I'm Interested In Your Friend - Chapter 26
26
Yu Lili stammered, gesturing between herself and Du Tanyu: “Me, me, we, we—we’re friends?”
Tan Suran raised her eyes, arms crossed elegantly: “Are you asking me?”
“Uh…”
Yu Lili and Du Tanyu exchanged a glance, reaching a silent agreement.
They spoke simultaneously.
“We’re friends.”
“We’re not friends.”
……
……
They glanced at each other again.
Maybe there was still time to salvage this.
They tried again.
“We’re not…”
“We are—”
Forget it. No saving this. Might as well drag it straight to the crematorium and bury it. Du Tanyu had already given up.
“Wait…” Yu Lili stepped forward amidst the chaos, explaining under Tan Suran’s gaze, “Actually, it’s like this, we, we, we…”
“We’re not close.”
As she spoke, Yu Lili clenched her fist and pressed it downward, as if giving herself a pep talk: “Yeah, we’re not close.”
“So we can’t really be called friends.”
○
“At most, we’re friends of friends.”
After rattling off that string of words in one breath, Yu Lili nervously studied Tan Suran’s expression.
Tan Suran narrowed her eyes slightly and gave a faint “Hmm.”
She seemed to have bought Yu Lili’s explanation.
Yu Lili quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Just as she was starting to relax—
Tan Suran lifted her delicate chin and uttered a name: “Yu Lili.”
“Huh?”
Both of them stiffened simultaneously.
High alert.
High alert.
After ten seconds of blaring alarms—
Yu Lili shrank back, asking in the weakest voice possible: “What?”
Tan Suran’s sharp phoenix eyes swept over Du Tanyu and Yu Lili, as if completely oblivious to their tension, and casually said, “Your mutual friend… is Yu Lili, right?”
Yu Lili’s brain was still buffering, too scared to speak.
Du Tanyu reacted first, hurriedly nodding: “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Then she tentatively looked at Tan Suran: “You… you know Yu Lili?”
This was such an absurd question—absurdity knocking on absurdity’s door—that Yu Lili expected Tan Suran to just give Du Tanyu a look reserved for idiots.
But she actually answered.
“Mm.” Tan Suran averted her gaze, meeting Yu Lili’s eyes as she said, “But we’re not close.”
Tan Suran checked her wristwatch: “Any more questions?”
The two across from her shook their heads in unison: “No, no.”
The air grew awkwardly silent, the three of them frozen in place.
“Not leaving?” Tan Suran broke the silence first.
“Huh?”
“The food’s getting cold.”
Yu Lili floated back to the private room behind Tan Suran in a daze.
The dishes were already on the table.
The two ate in silence for a while before a server brought over the decanted red wine, pouring it for them.
Yu Lili licked her lips and raised her glass: “Um… cheers. Thanks for helping me last time, with finding that person.”
Tan Suran curved her lips, lifting her glass to clink against Yu Lili’s: “Did you find out who sent her? Need my help?”
Yu Lili shook her head: “I can handle it myself.”
“Mm.”
Yu Lili picked up her chopsticks, then set them down again, finally asking the question she’d been wanting to ask: “Are you always this… this nice to everyone?”
For a long time, Tan Suran didn’t answer.
She elegantly pulled out a napkin, folded it, and wiped her hands: “No.”
“Just you.”
Yu Lili’s eyes widened in shock, her ears slowly turning red.
Suddenly, Tan Suran let out a soft laugh: “Believe me?”
Yu Lili’s thoughts swirled, and she shook her head: “No.”
Tan Suran looked away, no longer meeting her gaze: “Suit yourself.”
Her phone buzzed twice.
Yu Lili grabbed it like a lifeline, using it to escape her embarrassment and the faint pink waves rising in her heart.
Du Tanyu: I dragged Jian Sijia and a few others you know out first. The ones left are people we’re not close to, so don’t worry.
After this fiasco, Du Tanyu probably wouldn’t dare to make her presence known around Tan Suran for the next half-month.
Just as Yu Lili was about to set her phone down, another message popped up in a group chat titled [Frontier March Cover Shoot].
