Chi Yang was almost instantly thrown into disarray.
She hurriedly averted her eyes, her cheeks flushing as red as cherries in her panic. “H-How could there possibly be such a thing! Xiao Tianli, you’ve been reading too many romance novels!”
“Is that so?” Jiang Li looked at her suspiciously.
She knew her friend all too well—any little thought could be seen through at a glance.
Like now, this reaction was definitely off!
Jiang Li wanted to speak up, “But—”
“Not a chance.”
Chi Yang reached out and covered Jiang Li’s mouth, then slung an arm over her shoulder to steer her away. “Want a drink? Come on, come on, I’m in a good mood today, I’ll treat you!”
Jiang Li: ???
She pulled Chi Yang’s hand away from her mouth. “Chi Xiaoyang, what kind of drinking capacity do you have to be drinking all the time! If you get drunk later, don’t expect me to carry you home!”
But Chi Yang couldn’t care less about that right now.
She absolutely couldn’t let Jiang Li ask any more questions, so after forcibly changing the subject, she dragged her off to the bar.
However, Chi Yang had no idea at the time—
The more joy she felt from her triumphant spree at the auction, the more regret she would feel when she woke up the next morning.
Because the news quickly reached the Xie family.
At Mingyue Bay, Su Jinyue heard from the gossip circles in the capital that the eldest daughter of the Chi family had gone on a spending spree at the auction, blowing through three hundred million in a single day!
She had even, unprecedentedly, competed with the young master of the Sheng family for a ring.
Three hundred million.
That amount sounded exactly like Xie Youci’s doing.
But Su Jinyue wasn’t angry.
Instead, she felt overjoyed and immediately shared the gossip with Xie Xiangming. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard about this—three hundred million! Can you believe it?”
“A Ci is actually willing to spend three hundred million for a woman! And one of the items was a diamond ring, too. It seems he’s finally developed the awareness to spend money to make his wife happy!”
Xie Xiangming was flipping through financial reports beside her.
Wearing his refined, gentlemanly metal-rimmed glasses, he seemed unimpressed. “You call that awareness? Isn’t spending money on your wife the most basic thing? If he were truly attentive, he should have personally chosen a gift and sent it to Er Er, instead of just giving her money to buy her own wedding ring.”
“I don’t care.”
Su Jinyue was still delighted. “He never had this kind of thoughtfulness for girls before. I think it’s already great progress. They’re definitely going to be incredibly sweet after marriage, so don’t you dare try to break up the couple I put together!”
Xie Xiangming turned another page of the financial report.
Su Jinyue was still immersed in her happiness. “Hey, husband, do you think we should also send Er Er a wedding gift?”
“Yes,” Xie Xiangming nodded.
Su Jinyue began planning on her own. “Actually, this auction house contacted me a few days ago, saying they have a few unlisted items. I saw a set of jewelry that would be perfect for Er Er. How about I call and buy it, then have them deliver it along with the other items?”
“That’s fine,” Xie Xiangming had no objections.
Su Jinyue was always decisive.
She immediately called the auction house manager, saying she wanted to send the jewelry set to Chi Yang and have the auction house deliver it along with the items Chi Yang had bought to Xizi Bay.
But the manager was confused. “Xizi Bay? Mrs. Su, are you sure it’s Xizi Bay? But Miss Chi asked us to deliver the items she bought to Hua Banli…”
Hua Banli.
That was the neighborhood where Chi Yang’s small villa was located.Su Jinyue’s heart, which had been leaping with joy just moments before, instantly sank halfway upon hearing those words.
Seeing her state was off as she hung up the phone, Xie Xiangming closed the financial report and looked up at her. “What’s wrong?”
It took Su Jinyue a long time to digest the news.
She slowly raised her eyes to meet Xie Xiangming’s gaze, feeling utterly helpless and on the verge of tears. “Husband, it seems like my favorite couple, Xie Youci and Er Er, has broken up. Er Er didn’t move into the marital home with A Ci at all.”
Xie Xiangming frowned slightly.
He had known all along—he wasn’t mistaken last time. Er Er simply had no interest in that brat Xie Youci.
