Chapter 10: A Mere Glimpse Suffices to Command Seven Parts of Affection

She used to have boneless fish on her plate as well. The difference was, those boneless pieces were always peeled by Liang Youjia. Now, in front of him, there was fish on her plate that had been served by another man.

As she hesitated whether to take some, she overheard the conversation between Du Ruanruan and Liang Youjia.

“Ling Feng is so considerate to his girlfriend. A You, I want some too.”

Ji Lingfeng suddenly let out a chuckle. He pulled the grilled fish plate closer to himself, raising an eyebrow with a playful, half-teasing tone: “You can’t eat this. This is my grilled fish. Wait for the next plate.”

“Ah, Ji Lingfeng, you stingy little thing, are you asking for a beating?” Du Ruanruan complained.

Liang Youjia frowned. “We caught some too; we’ll make it up to you later.”

Ji Lingfeng smiled warmly. “You didn’t get it. This piece is only for Xiaoyu. You all just wait.”

Du Ruanruan snorted, accusing Ji Lingfeng of being unfaithful, “You’re blinded by affection. You really dote on Xiaoyu.”

Xianyu stared at the piece of fish on her plate, feeling like it was a hot potato. Although she didn’t understand why Ji Lingfeng was helping her, there was no doubt he had defended her dignity in front of everyone—especially in front of Du Ruanruan.

She tugged on Ji Lingfeng’s sleeve. The man leaned in, the sea breeze and his laughter filling her ear. “If you have something to say, why whisper? You’re making me feel awkward.”

Xianyu’s heart: …

This really draws attention.

“I meant, we can’t finish this whole piece ourselves, so why not share it?”

Xianyu’s cheeks flushed, mostly because Ji Lingfeng was teasing her.

“Xiaoyu is the best. Come on, A You, I want this piece!”

With Xianyu’s consent, Du Ruanruan clapped her hands, directing Liang Youjia.

Only then did Ji Lingfeng relent. “Alright, for Xiaoyu’s sake.”

Liang Youjia carefully served fish to Du Ruanruan, paying attention to each tiny bone. Meanwhile, Xianyu could only watch as Liang Youjia treated Du Ruanruan with such care.

Suddenly, a few more pieces of pristine white fish appeared on her plate—taken from the fish’s belly, rich and fragrant.

“No need to envy others; yours must come first.”

Du Ruanruan clicked her tongue, mocking the “sour smell of love.” “Ji Lingfeng, you’ve been single so long, is falling in love always this cheesy?”

Ji Lingfeng felt no shame; instead, he felt proud.

“Of course.”

Xianyu braced herself and finished the fish on her plate. As the subject of their conversation, she hadn’t dared to lift her head.

Liang Youjia and Du Ruanruan’s interactions didn’t avoid her or Ji Lingfeng.

Besides serving fish, he also wiped Du Ruanruan’s mouth—more attentively than he ever did for Xianyu.

Her jealousy over sharing Liang Youjia’s affection shifted into a different kind of bitterness.

It turned out the pampering was just a habit of his.

A resemblance of thirty percent was enough for him to spoil her endlessly.

Now that the rightful owner had returned, what chance did she have?

For the few hours they spent together from morning until afternoon, after finishing the fish, Du Ruanruan said she was feeling annoyed and wanted to return to the island.

Liang Youjia left with her.

Ji Lingfeng stayed by Xianyu’s side, caring and attentive. Even if a national first-class actor had come by, no one would have suspected he was pretending.

Once they were finally gone, Xianyu lost the will to keep up the act.

She slumped like a wilted sunflower, drained of energy, forcing a smile as she thanked Ji Lingfeng, “Thank you for just now.”

“No need to thank me. As a gentleman, I must never let a lady feel embarrassed.”

“Besides, I’m good friends with Youjia. I know how much he values Du Ruanruan.”