Jiang Mian had already opened her phone to search for nearby food.
When she heard this, she nodded and hummed in acknowledgment, then said coquettishly while scrolling through her screen, "You talk, I'm listening. What should we eat later? How about hot pot? Winter is meant for piping hot hot pot to be truly happy!"
The last sentence had taken all of Li ZhuYi's courage. Seeing Jiang Mian so happy, she lowered her gaze.
She'd wait a little longer. It wasn't too late to say it later.
"Let's have hot pot then, it's good."
"Okay!"
Jiang Mian booked a private room, and she and Li ZhuYi enjoyed a hearty meal.
After eating, Jiang Mian ordered two glasses of iced orange juice to soothe her mouth, which had turned red from the spice.
She stood up and handed a glass to Li ZhuYi, "ZhuYi, why do I feel like you ate very little today? Don't you like the taste of this place?"
Li ZhuYi forced a smile and, as if making a firm decision, said, "Sis, Xiang Long and I broke up."
Her tone was very calm, as if she were saying she had finished her meal.
Jiang Mian froze, putting down her cup. She found it hard to believe.
They had been fine just a short while ago, and had even met each other's parents.
How could they break up in the blink of an eye?
She turned her eyes, momentarily forgetting her spicy mouth.
Mist swirled from the hot pot, the spicy broth still bubbling, while the clear broth pot was nearly empty.
Through the hot pot, Jiang Mian couldn't quite make out Li ZhuYi's expression.
But Jiang Mian could sense that she was very sad.
Jiang Mian suddenly realized she had overlooked Li ZhuYi's emotions today. She felt a pang of guilt, mixed with shocked bewilderment.
She lowered her head and took a sip of orange juice, finally feeling less of a burn in her throat.
Then, clearing her throat, she asked, "Did he do anything to wrong you?"
Li ZhuYi's nose prickled, and she almost cried, her head bowed.
It felt so good, to have someone firmly on her side no matter what.
She held back her tears and said calmly, "No, he didn't wrong me. I wanted to break up. Sis, please don't ask, okay?"
Jiang Mian nodded, suddenly feeling a great deal of sympathy for her. "I won't ask. If you want to break up, you must have your reasons."
Li ZhuYi nodded vigorously. "Thank you, Sis. Thank you so much."
"Would you like me to give you a few days off, to rest?"
Li ZhuYi smiled and shook her head. "No need. Work keeps me going."
"Oh, and I don't want to see Xiang Long for a while."
Jiang Mian understood. "Don't worry, he's not with me lately. He was sent abroad yesterday."
Hearing that he had gone abroad, Li ZhuYi's eyes welled up. No wonder he hadn't waited for her downstairs last night. He had already left...
...
At the Goodnight Bar.
Jing YiYi had invited a few girlfriends out for a night of fun.
One of her girlfriends nudged her towards someone in the distance, "YiYi, look who that is?"
Jing YiYi squinted, following her gaze. She suddenly burst out laughing, "Isn't that Shen TingYu? I heard she's returned to China and entered the entertainment industry?"
A mischievous girlfriend winked at her, "Aren't you going to say hello?"
Jing YiYi gritted her teeth. "Of course I have to say hello. If it weren't for her, how could my thesis have been held up by the professor for so long!!"
It made her so angry just thinking about it. Her professor at her overseas university placed great importance on personal conduct.
Jing YiYi had no other hobbies than gathering with fellow Chinese expatriates every now and then for a party to alleviate her homesickness.
Then, by sheer coincidence, she was reported once. It wasn't a big deal, everyone had already left.
But Shen TingYu, unfortunately, revealed that the organizer was her, which caused her thesis to be held up by her professor for two months, forcing her to work like a slave in the lab for two months.
The more Jing YiYi thought about it, the angrier she became. She could have returned to China much earlier, but this incident delayed her for so long.
The thought of the hair she lost while revising her thesis made Jing YiYi furious.
She picked up her glass of red wine from the table and stood up, "Wait!"
With that, she gracefully walked behind Shen TingYu, a wicked smile playing on her lips. Looking at the glass of red wine in her hand, she poured it over Shen TingYu without hesitation!
The girls in the booth let out a collective whistle, "Yay, YiYi is amazing!"
Shen TingYu was waiting for someone when the red wine from the sky drenched her, chilling her to the bone.
She quickly stood up, and before she could even see who it was, she blurted out, "Are you sick?!" Upon seeing it was Jing YiYi, Shen TingYu sneered, "It's you!"
Jing YiYi crossed her arms. "Yes, I'm sick. What about it? Do you have medicine? Thanks to you, this young lady is finally back."
Shen TingYu took out two wet wipes to dry her hair, her expression mocking. "Is your thesis finished?"
Seeing that Shen TingYu dared to bring it up again, Jing YiYi flew into a rage. She had originally intended to apologize and say it was an accidental slip.
But now, there was no need.
"If it weren't for you, why would I have had to revise it for so long! Shen TingYu, as long as I, Jing YiYi, am around, I won't let you have an easy time."
Although she had wiped it off, her body still felt sticky, with an lingering smell of red wine. Shen TingYu frowned, too lazy to argue with this lunatic.
Hearing her words, she pushed Jing YiYi aside. "Fine, I'd like to see what else you can do."
With that, she picked up her bag and left.
