"Ice orange juice." Xinyu seemed to sense that something was off about the atmosphere, so she didn't say anything more.
Han Haoxuan called the waiter and ordered a cola with ice and a orange juice with ice.
The air conditioning was on indoors, but Han Haoxuan still felt a bit hot.
When the drink arrived, Han Haoxuan took a big gulp. The carbon dioxide from the cola immediately rushed from his throat into his nasal cavity, causing him to choke and cough slightly. He felt a tightness in his chest, a suffocating discomfort.
After calming down, Han Haoxuan finally put on his usual composed demeanor and asked calmly, "Did you go on a blind date recently?"
"..." A look of confusion flashed in Xinyu's eyes. She didn't understand when Han Haoxuan meant by "not long ago," because she had been on several blind dates before this one.
"Was it Professor Zhang who introduced you that time?" Han Haoxuan wanted to confirm whether Xinyu in front of him was indeed the blind date Professor Zhang had introduced to him. In class, she was indeed a true art teacher, but he still couldn't quite believe that a university professor would do something so absurd.
"Yes, that's right." Xinyu nodded, then asked in surprise, "How did you know? Did you come to me just to ask about this?"
"Have you always been a capricious person in life?" Upon hearing this, Han Haoxuan's anger began to ignite little by little, and his hand holding the cup slowly tightened, as if he would not be satisfied until he crushed it.
Xinyu was completely confused and asked, puzzled, "What brings you here today?"
"If you don't like blind dates, you don't have to go. Why ask someone else to take your place?" Han Haoxuan tried his best to calm down his anger, but when he thought of this, the flame suddenly flared up and showed signs of spreading.
No one had ever dared to lie to him since he was a child, so how could he not be furious? Fortunately, he had been well-mannered since childhood and had some self-control.
Xinyu was stunned. She was completely bewildered; she couldn't understand how the man she'd only met once knew that Ruolin had taken her place on the blind date. She took a sip of water, composed herself, and asked, "Who are you? What does it have to do with you if I don't go on the blind date?"
"Who I am is not important, but you, as a cultured university teacher, actually deceived others and asked them to lie for you." Han Haoxuan's voice became noticeably louder, and a hint of anger seemed to appear in his dark eyes. He paused, softened his tone, and said, "A teacher who does whatever he wants will not be respected by his students."
If someone spoke to Xinyu in such a tone and with such an attitude under normal circumstances, she would definitely argue back. But today was different; the person sitting across from her was, after all, the one who had helped her last time. Yes, she had made a mistake by having Ruolin take her place on this blind date, but she didn't understand what it had to do with him.
Before Xinyu could speak, Han Haoxuan paid the bill and got up to leave. Xinyu planned to treat him this time to make up for the favor she owed him last time, so she called out to Han Haoxuan, who was about to leave, "Why don't you finish your meal before you go?" Unexpectedly, Han Haoxuan didn't give her any face at all and walked out without looking back.
Xin Yu wondered if Han Haoxuan was so angry just now because he thought she had gone too far with her blind date. She never expected him to know about this, and she was extremely puzzled.
The thank-you banquet that Xinyu had planned had ended in a sour mood. Xinyu felt very frustrated.
Xinyu thought it over and over, but something felt off. She had a feeling that Han Haoxuan must be involved in this blind date; otherwise, why would he stand up for a stranger? Even if he was a good person, he wouldn't be that helpful. After pondering for a long time, she came up with two answers: he was a friend of the person on the blind date, or he was the person himself.
It was him?! Xinyu was stunned by this thought. She forced herself to stop her wild thoughts and decided to ask Ruolin to see if she could get anything out of her.
Thinking of this, Xinyu immediately called Ruolin and asked her to have dinner together after get off work.
"Ruolin, a man came to see me today. It's really strange. He knows about my blind date and even knows that someone else took my place." As soon as Xinyu saw Ruolin at the agreed location, she couldn't wait to say this.
"No way..." Ruolin drawled, then paused, staring at Xinyu, and asked, "What does that person look like?"
"He was over 1.8 meters tall, with a slender figure, very handsome, and gave off a refined and elegant vibe," Xin Yu began to describe.
Ruolin couldn't help but exclaim "Ah!" She could guess eight or nine parts of it from Xinyu's description. If it wasn't him, then who could it be? She had been thankful that her phone hadn't rung recently, but now she finally understood that what you try to hide from will eventually come, and what's meant to happen will eventually happen.
Seeing Ruolin's expression, Xinyu asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing..." Ruolin stammered, her eyes darting around. She steadied herself and asked, "Then do you know why he contacted you?"
