Matter and Companionship

After placing their order, Han Juyou, feeling a bit bored while waiting for the food, decided to chat with Liu Muye about writing novels. However, Liu Muye seemed suddenly distracted by something.

Curious, Han Juyou followed his gaze and saw two familiar faces sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window at the table across from them—Nangong Ye and Shangguan Yurou!

Han Juyou had already heard from Shangguan Yurou that Nangong Ye was treating her to a meal. She assumed someone of Nangong Ye’s status would take her to a high-end Western restaurant, but instead, he brought her to McDonald’s for lunch?

Han Juyou was taken aback.

Liu Muye was equally surprised.

At first, he thought he was seeing things, so he rubbed his eyes and took another look—it was indeed Nangong Ye and Shangguan Yurou.

But shouldn’t Nangong Ye have taken Shangguan Yurou to a fancy restaurant for lunch? What were they doing here?

Liu Muye couldn’t make sense of it.

The two in the distance were chatting and laughing, completely unaware they were being watched.

Nangong Ye took a bite of the piping-hot fried chicken.

Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside…

Nothing particularly special—just average, really. Not even as good as instant noodles.

But since he’d never had the chance to try it before, he’d built up high expectations.

As the saying goes, the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. The fried chicken wasn’t as delicious as he’d imagined, but it wasn’t bad either—just a completely new experience.

Shangguan Yurou, on the other hand, wasn’t overthinking it like Nangong Ye. She held her burger delicately, eating with refined grace. As the female lead of the story, she possessed a magical ability—no matter what she ate, her face never got messy. The sauces in the burger obediently stayed in her mouth, never smearing around her lips.

Of course, she was the heroine, after all. Everything she did had to be perfect, even eating.

“Why did you suddenly decide to take me to McDonald’s?”

Finally, Shangguan Yurou couldn’t hold back and asked the question.

“Just wanted to try it,” Nangong Ye replied, staring at the piece of fried chicken in his hand before adding, “When I was little, riding in the car past fast-food restaurants, I’d see other kids eating fried chicken and burgers with their parents, drinking soda, and having their moms and dads with them… I was kind of envious.”

Shangguan Yurou felt a pang of sympathy. She smiled and said, “So even the great Young Master Nangong has his troubles!”

Nangong Ye chuckled. “Yeah, I guess even a rich kid in the backseat of a luxury car has his own struggles.”

“Then let me ask you this,” Shangguan Yurou said, holding up her cup of soda and playfully bringing it close to his lips. “Now that you’ve fulfilled your dream and tried fried chicken and burgers, how do you feel?”

“Hmm…” Nangong Ye thought for a moment. “It’s… not as special as I thought. Honestly, not as tasty as I imagined either.”

Shangguan Yurou looked into his eyes and said, “Then maybe the thing you were really envious of wasn’t the fried chicken or burgers in those kids’ hands?”

“Huh?!”

Her words struck him like lightning.

She was right.

Growing up with all the material comforts, why would he envy fast food?

What he truly envied was the presence of their parents.

Shangguan Yurou hesitated before asking, “Do you usually eat alone at home?”

“Yeah,” Nangong Ye nodded. “My parents are always busy with the company. I hardly ever see them at home, even during holidays.”

Shangguan Yurou’s lips parted slightly. She wanted to say, Your childhood sounds just like mine. My parents were always buried in work too, barely acknowledging me. Sometimes I wonder if they even see me as their daughter. If they did, they wouldn’t have arranged a marriage for me with a man I’ve never met, all for the sake of business.

But she swallowed those words. Her true identity was still hidden, and these thoughts had to stay locked away.

If Shangguan Yurou knew the man sitting across from her was the very same fiancé from that arranged marriage, how would she react?

Nangong Ye smiled politely. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought up such depressing stuff. Ruined the mood.”

“No, I’m honored you shared it with me,” Shangguan Yurou said softly, her lips curving into a gentle smile. Jokingly, she added, “If you ever need someone to eat with, you can always call me.”

“Hahaha, wouldn’t that be too much trouble?” Nangong Ye lowered his head, a little embarrassed. “It’s fine, I can always ask Liu Muye to join me.”

“…”

Shangguan Yurou suddenly felt a twinge of frustration, unsure how to respond.

So Liu Muye is the real love interest, huh? Even when eating with me, he’s thinking about him.

Poor Nangong Ye—he was just being polite.

Who knew Shangguan Yurou’s imagination would run wild again?

……

“What are they talking about?”

Liu Muye squinted, his expression serious as he watched the two laughing by the window.

Han Juyou shrugged. “No idea. Want me to go ask?”

“No!” Liu Muye immediately stopped her. “They’re having a nice, romantic conversation. You’d just be interrupting.”

“Mhm~” Han Juyou hummed, eyeing him. “You and Nangong Ye haven’t known each other that long, right? Why do you seem so invested in his love life, always trying to help him chase Yurou?”

“Huh?!” Caught off guard, Liu Muye turned away. “D-do I?”

“Yeah,” Han Juyou said, narrowing her eyes. “My intuition is never wrong.”

“Uh…” Liu Muye scratched his head. “Maybe it’s just how guy friendships work. I knew he was a good bro the moment I saw him during military training. It’s pure camaraderie—hard for girls to understand.”

Han Juyou rolled her eyes. “Sure, whatever you say.”

“Anyway, our food’s ready. Let’s go grab it.”

Liu Muye swiftly changed the subject, pulling Han Juyou downstairs.

When they picked up their order, they found an empty table on the first floor. Liu Muye went back to retrieve the bag he’d used to save their seats—since there were acquaintances upstairs, they decided to stay downstairs.

It was strange. Even though there was nothing between them, they still feared being misunderstood by people they knew.

Explaining things afterward would just be too much trouble…

Liu Muye carried the tray while Han Juyou held their two ice-cold sodas. They sat by the window on the first floor, sharing this unusual lunch together.

Watching Liu Muye sitting across from her, gnawing on a chicken leg while engrossed in a novel, Han Juyou held her McSpicy chicken burger in hand, feeling an inexplicable sense of contentment she couldn’t quite put into words.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten fast food—it must have been ages ago…

…