Li Yu'an's eyes fixed, and he murmured uncertainly, "Friend?"

Yan Cen met his gaze impartially and asked, "Is it not possible?"

"..."

Li Yu'an did not respond in time, but just silently repeated this word in his heart.

Once upon a time, he also had many friends.

Since his family fell into poverty, those "superficial" friends have almost dispersed, not to mention that his personality is naturally a bit cold and arrogant, coupled with his self-protective dignity -

over time, he has almost no "true" friends, most of whom are just business contacts.

There was a long time when Li Yu'an felt that he had failed in both being a person and doing things. It was not

until Pei Yi appeared with the identity of "Will" and until Pei Yi brought Louyang and others in as partners -

that Li Yu'an regained a true understanding of the word "friend".

Yan Cen could see that Li Yuan's eyes were wandering, and he called his thoughts back in a gentle voice, "Are there any rigid standards for being your friend? Tell me about it?"

Li Yuan shook his head, "No, I just didn't expect that President Yan would want to be friends with me."

"Friends are about rapport, and nothing else matters." Yan Cen looked at the seafood platter pushed over by the waiter not far away, and made a prompt decision, "In that case, I'll take it as an agreement."

"Ah?"

Li Yuan mumbled in his mouth, and soon he smelled the rich aroma of seafood.

The waiter brought the platter to the table, along with half a bottle of decanted white wine, and said in a friendly manner, "Hello, both of you. This is the bottle of wine our restaurant is giving away for a limited time today. Please enjoy it."

Yan Cen did not refuse, "Thank you."

The waiter left, and Yan Cen picked up the decanter and shook it twice, sniffing the aroma of the wine, "It feels good, Yu An, would you like some?"

"..."

Li Yu An blinked a little at a loss, obviously confused by Yan Cen's way of addressing him.

The smile on Yan Cen's lips deepened, "I'm only three years older than you. If you like, you can call me by my name in private in the future."

Between the lines, it seemed as if they had tacitly acknowledged the established fact that the two of them had become "friends."

Yan Cen selfishly didn't want to give Li Yu'an a chance to refute, so he didn't linger on the topic any longer. "I have to drive later, it would be a pity not to drink this wine."

"Oh...oh, then I'll drink it."

Li Yu'an responded belatedly.

In just a few seconds, he felt hot all over, and urgently needed some cool wine to cool down.

Yan Cen took the initiative to pour him a glass, and then gestured, "Eat, the seafood here is all airlifted in that day, and it looks really fresh, eat more."

Li Yu'an pretended to be calm and drank half a glass of wine to whet his appetite, and then picked some scallops to start eating, but his eyes couldn't help but glance at the seafood platter -

the shrimps on the side that were bigger than the palm were also very tempting, but they were steaming and soaked in soup, and it was not convenient to peel them at first glance, and it was easy to get dirty even with gloves.

Yan Cen caught Li Yu'an's little look and chuckled.

He picked up the disposable gloves on the table, picked up three large shrimps at once and put them in a clean bowl, and began to peel them slowly, as if he couldn't feel the heat still on them.

"..."

Hmm.

Li Yu'an quietly sipped the juice from the scallop. He didn't expect Yan Cen to be so generous in his first move.

He was just hesitating whether to take the opportunity to peel two shrimps to satisfy his craving, but Yan Cen opposite him handed him three peeled seafood at once, "Eat it, you seem too lazy to move."

Li Yu'an's face turned slightly hot, and he subconsciously defended himself, "I'm not lazy, no, I don't like it very much."

Yan Cen raised his eyebrows, but did not expose his clumsy little lie, "Then you try it, if you think it tastes good, I'll peel it again. There are only a few big shrimps, so don't waste the energy to peel it, so as not to dirty it."

Li Yu'an's eyes fell on the cleanly peeled shrimp meat, and he seemed to have tasted the sweetness before he ate it.

"Eat it while it's hot."

"...Thank you."

