After Ji Yan returned, Xie Mingxuan and the others asked him if he was free to have hot pot. Ji Yan waved his hand casually and said, "Sorry, I have plans."

"Uh." Without even guessing, the others knew who Ji Yan had invited, and immediately waved their hands, "Get lost."

In fact, Xie Mingxuan and the others had a vague idea about the relationship between Ji Yan and Ning Wei. After all, neither Ji Yan nor Ning Wei were the kind of people who would deliberately hide it. Although they hadn't said it explicitly, their behavior suggested that was the case.

Xie Mingxuan and the others wouldn't ask on their own initiative. Although they lived in the same apartment and were in the same group, they never thought about knowing all of each other's secrets.

Over the years, they've grown to be like family.

"We're going to eat hot pot, but we're not taking you."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yan turned around and said, "No, Lao Xie still owes me 17 hot pot meals. I've kept track of it."

Xie Mingxuan: "..."

He felt he had a group of amazing teammates. Ji Yan and Fang Yu never cared about large expenses. For example, when shooting a music video, they were even willing to pay for it themselves if the budget was insufficient. But when it came to who would pay for the hot pot, the two of them could keep asking questions from the very first day they formed the group.

Therefore, Xie Mingxuan usually pays for hot pot to avoid conflicts among teammates.

"I'm thinking about a problem," Fang Yu said with a deep expression.

"When Teacher Ji and Teacher Ning go out, who usually pays?"

"Teacher Ning?!"

Xie Mingxuan used a skeptical tone, while Lu Wei used a affirmative tone.

"It seems that Lao Xie still has a sliver of trust in Teacher Ji's character." Fang Yu patted Xie Mingxuan's shoulder with a serious expression. "Lao Xie, if you continue to treat Teacher Ji so well, one day he will sell your nude photos."

Xie Mingxuan: "..."

He wanted to say that, based on his understanding of Ji Yan, such a thing might happen, but his nude photos would definitely be sold after Fang Yu's nude photos were sold.

Xie Mingxuan didn't think he was that good to Ji Yan. It was just that he was happy to get along with the members of "Wing". Xie Mingxuan hated the scheming environment. In the past few years in "Wing", he could write songs without distraction, discuss music with Fang Yu, Ji Yan and Lu Wei and sing together. He liked his teammates very much in the first place, and his liking deepened little by little as they got to know each other.

Other people were also very kind to him.

As for Ji Yan—Xie Mingxuan was very happy to see Ji Yan so cheerful and lively every day, and he believed that Lu Wei and Fang Yu were the same.

...

Ji Yan and Ning Wei first arranged to meet at the zoo.

The temperature was neither too hot nor too cold this season, perfect weather for going out. He waited outside the zoo for a while before receiving a message from Ning Wei.

Ji Yan waved vigorously at the other party.

Ning Wei's expression remained calm as he walked towards them from afar, but as he drew closer, Ji Yan could clearly see the two dimples on his face.

Ji Yan's smile grew even brighter.

Sometimes he felt that the date locations he chose were childish, but every time, Ning Wei tolerated his childishness, which made him like her even more.

There were still many people in the zoo. Ji Yan walked ahead to clear the way. He was afraid that Ning Wei would get lost, so he kept holding onto her sleeve with one hand. But after a while, Ning Wei would grab his sleeve.

"Your true form."

The two went straight to the panda enclosure. Ning Wei emphasized to Ji Yan several times that it was his true form, and even took many photos of Ji Yan with his true form.

Ji Yan pulled him along for a photo together.

"Have you been to the zoo before?" Ji Yan asked.

“When I was very young,” Ning Wei pondered for a moment, “and then I haven’t come here since.”

Ning Wei's family is not nearly as complicated as Ji Yan's; it's very simple. His parents support his love for music and have never interfered with any of his decisions.

The two strolled around the zoo and then wandered into the souvenir shop to buy merchandise. Just like Ji Yan went crazy buying rabbits at Disneyland, Ning Wei also went crazy buying pandas at the zoo. Not only giant pandas, but he also didn't let go of red panda plushies. He even grabbed several bear-themed items.

Ji Yan couldn't help but retort, "Are you here to buy goods?"

He felt that Ning Wei was a bit of a wholesale fanatic at heart—Ji Yan came to this conclusion after visiting Ning Wei's studio and seeing a whole bunch of works like "Mist," "At 23," and "The Crow."

In short, Ning Wei's buying spree was relentless.

The advantage of visiting the zoo is that most visitors are parents with children, and the focus is on the kids. Few people notice that Ning Wei and Ji Yan are celebrities.

Ji Yan was disappointed that there were no rabbits in the zoo.

However, there were indeed many kinds of animals, some fluffy and soft, and others that were not good-looking. The two walked and took pictures for several hours.

Ji Yan observed the koala carefully for a long time. When he left, he went to the cultural and creative store and bought several koala-themed items.

The two kept a close eye on each other in crowded places, but once they reached a less crowded area, he would unconsciously take Ning Wei's hand.

Both Ji Yan and Ning Wei are slow to warm up. If you look closely, Ning Wei is even slower to warm up than him. But every time Ji Yan tries to hold his hand, Ning Wei always holds it back more tightly.

