‘I’m here to complete the mission!’
Zhao Xinnian gritted his teeth and reminded himself inwardly, forcing the painful emotions out of his mind.
Then he strode toward them.
Zheng Zhenzhen limped closely behind him, anticipation mixed with a cold sneer on her face.
‘Go ahead, argue! Make a scene! Damn you, Zhao Xinnian. I just want to see Zhuang Ziwei crush you until there’s nothing left of your pride!’
“Speaking of which, Lulu, after all these years, you’ve become even more beautiful.”
Zhuang Ziwei’s eyes seemed to sparkle as he gazed affectionately at Qin Chaolu. The smile at the corner of his lips seemed filled with endless tenderness.
Qin Chaolu’s heart raced. She did not dare meet his gaze, and a faint blush colored her cheeks as she lowered her head. “Didn’t we video call before?”
“How could seeing you through a screen compare to meeting you in person?”
Zhuang Ziwei pursed his lips and continued, “My greatest regret is leaving back then. If it hadn’t been for my family…”
“You don’t need to explain. I understand.”
Qin Chaolu interrupted him and said earnestly, “I believe you.”
Zhuang Ziwei smiled in relief. His gaze fell on Qin Chaolu’s hand resting casually on the table, and an irresistible urge stirred within him.
Without revealing his intentions, he slowly reached out, intending to place his hand over hers.
However…
At that exact moment, Qin Chaolu picked up her phone and glanced at it. The movement appeared completely casual, yet it happened to avoid Zhuang Ziwei’s approaching hand.
Zhuang Ziwei cursed inwardly.
Still unwilling to give up, he changed the direction of his right hand and reached toward the loose strand of hair hanging over her forehead.
“Awei, what are you doing?”
Qin Chaolu looked up at him in confusion.
Zhuang Ziwei’s movement instantly stiffened. Awkwardly stretching his arm instead, he gave a dry laugh and said, “My arm was a little sore. I was just stretching it.”
“Oh.”
Qin Chaolu took a sip of orange juice and sighed softly. “So many years have passed in the blink of an eye. In truth, neither we nor the things around us are the same anymore.”
Zhuang Ziwei shook his head. “Our surroundings may have changed, but we’ll always be us. Lulu… now that I’m back, I won’t leave again. I’ll stay by your side forever!”
Qin Chaolu’s heart trembled.
Just as she was about to speak, she caught sight of a figure from the corner of her eye walking directly toward them.
“Zhao Xinnian! Why are you here?”
She stared at him in disbelief, obvious panic creeping into her voice.
Zhao Xinnian smiled faintly and asked politely, “I’m not interrupting your meal, am I?”
His calm attitude only made Qin Chaolu more flustered.
Her heartbeat quickened, and she instinctively tried to explain, “Actually, Ziwei and I came here today to…”
Before she could finish, Zhuang Ziwei frowned and interrupted her. “Mr. Zhao, you are interrupting us.”
He straightened slightly in his chair, his expression darkening as an imposing air emerged around him.
Qin Chaolu pursed her lips. For a moment, she did not know what to do.
Reason told her that she should ask Zhao Xinnian to leave, yet somewhere deep inside, she seemed to be expecting something else.
The next second, Qin Chaolu felt ashamed of herself.
She had actually been faintly hoping that Zhao Xinnian would confront Zhuang Ziwei because of her.
“Sorry.”
Zhao Xinnian glanced at Zhuang Ziwei, his tone carrying genuine apology.
Seeing him apologize, Zhuang Ziwei’s expression eased slightly.
However, Zhao Xinnian pointed toward an empty seat nearby and continued, “Since I’m interrupting you, could you sit over there for a while? Or you could go to the restroom. Either is fine.”
Zhuang Ziwei’s face instantly darkened again.
“Pfft!”
Zheng Zhenzhen actually burst out laughing. She hurriedly covered her mouth and struggled to suppress her laughter. “Hey, don’t look at me. Ziwei, I’m not laughing at you. I just remembered something funny.”
Zhuang Ziwei stared coldly at Zhao Xinnian. “Do you think you’re funny?”