Li Yu'an suppressed the sweet feeling in his heart, picked up the shrimp with chopsticks and tasted it carefully.

It was very sweet and fresh, and even better than he imagined.

He couldn't help it, and bit the half-grown shrimp into his mouth, puffing his cheeks and biting happily, forgetting the restraint on the surface for a moment.

Yan Cen on the opposite side saw his happy look and said nothing, but the movement of peeling shrimps in his hands increased a little.

In the past two days, whenever Li Yu'an had free time, he would think of An Yang's attitude towards him over the years, and the current tangled and confusing life experience made him upset, and he hardly had a good meal.

But tonight, after eating his favorite seafood, Li Yu'an actually felt a bit satisfied.

Dinner soon came to an end.

Yan Cen picked up the wet towel beside him and wiped his hands, "Are you full?"

Li Yu'an remembered that most of the food on the table went into his stomach, and nodded embarrassedly, "Well, President Yan..." As soon as the

two words came out of his mouth, he paused, and it took him two seconds to change his words uncomfortably, "Yan, Yan Cen, I'll treat you for dinner today, don't compete with me."

It was embarrassing.

Yan Cen thought about it and didn't refuse, "Okay, then I'll treat you next time I have the chance."

He almost understood Li Yu'an's true character. Although he has been tempered for these years, his former arrogance is still hidden in his bones.

While respecting others, he still has a little face.

Such a character and personality is genuine and lovable.

Moreover, they treat each other to meals, so naturally they have more chances to meet.

Hearing Yan Cen did not refuse, Li Yuan felt relieved, "Then let's go?"

"Okay."

The two went downstairs and paid the bill smoothly.

As soon as they went out, the cold wind of the night hit them.

Perhaps it was because he had drunk half a bottle of white wine, Li Yu'an, who originally felt a little stuffy, shuddered.

The sharp-eyed Yan Cen caught this scene and frowned slightly, "Are you cold? I'll take you home."

"You take me home?" Li Yu'an suddenly remembered something and hesitated for two seconds to refuse, "No, I can take a taxi home."

Yan Cen disagreed, "Since we are friends, and you invited me to dinner, it's not too much for me to drive you home, right? Let's go, get in the car to warm up, so you don't catch a cold."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Cen patted Li Yu'an on the shoulder. It

was a light touch that was just enough, without any unnecessary behavior, very gentlemanly, very polite, just like a normal urging between friends.

"..."

Li Yu'an suddenly felt that most of his body was frozen in place. When he came back to his senses, Yan Cen had already walked towards the parking lot.

He took advantage of the other party's inattention, raised his hand to suppress his pounding heart, and followed him helplessly.

——Click.

The car door closed.

Yan Cen started the car, glanced at him and asked, "Where do you live?"

Li Yu'an hesitated for a moment, and told the truth, "If it's convenient, just take me downstairs to the company building of Dawn Games. It's on the B building of the business building on Chunyang Road."

Yan Cen was stunned for a rare second, and then realized, "You live in the company?"

Li Yu'an lowered his eyes and covered his lips with his hand, "I haven't found a suitable house yet, and it's troublesome to stay in a hotel. I'll just stay here for the next two days."

Over the years, he has gotten used to saving money when it is not necessary.

The Li family originally had quite a few properties, but due to the economic crisis, they had almost all been sold to raise money for emergency use. The remaining house was in An Yang's name, and it might become Pei Huan's name in the future.

Li Yu'an knew that the mother-son relationship between him and An Yang was destined to never return to the past. If he wanted to break away from the past, he would have to move out and live independently.

Yan Cen heard the loneliness in Li Yu'an's words, and remembered what he had seen at the birthday party last time. He did not continue to ask questions, but just said "OK" and started the car.

...

Half an hour later, the car stopped downstairs of the company building.

Li Yu'an suppressed the slight intoxication in his body and glanced at the time. It was just past eight o'clock. "Pull over for a while, I can get in by myself."