Although the other person didn't talk much, Ji Yan never felt like he was floating in the air when he was with him; he always felt very stable.

They ate at the same hot pot restaurant as before, and went to the bookstore in the afternoon. Ji Yan felt that his relationship with Ning Wei hadn't changed much from before. It was just that there was still a bit of distance between them before, but after choosing to become lovers, the details were different from before.

For example, when Ji Yan was reading, he would occasionally look up and find Ning Wei looking at him.

The two could spend half a day in the bookstore, find a corner to sit down, and not talk, just quietly read books.

"Would you like to... come to my house?"

After finishing a book, Ning Wei suddenly asked Ji Yan, "I brought the conch shell with me too."

"Wow!"

Ning Wei usually works at the studio, but he has a home in City A. The letter he wrote to Ji Yan was sent using his home address. His home is very close to the studio, just a few steps away.

Ning Wei got into the car with the conch shell in her arms. The cat immediately spotted Ji Yan in the passenger seat and bared its teeth at him.

Ji Yan also bared his teeth at it.

"Ugh, why does it dislike me so much?"

"Maybe it's because...you're good-looking?"

Ji Yan winked at Ning Wei: "Teacher Ning, that sentence doesn't suit your temperament at all."

Ning Wei felt she hadn't lied.

When the TV series "The Long Ballad" was on, Duan Yiran would play it in her studio when she had nothing else to do. When Qin Xin's scene appeared, Hailuo would grin and hide under the sofa—because Ji Yan's hair was long on TV, and Hailuo happened to see the tragic scene of Qin Xin being beaten to death.

That day, the conch shell cried out so loudly it was heartbreaking, but Ning Wei didn't tell Ji Yan about it. If she did, the conch shell would get angry, no, it would become furious.

So when Conch got into the car, Ning Wei clearly saw shock in the eyes of a cat.

It probably didn't understand why Ji Yan had come back to life, and it also felt ashamed and annoyed that a human had deceived a cat, so it treated Ji Yan even more fiercely.

Extremely fierce, extremely fierce, manic fierce.

While Ji Yan was still in one layer of "the cat doesn't like me," the cat had already entered a deeper and broader universe.

In that short distance, Ji Yan felt like he had fought at least five battles with the cat, leaving him exhausted. Before getting out of the car, the cat clung tightly to Ning Wei, continuing to glare at him fiercely.

Ning Wei was about to get out of the car when Ji Yan grabbed his arm and made him stop.

Ning Wei looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Ji Yan turned slightly to the side and leaned closer to Ning Wei. Under the watchful eyes of the cat, he gently lifted Ning Wei's left cheek with one hand and slowly moved closer to her, then kissed her on the right cheek.

He released Ning Wei very quickly, in the blink of an eye.

But he saw the blush on the other person's face more clearly; the moment he let go, the other person's entire face was almost completely red.

Ning Wei silently looked at Ji Yan without saying a word. The atmosphere inside the car was quiet, and even a little hot. Just sitting there, one could feel the temperature rise noticeably.

—If the cat doesn't come and cause trouble.

The conch tried to scratch Ji Yan again, but Ji Yan didn't give it the chance. He jumped out of the car, closed the door, and then arrogantly made a face at the conch.

On the way upstairs, Ning Wei was still a little dazed—the two had been dating for so long, and this was the first time Ji Yan had kissed him. Or rather, it couldn't really be called a kiss, because Ji Yan's touch was like a feather. He could feel the other's kiss on his cheek, but... it was just too short.

Moreover, he could tell that Ji Yan was just putting on a brave face.

When he stared at the other person, Ji Yan was also looking away or playing with the cat, but he didn't make eye contact with him.

...

Ning Wei's home has a great environment with a wide view; you can see half the city from the window.

"Should I buy an apartment here too?" Ji Yan hesitated for a moment before sending the apartment's address to Ye Ying.

Ye Ying quickly and promptly gave him a quote.

Ji Yan: "..."

Bowing down to the power of money.

Because Ning Wei rarely uses designer brands and dresses in a low-key manner, he had the illusion that she wasn't actually that wealthy.

All right.

Regardless, the other party is, after all, the lead singer of "Blue".

Based on Ji Yan's current income at "Wing", he absolutely cannot afford to buy here. To buy it, he would have to pay in installments and take on a long-term mortgage.

But a few minutes later, Ye Ying told him that among the properties the Ji family had allocated to him, two houses were located in the same residential complex.

Ji Yan: "..."

Ha, those wicked rich people.

He'll work hard and save enough money to live in the same neighborhood as Ning Wei.

Ning Wei's home and studio are actually quite similar. The place is full of musical instruments and CDs, as well as books and magazines. Although the place is large, Ning Wei did not decorate it in a luxurious way. The details are all about comfort.

Ji Yan started flipping through a magazine.

But before he could even finish reading a page, the originally minimalist sofa was already covered with all sorts of fluffy things. Ning Wei had spread the plush toys he bought that day all over the sofa. Ji Yan noticed that the bears he bought were even divided by region, with some from Siberia and others from the Arctic.

This clearly falls into the category of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which he cannot understand.

But... the details of their interactions confirmed to Ji Yan that this was Ning Wei's personality—a little cute, the kind of cuteness that only grew on him the more he learned about her.