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Psst! We're moving!
Fenggao isn’t far from this restaurant; it’s about a ten-minute taxi ride.
As winter approached, dusk fell earlier and earlier, and soon the sky turned completely dark.
Dishes were steadily being served in the private room. After waiting a long time for Si Tingyan to arrive, Si Huiru visibly grew anxious and called Si Tingyan again.
A waiter had just left the private room, closing the door behind him, making the space especially quiet.
Everyone saw Si Huiru on the phone and didn’t make a sound to disturb her.
For a moment, the only sound in the private room was what came from Si Huiru’s phone earpiece.
Beep, beep.
Cheng Mi had heard this dialing tone for this number many times before.
The next second, beep—
The busy signal abruptly cut off in the air; the call automatically disconnected.
Cheng Mi slowly lowered her gaze. The silver plain ring on her right middle finger lightly clinked against the glass as she held her water cup, making a faint sound.
The private room door opened at this moment.
Everyone at the table instinctively looked towards the door, including Cheng Mi.
It was Si Tingyan. His shoulders remained straight and firm, not weighed down by any low spirits.
Beneath his short black hair was that habitually cold face, concealing various extreme thoughts, yet his complexion was strikingly pale, almost fragile, but not delicate.
Instead, it was a little piercing, like his current dark eyes.
Shadows from his eyelashes clung to the cold, pale skin beneath his eyes. His gaze was silent, yet it sent a chill through one’s heart.
The moment Si Tingyan entered, his gaze fell directly on Cheng Mi.
As Cheng Mi looked up, her eyes met his directly.
Their gazes clashed, piercing her like sharp blades.
The others at the table didn’t notice this subtle reaction. Si Huiru, seeing Si Tingyan arrive, her anxious expression turned into a smile. She put down her phone and urged him to come in: “Xiao Yan, hurry and come sit down, we’re about to eat.”
Their gazes remained locked, until Cheng Mi was the first to look away.
Then, the private room door closed with a soft thud.
At the round table with a rotating top, Cheng Mi’s right was Li Chu, and next to Li Chu were Li Yeheng and Si Huiru.
To Cheng Mi’s left, there was an empty seat next to Si Huiru.
Si Tingyan sat in this seat.
They were about a meter apart. Each could see the other in their peripheral vision, yet neither turned their head.
From now on, they would be a family, so it was customary to get acquainted. Moreover, Si Tingyan and Li Chu had not yet met.
Si Huiru said to Si Tingyan: “Xiao Yan, this is Uncle Yeheng. You’ve met Uncle Yeheng before.”
Li Yeheng and Si Huiru were indeed meant for each other. Although their personalities were vastly different, they shared some similarities. For instance, neither of them usually put on airs when interacting with younger people.
Li Yeheng’s features were actually so chiseled they could appear somewhat stern, but when he smiled, he was gentle and polite: “Xiao Yan, you’re almost as tall as Uncle now.”
This wasn’t Si Tingyan’s first time seeing Li Yeheng in many years. Their encounters weren’t particularly rare. Li Yeheng would occasionally meet Si Huiru when passing through on business trips or when he had free time, sometimes even staying overnight at their home.
Given their frequency of encounters, and Si Tingyan not being averse to his mother remarrying, logically, Si Tingyan should have already become familiar with Li Yeheng.
But what made Si Huiru anxious was that Si Tingyan had always been lukewarm towards Li Yeheng; their relationship had never grown any closer.
Unlike Cheng Mi, although Si Tingyan was initially unfamiliar with her, Si Huiru could now visibly see that they got along very well. This surprised Si Huiru quite a bit; she had never imagined he could accept someone so readily.
Since childhood, Si Tingyan had never liked socializing with people; he found everyone bothersome.
Cheng Mi was the first person Si Huiru saw Si Tingyan allow to get so close to him.
However, fortunately, Li Yeheng didn’t mind these things and never held any prejudice against Si Tingyan because of them.
Si Huiru then introduced Li Chu to Si Tingyan: “This is Sister Li Chu. Sister specially took leave from school to come back.”
