chen Zhe understood the signal, appreciated the gesture, but politely declined, keeping everyone’s face intact without truly joining the circle.

This kind of invitation and refusal was a tacit social dance, understood on both sides.

What no one expected was that Xiao Kesong would go down in person and drag Chen Zhe upstairs.

If that’s not Tom the cat behavior, what is?

At the dinner table, the “Tom the cat” conversation had already passed.

Xiao Kesong was now enthusiastically recommending taro duck to Chen Zemian.

Chen Zemian flat-out refused to eat such a sweet-and-savory dish.

Xiao Kesong insisted, “Just try one bite, you’ll see. It’s absolutely delicious.”

Chen Zemian shook his head. “No thanks. You eat it.”

Convinced that his beloved dish could win over anyone, Xiao Kesong picked up a piece of taro duck with the shared chopsticks and tried to drop it into Chen Zemian’s bowl.

“Eat your own food properly,” Chen Zemian said, covering his bowl in protest. “Don’t touch mine.”

Xiao Kesong brought the chopsticks right to Chen Zemian’s mouth. “Just one bite! I swear it’s good. If it’s not, you can spit it in my face.”

Ye Chen frowned. “Don’t be disgusting.”

Chen Zemian said helplessly, “I really won’t eat it. Young Master Xiao, please just eat it yourself… Xiao Kesong! Don’t shove it in my mouth!”

People had seen others pressured into drinking — but pressured into eating duck? That was a first.

Chen Zemian leaned back to dodge, pressing his whole back against the chair. His lips had a sheen of oil on them, glossy and soft like he was wearing lipstick. He frowned, trying to avoid whatever was near his mouth, giving off a strange sensuality.

It easily made people have impure associations.

Lu Zhuonian’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. He slowly shifted his gaze away, opened a wet wipe, and dabbed at the corner of his lips—wiping off a nonexistent layer of grease.

Hearing the sound of the wipe being opened, Ye Chen turned to glance at Lu Zhuonian.

Lu Zhuonian appeared perfectly calm, his expression composed.

For some reason, Ye Chen suddenly recalled the rare moment of emotional fluctuation Lu Zhuonian had shown last time at the racing club.

Most of the time, Chen Zemian was easygoing—except when it came to eating and sleeping. He had his firm principles. If it were anyone else suggesting he try something new, he might give it a shot. But not with taro.

He absolutely couldn’t accept taro appearing in anything outside of dessert.

“If you don’t eat properly, I’ll beat you,” Chen Zemian said, holding down Xiao Kesong’s arm and raising an eyebrow slightly. “I said no, and I mean it.”

Xiao Kesong and Ye Chen both took that “beat you” as a joke. Only Lu Zhuonian knew that Chen Zemian really could fight—he could easily take down two Xiao Kesongs with one hand.

He just never did.

He had a good temper, too.

Even when Xiao Kesong shoved chopsticks in his face—an act that could easily get someone punched—Chen Zemian merely frowned and leaned back.

Xiao Kesong had always been somewhat careless and overly familiar. He was like that even as a kid when playing with Lu Zhuonian and Ye Chen. But the two of them had always subtly drawn boundaries, and over time, they’d trained Xiao Kesong into maintaining just enough propriety, which was how this rare friendship had lasted so long.

Still, closeness had its limits. Lu Zhuonian had been friends with Xiao Kesong for years, but he had no particular relationship with Chen Zemian. So naturally, he said nothing—he wasn’t going to tell him that the proper way to handle Xiao Kesong was through negative reinforcement.

The tug-of-war over the taro duck wasn’t over.

Ye Chen was a little fascinated watching it.

Two stubborn mules, locking horns.

“You look like someone easygoing,” Ye Chen said, turning to Chen Zemian, “but inside, you’re so stubborn.”

Chen Zemian, like a cat refusing to take its medicine, kept one hand on Xiao Kesong’s arm and leaned his body all the way back. “I am easygoing. But I have principles about food. I’m a Northerner, through and through—this kind of sweet-and-savory dish will kill me.”

Ye Chen couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, Kesong, that’s enough.”

Xiao Kesong still wanted one last try. “Chen Zhe, just one bite, I’m begging you.”

