I'm Interested In Your Friend - Chapter 32
32
“Clink.”
The porcelain plate landed lightly on the glass tabletop.
“Ma’am, this is the final dish—Golden Jade Hibiscus Soup. It nourishes the stomach and regulates the body. Your meal is now fully served,” the server introduced gracefully.
Yu Lili lowered her head and responded with a quiet, dejected “Mm,” signaling for the server to leave.
Loneliness fermented in the air like green mustard poured over her head.
Tan Suran had left too quickly, too abruptly.
So fast that Yu Lili didn’t even get the chance to ask, “Will we see each other again?”
On the walk home, her bag strap swung lightly in her hand, feeling weightless.
The streetlights lined up in orderly intervals, casting a cold, methodical glow on the asphalt road.
Yu Lili hugged her arms and sighed.
Tonight, she was undoubtedly the most pitiful person on this street.
But before she could take another step, she noticed a figure at the intersection—a person wrapped in a blanket, wearing a hat, crouched against the wall.
In front of them was a sign:
“Orphan, deaf-mute, amputated leg, betrayed by lover, child in the hospital awaiting surgery funds. Kind-hearted souls, please give me a reason to live.”
…Talk about stacking buffs.
One after another.
Yu Lili fell silent and decided to relinquish her title as the most pitiful person on the street.
She truly didn’t qualify.
In front of the sign was a chipped bowl containing a couple of crumpled bills and a few coins.
It really wasn’t easy.
After all, hardly anyone carried cash these days.
As if reading her mind, a hand emerged from under the blanket, flipping over a white cloth to reveal two printed QR codes—meticulously prepared for both WeChat and Alipay.
A uniformed city inspector pointed in their direction and warned, “Don’t scan it.”
At the same time, Yu Lili finished entering her payment password.
The supposedly legless amputee leapt up from the ground, clutching the blanket, and ran faster than she could blink.
The inspector promptly gave chase.
Yu Lili stood there, stunned.
Alright.
The title of the most pitiful person on this street was hers again.
The incident quickly faded from her mind.
That night, lying in bed, all she could replay in her head was her brief encounter with Tan Suran.
How had it ended so suddenly?
Looking back, everything about their meeting had been inexplicable.
They’d inexplicably slept together, inexplicably signed a contract for her money, and then inexplicably ended things.
Gripping the corner of her pillow, her mood grew gloomier.
Tossing and turning, she abruptly sat up.
She hadn’t closed the curtains before bed.
The glass window, reflecting the city’s skyscraper lights, seemed to mirror the silhouette of a cold, beautiful woman.
Du Tanyu’s joke—”Do you like her?”—suddenly replayed in the quiet of the night.
Yu Lili’s mind felt like it had sprouted two tiny angels, one black and one white, arguing fiercely.
The little demon, with its pointy horns, taunted, “You like her.”
The white angel shook its head. “No, that’s not it. You can’t attribute every emotion to love.”
The little demon narrowed its eyes. “You’re saying you don’t like her?”
The white angel stammered, “Y-yeah.”
The little demon brandished its trident. “Then why do you get so happy whenever you get a message from her?”
The white angel faltered. “I—I…”
The little demon didn’t give it a chance to explain. “Who cares if that stupid contract was terminated? Why did you pretend you couldn’t afford the penalty fee? You just wanted to stay connected with her, didn’t you? Don’t you remember how desperate you were to walk away at the beginning?”
The white angel’s eyes widened, its face paling under the little demon’s accusations.
“Stop talking about wanting to be friends. Touch your heart and tell me—don’t you want to sleep with Tan Suran?”
The little demon mimed shooting a gun. “Bang. Admit it. You’ve fallen for Tan Suran.”
Boom.
The world spun violently.
Images of Tan Suran flashed before her eyes—her fiery, rose-like allure on the racetrack, her icy, untouchable demeanor in business settings, and her seductive, feline charm in private.
Frame after frame, like stars streaking through rain, neon lights flooding the night.
Did she like Tan Suran?
Her heartbeat quickened at the realization, her breathing growing uneven.
In the quiet room, the sound of her pounding heart echoed loudly.
Yu Lili felt an irrepressible excitement.
But it also made her want to cry, as if she’d bitten into a lemon.
Too agitated to sleep, she finally drifted off near dawn.
