Cherry blossoms in the hands of lovers
A Smile as Springtime Strolls
Planted one by one
The radiant days of youth…
Ms. Xu's love for watching old idol dramas was finally exposed by Tmall Genie's betrayal.
"Hahahahaha..." Lin Shengmiao lay on the table, laughing so hard she couldn't straighten up.
Xu Xingyan covered her face, feeling embarrassed, and after holding it in for a while, she couldn't help but laugh, "What's going on..."
Even though the atmosphere was completely ruined, the two of them still laughed face to face for several minutes. Or rather, the atmosphere became even better. All the restraint, shyness, and bashfulness had vanished. The ten years of separation shrank into an instant in a chance, smiling eye contact, and even the slight awkwardness that, though unseen, was definitely there, completely disappeared in this unrestrained laughter.
But Tmall Genie probably felt that wasn't enough, because it then played songs like "Encounter," "Enough Love," "Ninety-Nine Times I Love Him," and "Brown Sugar Show"...
In the end, Lin Shengmiao truly understood what it meant to "laugh until your stomach hurts."
"Eat your food, eat your food," Miss Xu said sheepishly, picking up her chopsticks.
She felt that she was simply incompatible with "confessing her feelings at the dinner table" in her life, and was destined not to settle down in such a situation. Perhaps God was reminding her that confessing her feelings required careful planning and preparation, and that if she was careless and sloppy, she would suffer the consequences.
The consequence of this painful lesson is—
As Lin Shengmiao was happily preparing to leave, Miss Xu leaned out of the car window and said to her with a serious expression, "Next Saturday is my friend's wedding. You'll be coming with me. Um... let's make it a bit formal."
Lin Shengmiao: "..."
She looked at Xu Xingyan's eyes, which were filled with messages like "I will never admit defeat" and "This time doesn't count, but next time will be the next time"... as well as various suggestive glances.
That night, I tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, and spent the entire night looking at rings on my phone.
Author's Note:
I remember once, I accompanied a senior to return equipment. When we got back to the dormitory, she was surrounded by flowers and candles, and we were both completely dumbfounded.
The senior's confession was a great success, and he won her over on the same day.
But...
Every time I see that confession video, I think of that day. Everyone else was well-prepared and dressed up, while my senior and I were disheveled, with unwashed hair and no makeup.
I just... really want to roll my eyes.
Honestly, confessing your feelings is usually a final sprint after the emotions have reached a certain point, so it's better to give some hints first.
Chapter 24 Meng Yue and Tao Yu
January 1st, New Year's Day, Saturday.
At seven o'clock in the morning, Xu Xingyan, dressed neatly and appropriately, walked gracefully out of the elevator.
"I understand, thank you, Sister Ying. Can I come and get it now? I'm going to a wedding later and I'm worried I won't be back until tonight... Okay, thank you for your help."
In the driver's seat, Lin Shengmiao awkwardly rolled up the sleeves of his coat. "Is there something you need?"
Xu Xingyan hung up the phone, glanced at her, paused, and after a few seconds, praised her with a smile, "Your outfit today looks really good, it suits you very well."
Lin Shengmiao felt a sweet warmth in her heart, and her inexplicable nervousness dissipated somewhat.
"Let's not go to the church first. Let's go to the bookstore next to Encounter. The books I asked the owner to order have arrived. Let's go pick them up," Xu Xingyan said while fastening her seatbelt.
Inside the Diligent Bookstore.
Fan Ying opened the door for them while yawning, not even having time to put on her makeup. "It's only because of you. If it were anyone else, I would have punched them if they dared to make me get up half an hour earlier."
As he spoke, he took an old book with yellowed pages from the cabinet and handed it over.
"Look, is this right? As you said, it's the 1985 unrevised edition, long out of print. A friend of mine found it in an old bookstore. For this kind of professional book, keeping it in his hands is no different from keeping waste paper. Just pay the original price."
Xu Xingyan took it, flipped through a couple of pages, and then smiled and said, "This is definitely the one."
