This wasn't to say she was indifferent to the relationship, only that she was very confident in her relationship with Li Yue.
With the matter cleared up, Lin Mei was no longer worried. Li Yue didn't seem like someone who would be confused about relationships; he had reported his ex-girlfriend's call to Feng Feng. Such a person wouldn't cheat.
Feng Feng, being mature, didn't mind Li Yue meeting with his ex.
Not long after her call with Lin Mei, Li Yue returned. When he got home, he brought back several desserts from the tea restaurant for Feng Feng, including her favorite egg tarts and pineapple buns.
Feng Feng and Li Yue sat down at the restaurant, sipping coffee, and she asked him, "Was your meeting with your ex-girlfriend pleasant?"
Li Yue smiled and countered, "Is President Feng jealous?"
Feng Feng replied, "You met this afternoon, and Xing Zheng saw you. Hua Mei called me, saying you were two-timing."
Li Yue said, "With such a capable girlfriend, why would I cheat?"
Feng Feng smiled faintly, pleased with Li Yue's compliment.
Li Yue's words were always sweet, but they never felt like empty flattery. In fact, Shen Su had said many similar things back then, but Feng Feng had never felt sincerity from him.
The difference between people was quite evident.
Feng Feng tore off a piece of the pineapple bun and offered it to Li Yue's mouth. Li Yue opened his mouth and ate it, his mood bright. "Aren't you going to ask me what we talked about?"
Feng Feng responded, "Aren't you about to tell me yourself?"
Li Yue chuckled, "You've really got me wrapped around your finger."
Feng Feng tore off a piece of bread and ate it, remaining silent.
Then, Li Yue recounted his conversation with Zhang Shuang to Feng Feng, without any omissions.
After finishing, Li Yue added, "Of course, if you mind, I won't contact her anymore."
"Just old classmates, I don't mind." From what Li Yue had said, Feng Feng also understood some of Zhang Shuang's situation. "It's quite difficult for a young person to come to Nanjiang alone."
Li Yue suddenly hugged Feng Feng and kissed her neck. "You're so good."
Feng Feng smiled faintly. "Do you want me to eat something?"
Li Yue asked, "You can still manage? Your back doesn't hurt anymore?"
Feng Feng replied, "It still hurts a little."
Li Yue then asked, "And you still want to?"
Feng Feng glanced down and retorted, "Don't you?"
Li Yue was speechless.
Seeing Li Yue unable to speak, Feng Feng's smile widened. She leaned close to his ear and whispered something.
Li Yue immediately picked her up, kicked away the stool, and walked directly towards the bathroom.
***
Before going to bed that night, Shen Su was still thinking about Li Yue meeting that woman.
He lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Finally, he sent a WeChat message to Xing Zheng.
Xing Zheng replied quickly: [My wife asked. It's Li Yue's ex-girlfriend. She happens to work in Nanjiang, so they had dinner together. Feng Feng knows about it too.]
Shen Su looked at the reply and fell into thought. Feng Feng knew Li Yue was meeting his ex, and she didn't mind at all?
Did she not have the concept of "jealousy" in her world?
She clearly cared about Li Yue, so why was her attitude towards his ex-girlfriend similar to how she dealt with him?
Shen Su couldn't understand, so he asked Xing Zheng: [Would a normal person not mind?]
Xing Zheng replied: [Most people would, but do you think Feng Feng is a normal person?]
Shen Su was speechless.
Xing Zheng continued: [Li Yue asked Feng Feng, and she agreed in person before he went. This shows their trust relationship is very solid.]
The implication was that external attempts at sowing discord would never create a rift between them.
Shen Su had indeed had a fleeting thought of using this to disrupt their relationship, but Xing Zheng's words completely extinguished his idea.
Shen Su put down his phone, closed his eyes, and the scenes he had dreamt of before reappeared. His body felt hot, and he could only throw off the covers and take a cold shower.
***
Gu Song received Zhang Shuang's report that night. He wasn't surprised by Li Yue's reaction; trying to poach someone always required patience. Gu Song gave Zhang Shuang some instructions, telling her to act when the opportunity arose.
More than a month passed uneventfully. During this time, Feng Feng and Shen Su met very infrequently because all the liaison work was handed over to Li Yue. Li Yue and Shen Su ran into each other quite often.
Their interactions were strictly business, and Shen Su didn't make things difficult for Li Yue.
One day, as Li Yue was leaving Jinhe, he happened to cross paths with Gu Song.
They had met before. Li Yue politely greeted Gu Song. Seeing Li Yue looking so pleased with himself, and then thinking about Shen Su's recent dejected state where he couldn't even be bothered to speak, Gu Song felt a slight displeasure.
His mood soured, and his tone became sarcastic. "Feng Feng's work is all done by you now?"
Li Yue replied, "She has some other matters to attend to, so I've taken over the daily operations with Jinhe."
Gu Song raised an eyebrow. "Is that how she explained it to you?"
Li Yue remained silent, not responding. Gu Song's remark didn't sit well with him.
Gu Song continued, "You're quite a smart person. Think carefully about the reasons behind some things."
After saying this, Gu Song turned and left. Although he hadn't spoken very clearly, Li Yue had a vague feeling that he was indirectly alluding to Shen Su and Feng Feng's situation.
Li Yue smiled, his emotions not significantly affected, and turned to leave.
When Gu Song arrived at Shen Su's office, he was spacing out again. Gu Song walked up and looked at him. "Are you alright?"
Shen Su replied, "What could be wrong with me?"
Lately, Gu Song had been like a nagging mother, his constant question being whether Shen Su was alright. Shen Su knew he was concerned, but being pestered every day was a great test of his patience.
Gu Song said, "I just ran into Li Yue."
Shen Su replied, "Oh, he's here for work."
Gu Song asked, "Are you addicted to self-torture? You could easily assign this project to one of your subordinates, why must you add to your own troubles?"
Shen Su said, "It doesn't matter."
Gu Song observed, "You don't look like it doesn't matter."
Shen Su flipped through the documents, remaining silent.
Gu Song pressed on, "Be straightforward. Are you not going to do anything anymore? Dealing with Li Yue is simple enough, isn't it?"
Shen Su rubbed his temples.
Dealing with Li Yue wouldn't be difficult. His family background was decent, but not comparable to his. If he made a few moves, he could at least make it impossible for Li Yue to get by in Nanjiang. Then, if Li Yue lost his job, even if they didn't break up, a rift would form between him and Feng Feng.
However, doing so would only make Feng Feng hate him more, which was meaningless to him.
"You should stop coming up with such bad ideas," Shen Su told Gu Song. "If I force Li Yue, she'll only hate me more."
Gu Song ruthlessly stabbed at Shen Su's heart. "Hating you at least means she cares about you. Now, she doesn't even look at you."
With that one sentence, Shen Su was rendered speechless, and his expression turned extremely unpleasant.
Seeing the change in his expression, Gu Song realized he had gone too far.