Li Chu sat directly opposite Si Tingyan, a completely different style from Cheng Mi, yet both possessed their own distinct aura.
Li Chu’s skin was very fair, her features cold and aloof, her double eyelids like sharp blades. Her hair was tied back, dyed a muted green with gray highlights. A long, choppy fringe fell to the side of her face, and she wore an earring in her left ear.
Androgynous yet not masculine, a uniquely beautiful style among girls.
Her eyes usually carried an air of cold arrogance, but it didn’t make people feel uncomfortable or rude. She nodded to Si Tingyan.
Si Tingyan likewise gave a faint nod in return.
Si Huiru asked Li Chu: “Li Chu, are you able to stay home for a few days recently?”
Li Chu nodded: “Mhm, I took a few days off.”
Actually, Li Chu’s university wasn’t far from Fengxun city. Aside from the travel, commuting on weekends was fine, but she rarely came back.
At the dinner table, everyone communicated more or less, except for Cheng Mi and Si Tingyan.
There seemed to be a barrier between them, with no eye contact or verbal exchange.
Li Yeheng said to Si Huiru: “Thank you for taking care of Cheng Mi during this time.”
Si Huiru quickly said it was nothing: “Cheng Mi is very sensible, no need to worry about her. She also gets along very well with her younger brother.”
As Si Huiru’s words fell, Cheng Mi finally glanced at Si Tingyan.
Si Tingyan didn’t meet her gaze, his face cold and indifferent.
“Oh? Really?” Li Yeheng seemed surprised after hearing this, as he too was aware of Si Tingyan’s temperament.
“Mhm, Cheng Mi is very good at making Xiao Yan happy,” Si Huiru said with a smile.
Si Tingyan suddenly interrupted the conversation, picking up his chopsticks: “Let’s eat.”
Cheng Mi said nothing either.
The two people who were said to get along very well looked like they weren’t getting along at all.
Li Chu, sitting next to Cheng Mi, glanced at both of them.
________________________________________
The dinner, with Li Yeheng present, went smoothly and without awkwardness. Li Yeheng was usually adept in the business world, so a small family dinner table like this was probably not even a challenge for him.
Towards the end of the meal, Li Yeheng signaled a waiter: “Excuse me, the cake can be brought out now.”
Cheng Mi’s appetite was average today; she hadn’t eaten much but had drunk a lot of water.
Hearing the word “cake,” her hand, holding the water cup to her lips, paused.
Neither Li Yeheng nor Li Chu were fond of desserts. Si Huiru, after spending this time with them, hadn’t seen her eat anything sweet, nor had Si Tingyan.
And November 8th was not the birthday of any of the three of them—Cheng Mi, Li Chu, or Li Yeheng.
Cheng Mi’s mind raced, but it couldn’t keep up with Si Huiru’s next words.
Si Huiru smiled and told them: “Today is Xiao Yan’s birthday.”
Even though Cheng Mi had already guessed roughly, she still froze after hearing that sentence.
Today was Si Tingyan’s birthday.
Si Tingyan remained expressionless after Si Huiru spoke, as if it wasn’t his birthday at all.
Cheng Mi hadn’t known it was Si Tingyan’s birthday; Si Huiru hadn’t mentioned it these past few days, and Si Tingyan hadn’t told her either.
Normally, even if she missed it, she could apologize to Si Tingyan, then add a happy birthday wish and a gift.
But precisely at this critical juncture, she was keenly aware that none of those things could be done.
If Si Tingyan were a passive person, it would be easy for her to extricate herself whenever she wanted; he wouldn’t respond if she didn’t give him any sweetness.
But Si Tingyan was not like that. He wouldn’t let her lead him by the nose, nor would he respond just because she gave him a little sweetness.
Instead, as long as she gave him anything at all, he would completely drag her back into his world.
If Si Tingyan weren’t this kind of person, Cheng Mi would find it much easier to deal with that lunatic, Chen Zhaochi.
But it was precisely because Si Tingyan was this kind of person that Cheng Mi was attracted to him.
After the cake was brought out, Si Huiru cut a slice for each of them and placed it in front of them.
Chocolate filling, sickeningly sweet.
