He stole his best friend's photos and fell for a tycoon's heir through online dating.

"What's wrong?"

"I think I left my sunglasses in the fitting room of that store!"

After Lin Wanzhi finished speaking, she shoved the bags she was holding and hanging on her arm into Xia Ruo's hands, turned around and ran, her steps as light as a startled rabbit, disappearing from the shop entrance in the blink of an eye.

Xia Ruo stood by the fountain in the courtyard, carrying a huge pile of shopping bags. She was covered in bags from head to toe, looking like a walking delivery station.

She looked around, found an empty bench, sat down with difficulty, stacked the bags at her feet, and then let out a long breath.

The mall was bustling with people, the central air conditioning was blowing just the right amount of cool air, and the fountain's water jets refracted into delicate rainbows in the sunlight.

She leaned against the wall and suddenly realized that this kind of life of being "forced to spend money, forced to go shopping, and forced to be a porter" was absurd, but it didn't seem so bad.

It's at least better than working overtime at the rice company.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

Xia Ruo thought Zhou Siyan was urging her to spend money again, so she lazily took it out to take a look.

It wasn't Zhou Siyan; it was a friend request.

The name in the notes is: Lin Wanxun.

The message reads: "Ruoruo, would it be convenient to add me on WeChat? This is a personal account. I can't get through to Wanzhi by phone; I need to talk to her about something at home."

Xia Ruo's fingers paused.

Lin Wanxun?

She stared at the line of text for two seconds, and a mini-drama instantly began playing in her mind.

If you can't get through on the phone, just try again later, right?

She wanted to refuse, but the words "something came up at home" made her hesitate.

Xia Ruo hesitated for half a second.

Fine, let's add her then. Anyway, it's just a "sister's best friend" relationship, nothing to be afraid of.

Lin Wanxun: [Ruoruo, is Wanzhi next to you?]

"She went to get what she left behind. Is there anything you need, Brother Wanxun? I'll tell her."

Lin Wanxun: [It's okay, I'll just have her call me when she gets back.]

"OK."

Xia Ruo stared at the screen and waited for more than ten seconds, but the other party did not send any more messages.

She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to exit the chat window when another line of text suddenly popped up in the dialog box.

Lin Wanxun: [Thank you for your hard work today. It must have been tough accompanying Wanzhi shopping, right?]

Xia Ruo was stunned for a moment.

How did he know we were shopping? Did he tell me when we were at home today?

Wait, Lin Wanzhi didn't mention shopping when we were at home. Could it be that she mentioned it in the family group chat earlier?

Forget it, it doesn't matter.

"It's alright, Wanzhi just can't resist buying things she likes, but everything else is fine."

Lin Wanxun: [She's only well-behaved in front of you. If anyone else were with her, she'd be complaining about everything.]

Xia Ruo looked at the words and the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved into a smile.

These siblings have such a good relationship; the brother understands his sister so well that he even knows her "shopaholic tendencies."

She was about to reply with "Wanzhi is actually very sensible" when her phone was suddenly snatched from her hand.

"Why--"

Xia Ruo turned around abruptly and saw that Lin Wanzhi had returned at some point and was holding her phone, squinting at the chat history on the screen.

"Lin Wanxun? Why did he add you?" Lin Wanzhi raised her eyebrows high, her expression quickly switching from confusion to an excited "I've got you!" "Oh dear, what did I tell you—"

"Don't overthink it," Xia Ruo reached for the phone. "He said he couldn't reach you by phone and has something to tell you about at home."

Lin Wanzhi stepped aside, continuing to stare at the screen, her mouth agape in an "O" shape.

"He said, 'You've had a hard day'? He also said, 'If anyone else had been with her, they would have been complaining about this and that'? Good heavens, my brother never says things like that to me—"

"It's strange that he would say something like that to you because you're his sister, isn't it?"

Lin Wanzhi ignored her, holding her phone even higher, her face beaming with smug satisfaction, as if she had seen through everything.

"Ruoruo, you don't know, even I don't have my brother's private account. You've taken the first step towards becoming my sister-in-law!"

Xia Ruo took a deep breath, stood up, and snatched the phone back while Lin Wanzhi wasn't paying attention:

"That's enough. Call your brother right now, he says something's happened at home."

"What's wrong?"

He didn't say.

Lin Wanzhi pouted, took out her phone and scrolled through it, then suddenly exclaimed, "Huh? There are no missed calls?"

"Is your phone bill overdue?"

Lin Wanzhi stared at her phone screen for three seconds, then looked up at Xia Ruo with a "Are you stupid?" look:

"How did I pay the bill when I was owed money?"

Xia Ruo was stunned.

That's right.

Seeing that she was stunned, Lin Wanzhi leaned closer, lowered her voice, and spoke with a mysterious air of "I've been there, so I know":

"Ruo Ruo, let me tell you, my brother has always had a reason for everything he does since he was a child."

If he wants to add someone on WeChat, it must have been planned for a long time.

Xia Ruo opened her mouth, wanting to refute, but the rational string in her mind told her: what Lin Wanzhi said seemed to make sense.

"Then call your brother and ask him what's wrong," Xia Ruo steered the conversation back on track.

Lin Wanzhi pursed her lips and dialed Lin Wanxun's number. The phone was answered after two rings. Lin Wanzhi gave a "feeding" sound, her expression quickly switching from gossip to seriousness, and then from seriousness to doubt.

"Brother, what's wrong... um... um... ah? Really? When did this happen?"

Xia Ruo listened from the side, but didn't understand a single word.

Lin Wanzhi hung up the phone and looked at Xia Ruo with a complicated expression.

"What's wrong?" Xia Ruo felt uneasy under her gaze.

"My brother said," Lin Wanzhi said, emphasizing each word.

"My dad is hosting a small family dinner next week and has invited some business associates. He asked if you'd like to come."

"Ask me?" Xia Ruo pointed to her nose.

"Why are you asking me? I'm not part of your family."

Lin Wanzhi blinked, clearly not understanding the problem either. She tilted her head and thought for three seconds, then came to a conclusion that she was very satisfied with:

"Because you will be soon."

Xia Ruo picked up the shopping bag expressionlessly, turned around and left.

"Hey, hey, Ruoruo, don't go! I was just kidding! He said it was because my mom wanted to invite you! My mom! Not him!"

Xia Ruo paused, turning back to look at her: "Really?"

"Really! My mom said you live alone in the dorm and don't come home on weekends, so she wants you to come over for a meal."

My dad hired a master chef specializing in Huaiyang cuisine. Don't you love braised crab meat lion's head meatballs the most?

Xia Ruo hesitated.

Going to the Lin family for a meal sounds like there's no problem.

But she had a vague feeling that something was off. Was it Lin's mother who wanted to invite her, or Lin Wanxun? If it was the latter, she didn't want to go.

It's not that Lin Wanxun is bad, but she already has Zhou Siyan to deal with, and she really doesn't have the energy to handle other relationships.

"I'll think about it some more," Xia Ruo said.

Lin Wanzhi noticed her hesitation, but didn't press for details. Instead, she took her arm and said in a light tone:

"Okay, take your time thinking about it. Anyway, it's next Saturday."

If you don't want to go then, I'll just say you have to work overtime and I'll cover for you.

Xia Ruo glanced at her, and her heart warmed.

This naive and innocent girl is actually quite reliable when it matters.