After leaving Jiang Yichen’s place, Xing Luo went to find Yu Yan and Lin Yuan.
The two had already ordered dishes and were waiting for her at the restaurant.
“Why are you so late?” Yu Yan asked.
“I went to see Jiang Yichen.”
“And then?” Yu Yan asked.
“And then I came out.” Xing Luo’s eyes curved into a smile.
She was about to be free soon, and now she was gathered with her best friends—it was hard not to smile.
“Why did you go see him?” Lin Yuan looked like she was determined to get to the bottom of it.
“The station wants to discuss a partnership with Jiang Chen, but the marketing department couldn’t close the deal, so the station director sent me to negotiate. They really overestimated me—I couldn’t close it either.”
Xing Luo spread her hands, looking completely indifferent.
“Did Jiang Yichen reject you outright?” Yu Yan asked.
“He didn’t reject me outright, but every word implied rejection. I didn’t want to listen to him anymore, so I just walked out.”
“Good for you.” Yu Yan reached out her hand to high-five Xing Luo.
Xing Luo extended her hand, and Lin Yuan chimed in from the side, “Count me in, count me in.”
“Slap.” The three high-fived.
The dishes were already laid out on the table. Just as the three picked up their chopsticks, a waiter brought over another dish.
“Excuse me, this is a gift from the table next to you.”
The three of them looked over at the neighboring table in unison.
At the other table sat a sunny, athletic-looking young man. He waved at their table.
Xing Luo looked at Yu Yan and asked, “Which family is he from?”
Yu Yan rolled her eyes at the man. “The Li family.”
Lin Yuan glanced at the dish the waiter had brought over. “Kung Pao Chicken—Yu Yan, that’s your favorite dish. This young master Li is more attentive than that Wang family guy.”
“I think the Zhao family guy isn’t bad either,” Xing Luo added from the side.
“No, he’s no good. The best one is still the Qian family guy. He’s handsome, attentive, and actually puts in the effort.”
“And there’s the Gu family guy—I think he’s better-looking than the Qian family one.”
Xing Luo and Lin Yuan laughed as they chatted.
Only Yu Yan sat there sighing.
Yu Yan’s bar was filled with all sorts of people. Yu Yan was beautiful and knew how to handle people—she was the type of stunning, radiant beauty.
Those young masters would come to drink and naturally develop feelings for Yu Yan.
But Yu Yan hadn’t accepted a single one.
She said, if she accepted one, she’d only have one; if she accepted none, she’d have countless.
That was also the reason Yu Yan dared to talk back to Jiang Yichen.
Jiang Yichen could handle one young master, but he couldn’t handle seven or eight.
Those young masters were all prominent figures in the capital, and every time they came to the bar, they spent a fortune.
Yu Yan wouldn’t easily turn them away either.
She didn’t reject them, so all those young masters felt they had a chance.
Xing Luo glanced again at Young Master Li’s table and said to Yu Yan, “He’s over there staring at you with longing eyes. Aren’t you going to invite him over?”
Yu Yan bit the straw in her cup, annoyed. “Don’t forget, he originally came to pursue you. Jiang Yichen chased him off. When he saw he couldn’t win you over, he switched to me. Why would I want someone like that?”
Xing Luo only then remembered—back at the bar, that Young Master Li had first offered Xing Luo a drink.
At the time, a Margarita had been placed in front of Xing Luo, and Lin Yuan, sitting beside her, let out a gasp.
Xing Luo waved her hand and said thank you.
But Young Master Li refused to let it go. He even took the opportunity to sit down next to Xing Luo.
But the moment his butt touched the sofa, his collar was grabbed by a pair of large hands, and he was lifted up by the man.
Jiang Yichen had just come in from outside after taking a phone call. His cold, sinister gaze fixed on the man in front of him. “Get lost!”
Jiang Yichen’s voice was loud, and his hands gripped tightly.
Yu Yan, hearing the commotion from the bar counter, rushed over. Seeing the veins bulging on Jiang Yichen’s forehead and his arm tightly clutching the man’s collar, she quickly tried to calm him down.
