I'm Interested In Your Friend - Chapter 43
43
The first ray of morning light fell on her eyelids.
Yu Lili’s fluttering lashes blinked.
She opened her drowsy eyes.
Tan Suran’s smooth, full face was right before her.
The pale golden light cast upon her skin gave her an ethereal, almost celestial beauty—porcelain-white and exquisite.
Yu Lili couldn’t tear her eyes away. She tentatively lifted a hand from under the blanket, itching to poke, pinch, and touch.
But before she could act,
the lashes before her trembled slightly.
As if their owner was about to wake.
Yu Lili’s heart pounded wildly.
She hurriedly shut her eyes.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Yet she felt no movement, no sound.
Still asleep?
Yu Lili cautiously opened one eye.
Only to meet Tan Suran’s open, light-colored pupils head-on.
And the faint smile playing at the corners of her lips.
It made Yu Lili’s face burn.
She was momentarily at a loss, unsure how to proceed with her carefully rehearsed script.
“Good morning,” Tan Suran greeted her naturally and calmly.
“G-good morning…” Yu Lili stammered in reply.
Wait.
No, no…
Why was she so composed?
How could she be this unfazed?
How was Yu Lili supposed to carry out her plan to play the victim and trick Tan Suran into taking responsibility?
No, no.
This was a crucial step in scamming her way into her future wife’s heart.
She couldn’t back down now.
Decided, Yu Lili sniffled.
She pulled the blanket over her face.
And deliberately let out a few choked sobs.
“What’s wrong?” Tan Suran’s cool voice came from outside the blanket.
Hah. That tone.
Not even as gentle as the “good morning” earlier.
Clearly, she was the type to turn cold after getting out of bed.
Yu Lili pursed her lips, letting a tearful voice escape muffled through the blanket: “I—I don’t know, I just woke up like this.”
“Who’s going to take responsibility?”
What kind of question was that?
How could she ask something so directly?
Under the blanket, Yu Lili’s expression shifted dramatically. She decided to double down on playing the victim, biting her lip and whimpering pitifully, “Nothing happened… Y-you don’t have to take responsibility.”
“Give me a reason.”
A reason? What reason?
“W-we really didn’t do anything. I—I won’t tell anyone. I’ll just… keep this night as a precious memory in my heart.”
“Okay.”
Huh?
Huh?!
Just… okay?
That tone…
That attitude…
Was Tan Suran a heartless playgirl?
“Notify the business department, meeting at nine.”
What?
Yu Lili yanked the blanket off. Tan Suran had just taken her phone away from her ear.
Had Tan Suran been on a call just now?
Then… had she even heard Yu Lili’s earlier performance?
Judging by her expression…
Probably not.
Ugh.
All that acting for nothing.
Yu Lili’s hair was disheveled, her face visibly crestfallen.
Tan Suran picked up her coat from the side, her steps hurried as she spoke quickly, “Something came up at the company. I have to go now. I’ll contact you later.”
Yu Lili’s lips jutted out, her slow “Oh” not even fully formed before—
Tan Suran’s figure had already vanished past the doorway.
The sound of the front door closing echoed clearly.
……
A black line of frustration crept across Yu Lili’s forehead.
……
Her heart turned to ice.
Tan Suran wasn’t a playgirl.
She was just a workaholic.
Yu Lili hugged a nearby pillow, burying her face in it.
She let out a muffled scream of frustration.
Record of Yu Lili’s First Attempt to Scam Tan Suran: Utter Failure!
But…
On second thought…
Since Tan Suran had said she’d contact her later,
maybe she just had to wait a little longer.
Yu Lili clocked in for work, took photos, edited images, and occasionally glanced at her phone amidst the busyness.
The woman who’d promised to contact her later
hadn’t sent so much as a punctuation mark.
Ugh.
Tan Suran’s words had zero credibility.
Before leaving work, Yu Lili got a call from her mom.
“Lili, what are you up to?”
“Working hard to earn money to spoil my dear mother!” Yu Lili batted her eyelashes. “How about that… Touched, aren’t you?”
