The engagement was with the younger brother, but I've fallen for the older brother.

Qingzhu Pavilion is a teahouse where He Sichen and his friends often gather.

Hidden in a hutong behind Financial Street, the storefront is inconspicuous, but once inside, it's a hidden gem.

When Yan Tingnan arrived, He Sichen had already been sitting by the window for a quarter of an hour.

Outside the window is an artificial lake, with a few water lily leaves floating on the surface. The sun has not yet reached its zenith, and the light slants in, turning the tea soup amber in color.

"rare."

"I've known you for over ten years, and the number of times you've asked me out on my own initiative can be counted on one hand."

"Is the sun rising in the west, or is Yu'an about to go bankrupt?"

He Sichen raised his eyelids slightly: "If Yu'an goes bankrupt, you'll be the first person they'll ask for financing from."

Yan Tingnan smiled.

"Looking for me? All my money is tied up with Ruan Ruan; I need her permission first."

He Sichen didn't reply, but poured him a cup of tea and pushed the rim of the cup towards him.

Yan Tingnan reached out, picked up the cup of tea, took a sip, and clicked his tongue.

"You only called me over after brewing Phoenix Dancong tea for the third time. Are you inviting me to drink tea or making me drink the tea rinse water?"

He Sichen put down the fairness cup: "You were late yourself."

"I did it on purpose."

Yan Tingnan put down his teacup, the bottom of which tapped against the wooden table.

"In your current state, sitting on the sidelines for a while will be good for your brain."

"If you, He Sichen, suddenly have time to ask me to have tea, it's either because you have a health problem or a mental problem."

He paused, then added a sentence.

Judging from your complexion, you have both.

"Speak, what is it?"

He Sichen remained silent for a while.

The shadow of the pomegranate tree outside the window fell on his shoulder, and when the wind blew, it shattered into several patches of light.

He picked up the glass of Dancong tea, which had gone cold, and took a sip.

"Can't I invite you for tea if there's nothing wrong?"

"able."

Yan Tingnan nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"But you, He Sichen, always consider the costs of everything you do. Socializing by inviting people for tea is a waste of your time."

"The fact that you're willing to waste your time on me means that you've been consumed by something to the point where you need external input."

He paused, then pushed the teacup towards the center of the table.

"Speak up, your little girl ran away, what are you fussing about here for?"

He Sichen paused for a moment, his fingers holding the teacup still.

"You're quite well-informed."

"That girl Huo Siyue is making a big fuss all over the world, saying that her best friend went to MIT to get a prestigious degree and dumped an old man."

Yan Tingnan scoffed.

"Old man, that's a very apt description."

He Sichen didn't reply to him, and continued to sip his tea.

Yan Tingnan looked at him, not in a hurry, leaned back in her chair, and waited slowly.

After a minute of silence, He Sichen put down his teacup.

I want to ask you something.

How were you so sure you were in love with Su Ruan back then?

Yan Tingnan paused for a moment, then smiled.

"How long have you been holding back this question?"

"If you had listened to me two weeks ago, you wouldn't be sitting here drinking cold tea now."

"You won't listen. You say she has legs on her body, and you never pursue her."

"And now? She's got legs on her body, she's run far away, and you're here drinking tea."

He Sichen didn't say anything, and finished the rest of the tea in his cup in one gulp.

He ignored Yan Tingnan's teasing and waited calmly for an answer.

Yan Tingnan, observing his words and expressions, saw through all his inner turmoil.

"Old Crane, your greatest strength in this life is your clear-headedness, and your greatest weakness is also your clear-headedness."

"You calculate everything too clearly, even in relationships you have to list the pros and cons first, and figure yourself out before you start."

"The problem is that emotions are outside the scope of your rational thinking."

"I felt the same way you did back then, that I could never have such thoughts about anyone in my life."

"Later I found out that man proposes, God disposes. No matter how well you calculate, she can kick your logic over with one kick."

Yan Tingnan poured himself another cup of hot tea and slowly blew on it.

"I also have a question for you."

"You're addicted to her body, you said it yourself."

"Then tell me, if it were someone else, with the same physical condition, but a different face and a different personality, would you still be addicted?"

Without hesitation, He Sichen gave a definite answer.

"Won't."

Yan Tingnan asked, "Why?"

He Sichen put down his teacup, the rim of which made a short, sharp sound as it hit the table.

"It has to be her, it just won't work."

After listening, Yan Tingnan's lips curled up slightly.

"Out of billions of people in this world, only one person's body can make you lose control."

"This is not called addiction."

He extended a finger and tapped it twice on the table.

"This is called exclusiveness, and it's the first evidence of love."

He Sichen didn't speak, but his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

Yan Tingnan noticed this and didn't let him off the hook.

"Your question just now was about how I was sure I'd fallen in love with Ruan Ruan."

I'll give you the simplest answer.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip, unhurriedly.

"I initially thought I went to the temple in the southwest to avoid her, but when I got there, she was still on my mind."

"What I chant every day is not the mantra for purifying the mind, but her name."

"I listened to the morning bell there for several days, and what I finally realized wasn't Buddhism, but that I was fucking inseparable from her."

"There was no way to avoid her, no way to get around her, and in the end, we broke our vows at the temple."

"That's when I realized that people don't need to understand the definition of love before they can love."

"Just admit that your life has declined in quality in every way without her."

Upon hearing this, He Sichen stopped drinking his tea.

Yan Tingnan's tone relaxed again, becoming lazy.

"Old Crane, let me give you a piece of advice."

"There's probably only one person you'd want to offer the whole world to."

"If you encounter it, just accept it."

"Don't follow my path. You're no better than me; you sent people directly to the other side of the ocean."

"If I don't pursue her now, the next time we meet she might not be carrying her degree certificate, but her boyfriend."

These words were like a thorn, piercing He Sichen's heart.

Just then, the bamboo door was pushed open from the outside, a gust of wind swept in first, followed by a vibrant voice.

"Brother! Why didn't you call me?"

Huo Siyue strode in and paused for a moment when she saw He Sichen.

"Oh, Brother Si Chen is here too?"

She walked over, dragged a chair over, and sat down.

He Sichen ignored her gaze and only asked one question.

"Why are you here?"

Huo Siyue leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs.

"Can I just pass by?"

Yan Tingnan, standing to the side, picked up her teacup and covered her mouth without saying a word.

Huo Siyue had no intention of letting He Sichen off the hook. She took out her phone from her pocket, swiped it a couple of times, and then suddenly narrowed her eyes.

"Oh right, Mianmian just posted a sunset photo on her WeChat Moments with a new friend."

"He's mixed race, a finance major, and I heard his family is in the shipping business. He's incredibly handsome."

He Sichen's heart tightened suddenly.

He picked up his phone, opened WeChat, and clicked on Si Yimian's profile picture.

The section for Moments only has one horizontal line.

Huo Siyue leaned closer: "Huh? Let me see."

She stared at the horizontal line for a moment, then gasped.

"etc."

"This... this horizontal line with a dot, is the interface for deleting friends in one-way mode."

She turned to look at him abruptly, her eyes filled with shock and schadenfreude.

"You weren't deleted by Mianmian, were you?"