“Did you drive here? Or did someone from your family drop you off?” Yueyi adjusted her car keys and pulled open the driver-side door.
“I drove here.” Yan Nianyi had initially wanted to say someone dropped her off, but since she had driven her usual car today and parked it nearby, it was difficult to lie.
“Then I will not give you a ride. Drive safely.” Yueyi got into the car.
“Does Older Sister want to have dinner together?” Just as Yueyi sat down and closed the car door, Yan Nianyi chimed in at the right moment.
It was already past six o’clock, which was the perfect time for dinner.
“No, thank you.” Yueyi politely declined. Shaking her phone with an apologetic smile, she said warmly, “Let us do it next time. I already promised my younger sister that I would keep her company for dinner today.”
“Alright, goodbye, Older Sister.” Yan Nianyi stepped back to the roadside and waved goodbye to the person inside the car.
“Goodbye.” Yueyi’s voice was soft.
Watching the black car pull away and gradually disappear into the distance, Yan Nianyi’s smile faded bit by bit. Crossing her arms, she waited until the vehicle was completely out of sight before strolling leisurely back to her own car.
Casually opening the door and fastening her seatbelt, Yan Nianyi leaned back against the seat without starting the engine for a long time.
With a sharp click, a lighter sparked, and a warm orange flame flickered to life. She pulled a pack of women’s cigarettes from the glove compartment, slid one out, placed it between her lips, and lit it.
Smoke swirled and rose upward.
“I want to have dinner with Older Sister too.” With the cigarette butt pinched between her fingertips, Yan Nianyi tilted her head, watching wisps of white vapor drift upward continuously.
After watching for a moment, she picked up her phone and opened the group chat with her friends. The latest message was sent by Shao Yihan just a few minutes ago.
It was a location pin.
How many people are coming? Yan Nianyi sent a message back.
Are you coming? If we count acquaintances, there are four or five of us, and the rest are just people I called over to liven things up. Shao Yihan replied almost instantly.
Yan Nianyi raised an eyebrow and pondered for a moment. Fine, heading over now.
She put out the cigarette, let her gaze sweep across the front dashboard, spotted a trash can not far away, and then started the engine and drove toward it.
Rolling the window halfway down, she extended a slender, pale hand to toss the cigarette butt away.
The window slowly rolled back up. Confirming the location Shao Yihan had sent, Yan Nianyi drove toward the destination.
As soon as she arrived, she spotted Shao Yihan stepping out of a bright red car. A valet standing guard by the hotel entrance trotted over, nodded politely at the woman, and parked the car in a vacant spot in front of the hotel.
“You got here pretty fast.” Shao Yihan recognized the Bentley following closely behind the moment she stepped out of her car. She walked over to the driver-side window and tapped her knuckles against the glass. “Why didn’t you come with Director Yue?”
“Older Sister had things to do.” Yan Nianyi stepped out of her car and handed her keys to the waiting valet.
“Did Director Yue look all touched when she ate the bread you bought?” Shao Yihan raised an eyebrow.
“Probably.” Yan Nianyi lowered her gaze, her tone indifferent. “Are you standing here to play guard?”
With that, she walked past Shao Yihan and headed into the hotel.
“Tch, figures. People really are treated differently. When she is facing Director Yue, she is all smiles, but toward everyone else, she won’t even spare a glance.” Shao Yihan’s voice was not loud, but it was just enough for the person walking ahead to hear. She quickened her pace to catch up and teased, “Does Director Yue know about your double standards?”
Yan Nianyi paused her steps, her mind flashing back to Zhou Ruomu’s words.
After all, in Yueyi’s eyes, you are just an innocent, naive child.
An innocent, naive child?
Yan Nianyi curled her fingers inward, turning her head with an unhurried, amused expression. “Double standards? What double standards?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Shao Yihan shrugged. “Want me to ask everyone once they all get here?”
“Pointless.” Yan Nianyi changed the subject. “Did you book a private room?”
“Yes. It is a holiday so everywhere is packed, but thankfully I booked early and managed to grab the very last private room today,” Shao Yihan said.
“If you couldn’t book one, we could have just gone somewhere else,” Yan Nianyi replied.
“This place has the best food in Honcheng. Plus, Honcheng is a tourist hotspot during the May Day holiday, so everywhere else is probably completely booked out too,” Shao Yihan explained.
“I remember the Wen family has businesses in the catering industry.” Yan Nianyi noted.
“That is true.”
