After hanging up the phone, Xie Yuqi checked her mobile screen.
Yesterday evening, after nine o’clock, Ning Che had sent her seven more messages and had even given her a phone call around ten o’clock.
However, she had been on a video call with Xu Ziwen and Lu Niansheng at the time, so she hadn’t picked up.
She glanced over the messages.
“Yuqi, you mentioned before that you wanted to try the ‘Yushan Qiongxue’ from Chen’s Bakery. I managed to grab a reservation slot!”
“Shall we go try it tomorrow?”
“Yuqi, could you give me a call back?”
Xie Yuqi dialed her back.
Ning Che’s voice was brimming with excitement. “Yuqi! I managed to secure a reservation at Chen’s. Shall we go try their signature ‘Yushan Qiongxue’?”
Xie Yuqi replied in a flat tone, “I’m busy.”
Ning Che fell silent for a moment before quickly pressing, “It’s fine, the reservation time can be changed. When will you be free?”
Xie Yuqi: “No need. Go eat by yourself. I’ve been very busy lately, so don’t call me if it’s nothing important.”
This time, Ning Che’s silence lasted even longer.
Xie Yuqi: “Anything else?”
Ning Che: “Nothing else. Go ahead with your work then. Get some proper rest and don’t overexert yourself.”
Xie Yuqi: “Got it.”
She hung up the phone.
Ning Che stared at her phone screen, her face masked in deep disappointment.
Back during their freshman year when they had just officialized their relationship, Xie Yuqi had casually mentioned offhand that she “wanted to eat the Yushan Qiongxue from Chen’s Bakery,” and she had noted it down immediately.
She had looked into Chen’s Bakery that very day, only to find out it was a century-old brand that required reservations, strictly turning away any walk-ins.
She had spent a very long time just trying to snag this single reservation slot.
Ning Che sat blankly for a moment before logging back into Chen’s official website.
Because reservations at Chen’s were so hard to come by, they provided customers with a reasonable buffer period to adjust their schedules.
After reviewing the reminder notice once more, she felt somewhat relieved. Fortunately, she hadn’t let her excitement get the better of her yesterday to set the date for today, otherwise, it would have gone to waste.
Now, she had a three days window to lock in the exact dining time.
Brushing away her lingering disappointment, Ning Che headed off to the library.
At nine-thirty, Xie Yuqi’s private car arrived at the Xia family’s racecourse.
The moment the vehicle came to a steady halt, a white steed came galloping over at high speed.
It was moving incredibly fast, yet its hooves skidded to a perfect stop precisely three or four meters in front of the car.
Dressed in a black riding habit, Xia Li sat upright on horseback, looking at Xie Yuqi with a radiant smile before executing an exceptionally gentlemanly welcoming bow.
“On behalf of the Xia family, I welcome Junior Xie.”
Xie Yuqi: “Senior Xia is too polite. This visit is my honor.”
Their pleasantries concluded, Xia Li dismounted with an elegant, handsome vault from the saddle. The moment her feet hit the ground, she straightened her posture and courteously extended her hand toward Xie Yuqi.
Xie Yuqi hesitated; she was highly defensive and averse to Alphas.
Xia Li smiled slightly. “Doesn’t Xiao Qi want me to show her around?”
Realizing she was having a stress response, Xie Yuqi forced down her revulsion and placed her hand into Xia Li’s palm.
She had no desire for anyone to find out about her tactile stress triggers toward Alphas.
Fortunately, Xia Li merely held her hand with a very light grip, making no superfluous movements.
Hand in hand, the two began their tour of the grounds.
Xia Li introduced the sights as they walked along.
She maintained a very considerate pace, conversing fluently and articulately about whatever she pointed out. Her tone was warm yet humorous, making people form a favorable impression of her before they even realized it.
Xie Yuqi gradually relaxed.
After touring on foot for about half an hour, the sun began to grow intense. The two boarded an eco-friendly sightseeing cart to head toward the stables where the young foals were kept.
Just as they were about to arrive, the sudden, urgent thudding of horse hooves echoed from behind them.
Both turned their heads simultaneously, only to see two black steeds rushing toward them at breakneck speed, their hooves tearing up broken blades of grass and clods of earth that flew wildly through the air.
In the blink of an eye, the two horses surged past the sightseeing cart and headed straight for the stables.
