Episode 3

Amidst the teasing looks of my colleagues, I grabbed Sheng Bayu and left.

I handed him the key, and upon learning that he hadn't eaten yet, I took him to a restaurant near the office.

During the meal, he suddenly said to me, "I contacted my sister this morning. It seems she has some last-minute matters and can't come back for the time being. Can I stay at your place for a few more days?"

I agreed to his request. After all, he had stayed at my place overnight, and I didn't feel uncomfortable about it. Besides, he cooked so deliciously, and he would play games with me, adding some fun to my otherwise dull life.

While we were eating, Jiang Yu and a few colleagues came down from the private room upstairs and happened to see Sheng Bayu and me.

The smile on his face faded slightly. After exchanging a few words with those two colleagues, he walked over to me alone.

"Who is this?" Jiang Yu glanced at Sheng Bayu with a hint of coldness in his tone and a deep, inscrutable look in his eyes.

To my surprise, Sheng Bayu, who had been polite in front of me, sneered, then ignored Jiang Yu altogether.

I looked at Jiang Yu and calmly smiled, "He is the younger brother staying at my place temporarily."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu smiled knowingly. Unexpectedly, Sheng Bayu put down his chopsticks, lifted the corners of his lips slightly, raised his eyebrows, stood up, looked at Jiang Yu, and said with a smile, "Let me introduce myself, I'm Sheng Bayu, the cousin of Ying Ying's best friend Sheng Yaoyao."

The smile on Jiang Yu's face froze for a moment. Soon, he reached out his slender fingers and shook hands with Sheng Bayu, saying lightly, "Hello, I'm Jiang Yu."

Jiang Yu then turned to look at me. In his indifferent eyes, a hint of concealed displeasure flickered, as if blaming me for not explaining Sheng Bayu's background to him earlier.

After a moment, Jiang Yu faintly smiled and said, "You guys take your time eating, I'll leave first."

Before I could respond, Sheng Baiyu waved his hand with a smile, "Mr. Jiang, take care. I won't see off with Yinging."

Jiang Yu's face slightly darkened. As he passed by me, the corner of his lips lifted, he gave a cold snort, and a mocking expression showed between his eyebrows.

In the evening, while I was having dinner at home made by Sheng Baiyu, Jiang Yu suddenly called.

As soon as I picked up the phone, his displeased voice came through, "Tang Ying, are you so lacking in self-respect that you are living with a man?"

I couldn't help but chuckle, "I'm just hosting my friend's younger brother at my place for a few days. What's it to you?"

Sheng Baiyu sat across from me, and upon hearing my response, he slowly put down his chopsticks.

Jiang Yu's voice grew heavier, "Tang Ying, I'm doing this for your own good! You shouldn't casually live with a man like this. You don't understand men's minds. What if he has ulterior motives towards you? You'll regret it then."

I couldn't help but look up at Sheng Baiyu, then replied to Jiang Yu with a smile, "It seems like you've got it all wrong. I'm four years older than him. Even if there are ulterior motives, it should be me having them against him."

Sheng Baiyu, who had a somewhat cold gaze before, suddenly showed a hint of brightness in his eyes as he stared at me intently, his smile becoming more obvious.

Perhaps not expecting my response, Jiang Yu fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Do you even know what you're saying?"

I raised an eyebrow lightly, "Jiang Yu, there are some things I should have made clear to you a long time ago, but I thought it was unnecessary before. Now, I think it's necessary. Since you already have a girlfriend, it's better for us to have less contact. I don't want Chen Xinxin to misunderstand our relationship. And as for my affairs, you should also mind them less. I'm an adult, and I consider things carefully before acting."

Jiang Yu fell silent. After a while, he spoke softly with a hint of helplessness, "Xinxin won't misunderstand."

I chuckled, "Perhaps!"

After hanging up the phone, Sheng Baiyu asked me, "Yinging, did I cause you trouble?"

I shook my head and smiled, "It's just him being meddlesome."

There was a hint of something different in Sheng Baiyu's eyes, as if he had something on his mind. But after a moment, he smiled again as usual, as if nothing had changed.

I thought that after the phone call with Jiang Yu, he wouldn't meddle in my affairs again, and I could have some peace of mind.

But I never expected that on that same night, Chen Xinxin posted a message in our university alumni group.

She directly and explicitly cursed, "I've never seen such a despicable woman who claims not to be a third wheel but secretly seduces my boyfriend, playing both sides."

Many alumni asked who she was talking about, and she replied directly with two words, "Tang Ying."

I was woken up in the middle of the night by a call from Yao Yao.

From Yao Yao's furious tone, I understood the whole situation.

I never intended to interfere in Jiang Yu and Chen Xinxin's relationship, and since the day they got together, I had given up the ten years of waiting and stopped chasing after Jiang Yu.

Chen Xinxin publicly insulted me in the alumni group, so I naturally wouldn't sit back and do nothing. I was truly angry, very angry.

Sheng Baiyu knocked on my door, looking at me with a worried expression, "My sister just called me. Are you okay?"

I replied with a forced smile, "I'm fine. But could you do me a favor..."

I brought out a box from the bedroom, containing the birthday gifts Jiang Yu had given me each year for the past ten years.

I asked Sheng Baiyu to hold the phone and record a video for me.

Facing the camera, I calmly said, "I admit, I once liked Jiang Yu for ten years. And in this box are the birthday gifts he gave me each year over the past decade."

As I spoke, I opened the box, then continued, "I once asked my best friend Yao Yao if she believed that one day I would stop liking Jiang Yu. She said she didn't believe it unless I threw away all the birthday gifts Jiang Yu had given me over the past ten years."

While Sheng Baiyu was recording the video for me.