“President Jiang, he didn’t mean any harm.”
“No harm?” Jiang Yichen glanced at the drink on the table. “Then what’s the meaning of this drink?”
“I… I just brought it over from the bar counter.” Young Master Li was so scared he could barely speak.
“Brought it from the counter? Who knows if you slipped something into it?” His voice was hoarse and low, sending chills down one’s spine.
“I know your tricks all too well. Don’t play games right under my nose!”
“I didn’t!” Young Master Li tried to explain.
“I’ll have it tested. If I find out you put anything in it, I’ll make sure you can’t eat without carrying it out.” Jiang Yichen’s roar was loud, and people at the surrounding tables all turned to look.
“Go ahead, test it then. I didn’t add anything, so I didn’t. Think I’m afraid of you?”
“Yichen.” Xing Luo grabbed Jiang Yichen’s hand and gently soothed him. “I’m fine. Don’t get so worked up.”
“Luoluo, you’re still too naive. I know exactly what’s in these young masters’ minds.” Jiang Yichen said in a gentle voice. “You don’t understand men. They have too many tricks up their sleeves.”
This was Yu Yan’s bar, and Xing Luo didn’t want to blow things out of proportion.
“Yichen, there’s no evidence yet.” Xing Luo glanced at the drink. “Maybe it’s just an ordinary drink.”
Jiang Yichen looked at Xing Luo, then at the person in his hand, and let go.
Young Master Li breathed a sigh of relief.
Yu Yan shot Xing Luo a meaningful glance, then hurried over to placate Young Master Li.
Yu Yan stirred the ice cubes in her drink. “If Jiang Yichen hadn’t flown off the handle like that, would I have had to go soothe that Li guy?”
She shook her head. “And now the guy’s latched onto me. You started this—you deal with it.”
Yu Yan pointed at Xing Luo.
Xing Luo let out a laugh. “Just think of it as hiring a few bodyguards—different models, too. Get tired of one, swap him out for the next.”
“You’d better break up with Jiang Yichen soon, and I’ll hook you up with a few bodyguards too.” Then Yu Yan turned to Lin Yuan. “You can take a few as well.”
“Ah, no, no, no.” Lin Yuan quickly waved her hands. “Men will only slow down my money-making speed. These days, chasing cash is way more appealing than chasing men.”
…
Both of them turned to look at Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan: “Did I say something wrong?”
Yu Yan: “You just said chasing cash is way more appealing than chasing men.”
Lin Yuan: “Ugh, crap, that came out wrong. I meant chasing men is nowhere near as appealing as chasing cash.”
Xing Luo and Yu Yan burst out laughing.
Yu Yan: “We’re not telling you to chase men—we’re giving you a few bodyguards. That way, no one will come cause trouble again.”
Lin Yuan nodded thoughtfully. “Huh, that actually makes some sense.”
Lin Yuan nudged Xing Luo with her elbow. “When are you breaking up? Go pick a few from Yu Yan’s bodyguard pool.”
Xing Luo’s eyes curved into a smile. “Soon. Just wait a little longer.”
“Wait, wait, wait—how much longer are you going to make us wait?” Lin Yuan said impatiently.
“Exactly.” Yu Yan chimed in. “And you said yourself you couldn’t live without Jiang Yichen. These days, no one dies from losing someone.”
Xing Luo lowered her head and ate her food without answering.
Just then, Xing Luo’s phone rang. It was Jiang Yichen.
Two hours had passed since she’d walked out of his office.
In those two hours, Xing Luo hadn’t contacted Jiang Yichen—something she rarely did.
Even in the past when she was angry, Xing Luo never dared stay mad for long.
But now, facing this unequal relationship, she was truly exhausted.
Xing Luo picked up the call.
“Hey, where are you?” Before Xing Luo could even say a word, Jiang Yichen’s agitated voice came through the line.
“Out eating.”
“I’m coming to find you.”
Xing Luo glanced at Yu Yan and Lin Yuan. “No need. It’s a girls’ dinner.”
A long silence hung on the other end of the line.