Li Yue was very polite, his words were impeccable, and he was humble and cultured. Lin Mei observed him from her family's perspective, and the more she looked, the more pleased she was.
Just as this conversation ended, Lan Lan and Liang Yufeng also arrived.
Upon seeing Li Yue, Lan Lan became even more enthusiastic, constantly teasing him about Feng Feng. Li Yue smiled and accepted it gracefully.
With everyone present, Li Yue greeted each person, including Shen Su.
"Mr. Shen, Happy New Year," Li Yue said.
Shen Su nodded slightly at Li Yue. "Happy New Year."
Both of them were very calm, as if they were completely unaware of each other's identities.
Lin Mei and Lan Lan were curious. While Li Yue was in the restroom, they pulled Feng Feng to the balcony for an "interrogation."
Having experienced what had just happened, Feng Feng had already guessed what they wanted to ask. Before they could speak, she preempted them: "Li Yue knows about Shen Su and me."
Upon hearing this news, Lan Lan couldn't help but tut, "Good boy, you can really keep your composure."
Lin Mei agreed, "More mature than I imagined."
Lan Lan patted Feng Feng on the shoulder. "Ms. Feng, enjoy your romance. A man who is handsome, capable, young, energetic, and not childish – whoever meets him is lucky."
Feng Feng could feel that Lan Lan greatly admired Li Yue, and her words were not exaggerated. She knew the current situation of the marriage market from her colleagues' complaints about blind dates; even people with stable emotions were rare, let alone someone like Li Yue.
Lin Mei asked, "Are you happy with him?"
Feng Feng replied almost without hesitation, "Very happy."
Lin Mei: "It's good that you're happy. This is what dating is all about."
Although Feng Feng had considerable experience in relationships, she had never truly been in love. In her past relationship with Wen Zhouyuan, she had gained very little happiness. Now that she had found Li Yue, it was a compensation for her past regrets.
As for how their relationship would develop in the future, she would let nature take its course and let things happen when they were ready.
While the three of them were chatting on the balcony, Li Yue had already come out of the restroom.
He looked around and couldn't find Feng Feng. Xing Zheng then told him, "The three of them went to the balcony for a private chat."
Li Yue smiled and nodded. "Thank you."
He knew better than to interrupt the conversation between the girlfriends and returned to his seat.
At this moment, Gu Song, sitting opposite him, smiled and asked, "How did you manage to win over Ms. Feng? She's notoriously hard to pursue."
Gu Song's latter half of the sentence seemed to emphasize something. Li Yue could immediately discern the underlying meaning: he was telling him that many people had pursued Feng Feng, but none had succeeded.
However, regarding how he had pursued Feng Feng, Li Yue truly had no experience to share. "I'm afraid I've disappointed Mr. Gu. It's true that I liked her first, but the day I confessed, she agreed to be with me, so there wasn't really a 'pursuit' process."
This answer was far from what Gu Song had imagined. Even though he had seen his fair share of life's ups and downs, he found it incredible. Xing Zheng also found it incredible, and their most synchronized reaction was to look at Shen Su after hearing the answer.
Shen Su's face showed no emotion, as if he were uninvolved and completely uninterested in the matter. For a moment, neither of them could discern Shen Su's thoughts.
Gu Song quickly recovered and raised an eyebrow. "Then you're quite impressive. Most people who pursued Ms. Feng before were rejected as soon as they confessed."
Li Yue replied humbly, "Perhaps I was just lucky."
After this brief interaction, Gu Song had a basic understanding of Li Yue. He truly didn't seem like a twenty-five-year-old. He was even younger than Ji Tong, and their demeanor was nothing like people of the same age.
Li Yue's calm and composed demeanor was precisely why Feng Feng liked him. However, he wondered if Li Yue knew about Feng Feng's rich romantic history. If he did, would he still remain so calm?
If he could, then he was indeed a remarkable person, and it wasn't surprising that he could be with Feng Feng.
As the conversation progressed, Feng Feng, Lin Mei, and Lan Lan returned from the balcony. Feng Feng saw that the seat next to Li Yue was empty and sat down beside him.
They exchanged glances. Although there were no intimate gestures, the atmosphere was exceptionally ambiguous. Feng Feng could tell that Li Yue's demeanor was very different from his usual cold and distant appearance. Even though he still had no expression, one could sense the difference.
Lan Lan had been busy observing Li Yue earlier. It wasn't until she returned and sat down that she realized Shen Su had come alone. Lan Lan raised an eyebrow and teased, "Why didn't you bring your girlfriend today? You're usually like Siamese twins."
Asking this question was partly to stand up for Feng Feng. Ji Tong was unaware, and Lan Lan had never blamed her.
Although it wasn't wrong for Shen Su to always bring Ji Tong to gatherings, since it made Feng Feng unhappy, she forgot her so-called objective stance.
Shen Su replied, "She hasn't returned yet."
Lan Lan: "I see... But why didn't you two spend the New Year together?"
Shen Su: "She went on a trip with her parents."
With that, Lan Lan asked no further questions.
Feng Feng pondered Shen Su's words, feeling a bit confused. He had been in Huaixi just a few days ago. At the time, she thought he was traveling with Ji Tong and her parents. But now, Ji Tong hadn't returned, and he was already in Nanjiang. Something seemed off.
As the group sat and chatted, everyone except Li Yue was an old acquaintance. It was also the New Year, making the atmosphere particularly lively.
Feng Feng was not talkative in front of her friends. Li Yue was very mindful of his place. He couldn't participate in many of their conversations, so he sat quietly and listened. He would only speak up when someone mentioned him.
After a while, the kitchen announced that dinner was ready, and everyone moved to the dining room.
When arranging the seating, Feng Feng and Li Yue sat together. Shen Su was seated diagonally opposite them, where he could catch a glimpse of them with a slight glance.
Gu Song looked at the seating arrangement and instinctively glanced at Shen Su. Seeing that Shen Su's expression was normal, he felt relieved, assuming that after these few days, he had come to terms with it.
During the meal, Li Yue, as usual, took care of Feng Feng attentively. He wasn't trying to put on a show; every action was natural, and he chose dishes that Feng Feng particularly liked.
Lan Lan couldn't help but praise, "Li Yue, you're so thoughtful. You remember Ms. Feng's favorite dishes so clearly."
Lin Mei: "Ms. Feng, did you tell him? You remember them so accurately."
Feng Feng replied faintly, "I didn't say anything."
Lan Lan: "So Li Yue figured it out himself? That's amazing!"
After being praised, Li Yue merely smiled calmly. "I wanted to pursue her before, so I wanted to understand her tastes. It's quite easy to observe her eating habits."
Lan Lan: "Whether it's easy to observe or not, one needs to have the intention first. No wonder you could win over our Ms. Feng."
Li Yue smiled humbly. "Thank you, Ms. Lan."
Although it was his first time attending, everyone was quite friendly towards Li Yue, and the atmosphere of the meal was very pleasant.
The gathering dispersed around 9:30 PM.