This was the group for Qin Zhuyu’s cover shoot, used for communication before the shoot. It had been quiet for a long time after the job wrapped.
Someone dropped a photo in the group.
Yu Mu wearing the Level-D jewelry originally meant for Qin Zhuyu’s shoot, dressed in a pink ethereal gown, waving gracefully at the camera on the red carpet.
The person who posted it was Qin Zhuyu’s assistant: Well, at least now we know where that jewelry went.
That jewelry—
The same set that had been delayed during the indoor shoot.
Turned out Yu Mu had borrowed it.
Yu Lili lowered her eyes. She genuinely suspected Yu Mu had pulled this stunt to target her.
While she was lost in thought, someone else chimed in.
Qin Zhuyu replied: It’s fine. I just got off the phone with Level-D’s Asia-Pacific CEO. She said they were in a tough spot—someone higher up made them lend it out.
Who? Someone asked curiously.
This time, Qin Zhuyu went silent.
The assistant who’d posted the photo earlier spoke up: The top boss at Pictorial.
Pictorial… wasn’t that…
Fiona?
Or…
TSR?
The asker didn’t even dare to type out her full name.
Tan Suran.
Yu Lili glared sullenly at the Pictorial Group’s boss sitting across from her.
She stuffed a bite of food into her mouth, chewing aggressively.
The frustration in her heart refused to dissipate.
Pouting, she lifted her foot and nudged Tan Suran’s leg under the table.
Tan Suran, who’d been replying to messages on her phone, looked up with a slightly puzzled expression.
Yu Lili huffed and muttered, “Foot slipped.”
Tan Suran didn’t react, continuing to reply to the sales director about a contract issue.
Two seconds later, another light brush against her calf.
“Foot slipped…”
A minute later, after six “slips,” Tan Suran set down her spoon with a click and looked up at Yu Lili’s innocent face. She leaned forward slightly, her voice low and tinged with the allure of red wine: “Little girl, rubbing against someone’s leg isn’t a good habit.”
Yu Lili choked: I was kicking you, who’s rubbing—
“Hmm?” Tan Suran asked coolly.
Yu Lili: “I… no, I… whatever. I need to use the restroom.”
In the bathroom, Yu Lili faced the wall-mounted mirror and touched her burning cheeks.
So annoying, Tan Suran.
But when she caught sight of her own springtime-blossoming smile in the mirror, she froze.
Seriously?
Why are you smiling?!
The motion-sensor faucet turned on with a splash.
Yu Lili pulled a paper towel from under the mirror.
A noisy group of girls burst into the bathroom, laughing and chattering.
The leader paused when she saw the person at the sink.
“Well, well, what a coincidence,” she said with a smirk.
It was the pair of girls who’d been trailing Jian Sijia.
The one in front wore oversized LV earrings—the letters so large they were impossible to miss—and a double-G belt draped around her waist.
Yu Lili paused mid-wipe, raising an eyebrow. She didn’t recognize them.
But she wasn’t sure if they recognized her.
Her first instinct was to avoid them.
Yu Lili turned away without responding and tried to slip through the gap between the girls to return to the private room.
An arm shot out, blocking her path.
Yu Lili frowned.
The leader smirked: “Don’t rush off. Let’s be friends, yeah?”
Her words said friends, but her eyes were full of disdain and contempt.
Yu Lili didn’t know these people because, given her status, she never mingled with those on the fringes of their circle.
Du Tanyu and Qi Luo were the same.
Only Jian Sijia had no filters, collecting friends left and right.
“Since we’re friends now, can you tell me how you managed to latch onto her?” The girl continued, not needing Yu Lili’s participation to keep the act going.
Yu Lili lowered her eyes: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Miss LV burst into laughter as if she’d heard the funniest joke: “Seriously?”
“You’re playing the innocent little bunny here?”
“No one’s buying it, okay?”
Yu Lili raised her hand and shoved the girl’s arm aside forcefully.
The girl staggered but was quickly steadied by her friends.
“What… resorting to violence now?” Miss LV crossed her arms, her posse closing in.
