In less than forty minutes, Yun Shu had finished cooking. She made rice and stir-fried two dishes.

He Zichen took a bite and said in surprise, "This is delicious."

Yun Shu, of course, was very confident in her cooking skills.

"I started learning to cook in my teens. Of course it’s good."

Halfway through the meal, He Zichen brought up the old topic again. "Yun Shu, let’s be together."

He then explained, "You misunderstood me yesterday. I didn’t mean you were just there to make up the numbers. I like you. Let’s be together."

Yun Shu bit her chopsticks, her head lowered.

Seeing she didn’t respond, He Zichen put down his chopsticks and walked over to her.

Then he slowly knelt in front of her, gazing at her as he said, "I’m serious. I really like you, and I want to be with you. You won’t be alone anymore. I’ll be with you, always. Okay?"

Yun Shu stared at him blankly. Looking into He Zichen’s affectionate eyes, her heart softened and she nodded.

"Okay."

He Zichen’s eyes lit up. "You said yes."

Yun Shu nodded. "Mhm. Let’s hurry up and eat before it gets cold."

He Zichen nodded, happily returned to his seat, glanced at Yun Shu, and continued eating.

After the meal, it was time for He Zichen to go home.

Yun Shu saw him to the door.

"Be careful on your way."

He Zichen gazed at Yun Shu, leaned down, and kissed her on the forehead. Seeing her dazed expression, he smiled. "I’m going now."

Only after He Zichen had left did Yun Shu snap back to her senses.

The corners of her mouth couldn’t help but curve upward. ’So this is what it feels like to like someone. It’s so sweet.’

He Zichen went home in a good mood, only to see Xue Xingjun leaning against the wall by his door.

"Xing Jun, what are you doing here so late?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Xue Xingjun said, "Nothing much. Just came to keep you company."

He Zichen looked at him in surprise, but seeing his low spirits, he didn’t ask any questions and unlocked the door with his key.

He went inside and turned on the lights.

He Zichen sat down on the sofa.

"Alright, spill it. What’s wrong?"

Xue Xingjun leaned back on the sofa, his head tilted back, and said listlessly, "It’s nothing. I just missed you."

How could He Zichen believe his nonsense? He asked helplessly, "Have you eaten?"

Xue Xingjun shook his head. "Why don’t you make something? We can just have a simple meal."

He Zichen crossed his legs and said smugly, "I’ve already eaten. My girlfriend made it."

He enunciated the two words "my girlfriend" very clearly. Xue Xingjun looked at him suspiciously. "You have a girlfriend? A guy or a girl?"

"Get out of here." He Zichen picked up a nearby throw pillow and tossed it at him.

Xue Xingjun caught it with a laugh.

"Brother Xiao Chen, seriously, you really got one?"

He Zichen raised an eyebrow. "Of course. I even took her home to meet my mom before."

"But wasn’t that fake?"

He Zichen sat up straight, looking at him in astonishment. "How did you know?"

Xue Xingjun chuckled. "Bro, who do you think I am? Besides, what did you tell my brother-in-law? He even had me make a special trip to the hotel to ask about you. The moment I heard, I knew you were lying."

He paused for a moment. "You didn’t actually go and lie to your mom, did you?"

He Zichen said quietly, "It was fake before, but not anymore. We’re really together now."

"With that little secretary of yours?"

He Zichen nodded.

Xue Xingjun shook his head at him. "TSK TSK TSK, you’re shameless. Even a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass by its own burrow. Besides, you’re quite a bit older than her, aren’t you? I’ve seen that girl before. Even with those big glasses, she should be pretty cute. You didn’t just go for her because of her looks, did you?"

He Zichen laughed.

"Maybe a little. I’m not that many years older. Besides, your brother-in-law is much older than your sister. Our age gap isn’t that big."

Xue Xingjun pursed his lips. "Is that something you should even be comparing? I know my brother-in-law is your idol, but you can’t be certain about matters of the heart. Are you serious about this?"

He Zichen nodded. "Of course. Am I the type of person to be casual about this?"

Xue Xingjun sized him up for a moment, then sighed.

"That’s good too."

He Zichen looked at him. "Come on, tell me what’s really wrong. You don’t seem to be in a good mood. Maybe I can even give you some advice."

"First, go get me something to eat. I’m starving."

He Zichen stood up with a laugh. "You’re really a handful. I only have noodles at home."

"Mhm."

He Zichen went into the kitchen and cooked a bowl of noodles for Xue Xingjun.

"Here, eat up. I cracked all three remaining eggs into it for you."

Xue Xingjun took the bowl of noodles and ate until he was full. Only then did he start telling He Zichen about his troubles.

"My parents got divorced. My mom is coming to Beijing City to stay with me."

He Zichen was a bit shocked to hear this. "Your mom must be in her fifties or sixties by now, right? Why did they decide to get divorced now?"

Xue Xingjun said, "She’s almost sixty. I always thought that even though they hadn’t reconciled, they’d at least stay quiet and live out their years like this. But who would have thought they’d actually get divorced? She called me this afternoon and said she’s coming to Beijing City. She’s already bought the train ticket. If she leaves that house, she has nowhere else to go but to me."

He Zichen asked him, "Where will your mom stay when she comes? She can’t live with you at your brother’s place, can she?"

Xue Xingjun said, "No, not there. I have an apartment in this complex too. My brother-in-law set it aside for me. He never told me about it before. He only mentioned it today when he heard my mom was coming. I mainly came here to check out the place, and then I found out you lived here too, so I came up."

He Zichen laughed. "Didn’t you say you came because you missed me? You’ve been exposed, huh?"

Xue Xingjun smiled. "I did miss you, too. Now that we’re working in two different places, we really don’t get to see each other as much as before."

He Zichen nodded. "Once you move over here, we’ll be neighbors. We’ll be able to see each other all the time."

"That’s true."

"But have you renovated the place yet?"

Xue Xingjun shook his head. "Not yet. I plan to find someone to do it tomorrow. My mom will probably be here in a couple of days. I’ll just get her a hotel room for the time being."

He Zichen said, "A hotel isn’t a long-term solution, and you can’t move into the apartment right after renovations. Why don’t you go check out the dorm I used to live in? It should still be empty. You can have your mom stay there temporarily. Once the apartment here is renovated, she can move over. For meals, she can make do with the supermarket cafeteria."

Xue Xingjun thought for a moment. "That’s actually a good idea. I’ll go check it out tomorrow. It should be empty."

He Zichen advised him, "Since your parents have already divorced, don’t overthink it. Just let things take their course. You have an apartment now, and you’ll have a hot meal waiting for you when you get home. That’s pretty good, isn’t it?"

Xue Xingjun twitched the corner of his mouth. "I hope so."

His standards weren’t high. He just hoped that when his mother came to Beijing City, she wouldn’t cause any trouble.