Chapter 98: A Small Gathering

After clinging to each other for a while, Gu Zehuai finally took Wen Jiu out.
“I’ve booked a restaurant,” he replied when Wen Jiu asked where they were going.

The car stopped at a Western restaurant, and Wen Jiu noticed as she walked in that there were no other guests; she realized Gu Zehuai had reserved the entire place. After they sat down, the waiter lit the candles and quickly served their meal. Once everything was arranged, the waiter and chef withdrew, leaving only Gu Zehuai and Wen Jiu together.

It was their first candlelit dinner since becoming a couple. During the meal, their eyes met occasionally, but they didn’t chat, and ate in peaceful silence. When they finished and left the restaurant, Gu Zehuai took two gift boxes from the car and handed them to Wen Jiu.

Upon opening them, Wen Jiu was dazzled by the exquisitely designed necklace and bracelet; she immediately asked Gu Zehuai to put them on her.

Wen Jiu remembered her promise to Pei Yi—to treat everyone to drinks after she and Gu Zehuai got together. She mentioned it to Gu Zehuai, who promptly took out his phone and invited a few friends for a gathering. Wen Jiu also messaged Shen Mengxia.

Shen Mengxia quickly replied, “Great, I’ll be there soon!!!” Wen Jiu, puzzled by her excitement—after all, Shen Mengxia already knew about their relationship—decided to ask her about it when they met.

Gu Zehuai and Wen Jiu arrived first at Golan Bar, ordered drinks, and waited for their friends. Lin Lehan was the first to arrive. Since Golan Bar was near the university district and Lin Lehan attended a local university, she naturally got there quickly. As soon as she entered, Lin Lehan hugged Wen Jiu warmly, even though they had just seen each other at New Year’s and chatted for a long time then.

Excited, Lin Lehan exclaimed, “Once Xiaxia arrives, we can all have fun together again!” Wen Jiu smiled and nodded.

Pei Yi and Lin Youqi arrived one after another. Lin Lehan and Wen Jiu kept glancing toward the private room’s door, anticipating Shen Mengxia’s arrival.

Another ten minutes passed before Shen Mengxia finally appeared. After greeting everyone, she sat down and began to complain tearfully to Lin Lehan and Wen Jiu.

“Jiujiu, thank goodness you messaged me just now—otherwise, I wouldn’t have escaped, sob sob.” Hearing this, Lin Lehan curiously asked, “What happened just now, Xiaxia?”

Unable to hold back, Shen Mengxia poured out everything that had happened: “It was Ye Chen! He actually came to me again about messing up his blind date last time! I even apologized and treated him to dinner!”

Wen Jiu listened and sensed something was off. Though she hadn’t interacted much with Ye Chen in high school, she knew he wasn’t the type to dwell on such things—especially since it was his own idea to begin with.

So Wen Jiu asked, “Xiaxia, did Senior Ye say anything else?”

Caught off guard by Wen Jiu’s question, Shen Mengxia stammered, “Actually, using that as an excuse to invite me out seemed like a pretext. He said some strange things—I was struggling to respond when you messaged me.”

Wen Jiu immediately understood: she’d probably interrupted Ye Chen’s confession. But judging by Shen Mengxia’s reaction, she clearly wasn’t ready for it herself. Ah, those closest to a situation are often the most confused.

Lin Lehan, who had caught the gist of their story, offered Shen Mengxia some advice from her own perspective.