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

On Friday afternoon, Si Yimian left the company half an hour early.

After picking up the gifts from the craft workshop in the south of the city, I took a taxi straight to the banquet.

My phone vibrated as I approached the banquet venue.

A note popped up on the screen: Yueyue.

Si Yimian smiled and accepted the answer.

"Mianmian, why aren't you here yet?"

Huo Siyue's energetic voice came through the receiver.

Si Yimian glanced at the navigation and replied softly, "Right away, just around the corner, in a few minutes."

"I went to pick up a gift for my mother, which made me late."

"Alright."

Huo Siyue paused, her tone softening as if she were coaxing a child.

"Message me when you arrive, and I'll meet you at the entrance. This banquet hall is huge; I'm afraid you'll get lost."

Si Yimian couldn't help but smile.

"I'm not a child anymore."

"Who are you."

Huo Siyue chuckled on the other end of the phone, her tone resolute.

"You are a sweet and soft little darling, you'll get kidnapped if you get lost."

Si Yimian leaned against the car window, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

"Okay, I'll let you know when I arrive."

The call ended, and the screen went dark.

Huo Siyue was the person she needed to get along with the least in this world.

After Si Yimian transmigrated into the book, the original owner only had two people pinned to the top of her WeChat contacts.

One is He Nanxian, and the other is Huo Siyue.

They grew up wearing diapers together until they were five years old.

Later, she got lost, and Huo Siyue cried for a month, wondering if Mianmian had been taken away by a monster.

When I returned, everything had changed.

During those high school years, the original owner silently endured the bullying from Si Ningyou's group of girlfriends.

Those methods were naive, but like a dull knife cutting flesh, the pain was persistent and deep.

He Nanxian would occasionally appear, shield her a few times, and then disappear again.

Like painkillers, it only treats the symptoms, not the root cause.

Until her senior year of high school, Huo Siyue failed the college entrance exam and had to repeat a year, so she transferred to their class.

After that, Huo Siyue became her deskmate, bodyguard, mouth double, and shield.

They rekindled their childhood friendship.

Si Ningyou can mess with anyone, but she dares not mess with her.

Huo Siyue's mother's surname is Yan, and she is the aunt of Yan Tingnan, the chairman of Tingruan Capital.

With the Yan family as her backing, she had everything she wanted since childhood, yet she still developed a down-to-earth personality.

She has never experienced hardship, so she can't bear to see others suffer.

This was the only thing in the original owner's life that belonged to her without her having to fight for it.

……

Huo Siyue hung up the phone and almost bumped into someone as she turned around.

She looked up and saw He Sichen standing in front of her.

He was 1.88 meters tall, wearing a dark gray suit with straight shoulders and a narrow waist.

"Brother Sichen?"

He Sichen didn't look at her; his gaze swept over her shoulder and around her back.

Huo Siyue followed his gaze and looked back, but there was nothing there.

When he turned back, He Sichen had already withdrawn his gaze, his face expressionless.

"Are you alone?" he asked.

Huo Siyue raised her eyebrows slightly.

That's a strange question.

"Otherwise what?"

She tilted her head to look at him, sensing that something was amiss.

Are you waiting for someone?

"No," he answered quickly.

Huo Siyue drawled out an "oh".

Then, as if casually asking, "So, who are you waiting for?"

He Sichen blurted out instinctively, "Si Yimian."

Those three words slipped out of my mouth as if they were conscious of themselves.

He paused, his brow furrowing slightly, wanting to retract his words, but it was too late.

Huo Siyue paused for a second, then her eyes lit up.

Her expression changed from confusion to shock, and from shock to ecstasy.

"He Sichen!!!"

"You were waiting for me, Mianmian?!"

"Not waiting."

He Sichen tried to make amends.

"It was just a casual question; I need to talk to her about something."

Huo Siyue's smile stretched almost to her ears.

"What could possibly be going on between you and her?"

He Sichen glanced at her: "Work."

"Oh, work."

Huo Siyue nodded, her face saying, "I don't believe you for a second."

He Sichen is acting strangely, very strangely.

This eldest son of the He family has always been the most composed person in a crowd since he was a child.

