Lao San was quick to react. “I’ll treat.”

Ling Wangjin: “How could I let a guest pay for the meal?”

Lao San: “I’ve known Ningning for a long time, I don’t count as a guest. Besides, we already agreed on this earlier; I’m the one treating.”

Watching the two of them bicker over who would pay, she missed her chance to steer the conversation elsewhere.

Yu Ning took a long breath and let it out.

“Stop arguing, I’ll pay.”

This suggestion from Yu Ning was adopted quite quickly.

To avoid Ling Wangjin pulling that stunt from her dreams—secretly showing Lao San the house payment receipts—and also for the sake of her own wallet, Yu Ning chose an affordable stir-fry restaurant.

Following that, Yu Ning kept her eyes glued to Ling Wangjin, focusing her full attention on his every word and action.

First, she sat right next to him, squeezing him to the side to keep him as far from Lao San as possible. Then, she scanned the QR code on the table, handed her phone to Lao San, and told her to order.

During the process, Yu Ning kept turning her head to stare at him.

Ling Wangjin swiped on his own phone a few times, then pushed it toward her.

“Do you want to drink lemon tea?”

Yu Ning quickly glanced down.

It was the delivery interface for the lemon tea shop she liked.

Having had the dream so many times, Yu Ning could already figure out his routine.

It was ninety percent likely that he would suggest she order lemon tea and then order one for Lao San as well, using that as an opening to start a conversation.

Yu Ning pushed the phone away, suppressing the urge to sigh. “I don’t want any.”

Lao San didn’t have much of an obsession with drinks, so she didn’t even order one.

Yu Ning took her phone back from Lao San and glanced at Ling Wangjin while she ordered.

After ordering, she chatted with Lao San for a bit, turning her head to check on him constantly.

Ling Wangjin, however, sat there quietly.

He didn’t show any particular emotion, and there was still a smile on his face.

Yu Ning began to observe him closely, wanting to peel away the layers to find some clues, striving to catch him in the act before he could cause trouble for Lao San.

Upon closer inspection, she really did notice something different.

He was dressed quite formally today, wearing a black shirt.

Yu Ning had never seen this shirt before. Most of his shirts were tailored to fit, making his upper body look broad and his waist narrow, which was very pleasing to the eye.

There was a chain hanging around his neck, the pendant at the end tucked deep inside the collar.

Her gaze naturally slid down there. She didn’t know if it was because it was too hot today, but he had unbuttoned an extra button, and the collar facing her side was slightly open.

As a result, Yu Ning saw a small sliver of bulging muscle, with the rest of it and that pendant wrapped away by the black shirt.

“Ningning…” Lao San called out.

Yu Ning immediately pulled back her gaze.

The dishes were brought to the table one after another. Yu Ning still kept turning to look at him, but her line of sight was firmly fixed above his neck, refusing to slide down even an inch.

Just as Yu Ning was staring intently, she saw him gently place a peeled shrimp into her bowl.

“What are you doing?”

Ling Wangjin smiled. “You were staring at me earlier; didn’t you want to eat shrimp?”

Yu Ning: ”…”

She ate the shrimp in her bowl and turned to stare at him again.

And so, another peeled shrimp was placed in her bowl.

Yu Ning was just about to speak, her brow furrowing.

Ling Wangjin picked up her cup and filled it with Coke.

Yu Ning: “It’s not that…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Ling Wangjin took off his disposable glove, reached for the napkins on the table, and ripped open the packaging, pulling out a tissue to wipe her mouth.

Yu Ning dodged left and right.

Lao San: ”…Are you still taking the First-Class Constructor exam this year?”

Lao San had asked this question before. Yu Ning turned her head back in confusion and saw Lao San holding her chopsticks, shoveling rice into her mouth as if trying to hide her awkwardness.

“…Are you still taking it?”

Bionic Wonder House: Are you two showing off your affection?

Hand-Cut Lemon: No!

Bionic Wonder House: He’s doing it on purpose, right?

Hand-Cut Lemon: Isn’t that obvious?

Lao San clasped her hands together nervously, head bowed, looking like she wanted to look at her but felt too embarrassed to do so.

If she put herself in Lao San’s shoes, if she saw a couple clinging to each other in public without a care for those around them, she would feel incredibly awkward just thinking about it.

Ling Wangjin used the serving chopsticks to pick out the prawns from the spicy shrimp pot in a leisurely manner. He put on a plastic glove and started peeling them one by one, dropping them into her bowl. While peeling, he would occasionally tilt his head to look at her and smile.

It was as if he could only see her in his eyes.

Lao San didn’t dare look in their direction at all, awkwardly drinking water to distract herself.

He sure has a lot of tricks, Yu Ning thought.

Yu Ning: “I’m not taking it anymore.”

She repeated her previous topic, wanting to break this sticky, awkward atmosphere.

Lao San’s eyes darted around. “Why? You’ve already taken it a few times, and you aren’t working this year, so you have plenty of time.”

“I can’t remember it all.” Yu Ning pushed Ling Wangjin’s hand away, telling him to stop peeling shrimp. “The major wasn’t what I wanted to choose in the first place. Forcing myself to memorize things I don’t like is too painful.”

After saying that, Yu Ning picked up a piece of peeled shrimp. “I studied hard for it last year, but I still couldn’t pass.”

“Just memorizing is useless,” Lao San said. “You should make mind maps.”

“I know…” Yu Ning said, feeling very discouraged. “But I can’t make them. How are you even supposed to make that stuff?”

“Summarize the key knowledge points,” Ling Wangjin, who had been quiet, interjected. “It’s best to write them down on paper, following the order of the book’s chapters or the logical order you perceive, and draw a framework map.”

