The restaurant was decorated in a romantic and elegant style.
Meng Xiyue was the epitome of elegance and aloofness.
Xia Yuan looked at Meng Xiyue across the table, who was eating with grace. She took a sip of red wine to moisten her throat, “Thank you for taking me to the hospital that day.”
“It was nothing.”
Perhaps it was because she had also drunk some wine, but the usually cold look in her eyes seemed to warm up a bit, and her voice lost its usual indifference, carrying a hint of gentle elegance.
Xia Yuan couldn’t help but glance at the corners of Meng Xiyue’s eyes, which were so red that it made her itch to touch.
She hadn’t expected that Meng Xiyue, who was usually so cold and almost rigid, could also show such charming femininity.
Xia Yuan, thinking she was being restrained in her glances, acted as if Meng Xiyue was unaware. She just wanted to quietly finish her meal and then go back.
“Anyway, thanks to you, I wasn’t hurt.” Thinking of this, Xia Yuan felt nothing but relief. If something had really happened, she might have resorted to violence.
Speaking of which, Xia Yuan felt a bit embarrassed. Every time she saw Meng Xiyue, she was always so stern and cold, yet Meng Xiyue was still willing to help her. At times, she felt quite ungrateful.
Her mouth felt inexplicably dry, so she casually picked up the red wine next to her and drank it a bit too quickly.
Meng Xiyue saw Xia Yuan pour another glass of wine. Her fair cheeks were flushed, and her curled eyelashes slightly covered her misty eyes.
With just one look, Meng Xiyue knew she was getting tipsy.
She put down her knife and fork, her voice clear and serene, “Drink less.”
Seeing Xia Yuan look over with a confused gaze, she added softly, “It’s not good for your health.”
Meng Xiyue had no desire to take a drunk home, especially without knowing how well she could handle her liquor.
Xia Yuan paused in pouring the wine, blinked, and obediently put the wine down.
Seeing her pick up her knife and fork again and start eating her steak in small bites, she subconsciously picked up her utensils too.
Perhaps it was because she drank too quickly, but her head felt fuzzy and her hands were soft. She struggled to cut the steak properly, making a mess of it.
Meng Xiyue watched as Xia Yuan butchered a corner of her steak. Seemingly stubborn, Xia Yuan gripped her knife and fork tighter. After a few moments, Meng Xiyue said, “Let me help you.”
Xia Yuan handed it over to Meng Xiyue under the other’s assertive actions.
Her fingers, holding the silver knife and fork, appeared slender and fair, with beautifully shaped joints, perfect like a piece of art.
Her slightly drooping eyelashes covered those indifferent eyes, and her slightly pursed lips made her look very serious and focused at the moment, making her porcelain-white face even more delicate and beautiful.
She was stunned for a few seconds.
“Let’s eat.”
Xia Yuan came back to her senses and looked at the neatly cut steak on the plate, each piece similar in size.
“……???”
However, seeing the other’s indifferent expression, she didn’t think much of it and ate a small piece.
She didn’t know if it was an illusion, but it tasted fresher and more tender than usual.
The more she ate, the more Xia Yuan felt puzzled.
Telling her not to drink too much, to take care of her health, and cutting steak for her, what exactly did Meng Xiyue mean by this?
Friends?
Xia Yuan believed that with her usual attitude so poor, the other party had no need to please her.
Then… what was the purpose of this wholehearted appearance for her?
The elegant and gentle sound of a violin interrupted Xia Yuan’s thoughts.
She instinctively looked towards the source of the sound.
Acquaintances…
Li Ting and Ding Yaoyao.
Ding Yaoyao was smiling with a face full of happiness and emotion, holding a large bouquet of roses, and the two were talking about something.
From her angle, she could see the tenderness on Li Ting’s usually cold and hard side face.
Once, she had seen this emotion in Li Ting, not directed at her, but at another woman. Now, this expression appeared again for another woman, one who was inferior to her in every aspect.
Watching the two embrace and kiss, Xia Yuan felt a surge of sadness, resentment, and unwillingness. She tried to stand up, leaning on the table. The back of her hand touched something cool, bringing back a bit of her sanity.
She looked at the hand resting on hers, pale and cold. Her fierce eyes met a pair of clear, ink-like eyes.
“Where are you going?”
“I want to go over there and ask, what status does Ding Yaoyao have to cling to Brother Li like that?” Xia Yuan’s voice was slightly raised, hidden among the violin sounds.
