Unwilling to disclose
The birds that had been idly perched on the branches were startled awake. They flapped their wings rapidly, causing a few feathers to fall, each one seemingly weighing a ton. Shen Tinghe felt an excited throbbing in her brain, invisible threads pulling at her nerves, like an electric shock, captivating her soul.
People thousands of miles away across the ocean are sitting in the same room as me, separated by a crowd of familiar faces, looking at each other.
No one could understand her feelings; she had only looked up by chance, but her memories were taken back to the past.
The person in front of her sat back down, ending their silent, intertwined gazes. Shen Tinghe blinked her slightly dry eyes, picked up her glass, and took a sip of juice. The sounds of her classmates talking around her were automatically blocked out.
Ning Yun noticed Chen Rancheng's lapse in composure and glanced at him, asking, "What are you looking at?" Her voice was soft, barely audible to the two of them.
Chen Rancheng looked away, placed his fingers on his collar, and tugged at it again, but it still felt a little tight. He raised his chin slightly and casually said, "Look at that table."
Wang Yanping overheard this and assumed he was complaining about the noise at that table. "It's my fault. I originally booked a private room, but when I heard this one was big, I booked it because I thought it would be spacious. I didn't expect there to be two tables in this room. Tell Xin Xin to go over and tell them to keep their voices down." As she spoke, she gave Dong Xin a meaningful look.
Dong Xin didn't want to go. She felt Wang Yanping had gone too far, and she was just as capable as herself. Trying to curry favor would only make her look bad. She glanced at Chen Rancheng, hoping he would speak up for her. She didn't believe Chen Rancheng was the type to hold a grudge just because someone's voice was a little loud.
Chen Rancheng didn't speak, but Ning Yun said, "No need, we're all eating together, let's understand each other."
In the latter half of the meal, Dong Xin noticed Chen Rancheng frequently glancing in her direction and assumed he was interested in her. She kept smoothing her hair and became very cautious while eating, carefully putting food into her mouth without opening it wide. She thought her dignified demeanor would win his approval, but Chen Rancheng didn't even notice her posture.
The steaming dishes cast a misty haze over the window. Shen Tinghe felt the gaze from across the way constantly watching her, which annoyed her. She bit into a shrimp and pulled Zhai Chen to switch places with him.
"What's wrong?" Zhai Chen asked, completely bewildered, as he sat down in her seat.
"It's cold from the air conditioning vent," Shen Tinghe said casually, picking up a bite of stir-fried vegetables.
When Chen Rancheng saw that the person had changed to a man, he frowned slightly, unaware that his expression had turned cold.
Since Chrysanthemum Terrace was located at the very back of Qingtan Residence, and there was only one nearby restroom, Shen Tinghe came out of the restroom and walked towards the private room.
In the narrow corridor, a door opened, and Chen Rancheng stepped out, bathed in the long, gentle light of the distance.
Shen Tinghe quickened her pace, wanting to get into the private room as soon as possible. Having been together for so long, Chen Rancheng knew what she meant as soon as she made a move. Taking advantage of her height and long legs, she took a few big strides and walked past the door of the private room.
With nowhere to hide, Shen Tinghe stared at him expressionlessly, preparing to brush past him.
The corridor is a bit narrow, but if people coming and going on both sides are willing to give way, they can pass through safely without getting their clothes rubbed.
But Chen Rancheng clearly had no intention of giving way. He walked steadily and with powerful strides, stopping in front of Shen Tinghe.
Should he say "long time no see"? Chen Rancheng didn't. He said, "I'm back in China. I wanted to let you know, but I realized I don't have your WeChat. Can we add each other on WeChat?"
There was no hint of complaint; rather, it seemed like he was blaming himself for not proactively asking for Shen Tinghe's WeChat.
Chen Rancheng gently tore up the draft that Shen Tinghe had made in her mind. She looked up at Chen Rancheng and noticed that he had become somewhat thin, wearing only a thin shirt in the cold weather.
"This is no longer Sena."
Most intimate relationships arise from specific environments, and intimate relationships that break away from that environment often face separation. Even if they meet again, they should talk only briefly or remain silent, like strangers.
