After she became famous, her work became many times busier than when she was an English host. After Huo Shenyan got married, she even asked herself if she had missed the man she had loved for so many years because of her work.
At this moment, Su Yiheng stood there with a gentle smile, her eyes as delicate and elegant as a lotus emerging from the water.
Xiao Yichen hugged her and said with a smile, "Yiheng, I'm so glad that someone as busy as you could come."
“We’ve been together since we were little, and I would come even if it were raining knives from the sky,” Su Yiheng said softly, her voice gentle and pleasant.
Xiao Yichen seemed to be moved by her words and nodded, saying, "Yes, we've been together since we were little."
Su Yiheng took his arm in a very intimate manner, saying, "This kind of affection is unmatched by anyone else."
Ni Jingxi sat quietly in the chair, listening to her talk about the bond they had formed since childhood, a bond that no one else could match.
Who is this "other person"?
Her?
Or perhaps her childhood friendship only refers to Xiao Yichen? After all, Huo Shenyan, who was also present, could be considered someone she grew up with.
Ni Jingxi sat in the chair, quietly enduring the pain.
It wasn't that she was petty or overthinking; rather, it was because she had interacted with Su Yiheng before. This girl seemed to be well-versed in the art of conversation, always managing to be tactful or suggestive.
After several such incidents, Ni Jingxi became quite annoyed.
Fortunately, this woman was indeed very busy. She had only met Huo Shenyan twice in the year since their marriage. However, those two meetings were enough to leave a deep impression on her.
This is the third time, and I'm still quite amazed.
If there's one person who's most relaxed in the entire private room, it's probably the man who's currently wearing gloves and quietly peeling shrimp.
Huo Shenyan's fingers are truly beautiful, long and slender with distinct knuckles. Under the illumination of the huge crystal chandelier above, his fair hands, even wrapped in plastic gloves, are still so beautiful that it's hard to look away.
This shrimp is really big, as long as the palm of your hand.
Huo Shenyan's technique was clean and efficient. He quickly peeled a shrimp clean, and the plump and translucent shrimp meat looked appetizing.
"Alright, eat up." Huo Shenyan casually placed the shrimp on the porcelain plate in front of her.
After he took off the plastic gloves, he picked up a clean towel and carefully wiped his fingers.
"Alright, alright. Don't stand there, sit down first." When Xiao Yichen saw Su Yiheng's gaze fall on Huo Shenyan, he immediately pulled her to sit on the table.
However, Huo Shenyan was sitting to his left and Han Zhao was sitting to his right.
When they arrived, Han Zhao stood up to offer them his seat.
Xiao Yichen had another headache, but then he comforted himself, thinking that there was still him in between.
Who the hell made him celebrate his birthday today? He deserves it.
Shen Qiqi also came over, and greeted Huo Shenyan and the others first: "Brother Shenyan".
No sooner had she called out to someone than Huo Shenyan put his chopsticks on the chopstick rest, looked up at her, and said in a low voice, "Your sister-in-law is here, don't you know how to greet people?"
At this moment, Ni Jingxi, who was innocently called out while looking down at her food, raised her head and exchanged a glance with Shen Qixi.
Shen Qiqi is much younger than Huo Shenyan. She is just over twenty years old, and to put it bluntly, Huo Shenyan is practically an elder to her.
She immediately greeted respectfully, "Hello, sister-in-law."
Ni Jingxi nodded: "Qiqi, it's been a long time."
Su Yiheng, who had just sat down, leaned forward slightly and smiled at them across Xiao Yichen, saying, "Brother Shenyan..."
Her bright, beautiful eyes then quietly fell on Ni Jingxi, and she said softly, "Miss Ni, hello."
The difference between close and distant relationships, and between high and low status, is immediately apparent.
Ni Jingxi maintained a polite smile: "Hello, Ms. Su."
Xiao Yichen felt his heart almost stop beating. Caught between two women, he wished he could just disappear immediately.
Huo Shenyan, however, ignored him and turned to Ni Jingxi, asking gently, "Xingxing, is there anything else you want to eat?"
For a moment, Su Yiheng clenched her hands tightly, her feigned politeness almost like a joke.
But she was a big star after all, and had seen all sorts of big occasions. This little thing wouldn't make her lose her composure and become a laughing stock. Later at the dinner table, Su Yiheng smiled gently and, taking advantage of Xiao Yichen's birthday, talked about their past.
Huo Shenyan was mentioned from time to time, but Ni Jingxi was not involved at all.
After all, she was the one who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and had no part in their past.
Ni Jingxi didn't know who else was eating, but she ate quite a lot. In the end, Huo Shenyan even watched her eat a bowl of abalone rice.
After the meal, the table was cleared away, but the gathering didn't end there.
Everyone was putting on airs during dinner, but when the champagne was brought out, Xiao Yichen brazenly shook it, popped the cork, and golden liquid instantly sprayed out of the bottle.
The entire private room was filled with screams.
Huo Shenyan's phone rang. He looked down at it and whispered into Ni Jingxi's ear, "I went out to answer a call."
Ni Jingxi nodded and got up from the sofa.
Quite some time passed and Huo Shenyan still hadn't returned. Seeing that the private room was too noisy, Ni Jingxi simply got up and went to the restroom outside. Since she had been there a few times before, she knew where the restroom was and went directly there without asking a waiter to lead her.
