After breaking off the engagement, she became the CEO's favorite

"Still angry?"

Shen Xiling put the dinner plate on the table and called back Lu Ranran who was staring out the window in a daze.

There was no cautious attempt to seek forgiveness in his tone, but rather a stronger sense of sarcasm.

Lu Ranran put on a standard smile and spoke in a tolerant tone.

"How can that be possible? We should help each other."

After saying that, he turned his head and looked at the dense crowd outside the window.

It was almost eleven o'clock when they came out of the haunted house, so Shen Xiling suggested taking a break and enjoying some air conditioning.

Lu Ranran's ears were flushed red at that time, and her brain was almost smoking.

When he heard that he could enjoy some air-conditioned air, he agreed without hesitation.

So, with Shen Xiling's "skilled" navigation, the two actually found an empty seat in a restaurant in the crowded park.

The food was lackluster, nothing more than standard pre-made dishes.

Lu Ranran stretched out her hand, walked around the meal, and took a glass of iced Coke.

Shen Xiling suddenly chuckled.

Lu Ranran paused and looked down at herself in panic, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Shen Xiling waved his hand, "I just remembered something from the past."

"What happened before?"

Shen Xiling nodded and didn't say anything else.

Lu Ranran's curiosity was aroused.

She put down her Coke and considered her words.

"You... have you been here with anyone before?"

Lu Ranran tried to make her tone more relaxed, not wanting him to think that she was prying into his privacy.

"Are you curious?"

Shen Xiling leaned back in his chair, tilted his head slightly, and smiled with a look of success in his prank.

Lu Ranran pretended to be calm and drank a sip of Coke, "You look very familiar. You weren't even afraid when you rode the roller coaster just now."

"Can't I just do it myself?"

Shen Xiling raised his eyebrows slightly and tactfully rejected the words.

The next second, he opened his mouth and said the same words he didn't want to say just now.

"Let's sit for a while." He pointed to the road in the distance, "The parade will pass by there later."

Lu Ranran looked in the direction of his finger, becoming more and more curious.

He even knew where to look at the floats, so he must be a frequent visitor to this amusement park.

But his expression at this moment was indifferent.

It was as if what I was seeing was not the present, but the memories of the past.

Lu Ranran felt like her heart was pricked by a needle again.

"Are you really coming here by yourself?"

In order to calm her wildly beating heart, Lu Ranran stuffed a few French fries into her mouth.

This time, if Shen Xiling's answer was the same as before, she would not ask again.

Shen Xiling turned around and said frankly:

"of course not."

"Eh...with friends? Gu Nianzhi?"

"?"

Lu Ranran was stunned and didn't know what she said wrong.

"Gu Nianzhi is not your friend, come with your friends..."

Seeing Shen Xiling's face becoming more and more stern and his brows slightly furrowed, Lu Ranran's heart began to beat faster.

He wouldn't say that Gu Nianzhi was just his investment target...

"not him."

"?"

Could it be that Shen Xiling and Gu Nianzhi really have a simple business relationship?

For some reason, Lu Ranran actually relaxed a little.

Shen Xiling put his arms on the table, and his tone became much lighter, as if he was remembering some happy memories.

"Gu Nianzhi's great-grandmother was the founder of Qingfangzhai."

"But they only pass on their dim sum-making skills to their daughters, not their sons."

"Gu Nianzhi has loved cooking since she was a child. She often hides in corners to learn from him. I don't know how many times she has been beaten."

“When he grew up, he only thought about cooking and nothing else.”

Lu Ranran suddenly realized, "The almond cake..."

"He won't. He can only ask his sister for help."

Qingfangzhai’s almond cookies are available in limited quantities every day.

Gu Nianzhi must have put in a lot of effort to ask her sister to do so much just because of Shen Xiling's words.

Thinking about it this way, I really owe Gu Nianzhi a huge favor...

"What are you thinking about?"

Lu Ranran answered casually:

"I was thinking how great your face was—ah no!"

Lu Ranran quickly covered her mouth.

This is too disrespectful.

Obviously, I am the ultimate beneficiary, so no matter how much I thank you, it is not too much.

Now he is still mocking Shen Xiling, as if he is speaking up for Gu Nianzhi.

But given their relationship, there were a lot of twists and turns involved, so how could she, an outsider, have any say in anything?

Shen Xiling raised his handsome eyebrows, and Lu Ranran's heart trembled. She smiled foolishly and took a few sips of Coke.

"actually......"

"?"

Shen Xiling sat up straight and explained seriously:

"There is a contract between Shen's and Qingfangzhai, and they have a share of supply every year."

"The almond cookies you got are all part of your quota."

After hearing Shen Xiling's words, Lu Ranran felt even more guilty.

She knew that Shen Xiling was trying to comfort her, but was hoping that Lu Ranran would not "take advantage of others".

In this comparison, Lu Ranran felt that she was really too harsh.

"I'm sorry..."

This time, it was Shen Xiling's turn to be slightly surprised, "Why are you apologizing suddenly?"

Lu Ranran talked about his mental journey just now, and was very emotional at the end.

"I can't control it either. I always subconsciously think the worst of people."

She scratched her head, feeling embarrassed. "Don't take my words too seriously in the future. It's all——"

"No."

Shen Xiling interrupted Lu Ranran, with a serious look, and some emotions that she couldn't understand.

"You're just not used to it."

"what?"

Lu Ranran was confused.

"There are too few people who are nice to you, so you are not used to it."

People who experience malice for a long time will unconsciously develop the habit of making malicious assumptions.

Or perhaps, because they have never experienced unconditional love, they take it for granted that all relationships are an exchange of conditions and benefits.

Lu Ranran had no reason to deny it, but she couldn't admit it either.

So what if it is, and so what if it isn’t? In this case, should we hold on to hope and expect that we will get something one day?

Hope is the same as despair.

She didn't intend to continue the topic, and said:

"then you--"

"you--"

They both spoke at the same time, their words collided, and each of them was stunned for a moment.