But Cheng Mi ate it all.
________________________________________
Since she and Si Tingyan still had school tomorrow, Li Yeheng and Si Huiru planned to take them straight home after dinner.
After leaving the private room, Si Tingyan didn’t join them, heading to the restroom instead.
Si Huiru also went over.
Cheng Mi, Li Yeheng, and Li Chu waited for them outside the private room.
Cheng Mi hadn’t seen Li Yeheng and Li Chu for some time.
She lived in Fengxun, Li Yeheng was busy with work, traveling abroad for over a month this time, while Li Chu often stayed at university after enrolling.
It had always been like this; it was rare for the three of them to meet. Today’s gathering was truly uncommon.
Li Yeheng, with his suit jacket draped over his arm, asked them both about their recent lives.
Li Yeheng always cared about their lives and wouldn’t neglect them because he was busy with work.
Cheng Mi spoke symbolically, neither sharing good news nor bad, just a plain, unremarkable update.
She used to have so much to talk about with Li Yeheng.
As for Li Chu, she didn’t even really want to answer. Due to her mother, Li Chu had always had a strained relationship with her father, Li Yeheng.
The three of them barely exchanged a few minutes of conversation before Si Huiru and Si Tingyan still hadn’t returned.
Li Yeheng’s gaze retracted from the corner, and the conversation turned to his soon-to-be wife: “In a while, your Auntie Huiru and I will go to the civil affairs bureau to get our marriage certificate. From now on, we’ll be a family. You should treat Auntie and your younger brother as family.”
When she first arrived in Fengxun, Li Yeheng’s marriage would surely have caused a ripple in Cheng Mi’s heart, but today she was very calm.
Li Chu beside her seemed to sense this too, her eyes briefly sweeping over Cheng Mi.
Li Yeheng said: “Your Auntie Huiru has always had a difficult life. Please be more understanding towards her in the future. If you have any problems, you can also talk to your auntie.”
Li Chu said nothing.
Cheng Mi replied, smiling at Li Yeheng: “Okay.”
Li Yeheng nodded: “Also, you two should get along well with your younger brother.”
Li Chu was already quite impatient, though her expression didn’t show it.
Standing there listening to Li Yeheng for so long was her limit; she simply walked away.
Cheng Mi was not like Li Chu; she never disobeyed Li Yeheng.
Li Yeheng didn’t say anything to Li Chu, nor did he force her to stay. Their father-daughter relationship had always been like this.
He continued speaking to Cheng Mi: “Xiao Yan’s health isn’t very good. Your Auntie Huiru has poured her heart into him her entire life. As older sisters, you should take more care of your younger brother. If possible, try not to cause your Auntie Huiru any trouble.”
This time, Cheng Mi’s gaze at Li Yeheng paused for a moment.
Younger brother, huh.
Just then, Cheng Mi’s peripheral vision caught a figure at the elevator corner. She turned her head; it was Si Huiru.
There was a corridor next to the private room they were in, and beyond the long hallway was the elevator. Si Huiru was standing there.
Si Huiru was still the same as when Cheng Mi first met her, gentle and soft-spoken, her hands clasped nervously in front of her. The elevator corner was a bit far from here. Si Huiru didn’t know what they were talking about, and she smiled at Cheng Mi somewhat cautiously and ingratiatingly.
Cheng Mi paused for a few seconds, then withdrew her gaze and replied to Li Yeheng’s request for her to take more care of her younger brother.
Clearly, he could only be her younger brother.
She said: “Got it.”
It was at this moment that a figure walked around the corner of the adjacent corridor. Cheng Mi subconsciously looked over.
She unexpectedly met Si Tingyan’s gaze.
Cheng Mi was absolutely certain he had heard their conversation.
Because Si Tingyan’s gaze was very cold, filled with gloom.
Treating him as a younger brother would indeed make Si Tingyan angry.
But there was a hint of an elusive emotion in his eyes, clutching fiercely at Cheng Mi’s heart, a sudden surge of bitterness.
Before she could decipher what that emotion was.
Si Tingyan shifted his gaze and walked past her with cold indifference.
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