Brother, Don’t Delete Me! 46

Chapter 46: Dinner

“Anyway, you’re not allowed to mention this again in the future,” Luo Jing said, unusually assertive, his expression a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. “I was young then.”

Having received the answer he wanted, and afraid of teasing him too much, Huai Dan stopped, smiling and agreeing, “Okay.”

He looked very agreeable.

Luo Jing: “…”

But after calming down, he still had a lot of questions.

For example, did Huai Dan really figure it out after he forgot to turn on the voice changer that time?

And… if so, had he really liked his “second sister” before?

But if he directly addressed this, he would lose all his remaining face.

But if he didn’t know the truth, he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

After sitting there in silence and struggling for a while, Luo Jing couldn’t resist and asked softly, somewhat hesitantly, “So when did you find out?”

Huai Dan couldn’t help but chuckle.

Luo Jing was the one who said not to mention it again, yet he was the one who brought it up.

Huai Dan thought for a moment, wavering between slightly modifying the truth and telling it as it was, then said, “I’ve always known.”

Luo Jing was instantly petrified.

He felt his face and brain burning at the same time.

Always known, what did that mean?

He didn’t dare to overthink it.

“…Always?” After a moment, Luo Jing asked cautiously, like a drowning man grasping at straws.

“Mm,” Huai Dan replied, suppressing his laughter.

The hope in Luo Jing’s eyes vanished.

“Then why did you agree at the time?”

“Initially, it was just to make you study hard and not think about games all the time.”

“…And then?”

There had been many opportunities, many reasons, to tell him and end this charade.

Why didn’t Huai Dan tell him?

Was it fun to watch him, clueless, trying so hard to act?

Thinking of this, Luo Jing was about to get angry.

“And then…” Huai Dan paused, lowered his eyelashes, and suddenly smiled. “Who knows?”

“…” For some reason, Luo Jing suddenly couldn’t get angry anymore.

Perhaps because he was also in the wrong, perhaps because Huai Dan’s words were too ambiguous, or perhaps because Huai Dan’s smile made his mind a mess…

His words and expression were too suggestive.

Luo Jing took a light breath, feeling like something bad would happen if he stayed any longer.

“Anyway, thank you, brother. I’ll go back and report now.” He felt he wasn’t very clear-headed. He had said what he needed to say, and they had met. To prevent himself from causing more trouble, he picked up the contract and was about to leave.

“Wait,” Huai Dan suddenly said.

Luo Jing: “?”

The receptionist came over and placed two brown paper bags on the table in front of Luo Jing, their contents bulging.

“You seem to like this coffee,” Huai Dan said. “Take some back with you.”

Luo Jing froze, following Huai Dan’s gaze to the now-empty coffee cup in front of him.

“…”

It wasn’t because he liked it that he had drunk so much.

But the coffee did taste quite good, with a unique flavor.

“Which brand is this?” he asked. “I’ll buy some next time.”

Huai Dan smiled: “It’s custom-made… Come intern here, and you can drink it anytime.”

Luo Jing: “…”

After a moment of silence, he said, his ears red, “I… I’ll consider it.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting for your offer.”

In the second week after returning to China, the matter that had worried Luo Jing for years seemed to have been resolved effortlessly.

It was surprisingly smooth, yet also strangely bizarre.

Leaving Huai Dan’s company with two bags of coffee beans and the contract, Luo Jing only felt more clear-headed after getting into the car.

Then… he realized something.

Huai Dan had asked him if his “second sister” had ever liked anyone else.

Why did he ask that?

Luo Jing, having just returned to China and not yet started his pursuit, was already confused by the person he was pursuing.

When he returned to his company with the contract, Luo Jing saw Luo Feng sitting at his workstation—perhaps because of this, the entire office was silent, everyone focused on their computers, looking diligently at work.

Seeing him enter, Luo Feng looked over naturally: “I heard you went to sign the contract. How did it go? Did you negotiate the percentage the company wanted?”

“Signed it,” Luo Jing replied.

Luo Feng raised an eyebrow and held out her hand: “Let me see.”

Luo Jing handed her the contract. Luo Feng flipped through it and, seeing that the contract was indeed the original version without any changes, felt that her brother had grown up: “You actually managed to negotiate it, how did you convince them…”

Her words trailed off as she reached the last page and saw the signature.

Luo Feng: “.”

Her proud expression vanished.

After a pause, she said, slightly exasperated, “I thought this would be a good opportunity for you to practice, but you went straight to Huai Dan.”

Luo Jing felt wronged: “He came to find me. I wasn’t even planning to see him.”

“He came to find you?” Now it was Luo Feng’s turn to be surprised.

“Yes.” Speaking of this, Luo Jing realized something, narrowed his eyes, and said coldly, “Did you tell him I was back?”

