“Ah!”
Liu Yueti let out a startled cry and immediately tumbled into Bai Zhen’er’s arms.
“Mr. Xie.” Bai Zhen’er held Liu Yueti protectively and smiled sweetly. “What brings you up here?”
Ling Buzhan smiled and bowed.
“I saw Miss Bai on the street. I was worried that I might have frightened you two just now, so I came up to apologize.”
“And this young lady is…”
Bai Zhen’er introduced her, “This is my cousin, Liu Yueti. She just arrived in the capital today. If you happen to meet her in the capital in the future, I hope you’ll look after her.”
Liu Yueti stiffly nodded at him.
Ling Buzhan’s gaze fell upon her slightly shy face. He lowered his eyes and bowed.
“Greetings, Miss Liu.”
Bai Zhen’er hesitated for a moment before warmly inviting him, “Have you eaten yet, Mr. Xie? Why don’t you sit down and have something with us?”
Liu Yueti stared at her in shock and grabbed her arm.
“Huh?”
Bai Zhen’er winked at her and whispered, “Don’t worry. He won’t…”
Ling Buzhan smiled.
“In that case, I’ll impose on you.”
Now it was Bai Zhen’er’s turn to be shocked.
“Huh?”
Liu Yueti pulled Bai Zhen’er around so they were facing away from Ling Buzhan and whispered openly, “What do you mean? Didn’t you say he wouldn’t stay?”
“That’s strange!” Bai Zhen’er was equally stunned. “I actually tried to make an effort myself a couple of days ago. I invited him to dinner and asked him to go shopping with me, but he always politely declined.”
She blinked at Liu Yueti.
“Why did he agree the moment you arrived?”
Liu Yueti pointed at herself.
“Could it have something to do with me?”
The two girls turned around together.
Ling Buzhan had already straightened his official robe and sat down. When he met their gazes, he even gave them a cheerful smile.
The two girls immediately turned their heads away again in perfect unison.
“What do we do?” Bai Zhen’er leaned closer to Liu Yueti. “I never expected him to actually sit down. What am I supposed to say now?”
“Oh, you idiot.” Liu Yueti was exasperated. “Aren’t you supposed to win him over? Of course you have to flirt with him.”
Bai Zhen’er looked miserable.
“I don’t know how…”
“Watch me!”
Liu Yueti took a deep breath, put on her most charming smile, turned around, and spoke softly.
“Mr. Xie.”
Ling Buzhan, who had just picked up his chopsticks, raised an eyebrow.
“Hmm?”
Bai Zhen’er looked at her expectantly and secretly clenched her fists to cheer her on.
Liu Yueti smiled seductively.
“Sir…”
She suddenly got stuck.
“Have… have you eaten?”
Ling Buzhan glanced at the chopsticks in his hand, then at her. After a moment of hesitation, he replied,
“…I was just about to?”
Bai Zhen’er couldn’t bear to watch and closed her eyes.
Liu Yueti deflated. She gave two awkward laughs.
“Oh. You were just about to eat. Good, good. Then… would you like some rice?”
She looked behind Ling Buzhan.
“What about your guard, handsome? Has he eaten? Why don’t you eat something too? There’s plenty of food anyway.”
The guard hesitated.
“…Huh?”
Ling Buzhan chuckled.
“Feiying, why haven’t you thanked Miss Liu?”
“Take some dishes and eat over there.”
The guard, Feiying, bowed his head.
“Thank you, Miss.”
“You’re welcome.”
Liu Yueti also covered her forehead in frustration, wishing she could bury her head beneath the table.
“This meal was invited by Zhen’er. You should thank her.”
Ling Buzhan smiled.
“The chief examiner when I took the imperial examination was Chancellor Bai. In a way, I can be considered one of his students, so I should naturally visit the Bai residence more often.”
“However, I’ve now taken on this position. If I visit too frequently, I’m afraid people might become suspicious of Chancellor Bai instead.”
“Oh, that’s fine.”
Bai Zhen’er listened with a blank, innocent expression, clearly having no idea what he was getting at.