"I asked him, but he didn't say. I asked him who he was, but he wouldn't answer. He looked very serious, like someone owed him money," Xinyu said with dissatisfaction. Only after she said that did she realize that she did owe him money, but he wasn't after the money and was giving her a sour look.
“If I’m not mistaken, he is…” Ruolin took a deep breath and paused.
"Who is he? Tell me quickly!" Xinyu stared intently at Ruolin, eagerly awaiting her answer.
"Han Haoxuan," Ruolin said in an unusually heavy tone.
"Han Haoxuan?! You mean the Han Haoxuan from the blind date? I didn't hear wrong, did I?" Xinyu looked at Ruolin with surprise and doubt. She thought about what happened at noon and slowly began to believe that it was true. She understood why Han Haoxuan knew her name and why Han Haoxuan's tone was stiff and his expression was not good when he came to her at noon.
“It’s him,” Ruolin said slowly.
"What a coincidence," Xinyu muttered to herself. She began to regret not going to the blind date last time, and now he had found out the truth. She thought that her impression of her must not be good in his eyes now. After a while, Xinyu frowned and asked suspiciously, "Didn't you say that he had stopped contacting you? Then why did he come to see me today?"
Ruolin then recounted the whole story to Xinyu, omitting, of course, her feelings for Han Haoxuan. After finishing, she looked somewhat ashamed and said, "I'm so sorry, I didn't tell you the truth."
"It's not your fault. I misunderstood and thought my trick was really powerful. Your trick was the real deal. If he hadn't run into you, he probably would never have known the truth." Xin Yu gave a bitter smile, then sighed and said, "This is really embarrassing. He must think there's something wrong with my character now."
"Xinyu, so what if he knows the truth? We can just apologize to him," Ruolin said.
"Hmm," Xinyu replied, letting out a soft sigh. She flipped through the menu in front of her absentmindedly. After a while, she stopped what she was doing and said, "Ruolin, I'm sorry to have troubled you with this. I'll explain everything to him."
"Friends are meant to be bothered. Don't say things like that to me. Have you forgotten how much I annoyed you?" Ruolin smiled faintly.
"Sigh." Xinyu finished ordering, closed the menu heavily, and sighed.
"Why are you sighing?" Ruolin asked.
"I'm so regretful now, I could die," Xin Yu said with a bitter expression.
Ruolin paused for a moment before realizing the regret Xinyu implied. She felt uneasy, her hands awkwardly clasped together in front of her chest. The shop wasn't hot, but her palms were damp with a thin layer of sweat. After a while, she relaxed and smiled, "Is it because he's so handsome that you regret missing this opportunity?"
“Mmm…” Xinyu nodded repeatedly. Han Haoxuan’s handsome face flashed in her mind, and a happy smile involuntarily spread across her face. She said, “Ruolin understands me best.”
Ruolin dared not look Xinyu in the eye, feeling only a dry mouth and throat. She lowered her head and took a sip of cool tea, the refreshing tea instantly relieving much of the heat.
Xinyu quickly asked Ruolin, "What do you think of Han Haoxuan?"
“Hmm…” Ruolin hesitated for a moment before saying, “He’s handsome, has good manners, and comes from a well-off family.”
Xinyu seemed very satisfied with Ruolin's answer, nodded, her eyes full of smiles, and said, "Do you know, he was also my savior."
Ruolin's hand seemed to freeze suddenly, resting motionless on the edge of the table. She asked in confusion, "Did you know each other before?"
Xinyu then recounted the events of the previous incident to Ruolin. Ruolin finally understood, forced a smile, and said, "I never knew he was so helpful."
"It's been a long time coming, but now I've finally found my Mr. Right," Xinyu said with emotion. She looked at the dishes already served on the table, pointed with her chopsticks to a dish in front of Ruolin, and said, "Try this dish, it tastes pretty good."
"Oh." Ruolin picked up a small piece of food with her chopsticks, but suddenly lost her appetite. She didn't understand why she was feeling a little down.
Chapter Fifteen
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After returning home, Ruolin sat listlessly on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the darkening sky outside the window for a while. Just as she was about to get up to do something, her phone rang. She glanced at the number, hesitated for a moment, and then pressed the answer button.
"Didn't you go to America?" came a slightly mocking voice from the other end of the phone.
"..." Ruolin didn't speak, her grip on the phone tightening slowly. She felt terrible when she realized her lie had been so bluntly exposed.
"What kind of show are you putting on?" Han Haoxuan asked calmly, trying to keep his voice down.
"Since you've already gone to see Xinyu, why ask me these questions again?" Ruolin said, her tone devoid of any warmth.
"Do you think finding the person in question solves the problem? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?" Han Haoxuan's tone was slightly angry.
"Xinyu will explain this to you," Ruolin said as calmly as possible, loosening her grip on the phone.
