Zhang Anqi nodded.
But a faint, ambiguous smile crept across her face.
This neighbor seemed to have more on her mind than she let on.
Qiao Liuyue then pointed at Chu Xubai and said, "This is Monitor Chu, Chu Xubai."
Finally, when it came time to introduce Xie Linchuan, she paused for a moment, as if deep in thought, looking a bit troubled.
Xie Linchuan himself held his breath, nervous and somewhat expectant.
Deep down, he knew that when Qiao Liuyue had grabbed his arm last time and called him her boyfriend, she had only done it deliberately to annoy Dong Jiaoyan. But afterward, seeing her cold attitude as if she didn’t want anything to do with him at all—
A faint sense of disappointment still crept up from the bottom of his heart.
After all, the real reason he had crossed half the city from Beishi to Nanshi, through some hidden, unspoken intention, was because of Qiao Liuyue.
It was just that his brother Chu Xubai had long since told him that he liked Qiao Liuyue.
So, for the sake of their friendship, Xie Linchuan buried that secret longing deep within his heart.
And yet, now and then, it stirred restlessly again.
"This one—he's Dong Jiaoyan's ex-boyfriend."
No one had expected Qiao Liuyue to introduce him that way.
Zhang Anqi’s eyes widened instantly. She looked Xie Linchuan up and down, then glanced back at Qiao Liuyue.
She thought to herself: Wow! This relationship web is complicated. If he’s Dong Jiaoyan’s ex, why does he look so docile and obedient tagging along with you through the grocery store?
Her brain nearly short-circuited.
Xie Linchuan’s eyes were full of gloom as he replied, "I was naive back then. I got played. She had plenty of flirtatious interests. I met her through an online relationship—I was just a backup option."
Hearing that, Zhang Anqi couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Xie Linchuan thought to himself: Do you even have any manners?
After laughing, Zhang Anqi felt a bit awkward and looked at Qiao Liuyue, saying, "Hey, don’t blame me for laughing. Honestly, I’m laughing at him, but also at my own pathetic self."
Qiao Liuyue was puzzled.
Zhang Anqi then swept her gaze across the three handsome men in front of her and asked, "Let me confirm one thing—none of you have a good relationship with Dong Jiaoyan, right?"
Zheng Qingyuan: "We’re at daggers drawn!"
Chu Xubai curled his lips faintly. "She’s a fool."
Xie Linchuan hung his head in dejection: "A black mark on my past."
Zhang Anqi looked at their expressions and couldn’t help but chuckle again. Then, turning to Qiao Liuyue, she said:
"Liuyue, it’s been so many years anyway. I’ve let it go, so there’s no point in hiding it anymore. I might as well tell you."
"Do you know why Dong Jiaoyan and I fell out back in high school?"
Qiao Liuyue shook her head.
Zhang Anqi smiled wryly and said:
"Back then, in high school, my grades weren’t great, and I secretly started dating the class heartthrob from the class next door. I didn’t tell anyone about that—only Dong Jiaoyan."
"At the time, I treated her as my very best friend. I told her everything—all my worries, all my secrets."
"Who would’ve thought that after hearing about my relationship, she decided my boyfriend was pretty impressive too, and went behind my back to steal him away."
"By the time I found out, she and my ex were already calling each other 'baby'."
She then made a disgusted face.
Xie Linchuan, who had once been called that, turned even darker in the face. He only felt a tingling in his nose—the ultimate clown, and he knew it.
"When I caught them, Dong Jiaoyan had the nerve to shamelessly say, 'I didn’t mean to. I just couldn’t control myself. I just liked your boyfriend too much.'"
At that, Zhang Anqi clenched her fists and snorted. "Does she think I didn’t see through her little game? 'Liked him too much, couldn’t control it'—what a joke. It was all deliberate."
"It all started because of that school talent show in high school. The teacher chose me to host because he thought I had a better image, and she got cut. Dong Jiaoyan said things like, 'You’re my best friend, I’m happy for you,' but behind my back, she was already scheming to steal my boyfriend."
"Hah! Good thing that pair of scumbag and tramp didn’t last either. Not long after they got together, my ex found out that Dong Jiaoyan had several other men lined up in her phone."
So that was it.
No wonder Zhang Anqi and Dong Jiaoyan used to be as close as sisters—over a man, of all things.
Or rather, the real reason was that Dong Jiaoyan was jealous that Zhang Anqi was prettier than her.
That’s why she had to steal the other’s boyfriend just to prove her own charm again!
Zhang Anqi rambled on for a while longer.
In the end, they exchanged WeChat contacts.
She reminded Qiao Liuyue:
"I’ll send the address for tomorrow’s class reunion here. You have to come. I heard Dong Jiaoyan and my ex will both be there. Back then, I was young, and for the sake of saving face, I swallowed it!
Now? Hmph, if I don’t air all their dirty laundry out in the open, my name isn’t Zhang Anqi."
And with that, she stormed off in a hurry.
After hearing the story, Zheng Qingyuan couldn’t help but feel relieved. "Good thing I saw through Dong Jiaoyan’s true nature early on."
Chu Xubai gave him a faint sideways glance and exposed the truth: "Did you really see through it yourself? If it weren’t for Liuyue, you’d have fallen for her tricks long ago."
Zheng Qingyuan didn’t argue. Instead, he grinned and nodded cheerfully.
She threw another sidelong glance at Xie Linchuan and said, "Yeah, but my luck's still better than some people's."
Xie Linchuan's face turned black as coal.
Did she really have to keep rubbing it in?
Fine!
He was the dumbest, he was the fool!
A complete and utter fool!
...
That said, Zheng Qingyuan looked like your typical slacker rich-kid who couldn't be bothered to take anything seriously.
But his cooking skills were actually pretty impressive.
The whole table cleared every dish, and Chu Xubai and Xie Linchuan were banished to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Zheng Qingyuan, meanwhile, made himself at home on the couch without a hint of shame, pretending to watch TV while secretly stealing glances at Qiao Liuyue the whole time.
Qiao Liuyue, for her part, was reading the messages Zhang Anqi had sent her.
In the end, she decided she'd go to the class reunion tomorrow after all.
Just to watch the show, really.
After all, whether Dong Jiaoyan had ever genuinely treated her as a good friend since childhood was up for debate, but one thing was certain—she'd always used her.
"Ah." Zheng Qingyuan let out a sudden strange yelp.
Qiao Liuyue turned off her phone screen and looked over at him. "What's wrong?"
What she actually wanted to say was: what kind of stupid thing are you doing now?
Zheng Qingyuan pointed at his hand with a pitiful expression. "I didn't look closely when I was cooking earlier, but I just noticed it's burned. See, it's all red."
Qiao Liuyue stepped closer, bent down, and glanced at it.
It was indeed red from the burn.
As she bent over, her sleek, jet-black hair cascaded forward, and a few strands brushed against Zheng Qingyuan's ear.
A tingly, numbing sensation.
Zheng Qingyuan's face immediately flushed red.
A faint, subtle fragrance lingered around the tip of his nose.
Qiao Liuyue spoke: "It is pretty red."
She was talking about how red his finger was from the burn.
But Zheng Qingyuan's brain had short-circuited, and he only assumed she'd noticed his shyness and was saying his ears were red.
So he instinctively covered his earlobe.
His voice wavered slightly as he forced himself to say, "Ah, no—it's not, they're not red at all!"