Zhao Xinnian shook his head and replied seriously, “I genuinely have something to discuss with Qin Chaolu.”
Zhuang Ziwei sneered. “Mr. Zhao, haven’t you heard the saying that a good ex should be as good as dead?”
“Oh, so you were dead for seven years and suddenly came back to life? Did you crawl out of your grave?”
Zhao Xinnian smiled calmly and continued, “Or were you never even her ex in the first place?”
Those words struck directly at Zhuang Ziwei’s sore spot.
His fists clenched tightly.
Back then, he and Qin Chaolu had been only one step away from officially becoming a couple.
However, at the most crucial moment, Zhuang Ziwei had been forced to leave. Only afterward had Zhao Xinnian appeared and beaten him to it.
Every time Zhuang Ziwei thought about it, he nearly went crazy with frustration.
“Zhao Xinnian, that’s enough!”
Seeing Zhuang Ziwei being verbally overwhelmed by Zhao Xinnian, Qin Chaolu could no longer stand by and watch. She reprimanded him coldly, “Why are you here? Were you following me?”
Qin Chaolu siding with Zhuang Ziwei was within Zhao Xinnian’s expectations.
However, when it actually happened right in front of him, it still hurt.
Zhao Xinnian looked at Qin Chaolu, and a trace of disappointment flashed through his eyes.
At that moment, Qin Chaolu felt a sharp pain pierce her heart.
“Just assume I was following you.”
Zhao Xinnian spoke indifferently. “There’s something I want to ask you. What’s your phone number?”
Qin Chaolu’s eyes widened abruptly. She asked angrily, “You don’t remember my phone number?”
“I forgot.”
“You!”
Qin Chaolu gritted her teeth in anger. However, as she stared at Zhao Xinnian’s indifferent expression, a sudden realization flashed through her mind.
‘Could it be…’
Zhao Xinnian impatiently asked, “It’s just a phone number. Are you giving it to me or not?”
Suddenly, Qin Chaolu was no longer angry.
She gave Zhao Xinnian a meaningful look, and a faintly smug smile even appeared on her lips.
She snorted softly and recited a string of numbers before saying, “All right. If there’s nothing else, go back. I’ll head back after I finish eating. I’ll still be the one picking up Yanyan later.”
[Congratulations, my vigorous and energetic Host! You have successfully completed the mission!]
The system’s voice sounded in his mind.
The corner of Zhao Xinnian’s mouth twitched.
‘What kind of ridiculous wording is that?’
Still, completing the mission allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief. Without the slightest hesitation, he turned around and left.
However, after taking only two steps, Zhao Xinnian suddenly stopped.
He turned back and glanced at Zhuang Ziwei. A cold smile appeared on his lips as he said, “If you want to rekindle your old feelings with Qin Chaolu, be my guest. But don’t resort to such underhanded tricks by having her seduce me. Heh…”
With that, he immediately walked away.
However, those words instantly threw all three people into chaos.
The most agitated person was actually Qin Chaolu. Gritting her teeth, she demanded, “Awei, what did he… mean by that?”
Inside, Zhuang Ziwei felt as though countless curses were stampeding through his mind. What should have been a wonderful date had been utterly ruined by Zhao Xinnian.
He gave a bitter smile and asked, “Would I really need to do something like that?”
However, Qin Chaolu was not paying attention to him at all.
Instead, she turned toward Zheng Zhenzhen and anxiously demanded, “Why did he say you tried to seduce him? And why did the two of you come here together? What exactly… happened between you two? Answer me!”
The almost instinctive anxiety in Qin Chaolu’s reaction caused Zhuang Ziwei’s expression to darken quietly.
Zheng Zhenzhen cursed furiously inwardly.
She had never encountered such a calculating man before. Even as he was leaving, Zhao Xinnian had deliberately tossed a bomb behind him.
Faced with Qin Chaolu’s interrogation, Zheng Zhenzhen could only cry out in protest, “Chaolu! Do you seriously think I’d be interested in him? Look at my legs! Look at my waist! He caused all these injuries! That bastard is a complete jerk! He forced me to bring him here!”