SY - 82

Song Luo didn’t know what was wrong with him; he had actually been staring at his phone in a daze for so long.

His assistant, seeing him distracted, softly called out, “Boss?”

He looked up, a bit annoyed, and locked his phone, placing it back on the table.

“Speak.”

Although the boss usually lacked proper decorum, he rarely appeared as distraught as he did today.

The assistant repeated what he had just said.

He nodded, pen in hand. “Then let’s do that.”

After the assistant left, Song Luo looked at his phone again.

It was strange, wasn’t it?

He used to find that kid annoying, but now that she wasn’t bothering him, he felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

It wasn’t exactly unaccustomed; it was more like a ball of fire was lodged in his chest.

It wouldn’t go up or down, burning his liver.

“Damn it.”

He cursed softly, lit a cigarette, and stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, smoking.

Perhaps it was due to being idle for too long that he was experiencing such strange emotions.

________________________________________

Zhang Fanfan’s slow brain gradually reacted after hearing Song Zhi say that.

In other words, the woman who was with Song Luo that night wasn’t his lover, but Song Zhi?

She instantly came alive. “Was that you who answered the phone?”

Song Zhi said, “Who else?”

She thought for a moment, then smiled mischievously. “You weren’t jealous, were you?”

Zhang Fanfan didn’t deny it. “I thought Song Luo had a girlfriend, and it scared me so much I lost my appetite that day.”

She turned to her assistant and said, “When you order lunch this afternoon, order an extra portion for me.”

“Oh,” Song Zhi chuckled, “Are you treating?”

She snorted. “I’m eating two portions myself.”

But she still added to the assistant, “Add one more portion.”

She was still a future sister-in-law, after all, so being nice to her in advance wouldn’t hurt.

She was in a good mood and picked up her phone to text Song Luo.

Before she could tap on the chat box, Song Zhi snatched her phone away.

Zhang Fanfan frowned. “What are you doing?”

The phone turned in Song Zhi’s hand, and she asked her, “Do you want to win Song Luo over?”

Zhang Fanfan: “What kind of nonsense are you saying?”

She might as well have “Marry me, Song Luo” tattooed on her face.

Those six words.

Song Zhi said, “If you want to win him over, then listen to me.”

She handed the phone back to her. “For now, don’t text him, and don’t contact him. Let him stew for a few days.”

She knew Song Luo too well.

Although his love life was a bit active in high school, he mostly didn’t put any real emotion into it.

It was purely a playful attitude.

To be honest, his romantic history was quite simple.

He had never truly fallen for anyone in his life.

If Zhang Fanfan kept chasing him, he wouldn’t be able to recognize his true feelings.

Men, deep down, are cheap.

“Let’s put it this way: if you ignore him and he doesn’t react, it means he doesn’t have feelings for you, and no matter how hard you try, it won’t work. But if he can’t hold back and texts you first, then it proves he’s interested in you.”

After her analysis, Zhang Fanfan felt it made some sense.

But she was still a little worried. “What if he really ignores me?”

“It’s simple,” she said with a mysterious smile, “Find a new target.”

Zhang Fanfan: “...”

She actually felt very uncertain, especially since Song Luo didn’t seem to show any special feelings for her.

Zhang Fanfan might be clumsy, but she wasn’t blind.

If Song Luo really had feelings for her, how could he remain unmoved by her obvious advances?

Five days passed like this, and she was utterly disheartened.

Her gloominess was no less profound than the day she heard the girl’s voice on the phone.

Perhaps, as Song Zhi said, Song Luo had absolutely no feelings for her.

________________________________________

Song Zhi’s filming work had been ending very late these days.

Because Jiang Yanzhou was on a business trip, Song Luo picked her up a few times.

The filming set was brightly lit, filled with staff. The makeup artist was touching up a model’s makeup.

It was said that this shoot was for the poster of a variety show.

The celebrity guests for the show were all present today.

From a distance, a familiar voice drifted over, carrying a hint of disdain.

“I’m not eating this; it’s disgusting.”

