He looks like the kind of person who not only didn't suffer a loss, but also made the other party suffer a loss.
...
In a taxi I flagged down on the roadside.
Lin Shengmiao's phone was still showing her chat with Tao Jie. The last message was Tao Jie's location, and further up was a photo and the message: "Isn't this your sister-in-law?"
Lin Shengmiao closed her eyes, unable to bear the sight. It was a terrible yet irresistible title.
Beside her, Xu Xingyan stared at the photo she had forwarded, lost in thought. After a long while, just before the taxi arrived at the bar, she suddenly clapped her hands and exclaimed, "I was wondering why he looked so familiar! Isn't that Yuan Zheng?!"
Xu Xingyan lightly touched the man in the photo who was in a direct conflict with Luo Jing. She first realized what he meant, then raised an eyebrow with a half-smile.
"Who is that?" Lin Shengmiao asked.
“Luo Jing’s ex-boyfriend,” Xu Xingyan thought for a moment, then added, “her first love.”
The taxi sped along under the cover of night and neon lights, passing one traffic light after another. The driver was a very taciturn man. From the moment they got in the car until now, he hadn't said a word except to tell them to fasten their seat belts. However, his driving skills were indeed superb. As soon as Xu Xingyan said that she had something urgent to attend to, he began to steadily press the accelerator.
Lin Shengmiao exclaimed in surprise, "What happened when the exes met? Did Luo Jing cheat on him?"
Xu Xingyan leaned on her shoulder and shook her head. "No, they were both responsible for the breakup back then."
While they were still some distance from the bar, Xu Xingyan gave a brief summary. Although she had good literary skills and was adept at using rhetoric, Lin Shengmiao automatically brushed away the superficial embellishments in his mind, revealing the most essential core idea—
In short, it's about two idle rich kids who fall in love in college, but instead of having a proper relationship, they pretend to be poor, act out, hide their identities, and create all sorts of obstacles to make the other prove that they love their souls. In the end, they both fail, become angry and turn against each other...
"Mainly because they are both loyal viewers of 'The Prince Who Turns into a Frog,' you know, it's the 'chuunibyou' phase, right? They always do some... you know..."
Clearly, Xu Xingyan was very protective of Luo Jing. Even with an awkward smile on her face, she was still trying her best to save face for Miss Luo in her words.
Then, she angrily added, "Yuan Zheng is such a petty person. When they first got together, I was about to take the college entrance exam, and he volunteered to tutor me via video chat every day. But after they broke up, he went around spreading rumors that Luo Jing just wanted to get me a free tutor, otherwise why would she break up with me right after my exam? It makes me so angry that people actually believed it. Do I look like someone who needs a tutor?"
Lin Shengmiao asked, "Which subject did he tutor you in?"
“English and politics,” Xu Xingyan said with a bitter face.
"That's definitely nonsense," Lin Shengmiao said with a smile. "Putting politics aside, your English was so bad that I couldn't catch up in a whole semester of my second year of high school. Is he some kind of god descended from heaven? Could he possibly save your pitiful English grades from the abyss in such a short time?"
"..." Xu Xingyan earnestly defended her image: "Actually, my English isn't that bad."
Lin Shengmiao blinked, said "Oh," and then asked, "Can you speak Chinese?"
Xu Xingyan fell silent, speechless. She turned away angrily, ignoring her, and silently plotted how to drown those bad friends who exposed her dark history!
Even the taxi driver laughed.
...
Sister Jing really knows how to find places to have fun.
After getting out of the taxi, following the location and navigation directions given by Tao Jie, Xu Xingyan and Lin Shengmiao arrived at the entrance of a bar. Looking at the suggestive words "Wushan" on the signboard, the two blinked at the same time, and some adult erotic images flashed through their minds.
Just... my curiosity is starting to stir.jpg
The interior of Wushan Bar was not as charming as it appeared on the surface. As Lin Shengmiao walked through it hand in hand with Xu Xingyan, he secretly compared it with the quiet bars he had been to abroad before, and felt that this one was inexplicably more refreshing.
While Xu Xingyan was looking for a waiter to find someone, Lin Shengmiao looked around but couldn't find Tao Jie. Just as she was about to send a message to ask, she felt her sleeve being tugged twice. She turned around abruptly and saw a strange woman wearing sunglasses in the dimly lit bar mouthing at her: It's me!
Lin Shengmiao stared at her appearance for two seconds in silence, then decisively turned his gaze away, pretending not to know her, and stared at his beautiful and charming girlfriend to cleanse his eyes.
"..." Tao Jie clutched her chest, wishing she could travel back a few years to persuade her mentor not to accept such a troublesome and heartless junior sister.
In a private room of the bar, Luo Jing was silently tending to Yu Hang's lip injury and the cut from the broken bottle. Yu Hang looked at her cold face and whispered, "It doesn't hurt, don't be angry."
Luo Jing touched his face and frowned, saying, "How is that possible? It's all turned purple."
