Zhang Shuang: "You always wanted to go abroad before."
Li Yue: "People's thoughts change. I feel it's not bad to stay in the country now."
Zhang Shuang: "Because of your girlfriend?"
Li Yue was very generous. "Partly for that reason. She's lived in Nanjiang for many years."
Zhang Shuang: "Your girlfriend... when did you start dating?"
Li Yue: "Not long ago, about three or four months."
Perhaps to extinguish her hopes, Li Yue answered related questions directly and generously, not shying away from mentioning his girlfriend.
Although Li Yue was not a narcissistic person, Zhang Shuang's abrupt invitation and questions made it hard not to overthink. He had loved Zhang Shuang dearly during their relationship, and he bore some responsibility for the breakup. He didn't mind staying friends with Zhang Shuang and was willing to help if he could, but it would be inappropriate if it crossed a certain line.
Therefore, he emphasized these points to give Zhang Shuang a clear understanding. She had always been quite clear-headed.
Zhang Shuang naturally knew that Li Yue said these things to remind her. She smiled and said, "It sounds like you have a good relationship. You mention her all the time."
Li Yue: "Didn't you ask first? I'm just answering your question."
Zhang Shuang: "Is your girlfriend at the same school as you?"
Li Yue: "No, she's a few years older than me and works at the same company."
"Oh, I see." Zhang Shuang nodded. "I didn't expect you to date someone older."
Li Yue: "It's not really about age. I like her as a person. Whether she's older or younger doesn't matter."
It was clear that Li Yue was defending his girlfriend in his words. Zhang Shuang thought that she probably wouldn't be able to complete the task Gu Song had given her in the short term.
The topic of girlfriends ended there, and Zhang Shuang chatted with Li Yue about his years in Princeton and his studies. They had been together for over two years in college and knew each other's pasts well, so the conversation was relatively pleasant.
"Actually, I asked you out because I wanted to know if you were staying in Nanjiang so we could keep in touch more," Zhang Shuang said frankly. "What happened before is in the past. I also have responsibility. I was immature back then, always having this inexplicable sense of pride."
"If you need any help, you can ask me," Li Yue said. "Let's just move on from the past. We're still old classmates."
The term "old classmates" was used subtly. It was a bit more distant than "friends" but closer than "strangers," implying a certain social distance.
Zhang Shuang smiled again upon hearing this. "Yes, old classmates."
Shen Su did not expect to run into Li Yue while buying something at a tea restaurant—
He saw Li Yue first. At that moment, he instinctively thought Li Yue was on a date with Feng Feng.
To his surprise, upon closer inspection, the person sitting opposite him was another woman.
The woman was about the same age as him, and her dressing style was similar to Feng Feng's. He couldn't hear what they were talking about from a few meters away, but he could sense that both parties were in good spirits. Shen Su frowned as he watched this scene.
After buying his things, he got into his car and hesitated to start it, watching the two of them through the glass, his brow twitching.
Although Li Yue and the woman didn't seem to be acting intimately, it was inappropriate for him to be out on a date with another woman behind Feng Feng's back. Moreover, this woman's demeanor was indeed somewhat similar to Feng Feng's.
Shen Su stared for a few minutes, then started the car and headed to Xing Zheng and Lin Mei's house.
Shen Su's arrival was somewhat sudden. Xing Zheng and Lin Mei were playing frisbee with Jing Chu in the yard.
Seeing Shen Su arrive, Xing Zheng raised an eyebrow. "What brings you here?"
Shen Su walked past Xing Zheng and looked at Lin Mei. "I have something I want to tell you."
Lin Mei hadn't expected Shen Su to be looking for her. "Tell me?"
Xing Zheng also looked suspicious. "What do you want to tell my wife?"
Shen Su deliberated for a moment and then said directly, "I just went to a tea restaurant to buy something and ran into Li Yue."
Lin Mei: "...What did you say to Li Yue?"
When Shen Su mentioned Li Yue, Lin Mei's mind immediately went to bad things, as Shen Su had previously argued with Wen Zhouyuan, leaving him with a history of trouble.
Shen Su was not surprised by Lin Mei's suspicion. He shook his head. "I didn't say anything, and he didn't see me. But he was meeting another woman."
As soon as he said this, Lin Mei and Xing Zheng's expressions turned serious.
Shen Su continued, "I don't know who the woman was, but she looked a bit like Feng Feng and was around his age."
Xing Zheng narrowed his eyes. "You mean Li Yue is cheating?"
"It's unlikely," Lin Mei interjected, almost without hesitation. "Maybe they're just meeting as ordinary friends. I'll tell Feng Feng later."
Given Li Yue's attitude towards Feng Feng, cheating was unlikely. Shen Su also said it was just a meal, and there were no intimate actions.
Shen Su hadn't expected even Lin Mei to trust Li Yue so much. He thought that if the same situation happened to him, Lin Mei wouldn't trust him like this. Perhaps this was the consequence of having a "history of trouble."
Not only Feng Feng but all of her friends and family cherished Li Yue.
Thinking of this, Shen Su couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly.
"Well, remind her. I'm leaving now." After delivering the information, Shen Su prepared to leave.
Xing Zheng put down the frisbee and walked Shen Su to the villa entrance.
They stopped by the car. Xing Zheng glanced at Shen Su. "I thought you would go directly to Feng Feng."
That would have been his usual course of action.
Shen Su did not respond to this. "Go back and play with Jing Chu. I'm leaving."
Xing Zheng: "Drive carefully."
Xing Zheng didn't say much about Shen Su and Feng Feng's situation, nor did he offer any advice.
Feng Feng and Li Yue were currently enjoying their relationship, so Shen Su had no chance to take advantage of any internal conflicts unless they truly existed.
When Feng Feng was resting at home in the afternoon, she received a call from Lin Mei. Lin Mei beat around the bush, asking several irrelevant questions, which immediately aroused Feng Feng's suspicion.
"You're acting strange today," Feng Feng said with certainty. "You have something you want to tell me."
Lin Mei: "Ahem, there is something, about Li Yue."
Feng Feng: "Then just say it. Why are you being so indirect?"
"I'm just afraid you'll overthink it... It's not a big deal. Xing Zheng saw Li Yue having dinner with a woman when he went out today." Lin Mei didn't mention Shen Su to avoid unnecessary trouble.
"Mm, I know." Feng Feng immediately understood why Lin Mei was being hesitant and explained, "That's his ex-girlfriend. She asked him out for dinner, and he reported it to me. I agreed before he went."
Lin Mei: "You actually agreed to let him meet his ex-girlfriend? Aren't you afraid of being poached?"
Feng Feng: "If he can be easily poached, then I don't care."