Volume 1, Chapter 164: When he was going abroad, she had actually gone to the airport to see him off.

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhou He gathered everyone together for another get-together.

This time, the turnout was large, and the scale was impressive. The venue was a luxurious private room in an upscale club in the downtown area.

Zhou He said to Liang Jinmo over the phone, "Everyone from the team is here, and Chen Lin is here too."

Liang Jinmo asked, "Chen Lin is back in the country?"

Zhou He replied, "That's right. Just tell me, are you coming or not?"

Liang Jinmo hadn't planned on going, but hearing Chen Lin's name changed his mind.

After he hung up the phone, Xu Zhi asked him, "Who is Chen Lin?"

She was sitting in his arms, and she had heard the phone call clearly.

Liang Jinmo said, "A friend from my study-abroad days. Remember I told you before that when I entered that artificial intelligence home appliance competition, I called someone over from abroad to help?"

Xu Zhi nodded.

"Chen Lin was that person. He took time out of his schedule to help me, and then returned to the United States. I didn't expect him to be back in the country so soon. He's a gifted polymath. In the most cutting-edge computer technology fields today, he's basically involved in every aspect." He ruffled her hair. "I don't have many friends. Zhou He is one, and he's another. I'll take you to meet him today."

It was clear that Liang Jinmo was in a good mood, and Xu Zhi couldn't help feeling a bit curious about this Chen Lin.

Liang Jinmo was obviously not a person keen on making friends, and Zhou He managed to be his friend entirely due to Zhou He's initiative. What about Chen Lin then? Was he just like Zhou He, a funny guy?

When the two of them arrived at the club and finally met Chen Lin, Xu Zhi knew she had guessed wrong.

There were quite a few people in the large private room. Some were singing, some were chatting, and there was also an area for board games... A crowd of people was making a ruckus. When Liang Jinmo and Xu Zhi walked through the door, the people near the entrance were the first to greet them.

Just like Zhou He, they all called Liang Jinmo "Boss," and upon seeing Xu Zhi, they immediately shouted "Sister-in-law."

Xu Zhi felt her face warm up slightly, but she still smiled in response.

Her gaze swept around the room and finally settled on a small bar in the corner.

Yang Xue wasn't even looking at her; she was acting all infatuated over there, chatting with a very handsome man.

The man had a pair of peach blossom eyes, the outer corners lifting when he smiled, giving him a deeply enchanting look.

Liang Jinmo said in Xu Zhi's ear, "That's Chen Lin."

Xu Zhi said, "Wow, he has textbook peach blossom eyes."

Liang Jinmo stared at her. "You like peach blossom eyes?"

With a strong desire to survive, Xu Zhi hugged his arm. "No, I like double eyelids and black pupils."

Liang Jinmo was barely satisfied with this answer.

At that moment, Zhou He saw them too and walked over, muttering to Xu Zhi, "You really need to keep an eye on Yang Xue. The moment she sees a guy, she glues herself to him."

Xu Zhi said, "She's always like that whenever she sees a handsome guy."

Zhou He: "..."

He said, "Well, I don't care, but she can't target my brother. She's been pestering Chen Lin nonstop. My brother just came back to the country, and I haven't even had a chance to exchange a few words with him."

Xu Zhi found Zhou He fascinating. She had heard of people fighting over women with their brothers, but this was her first time seeing someone who constantly fought with women over his brother.

Liang Jinmo said, "Let's go over together."

As the three of them walked over, Chen Lin lifted his eyes, caught sight of them, and had already stood up. He grabbed a can of beer and handed it to Liang Jinmo. "Long time no see."

Liang Jinmo took it and clinked glasses with him.

Chen Lin took a sip of his drink and cast his gaze toward Xu Zhi. "You must be Xu Zhi."

Xu Zhi nodded. "You know me?"

Just as Chen Lin was about to speak, Liang Jinmo asked him, "Why are you back again?"

Chen Lin said, "Not welcome?"

Liang Jinmo: "In the span of half a month, you went from the U.S. to China, and after going back to the U.S., you're in China again."

Zhou He chimed in, "He came back to look for a woman."

Yang Xue let out an "ah" and asked, "Really?"

Zhou He pulled a long face at her. "So you don't stand a chance."

Yang Xue grew somewhat agitated. "Zhou He, what kind of nonsense are you spouting!"