Meng Xiyue lowered her eyes, her fingers pressing hard, immobilizing the hand in her palm. Her voice was cold, “You’re using your status to question?” Her deep, ink-like eyes were calm. Xia Yuan’s anger dissipated instantly, replaced by endless grievance.
She forcefully pulled her hand away from Meng Xiyue’s grip, “Do you also think I’m inferior to Ding Yaoyao?”
After speaking, she picked up her bag and left with the sound of her high heels clicking, her departing figure straight yet aggrieved.
The commotion here was slightly loud, causing the two who were deeply kissing to stop.
Li Ting looked at Xia Yuan’s approaching figure, his eyes flashing with disgust.
It had always been like this; whenever he got close to any woman, Xia Yuan would come to question him. Acting like she was catching a cheater, Li Ting was utterly annoyed after so many years. Ding Yaoyao instinctively hugged Li Ting tighter, as he was already her boyfriend.
Li Ting sensed Ding Yaoyao’s reliance and wrapped his arm around her slender waist. Yesterday, after the disturbance caused by Xia Yuan at the party, Ding Yaoyao was determined to resign the next day.
Li Ting thought it over for a day and eventually, he seemed to have developed a liking for that stubborn woman, not just for her body. He immediately asked Ding Yaoyao out, then confessed his feelings. He thought it would be a passionate night, but it seemed it was going to be ruined again.
Thinking of this, Li Ting felt a surge of irritation in his chest. Xia Yuan was becoming more and more ungrateful.
Just as he was considering how to harshly deal with Xia Yuan, she walked away without even a glance at him.
Li Ting: “……”
Ding Yaoyao had been prepared. If Xia Yuan insulted her, she would proudly tell her that Li Ting was already with her, and their relationship was open and honest.
However, it seemed like she was completely ignored.
Li Ting, who was always the center of Xia Yuan’s world, felt a stifled anger. He comfortingly patted Ding Yaoyao’s back, his gaze then falling on Meng Xiyue, who was sitting alone.
Noticing the male lead’s gaze, Meng Xiyue looked up indifferently.
So indifferently, as if she was looking at an ordinary, insignificant passerby.
Li Ting sneered at Meng Xiyue, then looked away.
With a devilish smile.
For some reason, Meng Xiyue was reminded of the many descriptions of the male lead’s smile in the book.
In Meng Xiyue’s view, it was a weird and eerie smile.
However, it seemed she had once again annoyed the male lead.
Indeed, interacting with characters from the plot meant trouble.
Meng Xiyue wiped the corner of her mouth and stood up to leave.
Ding Yaoyao, watching Meng Xiyue’s retreating figure, hesitated to speak.
Li Ting, unable to bear Ding Yaoyao’s attention on Meng Xiyue, even if it was a woman, forcefully kissed her by pinching her chin.
*
As soon as Meng Xiyue left the restaurant, a cold wind hit her, and the fine rain under the lights was clearly visible.
It was raining.
Meng Xiyue was about to pick up her car when she saw Xia Yuan squatting alone to the side. Although getting close to Xia Yuan meant trouble, seeing her huddled there in the rain, getting soaked and possibly sick, Meng Xiyue felt she couldn’t explain this to Xia Ke if asked. She walked over. The sound of soft sobbing gradually became clearer. Meng Xiyue paused. This was not the first time Xia Yuan had cried in front of her. Meng Xiyue looked up at the dark sky, lowered her gaze, and took an umbrella out of her bag.
As Xia Yuan’s mood slowly stabilized, she ungracefully wiped her tears on her arm, looked up, and found herself enveloped in a shadow, with the drizzle stopping right in front of her. She looked up in a daze. A tall figure stood by her side, a pale hand holding a black umbrella, half of the figure exposed outside the umbrella, with fine droplets on half of the hair, while her entire body was covered by the umbrella, with only the wind coming in.
The wind picked up. A light, elegant fragrance lingered.
“Meng Xiyue,” her voice was a bit hoarse.
Meng Xiyue calmly lowered her gaze: “It’s late, we should head back.”
There was no comfort, as cold as ever. Yet, Xia Yuan felt inexplicably at ease.
She reached out her hand: “My legs are sore.”
She slightly lowered her gaze, her eyes calm like the clear moon, quietly looking at her, her gaze lingering on Xia Yuan’s slightly red, tear-stained eyes.
In the end, Meng Xiyue reached out her hand. At the same time, she confirmed that characters in the story, especially the wicked supporting females, were more troublesome than she had imagined.
