Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
When Xi Xiaye finished, Qi Lei did not seem to respond for a long while.
The two of them suddenly fell silent, and there was a faint repressive atmosphere that filled the air.
When he did not answer, Xi Xiaye obviously did not continue questioning. She just quietly lowered her head to sip her tea, then she felt her phone buzz in her pocket, so she took it out.
It was a certain someone’s text message reply.
The last message she sent was: Mr. Mu I’m bringing food back for you. Someone treated me to lunch, so I’ll get you a set.
He asked: Whose treat?
She responded: Qi Lei.
Now, his new reply was: C hoose the most expensive dishes.
…
When she read this, she really wanted to giggle as she pursed her lips. After a while, she calmed down. At this moment, the waiter had already brought the dishes.
Qi Lei finally snapped back to his senses as well.
When the waiter was done serving them and had retreated, Qi Lei softly asked, “Did Mu Yuchen tell you about Sha Sha?” His tone could not conceal his disappointment.
Xi Xiaye looked up slightly and saw the dim light that flowed in his eyes. She lowered her gaze momentarily and then picked her drink up. “He mentioned her. I know that she and your brother, Qi Feng, were very close, but I think that for her to make someone like you miss her, this Gu Lingsha must be pretty amazing.” She then continued sipping on her drink.
When he heard this, a smile surfaced on Qi Lei’s handsome face immediately. He looked down at the swaying liquid in his glass, then looked up at her after a while.
“She is quite excellent. She’s about your age and is quite competitive. Sometimes, I do see hints of her in you. However, I know that she doesn’t share your frame of mind.”
Qi Lei seemed to be chasing some faraway memory as there was a listlessness in his eyes. His tone was soft as he spoke, “But she’s probably more exceptionally intelligent than you.”
When she heard Qi Lei say that without any apprehension, Xi Xiaye did not quite care. She shrugged and said calmly, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I won’t argue with you on that.”
She did not care how she looked to other men. As long as Mu Yuchen liked her, she was fine.
When she thought this, even she herself was not sure when she had become so open-minded and generous, yet she could also be quite petty!
Just as how he had said it the other day—
I thought the only woman at this banquet is you!
Seeing her indifferent and calm little face, the light in Qi Lei’s eyes flickered for a moment and he suddenly asked softly, “I heard that you used to love Han Yifeng very much… Is that true?”
However, when he said this, Xi Xiaye’s movements stopped. Her clear gaze slowly looked at him. As her expression was calm, you could not tell how she truly felt.
In regard to Xi Xiaye’s matters, Qi Lei was quite familiar with them. He had long heard about how Han Yifeng used to have a fiancè. In fact, the marriage had been determined since young, but sadly and unexpectedly, Han Yifeng fell for Xi Xinyi after that and rejected the marriage contract. Otherwise, Xi Xiaye and Han Yifeng should have been engaged more than a decade ago.
In fact, he remembered that scene at Elder Xi’s birthday banquet.
This woman did not seem to know how to protect herself. As he recalled that scene, he could not help but tense up too.
“That’s already the past,” Xi Xiaye answered apathetically. She frowned slightly and finished the drink in her glass before she continued, “If we could all meet sooner and love each other sooner, then we wouldn’t need to have gone through so many tragic incidents.”
“Meet sooner? Love each other sooner? Are you referring to yourself and Mu Yuchen, and Han Yifeng with Xi Xinyi?” Qi Lei asked.
Xi Xiaye smiled and nodded gently as her hair fell on her shoulders in an unruly manner. It interweaved like dark clouds on her chest while she casually twirled it. “But sometimes, it’s when the heart is hopeful and can’t let go that the one who’s hurt will always be the one that gives. Are you that person too?”
She looked at him whilst a hint of a smile floated in her eyes.
As Qi Lei listened, his handsome face flashed with a bitter smile. “Do you suddenly feel like you’ve found a lot to resonate with me?”
Xi Xiaye spread her arms and said, “If it were in the past, maybe, but now, I’m only left with lament and no resonance.”
“I heard that Han Yifeng and Xi Xinyi seem to be getting a divorce. If Han Yifeng goes back to you, would you turn around? After all, you once cared that much about him and you did have a beautiful past.”
The fact that the two of them could sit down so calmly and chat about these things was probably unimaginable to them.
Nevertheless, when she heard Qi Lei ask this, Xi Xiaye instantly frowned. She responded after a pause, “As much as I cared for him, that was before. As beautiful as things were, it’s just the past. No one should live in the past. I’ve chased him for more than 20 years now. I only realized afterward that I’ve been going after the wrong person. He doesn’t belong to me, and I don’t belong to him either.
“However, I still hope that he can live better. After all, no matter what happens, he was once a dream and hope that I chased after. Now that I think about it, he’s actually not all that great because I hadn’t met him back then…” Xi Xiaye plainly said, then poured him more drink. Qi Lei’s still gaze started to flicker uncertainly in that instant as he fixed his eyes on her beautiful face.
Obviously, he could hear that the former and latter ‘him’ were two different people, so he suddenly smiled. “I’m not any worse than the two of them, but why am I the bad person to you?”
“Because a good person wouldn’t keep calling themselves a good person all day.” Xi Xiaye shot him a glance.
“Then, what if I call myself a bad person? Will we be able to chat so nicely next time?” Qi Lei raised his brows with a smirk. Then, he took the wine bottle from her and poured her a drink too as he teased.
“No, we can’t,” she rejected frankly and swiftly.
“Why’s that? I think that it’s quite amusing to chat with you. I’ve never befriended anyone simply, especially women!” He raised her brows in surprise at her.
“Because I’m a married woman.” She flaunted her hand that had her wedding ring.
“Is Mu Yuchen so stingy that he doesn’t even have the money to get you a huge diamond ring? He let you wear such a little thing! No matter what, a larger one should suit you better.”
“Only tacky people like you would have such thoughts.”
“I won’t be going after you. You’re not my type. Don’t worry.”
“You’re far from my taste.”
“Why… I’m a good…”
“Even if you’re a good person, you’re not as dashing as he is!”