Jing YiYi returned to her seat, and her girlfriends applauded in unison. "YiYi! Awesome! You have to deal with people like her so simply and crudely!"
Jing YiYi said proudly, "Low-key, low-key."
She wasn't going to mention that she was acting out of personal revenge.
After all, she had long disliked Shen TingYu posing as Ji Zhi Xiu's girlfriend overseas, even though they had broken up long ago.
Why pretend? Was being an ex-girlfriend that impressive?
...
As soon as Xiang Long returned to the country, he went to Li ZhuYi's apartment building.
He took out his phone and typed, "Can you come out and meet me? I'm waiting for you downstairs."
Li ZhuYi received the message, pulled back the curtain, and indeed saw a familiar figure under the tree downstairs.
She smiled bitterly. She shouldn't still be living here after breaking up.
But this man was so good to her that she couldn't refuse him. Perhaps it was because she couldn't bear to hurt him further that she hadn't moved out.
She let go of the curtain and turned around. "Mom, I'm going out."
Li's mother, who was knitting, nodded. "Is it Xiao Xiang looking for you? You should ask him up. Speaking of which, this is his house."
Li ZhuYi quickly changed her shoes and opened the door. "No, Mom, I'm going out to buy something."
She walked downstairs. The closer she got, the more she was afraid to look at him.
Xiang Long had already walked a few steps forward. He moved his lips. "Are you okay?"
Li ZhuYi lowered her head. "I'm fine. You just returned from abroad, right? Go back and rest well."
Xiang Long grabbed her hand. "You still care about me, so why did you break up with me?"
Li ZhuYi immediately flinched like a startled bird and pulled her hand away. "Don't touch me!"
Xiang Long was shocked. "You..."
Li ZhuYi took a few steps back. "I'm sorry, it was an instinct. You should go, I'm going upstairs."
Seeing her like this, Xiang Long was deeply pained.
"My mom said she's already found a place for us to get married, decorated in your favorite style, and the furniture is being chosen. She might call you, so I hope you won't say we've broken up for now. I'm afraid she won't be able to handle the shock."
Li ZhuYi lowered her head again, not daring to look at this man from beginning to end.
She could only let down his kindness, she didn't deserve it.
Her eyes couldn't help but feel sore. She blinked gently, letting the tears fall. In her heart, she silently prayed that this man wouldn't see them.
Her voice, however, involuntarily carried a hint of hoarseness. "I understand. Do you need anything else? If not, I'm going upstairs."
Saying that, she turned to leave.
Xiang Long grabbed her hand again. "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
Li ZhuYi's eyes were red, her expression flustered. She pleaded, "Please, let go, okay..."
Xiang Long slowly released her hand. "I'm sorry, I overstepped. You should go back."
Watching Li ZhuYi's retreating back, Xiang Long returned to Xiushui Mountain Villa in despair.
He didn't even know where he had gone wrong, yet he had been broken up with.
No, something had to be wrong!
They had been fine before, with no abnormalities.
Xiao Hei bumped his shoulder. "What's wrong, bro? Heartbroken?"
Xiang Long ignored him at first, then thought about it and turned his head. "Why would a girl suddenly stop talking to you and want to break up?"
Xiao Bai, passing by, scoffed, "You're asking him, a perpetually single dog?"
"Get lost, get lost," Xiao Hei rubbed his chin. "There's only one possibility."
"What possibility?" Xiang Long suddenly felt hopeful.
Xiao Hei said profoundly, "Love is a ray of light, so green it makes you panic."
"Get lost!"
Xiang Long punched him without hesitation.
Xiao Hei clutched his chest and cried dramatically, "Bro, that's not very loyal of you."
Seeing that Xiang Long was genuinely unmoved, Xiao Hei stopped teasing him. He stood up straight. "If you don't want to break up, then go beg her. Move her, maybe she's going through something and doesn't want to drag you down, that's why she's saying this."
Xiang Long's eyes lit up. "You're right, that makes sense."
Seeing Xiang Long come back to life, Xiao Hei looked at Xiao Bai in disbelief. "Is love really that great?"
"You're asking me? I don't do that, thanks for the invite."
"Get lost, who wants to do that with you!"
...
Ji Residence.
Ji Zhi Lan put on a beautiful makeup, changed into an exquisite outfit, and hummed a song as she went downstairs.
Ji's mother, who wasn't playing mahjong today, looked up when she heard the movement. "Going out? You're in such a good mood today?"
Ji Zhi Lan hummed softly, her face radiant.
"I've made plans with some friends. I've suddenly realized how free and happy I am as a single person."
Ji's mother: "Don't you want to find someone else?"
Ji Zhi Lan rolled her eyes. "Forget it, Mom. If I were to find someone, I'd look for someone like Xiang Long. Would you agree?"
"Whether I agree to Xiang Long is not the issue, it's your brother's business. He belongs to your brother."
"So I say, it's better to be single. If there are men, great, if not, so be it."
The thought that something she had wished for recently had finally come true made her mood excellent.
Ji Zhi Lan reached the entryway to change her shoes. "I'm leaving, Mom. I won't be back for dinner tonight."
"Who are you meeting?"
"I'm meeting Ting Yu."
"You, child, keep your distance from her!"
Ji Zhi Lan had heard this sentence so many times her ears were practically calloused. Without turning her head, she replied, "You've said that so many times. You just have a prejudice against her!"