Chapter 76: Liking Doesn't Need a Reason

Everyone sat around the dining table. The clinking of bowls and chopsticks, the gurgling sound of pouring wine, accompanied by the laughter of several women, made for a harmonious scene.

Wang Yan sat at the end of the table to the right of Guan Ju'er. On the other side were Qu Xiaoxiao and Sister Andi, who was sitting in the middle. Opposite them were Manager Bai, Qiu Yingying, and Fan Shengmei, who was next to Sister Andi.

Fan Shengmei raised her glass and said: "Come on, raise your glasses. Thank you Sister Andi for providing the venue, and thank you Wang Yan for the feast."

Everyone drank a glass together. Sister Andi coughed and looked at Wang Yan: "I'm really not used to drinking this, but it tastes good. Let's have some more."

"Moderation is key, the main thing is to eat the crab." Wang Yan nodded and had Guan Ju'er pass the wine jar over.

At this moment, Qu Xiaoxiao, who had put down her glass, picked up a piece of spicy stir-fried crab and said: "Wow, this whole table of dishes was made by Chef Wang? You're so amazing~" She emphasized the word "Chef."

Sister Andi took the wine, and seeing that Wang Yan didn't mind, she patted her: "Just eat your food."

Shrugging, Qu Xiaoxiao said: "By the way, I saw Handsome Bai cooking himself just now? What did he make?"

Qiu Yingying lifted her head and muttered: "It's this century egg with tofu, it's delicious." As she spoke, she looked at Wang Yan and laughed: "It's not worse than Brother Wang's."

Wang Yan shook his head and smiled. He tasted a bite and said: "Hmm, not bad, Yingying is right." As he spoke, he winked at Qiu Yingying.

Qiu Yingying was so shy that she quickly lowered her head to eat crab. Only her trembling shoulders betrayed her little happiness.

Glancing at Wang Yan, Qu Xiaoxiao picked up a spoon, tasted a bite, and said exaggeratedly: "Hmm~ it's so delicious, this is the best dish I've ever eaten, much better than what Chef Wang made."

Raising her glass, Qu Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrows at Manager Bai and continued: "Qiu Yingying, you're really too happy, I'm jealous to death. I just like Handsome Bai like this, handsome and good at managing the household. Come on, Handsome Bai, let's have a drink alone."

Manager Bai raised his glass and said: "Not at all, not at all, I should thank so many beauties for helping Yingying usually."

Sister Andi wanted to say something on the side. Fan Shengmei looked at the two who were flirting and drinking, then glanced at Wang Yan, patted Sister Andi, and shook her head at her.

Sister Andi frowned and didn't speak.

The meal came to a pleasant end amidst Fan Shengmei's best efforts to keep things smooth and Qu Xiaoxiao's various provocations toward Manager Bai and occasional taunts at Wang Yan.

Qu Xiaoxiao talked to herself, and seeing that Wang Yan ignored her, she stopped looking for trouble later on. She was also afraid of provoking Wang Yan; she was a weak woman and couldn't resist him.

Except for occasionally whispering a few words to Guan Ju'er beside him, Wang Yan basically didn't speak much. He just drank his wine and ate his food while watching the monkeys.

At this time, Qiu Yingying, who was opposite, looked at the phone on the table: "Oh my, it's so late, Bai, you should go, you'll miss the subway. I'll send you out, let's go, let's go."

Manager Bai was stunned for a moment, looked at the women present, his gaze stopped on Qu Xiaoxiao, and he nodded: "Alright, then I'll go first."

"Leaving already? I haven't said a few words to you yet." Qu Xiaoxiao shook her head seemingly regretfully. Holding the big crab in her hand, she walked to Manager Bai's side in two or three steps: "Guan Ju'er, hurry up and help me take two photos with Manager Bai, so I can look at them and recall the most delicious century egg with tofu when I'm free."

Looking at the photo on the phone, Qu Xiaoxiao looked at Manager Bai with a smile and waved: "Bye-bye~"

Taking a deep look at Qu Xiaoxiao, Manager Bai was pulled away by Qiu Yingying.

Watching the door close with a "bang," Qu Xiaoxiao threw the crab shell in her hand, glanced at Wang Yan, who was drinking with his head tilted back, rolled her eyes, and laughed disdainfully: "Just now, I put a note in Manager Bai's pocket. I guarantee he'll have the guts to call me tonight."

