He felt a little nervous when he dialed the number. He was worried that Ji Fanyin’s phone was switched off or that another man would accept the call. 

But a few seconds later, Ji Fanyin’s seemingly unreal voice sounded through the phone, “Yes?”

Bai Zhou was so overwhelmed that he didn’t even realize that he had heaved a sigh of relief. “Can we meet now? I’ll find you.”

“I don’t accept last-minute reservations,” replied Ji Fanyin heartlessly.

Bai Zhou: “… I’ll pay you extra.”

Ji Fanyin chuckled softly. “Even if it costs tenfold?”

By then, Bai Zhou was already approaching the entrance of the venue, on the verge of leaving the banquet. He halted his footsteps, turned around, and took a look. The door had been closed, but the chief secretary was still standing there, staring at him. 

Yes, the only one here was the chief secretary. His father and mother were nowhere in sight. 

He thought about the chief secretary’s earlier words—‘This will not affect your inheritance’—and it brought out a cold sneer from him. “Yes, I’ll pay for it.”

Not too far away, Song Shiyu heard those words and turned his gaze over, to which Bai Zhou responded with a contemptuous look.

Ji Fanyin was openly obsessed with money. Only an idiot Song Shiyu would believe that Ji Fanyin was still in love with him. 

In Bai Zhou’s view, this was probably one of the wisest decisions Ji Fanyin had made in her life. 

Is there even anything good about Song Shiyu?

… 

Ji Fanyin agreed to meet Bai Zhou at his place. After hanging up the call, she received another message from Cen Xiangyang.

【He stomped off angrily】Cen Xiangyang was doing a live telecast for her. 【I think he called someone while leaving the venue】

Ji Fanyin pondered for a moment before replying: 【Yeah, he called me】

Cen Xiangyang replied with an ellipsis followed by a question mark.

【Where are you all?】Ji Fanyin chose not to satisfy his curiosity.

Cen Xiangyang sent her a location pin before probing on: 【What do you mean? Are you actually close with Bai Zhou?】

For a long while after that, the app reflected that he was in the midst of typing something, but he didn’t send his message. It was impossible to guess what he was writing and deleting over and over again.

Ji Fanyin quickly checked the location pin sent over and saw that it would take around 40 minutes for Bai Zhou to get back to his penthouse. Considering that she had to dress up and put on some makeup, time was a little tight. 

As if determined to join in the commotion, her phone vibrated at this moment. A notification indicating that He Shen had liked her newly posted review popped up. 

Ji Fanyin quickly swiped off the notification before heading back to her room to check her wardrobe. 

Her wardrobe was divided into two segments—work and personal. Both sides were stuffed to the brim. 

She was pretty wealthy after all, so there was no need for her to hold back when it came to minor expenses such as clothes. She never hesitated to whip out her card whenever she saw something that she fancied. 

Half an hour later, she received a call from Bai Zhou. He was panting a little. “I’ve arrived.”

“I’ve just headed out,” replied Ji Fanyin with her phone sandwiched between her ear and her shoulder. “I’ll be arriving in around twenty minutes’ time.”

“… Alright.” Bai Zhou’s voice sounded a little lifeless. “I’ll wait for you.” 

In truth, Ji Fanyin was already on the ground floor of Bai Zhou’s apartment. She was standing by the corner amidst a couple of trees, which granted her full vision of Bai Zhou, who was leaning against his motorcycle with a phone in hand.

He had thick black eyebrows which converged sharply at the tips, giving him an imposing appearance whenever he frowned—which he often did. 

So, when he stood beneath the streetlamp with his face concealed amidst shadows, he surprisingly looked much more approachable than usual. 

Of course, a 1.85 meters tall man standing with his motorcycle in the middle of the night could only look so much more approachable.

“I’ll call you when I arrive,” replied Ji Fanyin before hanging up the call. There were still three minutes to go before the next hour, so she decided to wait till then. 

After she hung up the phone, she noticed that Bai Zhou didn’t head upstairs right away. He continued waiting beside his motorcycle while fiddling with his phone.

Twenty seconds later, he raised his hand to check his watch,

Ji Fanyin: “…” 

Just what kind of devastating trauma did the boy suffer to be in such urgent need of Ji Xinxin’s consolation? It looks like seconds are passing as slowly as years to him. 

Another thirty seconds later, Bai Zhou checked his watch yet again before unhappily stomping his feet. 

It was such an interesting scene that Ji Fanyin decided to spectate a while longer.

If it really comes down to it, I’ll just add a few more minutes to his allotted time. That isn’t a problem at all. 

A few minutes later, Bai Zhou’s phone rang. 

He already had his phone in his hand, but he hesitated for a long while before picking it up. 

Ji Fanyin clearly heard him call out “big sis”.