Chapter 508 - 507: IF Route: Did the Big Shot Vie for Favor Today? 76

Chapter 508: Chapter 507: IF Route: Did the Big Shot Vie for Favor Today? 76

Shi Lan had already put down her phone and gone to sleep. She always got very drowsy and needed more sleep when she was on her period.

She didn’t stir again until the rumbling in her stomach woke her up.

For dinner, she had a simple bowl of noodles with shredded pork and vegetables. Only after she finished eating did she have the leisure to check her phone.

There were a few messages: one from her best friend, and a new friend request notification.

Shi Lan thought it might be Assistant Chen, but it turned out to be a profile picture of a somewhat familiar orange cat.

It was familiar because this orange cat looked just like the one she had turned into. Below it, the person had also included a note with the friend request: He Hanshi.

The simple two words startled Shi Lan.

’Why did he add me all of a sudden? And with this orange cat as his profile picture?’

For some reason, Shi Lan felt like he had seen through her disguise. A sense of guilt, as if she’d been caught red-handed, made her hesitate for a long time before deciding to accept it later.

She went back to her best friend’s message. Her friend had sent a voice note, saying with a giggle, "Lanlan, that He Hanshi guy likes you."

"Holy crap, I asked him myself in the car while you were asleep, and he admitted it!"

"I knew I wasn’t mistaken."

Her best friend, bursting with excitement over the juicy gossip, sent several more voice messages, but Shi Lan just shook her head in disbelief.

’How is that possible?’

’He Hanshi likes me?’

’No way, absolutely not!’

She quickly replied: [Shh, Xinyi, you can’t just say things like that.]

Chen Xinyi replied instantly: [Of course I can, I have proof.]

With that, she sent Shi Lan the recording of her conversation with He Hanshi in the car. [Listen for yourself.]

Shi Lan immediately downloaded the recording. It was short, but in it, she heard He Hanshi’s deep and steady voice: "Yes, I like her."

The recording was very short, and it looped several times. No matter how much Shi Lan disbelieved it, she couldn’t deny that it was indeed He Hanshi’s voice.

In WeChat, her friend’s messages kept coming, but her face grew redder and redder. She stared at the friend request notification from He Hanshi, not daring to accept it.

She pretended not to see it and texted her best friend: [I don’t dare get close to the kind of ’like’ that comes from rich people like him.]

She knew herself; once she got serious, she fell in love easily. She was afraid of getting hurt in the end.

Truthfully, Chen Xinyi didn’t fully trust He Hanshi’s affection either. After all, he was such a good catch; he could have several lovers on the side. Besides, the world of the rich was a messy one. Lanlan had a pure heart, so maybe staying away from him was the right choice.

Thinking this, she didn’t press the issue and just said, [Go with your gut. I’ll support you no matter what. I believe in you.]

Although Lanlan was simple-hearted, she wasn’t a fool. Chen Xinyi trusted that she could handle things.

[Thank you, Xinyi.]

Shi Lan smiled knowingly and deleted the recording.

That evening, He Hanshi found himself uncharacteristically distracted from his work, constantly glancing at his phone. Even during a meeting, he would immediately pick it up at the slightest buzz.

Unfortunately, his friend request was never accepted.

He Hanshi’s brow furrowed slightly. He couldn’t have added the wrong person. The distinctive black cat with a missing leg in Shi Lan’s profile picture was her cat, Ping’an.

He recognized Ping’an, having personally been in Ping’an’s body before.

Therefore, there was only one possibility: she didn’t want to add him as a friend.

He Hanshi let out a heavy sigh, the light in his eyes dimming considerably.

The next afternoon, he went to her shop right after lunch.

It hadn’t been open for long, but her shop already had quite a few customers. Business seemed to be good.

Unfortunately, Shi Lan wasn’t there.

Assistant Chen parked Chen Xinyi’s repaired car near her cat cafe and handed her the keys. When he saw his boss, Mr. He, go into Miss Shi Lan’s flower tea shop, he immediately followed.

When Chen Xinyi found out He Hanshi was at Shi Lan’s shop, she immediately sent her a message.

At that moment, Shi Lan was just about to leave her house. She had been resting at home recently and wouldn’t have planned on going out if she hadn’t thought He Hanshi might visit the shop.

But she had made a promise to herself last night and couldn’t go back on her word.

She just never imagined he would go there so early.

He Hanshi sat in the same spot as last time, once again acting as a living advertisement and attracting quite a few customers.

But today, no one dared to take his picture because his expression was cold. He sat silently with his lips pressed together, and even though he hadn’t ordered anything, the staff didn’t dare to say a word.

Assistant Chen sat cautiously across from him and scanned the QR code for the menu. "Mr. He, what would you like to have?"

He Hanshi was silent for a moment. "Order the same as last time."

"Alright."

Assistant Chen sensed his bad mood and didn’t dare disturb him further. He ordered the Albizia flower tea and rose red bean cakes from last time—ordering two portions of the cake—and also added a few other pastries to try something new.

For himself, he chose mint tea.

Just as the tea was brought to the table, a boisterous voice came from the entrance.

"You’ve got to be kidding me, Brother Jiang, we’re drinking flower tea again today? I thought we were getting hot pot or skewers!"

"It’s afternoon tea, so of course we’re drinking tea. Didn’t we just have lunch? Besides, it’s not like we come here every day. I’m treating you guys for free, and you’re complaining? If you don’t want it, then forget it."

Jiang Xia couldn’t be bothered to argue with them and eagerly walked inside. Seeing this, his roommates quickly followed. Free food was free food, after all.

Although they thought it was weird for a group of guys to be drinking flower tea, they had to admit the stuff at this shop was actually pretty good.

Jiang Xia walked in cheerfully, only to freeze the moment he was through the door. He Hanshi was sitting near the entrance, and his sharp, elite-looking suit was impossible to miss.

His smile vanished instantly. Hearing a familiar voice, He Hanshi also turned his head to look.

Jiang Xia knew it was too late to run. Besides, his roommates were here. It would be a complete loss of face if he just bolted.

At that thought, he bit the bullet and walked over. "Cousin, what a... what a coincidence. You’re here at this trendy cafe for tea too?"

He Hanshi’s gaze swept coolly over his cousin’s meticulously styled hair, and the corners of his mouth drooped slightly. After a moment, he replied, "It’s not a coincidence. I’m waiting for someone."

"Oh, oh, well, don’t let me keep you, Cousin."

’Jiang Xia didn’t even need to ask; he knew his cousin must be here for business. But why pick a place like this?’

It wasn’t that Shi Lan’s shop was bad, but it had no private rooms. It was crowded and noisy—hardly a suitable place for a business meeting.

However, he hadn’t started working yet, so what did he know about such things? Seeing his roommates take the initiative to sit at a table in the row in front of his cousin, he could only try his best to ignore his presence, taking a seat with his back to He Hanshi and pretending he couldn’t see him.

His roommates, completely at ease, started ordering tea and picked out several kinds of pastries.

Jiang Xia, however, paid no attention to that. His gaze couldn’t help but drift toward the front counter, and he asked a server, "Is your boss here today?"

The server shook their head. "No."

"Oh, okay..."

Jiang Xia nodded in disappointment. Ever since he broke a bowl at Shi Lan’s house last time, he had been too embarrassed to visit her directly, so he’d been hoping to run into her at her shop.

Unfortunately, this was his fourth visit, and he still hadn’t seen her.

Seeing his crestfallen look, Wang Biao finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity. "Brother Jiang, why do you always ask about the boss? Don’t tell me you’ve got a crush on her?"