Fortunately, the next day, aside from an awards ceremony and a shoot for “The Edge,” she had no other commitments and didn’t need to clock in at the magazine office.
Around noon, Yu Lili crawled out of bed, rubbed her eyes, and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.
The electric toothbrush buzzed softly. The toothpaste was lemon-flavored.
Naturally, her thoughts drifted to the bitter-citrus scent of Tan Suran.
Then she looked up.
In the mirror, she noticed that whenever she thought of Tan Suran—
Her cheeks turned pink.
—
The awards ceremony was held at the Twin Stars Hall on Lin’an South Road. Yu Lili arrived at the scheduled time, greeted by an endless sea of fans holding light boards.
Compared to last time, there were now many more signs for people she recognized—Zhu Jingxiang, Yu Mu, and even “XiangYu Cream Puffs”… the ship name for Zhu Jingxiang and Yu Mu’s CP.
Their collaboration in a TV drama, edited by a fan, had gone viral, amassing a huge following. Their joint variety show further fueled the CP hype, doubling their popularity and making their fan club the top-ranked for half a month, solidifying their status as the industry’s leading CP.
Yu Lili glanced briefly before looking away.
Walking down the hallway to the lounge, she took out her camera and adjusted the focus.
Then, someone bumped into her shoulder—not too hard, but enough to nearly knock the camera out of her hands.
Fumbling to secure the camera and sling the strap over her shoulder, Yu Lili finally looked up.
Before her stood Yu Mu, radiant in a bright yellow gown with a train, surrounded by a team of stylists fixing her hair and makeup.
Beside her stood Su Mianxin, filming her with a phone.
Noticing Yu Lili’s gaze, Su Mianxin turned and said with a mocking smile, “Sorry, didn’t mean to bump into you.”
Yu Lili checked her lens carefully before stowing it in her camera bag. With a cold smirk, she walked toward Su Mianxin.
Yu Mu glanced at Yu Lili and chided, “How could you be so careless?”
At Yu Mu’s prompting, Su Mianxin repeated, “Sorry.”
Yu Lili nodded with an “Mm,” then raised her hand—
“Crack!”
Su Mianxin’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
How dare Yu Lili—
In front of so many people—
Openly—
Slap her phone out of her hand?
“You—!” Su Mianxin was livid.
The phone screen shattered like a spiderweb on the floor.
“Mianxin didn’t do it on purpose. How could you act like this?”
Yu Lili put on an innocent, clueless expression and smiled sweetly. “Sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose either.”
“I’ll pay you back. Triple.”
Su Mianxin bit her lip angrily.
Yu Mu’s manager also remembered Yu Lili and sniped, “You’re so impulsive. Youth really makes you throw away tens of thousands without a second thought.”
Yu Lili grinned. “No need. I’ll have my dad pay for it.”
She turned to Su Mianxin. “I don’t have your account details, so…” Her gaze shifted to Yu Mu.
Before Yu Lili could finish, Yu Mu cut in, “Mianxin, I’ll get you a new phone. Let’s not make a fuss. After all, we bumped into her first.”
Yu Lili replied earnestly, “Thanks, then.”
Yu Mu would never escalate this to their father—she’d already learned her lesson after the Twitter avatar incident.
Yu Mu smiled outwardly but inwardly thought, Yu Lili’s gotten a lot smarter lately.
Just after parting ways with one half of the “XiangYu Cream Puffs” duo, Yu Lili turned a corner and ran into the other—Zhu Jingxiang.
Her face was stormy.
Arms crossed, she leaned against the wall.
Her manager was on the phone, practically steaming with frustration. “How can they bail now? The event’s about to start, and we don’t even have the photos yet.”
Those words made it instantly clear—their photographer had bailed last minute, leaving them in the lurch.
And Yu Lili, standing there with a camera, might as well have been an NPC handing out quests.
Accepting the quest was out of the question.
Without hesitation, Yu Lili turned to leave.
But as she spun around—
She nearly collided with someone again.
Su Mianxin hid her hands behind her back, her expression sour. “I didn’t bump into you.”
Yu Lili coolly replied, “Oh.”
Internally, she was relieved they hadn’t collided—her aloof, face-slapping female lead persona would’ve crumbled otherwise.
But the near-miss drew Zhu Jingxiang’s attention.
Spotting two photographers with equipment—one of whom she’d worked with before—the manager nearly teared up.
