"Everyone will have a bad day like that. Let him have some space for now, and don't bother him too much."

"But he is also easily irritated. The other day, I saw him speak on the phone, and he exploded. After that, he told me to leave first because he wanted to close the cafe early. He never did that before!"

Li Caiyi recalled when she heard him and Shao Junfei argue and pondered whether it was because of the annual party again?

Shao Junfei seemed very adamant in making his brother go to this event, while the said brother refused with all his might.

"Xiaoyi, do you know something about this? I think he is in trouble."

"Why are you asking me? I never talked to Jingfei other than about work nowadays. You should try asking Jingfei instead."

"If he told me, do you think I'd ask you? You seem to be thinking of something just now. Spill the tea!"

Li Chunhua gazed at her sharply while folding her arms. "Let me tell you that I won't stop pestering you until you tell me everything. We have nights to spend together, so you can tell me slowly."

She must be really curious if she went so far as to threaten her like this. With her attitude like this, how could Li Caiyi not have any idea about her relationship with Shao Jingfei?

"Stop looking at me like that. You scared me. I'll tell you, okay? This is just my guess so take it with a grain of salt."

Li Chunhua smiled triumphantly before leaning her body forward. "I'm listening."

"I think this has something to do with her brother. The other day..."

Li Caiyi slowly filled Li Chunhua about the situation. She silently listened until the end before speaking thoughtfully.

"Hm, so that's the reason. I never knew his brother was working in the same company. He never told me anything."

"He doesn't tell anyone. I just found it out by coincidence. His brother doesn't seem to be a bad person, but we'll never know the inside story."

"Yeah. But running away like this won't solve his problem. His brother won't stop pestering him if he doesn't go."

Li Caiyi shrugged. "That's his family's internal problem. I don't think we should get involved in it.

Li Chunhua didn't respond and looked deep in thought. After a few moments, she spoke again. "Say, do you think I can also attend that annual party?"

"Huh? Why do you want to go?"

"Just because. I'm curious why Jingfei wants to avoid it so much."

"Don't treat this matter lightly. Jingfei probably doesn't like an outsider to meddle in his business."

"I'm not meddling. I'm trying to help him here!"

Li Caiyi shook her head helplessly. She stayed corrected; Li Chunhua still had a long way to go.

"Putting aside the fact that Jingfei never actually asked for your help, you can't attend that annual party because only employees and those contracted under the company can go."

"Tsk. No fun."

Sure enough, she wanted to go there just for fun. Li Caiyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

***

Days went on peacefully after that. Li Chunhua had been staying over for almost a week. In that period, Li Caiyi didn't receive any other harassment from her stalker.

Those people were probably planning something again, but for now, she decided to enjoy the temporary peace she had. Living with Li Chunhua proved to be very beneficial because Li Caiyi could finally finish her homework with her help.

Her sister would talk non-stop sometimes, and it was draining to keep up with her, but aside from that, there was no other inconvenience.

"Xiaoyi, I need to go out after this, so you don't have to wait for lunch with me."

"Where are you going?" Li Caiyi stared at her sister's outfit, which wasn't as casual today. She looked like she was about to go on a date.

"I just have something to do. I will be back before night so let's eat dinner together, okay?"

"Tell me if anything happens. Your condition is better, but you are still prone to collapsing. Don't force yourself."

"En. I'll be going then."

Li Chunhua walked out of her sister's apartment and sighed in relief when she finally was outside. Thank goodness her sister didn't probe further.

"Okay, time to search for more information." Li Chunhua clenched her hand into a fist determinedly.

Using a taxi only took her 20 minutes before she arrived at the cinema. She had a promise with someone to meet up here.

Li Chunhua looked around, and she immediately spotted a tall person in the middle of the crowd. That guy was her target today.

Pulling the corner of her mouth to form her signature lovely smile, Li Chunhua approached him with a wave. "Sorry, I'm late. Did I make you wait for long?"

The guy's name was Lu Zheng, and he was one of Li Chunhua's admirers.historical

He was so nervous while waiting and even thought that she was probably joking when she said she wanted to go to a movie with him. But his heart soared once he saw her come to their appointed place with such a pretty get-up.

"No. I have just arrived here myself. You look pretty today. No, I mean you usually are, but you look gorgeous today."

Li Chunhua pretended to look bashful. "Why, thank you. I spent quite some time on my appearance today. I wanted to make some effort since I will go out with you."

Lu Zheng's eyes sparkled. "Can I call you Chunhua? I'm happy to hear you dress up for me. Oh, I already bought the tickets."

"What? You shouldn't have. I'm the one who invited you here, after all. Uh, wait. Let me pay for mine."

Li Chunhua opened her bag and was about to take out her wallet, but Lu Zhen put his hand on top of hers to stop her. He deliberately let his hand linger longer than it should be, making her want to slap his hand away.

But she still needed to coax some information from him. As much as she wanted to stomp on his feet, she had to hold it in and pretend to be flustered.