It wasn’t the first time dining with He Nan, so neither of them held back and immediately followed behind him.
He Nan chose a slightly more upscale restaurant. Eating here included stir-fried dishes, which made it costlier than other eateries, so the clientele was mainly adults with very few students present.
At this time of day, it was the quietest dining spot in town.
He Nan ordered four dishes and a soup, a mix of meat and vegetables, which had Shen Mianmian and Lu Siyuan swallowing hard just hearing the names of the dishes.
Having spent the whole morning wracking their brains, both were exceptionally hungry.
Before the food arrived and to avoid an awkward silence, Shen Mianmian initiated a conversation, "Big Brother He, why haven’t you gone back yet?"
"I don’t have much to do today, so I’m not in a hurry to go back. Aren’t you heading to the city? I can give you a ride after your exam," He Nan replied, expressionless as always, his tone indifferent yet his voice was particularly pleasant to the ear.
Shen Mianmian really enjoyed the sound of his voice, feeling that no matter what he said, just hearing his voice made her feel at ease.
Hearing that he would wait for Shen Mianmian, Lu Siyuan spoke up before she could, "Big Brother He, we have another half-day of exams tomorrow. If Mianmian goes with you to the city, she won’t be able to take them. How about she stays at my place tonight, and I’ll take her to the city tomorrow?"
"That’s what you’re planning?" He Nan raised an eyebrow and looked at Shen Mianmian.
"If I go to the city, I really won’t be able to come back for the exams tomorrow." He Nan had good intentions in offering her a ride, so Shen Mianmian explained the reason she couldn’t go today, to show her respect for him.
He Nan pursed his lips in silence for a moment, as if pondering something. After two or three seconds, he said, "Tonight, your parents will probably be waiting for you at the school gate. If you go to the Lu residence, neither of you will have a peaceful evening. That’s not a good idea."
Big Brother He was right; given Zhou Lanfang’s temper, she indeed wouldn’t let her off easily.
If she stayed at Lu Siyuan’s house tonight, it might indeed be impossible to get any rest, but at this point, she had nowhere else to go. The most update n0vels are published on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒•𝙣𝙚𝙩
"If they dare to make a scene, I’ll be unkind to them," Lu Siyuan huffed. He didn’t care who Shen Jianhua and Zhou Lanfang were; if they dared to bully Shen Mianmian, he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt them.
"Unkind in what way?" He Nan looked at Lu Siyuan, his words cutting deep, "She’s the Shen Family’s daughter and has no kinship with your family. A young girl staying over at your place, raising a commotion that everyone knows about, what would people say about her behind her back?"
Lu Siyuan had no retort to He Nan’s words and his face turned beet red. He wanted to say that if Shen Mianmian’s reputation suffered, he could just marry her when he grew up.
But in front of Shen Mianmian, he couldn’t verbalize such thoughts, fearing she might kill him.
After a long moment, he asked gloomily, "So what shall we do? She can’t just skip the exam tomorrow, can she?"
He Nan pondered seriously for a while and then declared indifferently, "Let’s go to the city today, I’m free tomorrow morning and can take her."
He was somewhat reluctant to let Shen Mianmian go, feeling as if Big Brother He had made a roundabout argument just to have Shen Mianmian go to the city.
Yet he also thought he might be overthinking it. Shen Mianmian was still a kid, and Big Brother He was not that kind of person.
Thinking this, he secretly pinched his own thigh. How could he think that of Big Brother He? That was an insult to him. Big Brother He treated both him and Shen Mianmian like younger siblings.