Half an hour later, Su Yuejin sat by the table. Lin An, wearing a pink apron, carried the plate of sauerkraut fish out of the kitchen.

Su Yuejin had been salivating over the aroma for quite a while.

It wasn’t as if Lin An’s cooking was exceptionally delicious. Back when Su Yuejin lived alone, she spent over two hundred yuan a day on takeout. Yet she really liked Lin An’s cooking. Especially the scent that filled the air while he cooked. It always gave her a warm feeling deep in her heart.

Su Yuejin used a small spoon to ladle broth over her rice, one spoonful at a time. As she shoveled it into her mouth with her chopsticks, even her stomach began to feel warm.

Xiao Chacha had only come over to freeload a meal, but she also liked Lin An’s cooking. It suited her taste.

After they finished eating, it was three in the afternoon. The three of them sat together on the sofa.

Su Yuejin leaned close to Xiao Chacha’s ear.

“When are you leaving?”

“Huh? I’m not leaving. I’m staying here with you.”

Xiao Chacha naturally knew what Su Yuejin was plotting. But she refused to leave anyway, just to drive Su Yuejin crazy.

“I think you can go home now. Thanks for taking care of me. I’ve troubled you.”

Su Yuejin smiled at Xiao Chacha and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s fine. I’ve got nothing to do at home anyway. I’ll take good care of you. You’re sick, so it’s no trouble.”

Xiao Chacha’s tone was surprisingly gentle.

“You really don’t need to. Go home. I can take care of myself.”

“Don’t push yourself when you’re sick. It’s really fine. We’re best friends, after all.”

Xiao Chacha seemed completely unaware of the murderous look in Su Yuejin’s eyes.

“Get out.”

Su Yuejin finally lost her patience.

“Lin An, look at her. What a heartless ingrate. I took care of her all night, and now she’s telling me to leave.”

Xiao Chacha put on a resentful, aggrieved expression.

Su Yuejin was furious.

Lin An, on the other hand, only wanted to laugh.

He took a sip of water.

“Let Chacha stay with you. I’ll be leaving soon anyway.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have something to do.”

“What thing?”

Su Yuejin asked without thinking.

But Lin An only glanced at her.

“Do you want me to say it?”

Su Yuejin froze for a second or two.

She suddenly felt that she shouldn’t have asked. If she stopped questioning him, maybe the two of them could still be sweet together, just like before.

Did she even have the right to ask that now?

Or rather, did she have the confidence to ask where he was going, as his girlfriend?

What would the result be? Would she only humiliate herself?

Or maybe…

Maybe there was no “or maybe” anymore.

“I… won’t ask.”

In the end, she said nothing else.

Xiao Chacha watched their exchange from the sidelines, studying both their thoughts. With her arms crossed, she looked perfectly relaxed.

“Then I’m leaving.”

Lin An stood up from the sofa. Su Yuejin instinctively sprang to her feet as well.

“You’re leaving just like that? It’s still pouring outside.”

Her voice grew softer and softer, while her head lowered farther and farther.

“Yeah. Take care of yourself. I’ll just bring an umbrella.”

“Bye-bye.”

Her voice was so quiet that even she couldn’t hear it.

The footsteps outside grew more distant, until the door finally closed with a soft click.

Xiao Chacha sprawled across the sofa, looking both lazy and pleased with herself.

“Well? Are you satisfied now?” she asked softly.

“…”

Su Yuejin remained silent. She no longer had the energy to bicker with Xiao Chacha.

She suddenly felt tired. Maybe a little cold, too. She wanted nothing more than to curl up under the blankets and sleep. If she fell asleep and woke up again, would everything be all right?

“Are you happy now?”

Su Yuejin lifted her eyelids slightly and looked at Xiao Chacha on the sofa. Her voice no longer carried the same hostility.

“Do you think I’d be very happy?”

Xiao Chacha’s voice was still languid.

“Isn’t this exactly what you wanted to see?”

“Not really.”

Xiao Chacha watched Su Yuejin sit down on the sofa. Then, with deliberate exaggeration, she placed her lower legs across Su Yuejin’s thighs. She lay back against the cushions and stared at the ceiling.

“He was going to leave. That’s what makes sense.”

“Why?”

“Can’t you figure it out? You two aren’t really a couple. Why force yourselves to cling to each other every day? No matter how kind he is to you, he’ll still keep his distance. Otherwise, if one day you become too attached to each other, it’ll be bad for both of you.”

“So I knew he’d leave sooner or later. And you still complained when I stayed behind to keep you company. You didn’t really think he’d stay and keep you company, did you?”

“Maybe… he would.”

“Even if he did, it would only be because you’re sick. Or because it’s raining outside. Your illness will pass, and the rain will stop. What about next time?”

Xiao Chacha did a sit-up, then reached out and wrapped an arm around Su Yuejin’s neck.

Her clear eyes met Su Yuejin’s.

“So? Do you understand now? Lin An may not end up with you, but I’ll always be by your side.”

“…”

Su Yuejin was rendered speechless.

Xiao Chacha’s words sounded almost like a confession, but her expression made it obvious that wasn’t what she meant.

“Relax. I lost interest in you a long time ago. But we really are best friends, aren’t we? We have many things in common, and many differences, too. We even envy certain things about each other.”

Xiao Chacha smiled as she spoke, then leaned against Su Yuejin’s shoulder.

