Words from the Heart

Shen Yi was worried that it might be a team dinner, and since he was already an outsider, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to attend.

“It’s nobody special, just our own brothers. Just come over,” Old Dai said warmly and straightforwardly.

Shen Yi chuckled, feeling it would be rude to decline the invitation, so he asked,

“Alright, where is it? I’ll head over now.”

“Northeast Barbecue. I’ll send you the location. Hurry up, I’m hanging up now.”

After putting down his phone, Shen Yi got up and made his way there.

The barbecue place was quite far in Shangyang District, about a twenty-minute drive.

Shen Yi got out of the car and entered the restaurant, scanning the room until he spotted Old Dai.

He was alone, tackling a plate of peanuts.

Shen Yi walked over and sat down, asking,

“What’s going on? Are you the only one here?”

Old Dai put down his chopsticks, opened a bottle of beer without a word, and handed it to Shen Yi, saying,

“I came first. Su Xun will be here soon. Zi Ming has to work overtime, and Little Sun is with his girlfriend, so they won’t make it.”

“Come on, take a sip.”

Shen Yi clinked glasses with him and popped a edamame into his mouth to go with the drink.

“How’s everything in the department lately?”

“Not bad, neither here nor there.”

Dai Tiefeng pushed the skewers toward Shen Yi, signaling him to help himself.

“Liu Changjiang left on his own, no effort needed.”

“Ah, let’s not talk about him. It’s a mood killer.”

Shen Yi shook his head and picked up a skewer of rice cake to take a bite.

“As for you, with your wife not at home, you must be having a blast.”

“Hehehe, I’m counting the days of this good life. First day watching soccer, second day drinking, and I’m thinking of taking a day off to go fishing the day after.”

Old Dai chuckled, clearly enjoying his days of freedom.

Then he rubbed his slightly balding head and complimented him,

“You look different after quitting your job, much more energetic. Even with just a little effort, you look so handsome.”

Shen Yi waved his hand modestly, saying,

“It’s not about quitting the job. I’ve just been exercising a lot lately, so I look more lively.”

Old Dai nodded in agreement, patting his own “unified” abs and lamenting,

“We should exercise too, but who has the time? A client gave me a gym membership once, and it expired before I even remembered to use it.”

“I don’t even get enough sleep these days, and my hair is falling out in clumps.”

Shen Yi quickly interrupted him, raising his glass and saying,

“It’s not even midnight yet, no need to get all melancholic. Let’s drink to that.”

“Right, right, my bad. Well, we all have our struggles behind the glamorous facade.”

Old Dai sighed deeply but quickly put on a smile again, downing his drink in one go.

His words struck a chord with Shen Yi, who couldn’t help but voice his own thoughts, fiddling with his glass as he asked,

“Old Dai, I have a friend who’s been dealing with a problem lately.”

Dai Tiefeng glanced at him sideways,

“Your friend? Let’s hear it.”

“Ahem…”

Shen Yi cleared his throat and poured out his troubles, concluding with,

“He’s really confused right now and doesn’t know what to do.”

Old Dai put down his glass, staring at him wide-eyed,

“So you’re saying your friend has a girlfriend, but there’s another girl pursuing him, and he’s caught between the two, unsure of what to do, right?”

Seeing Shen Yi nod, he immediately concluded,

“The friend you’re talking about is you, isn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“Cheng Jun, right? You’ve got some nerve! I never would’ve guessed it was you.”

“How did you know?”

Shen Yi was genuinely surprised. It wasn’t strange that Old Dai saw through the “friend” excuse, but how did he know it was Cheng Jun? Had it already spread throughout the company?

Old Dai scoffed,

“I’m not blind. Not long after you quit, Cheng Jun came by, and then she showed up at the company again, asking everyone in the third team about you. Was it really that hard to figure out?”

“What? What did they ask?”

Shen Yi hadn’t expected this and quickly pressed for details.

“Nothing much, just about what kind of person you are, your work ethic, and such. I couldn’t lie, so I had to back up my brother.”

Old Dai thumped his chest proudly.

“Thanks.”

“So the situation is that Cheng Jun is pursuing you, right?”

“Yeah.”

Shen Yi nodded.

Just then, Su Xun arrived late and sat down next to Old Dai, asking,

“Pursuing? Who’s pursuing whom?”

Old Dai handed him a bottle of beer and cut him off,

“None of your business. You’re late, so you owe us three bottles first.”

Then he turned back to Shen Yi and continued,

“It’s simple. Just choose whoever you like more.”

Shen Yi poured himself a full glass of beer and faced his feelings head-on, saying,

“I like both of them. If I had to weigh it, Cheng Jun would be slightly less important.”

Deep down, he was more inclined toward Fu Nanzhi, but his greed made it hard to let go of either.

Old Dai got a bit angry and slammed his glass on the table,

“You’re such a jerk! Not taking the initiative, not rejecting her?”

“That’s not it. She made the first move, and I did reject her, but…”

Shen Yi didn’t finish, but the implication was clear.

“Dude, you’re really something, you know that?”

Su Xun finally caught on, his eyes red with envy and frustration.

While he was pining for Lin Ruoyu with no response, here was Shen Yi already having to choose between two girls.

Old Dai hadn’t expected this either and scratched his head before saying,

“If that’s the case, I think you should stick with your current girlfriend.”

“First of all, we can’t abandon our loyal partners. Second, is a young lady like Cheng Jun easy to handle? Who knows what kind of family drama she has? We’re just ordinary people. Even if we manage to get close, would it really work out?”

Shen Yi nodded. Although the reality was a bit different from what Old Dai described, his words were heartfelt.

There was no need to tell them that Fu Nanzhi was also wealthy.

Just then, Su Xun, who had just downed a glass of beer, chimed in,

“Bro, emotionally I support you staying firm, but rationally I support you choosing the rich girl.”

“But only kids make choices. A real man takes both.”

Old Dai smacked Su Xun on the head, scolding him,

“Get out of here with your terrible advice.”

Then he turned back to Shen Yi and continued,

“Bro, I’ve been around the block. As the old saying goes, if you want to be miserable for a day, wear shoes that are too small. If you want to be miserable for a lifetime, marry two wives.”

“Unless you can manage to keep both sides happy and get them to act like sisters, you’re going to have a lot of trouble down the road.”

“Most people don’t have that ability. Do you think you can handle it?”

Old Dai’s words were filled with genuine concern, and Shen Yi’s mind was racing with thoughts.

“Another thing, it’s your right to choose whoever you want, but no matter who you decide on, you need to cut off the other person’s hopes as soon as possible.”

“It’s precisely because you care about them that you need to reject them firmly.”

“Dragging it out and stringing them along—do you really think that’s being fair to her?”