I'm Interested In Your Friend - Chapter 25
25
As soon as Du Tanyu spoke.
Yu Lili, who had been bowing her head, instantly looked up with wide eyes.
☆
What nonsense was she spouting?
Turning her head, she met Jian Sijia’s burning gaze from across the room.
Yu Lili swiftly buried her face back against Tan Suran’s arm.
Jian Sijia was no good.
This loudmouth was even crazier than Du Tanyu.
If she found out today, within half an hour, the entire second-generation circle of Lihuo would know.
Jian Sijia, standing opposite them, narrowed her eyes, trying to get a clear look at Tan Suran’s little lover.
But the girl ducked her head down again in a flash.
Tan Suran’s taste in lovers was really… unrefined.
So timid and shrinking.
Tsk tsk, what terrible judgment.
No, she had to find out more.
Just who was this person who managed to get close to Tan Suran?
With that thought, Jian Sijia raised an eyebrow and smirked, pulling out her phone to send a message.
Yu Lili clutched Tan Suran’s sleeve.
Though Du Tanyu was stirring up trouble, given Tan Suran’s personality, such a whimsical request—
Tan Suran would absolutely, absolutely never agree to it.
Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely…
Never.
Right…?
When the waiter led their large, boisterous group over, everyone’s expressions shifted. Du Tanyu looked smug, Jian Sijia was curious, and Yu Lili was utterly defeated.
Tan Suran remained completely calm.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world for a high-profile CEO to share a private dining room with a bunch of blue-haired, purple-haired, and wildly dressed young women she barely knew.
Jian Sijia, standing nearby, stared at Yu Lili as if trying to bore a hole through her, scanning her like a scanner, eager to dig up information and become the first-hand source of gossip in all the major and minor chat groups.
As they approached the private room’s entrance, Yu Lili thought, No way, no way, eating with these people? Absolutely not.
“I—I don’t want to eat with them,” Yu Lili spoke up, deliberately making her voice softer and more delicate to avoid being recognized.
“Why not?”
“Because… that person,” Yu Lili pinched her throat and pointed accusingly at Jian Sijia, “I think she’s a total creep.”
“Pfft—” Du Tanyu burst out laughing.
Jian Sijia’s eyes widened. “What the hell? Who’s a creep—”
“Wuwuwu, she keeps staring at my… my chest…” Yu Lili’s voice grew even more tearful as she buried her face tightly against Tan Suran’s arm.
“Excuse me? It’s not like I don’t have my own—whoever looks is a dog!” Jian Sijia’s voice cracked with anger.
Du Tanyu laughed so hard she slid down the wall and onto the floor.
The other girls in their group either joined Du Tanyu in laughter or sided with Jian Sijia in cursing.
One of them even reached out to tug at Yu Lili’s hair but failed.
She was frozen by a single glance.
From Tan Suran herself.
After using her killer glare to fend off one attacker, Tan Suran patted Yu Lili’s head and said, “Alright, it’s fine now.”
Huh? Huh?
That’s it?
Shouldn’t Tan Suran have heroically adjusted her watch, summoning a group of black-suited bodyguards to “politely” escort Jian Sijia and her friends away?
Watching Yu Lili stubbornly fiddle with the potted lucky bamboo by the door instead of entering, Du Tanyu feigned sympathy with a dramatic sigh: “Ah, good thing there’s a screen divider. Otherwise, I wouldn’t want to eat with strangers either.”
A screen divider.
With this critical piece of information, Yu Lili’s dizziness vanished, and she stopped mauling the bamboo.
Head held high, she strode into the private room.
Right into Jian Sijia, who was standing by the door like a gatekeeper, talking on the phone.
Yu Lili instantly curled into a defensive shrimp-like posture.
Jian Sijia rolled her eyes at the timid little lover.
“What’s wrong?” Back at their seats, Tan Suran asked a waiter for a towel.
Yu Lili stammered, “I—I’m socially awkward~~~”
Her awkwardness even had a wavy tone—clearly, the girl was genuinely panicking.
Tan Suran handed her the menu. “It’s my first time here. You order.”
“Okay.” Yu Lili took the menu, instantly regaining her confidence, and proudly rattled off a list of dishes that would undoubtedly impress Tan Suran.
The next second, she noticed Tan Suran accepting the towel from the waiter and wiping her sleeve.
Wiping her sleeve…
What was on the sleeve?
False eyelashes, foundation, eyeshadow…
How did they get there?
In less than a second, Yu Lili replayed every moment since entering the restaurant where she’d rubbed against Tan Suran’s sleeve in various poses to hide her identity.
The culprit was none other than herself.
Yu Lili picked up a wine glass, trying to use its distorted reflection to assess the state of her smudged makeup.
Tan Suran wiped her sleeve and casually leaned closer. “What are you looking at?”
Yu Lili solemnly turned the glass. “Nothing but loneliness.”
Tan Suran: “?”
Yu Lili: “Looking at ‘nothing but loneliness.’”
……
The waiter waiting to take the towel struggled to keep a straight face: That joke wasn’t even cold…
Yu Lili rushed to the restroom to check her reflection. Not too bad—just a slightly more disheveled version of her usual wildcat self.
