When Feng Qianxu, the hostess, placed the order, she asked for Zou Yan’s opinion, calling him twice, but he didn’t respond.
Only on the third call did Zou Yan say, “You decide.”
Then, with a flick of his hand, he accidentally knocked a chopstick onto the tatami.
As Zou Yan bent down to pick it up, the two hands opposite him finally separated.
To be precise, He Dongli was struggling with all her might to break free.
Zong Chi was worried that if he resisted her for even one more second, she wouldn’t be able to lift a knife on stage tomorrow—and he’d be sued!
So, he silently loosened his grip.
He Dongli twisted her wrist and wiped her hands with a disinfectant towel.
Even after drying, the redness on her wrist hadn’t faded.
She ignored Zong Chi and instead asked Zou Yan which day he was on duty.
Zou Yan’s expression remained indifferent as he said Wednesday.
He Dongli told him she was on Monday.
Zou Yan didn’t reply and quietly sipped his oolong tea.
He Dongli continued, “So that’s what you meant by saying your friends can’t easily dine in. You should’ve told me earlier that you have a big star as a friend. Then I could have asked for an autograph. Even Jiang Xingyuan knows Miss Feng.”
God knows, this was He Dongli’s most positive way to make amends in friendship.
She was trying hard to get along with Zou Yan since her oolong tea that night had been somewhat embarrassing.
Zou Yan gave a hum and interrupted, “You can ask your best friend for one later.”
Feng Qianxu overheard this and quickly sent her assistant to get a photo from the car.
She gratefully said, “Zou Yan said you’re not familiar with the entertainment industry and told me not to be too flashy so I wouldn’t scare you.”
He Dongli shook her head, “No. My best friend and I have both watched your variety shows.”
“Really? Then here’s a question—why does He Doctor have time to watch but Zou Doctor doesn’t?”
Feng Qianxu tilted her head toward Zou Yan and complained to He Doctor, “He’s never seen any of my works. Says it’s overacting.”
He Dongli nodded and calmly explained to Feng Qianxu, using her best friend as an example, “It’s understandable. It’s like Mother Tongue Shame. When my good friend writes a script and I read it out loud, she covers her ears and runs away…”
Murmuring He Doctor’s theory, Feng Qianxu found it amusing and glanced at He Doctor with a look of affectionate familiarity, openly confessing, “Zou Yan also said you’re socially awkward, but you’re clearly very nice, He Doctor. I like you.”
Feng Qianxu’s outgoing personality showed as she told the two gentlemen about her favorite types of girls with a certain aesthetic vibe: “The ‘straight girl pretending to be a lesbian,’ the ‘lesbian pretending to be straight,’ and then there’s the third kind, like He Doctor—straight but attracting lesbians.”
Zou Yan choked on his tea and coughed several times, while Zong Chi across from him burst out laughing.
Zong Chi laughed too loudly, which annoyed He Dongli so much that she instinctively swatted his arm.
Only then did he quiet down, clenching his fist to his lips to signal his apology.
Feng Qianxu had heard of Zong Chi from Dou Yunun, though she forgot his full name, and Zou Yan hadn’t introduced him either.
But she could tell that this wealthy, multi-generational heir had an extraordinary relationship with He Doctor.
She also noticed that Zou Yan wasn’t in a good mood today.
Zong Chi, after being hit by He Dongli, restrained himself on the surface but couldn’t help the chuckle deep down.
He Dongli, exasperated, felt compelled to say something to curb his arrogance.
“Do you drink?”
Zong Chi could tell she was trying to distract him.
Whenever she defended something, he felt compelled to resist fiercely.
So, he asked innocently, “Can I drink?”
He Dongli was momentarily speechless, feeling awkward like she was walking into a trap.
She relented, “Fine, but if you drink…”
Before she could finish, Zong Chi raised his voice enough for Feng Qianxu and the returning assistant to hear, “Then I’ll drink a little. You drive for me, okay?”
Before He Dongli could react, Feng Qianxu offered, “He Doctor, you can drink a little too. It’s fine. I’ll arrange a driver.”
Zong Chi smiled slyly as he asked He Dongli, then turned his face fully toward her, voice firm and without room for negotiation: “She can’t drink.”
Feng Qianxu immediately caught the hint and stopped, uttering a small “Oh.”
Zou Yan chimed in to ease the tension, “She has duty in the ward tomorrow morning. No drinking.”
Zong Chi glanced at Zou Yan, as if his explanation wasn’t clear enough.
“He Doctor couldn’t drink even back in school. Once she drinks, she gets wild. Wild…”
“He Dongli, I’ll drive for you. You drink.”