Song Luo looked up towards the sound source and saw Zhang Fanfan, in a pink JK skirt, frowning and recoiling in disgust. The man next to her was holding a drunken shrimp, trying to feed it to her.

The drunken shrimp was still alive, twitching a few times between his chopsticks.

They were wearing matching couple’s outfits, and both were young, looking vibrant and surprisingly well-matched.

“It’s really good, just try it.”

Zhang Fanfan was so annoyed; how could someone be so irritating?

She hadn’t wanted to take this variety show in the first place. If she hadn’t seen Song Zhi was also in it, she would have declined long ago.

Although Song Luo’s indifference to her was reciprocated with the same indifference, which frustrated her a bit and even made her want to give up at one point.

But she always felt a little unwilling to concede, so currying favor with her future sister-in-law was still a big deal to her.

During the poster shoot, the staff ordered some takeout, and this person insisted she try it.

Zhang Fanfan was exasperated by his persistence and wanted to lose her temper, but she was mindful of the many people around.

Although she didn’t care about others’ opinions of her, she still had some dignity.

Unable to vent her temper, to make him shut up, she could only frown and eat it.

She pushed her long hair back, leaned in, took a bite of the drunken shrimp from his chopsticks, and immediately ran to the trash can to spit it out.

Seeing her reaction, the man handed her a bottle of water. “Is it that bad?”

She impatiently pushed him. “Get lost!”

________________________________________

Their back-and-forth exchanges, in the eyes of outsiders, became playful bickering.

The plastic water bottle in Song Luo’s hand was almost crushed out of shape.

His breathing was a little uneven, and his cigarette craving came without warning.

He took a deep breath, trying to suppress the fire that suddenly surged in his chest for some reason.

He grabbed his cigarette pack, ready to go outside.

Zhang Fanfan belatedly noticed him.

She thought she was longing for him so much that she was hallucinating.

When she rubbed her eyes and looked again, she was even more certain: it wasn’t a hallucination.

The shoot was only on the second set, and her turn was still a long way off.

Zhang Fanfan excused herself to her assistant and hurried out.

The lights of the building outside the filming venue were off, the entrance dark, with only the soft moonlight from above.

The lighting effect was negligible.

Zhang Fanfan saw a flickering orange light in the air and hesitated before stepping forward.

She wasn’t quite sure, but she called out, “Song Luo?”

The man exhaled a plume of grayish-white smoke.

His voice carried a hint of a smile, yet it was a bit cold.

“Oh, you still remember my name is Song Luo, huh?”

As he said this, even he was surprised.

It sounded sour, not at all like something he would say.

He used to mock Jiang Yanzhou for being like a woman, prone to jealousy.

Jiang Yanzhou would be jealous for ages if Song Zhi filmed a dating scene.

It would take Song Zhi a good half-day of coaxing to make him feel better.

But now, he suddenly felt like he was becoming like a woman too.

This feeling was utterly disgusting.

Zhang Fanfan mumbled softly, “The name Song Luo isn’t that special anyway.”

She was a little displeased, mistakenly thinking Song Luo was questioning her intelligence and memory.

This remark took on another meaning in Song Luo’s ears.

She thought his name wasn’t good.

He snorted coldly, turned, and started to leave.

Zhang Fanfan quickly chased after him. “Where are you going?”

He said irritably, “None of your damn business.”

Zhang Fanfan was somewhat bewildered by his harshness, and her eyes gradually reddened.

She didn’t seem to have done anything.

After only a few seconds of silence, the woman’s loud wailing made Song Luo feel helpless.

He crouched down to comfort her. “Why are you crying? I... I didn’t mean anything else, I just...”

He didn’t have much experience comforting people. When Song Zhi was sad, he would also just hug her and comfort her for a while.

But he couldn’t just go and hug her.

They weren’t related.

He was at a loss, and then she threw herself into his arms.

Crying even harder, nestled in his embrace.

“Why are you so mean to me? I like you so much. Even if you don’t like me, you shouldn’t be mean to me.”

She was sobbing, gasping for breath, so wronged. “I like you so much, and you keep making me sad.”