Seeing his hesitant expression, Shen Tinghe stepped aside and said, "Excuse me."
Chen Rancheng looked at her almost unchanged face, his eyes clear and cold, and stepped aside, giving her space to see through him.
The swaying hem of her dress brushed against the back of his hand, tickling him. Chen Rancheng flipped his hand over and grabbed it, then let it slip away from his grasp, a faint fragrance wafting into his nostrils.
Taste is the key to unlocking memories. In an instant, the chains that held the gates shut are shattered, and memories surge like waves, with images flashing through the mind.
Chen Rancheng instinctively tightened his grip, but grasped nothing.
After finishing her meal, Wu Yutong went out to pay the bill, only to be told by the cashier that it had already been paid. She went back and asked around, but no one knew who had paid.
Suddenly someone said, "Did the people across the table pay for our table when they went to pay?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Tinghe's eyelids twitched, a sense of panic washing over her as if her mind had been read.
Wu Yutong knocked on the partition inside the private room and pushed open a small door.
"Excuse me, I'm from the other side. When I went to pay, I found that the bill had already been processed. I was wondering if you made a mistake?"
Wu Yutong's voice wasn't loud, but it was heard very clearly in the private room because of the soundproofing on both sides.
Wang Yanping was surprised. "No, I paid for our table." As soon as all the dishes were served, she excused herself to go to the restroom to pay the bill, afraid that Chen Rancheng would rush to pay in the end. When she paid, she deliberately looked at the table number and dishes of two other tables.
It wasn't Chen Rancheng's voice. Shen Tinghe breathed a sigh of relief for no apparent reason, but her heart skipped a beat.
The shrill female voice fell, and it seemed to still echo around. A moment later, a familiar voice came.
The medium is a truly amazing thing; it can clearly transmit a person's voice into the ear canal.
"No mistake, my friend is at that table."
A thunderclap suddenly struck the quiet night, and Ning Yun shook his head in shock, staring at his son.
Based on her understanding of her son, this friend was no ordinary person; she was most likely a woman, and their relationship was probably quite close. Otherwise, given Chen Rancheng's personality, he would never have brought it up in this situation.
He gestured to Chen Lingguo with his eyes, asking what was going on. Chen Lingguo frowned, how would he know? He had told Ning Yun long ago not to interfere in Chen Rancheng's affairs, and now look what happened.
Meanwhile, on this side, people were exchanging glances.
You? No. You? Shakes head.
The reason was that a girl went to the restroom and bumped into Chen Rancheng. When she came back, she said that there was a super handsome guy sitting opposite her, and he was really good-looking.
Some people joked, "How good is it?"
The girl thought about it carefully. How hot was she? Well, she was absolutely gorgeous.
Wu Yutong understood and asked curiously, "Who is it?"
After a long while, so long that Wu Yutong thought the other party was unwilling to answer, Chen Rancheng spoke up, "She is unwilling to reveal it." Everyone was somewhat disappointed, but Shen Tinghe breathed a sigh of relief.
Wu Yutong returned to the table, and a boy joked, "Which kind person treated us to a big meal and didn't leave their name?" Wu Yutong echoed, saying that she had booked the restaurant and that she had offered to treat everyone, but when the people arrived, she felt it was too expensive and jokingly suggested that everyone pay 100 yuan each, and she would pay the rest.
However, she was too embarrassed to say it directly, so she subtly had her best friend mention it to the class monitor. Now, the physical pain is gone, but her embarrassment is.
The class monitor, who had been silently thinking, suddenly spoke up: "I remember now! No wonder he looked so familiar. Wasn't that the diplomat from the other day?"
A diplomat who made a fleeting appearance on Yucheng News Broadcast caused a sensation and became a trending topic due to his good looks and high competence, but the search results were quickly suppressed and no results could be found.
Zhai Chen had just returned from the bathroom and missed what had happened earlier. Seeing Shen Tinghe resting her chin on her hand in a daze, he waved his hand in front of her face. She asked, "What diplomat?"
My gaze shifted from Shen Tinghe's face, missing the flicker in her eyes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
