Xu Yi returned home dejectedly, only to find that He Xiaojing had brought back a drunkard.
He Xiaojing emerged from the bedroom reeking of alcohol. Her face and neck were covered in messy lipstick and teeth marks. She held a wet towel in her hand, and her smile was awkward and stiff.
"You're back. My friend drank too much and then she gave up her apartment, so I brought her here to stay for one night. Don't worry, I'll take her to find a place tomorrow. She's sleeping well and won't disturb you."
Xu Yi glanced at her neck but didn't comment on her "well-behaved" behavior.
"It's alright." Xu Yi's mind was in complete turmoil, and she didn't care about anything else. As usual, she went back to her room with a blank expression.
She lay on the bed, her hands behind her head, looking up at the ceiling, her mind still replaying the words Miss Gu had spoken from inside the door.
He Xiaojing knocked on the door, but Xu Yi didn't move. She just said, "It's unlocked, please come in."
"Xu Yi, are you angry?" He Xiaojing asked cautiously. She hadn't discussed it with her roommate, as bringing someone back without permission was disrespectful. However, she was also worried about her friend being out alone after drinking too much.
Xu Yi always paid attention to etiquette, but this was the first time she had spoken to someone while lying down.
"I'm not angry. I just went to see my fiancée." Xu Yi told her what had happened.
He Xiaojing didn't know that she could pass through walls, let alone that she could draw out divine senses. In the scenario she imagined, Xu Yi's fiancée found out about the marriage through some means, and then when Xu Yi came to find her, she deliberately said these words to Xu Yi so that he would hear them and give up on her.
"Sigh, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Why don't you find someone else to like? Besides, what she said isn't wrong. These days, everyone advocates for freedom of love; who still adheres to the old-fashioned arranged marriage system?"
Xu Yi turned over, her back to He Xiaojing, her whole body radiating unhappiness, just like a child throwing a tantrum.
He Xiaojing scratched her head and felt an itch on her neck. She reached up and touched it, only to find that she had somehow gotten some lipstick on her neck. Her face darkened, and she quickly ran into the bathroom, looking at her miserable state.
Was I just chatting with my roommate with this makeup on? Oh my god... help!
When she came out after washing up, she saw that Xu Yi was still doing the same thing as before. The room was not lit, and only a little light came from the living room, making the bedroom look dark and gloomy, which made her feel depressed.
He Xiaojing pulled up a chair and sat down, intending to give her roommate some advice.
"Actually, there are other ways. It's a bit too early for you to be sad now."
As soon as He Xiaojing spoke, she caught Xu Yi's attention. Xu Yi sat up, straightened her posture, and turned on the lights in the room.
"What method?" she asked He Xiaojing impatiently.
He Xiaojing was amused by her impatient manner. "It's simple. If you really like her, you should let her get to know you and make her like you. Wouldn't that make you together?"
"Like?" Xu Yi's brows, which had just relaxed slightly, furrowed even more deeply. She had practiced swordsmanship since childhood, cultivating the ruthless path; what did it feel like to like someone?
He Xiaojing nodded. "That's right. If you two are truly in love, isn't marriage just a matter of time?"
"Mutual affection." The idea of mutual affection that she had mentioned understanding flashed through Xu Yi's mind, and her ears quickly turned red. She then pressed He Xiaojing for an answer, "Then what should I do?"
"I've never been in a relationship either, so I can only give you some advice."
"Get to know her first, then become friends! In your situation, you must start as friends. But you can't be her real friend."
"Why?"
"Because your real goal is to make her like you. So, from the very beginning, you need to differentiate yourself from her other friends. You need to care for her, look after her, understand her, learn to protect her, and also rely on her appropriately, so that she also learns to rely on you, turning you from two strangers into the two closest people in the world."
Upon hearing her words, Xu Yi lingered the word "intimate" on the tip of her tongue, repeating it silently several times until her face flushed before she pursed her lips and hid the joy in her eyes.
He Xiaojing was unaware of her subtle actions. She continued, "Pursuing someone is like seeing a doctor. You have to find the right medicine and use the right methods."
Xu Yi noted down her words, lost in thought.
"Once you've finished the previous steps, you need to move on to the next step: winning her heart and making her genuinely like you."
"Then comes the fourth step, at which point you can..."
