Chapter 240: You two are on the same storyline?

Li Chen put down his cup.

Yan Zhen's tone wasn't as cold anymore.

"He's better at talking than I was back then."

Li Chen was very cautious. "I didn't meet you back then."

Even if you see it, you can't learn it.

Li Chen nodded. "Then I won't learn it."

Yan Zhen paused for a moment, then chuckled.

The tension at the dinner party finally eased.

Yan Zhen then asked about some things at school.

Did Yan Xi eat breakfast on time?

Have you ever stayed up too late because of the student council?

Did you go out with Leng Qingge?

Li Chen answered all the questions he could.

If you can't answer, just say you don't know.

Yan Zhen wasn't unhappy.

On the contrary, when they heard "I don't know," their expression became more natural.

He probably didn't want Li Chen to really be watching Yan Xi like a surveillance camera.

Just as Li Chen was finishing his meal, his phone vibrated.

He didn't look at it.

Yan Zhen noticed. "Xiao Xi?"

Li Chen: "Possibly."

"look."

Li Chen picked up his phone.

Yan Xi sent a message.

Don't drink too much soup, you'll be thirsty at night.

Li Chen couldn't suppress the urge to smile.

Yan Zhen coldly asked, "What did she say?"

Li Chen handed over the phone.

Yan Zhen finished reading and fell silent.

Then he looked down at the soup in front of him.

He also drank half a bowl.

Li Chen put his phone away, not daring to laugh.

Yan Zhen put down the soup spoon.

"Is she downstairs?"

Li Chen: "..."

This question is difficult to answer.

Yan Zhen understood just by looking at his expression.

He leaned back in his chair and laughed in exasperation.

"I knew it."

Yan Zhen stared at Li Chen for a few seconds.

Li Chen remained calm.

He did not betray Yan Xi.

But there's no need to pretend you don't know.

Seeing his expression only made Yan Zhen angrier and happier.

"Are you two on the same side now?"

Li Chen thought for a moment. "Most of the time."

Yan Zhen: "And on a small scale?"

"She has the final say."

Yan Zhen paused, his hand holding the teacup still.

Li Chen felt that this answer was safe.

It's also very realistic.

Yan Zhen stared at him for a long time before finally putting down his teacup.

"Promising."

Li Chen lowered his head and drank his tea.

This doesn't sound like an insult.

It's like an old father who's given up on arguing.

Yan Zhen picked up his phone.

Li Chen thought he was going to send a message to Yan Xi.

Yan Zhen glanced at it and then put it away.

"never mind."

Li Chen looked up.

Yan Zhen remained expressionless. "Let her hide if she wants."

That's what they say.

But Yan Zhen tapped his fingers twice on the table.

Li Chen was very familiar with this movement.

I wanted to shout, but I was too proud to do so.

He had seen a similar version in Li Mohan.

Li Chen picked up his phone and sent a message to Yan Xi.

Your dad knows you're downstairs.

Yan Xi replied quickly.

【Um. 】

Li Chen almost burst out laughing when he saw the "hmm".

really.

She wasn't surprised at all.

Yan Zhen looked at him. "What did she say?"

Li Chen relayed the information truthfully. "She said 'yes'."

Yan Zhen: "..."

The conversation between the father and daughter was so suffocating that he could almost choke on it.

Yan Zhen was silent for two seconds. "Let her come up."

Li Chen raised an eyebrow.

Yan Zhen added coldly, "I didn't call it."

Li Chen nodded. "Understood."

He looked down and typed.

"Want to come up?"

Yan Xi: [Did he let me have that?]

Li Chen looked up at Yan Zhen.

Yan Zhen picked up his teacup, pretending not to see it.

Li Chen replied.

I guess he was thinking...

Yan Xi: [Three minutes.]

Li Chen put away his phone.

"Three minutes."

Yan Zhen snorted. "She's certainly punctual."

Li Chen did not answer.

In situations like this, you can't take sides and complain.

Less than three minutes later, the door to the private room was pushed open.

Yan Xi walked in, still wearing her coat, clearly having been sitting downstairs waiting.

She glanced at the dishes on the table, then at the soup bowl.

"You drank too much soup."

Yan Zhen's face stiffened.

Li Chen lowered his head, and his shoulder twitched slightly.