“With your annual salary, you probably couldn’t even afford one of my bags.”
“……”
“I’ve sent Xiao Chen to pick you up. Come with me to a banquet tonight.”
“Ow!” Yu Lili gasped dramatically.
“What’s wrong?”
“Someone just bumped into me—my ankle’s twisted. Oww, it hurts so bad. I probably can’t go, waaah.” Yu Lili immediately faked an injury.
Work was exhausting enough. She wasn’t about to waste her precious free time on something like this.
“Your foot hurts?”
Yu Lili nodded vigorously. “Mhm, mhm, so much.”
“Alright, then—”
Yu Lili chimed in: “Then I don’t have to go?”
“Then I’ll have Xiao Chen bring you a pair of crutches.”
Yu Lili facepalmed. “Mom, are you really my biological mother?”
“We just got the DNA test results last month. Want me to send them to you?”
“Huh? Wait, why did you even get a DNA test?” Yu Lili was baffled.
“Because I had the same question.”
Yu Lili: “……”
Her mother sighed. “Fine, don’t come if you don’t want to. It’s not a big deal anyway. It’s just the 50th birthday banquet for the Tan family patriarch. Mrs. Tan is hosting a cocktail party at home.”
Tan?
Did she say Tan?
A Tan family banquet…
“Wait.”
“What?”
Yu Lili grinned. “Mom, I haven’t seen you in days and suddenly I really miss you. I’ll go after all. The banquet is secondary—I just want to see you.”
Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you sprain your ankle? Don’t come. Rest up.”
“Hey, isn’t it magical? A mother’s love is just that powerful. It healed me instantly. My foot is suddenly fine—I can jump, I can dance, it’s amazing.”
“Lili.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever considered a career change? It feels like photography is wasting your talents. Maybe you should try acting.”
“……”
After not seeing her for a few days, her mom’s sarcasm had leveled up.
After letting Olivia know, Yu Lili left the magazine office half an hour early.
It was Tan Suran’s father’s 50th birthday. Given the Tan family’s status and Tan Suran’s recent prominence in high society, the turnout was massive.
“Overwhelming” didn’t even begin to cover it.
The Tan family banquet was quintessentially European in style—opulent white and gold.
Expensive crystal chains hung from chandeliers.
Glassware refracted dazzling lights.
The custom-tailored gowns and limited-edition jewelry adorning the guests could fund two hundred all-star galas combined.
Yu Lili held a wine glass, trailing behind her mother like a well-behaved sidekick for twenty minutes—smiling, clinking glasses, greeting people—like a semi-autonomous robot.
All while her eyes darted around, searching for Tan Suran.
But she was nowhere to be found.
She did, however, spot Jian Sijia.
“Mom, I’m going to chat with Sijia for a bit.”
Yu Lili teetered over in her heels, approaching Jian Sijia.
Jian Sijia was equally bored. “Look at this. Du Tanyu’s abroad, you’re working, Qi Luo was never one to socialize anyway—our little quartet is down to just me, wandering the social wilderness alone.”
Yu Lili: “Why don’t you just join your dad’s company?”
“Nah, I’d rather savor this solitude.”
“By the way, where’s Tan Suran?”
Jian Sijia snorted. “What’s wrong with you? Have you been working so much you forgot the Tan family drama? With that brother of hers around, why would she come?”
That reminder jogged Yu Lili’s memory—Tan Suran and her half-brother were openly at odds.
“Lili, Sijia, you’ve both grown into such beauties,” a meticulously made-up, lavishly dressed matron approached, her fine wrinkles barely concealed by cosmetics.
The semi-automated socialite Yu Lili switched back on.
Jian Sijia, far more natural, replied warmly, “Auntie Tan, you’re just as stunning.”
Once the pleasantries were over and the woman had left, Jian Sijia silently rolled her eyes. “I might not be Tan Suran’s biggest fan, but having a stepmom like that is just unlucky.”
“How so?” Yu Lili knew the Tan family was a blended one, with Tan Suran and her half-brother on terrible terms, but she wasn’t familiar with the details.