Before she could speak, Yu Lili pushed Su Mianxin forward. “She’s great at photography.”
Zhu Jingxiang toyed with the ring on her finger, her gaze inscrutable.
Yu Mu, arriving late with her team, took in the standoff. “What’s going on?”
Since they were collaborators in the same industry, the managers from both teams were familiar with each other.
“Our photographer can’t make it.”
Yu Mu’s manager waved a hand. “Xiao Su, do them a favor and take some photos for Jingxiang. I’ll get you a big red envelope later.”
Zhu Jingxiang’s manager quickly added, “Don’t worry, it’ll be a big one.”
Yu Mu glanced between Yu Lili and Zhu Jingxiang, smiling without comment.
Everyone’s eyes turned to Zhu Jingxiang, still leaning against the wall.
After a pause, Zhu Jingxiang lowered her gaze and lazily replied, “Mm.”
Yu Lili finally exhaled in relief.
Just as she was about to leave—
Yu Mu suddenly stumbled, as if her foot had slipped, and fell toward Yu Lili.
The impact sent Yu Lili stumbling sideways.
Before anyone could react—
Zhu Jingxiang swiftly stepped forward and caught Yu Lili.
Yu Mu steadied herself against a nearby stand.
Yu Lili shot Yu Mu a suspicious look.
Clutching her foot as if in pain, Yu Mu apologized, “Slipped. Sorry.”
Outside the window, a camera flash went off several times in quick succession.
—
Hospital Entrance
“Old Wang’s condition is stable now, and the compensation has been settled,” Assistant Lin reported on the incident’s resolution.
If Tan Suran hadn’t changed her plans to go out for dinner yesterday afternoon, she would’ve been in the car that crashed.
“President Tan, President Su sent people to the hospital with condolences and brought reporters for photos. She’s putting on a very generous front—it’s hard for us to intervene,” Assistant Lin said worriedly.
Tan Suran massaged her temples. “How much longer for the investigation results?”
Assistant Lin: “Two days at the earliest.”
Tan Suran: “Keep increasing the pressure. But I want results by tomorrow night at the latest.”
“Understood.” Assistant Lin nodded.
Checking his phone, he updated Tan Suran: “President Su’s assistant just messaged me. They’ll be downstairs in about fifteen minutes. Where should we go for dinner?”
Tan Suran’s expression was icy. “They’re from the south and used to lighter flavors. Book a Sichuan restaurant.”
“President Tan…?” Assistant Lin hesitated. Though this unwelcome President Su, who was pushing for a joint venture, was indeed irritating, being so blatant about it…
“Pick the most luxurious restaurant. As long as it looks presentable. You handle it. I need a moment.”
The car accident had kept Tan Suran up all night. Combined with the stress of the company’s projects, her mood was foul.
Assistant Lin tactfully didn’t press further.
“Tan Suran?” A soft, light voice called out.
Yu Lili hadn’t expected to run into Tan Suran while delivering something to Du Tanyu.
She immediately parked and rushed over.
The moment she got close, her heart started pounding wildly.
She shyly curved her lips. “What are you doing here?”
Tan Suran’s expression softened slightly. “Visiting a colleague.”
Yu Lili clenched her fingers. “Oh. Then… do you have time tonight?”
Her heart thumped loudly.
Eyes sparkling, bashful yet nervous, she extended a dinner invitation.
At that moment, Tan Suran—usually as methodical as a programmed machine—forgot what came next.
But unfortunately.
A woman in a sleek black suit dress approached them, flanked by an entourage.
She gave Yu Lili a playful, coquettish once-over.
The moment the woman arrived, Tan Suran’s expression frosted over. She turned to Assistant Lin, all business: “Does she have an appointment?”
That single word—”she.”
And “appointment.”
Those icy syllables hit Yu Lili like a physical blow.
She blinked, bewildered.
Tan Suran walked past her, following the woman toward the roadside.
The woman giggled. “President Tan, you’re so cold. Do you really need to ask your assistant about dinner plans?”
They were close enough for Yu Lili to hear Tan Suran’s reply.
“Unrelated people.”
“But with you, President Su, of course not.”
Before getting into the car, Tan Suran stole a glance back under the guise of small talk.
When she saw the hurt and vulnerability in Yu Lili’s eyes—
Her heart ached like it had been squeezed.