"That's good," Fan Ying smiled, then suddenly noticed Lin Shengmiao behind her. Her eyes narrowed, and her gaze shifted back and forth between the two of them, becoming somewhat subtle.
When paying the bill, Fan Ying asked casually, "When did Meng Guang take over Liang Hong's case?"
When did you two get together? Did the sun rise in the west and make me see things?
Xu Xingyan immediately understood, glanced back at the person, and then suppressed a laugh, saying, "My senior from high school, but... the revolution is not yet successful, comrades still need to work hard."
Fan Ying immediately gave her a look of disappointment and frustration.
Lin Shengmiao, who was silently watching from the sidelines: "..."
If you're going to whisper, at least do it discreetly away from the person in question! Do you think she's never read Dream of the Red Chamber?
...
The villa area next to Binhua Park.
When Xu Xingyan and her companion arrived, there were only two or three girls sitting inside who were not very familiar with them. Judging from their figures and manners, they were probably Meng Yue's colleagues in the dance troupe.
The other party warmly informed them that Meng Yue and Tao Yu were putting on makeup in a room in the villa.
Xu Xingyan thanked the other party and led Lin Shengmiao to the dressing room. As soon as she entered, she almost tripped over the long wedding dress. She looked at Meng Yue, who was checking her makeup, with lingering fear: "The train of your wedding dress is way too long."
Meng Yue put down the mirror and whispered, "Don't mention it. I just mentioned it casually, but Tao Yu took it seriously. When I tried on the wedding dress that day, oh my god, it was more tiring than running with weights. I had to find more flower girls to hold my hand."
Xu Xingyan got goosebumps from this tone that was ostensibly a complaint but actually a display of affection. Just as she was about to say something, she saw that the girl had an expression of having seen a savior.
"Quick, quick, you've come at the right time! I revised the lyrics last night, but I feel like they don't flow quite right. Could you polish them for me? We'll need them at the start of the wedding..."
While searching for a pen, Xu Xingyan complained, "You're really cramming at the last minute!"
"I'm so nervous!" Meng Yue took deep breaths, her voice trembling more and more. "I'm getting married! And you know what? Tao Yu's family came today!"
Xu Xingyan was taken aback, then suddenly tensed up, "Who...is it?"
She knew that ever since Tao Yu came out as gay, her family had cut off all contact with her. One year, when she was hospitalized with pneumonia and even received a critical condition notice, not a single person from her family came to visit. They practically treated her like they didn't have a daughter.
"She's my cousin. She studied abroad and only came back the year before last. She seems quite polite, but you know how her parents are... sigh... Anyway, I'm not going to embarrass her today!"
"By the way, where is Sister Tao Yu?" Xu Xingyan suddenly remembered and asked.
“In that room in the back,” Meng Yue replied quickly, then grabbed her wrist tightly and said, “Never mind all that for now, help me look at the script first!”
Just then, a slender hand reached out from nowhere and pressed on her shoulder. Meng Yue looked up and saw a beautiful woman smiling at her, her voice calm and polite, "Relax, you're using too much force."
Meng Yue then noticed that Xu Xingyan had gripped her wrist so tightly that it left a red mark. She quickly apologized and let go, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..."
Moreover, driven by her animalistic instincts, she apologized not to Xu Xingyan, but to this unfamiliar woman in front of her, as if she had just hurt the other woman's hand.
"……Who are you?"
Lin Shengmiao thought this bride was a really interesting person. Just like now, she was asking her a question, but her eyes were always on Xingyan. It was hard to understand her.
Sure enough, Xu Xingyan, who was being noticed by her gaze, quickly introduced, "This is Miaomiao, whom I told you about before. You know her, Lin Shengmiao."
Miss Xu seems to have a natural talent for coaxing people; this kind of introduction is incredibly pleasant. Lin Shengmiao lowered her head and chuckled, her expression becoming much gentler than before.
Meng Xinnian was also very helpful, and she said meaningfully as if she had just realized something, "Oh, you are the senior student that Xingyan often mentions! I've heard so much about you."
