Chapter 27: You Six, I Four

As soon as Shen Jin and Lan Qing linked hands, they looked up and saw Sang Yijia and Lu Wenchuan emerging from the pharmacy. Instantly, both couples froze in their tracks. Lan Qing’s expression darkened as well.

Why do we keep running into Sang Yijia? She’s everywhere—so annoying. She’s always following my brother around. Isn’t that tiresome?

Lan Qing’s lips stiffened for less than a second before she quickly regained her composure. “Jiajia, are you alright?” she asked, her gaze landing unmistakably on the pharmacy behind Sang Yijia.

Sang Yijia clearly hadn’t expected to run into them either. Her tone was cool. “It’s nothing. Just a bit of a cold—came to buy some medicine.”

Is Sang Yijia trying to make my brother feel sorry for her? Wow, she’s so calculating! Brother, you mustn’t fall for it!

Comments flooded the livestream, so many that they nearly blocked the view, prompting a flood of people to rush into Sang Yijia’s stream just to hurl insults before leaving again. The segment director stared in astonishment; he’d never seen anything like it.

“Take care of yourself,” Lan Qing said, noticing that Sang Yijia didn’t even look at Shen Jin. Somehow, it felt like something was missing. If Sang Yijia no longer cared about Shen Jin, Lan Qing told herself, she ought to be pleased. Yet… her gaze involuntarily drifted to Lu Wenchuan at Sang Yijia’s side, and her brows knit slightly.

“Let’s go.” Lu Wenchuan took the initiative, reaching for Sang Yijia’s hand. “Let’s buy groceries and head back. I’ll cook for you.”

“What?” Sang Yijia uttered in surprise, glancing back at Lan Qing and Shen Jin, saying nothing, only curious.

When she looked back, she lowered her gaze to their joined hands—his fingers long and distinct, his grip cool even in the sweltering summer heat.

“Lu Wenchuan, are you alright?” Sang Yijia stopped, pulled her hand free, and looked up at him. “Your hand is cold.”

“Are you feeling unwell too?” Her eyes showed concern, but the kind reserved for a friend, not a lover.

Lu Wenchuan’s lips tightened. “No. I’m used to it.”

“Oh.” Seeing he didn’t want to elaborate, Sang Yijia didn’t press. “Let’s just find a restaurant later,” she suggested. “Cooking at home will take too long.” She glanced down at her flat stomach and exhaled softly. “Besides, I’m hungry.”

Lu Wenchuan paused, surprised by her admission, then his expression softened. “Alright, let’s go to a restaurant then.”

“Thank you for earlier,” Sang Yijia said suddenly. If Lu Wenchuan hadn’t pulled her away, she suspected Lan Qing and Shen Jin would have kept pressing her with questions.

She’d never been comfortable confronting such issues. Since graduating and entering the workforce, she’d always been on her own. Even when she’d started out sharing an apartment with a close friend, in the end, they’d quarreled and gone their separate ways.

“There’s no need,” Lu Wenchuan replied, casting her a glance. “I just thought, if you kept looking at Shen Jin, you might forget you have a boyfriend standing right here.”

With that, Lu Wenchuan looked away, eyes fixed ahead. “No man wants to be made a fool of, even in the slightest.”

Sang Yijia’s heart skipped a beat. Why hadn’t the novel written this part? Or had it? Was it just not shown? Or was it that her own changes had altered those around her as well? Was the plot beginning to shift? Could she avoid the ending that once awaited her?

“Especially in front of a national audience,” Lu Wenchuan added, glancing at the camera.

Instantly, the livestream chat exploded. Those who hadn’t yet logged out were stunned.

Oh my god! Did you see that look? So sharp, so handsome! Wow, I suddenly don’t want to leave. I want to keep watching this ordinary guy. He’s so cool! Honestly, this guy is great—just unlucky to be paired with Sang Yijia. He’d be so much better matched with Lan Qing or Yan Ningsi. Yeah, totally…

Many in the audience felt sorry for Lu Wenchuan. Just then, the segment director’s eyes lit up with inspiration.

Once the two of them had settled at a restaurant, the director hurried over with his phone.

Sang Yijia looked over in confusion. “Director, is something up?”

Lu Wenchuan noticed that Sang Yijia liked to use a soft intonation—a gentle, flowing sound that wasn’t at all like the accent of the northeast, but something gentler, as if a stream trickled through her words.

“Well,” the director coughed to cover his awkwardness, “We’ve collected a few questions for you both to answer.”

Sang Yijia glanced at Lu Wenchuan, saw he had no objections, then turned back to the director. “Go ahead.”

Wait, does Lu Wenchuan listen to Sang Yijia? Don’t get your hopes up—it’s just him being polite.

The director glanced at the chat again. “The viewers are very interested in Mr. Lu,” he explained. “They want to know, why did you choose Sang Yijia as your ideal partner?” He stopped short of voicing the rest: that both Lan Qing and Yan Ningsi seemed superior in every way, and whether there was some kind of arrangement between him and Sang Yijia. Such words felt inappropriate to ask outright—and besides…

Facing Lu Wenchuan, the director couldn’t meet his gaze, feeling as if he were facing a superior.

Sang Yijia simply nodded. “I’m curious, too.”

“She’s beautiful,” Lu Wenchuan answered without hesitation.

What?! Are you saying my Qingqing isn’t pretty? Yan Ningsi is gorgeous too, okay!

With that single sentence, Lu Wenchuan managed to offend both fan camps.

“Is that all?” Sang Yijia sensed something off and turned to him. “Is there any other reason besides looks?”

“What about you?” Lu Wenchuan countered. “Why did you choose me?”

Sang Yijia fell silent.

The segment director felt he really shouldn’t be here at this moment.

Since Sang Yijia didn’t answer, the livestream viewers replied for her.

What else could it be? She really wanted to pick Shen Jin, but couldn’t, so she just chose whoever. Han Han would’ve been fine, so why not him?

With the phone on the table, both Lu Wenchuan and Sang Yijia could see the comments scrolling by.

“Because he’s handsome,” Sang Yijia said after licking her lips. “Bian He is in the industry—he’s not a good fit for me.”

“You want someone outside the industry?” Lu Wenchuan nodded, satisfied with her answer.

Sang Yijia didn’t deny it, but she didn’t mention her plans to leave the industry either. “People in the business are just too busy.”

“I’m busy too.”

Lu Wenchuan fell silent, as if lost in thought.

With the pair deep in conversation, the director slipped away from the camera.

Just then, two more arrived at the door—Yan Ningsi and Bian He.

“Jiajia!” Yan Ningsi called out excitedly, waving as she hurried over and slid skillfully into the seat beside her.

Bian He followed, finding a spot beside Yan Ningsi and glancing at Lu Wenchuan. “Have you ordered yet?”

“Let’s split the bill—sixty-forty, you take sixty, I’ll take forty.” After work, Bian He had tagged along with Yan Ningsi through the snack street, spending most of his money; only fifty yuan remained in his pocket. A proper restaurant was out of the question, but splitting it made things doable.