Chapter 101: Chapter 101: My Friend is Still Your Fan

After the banquet ended.

Xie Changyan got into Su Linzhou’s car, heading to the racetrack.

Along the way, his phone kept buzzing with messages.

Xie Changyan leaned languidly against the seat, with his shirt collar slightly open and a hint of alcohol on him, the breeze coming through the car window ruffled his hair, giving him an air of casual charm.

Whenever a message came through, he would glance at it but never replied, his fingertips tapping lightly on the car window as he looked outside, seemingly lost in thought.

“Who keeps sending them, so persistent?” Su Linzhou asked.

Xie Changyan remained silent.

Driven by curiosity, Su Linzhou took a quick peek at Xie Changyan’s phone screen when he checked it once more.

With a swift move, Xie Changyan locked the screen, his eyes shot a cold glance at him.

That nervous?

Suddenly realizing something, Su Linzhou shuddered, “The person texting you can’t be Lin Xu, can it?”

Other than her, Su Linzhou couldn’t think of anyone else Xie Changyan would allow to incessantly send him messages.

If he didn’t want to deal, he would’ve blacklisted them already.

“What’s she constantly texting you for? She can’t really like you, can she? Isn’t she Ji Tingyang’s girlfriend?” Su Linzhou wondered.

“I don’t know,” Xie Changyan’s voice was quiet.

What he didn’t say was that she might be more than just a girlfriend.

The first time he met her at the company’s entrance, she had said she was married.

Perhaps…

Xie Changyan felt a wave of irritation and hastily closed his eyes, no longer looking at the phone.

“She is quite pretty; I was a bit smitten myself.”

“I was about to say, if you like her, I’d step aside for you, brother. After all, you’ve been single since birth for thirty years. But to my surprise, she already has a boyfriend; looks like your first crush is going to be hurt,” Su Linzhou continued rambling while driving, without taking his eyes off the road, “Better not try to steal someone else’s girl, it’s ungentlemanly.”

Xie Changyan rubbed his forehead irritably, “Can you shut up?”

…

Lin Xu sighed deeply as she stared at the chat page with no reply.

“Tell me, if someone constantly ignores your messages, does that mean they dislike you?”

Ji Yuqiao thought for a moment, then nodded, “Possibly!”

After all, when she used to text Xiao Yu, he never replied to her either.

But ever since she won the award and Teacher Ji organized a competition support group, Xiao Yu began sending her messages more and more frequently.

Ji Yuqiao held her phone with pride swelling in her heart.

Then she received another message from Xiao Yu:

Xiao Yu: [Teacher Ji assigned us a set of papers, come pick it up when you have time.]

Even though they were all about the competition, it was still a significant step forward.

“How should I reply to him?” Ji Yuqiao asked Lin Xu nervously.

“Just respond with ‘Oh,’ keep it cool,” Lin Xu suggested.

“Okay,” Ji Yuqiao replied as advised.

Ever since Lin Xu started giving her advice, her relationship with Xiao Yu had made some progress.

Xiao Yu used to be very busy, barely seeing her once a week; but now, in Teacher Ji’s group, they could meet every day.

She tried hard to play it cool every day, and Xiao Yu wasn’t bothering her anymore, even urging her to leave.@@novelbin@@

Out of gratitude, Ji Yuqiao, upon receiving the two hundred thousand hush money, excitedly insisted on treating Lin Xu to a big meal.

Meanwhile, before the meal was even served, both of them sat together, fretting over text messages.

After replying, Ji Yuqiao pocketed her phone and turned to see Lin Xu still staring at her own phone screen with a look of dismay.

“Weren’t you really good at teaching me the strategies of playing hard to get, blowing hot and cold? Now it’s your turn, and you can’t even reply to a message?” Ji Yuqiao asked in confusion.

Lin Xu chuckled awkwardly.

It’s like the saying goes, strategists can’t fight the battle themselves.

After all, it was always Ji Yanli who pursued her; she had never experienced such eagerness to send messages to someone else.

“Let me show you how!” Ji Yuqiao reached out for her phone.

Willow Wadding: [What kind of books do you usually like to read?]

Willow Wadding: [Do you drink tea?]

Willow Wadding: [Do you prefer to drink Pu’er or Oolong tea, or some other kind of tea?]

She saw her chat page filled with dry topics.

Ji Yuqiao: “…What on earth are you sending?”

The messages she sent were even stiffer than when she had fervently pursued Xiao Yu, making them completely uninviting for a chat.

Lin Xu blinked her eyes.

She just wanted to know if Xie Changyan’s preferences matched those of her husband; she thought it was perfectly normal to ask.

“You can’t do it like this!” Ji Yuqiao said earnestly.

Lin Xu immediately sat up straight, looking at her seriously: “Teacher Ji, please teach me.”

Ji Yuqiao typed a message.

[Why are you ignoring me? Didn’t my mass messages reach you today?]

Still no reply.

Ji Yuqiao scratched her head and sent another one.

[Darling, why aren’t you replying to my messages? Are you trying to restrain your fondness for me?]

At that moment.

Su Linzhou, who was hanging out at the Xie’s office, was wandering around with a cup of coffee in hand and saw Xie Changyan’s phone screen light up on the desk. Curiously craning his neck to look, he couldn’t help but spit out his coffee, spraying Xie Changyan’s face.

Xie Changyan’s expression instantly darkened.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t hold it in.” Su Linzhou immediately reached for a tissue and handed it to him, laughing as he explained, “The message from Lin Xu is just too greasy, hahaha.”

Xie Changyan picked up his phone and, seeing the message, his expression subtly changed.

“Ding dong.”

The text message reply tone sounded.

Ji Yuqiao and Lin Xu, who were standing by, opened their phones.

Xie Changyan had replied.

Xie: [.]

“Even though it’s only a period, it’s a good start, a qualitative leap!” Ji Yuqiao solemnly said to Lin Xu, “Keep sending messages like this. He’s responded to you once, and by tomorrow he could respond a second time.”

Lin Xu hesitated, “Really?”

“Trust me.” Ji Yuqiao affirmed confidently.

“Alright.” Lin Xu replied, half-convinced.

As the two casually chatted, their lavish meal took two hours to finish.

Just as Lin Xu was about to pay, Ji Yuqiao stopped her, “I have money now, let me do it.”

She took out her phone and scanned to make the payment.

The number in her balance immediately halved.

Ji Yuqiao, unruffled, leisurely sent a message to someone.

Raining Qiao: [Send me another two hundred thousand as hush money.]

In less than a minute, Ji Zeqiu’s call came through.

“Ji Yuqiao! You’ve blown through two hundred thousand in less than a week. Don’t tell me you’re spending money on Xiao Yu again!”

“I’ve long since stopped spending money on him, I’m just treating a friend to a meal,” Ji Yuqiao pouted.

“What friend?” Ji Zeqiu furrowed his brows, worried she might be getting scammed.

Ji Yuqiao suddenly lit up, remembering something, “Speaking of which, this friend of mine is actually your fan!”