Without exchanging many more words, the two were led by a waiter into the reserved private room.
Inside, several people were already seated. Yan Nianyi glanced around briefly, not recognizing a single face.
They must have been brought along by the friends Shao Yihan invited.
“Sister Yan, Yihan,” the people inside greeted them politely as they stood up.
Yan Nianyi remained silent and chose a seat slightly farther away from the rest, while Shao Yihan politely greeted everyone back with a smile.
Before long, the door to the private room opened and closed a few times, and most of the guests had arrived.
“Did you order the food?” Sang Wan sat down next to Yan Nianyi, her gaze sweeping gently across the occupants of the room.
“Ordered and done,” Shao Yihan nodded.
Just as she finished speaking, a line of waiters walked in carrying exquisitely plated dishes and placed them one by one around the round table.
“Hello, all dishes have been served. Please enjoy your meal,” the lead waiter said politely with hands folded in front, before quietly closing the door behind them.
“Knowing you cannot handle spicy food, I specially ordered half spicy and half non-spicy dishes.” Shao Yihan winked at Yan Nianyi, stood up to grab a bottle of liquor from the center of the table, and unscrewed the cap. “Can you hold your liquor today?”
Yan Nianyi had only had one glass back at the KTV, so she figured she should drink a bit more this time.
“Sure.” Yan Nianyi nudged her glass forward.
“Good.” Shao Yihan poured a glass for Yan Nianyi first, then poured one for Sang Wan sitting beside her, before pausing as her gaze landed on the empty seat next to her. “Wen Mo is still not here yet?”
“Probably stuck in traffic,” Sang Wan guessed, picking up her wine glass.
“Maybe.” Shao Yihan poured herself a glass, paused for a moment, and asked, “Wen Mo doesn’t drink, right?”
“Yeah. Qingyan isn’t here, so don’t pour her any, or Qingyan will lecture us again once she finds out.” Sang Wan smiled.
“True.” Shao Yihan placed the bottle back on the lazy Susan. Anyone else who wanted to drink could pour it themselves.
She had no obligation to serve the rest of them.
A faint friction sound echoed, masked by the splashing of wine. Wen Mo pushed open the door, her cold, aloof gaze sweeping across the room before locking onto the only vacant seat.
Right beside Shao Yihan.
“Wen Mo?” Shao Yihan patted the empty seat beside her. “Why are you only getting here now?”
“Got held up by something on the road.” Wen Mo’s breathing was steady. Instead of walking straight to her seat, she took a few extra steps until she was standing right behind Yan Nianyi, then leaned down and lowered her voice.
“I saw Director Yue when I walked past the lobby just now.” Her voice was soft, but just loud enough for Yan Nianyi and the two people nearby to hear.
Sang Wan’s eyebrows relaxed as she leisurely took a sip of wine from her glass.
Shao Yihan glanced sideways at the person next to her, observing her reaction without a trace of obviousness.
Sure enough, the expression that had previously looked rather chilling instantly softened, and the pupils hidden behind her gold-rimmed glasses flickered with tiny points of light.
“Is Director Yue eating here too?” Sang Wan raised her head upon hearing this and asked, “Didn’t she book a private room?”
“She probably arrived late. Ours was the last room available,” Shao Yihan whispered in explanation.
“Must be. Director Yue also had another woman sitting across from her; she had her back turned so I couldn’t see her face,” Wen Mo added. “Just the two of them.”
“Mm.” Yan Nianyi lowered her gaze, her slender fingers pinching the rim of her wine glass with an unnoticeable tremor. “I understand.”
“Aren’t you going to go check it out?” Shao Yihan asked out of curiosity. “There is a woman sitting across from Director Yue, and it is out in the open lobby. They couldn’t possibly be talking business.”
If it were business, Director Yue would have booked a spot in advance and wouldn’t be dining in the middle of a crowded lobby under everyone’s watchful eyes.
It was just that Yan Nianyi’s reaction seemed a bit off. Logically speaking, shouldn’t she immediately rush over to take a look? Why wasn’t she even moving an inch now?
Aside from that momentary flash of emotion right when she heard the news.
“That is Older Sister’s biological younger sister. What would I go over there for?” Yan Nianyi took a bitter sip of her drink.
Older Sister had mentioned it when they left the office.
Yueyi only had her younger sister as her sole remaining family. It was a rare family dinner, so what qualification did she have to intrude?
At least for now, she still lacked the status to barge in.