Yu Ning was confused. “I don’t understand.”

“Let me give you an example.” Ling Wangjin turned his body. With his movement, the open collar folded outward a bit more. “If I want to please you, I need to know what you like. For me, that’s a knowledge point. But some things you like are expressed very broadly, for instance, liking lemon tea.”

Ling Wangjin: “There are many types of lemon tea. I need to delve deeper into this knowledge point, and eventually, I find out you like preserved plum lemon tea. This is a logical thread. You can apply this to the knowledge points you’re studying. If there’s logic, it’s much easier to remember than rote memorization. Some points can even be deduced.”

Yu Ning understood, but she still felt irritable.

“Even if it’s something I don’t like, having to make a mind map for it is torture.”

Ling Wangjin smiled and met her eyes. “If you feel uncomfortable, then don’t do it. Your mood is what matters most.”

Lao San poured another glass of water, drank it in a few gulps, and interjected somewhat uncomfortably, “Then just memorize the mind maps other people have already made.”

Yu Ning immediately pulled herself out of this strange, clingy atmosphere and turned to Lao San.

Unlike Ling Wangjin, Lao San had always encouraged her to get her certifications.

Lao San: “Anyway, you haven’t found anything you really want to do yet, so just get the certificates first. It’ll make it easier to get a higher salary later when you look for a job.”

“Don’t force her,” Ling Wangjin interjected again. “Let her stabilize her mental state and emotions first.”

Bionic Wonder House: Mental state, emotions?

Hand-Cut Lemon: It’s not easy to talk about… I felt very repressed when I was working before, and I didn’t handle my emotions or mental health well. Later, some things happened… and I became a bit depressed.

Bionic Wonder House: I remember you mentioned before that your boyfriend runs a psychological counseling hospital?

Hand-Cut Lemon: That’s where we met, at the hospital.

Bionic Wonder House: Doctor and patient? Did he violate medical ethics?

Hand-Cut Lemon: He isn’t a doctor.

Bionic Wonder House: Never mind that, we’re getting off track again. Let’s finish talking about Lao San.

Yu Ning hadn’t told Lao San about the depression.

Mainly because she hadn’t realized there was a problem herself, and during that period, she was so irritable that she couldn’t calm down enough to talk to anyone.

When Lao San found out about it, she was very surprised.

Her gaze turned quickly toward Yu Ning. “What happened? Are you still feeling bad? Am I causing you trouble by coming to see you?”

She asked several questions in a row, her tone urgent.

Yu Ning sensed her emotional fluctuations, but before she could answer, Lao San spoke again in a rapid-fire manner.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

After she finished, she lowered her eyes, but quickly looked up and smiled, returning to a calm state.

“How are you feeling now?”

Yu Ning suddenly realized that something had gone wrong between them.

Bionic Wonder House: According to normal logic, Lao San should be angry, right? A friend gets sick and doesn’t tell you, yet even a man who came along later gained your trust. You told him but didn’t tell your long-time good friend.

Hand-Cut Lemon: I was in a really bad state at the time and couldn’t control my emotions… I didn’t want to dump that negative energy onto her.

Bionic Wonder House: Did you explain it?

Hand-Cut Lemon: I did, but it didn’t seem to help… After Lao San went back to her unit, she grew quite distant from me. I invited her to come over to my place, but she wouldn’t come…

Bionic Wonder House: Did your boyfriend do something behind your back? Did you have any dreams about this?

Hand-Cut Lemon: Not yet. My dreams only went up to that point. I don’t know when the next one will come.

Yu Ning felt angry and uneasy.

She was angry that Ling Wangjin might have done something behind her back, and she was uneasy because, ever since she peeled back that illusory outer shell in her dreams, she realized she didn’t understand him at all. Now, without a new dream, she didn’t even know what to do.

Hand-Cut Lemon: Ever since Lao San grew distant, I’ve been thinking about whether or not to break up!

After sending the message, Yu Ning stared at the computer screen, waiting for a reply.

During this time, she had been struggling and hesitating, greedy for the kindness Ling Wangjin showed her, yet resentful of his intentional or unintentional meddling in her relationship with her friend.

In this wavering state, she was waiting for an answer.

She couldn’t express her predicament to her parents, and she had no friends to offer advice, so she finally found a stranger on the internet to vent to—someone who wouldn’t judge her, and who didn’t know her anyway.

But the person who usually replied in seconds was now responding very slowly.

She watched the “typing…” indicator on the chat bar flicker continuously.

Bionic Wonder House: Why don’t you think it over? I feel that your boyfriend’s behavior in reality is a bit different from your dreams. Give him another chance.

Yu Ning felt strange. She thought Miaowu’s attitude was a bit… different from before?

But after thinking about it carefully, she decided that Miaowu made sense.

Hand-Cut Lemon: I tried to probe him earlier to see if he had been in contact with Lao San behind my back. I complained to him about Lao San distancing herself from me, and then I watched his expression.

Bionic Wonder House: Did you see anything?

Hand-Cut Lemon: I couldn’t tell! Is his smile glued to his face?

Not only could she not see any change in his expression, but he also pulled her into his arms and let Yu Ning rest her head against his chest.

Ling Wangjin: “Sometimes, it’s just like that between friends. Maybe it’s because you haven’t seen each other in too long, or maybe you’ve both started living your own separate lives, and you just drifted apart without realizing it. But I will be here with you.”

She pressed against his warm, resilient muscles, and as his chest rose and fell with his breathing, she heard him speaking slowly and gently.

“I’ll always be with you.”