He whispered as he slowly unbuckled his seat belt, feeling secretly reluctant.

After all, once he got off the car, he would have to face the night alone again. His life experience made it difficult for him not to have wild thoughts at night.

But Yan Cen did not stop there, but turned the car to the side of the parking lot with more convenient access, "We're here."

Li Yu'an nodded and said politely, "Thank you for sending me back. I should have invited you upstairs for a cup of tea, but at this time..."

This sentence was originally a euphemistic farewell, but Yan Cen beside him seemed to take it seriously and answered without thinking, "Sure." "..." Yan Cen unbuckled his seat belt and responded with a smile, "It's only eight o'clock, then I'll trouble you, junior brother." The last call was particularly funny. Li Yu'an's eardrums vibrated, and the dim environment in the car concealed the red on his earlobe. He pretended to have a dry mouth and coughed, "Then, then let's go upstairs." After all, it

was in the company, and it was not as private as a personal dormitory. Dawn Games is located in a business building on Chunyang Road. It is quite old. The two neighboring high-rise buildings are particularly quiet at night. Except for the employees who work overtime from various companies, there are only security guards downstairs to keep watch. Li Yu'an, one of the bosses of the company in the building, is obviously familiar to the security guards. When he led Yan Cen into the lobby on the first floor, they passed directly without registering. Li Yu'an took out the access card from his coat pocket, swiped it lightly on the machine, and pointed to the innermost entrance. "By the way, you can go out from there later. It's a one-way exit. You don't need an access card." Yan Cen followed his words and responded seriously, "Okay, I remember it." Because there was only one access card, Yan Cen almost passed through behind him. There was a big difference in height between the two men. Li Yu'an could feel the silent height pressure from behind, which made him inexplicably have the urge to lean back into his arms. Yan Cen followed Li Yu'an for a few steps. From his perspective, he could just see the smooth ends of his hair, which were so smooth that they almost went into his sweater. "..." "..." The two of them were silent for two seconds, each with their own thoughts. Fortunately, this kind of "close" contact only lasted for a short while, and the two of them successfully passed the narrow access control machine and took the elevator to the floor where "Dawn Game" was located. The lights in the corridor were turned on, and looking from the outside in, it was pitch black, and there was only loneliness. Li Yu'an seemed to have adapted to this environment and atmosphere. He entered the simplest door lock code - 0000 - in front of the closed glass door of the company, opened the door and walked in. He turned on the light carefully in the dark and said to Yan Cen outside the door, "We have commercial central heating for the whole building. It may be a little cold at this time of night." "It's okay." Yan Cen was not afraid of the cold and asked, "Where is the bathroom? I want to go." "Turn right when you go out." Li Yu'an pointed in the direction and changed his words, "My office is on the second floor. You can go up later. I'll go boil some water for you to make some tea." Yan Cen still responded seriously, "Okay, got it." Li Yu'an watched Yan Cen walk away, turned around and let out an uncontrollable laugh. He quickly covered his mouth, fearing that the other party would hear it, but his steps upstairs were still brisk. A few minutes later, Yan Cen came back, holding two cans of beer in each hand. Li Yu'an saw what he brought back and slowed down the process of pouring the tea. "Beer?" Yan Cen shook the beer in his hand and told him, "I saw the drink vending machine in the corridor when I got out of the elevator, so I took a look. You actually sell beer here."

"You drank all the white wine you sent me in the restaurant before. I was afraid that you didn't enjoy it, so I bought them all."

As he said that, he placed all four cans of beer on the tea table.

Li Yu'an thought about it and didn't refuse, "Well, then I'll drink it."

In fact, he was not addicted to alcohol, but he was easily upset and couldn't sleep in the last few nights, so he needed some alcohol to numb himself.

Since Yan Cen bought it for him, he didn't have to run out to buy it himself later.

Yan Cen looked at the boiled water and gestured, "I'll drink tea with you. I have to drive later."

"Okay."

