Chapter 69: Lip Friendship

Leaving Shen Linyan's house, An Ling hurried to call An Zhou back while walking into the elevator.

He picked up almost instantly; he was probably waiting for her call.

"Why did you hang up on me just now?"

"I was busy. I'm calling you back now, aren't I?" An Ling replied, feeling a bit guilty.

She turned to look at her reflection in the elevator doors, leaning in close to inspect her lips.

They seemed a little swollen...

And they hadn't even been kissing for that long.

An Zhou's suspicious voice came through the phone. "Are you working overtime again today?"

"..."

She kept her tone steady. "...What do you mean by that? I really am working overtime today. What's wrong?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone at home? You didn't even reply to my messages."

"Because I was too busy. So busy I didn't even have time to check my phone." An Ling spoke with conviction. Afraid that An Zhou would ask more questions, she quickly changed the subject. "Have Mom and Dad eaten yet?"

She felt like a young girl terrified of being caught by her older brother for dating too early.

"They've eaten. When I saw you didn't reply, I told Mom and Dad you were probably working overtime." An Zhou sounded like he actually believed her.

But before An Ling could breathe a sigh of relief, he spoke up again in a leisurely tone:

"So, are you off work now?"

An Ling grew alert. "Why?"

An Zhou's tone was casual. "I'm coming to pick you up. I'm downstairs at your company right now. You didn't drive today, did you?"

"..."

An Ling's eye twitched. "That's not necessary... I'm with my colleagues setting up camera positions at the shooting location. We're almost done now and I'm just about to take a cab back."

"It's fine. I'm already out anyway. Just send me the address."

"..."

It seemed he still didn't believe her.

The elevator reached the first floor, and she stepped out. "Alright, I'll send you the address."

She was indeed working out of the office today anyway, so she wasn't lying.

She sent Shen Fuyuan's address to An Zhou. Since it was quite far from her company, An Ling hailed a cab to rush over there.

It wasn't until she sat in the car that An Ling's chaotic mind finally calmed down.

Thinking about what had just happened in the living room, her face flushed red, and she patted her cheeks.

"This is getting messier and messier..."

Great. Now she didn't even know what kind of development this was.

Wasn't she supposed to go there to reject him? How did rejecting him suddenly turn into her losing her mind?

At which step did things go wrong?

And what exactly was her relationship with Shen Linyan right now? What do you call a relationship where you aren't husband and wife, nor boyfriend and girlfriend, but you can still kiss?

An Ling leaned back against the seat, opened a search engine, and looked it up.

A few seconds later, she turned off her screen with a complicated expression, silently using the back of her hand to cool her face down.

What the heck is a "lip friendship"...

There were even people saying "friends with benefits"...

People online really just say whatever.

Forget it, forget it. I won't think about it anymore.

She took out her powder compact and lightly dabbed a layer on her face, then took out her lipstick to touch up a bit.

She couldn't let An Zhou notice anything amiss later.

Upon arriving at the location, An Zhou unsurprisingly wasn't there yet when she got out of the car.

An Ling stood by the side of the road. Just as she was about to send him a message complaining about how slow he was, a notification suddenly popped up on her phone.

Shen Linyan: [Can I call you?]

An Ling paused, then took her Bluetooth earphones out of her bag.

[You can.]

Not long after the message was sent, the man called.

As soon as An Ling answered, the man's deep voice traveled into her ears through the faint static of the connection.

"Are you not home yet?"

Speaking of this, she immediately started complaining to Shen Linyan. "I should have been home by now, but my brother insisted on picking me up, and now I have to wait for him."

There was a hint of a smile in the man's voice. "It's a bit cold tonight. I should have driven you back."

"It's fine. I can't feel the cold wind standing here."

An Ling stuffed her hands into her pockets, unable to hold back a smile. "Chairman Shen should pay more attention to himself. A certain someone hasn't even taken the medicine on his table. Is your cold cured? If you get a fever again later, I won't accompany you to the hospital this time."

Shen Linyan froze for a moment, instinctively glancing at the bag of medicine on the dining table, and stood up with a smile.

"Then I'll go take it now."

Hearing the sound of plastic packaging being opened on the other end, An Ling stared at the streetlights by the road, suddenly remembering the question she had searched in the car earlier.

She lowered her eyes, her smiling tone sounding like a tease. "Shen Linyan, do you know what the internet calls this kind of relationship we have? They call it a 'lip friendship', as in the lips on your mouth."

The rustling sounds on the other end suddenly stopped, as if he hadn't processed it right away.

An Ling thought he didn't understand.

After all, this was a man who didn't even know what keeping a male model meant.

Just as she was about to explain, a low chuckle suddenly sounded from the other end.

The man's magnetic voice spilled through the earphones. His pitch was very low, trailing off with an extremely faint, soft laugh.

"Actually, it would be more accurate to understand it as me pursuing my wife."

An Ling froze on the spot.

The chilly night breeze blew against her face, but it couldn't take away the heat on her cheeks. Her heart inexplicably started beating a little faster.

Strands of hair fluttered against her cheeks. She raised a hand to tuck them away, spotted An Zhou's car driving toward her, and raised her hand to wave.

She spoke to the man in her earphones, "My brother is here. I'm hanging up now."

"Okay."

Just as she raised her hand to press the end call button, she suddenly smiled and whispered, "Then you have to remember to pursue me secretly. Don't let my brother find out. My brother really doesn't want me to be with you."

The man paused upon hearing this, then let out a soft laugh.

"Okay."

By the time An Zhou pulled the car over, An Ling had already put her earphones away. She got in and looked down to buckle her seatbelt.

An Zhou's voice suddenly came from beside her. "You look like you're in a pretty good mood."

She paused her movements, instantly dropped her smile, and turned to look at him expressionlessly. "You must be seeing things. Do you know how long I waited for you? I told you I didn't need you to pick me up. With all this time, I could have already been home."

An Zhou shrugged helplessly. "There were a lot of red lights on the way. Hey, your big brother drove all the way to pick you up and you're still not happy? You should be grateful, why are you complaining?"

An Ling couldn't be bothered with him. She yawned and leaned back against the seat.

"Give me a break. Aren't you just picking me up because you suspect I went to see Shen Linyan?"

Otherwise, why would he be so kind as to pick her up?

Hearing this, An Zhou choked up in the driver's seat and guiltily looked away.

After a few minutes of silence, he suddenly spoke up slowly, "Actually, it's not because of that..."

"Then why?"

An Zhou let out a few dry laughs. "...Mom is trying to set me up on blind dates again."

An Zhou and Shen Linyan were about the same age, which meant he was indeed at the age for marriage. An Ling had heard their mom mention this before.

But An Zhou didn't want to go on blind dates and had dodged them several times. Their mom had even asked her to persuade him before, so she was probably starting to forcefully apply pressure now.

She raised an eyebrow and teased, "Oh, so you came out to hide. Brother, you really should listen to Mom and bring a sister-in-law back for me."

Taking advantage of a red light, the man suddenly turned to smile at her.

Seeing his smile, the amusement on An Ling's lips faltered, and she suddenly had a bad premonition.

"What are you doing?"

An Zhou coughed a few times. "I said I'd go on blind dates, but only if you join me. If you're willing to go on blind dates, then I'll go too."

An Ling: "???"