Two Hermès Fall/Winter new arrivals—Zhao Xiyin had seen them in a magazine; one was close to six figures. She pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, her gaze fixed on Ding Yahe: "Who bought these?"
Ding Yahe stammered, her eyes darting around, "Why are you asking so many questions? Just memorize it, that's all."
After a pause, Zhao Xiyin said calmly, "Meng Weixi, isn't that right?"
Ding Yahe stammered, but couldn't withstand Meng Weixi's sharp gaze and disliked her arrogant questioning attitude, so she preemptively retorted: "She's so kind, why are you putting on airs! Don't you even look at your own situation? You have no job and you're divorced. Meng Weixi, with such good qualities, is willing to rekindle your relationship? Are you out of your mind?"
Zhao Xiyin slammed her hand on the table and retorted, "So what if I'm divorced? Does being divorced make me a sinner deserving of death?!"
"You dare to slam your fist on the table? I bet you're still hung up on Zhou Qishen!" Ding Yahe scolded. "I've never liked him. I don't know what got into you back then, marrying him in a flash. Did he give you a single penny? Did he give you any alimony? You idiot, you didn't get a single penny."
Zhao Xiyin was furious. "What do you know? You're talking nonsense!"
“I’ve seen your divorce agreement. You’re leaving with nothing.” Ding Yahe brought the topic back to Zhao Wenchun. “How did he raise his daughter? She’s become a blockhead.”
Zhao Xiyin stood up and left, saying, "I can't explain this to you!"
Ding Yahe called her for a long time, "Take all your things away."
"You can keep what you took yourself!" Zhao Xiyin said angrily as she turned away. "I'm a divorced woman, I don't deserve it! And I don't care how much money you took from Meng Weixi, don't drag me into it. You'd be better off worrying about your precious little daughter than me!"
Ding Yahe's blood pressure also spiked. "What does this have to do with Guan Nirui? As her older sister, you should treat her well."
"I'm not nice to her at all. You should buy her a few more bags so she won't be swindled away by a few LV bags."
Ding Yahe glared and gritted her teeth: "Zhao Xiyin!!"
Zhao Xiyin was so angry she felt dizzy. She turned to the roadside to wait for a bus, but all the buses were full. She was so disoriented and furious that she didn't even notice a bus parked in front of her. It wasn't until the window rolled down and Old Cheng leaned out that she heard, "Hey, Xiao Zhao."
Zhao Xiyin paused for a moment, then composed herself and politely greeted, "Brother Cheng."
A clever head popped out from the passenger seat, and Zhao Zhao smiled brightly, "Sister Xiao Xi!"
Zhao Zhao was so enthusiastic that she didn't care about the danger of the curb and got out of the car to walk around it. She grabbed Zhao Zhao's hand and said happily, "Sister Xiao Xi, I haven't seen you in so long! Where are you going? Will you have dinner with me tonight?"
Zhao Xiyin smiled but did not respond.
Looking at the medicine in her hand, Lao Cheng said knowingly, "It's for Brother Zhou, isn't it? He mentioned it a long time ago."
"That's perfect," Zhao Xiyin stepped forward. "Brother Cheng, then I won't make a special trip. Could you please give this to him?"
Old Cheng smiled and said, "I won't do it for you. You should tell him the proper way to eat, drink, and the dosage in person."
Zhao Xiyin stood there awkwardly.
Zhao Zhao snapped back, "Who do you think you are? You're always taking Zhou Ge'er's side. We don't like you anymore." Then she turned to Zhao Xiyin and said, "Sister Xiaoxi, don't listen to him. Actually, I wanted to invite you to try the fruit tea I made."
The young couple worked together seamlessly, playing both the good cop and the bad cop, both just trying to get Zhao Xiyin into the car.
This is something Zhao Xiyin only realized after getting on the bus.
Her mind was in complete turmoil; she must have been driven mad by Ding Yahe.
The "iron triangle" of them would get together almost every week, sometimes at a bar, sometimes at a club to play cards, and most of the time they would just hang out at Lao Cheng's teahouse. When they arrived, Zhou Qishen had taken off his coat and was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, looking quite dashing as he played cards with Gu Heping.
Old Cheng leaned over for a look, "Damn, aren't you two childish? You can spend an entire afternoon just comparing sizes?" He then whispered in Zhou Qishen's ear with a half-smile, "Don't be childish, it'll ruin your image. Look who's here?"
Zhou Qishen had his back to the door. When he heard this, he turned around and saw Zhao Xiyin standing there listlessly, carrying a bag of medicine.
"Don't say I didn't help you, buddy," Lao Cheng said.
"Alright, you're the number one hero." Zhou Qishen's eyes even smirked.
Zhao Xiyin handed him the medicine, saying, "Take it on time."
Zhou Qishen took it. "Okay. I'm sorry, I've been so busy these past few days that I forgot about it."
Gu Heping chimed in with a cheeky grin, "That's right, he's been at the card table for two days straight, he's been really busy."
Zhou Qishen gave him a warning look, "I have no grudge against you, do I?"
Gu Heping raised his hands in surrender, "OK, OK, Xiao west, he didn't play cards, he's been doing math problems here with Lao Cheng every day."
As their conversation grew increasingly absurd, Zhao Zhao pulled Zhao Xiyin away, saying, "Ignore them, Sister Xiao west, come sit here and wait for me a bit. I'll go make some tea."
Zhao Xiyin nodded, her weariness evident, and sat down on the sofa without saying a word.
Old Cheng pulled up a chair and leaned closer, putting his arm around Zhou Qishen's shoulder. "It's alright, Zhaozhao can keep her. We'll have another chance to fawn over her when we eat together later. Be more reserved now. Look at you, your flirtatiousness is written all over your face. Don't go overboard. Let's play cards, Dou Dizhu."
Zhou Qishen didn't say anything, but turned around and glanced at Zhao Xiyin several times.
The girl was small and listless, sitting there looking at her phone.
Gu Heping brought over a plate of candy, and each of the "Iron Triangle" was given twenty candies as "betting capital." Then, the cards were shuffled and cut. "Brother Zhou is the landlord and plays first."
Over here, Zhao Xiyin looked at her phone. Ding Yahe had sent many messages, the screen filled with extreme words like "ungrateful," "you brat," "cold-blooded and heartless," and "selfish."
When Zhao Xiyin thought back to her childhood, she could only walk away silently whenever her friends talked about their mothers.
Thinking back to my first period during puberty, when I soiled the sheets and blankets, I felt lost, helpless, and panicked, with no one to talk to.
Thinking back to how Ding Yahe had favored and protected her and Ni Rui time and time again, she felt a pang of guilt.
I must be too tired today, that's why I'm holding onto these emotions.
Zhao Xiyin stared at her phone screen, motionless, her eyes bulging, until slowly, she could no longer see a single word.
Until a warm hand suddenly covered the back of her hand.