Yu Lili’s lashes trembled.
She mentally counted the heads in front of her.
Six people.
She really…
Couldn’t take them all.
Numbers weren’t her forte.
She pulled out her phone to text Tan Suran that she was trapped in the bathroom.
Slap—
Her phone was knocked to the floor.
It clattered against the black tiles, spinning twice before landing with a crisp sound.
That was the last straw for Yu Lili.
She looked up, her expression icy, sweeping her gaze over the group: “If I were you, I’d think twice about who you’re messing with.”
The girls faltered under her glare, their bravado shrinking.
Miss LV’s face twisted. She stepped forward, pointing at Yu Lili’s bracelet: “Cartier? How much effort did it take to get that?”
She shook her own bracelet: “Mine was delivered to my doorstep by the brand.”
Miss LV tossed her hair: “Know your place. We’re willing to play with you as a favor.”
“What place?” A familiar cool voice cut in.
Tan Suran’s figure slowly came into view.
Miss LV shot a look at the girl by the door, who shrugged subtly—Tan Suran had appeared too quickly for a warning.
Tan Suran’s gaze landed on Yu Lili, standing amidst the crowd.
Her pink lips were pursed. Though she didn’t speak, her eyes screamed I’ve been bullied.
Tan Suran scanned the room.
The chaos instantly stilled.
“What place?”
Miss LV’s face paled, then flushed. She recovered quickly: “Nothing! Ms. Tan, we were just joking with her.”
She’d assumed this harmless teasing wouldn’t provoke Tan Suran into publicly humiliating them.
Even if this little fling complained, Tan Suran—a businesswoman—wouldn’t actually pull a “rage at the insult of a beauty” move for her.
At most, it’d just make Tan Suran lose interest in her.
Miss LV waited for the girl to start whining, ready to expose her pettiness and prove she didn’t belong in their circle.
Yu Lili did as expected, running tearfully to Tan Suran, hiding behind her, and pointing at Miss LV to tattle.
“They called you a dumbass, tried to bribe me for company secrets, and oh—they said your company’s going bankrupt next month.”
Miss LV, who’d been preparing her defense: Wait—since when did the script change?
Miss LV’s friends: Now we know what ‘reckless false charges’ means.
Too slow to counter, Miss LV: “No, they can vouch for me, I didn’t—”
“They’re all in on it, of course they won’t admit it. I don’t mind suffering, but I can’t stand them cursing you like this.” Yu Lili fake-wiped her tears.
From her father, Old Yu, she knew many entrepreneurs weren’t just talented—they were also superstitious. Whether to invest in a project or which direction to take often involved divination and feng shui.
What seemed like a joke could truly piss people off in business.
Tan Suran immediately called her assistant to halt all collaborative investments with the Fan family.
Oh, right—Miss LV’s surname was Fan.
Yu Lili even eavesdropped as Miss LV’s father (or uncle?) screamed at her over the phone, demanding she apologize immediately.
“Sorry, it was all a misunderstanding.” Watching Miss Fan’s miserable expression, Yu Lili felt smug.
Perched on her chair, she waved a hand: “I didn’t hear you.”
Miss Fan raised her voice: “I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t hear you.” As Miss Fan glared, Yu Lili clutched Tan Suran’s arm and pouted. “Is she glaring at me?”
She played the role of a bratty little green tea to perfection.
Tan Suran played along, leveling a cold look at Miss Fan.
Miss Fan had no choice but to apologize louder and louder.
In the end, all she got was Yu Lili’s “I didn’t hear you.”
Forgiveness?
Not happening.
Not in this lifetime.
Though she’d gotten her revenge, her ruined mood didn’t recover instantly.
Walking to the parking lot, Yu Lili kept her head down, her lashes damp.
Tan Suran studied those teary eyes.
Her fingers twitched.
She wanted to ruffle that fluffy hair.
But she stopped herself.
Instead, she said in a slightly hoarse voice: “Just stand behind me.”
Yu Lili looked up: “Huh?”
“Next time, stand behind me. Then I’ll know—I can protect you.”