Extra 1.1

They hugged when they should hug, and kissed when they should kiss. After the alcohol faded away, Bai Duanduan remembered that she had cried and made a scene earlier, feeling a bit embarrassed. She jumped out of Ji Lin’s embrace and pretended to tidy her hair.

Ji Lin felt like laughing, but he thought better of it, afraid that Bai Duanduan would get angry and punch him. He pinched Bai Duanduan’s cheek and said, “Alright, girlfriend, I won’t work overtime tonight. I’ll go home with you.”

However, his suggestion was immediately rejected by Bai Duanduan, who said, “No, that won’t do.”

Ji Lin was stunned and asked, “Then where should we go? Do you want to buy something before going home?”

Bai Duanduan pretended to be tough and glared at Ji Lin, pouting. “I said I won’t buy anything!” She paused, looked at Ji Lin, and said, “Actually… I was originally at a gathering with friends. I saw your livestream halfway through and ran out. I haven’t had a chance to say hello to them. Since you’re not working overtime tonight, why don’t you come with me to meet my friends? I haven’t had the opportunity to introduce you to them yet.”

Although Bai Duanduan and Ji Lin’s relationship was not intentionally concealed by Sheng Lin, most of the time Sheng Lin’s lawyer was busy with work and life, and had no desire to gossip about their relationship. As a result, the news of Bai Duanduan and Ji Lin being together did not spread widely, and Duan Yun and Xue Wen had no knowledge of it from other sources.

Unfortunately, Ji Lin seemed somewhat uneasy about Bai Duanduan’s enthusiasm. He coughed and said, “Can we not go?”

Was he feeling shy?

Bai Duanduan was somewhat surprised, but then she persuaded him, saying, “It’s just my two good friends, Duan Yun and Xue Wen. You should have had some interaction with them at work before. There’s nothing to be shy about.”

Ji Lin remained silent for a moment before saying, “I just remembered that there are some work matters I haven’t finished. I should go back first…”

“No,” Bai Duanduan stared at Ji Lin. “You’re not working overtime tonight.”

Ji Lin pursed his lips and didn’t say anything more. Although he implicitly agreed to accompany Bai Duanduan to meet her friends, his mood was clearly not high, and his face didn’t show much excitement. Instead, he seemed to be in a state of readiness.

Bai Duanduan walked arm in arm with Ji Lin for a while and whispered, “Do you not want to meet my friends?”

Even though he didn’t have to work overtime tonight, he didn’t accompany her to meet her friends, not even if he came secretly to buy her a gift. Ji Lin really didn’t want to meet them after all.

“Do you find it boring to attend this kind of gathering with girls?” Bai Duanduan blinked her eyes. “It can be a bit boring, but it won’t last too late tonight. Xue Wen and Duan Yun both have to get up early tomorrow. I just want to introduce you to them, to let my friends know you…”

“No,” Ji Lin interrupted, pausing before speaking. “It’s not that I don’t want to meet your friends, and I don’t think girls’ gatherings are boring. I’m happy that you want to introduce me to your friends. It’s just…”

Ji Lin felt uncomfortable and looked away. “I’m not very likable.”

Bai Duanduan frowned and looked at Ji Lin.

“I’m not the type of person who can liven up the atmosphere, and your friends, Duan Yun and Xue Wen, probably don’t like me,” Ji Lin’s voice was dry, and he seemed uneasy. “I might have been quite annoying when we worked together before.”

So Ji Lin is aware of this? When we were at odds at work before, just one word from him or standing there in a suit made me want to hit him…

But…

….

But… Bai Duan Duan paused for a second, then quickly realized, “So you’ve been refusing to accompany me to my best friend’s gathering all this time because of this?”

“Yes,” Ji Lin nodded, “I’m afraid your friends won’t like me.”

Bai Duan Duan couldn’t help but laugh for a moment. “Ji Lin, are you silly? What does it matter if they like you or not? Isn’t it enough that I like you? You don’t need to care about other people’s opinions. You’re great, really great, and I like you a lot. That’s all that matters.”

“I’ve never cared about other people’s opinions,” Ji Lin paused, then looked at Bai Duan Duan. “But if they are your friends, I still hope they can like me. I don’t want to make things difficult for you or make you feel disappointed or awkward. I don’t want to put you in a difficult position.”

“But if it’s Duan Yun and Xue Wen, both of whom I have worked with before, I think it might be difficult for them to like me.” Ji Lin averted his gaze. “So I have been torn between wanting to meet your friends, let them all know that I am your boyfriend, and not wanting to meet them because I’m afraid they will doubt their perception of you or dislike me and create distance between us…”

What silly thoughts these are!

Bai Duan Duan’s heart felt a bit sour in an instant. “Silly.”

This foolish man is really overthinking things.

******

Although Bai Duan Duan repeatedly assured Ji Lin that her two friends would definitely like him, Ji Lin still felt a slight nervousness before pushing open the door to the “Wine Spot Half” private room. His expression was serious and stern, not at all like someone going to attend his girlfriend’s gathering with her best friends, but rather like someone about to charge into a courtroom for a fierce battle…

In order to win the favor of Bai Duan Duan’s two friends, Ji Lin even insisted on turning back and buying two expensive “gifts” from a luxury goods counter before coming. No matter how Bai Duan Duan tried to stop him, she couldn’t prevent him.