Suddenly, the rider in the lead yanked hard on the reins, coming to an abrupt halt. Then, as if intentionally showing off, the rider pivoted the horse’s head the exact moment the beast decelerated.
Forced to twist its body mid-air, the black steed brought its two front hooves slamming heavily back down.
They landed right in front of the sightseeing cart.
Grass and debris sprayed everywhere.
The driver slammed on the emergency brakes.
Before Xie Yuqi could even get a clear look at the newcomer, a burst of unbridled laughter rang out.
“Haha, Miss Xie is actually here too! It seems we really are fated!”
The female Alpha on horseback raised an eyebrow, straddling her mount in an extremely relaxed posture. A pair of cynical, playful eyes locked onto Xie Yuqi with a wanton, contemptuous expression that made one exceedingly uncomfortable.
Xie Yuqi’s expression shifted instantly. Why was Ye Lingyi here as well? Could Xia Li have invited her too?
Ye Lingyi scanned her up and down, speaking with amusement, “Miss Xie, riding in a car every day is so boring. Why don’t I take you along and let you experience the thrill of galloping on horseback?”
Xie Yuqi’s face turned ice-cold. She could detect a wave of irrepressible malice beneath those words, and immense fury flared up within her heart.
Right then, a displeased voice rang out beside them.
“Xia Xue, if you had a distinguished guest visiting, why didn’t you mention it in advance?”
The other rider leaped down from horseback, first casting a glance at Xie Yuqi with an unreadable glint in her eyes. When she caught sight of Xia Li’s expression, a look of clear trepidation flashed across her face, but she immediately began to act spoiled. “Sister, Miss Ye is my good friend. She wanted to come see Zhuifeng, so I obviously couldn’t refuse her. Besides, you’re so busy all day long, even if I wanted to tell you, I could never find you.”
Xia Li remained noncommittal toward her younger sister’s explanation. She caught Xie Yuqi in her peripheral vision before looking over at Ye Lingyi, speaking in a highly polite manner, “Miss Ye’s arrival is a welcome surprise. I am currently accompanying Junior Xie to visit the stables. If Miss Ye doesn’t mind, you are welcome to join us.”
An ordinary, tactful person would have excused themselves, but Ye Lingyi was never one to be tactful. She immediately spoke with shameless bravado, “Since Senior Xia is inviting me, I naturally don’t mind, as long as Miss Xie doesn’t mind, that is.”
Unexpectedly, the moment her voice trailed off, Xie Yuqi countered coldly, “Apologies, Senior Xia. I have a germaphobia of sorts; I dislike keeping company with certain individuals.”
These words caused the expressions of everyone present to shift. Ye Lingyi’s face, in particular, turned exceptionally ugly. However, she recovered her composure almost instantly, her gaze fixing onto Xie Yuqi’s face with ill intent as she spoke with keen interest, “If Miss Xie’s courage back then had been as formidable as her sharp tongue, I wouldn’t have gone abroad. Does Miss Xie know that during all these years overseas, the person I found most unforgettable was none other than you?”
Xie Yuqi’s face instantly drained of all warmth, turning completely expressionless.
Without uttering a single word to the rest, she instructed her assistant, “Go bring the car around.”
Xia Li, who had been observing the exchange the entire time, spoke up immediately, “Xiao Qi, this is poor hospitality on my part. I will escort you back to the parking space right away.”
She ordered the driver to turn around and head straight for the parking lot.
Xia Li stepped down first, reaching out a hand intending to support Xie Yuqi, but Xie Yuqi disembarked from the opposite side.
Xia Li’s gaze shifted slightly. She quickly walked a few steps to catch up to her side, speaking apologetically, “Xiao Qi, I didn’t know Ye Lingyi was coming today. If I had known she would be here, I would have definitely chosen a more appropriate time to invite you.”
Xie Yuqi replied evenly, “Senior Xia didn’t do anything wrong, there is no need to apologize. I am sorry for ruining your high spirits, Senior Xia.”
“Xiao Qi!” Xia Li wanted to say more, but Xie Yuqi had already stepped into the car, giving her a brief nod before commanding the driver to set off.
Xia Li stood in place, watching the sedan speed away into the distance.
Her assistant stepped up to her side, murmuring, “President Xia, was it a miscalculation to have the Second Young Miss invite Miss Ye to the racecourse today…? Do I need to prepare a valuable gift to send to Miss Xie’s residence?”
