Her phone accidentally was in silent mode, and Meng Suihuan had been busy, so she didn’t have time to check her phone. When she finally did, she saw over a dozen missed calls, all from Lu Linshen. She returned his call, and her voice carried a deep apology.

“…Lu Linshen, I had to go to Qingcheng for something urgent today. I wanted to call and let you know, but I couldn’t get through to you.” She couldn’t help but mutter, “It’s so inconvenient. Why hasn’t QQ developed yet? If it had, I could’ve just left you a message when I needed something, instead of the situation now…” When they were both busy, it was always difficult to reach each other.

“QQ? Is it the chat app you mentioned before?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. I clearly remember it was supposed to have developed in the last few years. Why hasn’t there been any news?”

“Once it’s out, we can contact each other easily.”

Lu Linshen silently kept this in mind. Thinking about her going to Qingcheng again, he couldn’t help but worry, “Suisui, you suddenly went to Qingcheng. Is there another problem with the project there?” The landslide from before was still fresh in his mind. He couldn’t help but remind her, “That area has a lot of rainfall and the soil is loose. You need to be careful.”

“It’s not about the project.” Meng Suihuan’s lips curved into a slight smile as she lowered her voice and shared with him, “There’s been an archaeological discovery, and it’s a major one.”

Professor Wu and Professor Shen had been researching for several days, and today they uncovered a tomb with numerous burial items inside. These items were even more valuable than the ceramic jars they had found outside before. This might be the tomb of some famous historical figure, but more research is needed to confirm the details.

Lu Linshen smiled, “If it’s really a tomb complex, it would greatly aid national archaeological research.” After a pause, he added, “Suisui, if what you just said is true, does that mean the Qingcheng project can’t continue?”

“Yes.” Since the relics had been buried underground for so long, continuing with the construction could interfere with the ongoing archaeological excavations.

“I came here today because of this,” she said. As the project leader, she had to come personally when such a major event occurred. Thinking of today’s events, she couldn’t help but share more. “You know, the Cultural Relics Bureau from Qingcheng also came today.” At first, she had tried contacting the local officials, but their attitude was terrible, which was why she had ended up contacting Lao He.

“Do you know what they came to do today?”

“What for?” Lu Linshen asked, playing along.

“They want to be involved in the research.” If their attitude had been better, this could have been negotiated, but the leader was arrogant and dismissive, not here to discuss things with her, but to give orders. She wasn’t someone who would just accept that, so she flatly rejected them. To her surprise, they brought up the fact that the relics were discovered in Qingcheng, and according to regulations, the Cultural Relics Bureau was supposed to handle the archaeological excavation. That was the rule.

“Do you know how I responded?”

Meng Suihuan said excitedly, “I told them that I bought this land, so the rules here are mine to make.”

“That’s right, people like that need to be taught a lesson. You can’t indulge them,” Lu Linshen responded. After a pause, he continued, “Suisui, with the project being halted, will it affect your experience points?”

Meng Suihuan had no reservations about sharing her thoughts on experience points with him. When he asked, she wasn’t very surprised. “It will definitely have an impact, but it’s okay, there will be more opportunities in the future.” She didn’t tell him that, in fact, she was quite relieved, feeling that this unexpected situation would give them more time together. “So don’t worry about it.”

Lu Linshen remained silent for a few seconds before replying, “…Okay.”

Yes. They didn’t have much time, and during this brief period, he didn’t want to upset her. He didn’t want her to be troubled by these things. So, he apologized to her.

She was a bit confused. Why was he suddenly apologizing to himself? It was all so unexpected. Meng Suihuan didn’t know how to respond, still caught off guard. Before she could react, he continued, “Suisui, I’m not good at expressing myself, and I’m not very sensitive to emotions, so I might unintentionally make you angry.”

She was puzzled. “When did I get angry?”

“Last night, and also this afternoon.”

When he pinpointed these two specific times, Meng Suihuan was surprised. “How did you know I was angry?”

Her question was basically an indirect admission.

Lu Linshen fell silent, then said, “Yesterday and this afternoon, your tone when speaking was impatient and heavy. Normally, when you hang up the phone or leave, you always call my name, and sometimes you even… kiss me.”

Who said men were insensitive and couldn’t tell when women were upset or had emotions? To put it simply, it’s because they don’t love you enough or care about you enough.

Meng Suihuan let out a small snort. “I was a little upset, but it wasn’t really anger. At most, I just had a bit of an emotional outburst.”

But she quickly realized something else.

“So, you called me so many times this afternoon because you thought I was angry and deliberately ignoring you?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone, with no response. She snapped at him, “Lu Linshen, is that how you see me?! Am I really that petty and unreasonable?”