Upon hearing this, the four men who had been beaten black and blue and were huddled on the sofa twitched their lips.
The man with the buzz cut, who was being held down by the others, had bloodshot eyes and was filled with jealousy. He said angrily, "You keep pretending! You little bastard! You need a woman to stand up for you over such a small injury, you useless coward! Waaah, let me go..."
The other three hurriedly covered his mouth. A bespectacled man with a missing leg looked at Luo Jing's increasingly gloomy face and said awkwardly, "Luo Jing, A-Zheng is just drunk. He's still drunk. Please be magnanimous and don't hold a grudge against a drunkard."
"Yes, yes, yes..." The chubby guy holding down Yuan Zheng's arms quickly added, "Brother Yuan said a few days ago that he wanted to get back together with you, Sister Luo, but then he heard that you had a boyfriend. He was really upset and has been drinking to drown his sorrows these past two days. His actions were all influenced by alcohol and were definitely not intentional!"
Luo Jing took the iodine swab, turned around with a cold smile, and said, "Drunk? Does being drunk mean you can start hitting people at the drop of a hat? Getting back together? Get back together my ass! We broke up ten years ago, our bones have turned to ashes in the ground. I think he's just trying to make me miserable!"
The bespectacled man smiled bitterly, also feeling hopeless about his brother's slow emotional intelligence. Who would have thought that this guy's reaction time would be so slow? He was so indifferent and arrogant when they broke up back then, but now that time has passed, he suddenly has a sudden epiphany. It's so stupid that it's suffocating!
"Not sober?" Luo Jing grew angrier the more she thought about it. She picked up the cold tea on the table and splashed it on Yuan Zheng's head, causing three innocent bystanders to get caught in the crossfire. "I think you're perfectly sober!"
Yuan Zheng stared at her. He was almost thirty years old when he suddenly burst into tears, sobbing and making a complete loss of composure.
But tears have the same value in relationships. When you love someone, they are more precious than a treasure; when you don't love someone, they are as worthless as grass. This applies to both men and women.
Luo Jing remained completely unmoved, even a little annoyed. Just as she was rolling her eyes, preparing to snap at them, the door to the bar's private room opened...
"Sister, are you alright!" Xu Xingyan didn't even glance at the few people huddled on the sofa, nor did she pay much attention to Yu Hang. She just gripped Luo Jing's wrist tightly and asked with concern.
"It's okay..." Luo Jing instinctively reassured her, then suddenly slapped her forehead, remembering the call that had been cut off midway, and apologized, "My phone screen went black after I dropped it."
Thinking this, she glared at the four people huddled together again. It's all their fault!
"Then..." Xu Xingyan nodded with a smile to Yu Hang, glanced around, and whispered, "Can we go now?"
Luo Jing nodded, then kicked the sofa and said stiffly, "Someone go out and go make amends to the manager for the broken glass and wine!"
Although Miss Luo is arrogant, she has always been a law-abiding young woman, especially in front of her younger sister, her boyfriend, and her lifelong rival, Lin Shengmiao.
These four big men pushed and shoved each other, and finally managed to squeeze the guy who hadn't said a word from beginning to end, with deep features and an exotic look, off the sofa. He fell to the ground with a thud, completely stunned.
Luo Jing raised her chin. "Then it'll be you."
The guy with the exotic looks: "..."
He gritted his teeth, gave the three sworn brothers behind him the middle finger, and with a gloomy expression that said "you just wait," reluctantly went out to pay the bill.
After swiping his card, he turned back to the private room and happened to see Luo Jing and Yu Hang whispering to each other. Whether it was anger at being fed dog food or indignation for his brother, he opened his mouth to curse, but as soon as he grinned, a sharp pain shot through his mouth. The guy's face stiffened, and fear of being punched surged into his heart, so he swallowed his words.
After taking a couple of steps, he realized he had been beaten up for no reason and couldn't even fight back. The more he thought about it, the more unwilling he became. His eyes darted around and he mumbled a sentence into his mouth.
He had only intended to vent his frustration, but by sheer coincidence, Xu Xingyan and Lin Shengmiao were standing just two meters diagonally opposite him. Xu Xingyan couldn't understand what he was saying, but she easily discerned the malice in his words. Immediately, her gaze sharpened like an arrow, her dark eyes piercing the young man's pupils with a chilling intensity...
The young man immediately broke out in a cold sweat, feeling as if he were being targeted by a venomous snake in the dark.
Lin Shengmiao, who was originally standing behind Xu Xingyan, lightly placed his fingers on his girlfriend's shoulder, glanced at the young man, and coldly replied.
The guy: "..."
Damn, how unlucky! Not only was I startled by the imposing aura of a seemingly delicate girl, but I also ran into someone who understood my language when I swore at her in a less common language!
Not only was the young man frightened by Xu Xingyan's gaze, but Tao Jie, who was standing behind him watching the drama unfold, was also taken aback.