Her brother Yan Tingnan is cold, and He Sichen is indifferent.

Today, in front of her, I actually spoke faster than I thought.

The name you say subconsciously is the truth.

Her brother and sister-in-law had just broken up a year ago, so she thought there wouldn't be any gossip to hear for a while.

But then something even more exciting and bizarre happened.

The older brother and his soon-to-be sister-in-law.

Another forbidden yet captivating couple has been born!

She took a deep breath and tried to suppress her smile, but she couldn't.

It's impossible to control.

"What's going on between you and Mianmian?"

He Sichen took a deep breath and turned to look at her.

"Huo Siyue, listen carefully."

"Si Yimian is He Nanxian's arranged marriage partner, and I am her fiancé's brother."

There is nothing between us.

After listening, Huo Siyue remained silent for three seconds, then smiled.

"My brother and sister-in-law were like that too."

"He said it was impossible for her to be his adopted son's girlfriend, but what happened?"

"Now that we're married, I'm just staying home like a dog every day."

"Do you think you're better than him?"

He Sichen raised his hand and pressed his brow.

"Your brother is your brother, and I am me."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Huo Siyue nodded perfunctorily.

"You're even better at pretending than him."

He Sichen: "..."

He Sichen pursed his thin lips slightly and did not reply.

Huo Siyue didn't care; Lin Junjie's background music had already started playing automatically in her head.

The guys he hangs out with are all the ones who are tough on the outside but kneel down the most properly the inside.

Huo Siyue, the top gossip expert in Beijing's social circle, is open for business again today!

Just as Huo Siyue was about to continue speaking, she suddenly caught something out of the corner of her eye.

"Mianmian!!!"

The shout was so loud and clear that half the banquet hall could hear it.

He Sichen stiffened and turned around following her gaze.

Ten steps away, Si Yimian stood quietly, holding an exquisite gift box in her arms.

She wore a misty pink strapless mini dress and nude satin high heels.

The tulip-shaped skirt, resembling an inverted peony, accentuated her long, white, and straight calves.

Her hair was styled in a low bun with tassels, and a few slightly curled strands of hair fell beside her ears.

Her collarbones were delicate, and her shoulders were rounded.

He Sichen suddenly pressed down on his Adam's apple.

His eyes lit up for a moment before reason prevailed, then dimmed.

She seems to have become even more beautiful.

He was so beautiful that he wanted to drag her to a corner so no one could see her.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he suppressed it with disgust.

I hate that damned physical attraction, like a program etched into my genes that automatically kicks in whenever I see her.

Huo Siyue jogged over, reached out and pinched Si Yimian's cheek; the softness made her squint.

"I miss her so much! My Mianmian is like a sweet and soft little cake."

"When did you arrive? How much did you hear?"

Si Yimian let her pinch her, smiling sweetly and obediently.

"Just arrived."

After Huo Siyue finished kneading, she turned around and glanced at He Sichen.

"Brother Sichen, she's here. Didn't you need to see her?"

Si Yimian's gaze shifted from Huo Siyue's face to He Sichen, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"What does Dr. He want with me?"

He Sichen withdrew his gaze, his face returning to its usual indifference.

"Work-related matters."

"oh."

Si Yimian nodded.

"How about we talk about it on Monday when we go to work?"

"Um."

She was giving him a way out, and he took it.

The ambiguous atmosphere between the two was completely concealed by their work.

Huo Siyue rolled her eyes.

When he misspoke and called someone by their name earlier, it wasn't like this at all.

Forget it, good couples need to be enjoyed slowly; you can't get fat in one bite.

"Alright, alright, let's go in first. Auntie must be getting impatient."

She took Si Yimian's arm and turned to walk inside.

After taking two steps, Chong He Sichen turned around and raised his chin.

"Brother Sichen, let's go together. It's Auntie's birthday anyway."

He Sichen paused for a moment, then stepped forward to follow.

Huo Siyue was in the middle, with Si Yimian on her left and He Sichen half a step away on her right.

She felt like the filling in a sandwich cookie.

That felt amazing!

She needs to figure out a way tonight to put the two of them together by herself.

Then have a big one.