I'm Interested In Your Friend - Chapter 33
33
The room was dimly lit, the atmosphere tense.
Facing a table full of dishes swimming in red oil, Su Shan was much calmer than Assistant Lin had expected.
Su Shan’s secretary pulled out a stack of A4 printed materials from her briefcase and respectfully placed them in the hands of Assistant Lin, who stood beside Tan Suran.
Su Shan dabbed her lips with a tissue and smiled coquettishly. “After dinner, if President Tan has time, let’s discuss the contract.”
Tan Suran raised her head, her eyes silently meeting Su Shan’s.
This woman from Nan City played by no rules, following no conventional logic. Whether it was leveraging connections to pull strings, stealing confidential information through underhanded means, or even orchestrating a deliberate car accident as a threat—Su Shan had tried every trick in the book.
Her gaze, seemingly playful, was brimming with undisguised ambition.
It was clear she was determined to secure the AI language model product.
After a silence of about two seconds, Tan Suran slowly set down her sandalwood chopsticks. “No problem.”
Su Shan smiled brightly, lifted her glass, and walked gracefully toward Tan Suran in her high heels. “President Tan, a toast to you.”
Tan Suran glanced at Assistant Lin, exchanging a tacit understanding, before leisurely reaching for her wine glass.
“President Su, President Su, let me toast you!” Assistant Lin abruptly stood up from the side, raising her glass eagerly and stepping forward.
As she moved, she seemed to trip over something, her body swaying unsteadily, her wine glass flying out of her hand.
The wine spilled.
As if by sheer coincidence, it splashed directly onto the contract Su Shan had just handed over.
“Clumsy,” Tan Suran reprimanded Assistant Lin before Su Shan could even speak. “Hurry up and take it out to clean it up.”
Assistant Lin bowed repeatedly in apology and hurried out with the contract.
Su Shan watched everything unfold and waved her own secretary out as well.
Now, the private room held only the two of them.
Su Shan downed her glass in one go and chuckled. “No matter. The contract can be reprinted. But President Tan, if our goodwill runs out… well, let’s just say things won’t end well.”
Tan Suran’s expression remained unchanged. “President Su misunderstands. My subordinate was simply careless.”
Su Shan smirked, setting her empty glass on the table. “I’ve shown great sincerity. I hope the next time we meet, I’ll have the pleasure of admiring your signature, President Tan.”
“Rest assured, President Su. You’ve come all this way. Naturally…” Tan Suran’s gaze met Su Shan’s calmly. “I won’t let you leave empty-handed.”
—
Parking Lot.
Assistant Lin opened the car door, and Tan Suran got in.
Assistant Lin bowed nervously. “President Tan…” Truthfully, she had acted on impulse after catching Tan Suran’s glance earlier, unsure if she had interpreted it correctly.
Tan Suran: “Well done.”
“Next time, aim for something more subtle. If it were me, I’d find a way to make Su Shan spill that glass herself. But given the urgency today, you did well.”
Tan Suran pulled out her phone, recalling her encounter with Yu Lili at the hospital.
She opened WeChat.
☆
After a moment of hesitation, she sent an explanation.
She omitted her current predicament and her fear that Su Shan, in her ruthlessness, might target those around her.
[I’m sorry about today. There were some unexpected circumstances. Keeping our distance for now is best for both of us. Give me two days, and I’ll personally come to apologize.]
Su Shan’s background was too murky, and the stakes in this matter were too high.
Even Tan Suran couldn’t remain unscathed.
Rubbing her temples, she hit send.
Almost instantly, the chat refreshed with a new message.
[The other party has enabled friend verification. You are not yet friends.]
—
After her crying fit, Yu Lili, clutching a drunken Du Tanyu, deleted Tan Suran right in front of her.
She even swore a solemn oath: if she ever added Tan Suran back, she’d be a dog.
“Not just that! If you add her back, you’ll never be able to hold your head high in front of me again. You’ll forever be the little sister!”
Yu Lili pounded her chest with a crumpled beer can. “Don’t worry! I, Yu Lili, have pride! Even if I starve, die of thirst, or wither away from loneliness, I will never add Tan Suran back!”