To her surprise, when she returned and walked through the corridor, she saw two people standing in the small garden.
The silver moonlight illuminated the entire night, and a gentle evening breeze carried the tender voice to Ni Jingxi's ears.
She really didn't mean to eavesdrop, but if she went any further now, she would definitely be seen.
That would inevitably be awkward.
"Brother Shenyan, are you angry with me?" Su Yiheng's voice was extremely pleasant, especially under the hazy moonlight, which added to her pitiful and endearing charm.
Huo Shenyan received a phone call, and just as he finished and was about to return to the private room, Su Yiheng stopped him.
He did not leave immediately, but stood still and looked at her in the moonlight. His expression was very indifferent, and his face showed the kind of aloofness that he only showed to strangers.
Su Yiheng had known him for so many years, and even though he didn't show his emotions at the moment, she could still tell.
Huo Shenyan glanced at her, his voice still indifferent: "Why am I angry?"
Su Yiheng bit her lip and said softly, "I didn't know she was here today."
The "she" in this context naturally refers to Ni Jingxi.
Su Yiheng knew she had indeed lost control tonight. Having been in the entertainment industry for so long, she had long since learned to wear the right mask for the right occasion. Today, she should have greeted Ni Jingxi politely, even just calling her "Jingxi" would have been fine.
But she couldn't resist watching him gently ask her if she wanted to eat shrimp, and watching him put on gloves to peel them for her.
Even though they've known each other for so many years, he's never treated her like that before.
Su Yiheng once thought she was special, because at least for so many years, there had been no other women around him, and she was always the one who was closest to him in this circle.
But Huo Shenyan's sudden marriage was like a slap in the face.
Tell her, and everyone else, that they're all wrong; she's not special at all. She might hold the same place in his heart as Shen Qiqi—just a younger sister from a long-standing family, with only the affection they've shared since childhood.
She couldn't help but ask, "Brother Shenyan, I've never asked you this before. But I've always wanted to ask you, why did you marry her?"
This was something Su Yiheng never understood. She clearly had the advantage of timing and location, and in terms of time, she was many times ahead of Ni Jingxi. The time she had known Huo Shenyan was so long that even she herself felt it was a blur.
So she just wanted to get to the bottom of it.
But Huo Shenyan just looked at her quietly, and under the cold moonlight, the emotion in his dark eyes was even colder.
"Could we..." Su Yiheng realized she had crossed the line and immediately tried to back down.
But Huo Shenyan suddenly interrupted her, saying directly, "Yiheng, there is no 'us' between you and me."
Su Yiheng was completely stunned.
“Jingxi is my wife. The way you treat her is the way you treat me. We are husband and wife, one.”
Su Yiheng left in despair. Huo Shenyan's words were too direct, leaving her with no shred of decency or hope.
Ni Jingxi originally planned to wait until Huo Shenyan left before coming out herself.
Although she didn't mean to eavesdrop, it's still not a good thing.
To everyone's surprise, the man in the small garden remained standing there, showing no intention of leaving, until he finally spoke up: "Everyone's gone, aren't you coming out?"
Ni Jingxi blinked, genuinely surprised that she had been discovered so early on.
"I didn't eavesdrop on purpose." Ni Jingxi immediately cleared herself of any wrongdoing as soon as she walked over.
Huo Shenyan glanced at her sideways, gave a soft snort, and said nothing.
Ni Jingxi sighed and admitted, "Okay, I did have a chance to leave. I just wanted to hear if she said anything bad about me."
"If you tell her, are you going to beat her up too?" Huo Shenyan chuckled.
Ni Jingxi: "..."
Seeing that she seemed genuinely unhappy, Huo Shenyan immediately reached out and pulled her into his arms, whispering, "It's alright, I was just teasing you."
However, it was only after Ni Jingxi got into a fight and ended up in the police station today that Huo Shenyan realized that his wife was becoming more and more assertive, with a kind of attitude that she didn't like to waste words and would just take action directly.
He didn't know whether he should advise her or indulge her.
I wanted to advise her because I was worried she might suffer when I wasn't around. As for continuing to indulge her, it was because I hoped she would act according to her own will and follow her heart when she saw injustice.
Live freely and unrestrained, without feeling stifled.
In Huo Shenyan's position, he understands all too well how difficult it is to live a carefree and unrestrained life.
When Ni Jingxi looked up from his embrace, she found Huo Shenyan staring at her face, as if scrutinizing her. She blinked, her long, curled eyelashes trembling several times before asking, "What's wrong?"
"Why aren't you angry?" Huo Shenyan asked.
This question really caught Ni Jingxi off guard. She found it funny; why was she getting angry?
It wasn't until Huo Shenyan spoke again, saying, "I talked to her, why aren't you angry?"
Author's Note: Brother Shenyan: My wife isn't jealous, but I'm not too happy.
Chapter 19
The evening breeze carried a coolness, but no matter how cool it was, it couldn't extinguish the impulse in Ni Jingxi's mind. She looked at Huo Shenyan standing in front of her.
He stood tall and elegant in the cool, pale moonlight, his usually indifferent eyes now gazing at her, their intense light concealing a deep longing.