Watching his retreating figure, Song Yunyi felt an inexplicable tightness in her chest.
She lowered her gaze, trying to suppress the feeling.
Cheng Ziyan also realized his words just now hadn’t sounded right—as if Song Yunyi had to answer to Gu Lianhuai for everything, and if he didn’t approve, she couldn’t even have professional dealings with Feng Cheng.
He quickly explained, “Sister Song, I didn’t mean anything by what I said. Don’t take it to heart.”
“Didn’t mean anything?” An angry female voice cut him off. “Cheng Ziyan, what kind of garbage just came out of your mouth? Say it again to my face if you dare!”
Cheng Ziyan jumped in fright, clutching his chest and looking around. “Who’s calling me?”
“Your grandmother, that’s who!” Chi Sheng stepped out from behind the screen in the private room, her beautiful fox-like eyes glaring coldly at Cheng Ziyan.
She’d seen too many police officers lately and had developed a bit of a conditioned response, so she’d hidden behind the screen when they arrived. But then she’d overheard this bastard Cheng Ziyan bullying her brother!
Cheng Ziyan looked at Chi Sheng in surprise. “What are you doing here? Wait—Sister Song, your client isn’t Chi Sheng, is she?”
Song Yunyi nodded.
Cheng Ziyan slapped his forehead in frustration, finally understanding. Earlier, the private room had only contained Feng Cheng, Song Yunyi, and a female lawyer, so he’d naturally assumed Feng Cheng was deliberately seeking out Song Yunyi.
He was done for.
Those were the only two words left in his head.
Sure enough, the next second, Chi Sheng smacked him hard on the head. “You actually dislike us that much? Then let’s cut ties completely. That way you won’t be bullying my brother on one hand while telling my lawyer not to bother with me on the other.”
Cheng Ziyan clutched the back of his head and wailed, “Spare me, my lady! I didn’t know the client was you.”
Chi Sheng’s case had spread so widely that it was common knowledge in their circle. He cared about Chi Sheng too much to ever tell her lawyer to abandon her.
He pressed his palms together. “I’m wrong, I’m wrong. Let me buy you dinner. Please calm down.”
He and Feng Cheng had grown increasingly distant because of Gu Lianhuai, but he and Chi Sheng were genuine childhood friends—they’d been neighbors since they were kids.
“Get lost.” Chi Sheng kicked him away irritably and demanded coldly, “So you’re saying that if the client weren’t me, you’d feel free to interfere with Song Yunyi’s work? Cheng Ziyan, I misjudged you. I didn’t think you’d be just like those disgusting men who think having a few extra pounds of flesh makes them emperor of the world. If Gu Lianhuai is that petty, he shouldn’t even be dating—he should just shave his head and become a monk.”
She’d been in a man-hating phase lately, and seeing Cheng Ziyan only stoked her anger.
“Oh, my dear lady, you’re wronging me. I really didn’t mean it that way.” Cheng Ziyan felt he should have checked the almanac before leaving the house today—he was apologizing to one person after another.
He shouldn’t have opened his mouth. He regretted it deeply.
Chi Sheng pulled Song Yunyi toward the door, sneering, “My brother has a bad temper. You’ve offended him this time—you’re dead meat.”
Cheng Ziyan swallowed hard, realizing belatedly that he really was in trouble. He scrambled after them. “My lady, save me…”
“Go find your good buddy Gu Lianhuai.”
Cheng Ziyan: “…”
Chi Sheng found the whole thing distasteful. She had them moved to a different private room, ordered a few signature dishes, then handed the menu to Song Yunyi. “See what you’d like to eat.”
“I already ate before coming.”
Chi Sheng remembered Feng Cheng’s unreasonable behavior earlier and coughed lightly, handing the menu to Lawyer He instead.
Lawyer He had been through too much today. First Feng Cheng’s harassment, then Ren Jian being arrested on the spot by police. With so many people present, Ming Ju’s reputation would definitely suffer.
She didn’t even know how she was going to explain things to Aurora—how could she possibly have an appetite?
Chi Sheng took one look at her and knew what she was worried about. She said casually, “Don’t worry. The police would have informed Aurora before making an arrest. Don’t overthink it—this won’t touch you.”
Lawyer He let out a silent sigh. “Thank you, Miss Chi.”
While waiting for the food, Chi Sheng propped her chin on her hand and asked with a smile, “Yunyi, is it okay if I call you that?”
Song Yunyi nodded.