Zhou He hummed softly.

While those two elementary school kids were bickering, Chen Lin casually handed a can of beer to Xu Zhi, but Liang Jinmo took it instead. "She doesn't drink."

Chen Lin's eyes were full of smiles as he teased, "You're guarding her too tightly. She's not a kid..."

The few of them chatted casually and sat down by the bar.

Xu Zhi quickly discovered that Chen Lin was also conversational, but unlike Zhou He, whose humor came from being funny, Chen Lin was the one who steered the conversation most of the time.

His presence was relaxed yet powerful.

When he was with them, Liang Jinmo would speak a bit more than usual and appeared much more relaxed. Even when he was silent, an unspoken understanding seemed to exist among the three of them.

So Liang Jinmo had friends like this too. She came to know just a little bit more about him.

Once the three men started chatting, Chen Lin and Zhou He went back and forth, leaving Yang Xue unable to get a word in. After a while, she called Xu Zhi to accompany her to the restroom.

Aside from the restroom, there was also a small compartment on the second floor of the club. Yang Xue pulled Xu Zhi straight into that small compartment.

Xu Zhi was completely baffled.

As soon as Yang Xue closed the door, she started complaining, "Don't you think Zhou He is out of his mind? I just met a handsome guy and had barely chatted for two minutes when he chimed in right in front of us, saying I didn't stand a chance... Do I have no pride?"

Xu Zhi wanted to laugh. Remembering something, she asked Yang Xue, "You didn't fall for Chen Lin, did you?"

"Sigh, of course not. You know I just went through a breakup," Yang Xue said somewhat dejectedly as she sat down on the small sofa. "Since we came out to play today, I figured seeing a handsome guy would finally put me in a better mood, so I just talked to him a bit more. Look at Chen Lin's face—it's so pleasing to the eyes, just looking at him makes people happy. But then Zhou He had to come ruin it and say stuff like that."

As a friend, Xu Zhi also hoped Yang Xue could walk out of the shadow of her breakup as soon as possible. Just as she was about to offer comfort, the door of the small compartment was knocked on.

Xu Zhi pulled the door open, and Cheng Yu was standing outside.

Cheng Yu asked, "Can I say a few words to Yang Xue?"

Xu Zhi hesitated for a moment, but eventually made room for the two of them to have some private space. As she walked downstairs, she ran into Chen Lin, who was just heading up.

Chen Lin caught sight of her and smiled.

Xu Zhi was a bit shy around strangers, but since this was Liang Jinmo's friend and gave off a very approachable vibe, she smiled back slightly.

Chen Lin said, "I heard you and Mo-ge are already engaged."

Xu Zhi nodded.

Chen Lin remarked, "That's good. I used to worry he would end up old and alone."

Xu Zhi was stunned.

However... given Liang Jinmo's personality, ending up old and alone wasn't entirely out of the question.

Not knowing how to respond to that, she paused for a few seconds before saying, "No, he won't. I won't let him end up old and alone."

Chen Lin smiled again. He truly was a person who loved to smile, and his smile had an extraordinary, infectious quality.

He said, "That's good. At least it wasn't in vain that he's been missing you all these years."

Xu Zhi froze. "What did you say?"

Chen Lin: "I said it wasn't in vain that he's been missing you all these years."

With that, Chen Lin made to go upstairs, but Xu Zhi quickly called out, "Wait, what do you mean by that..."

Looking at Chen Lin, she hesitated, but still asked the question: "Did he... ever mention me to you before?"

"No," Chen Lin answered decisively.

Xu Zhi: "..."

Chen Lin chuckled. "The first time I ever heard your name was during our first year of grad school. Mo-ge wasn't used to the local climate and got sick, running a high fever. A female classmate volunteered to take care of him, but when she handed him medicine and water, he called out 'Xu Zhi' in a daze. I was right there next to him and saw that girl's face turn green."

Xu Zhi's almond-shaped eyes widened in disbelief.

During Liang Jinmo's first year of grad school... How long ago was that?

Xu Zhi walked downstairs, still unable to snap back to reality.

She lifted her gaze, her sight cutting through the crowd and landing on Liang Jinmo by the bar.

He was listening to Zhou He talk, his profile sharply defined and handsome. She felt a brief sense of unreality, remembering that back in the year he was scheduled to go abroad, she had actually gone to the airport to see him off.