“So go take a nap. Everything will be fine when you wake up. It’ll all be over.”

“Running away may be shameful, but it works.”

She released Su Yuejin’s hand and placed her feet on the floor.

Su Yuejin still stood up and staggered back to her room. Xiao Chacha went to heat some water, then brought the medicine over to her.

“Time to take your medicine.”

Su Yuejin obediently took the medicine and lay down on the bed.

Xiao Chacha sat beside her, holding her around the waist. She didn’t even look at her phone. She simply breathed in the scent of Su Yuejin’s body, lightly and quietly.

“What can I use to make him stay, Chacha?”

Just before falling asleep, Su Yuejin suddenly murmured the question.

“That’s a pretty profound question.”

Xiao Chacha clicked her tongue.

She didn’t really want to give Su Yuejin an answer. But when she saw the exhaustion in Su Yuejin’s eyes, she continued rambling anyway.

“You’re putting him on too high a pedestal. There aren’t that many noble people in this world. Most people are controlled by their own desires.”

“No matter who he loves or likes, you’ll always have your own advantages. Let’s say the person he loves has known him for a very long time. Then her advantage is the memories they share, the years they’ve experienced together. Of course, you can’t compete with that.”

“But men… Most of them think with their lower halves anyway. Instead of wasting all that time feeling miserable, you might as well think about how to use your advantages to keep him.”

“Tch. It’s embarrassing to put it that way, but that’s the truth. People always instinctively separate love and sex into two different things. In reality, they complement each other.”

Xiao Chacha helplessly shrugged.

“Although I don’t have much faith in you, I can’t deny that you have advantages in certain areas.”

“Really?”

Su Yuejin asked blankly.

“I was just saying it offhand. Just listen to it offhand. That’s all.”

Xiao Chacha didn’t want to continue.

Her situation with Su Yuejin was different. But in her opinion, Su Yuejin had clearly started with a god-tier hand.

Lin An had felt guilty toward Su Yuejin from the moment they first met. On top of that, everything Su Yuejin had done so far had been the correct choice.

If he were a normal man, he would’ve fallen for her long ago.

An older-sister-type girlfriend with rich-lady status—what man wouldn’t love that?

But Lin An was an oddball. He hadn’t fallen so easily.

Still, Su Yuejin and Lin An had already reached the second stage. In truth, two choices now lay before her.

The first was to seize control immediately. She could try to enter his world, interfere with his love life, and work hard to become part of his daily life.

The second was to let Lin An come to her on his own.

Su Yuejin was obviously standing at the crossroads of the first choice. She was suffering over it now.

Xiao Chacha actually recommended the second choice.

But she didn’t really want to tell Su Yuejin that.

Wasn’t this basically helping her love rival chase after a guy?

Tch. Xiao Chacha herself had never imagined she’d do something like this one day.

She had always felt that, deep down, she still hated Su Yuejin a little.

But seeing how miserable Su Yuejin looked, Xiao Chacha’s heart softened.

“Girls naturally have more advantages than guys in some ways. If you’re chasing a man, being beautiful is already an ultimate bonus. A good figure, a pretty face, a gentle personality—those are all deadly advantages.”

“He doesn’t seem to want me that much.”

Su Yuejin began to doubt herself.

“There are plenty of things a girl can do in bed. Far more than you think. Lowering yourself a little doesn’t matter. Trying strange things that other girls can’t do—that’s the true path to victory!”

“What do you mean?”

Xiao Chacha smiled slyly.

“Figure it out yourself.”

“Tell me.”

“I don’t know anything about that. I’m just saying random things.”

Xiao Chacha looked helpless.

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“Just be yourself, Su Yuejin.”

Xiao Chacha was tired of talking.

She was a veteran fan of adult games, followed over two hundred adult content creators on Twitter, and had learned countless things at a young age in this new era.

She genuinely believed that most things weren’t as complicated as people imagined.

Humans were simple creatures driven by desire. If he was happy when he was with you, then he’d want to stay with you.

So all you had to do was make him feel happy when he was with you.

As for how to make him happy…

Come on. Question time.

What do men and women enjoy doing together the most—( )

But as Xiao Chacha thought about that, a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed her mind.

What if Su Yuejin really managed to make Lin An fall for her?

What if she made him completely unable to tear himself away?

And then, after all that, Su Yuejin kicked him to the curb?

Wouldn’t that be a much more interesting sight?

It definitely would, right?!

If that day truly came, Lin An would be utterly trapped beneath Su Yuejin’s skirt. He’d think he held absolute control while enjoying her daily fawning and advances.

Then one day, Su Yuejin would raise her long, beautiful leg and kick him away without hesitation, never letting him touch even the hem of her skirt again.

What would you do then, Lin An?

Could you remain as calm as you were now?

Could you keep your selfishness and cold-heartedness?

Could you cling to that childish, laughable rationality of yours?

…Would you regret it?

Would you feel lost?

Would you get angry?

Would you go mad?

…Would you cry?

I’m really looking forward to your answer, Lin An.

For some reason, an image of Su Yuejin suddenly appeared in Xiao Chacha’s mind.

Su Yuejin wore a black dress and sheer black stockings. Her feet were planted in sharp high heels, and her eyes were cold and indifferent.

Then she raised her leg and stepped on Lin An without hesitation.

Lin An knelt on the ground, begging for forgiveness.

Yes. Yes!!

Xiao Chacha was completely sold on it!!!!