Chen Shi said, "There is another person. Yan Qilin's best friend Xiao Ran. How much do you know about this girl?"

"Xiao Ran and I have close ties with each other[1]. We aren’t relatives. Her father and my father are colleagues. But she’s from a divorced family. We went to the same elementary and junior high as well. We both envy each other. I envied the relaxed parenting she received and she envied my having a complete family..." Zhang Jinlei smiled bitterly. "Thinking carefully about it, we both came from unhappy families!"

Chen Shi had not expected him to have this kind of relationship with Xiao Ran. He continued to ask, "Yan Qilin's diary mentioned that both of them fell in love with you at the same time, but Xiao Ran backed out of her own volition. Was this the case?"

"Hmm!" Zhang Jinlei looked calm. "Actually,...