“Does that mean, Yuqi, that I left a deep impression on you too?”
Xie Yuqi instantly felt a wave of revulsion and nausea, her disgust for this person deepening once more.
Ye Lin and Xie Xuan exchanged a glance, each displaying a meaningful smile. Assuming the role of the banquet host, Ye Lin cordially ushered them in. “Xiao Qi, you and Lingyi haven’t seen each other for several years. It’s rare to reunite tonight. You young people should interact more. This world will belong to your younger generation sooner or later.”
Xie Xuan burst into a hearty laugh. “Old Ye, since when did you become so humble? But you’re right about one thing, young people should interact with other young people, lest they feel constrained in front of us elders.”
The surrounding guests were all calculating old foxes. Hearing this, they chimed in with roaring laughter, and someone eagerly flattered, “I’ve heard that Master Ye and Master Xie have been close friends for a long time, with frequent cooperation and close contact between the two families. Now it seems it goes far beyond just that!”
“Indeed. It turns out Miss Ye and Miss Xie are old acquaintances. This bond is truly extraordinary.”
“Standing together, they are simply a golden couple, a match made in heaven!”
Amid the sea of flattery from the crowd, Ye Lingyi gentlemanly extended her hand to Xie Yuqi. “Miss Xie, after you…”
Though Xie Yuqi felt nothing but aversion internally, she could only maintain a smile on her face.
Soon enough, she and Ye Lingyi were surrounded by a crowd of young elites.
This was a small circle composed of multi-generational elites, political heirs, and wealthy scions, the exact social network every family heir was required to maintain.
After a round of pleasantries, she spotted a few familiar faces. Xu Ziwen and Lu Niansheng had also arrived, along with several other close friends.
In a corner of the banquet hall, Xiang Wan accompanied a middle-aged noblewoman. She listened absentmindedly to the woman exchanging greetings with those around them while casting frequent glances into the distance.
Xie Yuqi and Ye Lingyi were surrounded by the crowd like stars orbiting the moon, serving as the center of attention wherever they went.
Is that bookworm still reading in the library right now?
Slightly past 9:00 PM, Ning Che felt her phone vibrate. Joy bloomed on her face, she thought Xie Yuqi had finally replied and quickly picked it up to check.
To her disappointment, it was just a notification from her dormitory group chat.
The letdown was plain on her face. Just as she was about to close the app, she suddenly noticed that Liu Xinxin had posted a photograph.
It showed a lavish high-society banquet filled with distinguished guests. In the middle of a group of extraordinarily dressed wealthy scions, a beautiful and noble Omega stood elegantly. Her long, floor-length purple gown was both gorgeous and dignified, and her sea wave curls cascaded over her snowy shoulders. A full set of rubies complemented her appearance, making her look like a royal princess, radiant, peerless, and absolutely stunning the entire room.
Ning Che froze. Wasn’t this Yuqi? Why did Liu Xinxin post a picture of her girlfriend?
The next second, Liu Xinxin tagged her.
“@Ning Che, I’m at the elite banquet venue in the capital right now, and I see the Eldest Miss Xie here. How come you didn’t come? What’s the situation?”
Ning Che knitted her brows, instinctively feeling a wave of aversion to those words. While it looked like a casual question on the surface, malice was hidden right beneath it.
If Liu Xinxin were truly just curious, she could have easily messaged her privately. Instead, she chose to throw the question into the group chat and intentionally posted Yuqi’s photo so everyone could see it.
Wasn’t this just her way of telling everyone that even she, Liu Xinxin, could attend a wealthy elite banquet despite not being from high society, while Yuqi, as the Eldest Miss of the Xie family, hadn’t even brought her own girlfriend along?
At that moment, Xu Fan sent her a private message. “Ning Che, what’s going on? What’s with the photo Liu Xinxin posted?”
Ning Che quickly replied. “This is a private family matter for Yuqi. I don’t know why Liu Xinxin is asking about it in the group.”
Meanwhile, someone else sent a message in the group chat.
Ling Shiya: “Could it be that the Eldest Miss Xie went behind Ning Che’s back? After all, when two people have been together for a long time, the spark of novelty fades.”
Anger surged within Ning Che’s chest, and she could barely restrain herself from snapping back. She had tolerated Ling Shiya for a very long time. This foul mouthed woman was like a tiresome rooster, constantly clucking around everywhere, utterly annoying.
She immediately typed out a wall of text, but halfway through, she deleted all of it. She couldn’t lash out like that; aside from a momentary feeling of gratification, it wouldn’t bring any benefit to her or Yuqi.
However, she couldn’t just let them off the hook either.
Ning Che calmed herself down and deliberately waited for a moment.
She wanted to see how the others would react.
Roughly three minutes later, a new reply appeared.