"Can't you give me an explanation?" Han Haoxuan seemed determined to get justice from Ruolin. He had been deceived and didn't want things to just pass by peacefully.
"It doesn't matter who explains it to you. Besides, it's just a case of being switched at a blind date. What's the big deal? You're a rich young master, are you afraid of not finding someone to marry?" Ruolin said, then paused and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, "Besides, Xinyu has feelings for you."
"And what about you?" Han Haoxuan asked, seizing the opportunity.
"No." Ruolin hesitated for only a second before answering firmly.
"Jia Xinyu, tell me your real name." Han Haoxuan's attempt to probe failed, and he suddenly realized that he still didn't know her name, finding the whole thing ridiculously absurd.
"Shen Ruolin." Now that the truth was out, Ruolin had no intention of hiding her name.
"Oh, Shen Ruolin," Han Haoxuan repeated, saying sarcastically, "You played Xinyu very well."
“You cooperated quite well too,” Ruolin persisted.
"Let's meet," Han Haoxuan said calmly.
"Is there something you need?" Ruolin asked.
"Your pendant is with me." Han Haoxuan didn't sound like he was lying.
"The pendant? It's with you?" Ruolin was puzzled. How could her things be with him? She opened the wardrobe door and looked carefully before realizing that the pendant on one of her handbags was missing. She had been using a different bag for work the past two days and hadn't paid much attention to this one.
She racked her brains but couldn't figure out why the pendant was with Han Haoxuan, so she asked, "How did my pendant end up with you?"
“It likes me, so it flew over here,” Han Haoxuan said casually. He heard a moment of silence on the other end of the phone before continuing, “You left in such a hurry that day, and the pendant just wouldn’t have been kind to you, it fell to the ground.”
He was referring to the day he happened to catch Ruolin handing out flyers. Ruolin was so focused on escaping Han Haoxuan's sight that she didn't even notice she had dropped her pendant. Han Haoxuan called to her, but she didn't respond, so he had to get out of the car to help her retrieve it.
Just as Ruolin was about to say something, Han Haoxuan interrupted her, his tone slightly mocking: "You're not a thief, there was no need for you to run away that day."
"You..." Ruolin said through gritted teeth, but she didn't know what to say in response. She was in the wrong for lying first, and now that her things were still with him, she could only endure his sarcastic remarks.
"Say whatever you want, I'm all ears," Han Haoxuan said.
"Give me back my things," Ruolin finished speaking.
She didn't want to see Han Haoxuan, but the pendant held special significance for her, so she had no choice but to agree.
This pendant has been with her for several years. No matter how many more trendy pendants other people have changed on their bags, hers has remained the same. Because it was a birthday gift from Xinyu.
It was late autumn, her first year at university. She flipped through the calendar on her desk every day, looking forward to that day, yet also fearing its arrival.
She woke up very early that day, only to find a beautiful pendant on her bedside table—the very one she had always dreamed of—and a small but exquisitely packaged cake. She rubbed her eyes hard, unable to believe what she was seeing. She thought she was still half asleep, dreaming. But it was real, a beautiful and heartwarming reality.
She also found a small note with familiar and beautiful handwriting, and a drawing of two little people holding hands. The drawing was very realistic and gave people a warm feeling.
Today is her birthday. She thought no one would remember and that she would be forgotten by everyone, but Xinyu remembered.
Looking at the gifts, Ruolin thought that perhaps Xinyu had secretly placed them by her bedside late at night.
She glanced at Xinyu, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed to her right.
They weren't in the same class, but lived in the same mixed dormitory, and were the closest of friends. However, Ruolin still didn't expect Xinyu to remember her birthday and even prepare a gift for her; she was truly flattered.
Since her father passed away, the family has never held a birthday celebration for Ruolin. Each time, she silently blesses herself, praying alone to the countless dazzling stars in the dark night.
At that time, she was filled with loneliness. How she longed to have a proper birthday like other children her age, even just someone to wish her a happy birthday would have been enough, but that had never happened. So the unexpected surprise Xinyu brought her made her happy for a long time, and she was grateful to Xinyu.
Xinyu made her experience the feeling of celebrating her birthday again: the whole dormitory sat together, sharing cake, and the feeling was sweeter than honey.
That pendant was the first gift Xinyu gave to Ruolin, so of course she had to cherish it. No matter how many bags she changed, she never threw away the pendant, even when it got old.
Some things may seem ordinary, but they are worth cherishing for a lifetime.
Chapter Sixteen
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The next evening, Ruolin went to the place Han Haoxuan had arranged to meet as soon as she got off work.
It was a very high-end restaurant, resplendent in gold, with dazzling chandeliers hanging in the bright and airy lobby.