“Yes… what do you mean, you didn’t tell him?” Luo Feng asked, puzzled, then became interested. “Did you two have a fight?”

Luo Jing, realizing he had misspoken, tried to change the subject: “He asked me to intern at his company.”

“Go then. At least someone will be there to keep an eye on you, and I can rest easy,” Luo Feng said, acting like an elder. “It’s all the same where you intern. Maybe you can even learn more there.”

Luo Jing: “…”

Just like that, she agreed?

But the thought that this way, he would have more opportunities to be with Huai Dan… no, practically be with Huai Dan all the time, made his heart skip a beat.

He hadn’t realized this earlier because he was too shocked at Huai Dan’s company.

Coming back to his senses, Luo Jing felt like he had won the lottery.

He hadn’t even figured out how to pursue him yet, and he was even having second thoughts.

Because he barely had any opportunities to see Huai Dan, and the other person definitely wouldn’t have any other feelings for him…

Having had a crush for so many years, the time he had spent with Huai Dan was so little it was almost pitiful.

They only chatted online more often.

So it was actually this effortless to get closer to him?

“Huai Dan just messaged,” Luo Feng suddenly said, interrupting Luo Jing’s thoughts.

The name struck a nerve, and Luo Jing instinctively looked at Luo Feng: “Huh?”

“Why are you reacting so strongly?” Luo Feng looked at him strangely. “He asked if you and I are free for dinner after work.”

“I’m free,” Luo Jing said, taking out the two bags of coffee beans from his bag like a treasure and generously giving them to Luo Feng. “I specially brought these back for you from my brother’s place. This coffee is really good.”

Anyway, he wouldn’t have to worry about not being able to drink it after going to Huai Dan’s company.

7 p.m., in a private dining room.

When Luo Jing followed Luo Feng inside, he found that not only Huai Dan, but also Ye Lin, was sitting there.

As soon as she entered, Luo Feng greeted them naturally.

Luo Jing was a bit confused.

“Are you three university classmates?” he asked.

“Yeah, but not in the same department,” Ye Lin replied, then said with a smile, “Long time no see, Luo Luo.”

Huai Dan glanced at him lightly.

Ye Lin’s smile faltered.

This person was really petty.

“Long time no see, Brother… Brother Lin,” Luo Jing also greeted him.

It was a square table in the private room, with Huai Dan and Ye Lin sitting on opposite sides.

“Did you two also have a fight?” Luo Feng asked, then walked over and sat next to Ye Lin.

Luo Jing: “…”

Why “also”?

He felt inexplicably guilty and glanced at Huai Dan.

Huai Dan caught his eye and gestured to the seat beside him: “Come sit here.”

Luo Jing blinked, hesitated for half a second, then walked over and sat down.

Although everyone except Luo Jing was in China, they hadn’t gotten together much due to their busy schedules, so they chatted while waiting for the food.

Luo Feng and Ye Lin talked the most, while Huai Dan just sat there listening quietly, occasionally responding when they mentioned him.

After catching up, they both became interested in Luo Jing’s life abroad.

“You didn’t contact your family much while abroad, just chatting with Huai Dan every day… So, how was it these past three years? Were you happy?” Luo Feng rarely had the opportunity to show concern for her brother.

Ye Lin glanced at Huai Dan teasingly.

Huai Dan noticed his gaze but didn’t react, instead lowering his eyes and taking a sip of tea.

Then he picked up the teapot and poured some tea for both him and Luo Jing.

“It was quite happy.”

If he ignored the dark days of every final exam period, especially this year’s.

Just as he finished speaking, his phone on the table lit up. Luo Jing received a new message.

He instinctively opened it and saw it was from Xie You.

Xie You: [I heard you’re back.]

AAA.Internship Seal Wholesaler Xiao Luo: [Yes, I came back two weeks ago.]

Xie You hadn’t chatted with him much since they added each other, only sending him holiday greetings.

After their dinner abroad, he would occasionally tell Luo Jing about his group’s recent activities, which Luo Jing always found comforting.

In Luo Jing’s eyes, they could be considered relatively familiar friends.

“Who are you chatting with?” Luo Feng suddenly asked.

Luo Jing was about to reply to Xie You’s new message, and upon hearing her question, he instinctively replied, “Xie You.”

Luo Feng raised an eyebrow: “The leader of that boy group?”

“Yes,” Luo Jing replied honestly.

“Speaking of which, I suddenly have a question,” a gossipy look appeared on Luo Feng’s face. “After being abroad for so long, did you date anyone?”

Luo Jing: “…”

Huai Dan, who was drinking tea, lowered his eyes and put down his cup, the bottom of the cup clinking softly against the table.

Ye Lin, who had been chatting animatedly with Luo Feng, had just taken a large gulp of tea because he was thirsty, and upon hearing this, he choked violently for some reason.