Lin Shengmiao shook hands with her and smiled politely, "Not at all, Yan Yan often talks about you."
"What did she say about me and Tao Yu?" Meng Yue asked sincerely.
"..." Lin Shengmiao was speechless at this unconventional move.
"Hahahahahahahaha..."
The group burst into laughter. Xu Xingyan fell into Lin Shengmiao's arms, all the pre-wedding anxiety vanished, and the air was filled with joy.
Their laughter disturbed the rooms next door.
Tao Jie was tasked by her cousin to come and check on her cousin's husband... her cousin's wife. But as soon as she entered the door, she saw her usually aloof junior sister gently rubbing the stomach of a pretty girl. She was immediately bewildered by this world where girls were getting so close to each other.
"Tao Jie?" Lin Shengmiao looked up and asked in surprise, "How come...you're that cousin?"
Tao Jie looked bewildered: "That's right, it's me."
...
The wedding venue was lavishly decorated with flowers and a red carpet. More than a dozen flower arches were piled up on the lawn, along with exquisite tables and chairs arranged in a staggered pattern. Pink and white balloons were everywhere, creating an extremely dreamy atmosphere.
Lin Shengmiao looked at Xu Xingyan, who was still deep in thought with a pen in the room, and then at Tao Jie, who was sitting next to her and hadn't come to her senses yet. She said with complicated thoughts, "We've known each other for so long, and we didn't even know you were a rich second-generation."
If she hadn't learned about Tao Yu's family background from Xu Xingyan, she would never have imagined that this guy who even had to join a group buy to buy face cream was actually quite wealthy.
“No, compared to your girlfriend, we’re just ordinary people,” Tao Jie retorted instinctively, then added, “The main thing is that you haven’t asked her either.”
Tao Jie was even more incredulous than her, "My God, I almost didn't recognize her! That's Xu Xingyan! How did you manage to win her over? That's amazing!"
It's worth noting that there have been rumors for years that Ms. Xu has even surpassed the Fang sisters in inheriting half of Mr. Fang's estate.
Lin Shengmiao touched the small box in his pocket, his eyebrows twitching. He didn't correct her on the term "girlfriend." Well... anyway, the difference between present tense and future tense isn't that big... right?
"Shengmiao, let me give you a heads-up!" Tao Jie patted Lin Shengmiao's shoulder and said heavily, "Your girlfriend has a really difficult cousin named Luo Jing. She's ruthless, so you have to be careful and don't mess with her!"
Lin Shengmiao: "..."
You're too late to say that. I've known Xingyan for as long as I've been antagonizing Luo Jing.
She asked, somewhat curiously, "Why?"
Tao Jie glanced at the RV and lowered her voice, saying, "It happened many years ago. I was just sixteen that year. My dad was transferred to work in Kyoto, and I spent some time with Luo Jing and the others. During summer vacation, Luo Jing was having a birthday party, so she brought Xu Xingyan to Kyoto as well..."
"But who knew that, in a moment of inattention, the son of a department head, who was only seventeen or eighteen years old at the time, was black-hearted and full of evil intentions. Seeing that the girl was unfamiliar and thought she had no background, he cornered her and forced her to drink a glass of mixed liquor. As a result, the girl had a severe allergic reaction to one of the ingredients and was rushed to the hospital on the spot, where she was treated for half the night."
Lin Shengmiao's smile instantly froze, her fingertips clenched until they turned white, and her eyes seemed to devour someone.
Tao Jie was still there, sighing with regret.
"Luo Jing went crazy at the time. Several adults couldn't stop her. She took a wine bottle and smashed it open on that bastard's head, splattering blood all over his face. She took him to the hospital with her. Later, she messed with that beast a few more times, and he was crippled in no time... She was only fifteen years old at the time!"
Lin Shengmiao closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. She had never found Luo Jing so pleasing to the eye in her entire life.
"That's basically it, just keep that in mind..."
Tao Jie tactfully stopped talking.
For some reason, looking at Lin Shengmiao's eyes, which were filled with heartache and anger, she suddenly remembered her father's analysis of this matter back then.