Wife, please behave yourself.

Chapter 128: Stunned

Cheng Zhiyan had only met Liu Songyan once before the summer vacation.

That was when we were in the bookstore.

At that time, Liu Songyan had never shown his true face to outsiders because of his strange hairstyle.

Later, in private, she also heard the nickname Liu Wanqiu gave her brother.

No-Face, the monster.

It's very apt and matches the stranger's initial impression of Liu Songyan at that time.

Hearing her friend's question, Liu Wanqiu, who was holding a pack of instant noodles, turned to look at her brother before turning back to Cheng Zhiyan.

"He's my brother."

"Your brother?"

One shocking thing after another struck, leaving Cheng Zhiyan feeling dizzy.

The little hand holding the instant noodles unconsciously squeezed harder, crushing the noodles inside with a crunching sound.

His gaze fell on Liu Songyan's face in front of him, looking at his handsome appearance.

He shifted his gaze to Liu Wanqiu beside him, then looked back at Liu Songyan standing in front of him.

It wasn't until Cheng Zhiyan noticed the similarities between the brother and sister that she belatedly opened her mouth wide in surprise.

The last time she saw Liu Wanqiu's brother at the bookstore, she thought he was a gloomy guy.

Now that I think about it, he's practically a prince charming!

He's tall and has a good-looking face.

Suddenly remembering something, Cheng Zhiyan's face lit up with a happy expression.

Holding up the instant noodles in his hand, he asked Liu Songyan in front of him curiously.

"Brother, do you have a girlfriend?"

"..."

His words drew the attention of everyone present.

Cheng Zhiyan didn't care about this at all; she focused all her attention on Liu Songyan.

"No."

A cold and brief response came from Liu Songyan.

After all, the question was asked by his own sister's friend, and he couldn't pretend he hadn't heard it, no matter what her purpose was.

Her eyes gradually brightened, and Cheng Zhiyan immediately became excited.

As the little hands moved, the crushed instant noodles made a rustling sound inside the bag.

"In that case, let me introduce you to someone. She's five years older than you and is doing her internship at a hospital. She's the same Miss Song you met at the bookstore last time!"

Cheng Zhiyan, now a matchmaker, is unwilling to give up any opportunity.

She didn't know what Liu Songyan really looked like before, and had never considered this possibility.

Seeing how handsome Liu Songyan looks after cutting his strange hairstyle, I suddenly had some inappropriate thoughts.

Before Liu Songyan could respond, Shen Ruzhi, who had been standing beside him without saying a word, suddenly called out.

"no!"

As if it were a subconscious reaction, Shen Ruzhi shouted out these words with a nervous expression.

He subconsciously took a step forward, as if to hide Liu Songyan behind him, raising his arm to block him.

This scene not only caught Cheng Zhiyan's attention, but also drew the attention of everyone present.

Shen Ruzhi, who had been looking nervous, slowly came to her senses and looked at Cheng Zhiyan and Liu Wanqiu in front of her with puzzled expressions.

He shifted his gaze to the side and noticed Chi Jinhe looking at him with surprise.

Finally, she turned around and looked at Liu Songyan, who was staring at her silently with a scrutinizing gaze.

Suddenly, her body felt as if it had been electrified, and her instinctive reaction brought her back to her senses.

With a stiff, downcast face, he hesitated for a long while before hurriedly trying to find a way to make amends.

"What I meant was that students should prioritize their studies..."

"Do you like him, sister?"

Shen Ruzhi was forced to stop speaking before Cheng Zhiyan could finish.

Her eyes widened uncontrollably, and she lowered her gaze as if feeling guilty, confirming that she was not at peace with herself.

This scene caught Chi Jinhe's eye, and her fingers, which had been holding the bag relatively loosely, almost instinctively curled up.

He gripped it tightly, while looking at Shen Ruzhi and Liu Songyan in front of him.

Shen Ruzhi did not respond immediately, but seemed to have lost the ability to communicate, and did not give her answer for a long time.

Liu Songyan, standing behind her, took in her reaction and lowered his eyes to think for a moment.

When she raised her face again, she returned to her usual calm demeanor.

"Are you two heading back to the classroom?"

"No."

When asked by her brother, Liu Wanqiu, who was still confused about the situation, shook her head.

"We were planning to go to the restroom..."

"Then why don't you hurry up and go?"

Lowering his voice, Liu Songyan prepared to end the topic.

Seeing Liu Wanqiu tug at Cheng Zhiyan's arm, the little girl, who was even shorter than her own sister, stubbornly tilted her head back.

It seemed she wouldn't leave until she got an answer from Shen Ruzhi.

"I……"

You don't need to answer her.

Just as Shen Ruzhi was about to speak after hesitating, Liu Songyan, who had come to her side, immediately interrupted her.

This prompted Shen Ruzhi to immediately look up at him, noticing Liu Songyan's relatively calm expression.

Liu Songyan looked at Cheng Zhiyan in front of him, recalling the stupid things she had done.

After all, he wasn't exactly familiar with Cheng Zhiyan. If his own sister asked such a question, he would definitely let her taste the power of his iron fist.

Having no intention of continuing the conversation, Liu Songyan turned around and called out to the two people behind him.

Then they headed towards the junior high school section.

Shen Ruzhi followed silently beside him, while Chi Jinhe first said goodbye to Liu Wanqiu and the other woman before catching up with them and returning to the group.

Watching the three people leave from afar, Cheng Zhiyan kept observing them.