Chen Zemian: “No.”

Ye Chen: “Just give it up. The man has principles—he’s not going to eat it.”

Lu Zhuonian nodded in agreement. “He’s more stubborn than you.”

Xiao Kesong sighed and was about to give up. But just as he was about to drop it, he suddenly had a brainwave, switching from coercion to bribery: “One bite, a hundred grand.”

Chen Zemian’s pupils instantly dilated as he stared at Xiao Kesong in shock.

Xiao Kesong was still holding the chopsticks in one hand and pulling out his phone with the other. “I’ll pay you right now.”

Something unspoken shifted in the deadlock.

Lu Zhuonian and Ye Chen both turned to watch—witnessing a historic moment.

Chen Zemian lowered his head and, like it was beneath his dignity, took a very dainty bite from the edge of the taro duck.

The familiar electronic female voice echoed through the private room:

[Alipay received: 50,000 yuan.]

Chen Zemian frowned as he swallowed that bite of taro duck. It was clear he really didn’t like sweet-and-savory foods. He forced it down, and at the moment of swallowing, even the corners of his eyes turned faintly red.

Lu Zhuonian’s eyes landed on the teapot on the table. His gaze was deep, unreadable, as if lost in thought.

Ye Chen couldn’t stand it anymore and stepped in on Chen Zemian’s behalf. “He’s still owed another fifty grand.”

Xiao Kesong said, “Alipay hit the limit. Chen Zhe, I’ll add you on WeChat.”

Chen Zemian took a big gulp of tea, trying to wash away the sticky sweetness in his mouth. He opened a wet wipe, wiped his lips, and waved his hand. “No need.”

Two hundred grand was plenty.

He could go home and start looking for people to develop a game. The startup capital had been secured in the most bizarre way imaginable. Consider Xiao Kesong an original investor.

Xiao Kesong was still holding his phone. “Let’s add each other anyway. I don’t even have you as a friend. It’s such a pain to find you every time… are you avoiding adding me?”

Chen Zemian finally opened up his QR code. “How could I, Young Master Xiao? I’ve been dying to add you—I was just too embarrassed to ask.”

Xiao Kesong was easy to please—even such superficial flattery worked on him. He scanned the code and added Chen Zemian as a friend, then transferred the remaining fifty thousand. “No need to be shy. If you ever need money, just tell me.”

Chen Zemian replied, “I’m not short on money, Young Master Xiao.”

Xiao Kesong gave him a look of strong disapproval. “Not short on money, yet you ate something you didn’t even want to just for a hundred grand? You’re going to get taken advantage of like that out in the world.”

Ye Chen glanced at the taro duck with a little bite missing from the tip. “You’re the only one taking advantage of him.”

Xiao Kesong weakly protested, “I paid him, though.”

“Oh, and that makes it honorable?” Ye Chen, as usual, was speechless at Xiao Kesong’s logic. He turned to Chen Zemian. “This guy has no brain—don’t hang out with him anymore.”

Xiao Kesong had grown up with Ye Chen and could tell where he was going from just the opening line. He immediately jumped in: “Ye Chen, don’t you dare steal my little brother.”

Ye Chen couldn’t be bothered to argue. “Does Chen Zhe want to be your little brother? I seem to remember hearing someone say he wanted to follow Zhuonian instead.”

Xiao Kesong gave him a sharp side-eye and exploded, “That was me saying it, okay?!”

Ye Chen, who was starting to find Chen Zemian more and more likable, generously extended an olive branch. “Zhuonian, what do you think?”

Lu Zhuonian calmly set down his chopsticks, as if he hadn’t been paying attention to their conversation. “Think about what?”

Xiao Kesong, a proper big brother who supported his little bro’s dreams, helpfully clarified, “Think about how Chen Zhe actually wants to be your little brother.”

“Really?” Lu Zhuonian’s gaze shifted slightly, landing on Chen Zemian. “How come I’ve never heard you mention it before?”

By now, Chen Zemian had figured out the survival rules for dealing with these rich boys—when in doubt, flatter. He closed his eyes and delivered smoothly, “I’ve never had the honor of speaking to you alone before, Young Master Lu.”

Lu Zhuonian said, “Well, now you do.”