"Mm, you can think of it that way."
"And what do you mean you can understand the second brother, but not me?" Ning Xi raised an eyebrow without even lifting his head.
"Third brother, not to criticize you, but you're a single guy who's always glued to your phone, grinning like a lovesick girl. Are you actually lovesick?"
Hearing this, Ning Nan immediately put down his phone, staring intently at Ning Xi, and asked, "Are you two together?"
As the saying goes, it's not the formidable opponent you fear, but the teammate who's worse than useless—especially one who deliberately stirs trouble.
Seeing the mischief in Ning Nan's eyes, Ning Xi wanted nothing more than to shut the second brother's mouth with his fist.
"Don't listen to his nonsense." As soon as Ning Xi finished speaking, he felt something was off. His gaze shifted abruptly to Ning Bei. "Little brother, explain to me what you mean by 'lovesick girl.' Do you think that phrase fits here?"
Ning Bei glanced at the other two. "Why wouldn't it? I think it fits perfectly."
"Fine, since you're the youngest, I'll let it slide."
"Go ahead and hold it against me, then?"
"Little brother, are you serious?"
"Yeah, I don't mind. But after the New Year, I want to take a break. I'm sure Grandpa will agree, which means I'll have to trouble Third Brother to manage the company."
At that, Ning Xi shot a sharp glare at Ning Bei, instantly backing down. "On this matter, you're the boss. I admit it."
Ning Bei smirked, his eyes crinkling with laughter. "Come clean now—what about what Second Brother said?"
"On that, I'm truly innocent. She and I are just friends, nothing abnormal involved. That's my story settled. Do you know who called me this afternoon?"
"Who?"
Ning Dong never liked gossip, Ning Nan was gossip incarnate, and the only one who played along was Ning Bei.
Ning Xi blinked. "Lu Zhengting called me, asking how to date a girl. Isn't that hilarious?"
"And then?"
"Then, of course, I gave him advice." Ning Xi roughly outlined the date plan he'd set for Lu Zhengting, eventually getting lost in his own perfect scheme.
The other three unceremoniously rolled their eyes at Ning Xi. Ning Nan didn't even try to stifle his laugh, asking calmly under Ning Xi's disdainful gaze, "Third brother, have you ever been on a date with a woman? If you use tactics like that to pursue one, it's not that I'm not backing you, but it's just too cliché."
Ning Bei nodded in agreement, then joined Ning Nan in endless mockery of Ning Xi.
After a moment's thought, for Lu Zhengting's sake, Ning Nan decisively pulled out his phone and dialed Lu Zhengting's number. As soon as the call connected, he heard the man's tone was extremely irritated, even laced with anger.
"Lu Zhengting, did the date go wrong? Or did you swallow gunpowder?"
"Is Third Brother around?"
Ning Nan glanced at Ning Xi. "Need him for something?"
Ning Xi probably guessed that Lu Zhengting wanted Ning Nan to hand over the phone, so without hesitation, he snatched it from Ning Nan's hand, gleefully covering the receiver and rattling off a long string of words. Finally, under the gaze of the other three, he froze.
"What did Lu Zhengting say on the phone to turn Third Brother into this?"
"Second Brother, what do you think?"
"It's simple—the date must have gone wrong. The moment Lu Zhengting answered, I could smell the gunpowder."
"In that case, you still gave the phone to Third Brother?"
"Big Brother, you're wrong. Third Brother snatched the phone; I didn't have time to stop him," Ning Nan said slyly.
Given his expression, Ning Dong and Ning Bei exchanged a look, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.
Ning Xi hung up, feeling thoroughly frustrated.
"What did Lu Zhengting say?"
"He said Xia Yan was fine at first, but during the movie, she got so upset she cried before it ended."
"No way? Even if those methods are cliché, they shouldn't lead to this," Ning Nan muttered.
Ning Bei frowned, thinking, then suddenly asked, "What movie did you arrange for them?"
Hearing this, Ning Xi quietly mumbled a few words. Instantly, everyone fell silent.
"Third Brother, you deserve it. Xia Yan is terrified of horror movies, and you went and picked the one thing she fears most."
Ning Nan's words hit Ning Xi like a hammer to the chest. Of course, he felt an urgent need to find someone to blame—she was the one who gave him that terrible advice!
Before Ning Nan could finish, Ning Xi abruptly stood up and walked off without looking back.
"Is he having a fit?"
Ning Dong heard Xu Xiao calling him, glanced at Ning Nan and Ning Bei, and said solemnly, "Your sister-in-law's calling me. I'll head over."
Ning Bei rolled his eyes. What a perfect, unexpected dose of couple love.