Chi Sheng had been uncertain at first, but the moment the police arrived, she knew for certain that he felt something special for Song Yunyi.
No joke—even the city bureau chief wouldn’t dare barge into her brother’s private room to make an arrest. Without authorization, what courage would a criminal investigation unit have?
Besides, Xià Jiāngnán was an exclusive members-only restaurant. Everyone who came here was wealthy or powerful. The manager letting a group of police officers openly drag someone away was clearly unusual.
But looking at Song Yunyi, she seemed completely oblivious. Was she pretending? Or was she just naturally dense about these things?
Chi Sheng propped her chin on her hand and asked, “Yunyi, when did you and my brother first meet?”
Cheng Ziyan also looked at her curiously.
Song Yunyi answered truthfully, “Last week at the charity gala. Brother Lian Huai introduced us.”
Chi Sheng looked at those clear, innocent eyes and couldn’t help but press her hand to her forehead. This one was definitely a blockhead.
Meanwhile, Cheng Ziyan: “…”
He increasingly felt like a clown.
Chi Sheng didn’t press further. Smiling, she pulled out her phone and said, “Let’s add each other on WeChat—the private one, of course.”
Song Yunyi seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding.
Once the dishes were all served, Cheng Ziyan had only taken a few bites when his assistant suddenly rushed over, looking flustered. “Mr. Cheng, we just got word—the land in the West District was snatched up by Dingyi.”
The chopsticks in Cheng Ziyan’s hand clattered to the floor.
He hadn’t even swallowed his food before he shot up in fury. “Didn’t Dingyi say they weren’t interested in that land?”
“Word from over there is that Dingyi suddenly became interested,” the assistant said nervously, wringing his hands, unsure what to do.
Cheng Ziyan was about to boil over with anxiety.
He’d been grinding away at a subsidiary company, and securing that land was something he’d fought for entirely on his own—no help from his family, just him painstakingly building connections piece by piece.
He’d poured everything into that land, sat through countless drinking sessions, and was on the verge of reaping the rewards. And now it was being snatched away by Dingyi?!
Cheng Ziyan racked his brain, running through every possible solution, only to realize none of them would work.
Whatever Feng Cheng wanted, no one could take from him.
He slumped back into his chair, drained, and protested, “Who said I was bullying your brother?”
It was clearly him bullying him.
Chi Sheng looked satisfied. “I told you—my brother has a bad temper.”
Song Yunyi, sitting nearby, clicked her tongue in amazement. She suddenly felt that Feng Cheng had actually gone easy on her.
But then again, she didn’t have any land for him to snatch.
At that thought, she felt a pang of unhappiness again.
Why was she the only one who was broke?
The largest sum of money she had on her was given to her by the son who’d dropped out of nowhere. Remembering Feng Qiyue, she pulled out her phone and sent a message to the caregiver.
Unexpectedly, the caregiver immediately called her via video.
Song Yunyi gestured to the others and stepped outside to take the call.
When the video connected, Feng Qiyue’s fluffy hair was the first thing to come into view. The moment he saw Song Yunyi, he ducked his head back, cleared his throat, and spoke in a deliberately nonchalant tone: “The caregiver just stepped out. Did you need her for something?”
“I was looking for you.” Song Yunyi looked at the bruises on his face and noticed they’d gone down quite a bit. She asked, “Have you eaten?”
Feng Qiyue nodded.
Song Yunyi’s gaze drifted a little. Honestly, she still wasn’t quite used to being around Feng Qiyue. She searched for a topic. “Are you bored in the hospital? I brought my tablet—I’ll drop it off after work. And what do you like to eat? I’ll cook for you tomorrow. Eating takeout all the time isn’t healthy.”
Feng Qiyue seemed to be hearing her offer to cook for him for the first time. His handsome brows arched slightly, his eyes turning bright and sparkling, as he inwardly wondered whether this was just a polite gesture or genuine.
When he didn’t answer, Song Yunyi’s delicate brows furrowed. “What’s wrong?”
“Corn and water chestnut pork rib soup, is that okay?”
“That’s it?”
She knew how much a boy his age could eat.
Feng Qiyue hummed in affirmation. “That’s it.”
“Alright then. You rest up and behave yourself. I have dinner plans after work, so I might be a little late getting there.”
Hearing the word “behave,” Feng Qiyue instinctively wanted to scratch the back of his head, but realizing his hand was in a cast, he just let out a subdued “Mm.”