"So I told you to let me explain first." Wen Mo lowered her head pitifully, pretending to be sad and covering her face to cry, "Waaaaah..."

Seeing this, Yin Tao realized that something was wrong. She pointed her index finger apologetically and said, "I think I misunderstood you. I'm sorry, President."

Ye Qingzhou, on the other hand, scoffed and patted Wen Mo on the back, saying, "President, stop pretending to be pitiful. It looks disgusting."

"You should have said so earlier. I was hoping to gain some sympathy."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Mo immediately raised his head again, showing no trace of sadness, and his face had a completely nonchalant expression.

"President, you didn't cry?"

"Nonsense, how could I possibly burst into tears just because I was scolded a couple of times? That would make me look ridiculous." Wen Mo rolled his eyes speechlessly, his slender fingers twisting together beneath him. "Besides, we didn't do anything. I can say I have a clear conscience!"

"Are you truly innocent?" Yin Tao asked tentatively.

“…Of course, I have no reason to lie to you.” Wen Mo was caught off guard, but still pretended to be calm and continued to prove his innocence.

The atmosphere at the dinner table became extremely awkward, with the conversation revolving around the relationship between Wen Mo and Xia Lian.

The group stared at each other, none of them making a move to speak, until the owner brought all the food they had ordered to the table, and they started chatting again under the guise of eating.

"Are you serious?" Ye Qingzhou pushed a plate of steamed dumplings in front of Yin Tao and poured some vinegar on the side. "Take this and eat it. Isn't this your favorite steamed dumplings? Xiao Lian, you should try some too. These steamed dumplings are pretty good."

"There's no real or fake about it. Just treat us like an ordinary couple," Wen Mo said casually, before slurping up large mouthfuls of noodles.

After a few bites of noodles, he took a tissue to wipe the sauce from his mouth and glanced at the two girls sitting opposite him.

"How did you find out? Our relationship should be kept very secret."

Yin Tao choked on her breath, her gaze darting to the side every now and then, before finally revealing the truth, "Xiao Lian told me that you two kissed yesterday..."

"..."

Okay, I understand now.

It turns out that a family member let it slip.

Looking up, Xia Lian slowly raised her head. When she met Wen Mo's gaze, she looked away guiltily, pursed her lips slightly, and finally lowered her eyes cautiously.

"sorry……"

"Don't be like that, I didn't blame you, you don't need to apologize." Wen Mo quickly comforted her. He understood that the girl definitely didn't mean it, she just didn't know how to control her words.

Sometimes, even when I'm alone, I often say strange things. Thinking about it this way, it's not so bad to let slip things when I'm with friends.

Seeing that the girl still wanted to apologize, Wen Mo sighed and shook his head, then reached out and picked up a steamed dumpling and stuffed it into her mouth, thus silencing Xia Lian's little mouth.

“I said it’s okay, so it’s okay. You don’t need to keep apologizing.” Wen Mo smiled gently and patted Ye Qingzhou’s shoulder. “Besides, whether we say it sooner or later, we’ll have to be honest eventually. And look, they didn’t react at all.”

Seeing this, Ye Qingzhou nodded in agreement, though he had already guessed the close relationship between the two.

Unfortunately, Yin Tao is the kind of girl who is rather impatient. Before we could even calm her down, she started yelling that she wanted to drag the president out and euthanize her.

"Yin Tao, don't be like this. She herself didn't say anything, and the president didn't do anything either," Ye Qingzhou said, seemingly unintentionally, to comfort her.

Yin Tao pouted, feeling wronged. She wasn't against the marriage; on the contrary, she was simply concerned about her friend's situation.

It's quite a miracle that these two can be together. If they're dating without the intention of getting married, wouldn't that be almost like being a scoundrel? ...Speaking of which, can they really get a marriage certificate?

"That's not what I meant. I'm just worried... that the president might start something and then abandon you, like not getting married in the end, and just playing around..."

"Is this the kind of person you see me as?" Wen Mo was a little speechless, but these words made him laugh unconsciously.

Putting everything else aside, girls like Yin Tao are really reassuring to be friends with; they're the kind who would go to great lengths for their friends, and they'd really step up if something happened.

"I know the president isn't that kind of person, but... have you thought about the future?" Yin Tao added worriedly. The usually quirky and clever girl had become much quieter at this moment, helping to consider the two of them's future.

“We think much more than the people around us, so don’t worry. Besides, I’m dating her with marriage in mind.”

Wen Mo patted his chest confidently and reached out to pat Xia Lian's head. The girl had been quiet since earlier, probably because she felt a little guilty.

"Then I'm relieved," Yin Tao said with a smile.

Ye Qingzhou yawned and, out of boredom, used his chopsticks to steal some of Yin Tao's steamed dumplings.

"Alright, the misunderstanding is cleared up. As I said, let's hear how the chairman explains it first. If his explanation is satisfactory, we won't call the police."

"So you were actually planning to call the police?!"

"I was just kidding, I was just joking." Ye Qingzhou shrugged, but his jokes were anything but funny, a unique kind of humor of his.

It's not surprising that they considered calling the police, because Xia Lian seemed like someone who could be easily fooled, with her charming face and innocent way of thinking.

No matter how you look at it, this girl is the victim.

"But let's get this straight, President, you have to take responsibility, after all, you've already kissed." Ye Qingzhou said with emotion, never expecting such a thrilling thing to happen right next to him.

"Of course I'll take responsibility, but I'm not dating her with a responsible attitude. I just genuinely like Xiaolian, which is why I want to date her."

"That makes a lot of sense." Yin Tao clapped enthusiastically from the side, but then her expression changed, and she suddenly thought of a new question, "By the way, President, can you two really get a marriage certificate?"

"Marriage certificate?"

"Yeah, you two aren't... you know, you know." Yin Tao was too embarrassed to reveal the other side of their relationship.

Ye Qingzhou shook his head. "Regardless of whether we can get it or not, even if we really can't, we should be able to get the chairman's family to give us some money and they'll turn a blind eye."

At this point, Ye Qingzhou turned to Wen Mo and asked, "President, what are your family's circumstances like?"

Wen Mo hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth, "My family owns three houses."

"See? With these conditions met, getting a marriage certificate is no problem at all."