The two men stared at each other. Ning Nan ignored Ning Bei and went back to chatting with Xu Su on his phone. Honestly, back when he and Xu Su weren't official, they could go a month without meeting and not feel a thing. But now, after just two or three days apart, he couldn't help wanting to fly back to her side immediately.
Ning Bei looked up at the sky, feeling melancholic. As a lone wolf, he was truly miserable.
Back in his room, Ning Xi angrily found Zhan Meng's number and called without a second thought. "You stupid woman, what kind of lousy advice did you give me! Are you deliberately trying to mess with me?"
Hearing the roar on the phone, Zhan Meng noticed Feng Yuan's gaze shift over. She smiled calmly, covering the receiver. "Ning Xi, what's your problem now? Or did the trick I taught you this afternoon not work?"
"You dare bring up this afternoon?"
"Fine, I won't mention it. Then should I say you're calling me now because you miss me, but can't find an excuse, so you're using this afternoon as a pretext..."
"Cut the crap. Zhan Meng, are you even a woman?"
"You've asked that several times. I'm starting to wonder if you're blind. Fine, if you've got nothing else and just miss me, I suggest you book a flight to Jiang City right now. My place is empty anyway."
With that, Zhan Meng hung up. She wasn't sure if Ning Xi would come to Jiang City, but she knew for a fact her place was empty—because she was at her uncle's house.
Feng Yuan elbowed Zhan Meng, grinning mischievously. "Cousin, what did you do to get him so riled up?"
"I passed on my guide to winning over women."
"Guide to winning over women? When did you get that? How come I didn't know?"
"There's plenty you don't know. Explaining it all would be too complicated, so I'll keep it brief."
Feng Yuan blinked, eagerly waiting for Zhan Meng's brief explanation. But after staring until her eyes hurt, Zhan Meng hadn't uttered a single word.
"Cousin, weren't you going to keep it brief?"
"Yeah, I already did. The guide to winning over women."
"That counts?"
"Precise and concise—one sentence covers the cause and effect."
"Cousin, that's so precise that no one but you could find the cause and effect in that sentence." Feng Yuan didn't hold back in calling out Zhan Meng's bluff. "I'm heading out."
"Where to? Careful, or Uncle will beat you if he finds out."
"Relax, I'm just going out to play. Nothing like last time will happen."
"Wait, I'll come with you. I've got nothing to do at home anyway, and since Uncle's too busy to watch us now, let's sneak out."
Zhan Meng and Feng Yuan agreed and slipped out of the villa unnoticed.
Ning Xi's call didn't faze Zhan Meng at all. But Ning Xi, after she hung up, was pacing around his room in fury. That woman said her place was empty? Was that an invitation? But he'd been to her place before and never saw anyone else. And didn't she say she was an orphan?
Thinking it over, Ning Xi was completely baffled by Zhan Meng's words.
Meanwhile, Xia Yan, too scared by the horror movie to speak, was still sulking with Lu Zhengting. She couldn't help recalling their earlier trip to the amusement park—the haunted house experience was still fresh in her mind. Just thinking about it made her want to beat Lu Zhengting to a pulp.
Xia Yan didn't take a car. She jogged out of the mall, refusing to say a word to Lu Zhengting.
Lu Zhengting followed helplessly behind her, feeling utterly at a loss. No matter what he said, she acted as if she couldn't hear him.
"Xia Yan."
Xia Yan pretended not to hear, charging ahead until she reached a crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn green. Spotting Lu Zhengting catching up just as the light changed, she shot him a resentful glare, stepped forward without noticing the oncoming car, and put one foot on the road.
The high beams blinded Xia Yan. The car swerved erratically, and just as it was about to hit her, Lu Zhengting grabbed her wrist and yanked her toward him.
An angry voice rang out above her head. "Are you trying to die?"
Hearing this, Xia Yan pouted, still shaken, as Lu Zhengting pressed her against his chest. She could hear his frantic heartbeat. She reached up to touch his chest, blinking, and muttered, "Scare me with a horror movie, and now you're yelling at me?"
Catching her words, Lu Zhengting's mouth twitched as he tried to calm his racing heart. God knows if he'd been a second later, she'd have been hit. After a pause, he looked down at her. "I wasn't yelling. I was just too anxious."
"You yelled and won't admit it."
Lu Zhengting's head ached. He was caught between laughter and tears. "Even if I yelled, it was for your own good. Do you know how dangerous that was?"
"Oh, so yelling makes you right?"
"..." Lu Zhengting frowned, increasingly feeling that Xia Yan's temper was getting stranger by the day.
"See? Nothing to say now? Lu Zhengting, you're banned from my bed for a month. That's your punishment."
The driver who'd nearly hit Xia Yan pulled over to the side of the road, pulled out his phone, and said, "Boss Jin, tonight's mission failed."