Jian Sijia swirled her wine glass. “Remember when Tan Suran’s company hit a rough patch recently? She swallowed her pride and came back to ask her dad for help. Somehow, this stepmom of hers made sure Tan Suran didn’t even get to see her father. And her brother publicly mocked her, saying she was just a woman wasting her time playing entrepreneur.”
“How do you know?”
“I was there. That guy has zero sense of occasion. Right in the middle of their gated community, while I was walking my dog—with other people around, mind you—he just started sneering at her, saying that as long as he was around, his dad wouldn’t give her a single cent.”
Yu Lili was speechless. “Wow. Then her dad’s just as terrible.”
“Exactly… Though, is it bad that we’re secretly trash-talking them at the birthday party?”
“It’s fine. Just say ‘1’ with me. 11111.”
Jian Sijia frowned. “Huh? 1?”
“Buddha will bless you.”
Jian Sijia awkwardly paused before uttering, “Brilliant.”
“Honestly, this whole family is awful. There’s a reason Tan Suran refused to work for them and started her own business instead. It has to be because of her dad and stepmom. Looking at it now, Tan Suran might have some personality flaws, but her character and ability are practically a genetic mutation.”
“What personality flaws?”
Jian Sijia: “So cold, so aloof… Wait, Yu Lili, why does it sound like you took that personally just now?”
Yu Lili turned away, using her wine glass to hide her face. “I didn’t.”
She repeated, “Didn’t.”
Jian Sijia was about to say more when
Auntie Tan returned, this time with a young man in tow.
Likely Tan Suran’s no-good brother.
He wasn’t bad-looking—after all, he shared 50% of his genes with Tan Suran. Tall and lean, but with dark circles under his eyes and a sickly pallor.
Yu Lili didn’t get it.
How could a man in his twenties
smile in a way that oozed so much grease?
“This is my son, Minghao. We sent him abroad for school, and he’s only been back for a short while. You’re all around the same age—you should hang out sometime.” Auntie Tan nudged her son toward Yu Lili.
Tan Minghao spoke: “Hello, sisters.”
“Yue~”
Tan Minghao froze.
Yu Lili covered her mouth, forcing an awkward smile. “Sorry, I felt a bit nauseous. Sijia, can you take me to the restroom?”
“Excuse us.”
Once in the restroom, Jian Sijia planted a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. “Wow. Thank goodness you dragged me away. That guy’s stare was… unbearable. I’ve heard the Tans are shopping for a wife for their precious son. Please, please don’t let him set his sights on me.”
Yu Lili rinsed her hands. “What, if he likes you, you’ll marry him? Would your dad do that?”
Jian Sijia fluffed her bangs in the mirror. “Of course not. But for the sake of both families’ reputations, I’d have to humor him for a bit before rejecting him. I can’t just slap him the moment he approaches and scream, ‘Don’t touch me, back off!’”
“LOL. I’m going to the terrace for some air.”
—
Meanwhile.
The Tan patriarch sat at the head of the table, scowling. “She’s still not here?”
Auntie Tan shook her head.
“This child will be the death of me.”
“Don’t be angry. You know how headstrong Suran is. Minghao, call your sister again.”
“Use my phone.” The patriarch tossed his phone over.
Tan Minghao had already called Tan Suran twice—both times, she hung up. On the third attempt, she blocked him.
Gritting his teeth, he dialed again using his father’s phone. Surely this time, she wouldn’t dare ignore it.
The dial tone buzzed from the speaker.
Tan Minghao tapped his fingers impatiently against the phone case. The moment the call connected: “Tan Su—”
Click.
Dead air.
She’d hung up.
Tch.
Furious, Tan Minghao redialed.
“What’s wrong?” the patriarch asked.
Not wanting to admit Tan Suran hung up the second she heard his voice, Tan Minghao lied, “Bad signal. I’ll try outside.”
Once out of the room, Tan Minghao angrily flicked his sleeve and called Tan Suran again.
This time, she picked up.
Tan Minghao blurted out before she could hang up: “Dad wants me to talk to you. Hear me out first.”
The call remained connected.
Tan Minghao continued, “It’s Dad’s birthday today. Get over here.”