“I don’t think my father would mind.”
Ling Buzhan studied her expression, as though trying to determine whether Miss Bai was truly innocent and guileless or merely pretending.
Suddenly, Liu Yueti tilted her head and blocked his line of sight.
She placed a plate of vegetables in front of him and took the ribs back.
“Mr. Xie, eat more vegetables.”
“You need a balanced diet.”
“You’re not a picky eater too, are you?”
Ling Buzhan froze.
“What?”
Feiying couldn’t help laughing behind him.
“Ahem.”
Ling Buzhan gave him a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Of course not.”
Liu Yueti completely blocked Bai Zhen’er from his view.
“Hehe. Then eat more.”
What are you looking at? You’re not allowed to use my best friend as an appetite stimulant!
Even if you are pretty handsome, the fact that you have a harem is still a huge turn-off.
Since she had already decided to help Bai Zhen’er win over the male lead, there was no need to let her best friend get involved with a scumbag like this.
Not even one more glance!
Holding his rice bowl, Ling Buzhan asked pointedly,
“Miss Liu, what brings you to the capital at this time?”
“Hm?”
Liu Yueti blinked.
Bai Zhen’er rested her chin on Liu Yueti’s shoulder and answered for her.
“Yue’er came to attend the Spring Banquet.”
“She’s reached the age when she should be considering marriage, so my aunt asked my father to help look around for a suitable match.”
Her eyes suddenly turned mischievous.
“I heard that Mr. Xie is also unmarried?”
Liu Yueti quickly covered her mouth.
“That’s too direct!”
She turned around in a panic, only to meet Ling Buzhan’s eyes.
The two of them stiffened slightly at the same time before looking away.
“Heh.”
Ling Buzhan chuckled softly.
“I have only just entered officialdom. I’m focused on repaying His Majesty’s favor, so I haven’t given these matters any thought yet.”
He set down his empty rice bowl.
“Thank you both for the meal today. I’ll take my leave.”
He turned around and kicked Feiying, who was still busy shoveling food into his mouth, signaling him to follow.
The two quickly went downstairs.
Liu Yueti breathed a sigh of relief.
“Finally, he’s gone.”
Bai Zhen’er looked at her curiously.
“What do you think?”
“I think there’s potential!”
“Huh?”
Liu Yueti stared at her in shock.
“How can you tell?”
“He looked at you just now.” Bai Zhen’er nodded confidently. “When the two of us were talking, he kept secretly looking at you!”
Liu Yueti sighed.
“Bao’er, I know you want me to help you win over the male lead, but you can’t just make things up with a straight face.”
“Believe me!” Bai Zhen’er shook her hand. “I’m really good at reading people!”
Liu Yueti put her hands on her hips.
“Yeah, right. You think everyone likes me.”
She started counting on her fingers.
“My senior from college. My old classmate. My coworker…”
“They really do like you!” Bai Zhen’er said seriously. “You just have absolutely no interest in them, so they pretend they never liked you in the first place to save face.”
“I can tell!”
“And besides, if you’re not interested in him, then I… I…”
She took a deep breath and clenched her fists.
“I can go for him myself!”
“Really?”
Liu Yueti leaned closer to inspect her.
“Can you really do it? What about Shen Hanzhi, then?”
“Waaah…”
Bai Zhen’er’s expression immediately collapsed as she leaned into Liu Yueti’s arms.
“Probably not.”
She tugged on Liu Yueti’s sleeve and pleaded sweetly.
“Please save me, Yuebao. I’m begging you.”
“I’ve already made a plan!”
“If you really end up marrying him, I’ll have my father petition the Emperor for an imperial decree stating that Ling Buzhan can only marry one woman for the rest of his life!”
Bai Zhen’er clenched her fist.
“If he dares to be unfaithful, he’ll be defying the imperial decree. His entire clan will be executed!”
Liu Yueti thought about it for a moment.
“If I really marry him, then… wouldn’t I also be part of his clan?”
She pointed at herself.
“Would I die too?”
Bai Zhen’er: “Huh?”