Li Yu'an took out the tea set that had not been used for a long time, rinsed it with hot water, and then simply went through the cooking process.

Yan Cen was sitting on the side and watching with interest, "This set of movements looks very skillful."

Li Yu'an handed over the small cup of tea, with a trace of memories, "My father always asked me to learn from him, saying that it would be useful in the workplace in the future."

Perhaps it was related to the "father" in his memory, Li Yu'an's cold eyebrows finally overflowed with a trace of affection and warmth, and he became more talkative.

"But I was young and ignorant before, and I always thought that these were played by the older generation, and I could only learn the basics each time." He paused and spoke in a lower voice, "Later, my father passed away suddenly, and I had to learn to deal with business social activities, and then I found out-" "

Cigarettes, alcohol, tea, it seems that you can't do without any of them."

In the past few years, Li Yu'an has tried everything.

Yan Cen opened a can of beer with one hand and handed it over, "If President Li were still here, he would be very pleased that you can run the company so well at such a young age."

"..."

Li Yu'an was stunned, not quite sure, "Okay?"

Before meeting Pei Yi and the "End of Fog" project in his hands, Dawn Games was like a spent force and was about to fail completely. He tried every possible way, heard countless ridicules and contempts, but it seemed that he did not get a precious word of recognition.

Yan Cen caught the flash of lack of confidence in his eyes and repeated his approval, "Of course, before GM officially invested, we studied the development trend of Dawn Games in the past two years."

"When you took over, it was already in a situation of overall loss, and the situation was over."

"Without knowing anything, and with weak investment and market share, you can still maintain the current status quo and wait for the current turnaround."

"If someone else had taken over Dawn Games temporarily, it might have been gone long ago."

"Yu'an, compared to most of your peers, you are already very good."

Yan Cen's compliments were not superficial and false, but based on solid analysis, he put Li Yu'an's efforts over the years into practice.

The gentle tone as always was full of emotion, and all of it was piled up in Li Yu'an's heart.

Li Yu'an's eyes were filled with rare joy, but he held it back again and again.

He drank half a can of beer as if to cover it up, and then carefully added tea to Yan Cen, and then he murmured, "Thank you."

These two simple words sounded like the last note was lingering.

Yan Cen heard the change in mood, and the corners of his mouth raised as he drank tea, "This tea is very fragrant."

Li Yuan continued, "Well, I accidentally picked it up from an old tea farmer before the New Year. If you like it, you can take some back later."

"No, you keep it."

Yan Cen shook his head, and before Li Yuan's mood dropped, he said, "Next time if I'm greedy, I'll come to your place to drink."

Li Yuan still felt a little unreal when he thought of their "friend" relationship. He quickly drank two sips of beer, trying to use the coolness to calm his boiling thoughts.

Yan Cen asked casually, "Have you asked an agent to find a house for you?"

Li Yu'an nodded, "Yes, I went to see two houses yesterday afternoon, but they weren't quite suitable."

He ignored the twists and turns in the middle and simply mentioned, "I heard from the agent that it's hard to find a vacant house during this period, and it may take some time."

Yan Cen nodded thoughtfully and didn't ask any more questions.

Li Yu'an was not good at finding topics to talk about. The two were silent for a while, and it was Yan Cen who asked first, "As a friend, don't you have anything to ask me?"

He guessed the reservation in Li Yu'an's heart and added, "You can ask anything."

Hearing this, Li Yu'an tentatively said, "Didn't you go abroad to start a business right after graduation? Why do you want to come back this year?"

Yan Cen didn't expect that he would talk about work again. He smiled helplessly, but still explained patiently, "The company abroad is already very stable, and there is also an external professional general manager to manage it."

"Speaking seriously, there are three reasons for returning to China."

"The first is because I want to expand my domestic investment business. After all, no business is too big."

"The second is because Yue Ming and the Bo family had some problems. At this time, GM's establishment of a branch in China can be regarded as one of his retreats."

