Chapter 30. More than friends, less than lovers. ...

Back in the room, the two people, who usually chatter away together, were unusually silent, each with their own thoughts on their minds, and each waiting for the other to speak first.

"You ask Gu Xiangyi..."

"You and Gu Sui..."

The tacit understanding came at a somewhat unfortunate time.

The two stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before Lin Lang finally spoke first. She could never keep things to herself when it came to Shang Shu, so she bit her cheek, glared at Shang Shu, and said resolutely, "Um... Gu Xiangyi stole my first kiss."

Shang Shu never expected this outcome. She was stunned for a few seconds, then burst out laughing: "Lin Manman, you've really made something of yourself... You've only met a few times?"

In her memory, the two of them had only met once, at Lin Cui's birthday party, because she had dirtied her dress. How did things develop to this point?

"Both sides," Lin Lang answered honestly, head bowed. Then she pointed to the dressing room, "It's all because of that dress." She then proceeded to recount the entire process of being forcibly kissed.

After listening to the whole story, Shang Shu smiled and shook her head: "Is that young lady even an adult yet? You can't do anything illegal or disorderly, Miss Lin."

Lin Lang, who was curled up on the bed with his knees drawn up, straightened up immediately upon hearing this: "You're over eighteen, okay? Besides, it was just a kiss. You're slandering me! You're framing me!"

Seeing Shang Shu grinning from ear to ear, she curled up into a ball again, somewhat speechless, and said, "Forget it, just take it as a joke. Anyway, I doubt the little girl remembers it."

After saying that, she looked towards the walk-in closet where the dress was located.

She must not remember, otherwise why would she have asked the Gu family's housekeeper to deliver the dress to her? If she remembered, she would at least show up and explain.

"So you two didn't even exchange contact information?" Shang Shu looked at Lin Lang swinging his legs on the bed and couldn't help but say, "Or... should I ask him for you?"

Considering that these two hadn't even added each other as friends and were relying on the old-fashioned method of "carrier pigeon" to deliver a dress to each other's homes, I suddenly felt that this "romantic encounter" was a bit too hasty. After all, the social circle in Macau is only so big, and the two of them would run into each other all the time in the future. If there were any awkwardness or misunderstandings, it would be best to resolve them as soon as possible.

Lin Lang rolled her eyes at her and said sourly, "Oh, looks like things are going well between you two. You're even playing matchmaker for me?"

When it came to her own affairs, Shang Shu instantly lost her confidence. She suppressed her smile, shrugged, and remained noncommittal.

"I've said everything I need to say, so stop keeping me in suspense." Lin Lang got off the bed and sat down on the sofa where Shang Shu was. Then, as if afraid that the other party would try to back out, he added, "You're not allowed to talk about the parts I've already heard."

Shang Shu took a deep breath and then exhaled completely: "I... also kissed Gu Sui."

"Wait, what do you mean 'also'? I only kissed him once at most." Lin Langyi corrected her sternly, but she quickly realized she had missed the point and her eyes widened immediately. "You...you...you've made up already?"

Shang Shu bit her lip: "No, but she confessed her feelings to me."

ha?

The sheer volume of information—kissing, confession—left Lin Lang reeling. She blinked rapidly and asked, "So... you said yes?"

"No." Shang Shu shook her head again.

Lin Lang was still completely confused. Compared to his own story, these two people's story was so convoluted.

She simply asked bluntly, "So what exactly is your relationship now?"

"Well... I can't really say, but we're definitely not friends." Shang Shu looked down and picked at her fingers.

Lin Lang recalled that when she asked Shang Shu last time, Shang Shu also said that they weren't friends. However, her intuition told her that the two sentences meant completely different things.

This time it should probably be called: More than friends, less than lovers.

There was a knock on the door, and after Lin Lang responded, the Lin family's maid pushed the door open and came in, saying respectfully, "Miss, lunch is ready. Madam asked me to call the two young ladies downstairs for lunch."

"Okay," Lin Lang replied, then said to Shang Shu, "Let's go shopping after dinner to clear our minds."

Shang Shu nodded, stood up, and went downstairs with Lin Lang.

During the meal, Ke Ya Hui kept pushing the dishes in front of Shang Shu, as if she was determined to make her fulfill her promise to "eat a few more bowls of rice".

Shang Shu couldn't refuse the invitation, and the Lin family's chef was indeed very skilled, so the meal ended with her almost throwing up.

After the meal, Lin Lang, worried that Ke Ya Hui would be reluctant to let Shang Shu go, took the opportunity to say, "Mom, you've seen the person and fed her so much, shouldn't we go out for a walk to digest our food?"

Ke Ya Hui readily agreed, but before leaving, she held Shang Shu's hand and talked to her for more than ten minutes before letting her go.

"Let's go, Fourth Miss, let's go on a shopping spree!" Lin Lang's eyes lit up again at the mention of shopping.

Shang Shu actually enjoys shopping, but during her years in Aicheng, she was afraid of being too conspicuous and getting robbed. In addition, she and Gu Sui had many other things to do, so she gradually gave up this hobby. Later, when she returned to Aocheng, she devoted herself to the company. Apart from Lin Lang's occasional invitations, she herself had no interest in shopping.