“I didn’t think that, Suisui,” Lu Linshen immediately explained, “I just couldn’t get in touch with you, and I was really worried, so I got all flustered…”

In fact, Lu Linshen wasn’t even sure what his emotions were. All he knew was that, at that moment, his rationality had flown out the window, and he couldn’t control himself.

He quickly tried to clarify, “I do trust you.”

Seeing him explain so urgently, Meng Suihuan felt a little flustered too. After all, she had only been teasing him, and now it seemed like he had taken it seriously. She also felt bad for making him worry.

“Ah, Lu Linshen, I was just joking! Why are you so serious about it?”

But then she remembered the landslide incident in Qingcheng. That time, he had called her dozens of times, but she hadn’t answered any of them. He was frantic. She still vividly recalled how he had looked then—his hair disheveled, eyes bloodshot, one red sock and one black sock, looking like a stray dog.

Thinking about it, she gently reassured him, “Lu Linshen, don’t worry. I’m an adult, not a child. I’ll take care of myself.”

Seeing that he didn’t respond, she grew more anxious. “I really was just joking with you earlier. That night, I was jealous, but I wasn’t actually mad at you. Yesterday afternoon, I was cold toward you for other reasons…”

“Suisui, you were jealous?” He was a little confused. Why would she be jealous? And what exactly did she mean by that? The explanation she gave was completely different from what he had imagined. He couldn’t help but lower his voice and ask, “What was it about?”

“Why were you jealous?”

Faced with his blunt question, Meng Suihuan felt her cheeks burn. She didn’t know how to explain to him. How could she tell him why she was upset? But if she didn’t tell him, he would fall into the same self-blame and low mood he had earlier. In the end, she bit her lip and said, “That day… I actually wanted you to stay with me, but while I was still trying to figure out how to tell you, you told me you were going to stay at a friend’s house.” And you seemed really happy about it. The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she became. Clearly, she had hesitated and struggled to even consider asking him to stay, but he told her he was going to a friend’s house instead. He didn’t care about her at all and didn’t want to be with her.

“Because of this?” Lu Linshen was confused. He stood there, stunned for a moment, not expecting this to be the reason. He nervously explained, “Suisui, that wasn’t what I meant… I was worried that if I stayed too late, you would think I was being reckless… or have other thoughts, so I made up an excuse.”

“I wanted to spend more time with you,” Meng Suihuan couldn’t help but laugh lightly, her voice full of ease. “Silly, big fool. We’re both so silly.”

For the first time, she realized how big the gap between the way men and women think could be. She thought about how she had gotten upset for no reason that night and had even asked him to leave. He must have been so confused and helpless. She softly murmured, “Lu Linshen, we’re both fools when it comes to love. Next time we face something like this, let’s not guess and make assumptions. Let’s just say what we’re thinking, okay?”

On the road of love, they were both beginners. They needed time to adapt and adjust. But being open with each other was the first thing they needed to do.

Lu Linshen calmed his expression and lowered his voice. “Suisui, I have a question. Can I ask you something?”

Meng Suihuan agreed happily, “Of course.”

“Then Suisui, next time, can I stay at your house overnight?”

Regarding the game situation, Lu Linshen already had some ideas. He held a meeting to update everyone on the latest developments. Qin Yu couldn’t help but mutter, “Meng Jie is really impressive. She even understands games.” And she knows so much about them.

He casually complimented her, but unexpectedly, the usually solemn and serious Lu Ge chimed in, smiling with a gentle tone, “Suisui has always been this amazing.”

After praising her, he immediately went on to explain the game with meticulous detail. Qin Yu blinked in surprise, standing still for a few seconds before realizing what had just happened. He nudged Xie Zhixin next to him and whispered, “Lao Xie, guess how suddenly Lu Ge is so good? All of this is…”

His credit.

Just as he was about to boast about his heroic contribution, he heard Xie Zhixin give him a warning glance, reminding him in a low voice, “We’re still in a meeting.”

Qin Yu could only withdraw his bragging and awkwardly continued the meeting. Finally, after the meeting ended, he was able to show off to Xie Zhixin. “Lao Xie, Lu Ge and Meng Jie made up. I really helped a lot…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Xie Zhixin grabbed his things and walked out, while Xu Xuanyi glanced at him, said “I have something to do,” and followed.

The empty conference room was left with just him and Lu Linshen, who was packing up. Qin Yu could only rub his hands together eagerly and look at him, “Lu Ge…”

Lu Linshen immediately saw through his intentions and coldly rejected him, “I have something to do.”

After saying that, he turned back to add, “I’m going to pick up Suisui and take her home.”

Qin Yu: “…”