With her experience, she had already sensed that something was wrong.

The most obvious example is Shen Ruzhi.

That hesitant, unspoken feeling... is just like the unrequited love of adolescence.

Cheng Zhiyan felt that her friend's family members were all very interesting.

Whether it's Liu Changcun or Liu Songyan, who just left, neither of them seems to be easy to deal with.

Class 2, Grade 9.

After returning to the classroom, Liu Songyan first let Chi Jinhe go inside.

Watching the girl beside him place the bag of snacks on the table, take out a packet of instant noodles, carefully tear it open from the middle, and then break it into pieces across the packaging counter.

Holding the separated long strips of dough, he reached out, pinched them, and handed them to his side.

"Here, have a taste, it's delicious."

"..."

Liu Songyan didn't immediately open his mouth. Instead, he looked at his deskmate next to him and saw Chi Jinhe's amused expression.

Silently turning her face away, she was just thinking of giving it the cold shoulder.

The next second, the long, thin pancake suddenly brushed against his mouth, startling him.

He immediately looked at Chi Jinhe, who had made the move, and saw her grinning.

"Since you've already come across it, why not give it a try?"

"..."

“It’s really delicious.”

"I've convinced you."

Hearing Chi Jinhe's words, Liu Songyan finally gave in.

He said this, but his hand did not take the long, thin pancake that Chi Jinhe offered.

Instead, he opened his mouth and forced it into his mouth.

Liu Songyan's action of gulping down the food almost touched Chi Jinhe's finger, but fortunately she pulled back quickly enough to avoid it.

Shen Ruzhi, sitting in the back seat, watched silently. When she saw the two acting so intimately, her already chaotic thoughts, which had been stirred up by Cheng Zhiyan's question, became even more tangled.

She couldn't be as natural as Chi Jinhe.

I always feel awkward when I'm with Liu Songyan.

Without realizing it, she began to envy Chi Jinhe.

She also hoped to maintain a normal appearance when she was with Liu Songyan. However, what seemed easy to outsiders was extremely difficult for Shen Ruzhi now.

After summer vacation, she already knew how she felt.

From that time on, she stopped emphasizing to Liu Songyan the idea of ​​bringing their parents together.

However, Liu Songyan, who had initially scoffed at his suggestion, now inexplicably agrees with it.

Perhaps they felt flustered, or perhaps it was because of the movie they watched that day.

Shen Ruzhi still remembers the scene in the movie where the female lead kept watching the male lead from afar.

She wasn't like the characters in the movies.

That's why she, who used to always have endless topics to talk about with her mother after returning home, now deliberately avoids her mother.

While escaping is shameful, it is indeed very useful.

Watching Liu Songyan chatting happily with Chi Jinhe, Shen Ruzhi, who was sitting in the back seat watching silently, gradually became stunned.

It wasn't until the opened bag of instant noodles was handed to her that she snapped out of her daze.

Looking at the beaming smile on Chi Jinhe's face.

"You should try some too."

"..."

She can't do what Chi Jinhe does.

Even though he had already realized her intentions, he still treated her with kindness despite past grievances.

------------

TV station, lounge.

Liu Changcun had already listed several key directions for the program and was speaking to An Zhaoran in front of him.

"At present, I think it is more appropriate to continue using successful cases and develop a new program based on them."

The station's entertainment channel, once a long-running program, has now faded into obscurity due to a lack of innovation.

As it turns out, even programs that once had good ratings will eventually be eliminated and disliked by the audience if they don't seek innovation and continue to stubbornly stick to their old ways.

"Singer Showdown" is a program that has been broadcast for five years. In this world, it was broadcast on the entertainment channel in 2001.

The core gameplay of the show involves inviting ordinary people to perform on stage, and within the same episode, several contestants will compete in singing.

It's somewhat similar to a tournament, where the winner moves on to the next round, and then similar competitions are repeated among the winners.

However, the unchanging program format had already caused viewers who had been watching for five years to lose interest.

The once-glorious "Singer Competition" ultimately came to an end due to its continuously declining ratings.

Liu Changcun summarized.

"The reason why 'Singer Showdown' failed is because it lacked novelty and fun, not because the show itself was uninteresting."

"It's like amateurs performing on stage. Although they don't have the fame of professional singers, they can still make the audience feel fresh and interesting. However, no matter how interesting the program is, if it remains unchanged, the audience will get bored after watching it too many times."

"It just so happens that the 'Singer Showdown' program has only recently stopped airing, and I've seen comments on online forums expressing regret about it. Why don't we improve upon it and create a new program?"

"..."

An Zhaoran looked at Liu Changcun in front of her.

Looking at the other person's mouth, which was constantly opening and closing.

She rested her face on her hand, tilted her head, and looked at the other person with a somewhat unfocused gaze.

She didn't even notice when Liu Changcun stopped talking; she just kept staring at her intently.

An Zhaoran's gaze finally caught Liu Changcun's attention.

He was in the middle of a discussion with the other party when he suddenly felt confused.

Looking at the woman leaning against the table in front of him, tilting her head and looking at him, he hesitated for a moment before raising his hand and waving it in front of her.

He called out softly.

"Are you distracted?"

"..."

Or perhaps the gesture of waving one's hand in front of her eyes blocked her view.

An Zhaoran, who had been silent, also raised her hand and pushed away the hand that was placed in front of her.

With a mysterious smile on his face, he continued to stare at the other person.

(End of this chapter)