It was still the most upscale shopping district in Macau, and it was time for Lin Lang's favorite fitting session. Shang Shu had finished choosing her clothes early and was sitting on the sofa acting as a judge. In terms of clothing style, Lin Lang was much more picky than her. The sales staff presented her with Krug champagne and handmade chocolates, which were exclusive to VIC Room and represented the brand's French style.

While Lin Lang was changing clothes, she scrolled through her phone, listening to the conversation of several eager salespeople not far outside the door. Her hearing was always good, and the store was unusually quiet since it was booked out, so the faint sounds were amplified many times over.

"I'm so envious. Not only are these two incredibly rich, but they're also stunningly beautiful. I want to have a script like that in my next life."

"Seriously, they could probably buy the whole store with their own money. Picking bags and clothes is no different from picking cabbages."

"Wrong, the young lady doesn't even pick out cabbages; she only sees cabbages being made into fancy dishes."

Upon hearing this, Shang Shu smiled and found the comment rather cute.

The driver took their bags and put them back in the car, while Shang Shu and Lin Lang continued to stroll around leisurely.

But as Lin Lang walked, he suddenly heard a familiar name behind him.

"Xiangyi, we'll be going now."

"good."

Xiangyi? Lin Lang stopped Shang Shu in her tracks and looked back. Sure enough, standing at the corner was Gu Xiangyi. The little girl was surrounded by brightly colored packaging bags. After watching her companion walk away, she started scrolling on her phone, as if she was waiting for someone.

"Wait for me a moment." Lin Lang released Shang Shu's arm and walked straight towards Gu Xiangyi.

Shang Shu also saw Gu Xiangyi not far away, so she followed her over.

Gu Xiangyi was sending her location to Gu Sui when she suddenly felt herself enveloped in a shadow. She looked up and saw Lin Lang standing in front of her with her arms crossed, her expression intriguing. Her face immediately turned red to her ears: "Sister... Sister."

Lin Lang sized her up, not saying much in public, but trying to find the answer he wanted from her micro-expressions: "Shopping with friends?"

Gu Xiangyi nodded in agreement, then looked at Lin Lang, and then at Shang Shu standing next to Lin Lang. She couldn't help but sigh that beautiful women really do hang out with other beautiful women. She politely greeted Shang Shu, "Hello, sister."

Seeing that the child was sweet-looking and well-behaved, Shang Shu secretly thought to herself that she didn't seem like the type to forcibly kiss Lin Lang at all. She smiled and took a small step forward, saying to Gu Xiangyi, "Hello, I am..."

She paused for a moment, wondering why she had inexplicably started introducing herself to the child. She was just Gu Sui's niece; what was she doing?

And... she can't exactly say she's her aunt's ex-girlfriend, or the childhood friend of the man she forcibly kissed? Or her mother's business partner? That's so strange.

After thinking for a long time without coming up with a suitable identity, and seeing the child staring at her with bright eyes, she had no choice but to say, "I am Lin Lang's friend."

Lin Lang glanced at Shang Shu, looking a little embarrassed.

"Ah, Auntie, over here." Gu Xiangyi suddenly waved behind the two of them.

Shang Shu and Lin Lang turned around in the direction the person was greeting and saw Gu Sui walking slowly towards them.

Shang Shu subconsciously moved closer to Lin Lang. This group of four... was really a bit awkward right now.

"A-Shu." Gu Sui walked to the three of them, but couldn't remain silent, so he called out to Shang Shu somewhat awkwardly.

She came to discuss her trip abroad with Gu Xiangyi today. She heard that Gu Xiangyi and her friends were almost finished shopping, so she came to the mall to meet her. However, she did not expect to run into Shang Shu.

Although her target was Gu Xiangyi, her eyes never left Shang Shu from the moment she saw her. However, her gaze was no longer one of simple admiration and affection, but rather mixed with something more complex.

"Mm." Shang Shu responded softly, then tugged at Lin Lang's sleeve and said to Gu Sui, "You two chat, we're about to leave."

Unexpectedly, Lin Lang disagreed with Shang Shu. How could she not see Gu Sui's gaze, which was practically glued to her? Besides, she also had something she wanted to confirm with Gu Xiangyi.

Taking initiative has always been her style, and today she's taking it out on Shang Shu as well.

So she winked at Shang Shu, then said to the other two, "Um... have you eaten yet? How about we eat together?"

Shang Shu was speechless. They had just finished eating; why were they still eating...?

But then she seemed to understand the meaning behind Lin Lang's look. He must need her to create an opportunity for her and Gu Xiangyi. Since that was the case, she had no choice but to sacrifice herself and go to great lengths for her childhood friend.

Just as Shang Shu was about to change her tune and help, Gu Xiangyi spoke up first: "It's only three o'clock now, isn't it a bit too early to eat..."

Hearing her aunt call someone's name, she finally realized that the other beauty in front of her was the real match she had previously arranged—her aunt's ex-girlfriend and Lin Lang's friend.

So how can the four of them eat together? She needs to create opportunities for the other two to spend time alone together.

Thus, the four of them each had their own agendas: Lin Lang was with Shang Shu and Gu Sui, Shang Shu was with Lin Lang and Gu Xiangyi, and Gu Xiangyi was with Gu Sui and Shang Shu.

If thoughts had a form, the threads above the four people's heads would be tangled and messy.

"Shall we go sit in Scarlet first?" Gu Sui finally offered a solution casually.

Since Scarlet was nearby, the four of them hit it off immediately.