Xia Feifei had barely left the mall and sat down at the drink shop when Qiao Ningran hurried over.
“Sorry, Babe. That bastard Fu Qingyu held me up. That’s why I’m so late. It’s my fault. Be the bigger person and don’t hold it against me, okay?”
Knowing she was in the wrong, Qiao Ningran immediately apologized to Xia Feifei without a word of protest.
A baseball cap, oversized sunglasses, a silk scarf, and a long-sleeved gauze dress.
Good grief, she was fully disguised. Xia Feifei could guess just how intense things had gotten from the outfit alone.
And after all that, Qiao Ningran still hadn’t stood her up. How could Xia Feifei possibly stay mad?
“Come on, I know you two are in that ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ stage. I get it. Why would I be mad? It’s nothing.”
“You really are the best, Babe. You’re so good to me.”
As she spoke, Qiao Ningran raised a hand and gestured for a server. “One kumquat-lemon drink, with ice. Babe, take a look—anything you want to eat?”
“I’m fine. I’m not that hungry yet. Just order whatever you like.”
Seeing Qiao Ningran about to hand her the tablet menu, Xia Feifei hurriedly waved it away.
“This, this, and this. We’ll start with these, thank you.”
Qiao Ningran casually pointed out a few snacks. The server hadn’t even left, and she had only just set down the menu tablet before immediately turning to gossip with Xia Feifei.
“Come on, tell me what’s going on with you now. What does that man look like? Have you two…?”
As Qiao Ningran’s hands drew closer and closer together, Xia Feifei quickly waved her off. What kind of nonsense was she talking about?
“What are you even saying? You’re the one who introduced us. You know exactly what things are like between Ji Yanli and me.”
“Ours is just a transaction with a price tag. How could we do something so inappropriate for our relationship?”
“From the way you’re talking, Babe, that guy named Ji Whatever-his-name-is probably isn’t much to look at, right? Otherwise…”
“Ms. Xia…”
“Pfft… Cough, cough, cough…”
Qiao Ningran had only gotten halfway through teasing Ji Yanli when, somehow, he suddenly appeared. Startled, Xia Feifei spat out a little water and then couldn’t stop coughing.
“Babe, what are you getting so worked up about? Here, let me wipe—”
Qiao Ningran had just raised her arm to offer a tissue when her attention was drawn to another large hand that had appeared out of nowhere, holding one.
She followed it upward, and a handsome face with regular features and striking good looks came into view.
Thick brows, large eyes, a high nose, broad shoulders and a narrow waist—his looks and proportions were practically straight out of a comic. He was a rare beauty, easily on a par with her own man.
“Hello there, handsome. May I ask your surname? Do you have a girlfriend?”
Hearing the familiar, flirtatious words, Xia Feifei forgot all about her coughing throat. She hurriedly waved at her best friend, trying to stop her from saying anything outrageous. She really needed to know when to quit.
“I don’t have a girlfriend.”
The low male voice made Xia Feifei’s waving hand freeze. They were, in fact, married in name only.
But having him deny it to someone’s face still hurt, if she was honest.
“Even better, then. You don’t have a girlfriend, and I don’t have a boyfriend. If you’re interested, let’s exchange WeChat contacts and have a proper chat.”
Qiao Ningran was a sucker for good looks, and the moment she spotted her prey, she completely forgot about her best friend.
As she spoke, she hurriedly pulled out her phone, brought up her QR code, and eagerly held it out in front of him.
“Sorry. Before I add a woman as a friend, I have to ask my wife if she agrees.”
“Wife?”
Qiao Ningran immediately pulled back her phone, deeply displeased by his answer. “Hey, handsome, what’s that supposed to mean? It’s just adding someone as a friend. If you don’t want to, just say so. Why add that you have to ask your wife?”
“What, are you showing off your love to me from afar? Or what? You say that as if your wife were right here. Who are you trying to prove your loyalty to?”
“My wife’s name is Xia Feifei.”
“I don’t care what your wife’s name is—Fei… Who? Xia Feifei?”
Qiao Ningran’s instinctive retort had barely left her mouth when she realized something was off. Once she confirmed the name he’d said, she immediately turned to look at the woman beside her, who had been quietly watching the whole thing.
Under Qiao Ningran’s questioning gaze, Xia Feifei didn’t want to hurt her best friend’s feelings, but the truth left her no choice. She gave a slight nod.
“You… you two?”
Feeling as if Ji Yanli had made a fool of her, Qiao Ningran angrily got to her feet, ready to leave.
Seeing things were going wrong, Xia Feifei hurriedly grabbed her best friend. “No, Ningran, don’t be mad yet. I was choking on water just now and couldn’t speak. I wasn’t deliberately keeping it from you.”
“Besides, I was practically waving my arm off. You saw a handsome man and couldn’t spare me even one glance!”
“Well… I…”
Qiao Ningran’s red lips parted, but she already knew she was in the wrong. After fumbling for words, she changed tack and magnanimously declared, “It’s just a man. Fine, let’s drop it and move on.”
“Okay, okay, my little princess. As long as you’re not mad, whatever you say goes.”
“Hmph. My Babe really does understand me.”
As she spoke, Qiao Ningran let Xia Feifei tug her back into her seat. Once she was settled, she looked at Ji Yanli, who was still standing nearby.
“Hey, Ji Whatever-his-name-is, sit over there.”
Her gaze was scrutinizing and her tone stern. Of course Qiao Ningran treated Ji Yanli completely differently now that their positions and perspectives had changed.
From the moment he’d left the mall and accidentally spotted Xia Feifei, to walking into the shop and hearing Qiao Ningran badmouth him, to her shamelessly asking him for his WeChat, Ji Yanli’s honest first impression of her was simply awful.
If he hadn’t been worried about upsetting his new wife and making their already poor relationship even more strained, he would have turned and left long ago instead of standing there while she judged him.
“Hey, you with the surname Ji! I told you to sit down so we can have a proper chat. Are you hard of hearing, or did you not hear me?”
When Ji Yanli remained completely still, Qiao Ningran, who had been waiting for a while, couldn’t help speaking up again.
But he still didn’t move, ignoring her outright.
Worried that things might get out of hand again, Xia Feifei hurriedly spoke up. “Mr. Ji, do you have anything important to do later? If not, would you sit down and chat with us?”
“Sure!”
Xia Feifei had barely finished speaking when Ji Yanli agreed and sat down.
Qiao Ningran simply couldn’t swallow her anger at such an obvious double standard. She took out her phone and called her man.
“Fu Qingyu, you have ten minutes to get here. Otherwise, you can forget about getting into my bed tonight.”
As soon as she’d said it, Qiao Ningran hung up without giving him a chance to reply.
“So what if you have a handsome face? You really think I can’t get a man? Give someone an inch and they take a mile. Do you really think I’m going to chase after you?”