—
The Next Day.
Yu Lili woke up with a throbbing headache, fishing her phone out of the mess around her.
When she saw the friend request notification—[Add me back? Baby]—she triple-checked to confirm it was indeed Tan Suran’s account.
Her hands moved faster than her brain, accepting the request.
“Ah!”
Ahhh?!
I didn’t mean to!
But she called me “baby”!
“What are you screeching about?” Du Tanyu’s groggy voice came from the bed.
Yu Lili guiltily hid her phone behind her back. “Nothing, nothing at all. Want breakfast?”
“No… I’m sleeping.”
“Then I’m heading to work.”
Du Tanyu’s breathing steadied as she drifted back to sleep.
Yu Lili’s heart raced like a little rabbit was kicking in her chest as she stared at the newly re-added friend interface.
A message popped up almost immediately.
[Are you there?]
Yu Lili’s hand trembled, and before she could think, she acted.
—
Office.
Tan Suran was reviewing documents when her phone buzzed.
Yu Lili had accepted her friend request.
Tan Suran sent a message, then continued working while waiting for a reply.
But even after reviewing two tender documents, there was still no response.
Tan Suran picked up her phone again.
She opened her browser.
The only search in her history was from last night: [How to apologize after being deleted by your girlfriend].
She tapped her phone screen, changing the search to: [What to do when your girlfriend doesn’t reply].
Following the advice she found, Tan Suran sent another message.
Huh?
The chat refreshed instantly with a new notification.
[The other party has enabled friend verification. You are not yet friends.]
“…”
—
Yu Lili had deleted Tan Suran again.
If she forgave her too easily, her future domestic status would be in jeopardy.
Though she didn’t want to admit it, the truth was… she didn’t know how to respond.
And, just a little bit, she wanted to experience Tan Suran calling her “baby” again.
Yu Lili propped her chin on her hands, grinning foolishly at the screenshot she’d saved of that “baby” message.
She opened her computer, stretched, and got to work on today’s editing tasks.
Before long, another notification popped up—Tan Suran’s friend request, this time with a new reason:
[Meow meow?]
What, did she think acting like a cat would win Yu Lili’s affection?
Of course not.
So this time, Yu Lili counted to six before accepting Tan Suran’s request.
Tan Suran: [Don’t delete me.]
Yu Lili deliberately suppressed a smirk and typed a cold: [?]
Tan Suran: [Breakfast together the morning after tomorrow.]
Less than a second later, the message was recalled.
Tan Suran: [Can we have breakfast together the morning after tomorrow? [Kitty][Kitty]]
Seeing the revised message, especially the two adorable cat emojis, Yu Lili’s lips curled uncontrollably.
But was she really that easy to win over?
Of course not.
So Yu Lili sent another aloof question mark.
Tan Suran: [I have to go to Nan City tomorrow to handle something. I won’t be back until early the next morning at the earliest.]
Yu Lili pondered for two seconds before loftily replying: [No rest?]
Tan Suran: [Mm. Seeing you is the most important thing.]
Yu Lili: KO.
What was up with Tan Suran?
Overnight, she’d evolved into an arsonist of少女心 (a young girl’s heart)?
Yu Lili hummed a cheerful tune, completely unaware that another storm about her was brewing online.
Around 10 a.m., Yu Lili ran into Li Mi outside the restroom and greeted her with a smile.
But Li Mi looked uneasy. “Lili, are you okay?”
“What’s wrong?”
“You haven’t seen the news?”
Yu Lili shook her head.
Li Mi: “Forget it, don’t look.”
“Mi-mi, you know what? The more you say that, the more I want to see.”
Li Mi turned her phone screen toward Yu Lili.
A hashtag—#XiangYuPuff Photographer—was trending low on Weibo. But because it was so cryptic yet tied to the hot new celebrity CP, clicks were steadily driving it up.
The post accused a certain magazine’s photographer of trying to break up the CP by seducing one of its members, using her job to initiate physical contact. It also claimed she had mocked and driven away the other member who came to visit the set.
Accompanying the post were blurry photos of physical contact and a timeline of Yu Mu’s visit to Zhu Jingxiang’s shoot, showing she’d left within half an hour.