Guan Ju'er stared angrily at Qu Xiaoxiao and didn't speak.

Sister Andi said angrily: "He is Xiao Qiu's boyfriend, what you're doing is too much."

Qu Xiaoxiao said indifferently: "What's wrong with me testing Xiao Qiu's boyfriend for her?"

Fan Shengmei, who was on the side, said a human word: "You're verifying your own personal charm..."

Before she could continue speaking, Wang Yan, who was on the side, finished his wine, picked up a tissue, and wiped the corners of his mouth: "Hmm, what you said makes sense." He put down the tissue and said to Qu Xiaoxiao, who was glancing at him: "Are you trying to say that it's better to know the result early? Are you doing a good deed?"

Qu Xiaoxiao mocked: "Why is this chef everywhere?"

This was truly biting the hand that fed her. Wang Yan glanced at Qu Xiaoxiao, gestured to the seat she had just occupied, and said: "If you're looking for a boyfriend, you'd better hide him well. Don't let me help you test your boyfriend and accumulate virtue; it's too much trouble, don't you think?"

Qu Xiaoxiao's face turned ugly: "Wang, I'm warning you, don't go too far..."

Wang Yan glanced at her strangely: "What's wrong with me testing your boyfriend for you? Isn't that your original words just now? You don't thank me, and instead, you threaten me?"

Knowing she couldn't win against Wang Yan, Qu Xiaoxiao picked up her bag, walked to the door, and snorted coldly: "We'll see." After saying that, she closed the door with a "bang."

Sister Andi frowned, looked at the door, let out a light breath, turned back, and looked at Wang Yan with Guan Ju'er and Fan Shengmei.

Not caring about their gazes, Wang Yan said to Guan Ju'er: "Xiao Guan, tell Xiao Qiu about this tomorrow. Don't say anything today, otherwise she won't be able to sleep well."

After saying goodbye to Sister Andi, Wang Yan opened the door, went upstairs, and returned home.

The three women were left looking at each other. Finally, Fan Shengmei asked as she did in the show: "Do you think Manager Bai will call Qu Xiaoxiao?"

Sister Andi said uncertainly: "Probably not."

Guan Ju'er didn't speak because she already had the answer.

Glancing at the two, Fan Shengmei sighed and said: "Alright, they're all gone. Guan, let's help Sister Andi clean up."

"Oh, okay." Guan Ju'er responded, and the three began to clean up the mess on the table.

The next day, Wang Yan got up for his morning exercise as usual. But today was a day off, and because she wanted to rest more, Sister Andi didn't get up early.

Wang Yan had already finished breakfast and was walking back with his hands behind his back when he met Sister Andi and Guan Ju'er one after another at the entrance of the residential area.

"Morning." "Morning, Brother Wang." The two greeted Wang Yan.

"Hmm, morning." Wang Yan nodded and asked Guan Ju'er: "Xiao Guan, what's going on today?"

Guan Ju'er said embarrassedly: "It's Sister Sister Andi who said, let's go out for a run in the morning, and we'll feel refreshed all day."

"You're out for the first time, so you still need to be careful. Moderate exercise is fine." Seeing her nod, Wang Yan continued: "By the way, have you told Xiao Qiu?"

Guan Ju'er said: "Not yet, Yingying hadn't gotten up when I came out."

"Got it, then tell her when you go back. If you can't control it, just come upstairs to find me. That's it, you two go for your run, I'll head back first."

"Hmm, I know Brother Wang, don't worry."

Sister Andi looked at Wang Yan's back and said to Guan Ju'er beside her: "He's very good to Xiao Qiu."

"Brother Wang is also very good to me. Sister Sister Andi, don't you and Brother Wang get along very well too? Yesterday you told me that you exercise and eat breakfast together every morning." Guan Ju'er said: "It's just that he seems to not like Sister Fan very much."

"Oh?" Sister Andi looked at Guan Ju'er suspiciously, waiting for her next answer.

"In my impression, Brother Wang seems to have never interacted with Sister Fan. Last time he took me to work, I asked him if he didn't like Sister Fan." Guan Ju'er thought about the situation at the time and said: "It's just that Brother Wang said he didn't want to invite unnecessary trouble, and before I could continue asking, he didn't talk about this matter anymore."

After listening, Sister Andi thought thoughtfully for a while, looked at Wang Yan's disappearing back, and shook her head: "Let's not worry about him, let's run, and later you'll find..."