The apologetic look on Xia Li’s face had long vanished, replaced by an expression of absolute composure.
“No need, I know what I’m doing.”
Xia Xue inviting Ye Lingyi to the Xia family racecourse today was something she had covertly orchestrated behind the scenes.
Ye Lingyi’s appearance had indeed caused a counter effect, causing her date to fall through.
However, it had also caused Xie Yuqi to detest Ye Lingyi even more, hadn’t it?
Now, she could basically confirm that Xie Yuqi loathed Ye Lingyi to the extreme. If the Xie family wanted to form a marriage alliance with the Ye family, Xie Yuqi would undoubtedly be the fiercest opponent against it.
That would make things much easier to handle.
The corners of Xia Li’s lips curled up, a deep, calculating meaning settling into the depths of her eyes.
Xie Yuqi returned home burning with fury, shutting herself inside her room the moment she stepped through the door.
She stood frozen for a while, the anger on her face gradually melting into expressions of humiliation and sorrow.
Scenes from the past surfaced one after another.
“Look quick, it’s the Eldest Young Miss, Xie Yuqi!”
“She’s losing control! Her pheromones are exploding!”
“Oh my god, a top-tier Omega’s pheromones are just too potent!”
“It smells so good, I want to taste it so bad…”
“Ugh, I can’t take it anymore, my body is burning up… I want it so badly…”
“Damn it, get out of the way! Let me through, I can’t hold back this fire anymore.”
Xie Yuqi clamped her hands over her ears abruptly and threw herself onto the bed.
Muffled sobs leaked out from beneath the blankets.
A knock sounded on the door, and Madam Lu’s gentle voice drifted in. “Xiao Qi, are you tired?”
Xie Yuqi sat up, wiped away her tears, and swiftly adjusted her makeup in front of the mirror. After ensuring no traces could be seen, she cracked the door open slightly and said with a yawn, “Mom, I went to play at the Xia family racecourse today and I really am exhausted. I need to sleep for a bit.”
Madam Lu spoke affectionately, “Alright, I had the kitchen brew your favorite sweet soup. Come down and have a bowl when you wake up.”
Xie Yuqi deadbolted the door and regained her composure.
She absolutely could not allow herself to be forced into a marriage alliance with Ye Lingyi. Just looking at that woman made her sick to her stomach!
On this day, Ning Che sent several more messages, but Xie Yuqi didn’t read a single one.
It wasn’t until the following morning that she opened her phone to browse through them.
There were over a dozen messages from Ning Che, along with several from Xia Li. The remaining ones were from Xu Ziwen and Lu Niansheng.
Xie Yuqi replied to her close friends first, then checked Xia Li’s messages.
Xia Li’s texts were primarily apologizing for yesterday’s incident.
Xie Yuqi replied: “Senior Xia, please don’t be so courteous. Let’s find another time to meet up.”
Then she flipped through Ning Che’s messages.
Aside from the unvarying daily status updates, they were all inquiries about when she would be free to go to Chen’s Bakery.
“Not free, not going.”
The next afternoon, she received a call from Ning Che.
“Yuqi, if you’re busy lately, we can push it back a bit. For instance, a month later, or two months later, it’s all fine. What do you think about…”
Hearing her still obsessing over going to Chen’s Bakery, Xie Yuqi suddenly felt an onslaught of irritation compounding her existing distress. She snapped furiously, “I already told you I’m not going, are you blind?”
Ning Che blanked out for a second, immediately realizing that the other girl was in a terrible mood. She hurriedly asked, “Yuqi, are you unhappy? Did something happen? Should I come over to find you?”
Xie Yuqi’s tone remained thoroughly impatient. “No need. If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”
Ning Che fell silent for a brief moment, her voice dropping significantly lower. “Alright then, go ahead with your work.”
She took the initiative to end the call.
Xie Yuqi’s agitation did not improve with the termination of the call.
Instead, she felt even more irritated.
After a short while, she realized that she hadn’t managed her emotions well and had taken out the anger caused by Ye Lingyi onto Ning Che, causing her to feel a faint pang of guilt.
But an apology was completely out of the question; she felt she had already made herself clear enough.
Besides, she didn’t care about pastries or sweets in the slightest, and she couldn’t even remember ever saying she wanted to eat at Chen’s Bakery anyway.