Xu Yi spoke first: "Can we get married now?"
Looking at the joyful expression on her face, He Xiaojing realized it was the first time she had seen such a straightforward expression of emotion on that usually cold face. He Xiaojing couldn't bear to criticize her for being so impatient.
"No. What I just talked about were the four steps before starting a relationship. Now I'm going to talk about the most crucial thing—confessing your feelings!"
"If she accepts you, you can start dating and become a serious girlfriend!"
"After you officially start dating, you will need to go through four stages of the relationship: passionate love, intimacy, attachment, and adjustment. After you have passed the test of adjustment, you can find the right time to propose."
Xu Yi's eyes were filled with doubt and shock. There were so many stages before getting married. A cultivator only has eight stages from Qi Refining to Tribulation Transcending. But getting married to Miss Gu required nine steps!
No wonder the elders say that one doesn't feel the hardship of half a lifetime of cultivation, but finds it hard to miss love once one enters the sea of love.
It's really difficult!
Seeing that her spirits had weakened, He Xiaojing sighed softly, patted her shoulder to encourage her, "Don't be afraid. You can't rush things when it comes to love. Take your time and you'll eventually win the heart of your sweetheart."
"Hmm." After seeing He Xiaojing off, Xu Yi lay back down on the bed and thought for a long time.
She wrote down all the steps He Xiaojing had told her and rehearsed them in her mind many times until it was broad daylight. Then she received a call from Zhang Ya and realized that it was already the next day.
Zhang Ya invited her to go shopping.
When Xu Yi arrived at the destination, Zhang Ya took her to buy clothes.
While choosing clothes, Xu Yi asked her, "We were selected, don't we get team uniforms?"
“What girl would complain about having too many clothes?” Zhang Ya was happy today because she would be able to stay in the same place as Xu Yi for the next month or so.
The store Zhang Ya brought her to was not cheap at all; even a casual piece of clothing cost four figures.
Xu Yi glanced at the price tag and said bluntly, "I can't afford any of the clothes here."
It was Saturday, and there were many people around. When Xu Yi said this, it attracted the attention of the people next to her.
Zhang Ya looked at the sales assistant introducing clothes to her, her heart surging with excitement. She had brought enough money with her today. Could she save the day like in an idol drama, showing off and slapping someone in the face?
The two students next to him smiled and said, "It's okay, if you can't afford it, just look. We come here to play all the time."
Then the sales assistant, who had maintained a standard smile, spoke up. Her smile deepened and her eyes narrowed, her tone still gentle, "It's okay, everyone who enters our store is our customer. It's fine if you don't buy anything."
Xu Yi nodded: "Thank you."
The two students were very enthusiastic. They squeezed past the sales assistant and Zhang Ya and led Xu Yi around the store.
I also told her that the clothes here are more difficult to clean, and she could come and take a look, but if she wanted to try them on, it would be best to exchange them for another batch, so as to save the store some trouble.
Zhang Ya followed dejectedly behind them, listening to the two female classmates flanking Xu Yi and explaining things to her, eventually leading Xu Yi to another store. Not only did the pretty girl fail to save the pretty girl, she also missed her chance to flaunt her wealth.
Around noon, the two female students reluctantly said goodbye to Xu Yi.
"Can we take a picture with you?" The two were reluctant to leave, holding their phones and asking her expectantly.
Xu Yi may seem cold, but that's just a side effect of her long-term practice of the ruthless sword path. Deep down, she actually quite enjoys listening to them talk, and when they made the request, she agreed.
The two took a photo together individually, and then the three of them took a group photo together.
As they were leaving, the two girls turned back and gave Xu Yi a thumbs-up, "Xu Yi! Go for it! We're waiting for your debut night!"
After she left, Zhang Ya realized what had happened and said to Xu Yi with a smile, "So you were recognized by your little fan. No wonder I ran into two such enthusiastic girls."
Xu Yi's face softened a bit. She thought she smiled, but as she passed the clean glass window, she glanced at it and saw that same perpetually icy expression.
Xu Yi felt somewhat frustrated. She had read Gu Xiaojie's early works recommended by Zhang Ya'an. Gu Xiaojie had once praised a teammate on a TV show, saying that the teammate had a particularly warm smile.