Wang Yan returned home, washed up, brewed a pot of tea, and sat cross-legged on a cushion, thinking about how to arrange... the eccentric, unrestrained, sharp, seemingly cynical, but actually kind and thorny rose...

At first, he was still thinking about Qu Xiaoxiao, but later his thoughts became messy and he didn't know where he was thinking. After all, he had too many secrets hidden, and he couldn't help but let his mind wander.

For a long time, Wang Yan was awakened by a knock on the door.

He knew who it was without thinking. He got up, walked over, and opened the door. Sure enough, he saw Qiu Yingying, who had a nervous face and red eyes, followed by Guan Ju'er.

Qiu Yingying asked with teary eyes: "Brother Wang, Guan Ju'er told me everything. Manager Bai sent me a message in the middle of the night saying he was helping a friend move. Do you think he went to find Qu Xiaoxiao?"

"What do you think?" Wang Yan looked at Qiu Yingying, who was pouting and about to cry, and hurriedly changed the subject: "Come in and talk."

Looking at Wang Yan, who was skillfully handling the tea set opposite her, Qiu Yingying finally couldn't hold it in and cried out: "Wuwu, Brother Wang, what should I do?"

Wang Yan said helplessly: "Xiao Qiu, stop crying first." As he spoke, he picked up the phone on the side, flipped through it, and handed it to her: "Take a look at this first."

Qiu Yingying asked with a sob: "Is... hmm... what is it?" She then took the phone and flipped through it, then looked up at Wang Yan in disbelief: "Brother Wang, are... are these all true?"

Seeing Wang Yan nod, Qiu Yingying shouted "Scum" loudly, and then wanted to throw the phone.

Wang Yan grabbed the phone from her hand, avoiding the terrible fate the phone was about to face: "Don't want to cry anymore?" Seeing Guan Ju'er looking curiously at the phone in her hand, Wang Yan handed it to her.

"Don't want to..." She nodded first, then Qiu Yingying shook her head again, teary-eyed: "I still want to cry, Brother Wang."

"Crying because you were blind? Crying about the sweet times you had together?" Wang Yan sighed, and while pouring tea for the two of them, he said: "Come on, drink some tea to moisten your throat. Actually, you don't have to be like this. Did you listen to my advice?"

Qiu Yingying nodded: "Fortunately, I listened to your words, otherwise wouldn't I be regretting it to death now?"

"Exactly, so comparing the two, you should..."

Before Wang Yan could finish speaking, Guan Ju'er, who had finished reading these things, said indignantly: "Yingying, what else is there to cry about? Such a scum, why are you still thinking about not dumping him?"

"Listen to me, what you should do now is..."

Taking advantage of Guan Ju'er counseling Qiu Yingying, Wang Yan quietly got up and walked to the study, leaving space for the two of them.

Wang Yan could understand Qiu Yingying. A simple young girl had her feelings deceived, and emotions like indignation, sadness, regret, and helplessness piled up together. It was normal to cry and vent. But he really couldn't stand the crying; it was too annoying to watch.

After writing calligraphy for a while, Guan Ju'er and Qiu Yingying, who had red eyes, found him.

Qiu Yingying said: "Thank you Brother Wang."

"It's okay, as long as you can think it through, you should thank Xiao Guan more."

"Thank you Guan." Qiu Yingying turned to thank Guan Ju'er. Seeing Guan Ju'er wave her hand, Qiu Yingying asked suspiciously: "Brother Wang, how did you find those things?"

"Qu Xiaoxiao can check on Sister Andi, why can't I? Private investigators, internet experts, aren't they all ways?"

"Oh, that's true." She laughed foolishly and forced a smile: "Thank you Brother Wang, then Guan and I will go back first, bye-bye."

Wang Yan smiled and sent the two away, turned back to tidy up the tea set, and got busy with his own affairs.

At 2202, seeing Guan Ju'er and Qiu Yingying open the door and enter, Fan Shengmei, who was lying in the room playing with her phone, got up and walked out: "Little Earthworm, why are you crying like this? Are you okay?"

Qiu Yingying nodded and pouted: "Thank you Sister Fan, I'm fine." After saying that, she returned to her room dejectedly.

Fan Shengmei looked at the listless Qiu Yingying and gave Guan Ju'er a puzzled look.

Pulling Fan Shengmei to the side, Guan Ju'er angrily told her about what had just happened and those materials: "I'm telling you Sister Fan... this Manager Bai, he looks like a human, but he's really rotten."

