By the time Ji Xixing arrived at Muse, she was already ten minutes later than the thirty minutes Jian Yao had given her.
Under the relentless bombardment of phone calls from Jian Yao, she hurried into the private room. As she pushed open the door, dim and dazzling lights flooded her vision, and all kinds of voices intertwined in the noisy atmosphere.
Amid the crowd dressed in colorful outfits, Ji Xixing quickly spotted Jian Yao sitting quietly in the shadows.
Jian Yao happened to notice her as well and smiled, waving her over.
Today, Jian Yao was dressed in a black Gothic-style mini dress. Thin ribbons wrapped around her chest, adorned with a red rose that concealed just enough to leave things to the imagination.
A black diamond hair clip rested in her short hair, which covered half of her delicate face. Her smoky makeup, matching the dark color scheme, accentuated her allure, making her seem like an enchantress hidden in the darkness. Even sitting in the corner, she was impossible to overlook.
Jian Yao had always been the center of attention. Although she had been quietly sitting there without saying much, her friendly attitude toward Ji Xixing was quickly noticed.
The man sitting beside her jokingly voiced the curiosity shared by many.
“Yaoyao, is this beauty beside you someone you invited?”
Pulling Ji Xixing by the hand and making her sit beside her, Jian Yao blocked those probing gazes and shot the man a cold look.
“None of your damn business.”
The man chuckled and wasn’t offended in the slightest. Shamelessly, he moved to sit beside Ji Xixing.
“Little beauty, would it be convenient to add each other on WeChat? Next time, Big Brother can invite you out for some fun.”
His intentions were obvious. He might as well have written “I want to hit on you” across his forehead.
Disgusted inwardly, Ji Xixing restrained her temper out of respect for Jian Yao and rejected him directly.
“Not very convenient. I’m busy and don’t have time to go out.”
“What a pity.”
The man sighed regretfully, but he still wasn’t willing to give up. Pulling out his phone, he displayed his QR code.
“Then if you don’t have time to hang out, how about adding each other anyway? I promise I won’t interfere with your daily life.”
Before Ji Xixing could think of another excuse, Jian Yao pushed his phone away.
“Feng Heng, her fiancé is Cheng Songjin. They’re childhood sweethearts and have a great relationship. You still dare to ask for her WeChat? Aren’t you afraid her fiancé will come looking for trouble?”
At the mention of Cheng Songjin, Feng Heng immediately knew when to back down. Hugging his head with a laugh, he admitted his mistake and promised not to do it again.
Everyone in their social circle knew very well whom they could afford to offend and whom they couldn’t.
This little episode should have ended there.
But suddenly, a mocking laugh rang out from the crowd. Amid the noisy surroundings, it sounded especially harsh.
A woman in a flowing yellow gown emerged through the flashing lights and crowd, lifting her skirt as she approached them.
Ji Xixing recognized her. What she hadn’t expected was that the circle was so small that she would run into Cheng Songjin’s younger sister, Cheng Nishang, at a random gathering.
“Miss Ji, are you unaware that my brother is already planning to break off your engagement?” Cheng Nishang sneered openly. “Someone with such a messy private life still dreams of marrying into the Cheng family. I really don’t know where you get the nerve.”
The moment she spoke, an uproar spread through the room, and even the atmosphere seemed to freeze.
Jian Yao was stunned. She shot Ji Xixing a questioning look.
Ji Xixing returned an apologetic expression.
She really hadn’t told Jian Yao about this matter. Everything had happened too suddenly, and fate simply hadn’t given her the chance.
“My fault. I forgot to tell my friend and caused this misunderstanding.”
A smile instantly appeared on Ji Xixing’s face.
She always smiled, even when she was angry. The corners of her lips curved upward into a sweet smile capable of melting hearts.
Yet her eyes were endlessly dark, a sign that she was already extremely displeased.
“But we haven’t broken off the engagement yet. Being a childhood sweetheart is also true, so my friend didn’t say anything wrong.”
“As for Miss Cheng’s claim that my private life is chaotic, I suggest you stop spreading rumors. Otherwise, I don’t mind having my lawyer discuss the matter with you.”
Ji Xixing delivered those merciless words with a smile, and everyone present turned toward them, eager to watch the drama unfold.
Publicly exposing someone’s shortcomings either meant you truly hated them or lacked emotional intelligence.
Cheng Nishang clearly belonged to the latter category. She only wanted the satisfaction of winning a verbal argument and had forgotten that among the young ladies of their circle, everyone maintained friendly appearances on the surface. Even if they disliked someone, they only talked behind their backs.
After all, family interests were intertwined, and no one dared to speak recklessly.
But not only was Cheng Nishang lacking in emotional intelligence, she also couldn’t stand hearing harsh words from others.
“I know whether I’m spreading rumors, and so do you. Don’t you spend every night away from home? Aren’t you just staying overnight with men?”
The accusation was utterly absurd.
Jian Yao laughed too. Naturally, she stood up for her friend.
“Miss Cheng, that’s quite a stretch. Why can’t she simply be staying at one of her other properties? That’s perfectly normal. The only reason it seems abnormal is because you’re the one looking at it that way.”
“Since we’ve come this far, let me add something too.”
Tilting her head, Ji Xixing suddenly remembered something and opened an audio recording on her phone.
Voices belonging to Cheng Songjin and Ji Chenhuan played from the recording.
Ji Chenhuan’s sobbing came first, followed by her pitiful voice.
“Brother Songjin, even though I really like you, you already have a marriage agreement with Sister.”
“I sincerely wish the two of you happiness. I think you’re truly a perfect match.”
Then came Cheng Songjin’s voice.
“Huanhuan, what I feel for your sister is only the affection of an older brother toward a younger sister after spending more than ten years together. What I feel for you is love.”
“It was only after meeting you that I truly found someone I wanted to protect. You’re the kindest and most sincere girl I’ve ever met. My bride in the future will only ever be you.”
“But what about Sister if we’re together?” Ji Chenhuan continued crying.
“It’s okay. She’ll understand us.”
The recording ended there.
Cheng Nishang’s face instantly turned deathly pale, while whispers and discussions erupted all around.
Mainly because the contents of the recording were both cringey and nauseating.
Jian Yao tugged at Ji Xixing and whispered, “Where did you get that?”
“From the surveillance cameras at home,” Ji Xixing replied.
Those cameras had been installed years ago by her mother when she had become suspicious. Unexpectedly, they had provided Ji Xixing with such delightfully useful evidence.
“I really didn’t expect Cheng Songjin to have this knight in shining armor side to him.”
Jian Yao shook her head and clicked her tongue.
“How embarrassing.”