eye contact

After starting work, Shen Tinghe rented an apartment near the university and retired to her hometown on weekends. She occasionally met up with friends and lived a carefree life. If she hadn't seen the photos on her phone, she would have thought that Chen Rancheng only existed in her dreams.

He doesn't like taking pictures, and this one on his phone was taken by her secretly. Chen Rancheng is cooking in the kitchen with his sleeves rolled up, and the rising white smoke is faintly visible and swirling around him.

As the finger swiped to the right, the person cooking noticed the camera and looked up. From this angle, his eyelids deepened, giving him a sharper, more imposing look.

I don't know if it's because I saw his photo a few days ago, but the figure that flashed before my eyes looked just like him.

Lao Chen loves listening to the news and is a loyal fan of the weather forecast and the evening news. Even if he doesn't look at the TV for a minute, he still keeps the sound on.

The camera flashed by quickly, and Shen Tinghe didn't have time to recognize it. Her thoughts, which were trying to confirm further, were interrupted by the ringing of the phone. She swiped her phone and lay back on the sofa.

The class monitor from high school asked her if she would attend the class reunion next week. Admittedly, Shen Tinghe was a lazy person and hated connecting with others. It was absurd to think that people who had barely spoken to each other in school would now be having a gathering and chatting at the same table.

She could use being out of the country as an excuse before, but then Zhai Chen posted on his WeChat Moments, "Shen Tinghe said she can only treat me to dinner when everyone is here." The meaning was ambiguous, but her classmates all knew that she had returned to China.

But Shen Tinghe is innocent; she never said such a thing.

The location was set at Qingquan Residence, which was beautifully and elegantly decorated, secluded in a corner with a spring and stream in the middle, exuding an antique charm.

When Shen Tinghe arrived at the place, she directly gave the name of the class monitor at the front desk. The supervisor said that there was no such person and politely asked her if she had remembered the name wrong.

There were other people queuing behind her, and Shen Tinghe stepped aside to prepare to send a WeChat message to the class monitor to confirm whether she had remembered it wrong.

Before I could even make the call, I saw my old classmate.

Wu Yutong, carrying a small chain bag, with her hair dyed a dry yellow, walked toward the front desk with a rather unfriendly expression.

Magnetic fields are indeed a very mysterious thing. Shen Tinghe felt that Wu Yutong was not a good person the first time she met her.

Her subsequent years of study proved to her that her intuition had always been accurate.

She ignored Shen Tinghe, or rather, she didn't even look in their direction, and went straight to the front desk.

"Why are there two tables at Chrysanthemum Terrace? And there's even a person sitting on the other table?"

She spent a lot of money to show off at Qingquanju Restaurant, insisting on booking the largest private room in the restaurant, hoping to impress her old classmates. However, when she entered, she found that there was already a table occupied, and several classmates were awkwardly standing next to her.

The receptionist patiently explained, "We confirmed the details of the Chrysanthemum Terrace with you when you placed your order. There is a partition in the middle, which you can close."

Wu Yutong couldn't remember what the other party said when she made the reservation, she only remembered that Qingquanju, which had previously said it was full, was now available, so she quickly made a reservation.

Being too aggressive made her lose face, and everyone around her was looking in her direction. Wu Yutong lowered her voice and said, "Could you please change our room?"

The receptionist offered her service with a smile as always: "I'm sorry, we don't have any spare private rooms at the moment. Would you mind if we brought you a fruit platter?"

Wu Yutong took a breath, indicating her dissatisfaction with the result, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Shen Tinghe standing next to her.

She still looked the same as when she was in school, but she had gained a more mature charm. Her skin was fair and delicate. Wu Yutong looked at her and unconsciously touched the corner of her eye.

She started wearing makeup a long time ago, often sleeping with it on, and was perfunctory in removing it, which has led to fine lines around her eyes. She specifically went to get injections before coming here.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

After saying that, he didn't even look at the waiter and led Shen Tinghe inside.

The kung fu squad leader who was negotiating with the front desk also replied, saying that Wu Yutong had made the reservation at the restaurant and that she needed to provide her name. He said that she had just gone out and might have gone to the front desk to ask if she had run into her.