"As for the third point——" Yan Cen paused suddenly, as if he was fishing.

Li Yu'an's curiosity was aroused by him, and he couldn't help asking, "What is the third point?"

Yan Cen laughed, revealing a rare helplessness, "The older generation in my family is conservative and worried. They are always worried that I will stay abroad for a long time and eventually bring a foreign partner back, so they are in a hurry."

"..."

Li Yu'an didn't expect this to be the answer, and he digested it silently for a while.

His eyes moved back and forth between Yan Cen and the beer can, and he took the opportunity of opening the new beer can to whisper, "Why are they urging you? Do you have a lover abroad?"

The last few words were almost vague in his mouth.

Li Yu'an knew that his question was a bit over the line, but he just couldn't suppress the urge to ask.

Seeing that the topic had turned to the direction he wanted, Yan Cen took another sip of tea, "No, I have been busy with my career after graduation just like Yue Ming, and I have always been in a state of preferring to have nothing than to have too much in terms of relationships."

"Oh, I thought someone like you was... very popular, and you must have had many relationships."

After saying this, Li Yu'an wanted to bite his tongue.

Yan Cen gently pushed his glasses, and his eyes under the glasses looked even more joyful. He continued to guide the topic, "My family has urged me several times, openly and secretly, but I found a reason to block them some time ago."

Li Yu'an drinks when he's nervous, and the more he drinks, the more

drunk he gets. "Reason?" Yan Cen casually raised his teacup, seemingly drinking tea, but his eyes were fixed on Li Yu'an.

Only after the cup of tea slowly went down his throat did he reply, "Because I told the old man at home that it's probably too late this year, and I'll try to find a partner next year."

It was originally a joke to shirk responsibility, but now it seems that it's not impossible.

"..."

Li Yu'an exerted great effort in his hand, and the beer can, which was almost empty, made a "crackling" sound.

He didn't dare to think deeply, let alone dwell on this topic for too long. He pretended to be calm and poured more tea into Yan Cen's teacup, but his mind was distracted and his hand shook, and the tea spilled out.

Yan Cen couldn't help teasing him, "What are you thinking about? You look absent-minded."

Li Yu'an put down the teacup in a hurry, and took out two tissues to wipe it, but he didn't tell the truth, "...I'm a little drunk, and my hands are shaking."

After saying that, he immediately changed the subject, "This tea is small in quantity and brewed lightly. If you like it, you can drink more, and you won't be unable to sleep at night."

Yan Cen especially cooperated with his little thoughts and changed the subject by drinking tea.

...

The two chatted casually until the electronic clock on the wall jumped to nine o'clock, and Yan Cen stopped when he saw that it was going well, "It's getting late, I should go back soon."

If it dragged on, I was afraid that the other party would feel inconvenient.

Li Yu'an's eyes were scattered with a hint of drunkenness, and he tried to restrain himself and nodded.

Perhaps it was the effect of mixing white wine and beer, he had been feeling drunk and sleepy from the beginning, but he kept forcing himself to stay awake because he was afraid of embarrassing himself in front of Yan Cen.

Besides, he was reluctant to be the one who called a halt.

Yan Cen noticed that he was a little drunk, and he felt annoyed after realizing it, "I shouldn't have let you mix the drinks, do you feel uncomfortable? Will you feel uncomfortable staying here at night? How about..."

"No." Li Yu'an refused, "It's okay, you go back first, it's too late and it's not safe to drive."

Yan Cen wanted to say something else, but he remembered the pride and self-esteem hidden in Li Yu'an's bones, and finally chose to respect the other party's choice.

"Then I'll go first. See you when you have time."

"Okay, goodbye."

Li Yu'an stood up and watched Yan Cen leave, feeling even more reluctant than before. He

waited until the other person's figure completely disappeared outside the office door before he let the drunkenness and sleepiness break out of his shell. He didn't have the energy to care about anything anymore, and just collapsed on the sofa.