At the entrance of the private room, Bai Duan Duan’s phone suddenly rang. She glanced at it and told Ji Lin, “Wait for me at the door, a client is calling me. I’ll make a quick call and come over to join you.”

So Bai Duan Duan temporarily answered the phone and left, leaving Ji Lin standing at the entrance of the private room.

He tightly pursed his lips and mentally prepared himself to be scrutinized and even looked down upon by Duan Yun. He slightly regretted being too cold towards Duan Yun in the past. Xue Wen was more amiable, but Duan Yun was fierce and not easy to deal with. As expected, just at the entrance of the private room, he already heard Duan Yun’s voice, but…

But the content was somewhat unexpected to him—

“Xue Wen, you know, I’m pretty good at cooking, and I know how to handle older ladies. I’m definitely obedient and won’t argue with them. I don’t need to buy so many things either. Although my temper can be explosive, I definitely won’t resort to violence, at most just some verbal scolding. Look, I’m much better than Ji Lin’s girlfriend. Plus, Ji Lin and I have actually known each other for quite a while. Isn’t that fate? If I try harder, is there a possibility that after Ji Lin and that girl break up, I can make Ji Lin mine?”

After Duan Yun’s confident voice, there was a whispering tone from Xue Wen: “But what if Ji Lin doesn’t break up?”

“No way, that girl is so fierce, spends money recklessly, and is so violent. Will Ji Lin continue to like her?”

“So, she truly loves him,” Xue Wen admired. “Just like how you didn’t initially recognize Ji Lin’s qualities, but that girl did and changed Ji Lin, turning him into such a good boyfriend. She put in the effort, so naturally, she gets to enjoy the results. There’s no problem with that. There’s a saying, ‘If you can’t accept his flaws, you don’t deserve his goodness.’ This girl, I must say, has exceptional insight, patience, and perseverance to make Ji Lin become this great.”

Xue Wen spoke gently, “Besides, I understand you. You only say these things on the surface. If you were actually with Ji Lin, your personalities wouldn’t be compatible at all. You would dislike each other. You’re just pretending to be a dragon in the water.”

Duan Yun, of course, was merely joking around. After hearing Xue Wen’s words, she laughed. “I never thought that Ji Lin would turn out to be a decent person. It suddenly makes me understand why I can’t find a partner. It’s because my standards are always too high. I wish the other person would already be a flawless masterpiece when they appear before me. But all men mature through gradual refinement, and everyone has flaws. Maybe the next time I go on a blind date, as long as there are no fundamental issues, I should give the person a chance to develop…”

Inside the private room, Duan Yun chuckled, “After this incident, I’ve come to understand that one should lower their expectations a bit. I don’t expect my future boyfriend to be as wealthy as Ji Lin, nor do I expect him to spend money on his girlfriend like Ji Lin does. I don’t need him to have the same business acumen as Ji Lin either. I just need him to look somewhat similar to Ji Lin and have a similarly perky butt…”

“…”

Just as she praised Ji Lin’s perky butt, Bai Duan Duan, who had just finished her call and was unaware of the conversation, returned to the entrance of the private room. Then, in her carefree manner, she pushed open the door with Ji Lin in tow.

“Hey everyone, I’m back!”

Duan Yun raised an eyebrow, about to scold Bai Duan Duan for mysteriously disappearing, but then she saw Ji Lin behind Bai Duan Duan.

Duan Yun: “…”

Duan Yun felt a bit awkward. She chuckled awkwardly and momentarily forgot to ask why Ji Lin appeared. She tentatively said, “Did you hear what I just said? No, right?”

They definitely didn’t hear it, Duan Yun thought. Ji Lin doesn’t seem to have very good hearing…

But just as she finished that thought, she saw Ji Lin look at her expressionlessly, and then he spoke, “I heard it. Thank you for your compliments. I never realized my butt was so perky before.”

“…”

Duan Yun was used to bantering, and Bai Duan Duan wasn’t surprised by her style. But after hearing Ji Lin’s words, Bai Duan Duan couldn’t help but glance at Ji Lin’s butt. It was indeed perky… She randomly thought to herself that Duan Yun was truly her friend. They had such consistent preferences when it came to men. Didn’t she also have her gaze drawn to Ji Lin’s butt in the past? It seems that friendship has its own mysterious arrangements…

Unfortunately, just as Bai Duan Duan took a glance, Ji Lin caught her and gave her a warning glare.

So Bai Duan Duan had to cough, then put on a self-righteous expression.

Duan Yun hurriedly changed the topic and spoke obsequiously to Ji Lin, saying, “Lawyer Ji, what a coincidence! I just saw you on the live stream, and now I meet you in person so quickly. My apologies for the rudeness. But… Weren’t you just buying a gift for your girlfriend? Why are you here with us now? Are you here for Bai Duanduan? Did something come up that you need to bring her to work overtime?”

Bai Duan Duan scoffed, “As someone with such high work efficiency and no spendthrift boyfriend, why would I need to work overtime?”

Duan Yun’s attitude became more casual when dealing with Bai Duan Duan. “Come on, Duan Duan, you may not have a spendthrift boyfriend, but you’re a spendthrift yourself. By the way, I haven’t asked you yet. Where did you disappear to just now? You vanished without saying a word…”

“I went to find my boyfriend.”

Duan Yun was a bit confused. “Oh…”