"What’s going on? Why would she deliberately sabotage you?!" Zhen Yu smiled happily, Han Mingyue really didn’t let her down! She guessed it instantly. "Let’s not talk about her!" Zhen Yu felt that it was better to wait until the dust settled before telling Han Mingyue! So he wouldn’t keep worrying about it! So the next second she changed the subject, "Why are you still up so late?!" "I’m worried about you!" Han Mingyue answered quickly, and only after he finished speaking did he process his words, then his face turned red. "Fool!" A surge of guilt suddenly filled Zhen Yu’s heart, feeling that she owed Han Mingyue an explanation. "I just went to the internet cafe to talk business with my mom as soon as I got back! Then I chatted with my brother behind closed doors on the second floor of the wonton restaurant! I just saw off my brother and then heard the phone ringing." Han Mingyue hesitated for a moment, but still held back mentioning that Xiao Gu had deceived him twice as well. "Since you’re at home, you should go sleep soon! I’ll be home all day tomorrow, call me! We can talk about these things then!" "...Are you tired?" Zhen Yu suddenly asked. It’s rare for the night to be so quiet, why not... have a deep talk worth ten bucks? "Not tired!" Han Mingyue replied decisively. "Then get a chair and sit down, let’s chat for a while." "Okay! Wait for me a moment." Zhen Yu leaned on the counter and waited for a while, then she started speaking first. "I actually wanted to call you tonight, but..." "Family issues too busy?" Han Mingyue interjected. "Yeah." It seemed he had guessed some of it. "Is it... related to Aunt Cheng’s second marriage?" Han Mingyue asked cautiously. "Sort of!" Zhen Yu said ambiguously: "It’s hard to explain in just a word or two." "We have plenty of time now, why don’t you tell me slowly?" Han Mingyue’s voice became lower and gentler towards the end, as if it was coming from a distant place. Zhen Yu closed her eyes, suddenly feeling the desire to confide. "Where do I start..." "Just start from Aunt Cheng’s second marriage!" Han Mingyue suggested directly. "Okay! That day, it was snowing heavily, and Zhen Yan suddenly came to find me..." Zhen Yu sat alone in the deeply quiet first-floor hall at night, under a dim little chandelier, speaking softly into the microphone. And far in the town at the Han Family, Han Mingyue was in the pitch-dark living room, quietly listening, occasionally commenting or advising. "...I’m becoming more suspicious of Uncle Gu’s intentions towards my mom not being pure, always feeling he’s not just looking for a partner!" Han Mingyue furrowed his brows tightly, "It seems the three with the surname Gu are really in cahoots! I was going to tell you tomorrow, Xiao Gu clearly sides with Gu Qing! I called at both 9:30 and 10:00, and Xiao Gu insisted you hadn’t come home!" "Figures! I had guessed it included him too." Zhen Yu secretly noted this against Xiao Gu in her mind. "So, are you still going to stay at the wonton shop?!" Hearing the obvious concern in his words, Zhen Yu smiled, "Of course not! Tomorrow I’ll let everyone go back to their homes!" "How will you stay? Your mom will definitely go with the Gu family! Is Zhen Yan coming back to stay with you at the internet café?!" "No need for him! I’ll stay by myself!" Han Mingyue suddenly became anxious, "How can that be! The internet café is not safe at night!" "I’ve had a folding iron gate made for the second-floor staircase entrance, it’s being installed tomorrow!" Satisfied with her secret measurements, Zhen Yu revealed a slight pride, "I took someone to secretly measure it from the exterior staircase without letting anyone know!" "Pfft!" Han Mingyue chuckled. "That’s good! Better than tearing up faces early and having another argument." "Mm, I thought so too!" Zhen Yu sighed deeply, "Let’s not talk about this anymore! After tomorrow, Zhen Yan and I will cut ties with the Gus!" "That’s best! Try to limit your interactions with them in the future!" "Mm!" Zhen Yu nodded in agreement. To break the previous heavy atmosphere, Zhen Yu playfully said: "Come on! You called me tonight, didn’t you have something serious to say?" "Indeed I did!" To match Zhen Yu’s tone, Han Mingyue deliberately played coy. "I have one good news, one bad news, and one latest news. Which one do you want to hear?" "Ha! Of course, the good news!" "I advanced to the provincial finals of the ’Shengtao Cup’ in China, I’m going to Harbin in May to participate in the onsite finals! If I win first place, I’ll be able to enter the national finals!" "May? Isn’t that with various other competitions?" Zhen Yu was a bit surprised at the timing coincidence. "I have to go to Harbin in May too, for the provincial English competition." Han Mingyue suddenly got excited, "Then, then can we meet?!" "If the competitions are around the same time, we should be able to meet." Teacher Liu’s notice was vague, only mentioning the month without a confirmed date, so Zhen Yu was not sure. "I really hope we can meet... oh, right! Do you know what the latest news I just mentioned is?!" "You haven’t said, how would I know?" Zhen Yu teased him, laughing. Han Mingyue bashfully covered his face in the dark, "... Mr. Fang has a classmate at Fudan University, who wrote to him a few days ago about an internal message! They mentioned that this year there will be a new national essay competition, but the specific time is not yet determined, Mr. Fang hopes I can participate." "I think you should definitely participate!" Zhen Yu responded without hesitation. Only after she said that did she think! The essay competition in ’98? Could it be... the New Concept?! Zhen Yu was still guessing! Han Mingyue suddenly asked, "What about you? Are you participating?" "Me?" Zhen Yu was startled, should she participate too? After hesitating only a second, she decisively said: "I’ll participate! At worst, I’ll just be keeping company!" "What’s keeping company?" Han Mingyue didn’t quite understand, how could essay writing be linked to running. "In the essay competition, it means just being there for company! Ever heard of princess’ study partners? Servant bridesmaids? It’s pretty much the same idea! Anyway, not the main person!" "...Got it..." Han Mingyue’s tone sounded strange, anyone could tell he was probably overthinking again. Zhen Yu had no idea where his imagination had gone this time, but people who write often have free-spirited thoughts. To prevent him from overthinking too much, Zhen Yu hurriedly urged, "Okay! You better tell me the bad news too!" "...Oh! My novel was rejected." Han Mingyue sounded somewhat downcast. "Oh... Han Mingyue, I have a way to get your novel serialized! Eventually, it might be read by many people, but you wouldn’t receive a cent in royalties, would you be willing?"