Su Zhan was staring anxiously at his phone when Shen Peichuan suddenly came close to him. Startled, Su Zhan looked up and leaned back instinctively. The small bench shook unsteadily, tipping Su Zhan onto the floor.
A second passed and Su Zhan asked with wide eyes, “What are you up to, Shen Peichuan?”
Shen Peichuan towered over him, glaring down at Su Zhan. “What did you do wrong this time? What else could have scared you into such a state?”
“You’re the one who did something wrong!” Su Zhan shot him a glare in return as he climbed to his feet, dusted himself off, and picked up the bench. However, he did not sit down on it again. The bench was short, so a tall person like Su Zhan did not find it comfortable as he would need to bend his legs at an odd angle to sit steadily.
Sang Yu poured him a glass of water. “Have a drink and calm down.”
Su Zhan reached out to take the glass but did not drink it. “If Shen Peichuan teased you, would you be angry? Would you ignore him?” he asked her.
Sang Yu blinked. “Is he the type of person to tease people?”
Su Zhan had no response.
She’s right. A block of wood like Shen Peichuan has no sense of humor.
“Did you poke fun at your girlfriend so that she’s ignoring you now?” Sang Yu made a guess of Su Zhan’s troubled expression.
Su Zhan chuckled. “We get on great. She must be too busy to reply.”
He did not want to expose to others the balance of power in his relationship.
“You look really anxious,” Sang Yu pointed out. If he weren’t so engrossed in checking his phone, Shen Peichuan wouldn’t have been able to scare him so easily.
“Anxious? Do I seem anxious?” Su Zhan asked, immediately hanging a mask of nonchalance over his true feelings.
He looks so funny when he’s trying to act casually. How cute.
Sang Yu fought to keep herself from smiling as she shook her head. “Not anxious; more like restless.”
Restless because his girlfriend isn’t replying to him.
Su Zhan smiled briefly. I guess I can’t hide my true feelings completely. He pointed at Shen Peichuan and Sang Yu. “Today, the two of you shall entertain me. Let me just step out to make a call first.”
Su Zhan walked out of the house and called Qin Ya. They overcame numerous obstacles and finally managed to be together again. Because he was terrified of losing her a second time, even a hint of strange behavior from her would alarm him.
Frankly, Qin Ya was not ignoring him on purpose. A customer had entered the store and she rushed off to serve him, leaving her phone in the office. By the time she was finished with the customer, her phone had already accumulated two missed calls and a third call had just come in. She picked it up.
“Qin Ya!”
Qin Ya frowned. “Yes, it’s me.”
“What were you doing? Why didn’t you reply? Why didn’t you pick up your phone? You scared me to death!” Su Zhan babbled.
“I was with a customer. Why did you call me so many times?”
“I was worried because you didn’t pick up.” Su Zhan smiled in relief.
From the house, Sang Yu could only see Su Zhan’s expression but could not hear what he was saying. It looks like his girlfriend finally picked up.
“Su Zhan must be head over heels for his girlfriend, isn’t he?” It was just a small matter but he is so worked up.
Shen Peichuan nodded. “Yes. The two of them went through a lot to finally reunite.”
His words piqued Sang Yu’s interest. “Tell me about it.”
“Their story is too long to be summarized neatly. Basically, their relationship was filled with trials and tribulations. You wouldn’t believe it even if I told you.” Shen Peichuan could understand why Su Zhan reacted the way he did.
Sang Yu leaned her head towards Shen Peichuan. “Do the two of you have many stories between you?”
Shen Peichuan nodded. “I guess there’s a fair number.”
Sang Yu’s gaze fell. “Go chat with your friend. I’ll start preparing lunch.”
She could not help but feel disappointed. I’m such a small part of his life.
Su Zhan was still on the phone. He had probably tried to escape the heat and was currently sitting in his car with windows rolled up and air-conditioning turned on.
Shen Peichuan did not interrupt his call with Qin Ya. Instead, he trailed behind Sang Yu. “I’ll help you,” he offered.
“No need,” Sang Yu replied curtly.
It did not take a genius to realize that Sang Yu was upset. “What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong again?”
“No. I was just thinking I know so little about you,” she said, raising her head to meet his eyes.
She did not actually want to pry into his past or infringe on his privacy. It’s just that I know too little of him as well as those around him.
This is the man I have feelings for. Of course I want to be a part of his world and meet his friends.
I don’t want to feel like an outsider when we’re together.
Shen Peichuan was serious and direct. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
A smile spread across Sang Yu’s face. “I want to hear your stories for the rest of my life. As long as you don’t abandon me, I promise to listen until the end.”
Sounds of muffled laughter came from behind Shen Peichuan and Sang Yu. At some point during their interaction, Su Zhan had ended his call and had walked into the house to hear what Sang Yu just said. “It’s obvious you come from a reputable school; even your sweet nothings sound lyrical.”
Sang Yu tried to hide her embarrassment with a smile as she changed the subject. “Have you made up with your girlfriend?”
“Our relationship is better than ever. She’s not mad at me at all.” Su Zhan switched back to his usual childish demeanor as he huffed, “I’m the one who should be angry at her.”
Sang Yu did not know Su Zhan that well, but Shen Peichuan did. I’ve lost count of the number of times he fell into the pits of despair before Qin Ya finally decided to take him back.
“Can I tell Qin Ya what you just said?” Shen Peichuan’s tone was calm, but Su Zhan could tell that it carried a warning.
Su Zhan immediately straightened his posture. “Must you be so annoying? When did you learn to be a tattletale? Were you influenced by your child of a girlfriend?”
Shen Peichuan had refused to accept his feelings due to the age difference between himself and Sang Yu. Hearing Su Zhan refer to her as a child made his skin crawl. It gave him a guilty feeling, as though he had done something he shouldn’t have.
He stared sternly at Su Zhan. “Who’s older between us?”
“You.” Su Zhan immediately read between the lines. “It’s not like you’re married yet. Once you are married… I won’t be able to address her,” he muttered under his breath.
She’s just a child.
“But you can say it to Lin Xinyan?” When Lin Xinyan and Zong Jinghao first met, she was even younger than Sang Yu.
“It’s not the same,” Su Zhan whined.
“How is it not the same?” Shen Peichuan asked.
Su Zhan scratched his head. “Because… Because Lin Xinyan and Jinghao aren’t officially married. Moreover, Lin Xinyan is close to Ya.”
Shen Peichuan couldn’t care less about Su Zhan’s thought process. “The point is, you’re the youngest. I can’t be bothered with you now, but when we’re married, you’ll have to address Sang Yu similarly—yes, in that proper manner.”
Su Zhan was speechless.
He blinked and threw a look toward Sang Yu. “We’ll talk when you guys actually get married.”
Su Zhan started to walk out of the room. “I’m off to enjoy the beautiful scenery.”
Sang Yu had picked up on some information from their conversation. Zong Jinghao had made an unforgettable impression in her mind. After all, he was a powerful boss of a company and had a commanding presence at all times.
“Is your friend’s wife young as well?” Sang Yu asked.
Shen Peichuan answered honestly as he nodded. “Yes. I’ll introduce you to her when we return.”
Sang Yu nodded. “How old is Su Zhan’s girlfriend?” she asked.
For some reason, she let out an internal breath of relief. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to assimilate into Shen Peichuan’s group of friends, but it now seemed like she’s not the unusual one. Now I can relax, knowing that his friend’s wife is young, too.
Faced with Sang Yu’s question, a realization dawned upon Shen Peichuan: all three of them had girlfriends who were significantly younger than they were.