After Shen Tinghe gave a brief reply, she saw Wu Yutong walking towards her.

Inside the private room, past a gently flowing spring, were three people traveling together. Later, a friend of Wu Yutong's from school arrived. The two of them deliberately ignored Shen Tinghe, and Shen Tinghe also showed no intention of chatting with them, walking slightly behind them to avoid them.

Students had already arrived in the private room, and they had consciously divided into several small groups, but all tacitly leaned against the tables next to them.

Actually, when the partition in the room is closed, you can barely hear the conversation between the people on the other side, but because it is made of glass, you can see the other person's image.

Wu Yutong pulled her friend into a small group and they quickly started chatting. Shen Tinghe didn't care where she sat and chose a less crowded spot at the bottom.

She was a little socially anxious and thought to herself that she wished Liu Yinyin were here.

Zhang Yanping, sitting at the opposite table, hadn't expected things to turn out this way either. She had finally gotten a chance to have dinner with Ning Yun, but it had all turned out like this.

Zhang Yanping and Ning Yun are distant relatives, so distant that they couldn't be further apart. Because she was hospitalized, she ran into Ning Yun and insisted on treating his family to a meal.

She kept talking about her daughter, praising her for being filial and kind, and asked if her husband was married. She replied that her husband wasn't in a hurry at all!

Ning Yun had met Zhang Yanping's daughter; she was beautiful and filial, and stayed by her side the whole time she was hospitalized.

She understood Zhang Yanping's meaning and thought the girl was quite nice, so she agreed. She planned to act first and inform Chen Rancheng later, since the boy had quietly returned to China without telling her beforehand.

Although she was pleasantly surprised, her heart couldn't take it.

Dong Xin sat upright next to Wang Yanping, listening to their conversation, but her eyes kept glancing towards the door. Ning Yun caught her gaze and smiled, "That kid Chen Rancheng said he had a meeting at the last minute and would be here later."

Dong Xin blushed when she heard Ning Yun's explanation, pursed her lips and nodded. Wang Yanping smiled and said, "Rancheng's job is special, which is understandable. It's good for men to be busy with their careers."

Then the conversation turned to Dong Xin, saying that she was so focused on her work that she didn't have time for romance. It was supposed to be a complaint, but it was actually a disguised form of pride.

Chen Rancheng did have a meeting, and he only remembered that he was supposed to have dinner with his relatives today after seeing the text message from Ning Yun.

As he pushed open the door, everyone's eyes turned to him. Chen Rancheng calmly glanced at them, greeted them politely, and when he saw the unfamiliar girls of the same age at the dinner table, his brows furrowed involuntarily. He immediately understood what kind of dinner party this was.

Ning Yun flashed his eyes, signaling him to be obedient and sit down quickly.

The atmosphere froze for a moment, then Wang Yanping laughed it off, saying, "Rancheng works so hard, still working so late."

Chen Rancheng poured himself a glass of water and said modestly, "No, I'm sorry I'm late."

Wang Yanping is someone I like more and more. She is handsome, has a gentle temperament, comes from a good family, and I know her background well.

Compared to Wang Yanping's undisguised nature, Dong Xin was much more reserved. When Chen Rancheng entered the room, her eyes were just passing by the doorway. Caught off guard, her gaze met his, and her heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly lowered her head.

After he sat down, he loosened his collar slightly, revealing his clearly defined knuckles as he bent his fingers. Only after hearing his voice did he slowly come to his senses and turn his gaze back to him.

His voice was very pleasant, clear, deep, and clean, but Dong Xin vaguely sensed an undeniable air of dominance in it.

Although there was a partition in the middle, it was still a private room, and the cheering noise from the other side came over with a bang.

Chen Rancheng looked up, his calm eyes flickered, his dark pupils suddenly contracted, and then he narrowed his eyes slightly.

The figure in front, whom Chen Rancheng had regarded as an obstacle, laughed so hard he bent over, revealing the full appearance of the person who had been blocked.

A second before the obstacle stood up, the person on the other side also looked up.

/

This includes an extra chapter for 100 followers. I didn't mention an extra chapter for 100 followers before because I didn't have any drafts saved up and hadn't made that promise. I wrote extra chapters today, so I decided not to save them up.