With his younger brother’s pleading, Shen Yi gave up and left the booth they were in to give some privacy to his wife and her friends. Although that didn’t mean he will let her out of his sight. They moved a little farther from where they came from but was still able to see Lu Xinyi.
With them being away from Lu Xinyi’s group, they couldn’t comprehend what they were talking about except for the body gestures of Yuan Jin and Lu Xiulan that made Lu Xinyi uncomfortable on her seat with a blushing face.
Taking pity to his best friend, Yuan Jin took the glass from Lu Xinyi’s hand so she wouldn’t get too drunk.
“So, how do you feel now that you married the perfect bachelor in town?” Yuan Jin he cackled
Lu Xinyi rolled her eyes and gave him mirthless laugh.
“Who said he’s perfect? Shen Yi isn’t a perfect man or a person.” she fiddled with her wedding ring, “We come to love someone not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.”
The way her eyes glowed with love and sincerity in her words had left an impression to her best friend that she was truly in love with her husband. Her cousin pouted beside her.
“Why can’t I be as lucky as Xinyi?” Lu Xiulan grumbled, “My taste in men is so bad. The walk of shame for me would be me on my way to date them. I just want someone to love me sincerely. Is it really a bad thing to ask?”
“I just got lucky. I wasn’t the woman every man noticed, but I was the woman Shen Yi noticed, and to me, that was everything.”
Yuan Jin stroke his imaginary beard, his eyes scrutinized the women across him.
“Xiulan, Xiulan,” he shook his head. “You’re losing some common sense, are you?” When he met with Lu Xiulan earlier at her apartment, she was drinking alone in self-pity.
“What do you mean I’m losing my common sense?”
“You know that tingly little feeling you get when you like someone? That’s your common sense leaving your body, making you a temporary idiot until your eyes could see what you couldn’t see.” Yuan Jin said emphatically.
Lu Xiulan had been having problems with the man she was seeing for months and she had recently decided she had enough. Still, she was having a hard time to stop herself and force herself to move on.
“You deserve to be happy, Xiulan,” Lu Xinyi held her cousin’s hand and rubbed it gently with her thumb.
Lu Xiulan smiled bitterly and nodded as she tried not to cry.
“Enough of this. Let’s go home. Your husband must be worried by now.” she replied.
“Yeah, we can still hang out after the exhibit this Friday? You’re coming this time, Xinxin?” Yuan Jin asked while taking his keys from the pocket of his coat.
“Of course,” Lu Xinyi agreed. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“I’ll give her a call in case she forget about it again.” Lu Xiulan stood up and scooted out of the booth, followed by Yuan Jin.
“I’ll go ahead and take my car. You two can wait for me outside.” Yuan Jian said before disappearing on the crowd.
“Xiulan, are you sure you’re going to stay?” Lu Xinyi asked, her eyes full of worry.
“Of course, silly, I can’t leave you here all alone.”
“No, not that.” Her voice came out in a whisper, trying her best not to offend her cousin. “Are you sure you aren’t going back home? You will stay here with me and Jin?”
Lu Xiulan took a deep breath before taking a step forward to hold Lu Xinyi’s hand.
“I walked away not because I’m a coward. I walked away from him because he was too busy finding faults in me while I was too busy overlooking his. My heart can’t take so much of it.” she confessed.
“But isn’t that normal?” Lu Xinyi asked while Lu Xiulan frowned, not understanding what her cousin meant. “It’s normal for us to point out the mistakes of our loved ones because we don’t want them to get hurt or disappointed in the long run? Maybe that’s why he was picking up on your mistakes because he was concern about you.”
“I…”
Lu Xiulan was taken aback. She had never seen the problem that way. Was she really engrossed on her self pity that she hadn’t tried to see the problem at another angle? Was she overthinking about it all along?
“Jin is probably waiting for us. Let’s go.” Lu Xiulan changed the topic and lead Lu Xinyi out of the booths.
They weaved through the crowd around the bar to see the sign of the front door. Along the partygoers, Lu Xiulan found the exit. She looked back at where she left her cousin and was surprised that Lu Xinyi was already arguing with a man.
‘Wow, that was fast.’ she thought. She only left Lu Xinyi for like ten seconds.
“I already said, I’m sorry. What else do you want me to do?” Lu Xinyi narrowed her eyes on a man who was trying to hit on her.
“So feisty. What else can you do with your mouth?” he replied with a grin. Lu Xinyi withheld the urge to smack his face.
“Complain and talk shit about dumbass like you. So leave me alone.”
She made to leave, but he had maneuvered himself in front of her.
“Allow me to buy you a drink then all can be forgiven.” he insisted.
“Well, aren’t you a waste of two billion years of evolution? Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you’d had enough oxygen at birth?” Lu Xinyi pushed him out of her way with irritation. “We’re leaving. Out of my way!”
The man let her go, watching the way how Lu Xinyi’s hips swayed as she walked away from him.