As soon as she stepped out of the restroom—
“Ha!” A dark figure jumped out at her.
Yu Lili nearly jumped out of her skin.
Upon closer inspection, a blue-haired “creature” leaned against the wall in front of her, swinging pale legs arrogantly.
None other than that troublemaker Du Tanyu.
Despite the season, Du Tanyu wore a short skirt, braving the cold bare-legged.
“Nice hair color,” Yu Lili said, suppressing an eye roll.
“Right…”
“Next time, try forgiveness green.”
……
Du Tanyu smirked mischievously. “So? Exciting, huh?”
Yu Lili sneered. “Next time you bring a girl home, I’ll make sure to show up with Old Qi right on time.”
Du Tanyu gaped. “Why do you keep bringing up Old Qi? Is she paying you for promo? So dedicated…”
Yu Lili shrugged smugly. “Because Old Qi can handle you. Blue-haired Du, I’ll give you a chance—just tell me how I’ve wronged you.”
The newly nicknamed “Blue-haired Du” shook her head, blinking innocently. “Not at all. I adore you.”
“Then why are you messing with me?”
Because it’s fun…
But could Du Tanyu say that?
Observing Yu Lili’s on-the-verge-of-exploding expression, she decided against it. Instead, she said, “I’m just helping solidify your cover. Didn’t you say you were afraid Tan Suran would realize you’re Yu Lili? Us acting like strangers while eating together without guilt—”
“Even if Tan Suran racked her brains, she’d never guess you’re Yu Lili, right?”
Right…? Yu Lili frowned, following Du Tanyu’s logic. It did make sense…
But… “Did you ever consider what if Jian Sijia recognizes me?”
“She won’t,” Du Tanyu said confidently. “She’s not that smart.”
Yu Lili scoffed. “How do you know?”
“Look.” Du Tanyu turned her phone screen around, showing Jian Sijia’s rant in a group chat:
[Girls, omg, I just ran into Tan Suran and her little lover. Hahahaha, the eighth unsolved mystery of the world—Tan Suran’s sexual orientation—has finally been cracked by me, Jian Sijia.]
Someone who wasn’t there today asked: [Damn, what does she look like? What’s her type?]
[Have we seen her before?]
The later messages were clearly after Yu Lili accused Jian Sijia of harassment, dripping with personal resentment:
[Ugh, don’t even ask.]
[Total dead-fish vibe.]
[This girl accused me of staring at her chest—as if I’d be interested…]
Followed by a string of replies:
[Hahahaha]
[So lesbian-coded.]
[Born with a femme fatale aura.]
[Hey, Sijia, do you like girls? If so, go for it. Even if she’s Tan Suran’s girl, we’ll help you steal her away.]
Jian Sijia: […]
Jian Sijia: [Leaving the group. Bye, losers.]
After these two messages, the group stopped teasing her. Some even joined in the bashing:
[Some people just don’t know their place.]
[Getting cocky just because she’s with Tan Suran.]
[Little vixen.]
Du Tanyu even stirred the pot: [Yeah yeah, the way she clung to Tan Suran, legs all weak…]
Yu Lili’s eyes widened as she glared at Du Tanyu, pointing at the incriminating evidence.
Du Tanyu awkwardly put her phone away. “I—I was just staying in character.”
Yu Lili grabbed Du Tanyu by the collar. “Finally got a chance to trash-talk me freely, huh?”
“What are you two doing?” A cool voice suddenly came from down the hallway.
The two froze mid-stranglehold and turned.
Footsteps tapped against the wooden floor. The overhead light, encased in a white lotus-shaped lamp, cast a glow on the approaching figure’s delicate, fair face.
Phoenix eyes slightly upturned, a high nose bridge, a slender waist, and long legs.
Tan Suran stopped a few steps away, her thin eyebrows arching slightly, as if puzzled by the sight of the two “fighting” so intensely outside the restroom.
Yu Lili slowly released her grip on Du Tanyu’s neck, avoiding Tan Suran’s sharp gaze. “Uh… I ran into this girl just now. Her neck was itchy, so she asked me to scratch it for her.”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller. Even Yu Lili didn’t believe her own excuse—
She could’ve seamlessly debuted as the center of Super Imagineers with that creativity.
……
“Yep, that’s right. My neck was itchy…” At this point, Du Tanyu had no choice but to play along.
Amid Yu Lili and Du Tanyu’s panic, Tan Suran’s calm demeanor stood out even more.
As if she’d seen through everything long ago.
Du Tanyu silently cursed: Holy sh1t!! Did this woman already know and was just pretending all along?
Yu Lili nervously stared at her toes.
Tan Suran stepped closer without a word.
She stopped just a step away from Yu Lili. “This girl?”
Tan Suran raised an eyebrow. “Anna, aren’t you and Du Tanyu friends?”
Yu Lili and Du Tanyu simultaneously turned to each other, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
What.
Since when was that the setup?
“Last time at the racetrack, didn’t you ask her to arrange a ride home for you?” Tan Suran kindly reminded them, as if sensing their confusion.
Ding. Yu Lili had an epiphany.
Damn.
Too many fake identities.
Even I can’t keep them straight.