After drinking a large glass of ice water to calm her nerves, Tao Jie patted her chest, feeling as if she had made a mistake.
As is widely known, Fang's youngest granddaughter, Xu Xingyan, was raised by Fang's grandfather himself.
So here's the question: Mr. Fang, who was said to have been a powerful figure in his youth and single-handedly established the Fang family's current social status with his exceptional skills, is the granddaughter he raised with such care really an innocent and pure little white rabbit?
That's unlikely. Tao Jie herself came from that kind of family; she knows it better than anyone else.
Girls raised with such top-notch resources, even if they aren't lions, will definitely not be sheep!
Xu Xingyan, who had been pondering this over and over, had completely withdrawn her gaze. She leaned against Lin Shengmiao, her eyes filled with a gentle warmth, and asked softly, "What did he say? It didn't sound like English."
“Yes, it’s Mongolian,” Lin Shengmiao explained, adding, “It’s just a swear word, it doesn’t sound nice.”
"You also speak Mongolian?" Xu Xingyan was somewhat surprised and disappointed. "I didn't know that."
Lin Shengmiao laughed and said, "It was all out of necessity. I had a roommate in college who was from Mongolia. She was incredibly determined. She spoke Mongolian at home since she was little, and started learning Chinese and Russian in elementary school. Her major in college was English. You wouldn't believe how much pressure I felt whenever I saw her. I was motivated to learn Russian by her, and I also learned Mongolian from her. But I've never really organized my thoughts systematically. I'm fine with casual conversation, but when it comes to writing..."
Xu Xingyan looked at her with glistening eyes, shook their intertwined hands, and said in a gentle and proud voice, "...Our Miaomiao is so amazing."
...
The next day at noon, when Lin Shengmiao went to the cafeteria for lunch, he always felt that Tao Jie's gaze was full of unspoken words, which was very tantalizing.
She couldn't hold back any longer and asked.
Tao Jie's eyes lit up, as if she had made a discovery she was eager to share, but when she tried to speak, something seemed to stop her. She shook her head and smiled, "It's nothing."
"..." Lin Shengmiao was speechless.
But Tao Jie thought to herself: "As the saying goes, strangers shouldn't interfere in family matters. Besides, Lin Shengmiao and Xu Xingyan have known each other for so many years and are lovers. She should know their true nature perfectly well. Perhaps Lin Shengmiao is even enjoying it. Furthermore, even if she doesn't know, it only means this is her destiny to face this calamity. Amitabha, it's best to save herself, it's best to save herself..."
As soon as the idea popped into her head, Tao Jie felt at ease, her appetite improved, and she even quickly snatched a spicy chicken leg from Lin Shengmiao's plate.
Lin Shengmiao took a deep breath: "Something's wrong with him."
...
At 4:30 p.m., Xu Xingyan appeared at the entrance of Lin Shengmiao's workplace on time, carrying the rock sugar pears she had made herself, waiting for her girlfriend to get off work. She had a snow-white scarf wrapped around her neck, looking cute and well-behaved.
As soon as Lin Shengmiao stepped out the door, she jogged over, smiling warmly, and whispered to her if she was cold.
Upon seeing this scene, Tao Jie, who was following behind, immediately felt that she had made an absolutely correct decision. If Lin Shengmiao knew that she had described her girlfriend, who looked whiter than a snow lotus, as a human-shaped Godzilla, she would definitely think that she had lost her mind.
After all... at this moment, looking at Xu Xingyan's gentle, considerate, innocent and harmless appearance, she also wondered if she had imagined things yesterday.
Xu Xingyan leaned closer to Lin Shengmiao and whispered, "Sister Tao looked at me strangely today."
"Ignore her," Lin Shengmiao said, covering her hand and putting it in his pocket. "She's been acting strange all day; it's probably just her period."
Xu Xingyan nodded knowingly and scratched her girlfriend's palm in her pocket. "Shall we go pick out gifts for Mom and Dad and Grandpa Luo now?"
Lin Shengmiao immediately put Tao Jie aside.
The day after tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve. Fang Yuan specially informed Xu Xingyan and Luo Jing, asking them to bring their partners home for a reunion dinner. At that time, the Luo family's patriarch, President Xu, Fang Yi, Fang Yuan, Uncle Luo, Luo Bin, Chen Yue, and Xiao Luoyang will all be there. They should prepare the relevant gifts in advance so as not to be impolite.
--------------------
Author's Note:
Happy reading!
Chapter 39 Happiness is not accidental
There is a public hospital right next to the shopping mall.
"I'm going to get some traditional Chinese medicine. You can wait for me here," Xu Xingyan said as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.
Lin Shengmiao didn't like spending too much time in the cramped car, so he estimated the time and wandered around the parking lot area. There happened to be a grove of poplar trees just across a fence, which looked great against the backdrop of the snow.
"Didn't the doctor say it won't affect fertility? Why are you so insistent?"