Night fell.
Neon lights flickered beneath the sky along the bustling streets. Near the corner, a metallic sign glowed with a hazy, mysterious yellow-white light:
“Tonight, she will be here. May you wait for the wind to come.”
Of course, Chi Yang wouldn’t bring Jiang Li to this bar, lest any employee report it to the boss, and Ji Fengting immediately rally Xue Rang and Xie Youci to come barging in.
But tonight, Xie Youci found himself inexplicably drawn to the place.
On his way home from work, he passed by the bustling street and caught sight of the bar’s logo printed on the corner’s illuminated sign:
“Tonight, she will be here.”
As the light flickered in the corner of his eye, Chi Yang’s figure suddenly flashed through his mind.
Her fierce, lively charm when she was all claws and teeth.
Her playful, tipsy allure when she kissed his throat.
Her sweet, serene sleeping face when she snuggled into his arms.
And last night…
Her eyes reddened with tears, showing a rare vulnerability that tugged at his heart and made him want to pull her into an embrace.
He wondered how her hand was doing…
Tsk.
Xie Youci frowned irritably, parked his car, and walked into the bar alone. He booked a private room, staring at the glowing logo while drinking in solitude.
“Tonight, she will be here…”
Was she here tonight?
The bar’s sign clearly said she would be.
Half an hour later…
Xie Youci tilted his head back and downed the glass of wine in one gulp.
Damn it, she wasn’t here at all.
Frustrated, Xie Youci set down his glass and called Xue Rang and Ji Fengting to join him.
He had hoped to distract himself.
But as soon as Ji Fengting walked in, he started shouting, “Holy crap! Ci-ge, have you heard? Holy crap! Chi Xiaoyang has gone crazy! She was absolutely killing it today!”
Xie Youci lounged lazily on the sofa.
His collar was loose, one leg stretched out as he leaned against the couch, his entire posture exuding a sense of weariness. The light cast a shadow along his jawline, reflecting in the red wine in his glass, giving him an inexplicably melancholic aura.
He didn’t respond.
Xue Rang, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to splash his drink in Ji Fengting’s face. “Holy crap, holy crap, are you stuttering? Can’t you just get to the point?”
“No,” Ji Fengting took a big gulp of wine to calm himself. “It’s just that I’m completely shocked. Chi Xiaoyang—she spent three billion at an auction today!”
“Pfft—”
Xue Rang nearly spat out his drink. “Three billion? What the hell did she buy?”
“That’s what shocked me the most. Wedding rings. Can you believe it? Chi Xiaoyang, the marriage-phobe, spent nearly two billion on wedding rings at an auction today!”
Xue Rang: ???
“Is she insane???”
“What the hell got into her???”
Xue Rang suddenly elbowed Xie Youci, nearly causing him to spill his drink. “Ci-ge, you’re well-connected. Do you know what set her off?”Xie Youci let out a light, disdainful click of his tongue.
He held his glass and withdrew his elbow, leisurely savoring the Mexican tequila. “How would I know about her affairs?”
She wasn’t here.
She wasn’t returning to the marital home.
She wasn’t taking the initiative to look for him.
But she probably still liked him—after all, with those two billion, she could have bought something else, yet she specifically used that money to buy a wedding ring.
“True,” Xue Rang nodded in agreement. “It’s already pretty good if you two don’t start fighting when you meet. I doubt you’d care about her anyway. But seriously, which sucker gave her three billion? Chi Qing couldn’t have given her that much, right?”
The sucker, Xie Youci: “…”
He lifted his eyelids and gave Xue Rang a long, meaningful look, thinking to himself, Not just three billion—she hasn’t even spent the remaining two yet.
“If you’re so curious, call and ask her yourselves.”
“I wouldn’t dare ask about that. Sheng Lanqing avoided her like the plague today. That wedding ring was originally something he wanted, but seeing Chi Xiaoyang bid so fiercely, he had no choice but to back off.”
“Impressive,” Xue Rang gave a thumbs-up.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned his head. “But speaking of which, Brother Ci, why did you call us here? What made you suddenly, out of the blue, decide to have a drink?”