Shen Qingzhi: “Posting a picture of Ning Che’s girlfriend in our dorm chat like this… isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”
Liu Xinxin: “I was just asking out of curiosity. The photo was taken publicly and doesn’t involve privacy, so what’s there to be afraid of?”
Shen Qingzhi: “If you wanted to ask, you could have totally messaged Ning Che privately.”
Right after that, Xu Fan spoke up as well.
Xu Fan: “@Liu Xinxin, sister, I gotta say, Ning Che just treated us to a meal not long ago. Suddenly dropping a picture of her girlfriend in the chat like this seems a bit underhanded, don’t you think?”
Ling Shiya: “Why are you guys targeting Liu Xinxin like this? Does the Eldest Miss Xie hold a patent on her photos or something?”
Xu Fan: “Ling Shiya, are you a matchmaker or the God of Marriage?”
Ling Shiya: “?”
Ling Shiya: “What do you mean by that?”
Xu Fan: “Exactly what it sounds like.”
Ling Shiya: “What does this have to do with me being a matchmaker?”
Xu Fan: “Exactly. Ning Che and Xie Yuqi are dating. What does that have to do with you?”
The group chat fell into a dead silence.
Ning Che breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she still had roommates who would stand up for her, it kept her from feeling entirely disheartened.
She began typing calmly.
Ning Che: “@Liu Xinxin, what is wrong with you?”
Liu Xinxin: “What do you mean what’s wrong with me?”
Ning Che: “Why are you so deeply concerned about what banquet my girlfriend is attending? And why do you care so much about whether my girlfriend brought me along or not? Care to explain?”
Xu Fan: “I’d like to know too.”
Shen Qingzhi: “+1”
Liu Xinxin: “Ning Che, I was honestly just curious, I didn’t mean anything else by it.”
Ning Che: “You specifically posted a picture of my girlfriend at a banquet in our own dorm chat and called me out by name, and now you’re telling me you didn’t mean anything else?”
Sensing that her underlying intentions had been exposed, Liu Xinxin grew flustered and quickly double-downed: “Ning Che, I really didn’t mean anything malicious.”
Ning Che: “But you’ve already posted it, so you owe me an explanation. Or is posting photos of other people’s girlfriends in group chats some kind of personal fetish of yours?”
Ling Shiya: “We’re all roommates, it’s just a casual chat. Do you all really have to be this aggressive and overbearing?”
Ning Che: “@Ling Shiya, do you love gossiping about other people’s girlfriends that much? Why don’t we chat about why you’re a perennial second place loser instead?”
The group chat fell silent once more.
Liu Xinxin: “My apologies, it was thoughtless of me. I’ll unsend it.”
However, because the two minutes time limit had already passed, she could no longer unsend the message.
Xu Fan: “It’s fine, I’ll delete it. I suggest everyone focus more on their own girlfriends in the future (giggle)”
【Group Admin “Xu Fan” recalled an image】
A few seconds later.
【”Ning Che” has left the group chat】
Xu Fan caught a fright and hurriedly sent her a private message. “Ning Che, don’t be angry! You know how Liu Xinxin and Ling Shiya are.”
Ning Che: “Sorry, Xu Fan, but I won’t be joining the group chat again.”
Xu Fan: “Alright, that’s fine. Just don’t delete me too! (clinging to your thigh)”
Ning Che: “What nonsense are you talking about? We’re good friends. Thanks for earlier.”
Another private message popped up.
Shen Qingzhi: “Ning Che, I’ve left the group chat too.”
Ning Che: “I won’t say any unnecessary words. Thank you.”
At 10:00 PM, Ning Che returned to her apartment.
After tidying up and lying down, she opened her phone to look at the photo.
She had secretly saved the picture Liu Xinxin had posted in the group chat before it was deleted.
Xie Yuqi looked truly beautiful in the photograph.
Staring at her glamorous figure surrounded by a crowd like stars around the moon, an inexplicable ache bloomed in Ning Che’s heart.
Xie Yuqi was flanked by handsome men and elegant women, each of them a wealthy scion or an heiress possessing immense family fortunes. Compared to that crowd, she really felt too unremarkable.
Am I even worthy of Yuqi?
Is it because I’m not presentable enough that she didn’t even mention the banquet to me, let alone think about bringing me along?
After letting her thoughts wander aimlessly for an unknown length of time, a new message suddenly arrived.
Ning Che opened her phone. To her surprise, it was from Xie Yuqi.
“Go to sleep early. I’m heading back tomorrow.”
Ning Che was so excited that she even mistyped her words. “Baby, I miss you so much. Can we video call?”
Xie Yuqi: “No. Also, I don’t like being called ‘Baby.’ Next time, don’t make the same mistake again.”