He Dongli closed her eyes tightly, just wanting the topic to pass quickly.
She seriously summarized, “I have duty tomorrow, and I can’t handle Japanese sake.”
Zong Chi sat upright this time, only slightly turning to He Dongli, never breaking his gaze from Zou Yan.
“Once she’s wild, she starts groping people.”
From Zong Chi’s eyebrows to his nose to his Adam’s apple…
If you don’t stop her, as Lin Jiaoyu puts it, the ‘hat uncle’ will have to come to the rescue later, and someone in this compartment will be making a move…
Zong Chi snapped at the group to shut their mouths.
Then he picked up the person leaning on his shoulder as if she weighed nothing and took her to the car.
He patted He Dongli’s face and said, “Some people’s terrible drinking habits end here. It’s hard to wake her up now. Ask her, ‘Who am I?’”
She just blamed him, “Zong Chi, stop making noise.”
“Fine, then kiss me.”
The person who passed out leaned in, but before her lips could touch his, Zong Chi grabbed the back of her head and bit hard.
The next day, He Dongli showed up at school with a cracked upper lip.
She wore a mask for three days, pretending to have a bad cold.
She didn’t remember the taste of the Japanese sake, but she’d never forget getting bitten by a dog.
Now, with no alcohol in sight, she was the only one drinking blueberry-flavored ramune.
As they officially started eating, He Dongli finally figured out the relationship between Zou Yan and Feng Qianxu: they were middle school classmates, though Feng Qianxu dropped out in high school to become a print model.
She was beautiful, cheerful, and energetic.
Supporting her family while gradually gaining recognition after being discovered by a talent scout…
He Dongli chimed in, “You’ve known each other for twenty years.”
Feng Qianxu nodded and, eager to gossip, asked He Doctor, “What about you and Zong Chi? How many years have you known each other?”
He Dongli felt giving a specific number would be silly and not continuous—hardly a solid sixteen years—so she vaguely said, “Also middle school classmates.”
She expected Zong Chi to interrupt or comment, but no one spoke for a long time.
Then the women took over the conversation, discussing Feng Qianxu’s grandmother’s illness and related cosmetic medical procedures.
Zou Yan stayed silent, and Zong Chi opposite him did too.
Showing rare gentlemanly charm, Zong Chi raised his glass toward Zou Yan.
Though Zou Yan knew that last time at the Liang family’s place, Zong Chi had clearly come prepared to catch He Dongli, and though they had known each other for a long time, the light and vague “classmate relationship” He Dongli casually revealed felt like a damp book in the humid south wind.
Zou Yan responded to Zong Chi with a symbolic glass raise and downed his drink in one gulp.
The alcohol was sharp and overpowering.
Once again, he envied He Dongli—having a friend who had shared half your life and never drifted apart was a kind of talent.
Zong Chi sipped his Japanese sake, feeling he had nothing to say to Zou Yan.
It was clear they were on equal footing.
He decided to be the sober companion tonight.
It was the first time he noticed that He Dongli wasn’t quiet by nature.
When discussing her areas of expertise or topics she cared about, she was clearly expressive.
She talked while occasionally glancing at Zong Chi, seeming uncomfortable with his silence or her peripheral place in the conversation.
Or maybe she was just soft-hearted by nature.
Though he came as her “plus one,” Zong Chi knew she couldn’t bring herself to despise or trample others.
Once, after they fought and slept apart, Zong Chi drank alone on the sofa downstairs in the summer, with the air conditioner on but all doors and windows wide open.
The mosquitoes were relentless. Drunk and sulking, he passed out.
Late at night, He Dongli eventually came downstairs and stood beside him, gently nudging him awake.
Half-awake, Zong Chi had already forgotten their earlier quarrel but was scared by her standing at the bed’s edge.
He Dongli angrily threw a blanket over him and shut the windows, finally leaving him with the harsh words: “I just wanted to check if you’re still alive!”
Zong Chi jumped up and followed her upstairs, trying to catch her and joking wildly, “Don’t worry, if I die, I’ll leave you a generous inheritance to live in luxury for ten generations!”
He remembered how she had blamed him for taking her to a party and then ignoring her.
At the time, he thought she didn’t want to see so many strangers and decided to make her wait a while.
He underestimated how long “a while” would feel.
After they broke up, Zong Chi was once dragged by Yu Weishi to watch a Wimbledon match.
In less than three hours, he was sighing nonstop while Yu Weishi scolded him, “What are you doing? People might think you’re a junkie. You hang out with those fox friends all day; when will you grow up?”
Zong Chi lazily retorted, “What have I missed? If nothing, why grow up?”