Qiu Meng tasted a piece of fish, and her eyes immediately lit up.
“Mm, this really is good.”
Song Tang smiled. “Told you I wasn’t lying.”
The two of them ate and chatted, the atmosphere relaxed and pleasant.
Meanwhile, Lin Yanchen sat beside Song Tang, quietly eating his meal without saying a single word.
He picked up dishes, drank soup, and remained completely silent throughout.
Song Tang occasionally lowered her head to eat as well, never once glancing at Lin Yanchen.
Qiu Meng’s gaze shifted between the two of them.
Was this really how a couple behaved?
Why did it feel so distant?
Qiu Meng sighed inwardly. Her cousin really was hopeless.
She shot Lin Yanchen a look, signaling him to serve his girlfriend some food.
Lin Yanchen lifted his eyes to her briefly, expressionless, then looked away and continued eating as if he had not seen anything.
Qiu Meng tried again.
Lin Yanchen acted as if nothing was happening.
Her eyes started to ache from the effort, and she finally gave up.
Forget it. This cousin of hers was truly beyond saving.
The entire meal passed like this, with only her and Song Tang occasionally exchanging a few words, while Lin Yanchen was genuinely just there to eat.
After the meal, all three of them, each with complicated moods, finally felt a sense of relief.
Song Tang picked up her bag and stood.
“Ms. Qiu, I’ll head back first. Thank you for your help today.”
Qiu Meng waved her off casually. “No need to be polite, it was nothing. I look forward to cooperation between our two companies.”
Song Tang nodded. “Likewise.”
She smiled, then turned to Lin Yanchen.
He was still seated, unmoving and silent.
After a moment’s hesitation, she still gave him a nod.
“I’m leaving.” Lin Yanchen gave a slight nod in response.
Qiu Meng could not stand it anymore.
“Yanchen, go see her out.”
Song Tang quickly waved her hand. “It’s fine, I drove here.”
Qiu Meng nodded. “Alright, drive safe then.”
Song Tang responded and turned to leave.
After she was gone, Qiu Meng looked at Lin Yanchen.
“You and Song Tang had a fight?”
Lin Yanchen poured himself some tea. “No.”
“Then why didn’t you say a single word today?”
Qiu Meng frowned. “You two are supposed to be dating, but you looked worse than strangers sitting at the same table.”
Lin Yanchen set his teacup down and thought for a moment before speaking.
“We’re going to break up soon.”
Qiu Meng froze. “What? You’ve only been together for half a month, right?”
“Mm,” he replied calmly.
Qiu Meng widened her eyes in confusion.
“Song Tang is such a good girl. Why are you breaking up with her?”
Lin Yanchen said nothing. Qiu Meng grew anxious.
“What are you thinking, cousin? What’s wrong with her? She’s beautiful, she has a good personality, and she’s smart.”
“I spent the whole night talking to her. Do you know how sharp she is? She’s even better than I am.”
Lin Yanchen looked at her. “So what did she help you with today? Why were you two having dinner together?”
Qiu Meng smiled. “She helped me deal with a debt issue.”
Then she slowly explained everything that had happened.
How Song Tang had invited her, discussed cooperation, mentioned Qian Li, and used Hua Yuan Technology’s name to pressure Qian Li into repaying the money.
As she spoke, she could not help but admire her.
“Song Tang’s mind works faster than mine. Her understanding of industry trends is extremely sharp, and she even pointed out risks I had not noticed.”
“I think people really misunderstand her.”
“She is not some useless rich girl. In my opinion, she is smarter than many people in the capital circle.”
“Maybe even smarter than you.”
Lin Yanchen fell silent for a moment. “Those really were her words?”
“Yes,” Qiu Meng nodded. “At first, I thought she might have memorized them.”
“So I kept changing topics, but she handled every one of them perfectly.”
“I’ve met Song Zhenkun. These are not things he could have taught her.”
Lin Yanchen fell into thought.
So people’s previous impression of Song Tang was not exactly wrong.
Even he had not thought highly of her before.
Clingy, foolish, shallow, and brainless. Other than spending money, she seemed to know nothing.
But recently, the Song Tang he had seen was completely different.
She had pushed back against Xuan Xinyang, resold luxury goods on WeChat, argued with Qin Yuwei, cut ties with Xi Shuting, rejected a project at a company meeting, and now she was negotiating cooperation with Qiu Meng and chasing debts.
Was this really the same person?
Lin Yanchen lowered his eyes slightly.
He did not believe Song Tang suddenly had such sharp business insight.
He knew better than anyone what she used to be like.
So what exactly had caused this drastic change?
But it did not matter. Song Tang had nothing to do with him anymore.
However…
Lin Yanchen looked at Qiu Meng.
“Ms. Qiu, you’ve been used by Song Tang, and you’re still speaking well of her.”
Qiu Meng frowned. “Used? What are you talking about?”
Lin Yanchen spoke evenly, analyzing each point.
“She invited you to dinner and discussed cooperation with you, all to pressure Qian Li into repaying his debt.”
“You were just a tool she used. How is that not being used?”
Qiu Meng glared at him. “Why are you talking like that?”
“Song Tang did use Hua Yuan Technology’s name to pressure him, but she told me everything honestly.”
“That alone tells me she is not a bad person.”
“She could have hidden it from me and only told me after everything was done, but she didn’t.”
“She even said she was worried Qian Li might scam me later.”
“See? She is kind-hearted.”
“And I’ve been in this industry for years. I can tell who is good and who is bad.”
“I talked with Song Tang tonight, and we clicked instantly. I feel like we could have met sooner.”
“Don’t twist our friendship.”
“You work as the heir of the Lin family, dealing with all kinds of people every day, so your thoughts are always complicated.”
“But don’t assume everyone is bad.”
“Song Tang is a good girl.”
“I hope you treasure her.”
Qiu Meng said a lot, but Lin Yanchen remained expressionless, like a wooden statue.
She finally gave up in frustration.
“Forget it. You heartless men don’t understand.”
“I’m going home.” She stood up and left.
At the doorway, she turned back.
“If you really break up with Song Tang, you’ll regret it.”
Then she left.
Lin Yanchen sat quietly at the table, looking at the leftovers, his expression calm.
His cousin did not know the details between him and Song Tang, so he would not take her words seriously.
The breakup was inevitable.
As he thought this, he picked up his phone and instinctively opened Song Tang’s WeChat.
The chat history stopped at her message about breaking up with him.
Nothing else.
Before that, she used to send him countless messages every day, sharing everything in her life.
That daily sharing had stopped on May 13.
From that day onward, Song Tang began to change.