Rich Sister called him Xiangxiang.
He had never known his name could sound so pleasant, so melodious.
Meng Xiang pressed his lips together, secretly delighted, and nodded, "Mm!"
Then, turning to the group of people who had tried to hit on her, he said:
"You old men shouldn't try to copy others by calling her 'sister,' lest you become a laughingstock."
The men looked at each other and left awkwardly.
"Let's go, you must have been waiting impatiently, right?" Xia Liuyue started walking.
But Meng Xiang didn't move, his gaze still fixed on her arm looped through his.
The rims of his ears uncontrollably flushed slightly red. He stammered,
"Um, your hand..."
"What? Just linking arms. Don't tell me you've never walked arm-in-arm with a pretty sister before?" Xia Liuyue tilted her head slightly to look at him.
Meng Xiang's face turned even redder. Flustered and embarrassed, he retorted,
"H-how could that be!"
"I'm just afraid Brother Yan might find out."
After saying it, even he felt his words were a bit absurd.
Yan Hechuan was blind now, how could he possibly find out?
The two of them, arms linked, arrived at the booth. Xia Liuyue switched to Tang Yinyao's voice tone and said with a sigh,
"Hechuan, have you been waiting long? It's all Brother Jiashu's fault, so annoying."
Hearing her arrive, Yan Hechuan shifted to the left, patted the empty seat beside him, signaling for her to sit down.
He asked, "Did Du Jiashu look for you again?"
There was a hint of jealousy in his tone.
In the past, he had never minded the close relationship between his fiancée and his good friend.
But now, it felt uncomfortable no matter how he thought about it.
Xia Liuyue sat down as suggested and pointed at Meng Xiang, gesturing for him to pour her a drink.
She sighed,
"Exactly, Brother Jiashu had another fight with his wife."
"With that terrible temper of his, he should be overjoyed that anyone was willing to marry him."
Yan Hechuan was silent for a moment. "...Du Jiashu's wife."
Xia Liuyue leaned in closer to him, curious.
"What's wrong? Do you know her?"
Yan Hechuan shook his head. "No, but I heard she's my junior from university."
They were all graduates of Jianghe University.
Xia Liuyue's tone carried a note of teasing. "What a coincidence? Then you must have heard that this junior had several boyfriends during university?"
Yan Hechuan's tone became slightly more serious.
"Hearsay isn't reliable. Besides, that's someone else's private life. It's best not to get involved."
Xia Liuyue couldn't help but let out an "Oh."
She changed her approach and replied,
"But Brother Jiashu is my good friend. Do you think it's wrong for me to care about him?"
Yan Hechuan frowned slightly.
Although he couldn't see, he felt his fiancée's words carried a hint of testing. So he stated his position clearly:
"That's his own marital life. Even if you are the best of brothers or friends, you have no right to interfere."
Just as expected, as rigid as his personality, with an extremely strong moral compass.
Sometimes that's an advantage, but sometimes it's also a flaw.
Xia Liuyue couldn't help but wonder:
If one day he discovered she wasn't his real fiancée,
would he choose to accept it or resolutely reject it?
Just imagining that scene was quite amusing.
Meng Xiang listened to their conversation from the side.
He really didn't dare to breathe too loudly.
Rich Sister too! Dancing on the edge of a knife, isn't she afraid of being discovered?
Perhaps feeling his tone had been a bit heavy earlier,
Yan Hechuan spoke again.
He said, "Yueyue, what did you ask Meng Xiang to bring me to the bar for?"
Meng Xiang's eyes widened in surprise.
Wait, Brother Yan just called her 'Yueyue' so smoothly?
What's going on?
Xia Liuyue smiled. She had lied to Yan Hechuan, saying her nickname was Yueyue, and he actually believed it.
Not only believed it but actually called her that.
However, she was even more looking forward to the scene a month later when Tang Yinyao returned to the country and heard Yan Hechuan call her 'Yueyue.' That would surely be even more spectacular.
Xia Liuyue said slowly,
"To treat your allergy."
"You went to the hot springs this afternoon, right? You didn't have an allergic reaction then."
Yan Hechuan nodded.
"And have you had any reaction since entering the bar until now?"
He had been sitting in the booth the whole time, hadn't contacted anyone else. The only server he had contact with had placed the drinks at a distance and left immediately.
Yan Hechuan explained, "Without direct contact, the probability of an allergic reaction is very small."
"Then let's go." Xia Liuyue simply pulled his arm, wanting him to stand up.
Yan Hechuan was bewildered. "Go where?"
"To the dance floor to dance."
Meng Xiang glanced at the gyrating crowd in the distant dance floor; there were plenty of men and women. If Yan Hechuan went there, he'd probably have an allergic reaction and break out in hives on the spot.
"Fighting poison with poison," Xia Liuyue tugged again.
This time, Yan Hechuan rose from the sofa himself and, in one smooth motion, took hold of her hand that had been holding his.
His broad palm enveloped hers.
"What if I have an allergic reaction?"
Xia Liuyue pointed at Meng Xiang and smiled. "I had Meng Xiang bring allergy medicine in advance. Let's go."
Meng Xiang just watched as Rich Sister led Yan Hechuan towards the dance floor, their figures quickly blending into the vast, noisy background.
His raised hand slowly lowered.
He had originally wanted to say, "Then maybe I should go too?"
But then he thought, forget it.
Rich Sister's goal is to sleep with Yan Hechuan, so of course she needs to get close on the dance floor.
If he tagged along, he'd just be a massive third wheel.
But just a moment ago, she had called him 'Xiangxiang'! Meng Xiang shook his head vigorously, thinking to himself, "You can't trust what beautiful women say."
He glanced at the wine glass on the table, thought about picking it up, then abruptly set it down again.
He couldn't drink yet!
He still had to drive back as the chauffeur.
Sitting alone and bored in the booth, he opened the chat dialog with Xia Liuyue.
Looking at the 6888 transfer she had sent, he suddenly felt a bit unsettled.
If she would just call him 'Xiangxiang' one more time, then the money... well, it didn't seem to matter much!
The moment this thought uncontrollably popped into his head, Meng Xiang slapped his cheeks twice hard, telling himself to stay clear-headed.
You're a professional con artist!
What do romance and love have to do with you?
...
On the dance floor.
It was Yan Hechuan's first time in such a noisy environment. Coupled with his blindness, his hearing was extremely sensitive.
He gripped Xia Liuyue's hand tighter, feeling uneasy, and licked his lips.
It was a sign of nervousness.
"Are you scared?" Xia Liuyue wrapped her other arm around his waist.
The two of them swayed on the dance floor, surrounded by people moving to the music, so speaking clearly was difficult.
So she stood on her tiptoes, leaned close to his ear, and asked again, "Are you scared?"
Yan Hechuan's entire body was tense.
After a long moment, he replied, "A little."
Although he couldn't see, he could smell many different perfumes in the air, coming from various strangers of the opposite sex.
Amidst the backdrop of clashing metal music,
Xia Liuyue suddenly moved her lips, which had been near his ear, downward, letting them land on his sculpted jawline. She lowered her voice and said,
"Don't think about other people. Don't perceive other scents. Just think about me."
Yan Hechuan was puzzled, his lips parting slightly. "...Think about you?"