Putting aside her frustration, Xu Yi turned to Zhang Ya and asked, "Where do we go next?"
Zhang Ya looked even more upset than her. Their planned trip together, meant to deepen their relationship, had turned into something else entirely, leaving her as an outsider.
She had lost interest in shopping. Xu Yi and the two girls had tried out quite a few things while shopping, and Zhang Ya had secretly bought them all after noticing them. She also liked some of them, so she bought two of each.
"We've bought everything we needed, and a whole bunch of things we didn't need. Shall we go eat?"
Zhang Ya found a private restaurant with a high degree of privacy and introduced it to her, saying, "The owner here is a friend of my dad's. I used to come here to play a lot when I was a kid. I'm bringing you here to try it today. The food here is especially delicious, I'm sure you'll like it."
Taking advantage of her good relationship with the boss, Zhang Ya ordered many delicious dishes that reminded her of her childhood.
"I'm going to the restroom."
After Zhang Ya left, Xu Yi had nothing to do, so she subconsciously used her divine sense to investigate the small restaurant. This was a habit of hers all along. No matter when, as long as she arrived in a new and unfamiliar place, she would check the situation first.
As soon as his divine sense was activated, he saw two people in the small private room next door.
"Miss Gu." Separated by a wall, Xu Yi watched as Fan Weiwei and Miss Gu began to argue.
The four mentors of Star Idol had arranged to have dinner here, but Yuan Beidu had something come up and couldn't make it, and Xia Lan had just gone to the restroom.
When Gu Yueyue and Fan Weiwei were the only ones there, Fan Weiwei started to act inappropriately.
"Teacher Gu, there are no outsiders here now. Can you give me an answer to what I told you before?"
Fan Weiwei flashed a smile that she thought made her look very cool.
Gu Yueyue felt a chill run down her spine from the oil, but she patiently explained, "I'm sorry, I'm just promoting Zheng Wan according to the company's plan, and I have no intention of creating a CP (couple pairing)."
"Heh, Professor Gu, you're so funny." Fan Weiwei couldn't stop laughing. "Professor Gu, there are no outsiders here, don't be so formal. You can even accept women, why not cooperate with me to create some hype? Besides, when men and women fall in love, it's a win-win situation."
"What can you do with two women?" Fan Weiwei moved closer to her, her smile becoming increasingly lewd. "Teacher Gu, have you ever tried with a man?"
Chapter Seventeen
Gu Yueyue has been in the industry for so many years, she's seen all sorts of monsters and demons.
"Fan Weiwei, please show me some respect."
"Huh? Haha, OK, fine, no problem!" Fan Weiwei smiled and gestured to him, but the next second her expression changed. Her face darkened, and she suddenly stood up, using her height advantage to pressure Gu Yueyue. "Don't push your luck! We're all in the same circle, who doesn't know about each other's dirty secrets? Just because you've hidden them well doesn't mean you haven't done anything wrong, right?"
Gu Yueyue clenched her fists, not wanting to argue with him. She looked up at him, her gaze calm to the point of indifference.
Fan Weiwei felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze. His mind, which had been numbed by alcohol, gradually calmed down. He snorted and sat back down.
However, since the facade has already been torn off, there's no need to continue pretending to be respectful to one's seniors.
"What's with the swagger? Everyone in the industry knows you're in a tough spot. Sooner or later you'll be begging me for help."
Gu Yueyue picked up her bag and was about to leave when she heard him say this at the door. Gu Yueyue's expression changed slightly, but she sighed and said, "Fan Weiwei, I'd like to say the same thing to you."
As she was about to go downstairs, she ran into Xia Lan, who was returning from the restroom.
Xia Lan was afraid of leaving a bad impression on her idol, so she went to the restroom to touch up her makeup right after dinner. She lingered for a while before coming back, only to see her idol about to leave.
"Teacher Gu, are you leaving?"
Gu Yueyue nodded, said nothing more, and drove straight past her.
Xia Lan had her bag with her, and seeing that Gu Yueyue had already walked a few steps away, she quickly followed. She followed silently without daring to speak, and her eyes could tell that her idol was in a bad mood.
Xia Lan drove the three of them here, but now that they're leaving, she deliberately didn't mention that she was going to bring Fan Weiwei along, so as to create an opportunity for herself to be alone with her idol.