He Lang looked toward the entrance and saw that Xue Yue had come out.

He waved to Xue Yue. As she walked over, He Lang introduced her to Wang Hai, "This is my wife, Xue Yue."

"This is Brother Wang, an old friend."

Xue Yue nodded to Wang Hai. "Hello, Brother Wang."

Wang Hai looked Xue Yue over and said with a smile, "He Lang, you lucky dog. When you two are free, I’ll treat you to a meal. You should both come."

Xue Yue nodded.

He Lang smiled. "Brother Wang, hasn’t your girlfriend come out yet?"

Wang Hai craned his neck to look inside, then suddenly broke into a grin. "There she is, there she is."

Xue Yue and He Lang turned to look and saw Meng Ye walking out of the entrance. Xue Yue was about to say hello, but Meng Ye glanced in their direction, looked as if she had seen a demon, and immediately took off, hurrying away along the wall.

Seeing this, Wang Hai let out a frustrated "Hey!" and hastily said, "Brother, something’s come up. I’ll get in touch later." With that, he chased after Meng Ye.

Xue Yue stared blankly at the scene—one running, one chasing—and said hesitantly, "That was Meng Ye, right? Her and Brother Wang... are they?"

He Lang couldn’t quite make sense of the situation either. He said to Xue Yue, "Brother Wang said his girlfriend works here. He couldn’t have been talking about Meng Ye, could he? It’s just that—" It didn’t look like what he had imagined.

To be precise, it seemed like a case of unrequited love.

After a short chase, Wang Hai finally caught up to Meng Ye and grabbed her arm, but she violently shook him off.

"What are you doing?"

Wang Hai grinned. "What are you running for? I’m not going to eat you."

Meng Ye tugged at her sleeve in frustration. "Why did you come here? Didn’t I already tell you? I don’t like you. Please stop bothering me."

Wang Hai looked at Meng Ye and said casually, "But I like you. I said I was going to pursue you, so naturally I have to take action. Besides, your father has already agreed. With our parents’ blessing and the matchmaker’s word, wouldn’t you say you’re basically my fiancée now?"

Meng Ye looked at him, exasperated. "My dad has so many daughters. Can’t you go disgust someone else?"

The corner of Wang Hai’s mouth twitched. "The way you say it, you make me sound like some kind of villain. I’m not that bad-looking, am I?"

Wang Hai was over 1.8 meters tall. While not as handsome as He Lang, he was still quite dashing.

"You’re too old for me, okay?"

Wang Hai froze. He couldn’t really argue with that. He was a year older than He Lang.

"That’s fine. I don’t mind that you’re young." Wang Hai was incredibly thick-skinned. It wouldn’t matter if she said he was too old or even that he was bad in bed; he could take it all without batting an eye.

Speechless, Meng Ye walked a few steps forward. Wang Hai followed. When Meng Ye suddenly stopped, Wang Hai nearly crashed into her.

He laughed. "Be careful where you’re walking. I’m a big guy. It’ll hurt if you run into me."

Meng Ye closed her eyes, ignored him, and walked to the bus stop to wait for the bus.

’Meng Ye didn’t believe Wang Hai actually liked her. They had only met twice, and he was already saying he wanted to pursue her. She couldn’t buy it. She didn’t think she was so charismatic that a stranger would fall for her at first sight. Besides, Wang Hai’s uncle was a friend of her father’s, and Wang Hai himself seemed interested in real estate. Meng Ye suspected his motives had less to do with her and more to do with her father. The man was a real charmer, though; he’d had her dad beaming from the moment they met. When he’d jokingly expressed his interest in her, her father hadn’t even objected.’

’Although Meng Ye dressed androgynously and put on a tough front, her upbringing had left deep scars. She was a firm believer in never marrying. Her own mother’s tragic life had been caused by marriage, and she refused to follow in her footsteps. To her, marriage wasn’t a sanctuary, but an abyss. In her mind, all men were unreliable, and she had no desire to depend on one. She felt absolutely nothing for Wang Hai, but the man was clinging to her like a stubborn rash these days, constantly finding ways to be near her. It was driving her crazy, and Meng Ye had no idea how to handle it.’

On the way back, Xue Yue and He Lang were still talking about it. "Brother Wang really helped me out back in the day," He Lang said. "Back home, I got into the black market scene through him. He had connections. I wasn’t deeply involved, though; he was the one mainly in charge. Now that the black market is gone, he came to Beijing City to get into real estate. I never expected to run into him here today."

Xue Yue nodded. "It is a coincidence." ’A huge one, at that,’ she thought. ’And to think he’s involved with Meng Ye.’

Just as they reached their front door, they heard Xiao Yu and Shiyi shouting in the courtyard. Xue Yue and He Lang exchanged a look. ’What’s all the ruckus about?’

Opening the door, they saw the two children yelling at each other. Mrs. He was covering her mouth, trying to hide a smile, while Ruanruan was scratching her head in exasperation.

"Crybaby! Who wants to be your brother? Your friend is just as annoying as you are!"

"You’re the annoying one!" Xiao Yu’s eyes were red, and she was on the verge of tears.

"What’s going on here?" Seeing his parents, Shiyi immediately ran over. After he’d been talking for a while, Xue Yue finally understood the reason for their argument.

Apparently, Xiao Yu had seen Shiyi at school today and went up to say hello. She had even proudly introduced him to her classmates as her older brother, but Shiyi had snubbed her, walking away without a word.

Xue Yue asked Shiyi, "Xiao Yu said hello to you. Why did you ignore her?"

Shiyi huffed. "Because she’s a nuisance. A crybaby."

Xiao Yu didn’t cry as much as she used to and had become much braver, but she and Shiyi still didn’t get along.

Xue Yue said to Shiyi, "Xiao Yu is your younger sister. We can’t be rude. Xiao Yu has never said a mean word to you, so you shouldn’t always be picking on her."

Shiyi tilted his head, puffing his cheeks. "Mom, whose side are you on anyway?"

Xue Yue stroked his head. "Now, now, we’re a family, right? This time, you were the one who was rude. Go apologize to your little sister Xiao Yu."

Shiyi stubbornly looked at He Lang, hoping his dad would stick up for him. But He Lang didn’t even glance his way. When his wife was disciplining the children, He Lang never got in her way.

Having no other choice, Shiyi turned to his older sister. Ruanruan came over, took his hand, and led him in front of Xiao Yu. "Mom’s right. We can’t be rude. Say you’re sorry to our little sister Xiao Yu."

Xiao Yu was hiding in Mrs. He’s arms, her eyes darting around to look at him.

Shiyi pouted and mumbled, "Sorry."

Mrs. He quickly interjected, "Alright, alright, she heard you. Shiyi, you and Xiao Yu are brother and sister. Grandma told you that you have to look out for each other at school, didn’t I? Did you hear me?"

Shiyi nodded, but he still looked unhappy. Xue Yue noticed.

Before bed, Xue Yue went to the children’s room. Shiyi, already in his pajamas, saw her come in and angrily rolled over, turning his back to her.

Xue Yue couldn’t help but laugh. She sat on the edge of the bed and patted Shiyi’s bottom. "Still mad at Mommy?"

"Hmph!"