Yu Lili swiped through the images.
The爆料 (exposé) was vague, not naming the magazine outright. But with celebrity schedules being public knowledge, it didn’t take long for netizens to connect the dots.
[This Yu Lili woman is like a haunting ghost!] one of Yu Mu’s longtime fans raged in the comments.
“What are you thinking?” Li Mi asked.
Yu Lili scowled. “Trash.”
Li Mi fumed. “I agree. The person spreading rumors is trash.”
“The photo quality is trash,” Yu Lili spat. “How did they manage to make me look like I’m 1.2 meters tall?”
Li Mi stared blankly. Sis, is that really what you’re focusing on right now?
But seeing Yu Lili genuinely unbothered, Li Mi let it go.
Truthfully, this wasn’t Yu Lili’s first rodeo with online drama.
She’d grown thicker skin, even finding some of the comments amusing.
But the ferocity of CP fans?
Yu Lili was about to get a real education.
The hashtag trended in the morning.
By afternoon, the “gifts” arrived.
Returning to the magazine office after lunch, Yu Lili was met with two rows of stark white funeral wreaths lining the hallway and the awkward stares of her colleagues.
She instantly knew who those wreaths were for.
Li Mi: “Lili, it’s okay. Those people online are just crazy.”
“Maybe you should take some time off and go home.”
“Yeah, if you’re upset, just rest at home for a bit.”
“Olivia already called the police.”
Yu Lili silently pulled out her phone, snapped a photo of the wreaths, and boldly posted it on Weibo:
[Thanks for the generosity. How about we keep it civilized? Digital wreaths next time? These are a pain to throw out, and they’re extra work for our cleaning staff.]
Then she looked up at her comforting colleagues and said, “It’s fine. First time receiving this kind of ‘gift.’ Kinda novel.”
Li Mi: “…”
Bystanding coworkers: …Well then.
Yu Lili’s Weibo post was a spark in a powder keg.
The CP fans felt mocked and went berserk, swarming her comments with creative insults.
But within an hour, the storm died down.
Because the other party involved—Zhu Jingxiang—liked a hater’s post:
[How much brainwashing have XiangYu CP fans ingested? Every time those two are together, Zhu Jingxiang looks like she’s one second away from murder. How do you guys see ‘love’ in that…]
At first, fans tried to dismiss it as an accidental like.
But half an hour later, the like was still there.
Even if Zhu Jingxiang wasn’t checking Weibo, her team would’ve noticed.
Meaning only one thing:
That like was intentional.
#ZhuJingxiangLikes
#ZhuJingxiangDestroysCP
These hashtags shot to the top.
Netizens flooded in to mock.
Rival fans seized the chance to stir the pot.
The sensitive ones were already crying and unfollowing.
With the CP and solo fans at each other’s throats, no one had time to harass Yu Lili anymore.
When Zhu Jingxiang texted her an explanation, Yu Lili slowly replied with an [OK].
Zhu Jingxiang sent a few more messages, but Yu Lili didn’t respond.
Just as she was about to set her phone aside, another notification popped up.
Unknown number: [Hey, it’s Yu Mu. Let’s meet.]
Knowing Yu Lili wouldn’t reply, Yu Mu dangled bait:
[Don’t you want to know who the woman in Zhu Jingxiang’s hotel room was?]
Yu Lili frowned. That was ancient history. She didn’t care to revisit it. [No.]
Yu Mu: [No way. Did she already tell you?]
Yu Lili: [Nope.]
Yu Mu: [Let’s meet. I’ll tell you everything.]
Yu Lili: [Really not interested, sis.]
Yu Lili wrinkled her nose. To shut Yu Mu up for good, she dropped a bombshell: [It was you, wasn’t it?]
Yu Mu was stunned. It took her over ten minutes to reply: [You’re bluffing.]
Yu Lili smirked. [Don’t flatter yourself.]
She thought that would be the end of it.
But her phone buzzed twice more.
Yu Lili lazily glanced at the screen, ready to block Yu Mu.
Then she froze.
Yu Mu: [What about Tan Suran? Don’t you want to know Tan Suran’s secret?]