Yan Cen's departure seemed to have taken away the warmth in the room. The

loneliness and pain of the past few days re-emerged under the stimulation of drunkenness, and they entangled and occupied Li Yu'an's entire heart, so densely that he could hardly find a chance to breathe.

Li Yu'an picked up his coat and covered his head with it. He closed his eyes and didn't look at anything around him, as if this could alleviate the sorrow.

Time passed by minute by minute.

It seemed as short as five or six minutes, yet as long as a century.

The footsteps sounded again.

Li Yuan raised his sore eyes with great effort, but thought it was an auditory hallucination, and continued to close himself off in his own world.

--The

moment Yan Cen re-entered the room, he saw the scene inside the office clearly—

without any extra sleeping utensils, Li Yuan just curled up on the almost narrow sofa with his coat on.

He faced the back of the sofa, like a child who had done something wrong, or perhaps this was the only way to find the sense of security he wanted to fall asleep.

Yan Cen frowned, and as he slowly approached, he glanced at the single sofa he had sat on, and sure enough, he saw his cell phone that he had accidentally left behind.

Yan Cen had no time to get his phone. He just approached the sofa where Li Yu'an was, bent down tenderly and woke him up, "Yu'an?"

He carefully pulled off his coat that didn't cover his head, as if he was afraid to wake up the sleeping Li Yu'an.

But the situation under the clothes was also beyond Yan Cen's expectation.

Li Yu'an was not asleep. Instead, he blinked in panic because of the movement of pulling the clothes. Tears triggered by alcohol and loneliness were still flowing on his face.

"..."

"..." Their eyes

met.

Li Yu'an couldn't tell whether it was reality or a dream after he fell asleep drunk.

He stared at Yan Cen blankly for a long time, and when he spoke again, there was a hint of emotion that he couldn't even detect, "...Senior."

It was this title again, and these two words again.

A trace of pain welled up in Yan Cen's heart, like a needle prick, not painful but sharp.

His reason was wrapped in heartache, and his restraint was overwhelmed by impulse. He used his fingertips to gently wipe away the tears that Li Yu'an had not wiped away in time, "Why are you crying again?"

"..."

Li Yu'an did not respond, but he confirmed that this was a dream.

After all, Yan Cen in real life would not do this to him.

The alcohol strengthened this cognition, and he focused on the "dream phantom" in front of him, and the emotions that had nowhere to vent instantly found an outlet.

Li Yu'an pursed his lips and said in a tone of grievance that he had never used when sober, "Why..."

Yan Cen answered in a softer and more tender voice, "Why?"

"Why do they all want Pei Huan? Why don't they choose me?"

"..."

"Why, why am I the only one who has no home?"

"..."

"It's too cold, I don't want to sleep here, I also want to go home to sleep."

Li Yu'an murmured, and the sobbing voice that he tried hard to hold back was more heartbreaking than wailing

loudly. Yan Cen took a deep breath and picked him up from the sofa without any hesitation.

The weight was lighter than expected.

The sudden feeling of weightlessness startled Li Yu'an, and even the drunkenness was repelled a little.

His hands half grasped and half pushed against Yan Cen's shoulders, his misty eyes slightly widened, "Hmm?"

Yan Cen hugged him tighter, "Don't cry, we don't live here anymore."

Li Yu'an instinctively chose to be obedient, humming, "Where to go?"

Yan Cen knew that he might be drunk and unconscious, but he still told him the truth and asked for his opinion, "I'll take you back to my place and stay for one night, okay?"

"..."

Li Yu'an understood, but was not sure.

This dream was too realistic, it seemed real? But didn't Yan Cen leave? How could he come back?

Li Yu'an analyzed for a long time in silence, which only made his mind more confused and his efforts were in vain.

Yan Cen whispered again, "Yu'an?"

Li Yu'an hummed, "Go home."

After that, he simply mustered up the courage to lean his head gently on Yan Cen's shoulder, with a soft look of letting the other party decide.