After listening, Fan Shengmei shook her head and sighed: "Although I knew he wasn't a good thing, I didn't expect him to be this rotten. Hey, this man, tsk tsk..." After coming back to her senses, Fan Shengmei continued: "Then what does Little Earthworm plan to do?"

Guan Ju'er said as a matter of course: "Of course it's a breakup, but she's in a low mood now and hasn't thought about how to say it."

"This, it still depends on me." She gave Guan Ju'er a charming look, turned around, swayed her waist, and walked toward Qiu Yingying's room: "Little Earthworm, let me tell you..."

Looking at Fan Shengmei's charming back, Guan Ju'er thought of something, couldn't help but feel a chill, shuddered, and followed.

Just as Fan Shengmei was using her own experience to comfort her for a while and had almost settled Qiu Yingying, it was noon. The phones of several people lit up one after another; it was a new message notification from WeChat.

It was a group photo sent by Qu Xiaoxiao, including Manager Bai.

Although she had already thought it through, seeing Qu Xiaoxiao smiling brightly in the photo, Qiu Yingying was still angry: "Ah, Qu Xiaoxiao, Qu Xiaoxiao, damn Qu Xiaoxiao."

"Alright, alright, Little Earthworm, don't be angry, haven't we thought it through? Why be angry with Qu Xiaoxiao?" Fan Shengmei comforted Qiu Yingying.

Guan Ju'er also said on the side: "Yes, Yingying, let's just ignore her in the future. What you should do now is call the Bai scum and break up. Then have a good meal and start a new life."

"Hmm, right, break up." Qiu Yingying nodded bitterly, muttering "Bai scum, Qu Xiaoxiao, you damn couple, go to hell," and dialed Manager Bai's phone. After it connected, she didn't say a word and just said: "Break up, you damn scum." After finishing, she hung up directly and blocked all contact methods. After completing the operation, Qiu Yingying let out a long breath, feeling comfortable.

Qiu Yingying raised her head to the two people beside her as if she had completed some great feat. Fan Shengmei and Guan Ju'er gave her a thumbs up. The three looked at each other and laughed out loud for no reason.

At the same time, the phone in Fan Shengmei's hand rang. She answered it casually: "Hello, who is this?" Hearing the words coming from the other side, she perked up. Under the strange gazes of Qiu Yingying and Guan Ju'er, she returned to her room, raised her voice, and made a feminine sound: "The signal wasn't very good just now, who is this?"

Joyful Song's lick-dog, Wang Baichuan, appeared.

After agreeing on a time and place with Wang Baichuan, Fan Shengmei started trying on clothes. Thinking of the arrogant image she had always maintained in front of him and the persona of a person living a decent life, she ran to the neighbor 2201 to ask Sister Andi for help, and the result was naturally as she wished.

When Fan Shengmei was about to leave, Sister Andi thought of the photo she had just received: "Sister Fan, I just saw the photo sent by Xiao Qu, how is Xiao Qiu now?"

Waving her hand, Fan Shengmei smiled: "It's already been solved. Wang Yan investigated that Manager Bai thoroughly, and it turns out..." Then Fan Shengmei chattered and told Sister Andi about what happened in the morning.

"What Xiao Qu did was indeed too much."

Wang Yan's rebuttal was so obvious, and Qu Xiaoxiao's double standards were obvious to anyone who wasn't blind, but Fan Shengmei still said as in the original show: "Actually, thinking about this matter from another angle..." She still affirmed Qu Xiaoxiao's approach.

It was just that Sister Andi frowned after listening and didn't speak. After sending Fan Shengmei out, she sat at her desk and carefully studied the right and wrong of this matter.

After thinking for a long time, she still had no clue. She simply took out her phone and sent a message to Wang Yan. Unfortunately, Wang Yan ignored her.

Evening, in the middle.

Joyful Song's lick-dog, Yao Bin, looked at the group of friends drinking around him and said defensively: "Wang, what do you want with me? Want to surrender? That's impossible."

Wang Yan stared at Yao Bin and said: "You're overthinking it. You've been investigating me for a week, and you've basically been back and forth, right? Did you find anything?"

Yao Bin retorted without showing weakness: "Although I don't know what gave you such great confidence yet, believe me, your good days are numbered."

"Don't be so excited." Wang Yan shook his head and said: "Let's not talk about these useless things, let's talk about some serious business."

