“This is the place, Yun Zheng. Let’s go in.”
Indeed, it wasn’t far from the Forbidden City—a beautifully decorated restaurant that maintained the original courtyard-style architecture. Dining here certainly didn’t come cheap.
“Did you strike it rich?”
Qiu Yunzheng was surprised. She knew Liu Zelan’s family circumstances weren’t great; in some ways, they might even be worse off than her own as an orphan, though it wasn’t apparent on the surface.
And not to mention, the clothes Liu Zelan was wearing today looked quite expensive.
It wasn’t just the clothes—even the bag she carried and the jewelry she wore were branded items. This made the already sweet and charming Liu Zelan appear even more beautiful.
“No, that’s not it. Meng Fei is hosting this. She’s treating us. You know, she said some unpleasant things before, so this is also her way of apologizing to you.”
Liu Zelan was exasperated but couldn’t show it. She silently repeated to herself: “Patience is the source of a hundred blessings,” suppressing her anger as she explained patiently to Qiu Yunzheng.
“Oh.”
Qiu Yunzheng remained noncommittal after hearing this, her expression unchanged, though a faint glint of mischief seemed to flash in her dark pupils.
Coincidentally, Liu Zelan caught sight of it. She wanted to flare up but couldn’t, her originally gentle smile stiffening on her face.
Liu Zelan: Anger is a blind fire, patience is the enemy of disaster. She, she would endure it, dammit!
“Let’s go in. They’re probably waiting anxiously.”
The smile on Liu Zelan’s face diminished bit by bit. By now, if Qiu Yunzheng hadn’t still been able to see the curve of her lips, she would have thought Liu Zelan had stopped smiling altogether.
To be honest, after not seeing her for so long, Qiu Yunzheng felt from their first meeting that this person was fake—even more so than before. At least in the past, she could still discern Liu Zelan’s emotions.
Now, unless she was truly angered and occasionally revealed a hint of irritation, it was hard to tell what she was really feeling at any given moment.
Apart from smiling gently or being tender, it was always just smiling and tenderness. Qiu Yunzheng admired such people because she couldn’t pull it off herself—but that was on the condition they weren’t directing it at her.
Fine, Qiu Yunzheng admitted she was taking her frustration out on Liu Zelan. She still hadn’t gotten over the fact that Liu Zelan had put her on the spot earlier, forcing her to agree to this meeting.
Most importantly, Qiu Yunzheng didn’t want to hear any more of Liu Zelan’s always ambiguous, sarcastic remarks, nor did she want to endure her veiled attempts at probing. So, she had no choice but to resort to extreme measures.
Besides, if it weren’t for her curiosity about what Liu Zelan was up to, she would have slipped away right after leaving the Forbidden City.
“Here we are. Let’s go in.”
Liu Zelan stopped in front of a private room, opened the door, and gestured for Qiu Yunzheng to enter first.
Qiu Yunzheng didn’t hesitate and walked straight in.
Surprisingly, the scene wasn’t what she expected. Qiu Yunzheng had thought she would see Wang Wende, but he wasn’t there. It was just two strikingly beautiful girls, each with her own unique charm.
On the left was Meng Fei, and on the right was Wang Xuecha. Their seating arrangement was quite telling—they seemed to want to put as much distance between each other as possible.
Moreover, Meng Fei currently looked furious, while Wang Xuecha wore an expression of indifference, her eyes tinged with a hint of mockery.
However, upon seeing Qiu Yunzheng enter, they all restrained their emotions.
“Finally here, Master Qiu. You’ve become quite difficult to invite.”
Meng Fei still carried a trace of anger, her words dripping with sarcasm.
“Yun Zheng, long time no see.”
Wang Xuecha remained expressionless as ever. In fact, Qiu Yunzheng had rarely seen any obvious emotion on Wang Xuecha’s face – she was like an ice sculpture beauty without feelings.
Her tone was always flat and calm, though her voice was indeed quite pleasant.
“Long time no see, Xue Cha.”
Qiu Yunzheng completely ignored Meng Fei. Now she realized that someone like Wang Xuecha was actually more valuable – she never bestowed excessive emotions on anyone.
As for Meng Fei, who had been ignored by Qiu Yunzheng, her cheeks were now puffed up with anger, making her look like a pretty little frog.
Truth be told, Qiu Yunzheng didn’t harbor much dislike for Meng Fei. People who wore their hearts on their sleeves like this were actually not frightening at all.
“Come, come, Yun Zheng, please sit here. Consider this our apology. Since graduation, we rarely get to see each other anymore – let this be our farewell to these years of companionship.”
Liu Zelan, who had followed behind, quickly stepped forward to greet Qiu Yunzheng and seated her at the head position. In that brief moment, she had completely concealed all her emotions.
Now she appeared genuinely like someone bidding farewell to a long-unseen friend.
However, not only did Qiu Yunzheng not believe this act, even Meng Fei nearby curled her lips disdainfully. Seemingly remembering something, a flicker of apprehension passed through Meng Fei’s eyes, forcing her to remain seated without speaking.
As for Wang Xuecha, a strange glint also flashed in her eyes, but it was too brief for Qiu Yunzheng to catch. She only noticed that Wang Xuecha’s expression had turned even colder.
Moreover, Qiu Yunzheng noticed that Wang Xuecha was making an extremely subtle gesture to her – actually telling her to leave quickly!
To others, it might have looked like Wang Xuecha was merely idly playing with her hand, but only Qiu Yunzheng knew the truth.
Wang Xuecha was warning her. This gesture was something Wang Xuecha had taught her early in their university days after they became close – their secret way of communicating.
Back then, their relationship could be considered the closest among all roommates.
Even now, Qiu Yunzheng didn’t understand why Wang Xuecha had suddenly become so cold toward her later, or simply started ignoring her.
This change had manifested shortly after Wang Wende appeared. At the time, Qiu Yunzheng had been both angry and heartbroken, but she knew Wang Xuecha wouldn’t act this way without reason – there must be some cause.
But there was nothing she could do. Back then, she was so harassed by Wang Wende that she was overwhelmed daily, with no time to question Wang Xuecha about the reasons.
Later, when Qiu Yunzheng was forced to leave the dormitory, Wang Xuecha had stood by indifferently. Though Qiu Yunzheng had been furious, seeing this now made her somewhat puzzled.
Regardless, compared to Liu Zelan who appeared open and simply happy to see a friend, yet was actually full of hidden daggers;
And compared to the one beside her who was seething with barely concealed fury, yet maintained a stoic expression.
Wang Xuecha appeared cold and aloof on the surface, her eyes devoid of any emotion, like an icy doll.
Yet in reality, her gesturing hands betrayed the frantic anxiety burning within her.
Qiu Yunzheng suddenly realized that these three years hadn’t been entirely fruitless—it seemed she did have a friend who cared about her, though she couldn’t understand why.
What exactly had happened to Wang Xuecha back then that made her suddenly turn so cold toward Yunzheng, even going so far as to push her out to live separately?
Yunzheng made up her mind: she must have a proper talk with Xuecha afterward. If there was truly something unsolvable between them, then so be it.
She would simply forgo the next reward. She wanted to exchange it for a solution to Xuecha’s troubles. Even if Xuecha didn’t appreciate it, this would serve as repayment for today’s warning.