Yan Xi's gaze fell on him. "You drank it too."

Li Chen immediately sat up straight. "I didn't drink anything afterwards."

Yan Xi walked over and sat down next to him, placing her bag on the back of the chair.

Yan Zhen looked at her, his tone not very friendly. "Didn't I say I didn't need you to come with me?"

Yan Xi calmly replied, "I'm not with you, I'm downstairs."

Is there a difference between downstairs and here?

"There is a floor slab."

Li Chen almost couldn't hold back.

Yan Zhen was speechless for a long time after being choked up.

The father and daughter looked at each other.

Li Chen sat in the middle-right position, feeling like a cushion.

Yan Xi picked up her clean chopsticks and took a small amount of food.

"Have you finished talking?"

Yan Zhen: "More or less."

"What are you going to talk about?"

Yan Zhen remained silent.

Li Chen continued, "Let's talk about your recent eating and sleeping habits, your seasickness during winter break, cooking fish at my house, and my projects."

Yan Xi looked at him.

Li Chen was very calm.

He didn't embellish or omit the key points.

Yan Xi's gaze relaxed a little.

Yan Zhen looked at her. "Let me ask what's wrong?"

Yan Xi paused for a moment as she picked up some food.

"Nothing much."

She spoke very calmly.

But Li Chen understood.

It's not that she doesn't want Yan Zhen to ask.

She was just a little unaccustomed to Yan Zhen caring for her in this way.

Yan Zhen clearly understood as well.

His fingers tightened around the cup for a moment, then loosened.

"If you won't tell me, I'll have to ask him."

Yan Xi didn't look up. "You can ask me."

Yan Zhen remained silent.

These words fell softly in the private room.

But Li Chen knew how heavy it was.

Yan Zhen took a long time to speak before finally asking, "If I ask you, will you answer?"

Yan Xi put down her chopsticks.

"It depends on how you ask."

Yan Zhen frowned. "Does asking if you've eaten require a specific way of doing it?"

Yan Xi looked at him. "When you asked before, it was an interrogation."

Yan Zhen paused.

Li Chen quietly picked up the teapot and poured tea for the three of them.

He didn't interrupt.

This is not his place.

But he has to stay here.

Yan Xi continued, "You asked me why I'm not eating, why I'm staying up late, and why I'm always disobedient."

Yan Zhen's lips moved slightly, but he didn't say anything.

Yan Xi's voice was steady. "I know you're worried. But what I'm hearing is accusation."

Yan Zhen lowered his eyes.

The only sound in the private room was the sound of tea being poured into a cup.

Li Chen pushed the teacup towards Yan Xi's side.

Yan Xi didn't look at him, but her finger touched the side of the cup.

The water temperature is just right.

Yan Zhen suddenly said, "Then I'll change it from now on."

Li Chen paused for a moment while pouring tea.

Yan Xi also raised her head.

Yan Zhen's face was very hard, as if he had been forced to say those words.

"When they ask if you've eaten, they only ask if you've eaten."

Yan Xi looked at him.

"I'll only ask if you're tired."

Yan Zhen lowered his voice.

"Don't add the rest."

Yan Xi did not speak immediately.

Li Chen looked down at the tea noodles.

He suddenly felt a little glad that he had come tonight.

Without this meal, Yan Zhen would probably still be stubborn.

Yan Xi wouldn't say those words out loud.

Some knots between father and daughter cannot be untied by a single conversation.

But being able to say it is already a step forward.

Yan Xi picked up her teacup and took a sip.

"Um."

There is only one word.

Yan Zhen seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

He picked up his chopsticks again. "The food's cold."

Yan Xi glanced at the table. "I don't like this dish."

Yan Zhen frowned immediately. "You ate this when you were little."

Yan Xi: "I'm not eating now."

Yan Zhen looked at Li Chen.

Li Chen instantly realized that he had been called out.

"She doesn't really eat this much anymore," Li Chen said. "She prefers lighter flavors; if it's too oily, she'll eat more slowly."

Yan Zhen looked at the dish, his expression becoming complicated again.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Yan Xi: "You didn't ask."

Yan Zhen: "..."

Li Chen quickly picked up some of the food from the side and put it into Yan Xi's bowl.

Yan Xi lowered her head and ate.

Yan Zhen's expression became even more complicated upon seeing this scene.