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After taking a sip of wine, Yao Bin said sloppily: "What serious business could I have with you?"

"The root of our conflict is still Qu Xiaoxiao. Otherwise, I don't think you would do such a brainless thing." Seeing Yao Bin's disdainful mockery, Wang Yan didn't mind and continued: "I'm very curious, why do you like her so much? Can you tell me?"

Speaking of this, even though he was facing an enemy, Yao Bin couldn't hide his disappointment. He took a big gulp of wine, felt the burning sensation in his gut, and smiled as he said a very ordinary sentence: "Does liking someone need a reason?"

"Hmm, indeed, liking doesn't need a reason." This made some sense, but Wang Yan was still speechless. He turned and said: "Then do you understand her?"

"How could I not... hmm? Does it have anything to do with you? Why the hell should I tell you?" Just as he started, Yao Bin reacted. I'm an enemy with you, damn it? You're here researching the woman I like with me? Are you an idiot, or am I an idiot?

Wang Yan laughed: "Don't be so excited. Do you really know her past experiences over the years? Especially during her time studying abroad. After all, she asks you to check this and that, so you should know something about the woman you like, right?"

The unnaturalness on Yao Bin's face flashed away, and he remained impatient: "Of course I know, what exactly do you want to say?"

"Is that so? I don't think so." Noticing the change in his expression, Wang Yan smiled and said: "As for other things, like the backgrounds of your two families, and whether your parents think you can be together, I won't say much."

Yao Bin stared at Wang Yan with an ugly face and said word by word: "What exactly do you want to say?"

"I think our grievances can be put aside for now. You have more important things to do now, don't you?"

Noticing Yao Bin's gaze, Wang Yan continued: "Don't look at me like that, I know you want to kill me, no need to be so obvious. And I think if you know this more important thing, maybe you'll even invite me for a drink."

"What do you know?"

"This requires you to find out for yourself. Would you believe what I say?" Wang Yan glanced at Yao Bin indifferently, scanned the people around him who were eyeing him covetously, and said: "Alright, I've said enough, pay the bill." As he spoke, Wang Yan called Xiao Li over.

Looking at Xiao Li, who was holding the POS machine, Yao Bin took out his credit card, stared fiercely at Wang Yan, and said: "Wait for me to invite you for a drink."

He signed the bill casually, threw the pen away, and left with a large group of people, looking uninhibited.

Watching Yao Bin walk out of the door surrounded by everyone, Wang Yan took a sip of wine and shook his head with a laugh.

This Yao Bin's licking was indeed quite powerful, not worse than Wang Baichuan's. He responded to Qu Xiaoxiao's every request, showing concern, introducing business, wasting a lot of time and energy, and didn't get any good in return. She never cared about him from beginning to end, what for?

Although Yao Bin's life was quite colorful, and he and Qu Xiaoxiao were two of a kind, you couldn't say Yao Bin wouldn't have thoughts after knowing the truth; that was absolutely impossible. In the end, he was a man, and his possessiveness was there. Of course, if he didn't care, that was another matter. But obviously, he cared a lot.

Having Xiao Li pour a glass of wine, Wang Yan took out his phone and started replying to messages one by one. He hadn't paid much attention to messages before, and a lot had piled up.

To be honest, walking to this day, except for contacting people, Wang Yan had long since detached himself from his phone. Unlike before, lying on the bed and flipping through the phone, he could flip through it all day for no reason.

Sister Andi's message was sent earlier and had sunk to the bottom. Wang Yan replied for a long time before seeing the message "Are you home?".

After thinking about it, Wang Yan called Sister Andi: "Hello, Sister Andi, I didn't see your message earlier, what's wrong?"

Sister Andi, who was driving, said: "It's just that I have a question I want to ask you, but unfortunately, I'm taking Sister Fan and the other two out for dinner." After a pause, Sister Andi added: "Do you want to come?"

"I won't go. How about this, if you're early, come to the bar to find me. I'll treat you to a couple of drinks to help you sleep. If it's not early, and I see it's not an urgent matter, let's talk about it tomorrow."

"Good, it's settled. Send me the address of the bar."

Before Wang Yan could speak, he heard Qiu Yingying shouting on the other side: "I know, I know, I know where Brother Wang's bar is."

Wang Yan laughed: "Okay, just let Xiao Qiu bring you over." ===== CHAPTER 77 =====