This was probably the most stifling meal Li Caiyi ever had before.

Li Caiyi watched how Meng Renshu elegantly used his knife and fork to slice the steak. As expected of a young master from an affluent family, his table manner was impeccable.

Li Caiyi used to admire how he could do that so effortlessly, while she had to repeat the etiquette class a few times before she finally got a decent mark on it. She wanted to be as good as Meng Renshu so she would not embarrass him as his wife, but in the end, she could never do that as naturally as Meng Renshu.

The room was quiet, with only the sound of clinking tableware inside. This silence was going to kill her, but Meng Renshu looked relaxed and was not in a hurry. Li Caiyi could not stand it and ask first, "What do you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk about my upcoming coming-of-age party."

It was about that? Li Caiyi thought he would talk about the last time she snubbed him.

"What of it?"

"I want to invite the three of you to my party."

By 'three of you', he meant the Li siblings. Li Caiyi recalled he also invited them to his coming of age ceremony in her previous life, and Li Chunhua became his partner that day. That was also the day when they became a 'de facto' couple, which many people acknowledged.

"Well, sure. Of course, we will attend," Li Caiyi replied unsurely. Did he deliberately ask her to come to this restaurant just to announce that? But he did not have to do that if it was only for this.

"Uhm, is that all you want to talk about?"

"Why? Are you uncomfortable spending time with me?"

"No.." Li Caiyi averted her eyes out of guilt.

Meng Renshu stopped his movement and put down the tableware in his hand. "Xiaoyi, I want you to become my partner at my coming of age party."

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds...

"Come again?" Li Caiyi must be so out of it she misheard something.

Meng Renshu smiled in amusement, seeing her dumbfounded look. "I want you to become my partner at my coming of age party. That means you are going to become my first dance partner after I officially become an adult."

Li Caiyi's mouth hung open. It appeared she did not mishear anything, but she did not know whether or not she should feel happy about it. All she could think about was something definitely went wrong with Meng Renshu's head in this life.

"But why me?" Li Caiyi could not help but ask. She clearly remembered Meng Renshu was asking Li Chunhua for that position previously; how come he suddenly asked her that?

"No particular reason. I just want it to be you." Meng Renshu fiddled with his fingers under the desk.

Actually, he intended to use this chance to mend their relationship. He did not understand why, but he was very bothered at the thought of her not wanting to talk to him anymore.

"What about Xiaohua? Don't you like her?" Li Caiyi did not beat around the bush because everyone with eyes and brains knew how much he liked Li Chunhua.

Meng Renshu knew she would ask about that. At first, he also thought of making Li Chunhua his partner for that event, which was one of the important days in his life. However, after receiving a cold shoulder from Li Caiyi, he felt uneasy and decided to ask her instead. Even he did not know why he could make that impulsive decision.

The nightmare he had that day might have influenced him.

It was a terrible nightmare where Li Caiyi vanished from his life forever. He could not remember the details of that dream, but he could still vividly recall that numbing pain and fear in his heart. That was the first time in his life he had awakened from his sleep with tears in his eyes.

But there was no way he could explain this to Li Caiyi. Even Meng Renshu felt it was ridiculous to take a nightmare seriously. However, he could not help but feel uneasy when he saw Li Caiyi slowly grow apart from him.

"It's only a coming-of-age party; there is no need to overthink or feel burdened by it," He said lightly, not noticing how shocked Li Caiyi was when she heard that.

What exactly happened here? Weren't they supposed to be a lovey-dovey couple? Li Chunhua said she only saw Meng Renshu as an older brother, and just now, Meng Renshu was clearly trying to avoid talking about his feelings about Li Chunhua!

Li Caiyi's brain was not that excellent, so she could not keep up with this sudden development. When she was preoccupied with the thought of Shen Qiang and many other things, did something happen between the two of them?

Meng Renshu saw a hesitant look on Li Caiyi's face and knew words of refusal had already been on the tip of her tongue, so he abruptly stood up. "I will take your silence as an affirmation. Well, it's unfortunate, but I have to go now. Don't worry about the bills and finish your drink slowly. Let's talk again later, Xiaoyi."

"Huh? Wait a minute! I—"

Li Caiyi did not get to finish her sentence because Meng Renshu had run out of the room in a hurry. Something urgent must happen for him to look that flustered. He did not even finish half of his steak—what a waste.

Li Caiyi had no reason to stay there any longer, so she left the restaurant immediately.

***historical

Today was the day of the announcement. Li Caiyi had been waiting for this day.

It would be a lie if she said she was not nervous. The result of this competition would determine her future after that.

Li Caiyi was so tense all day, and she also made Zhou Ya and Feng Nian nervous.

"I know you are nervous, but you have been holding that egg roll for hours. Aren't you going to eat that?" Feng Nian asked.

Only then did Li Caiyi realize she had yet to eat anything since earlier, only stabbing and putting down her side dish in a daze.

Zhou Ya smiled sympathetically. "Caiyi, I'm sure everything will be fine. Winning or losing, all that matters is you will accumulate some experiences. No matter what the outcome is, I think it's very admirable for you to sign up."

"Yeah. You are different from your old self. Didn't you also say you want to change? If you ask me, you have done well so far."

Li Caiyi's nerves eased a bit under her friend's encouragement.

To be honest, this was not her first competition. During her three years of marriage in the past, she had a lot of time on her hand. Feeling bored, she would occasionally write something. Then, she would also secretly send it under the pseudonym Little Bird', to various competitions recommended by her online friend.

Li Caiyi had won several times, but she never dared to tell this to anyone, nor did she ever consider the idea of making her stories into a book.

That was why she was pretty confident she had a high chance of winning too this time until she made that risky bet with Li Jirong.