After speaking, he subconsciously gulped.
Half-expecting Tan Suran to hang up immediately.
But she didn’t.
Tan Minghao tentatively called, “Tan Suran?”
Click.
She’d hung up.
Tan Minghao cursed under his breath.
As he turned, he noticed a woman in a champagne-colored gown standing not far away. Slender, with a striking profile, she was on the phone.
What was her name again? Yu… Yu something?
He considered approaching her when his phone rang again.
Tan Suran.
A video call this time.
Tan Minghao frowned and answered. “Are you coming or not?”
“Tilt your phone to the left.”
“Huh?”
“To the left.”
“Oh.” Tan Minghao obediently angled the phone left.
Tan Suran hadn’t turned on her camera—her side of the screen was pitch black.
Slowly, as the camera panned, she found the figure she was looking for.
So she said, “I’ll be there.”
Yu Lili hung up on Du Tanyu in low spirits.
From Du Tanyu, she’d learned even more about the Tan family’s misdeeds.
With a stepmother came a stepfather’s neglect. Rumor had it that when Tan Suran was in school, the family once went on vacation without her, leaving her home alone—just one of many such incidents, not to mention worse offenses.
Yu Lili texted her mom, declaring she had no interest in celebrating the old man’s birthday.
Since Tan Suran wasn’t here anyway.
Grumpily, she headed back to the main hall.
Halfway there, she looked up.
The massive three-meter-tall doors swung open.
Midway through the banquet, few guests arrived through the main entrance—most slipped out discreetly through side doors.
But there, striding in through the grand doorway,
was Tan Suran.
Dressed in a simple white blouse and black pencil skirt, she entered like a shooting star.
The light seemed to crown her.
Yu Lili’s eyes widened.
She beamed at Tan Suran.
Before they could exchange a word,
the bright-eyed, charming Jiang Ruofu appeared beside Yu Lili. “Lili, we meet again.”
“Sister Ruofu, you’re here too?”
“I came with my parents. Is your magazine work keeping you busy?”
“Not too bad.” Yu Lili kept stealing glances at Tan Suran, so her replies to Jiang Ruofu were half-hearted.
Seeing Tan Suran approach, she couldn’t help but feel a thrill.
“Hey, Lili, do you know where the restroom is? Could you show me?”
“Ah…” Yu Lili bit her lip. She did know, but she didn’t want to take her—because right now, she’d rather meet up with Tan Suran.
“I’ll take you.”
Good news: Someone swooped in to spare Yu Lili the task of escorting Jiang Ruofu.
Bad news: That someone was Tan Suran.
Yu Lili: Heartbroken…
Jiang Ruofu turned, surprised. “Oh my, I’m honored.”
“Lili, I’ll go with Suran first. Let’s chat later.”
Yu Lili nodded mechanically.
Suran?
Since when did she get to call her Suran?
Last time they met, wasn’t it still President Tan?
Now it’s Suran?
Suppressing her gloom, Yu Lili watched the two walk away.
Jiang Ruofu chatted and laughed alongside Tan Suran, who nodded occasionally in response.
Jian Sijia, holding a wine glass, followed Yu Lili’s gaze. “Whoa, who’s that? Why are they so close with Tan Suran?”
“Close?”
“Yeah. Look at their arms—they’re practically touching. Doesn’t Tan Suran keep everyone at arm’s length?”
Yu Lili ground out, “Does she?”
Jian Sijia inexplicably felt a chill down her spine. Sensing Yu Lili’s tone, she backtracked. “Or… not?”
Yu Lili sighed.
Even last time during the shoot,
why was Tan Suran so proactive when it came to Jiang Ruofu?
At least it was Jiang Ruofu.
Not some secret crush of Tan Suran’s, Little F.
No risk of losing her almost-wife.
│
Wait.
A thought struck Yu Lili, freezing her smile.
Wait, wait, wait.
Little F, Little F, Little F?
Fu, Fu, Fu?
F… Fu?
No way.
No way.
Yu Lili’s emotions spiraled.
Could Little F
actually be Jiang Ruofu?