On the way to the restaurant with her daughter, Jiang Lai received a call from Xu Ruobing. Since that livestream ended, Jiang Lai and Xu Ruobing had only met up once in private.
Jiang Lai now had plenty of free time every day and felt quite relaxed, but over on Xu Ruobing’s side, the preparations for the gala had reached the stage of full rehearsals. It seemed Xu Ruobing wouldn’t be able to relax until after the New Year.
Because of this, the two barely exchanged more than a couple of messages a day on their phones. So when she saw Xu Ruobing’s call, Jiang Lai’s heart drifted away for a moment.
She was already close enough to see the restaurant, so Jiang Lai let her daughter go ahead to find Chi Yingyu, while she herself stayed outside to take the call.
The moment the call connected, Xu Ruobing’s tired voice came from the other end, “I really miss you. While I’ve got a bit of time, hurry up and give me a long-distance hug and a kiss.”
“Alright, hug…”
Jiang Lai wanted to respond smoothly with the word “kiss” as well, but glancing at the bustling crowd around her, her voice grew much softer on those last two syllables.
“Kiss… Have today’s rehearsals not finished yet?”
“We still have to go through it at least twice more today. There can’t be any mistakes or accidents. Even making this call to you now is precious time I barely managed to squeeze out.”
Xu Ruobing hadn’t called for anything in particular; in her own words, she just wanted to hear Jiang Lai’s voice while she had a free moment.
Naturally, Jiang Lai was more than happy to fulfill such a small request. What’s more, Xu Ruobing was taking time out of her busy schedule. After five or six minutes on the phone, the other side hurriedly hung up.
Though Jiang Lai was a bit worried that Xu Ruobing might be so busy these days she wouldn’t even have time to eat, thinking about the studio backing Xu Ruobing reassured her and she let her worries go.
As she approached the restaurant, Jiang Lai seemed to catch a blurry glimpse through the glass of someone both familiar and deeply disliked. Right when she was about to enjoy the upcoming New Year holiday, her luck seemed to have run out.
She had planned a meal with her sister-in-law, but at the cashier’s counter, Jiang Lai saw the last person she wanted to run into—her former boss, Si Yina.
Si Yina was standing at the register, teasing a cute young girl in uniform with a ponytail, making her laugh and giggle as she covered her mouth shyly, eyes full of bashfulness.
The young girl had a pure, bookish air about her. She was probably a student working a part-time job over the break. Even a girl like that wasn’t spared; Si Yina was holding her soft hand, leaning in for a closer look, then raising her head to say something. The girl’s eyes went wide with surprise and admiration, as if her entire world revolved around Si Yina.
It was just two girls chatting at the counter, but Jiang Lai felt a wave of revulsion from Si Yina. And Si Yina wasn’t just flirting with one person—while chatting, she’d occasionally glance toward a spot deeper behind the counter.
Because her view was blocked, Jiang Lai couldn’t see who the third person was. As she drew closer to the entrance and tried to observe through the glass, her change of angle finally revealed the third person sitting inside—her own daughter.
Why did she always catch Si Yina in the act of doing something bad? The first time was molesting an intern in the elevator, the second time making a scene in Xu Ruobing’s office, and now here she was hitting on an obvious part-time worker, and, clearly, chatting happily with Jiang Lai’s daughter as well.
Jiang Lai looked at her daughter near the counter, then at Si Yina standing beside the two girls.
She wanted to pull her daughter back, but was afraid of exposing herself to Si Yina. Just thinking of how that woman had once pinned her against a wall in public made her fear that her dignity and self-respect might be ripped to shreds right in front of her daughter.
Si Yina had a great figure, a beautiful face, and eyes full of deep affection—everything about her was perfect. But her actions were those of a complete scoundrel.
It really was just like that saying: you can know a person’s face, but not their heart. She looked decent on the outside, but her deeds were anything but.
In Jiang Lai’s opinion, as long as Si Yina laid eyes on a pretty girl, she’d want to take advantage. If she wanted something, couldn’t she just ask Jiang Lai herself? Why go around harassing others like this?
Jiang Lai had wanted to put a stop to it before, but couldn’t think of any good way. Even if Si Yina, as a beauty, took advantage of others, most people wouldn’t even realize it.
And if a girl took advantage of another girl, at most it’d just get her a verbal warning if someone complained. To Jiang Lai, Si Yina was like an unbeatable Boss—no matter what attacks she tried, nothing worked.
Still, Si Yina should be more restrained in public, right? Even so, Jiang Lai’s heart was full of worry. She picked up her phone, wanting to ask her daughter what she was up to.
After arriving at the restaurant, Jiang Leyi had originally intended to ask the cashier where their reserved private room was. But to her surprise, the girl standing at the register was an old high school classmate.
Aside from Shen Ruxue, Jiang Leyi hadn’t made many close friends in college, but back in high school, she’d had several besties. The girl at the register was someone with whom she shared a deep friendship.
They’d been in the same class since middle school, and even sat in front and behind each other in high school—their relationship was inseparable.
If it weren’t for how far apart their universities were after graduation, their bond might have become even closer than her friendship with Shen Ruxue.
Seeing her old friend again gave Jiang Leyi an overwhelming urge to talk about everything on her mind.
Si Yina had only come here intending to grab a quick meal, but she hadn’t expected to once again encounter a pair of eyes that made her heart race. The girl’s deep, starlit gaze made Si Yina’s heart tremble—she felt as though—
For a moment, she was lost for words.
Jiang Leyi was at that age where beauty didn’t need embellishment. She resembled Jiang Lai by about thirty percent, but unlike Jiang Lai’s gentle grace, Jiang Leyi’s features were striking and sharp—more aggressive and entirely different in style. But their eyes could have come from the same mold.
Si Yina’s feelings for Jiang Lai bordered on obsessive. The frustration of loving but never attaining her had weighed on her for so long. Now, faced with a girl bearing a striking resemblance to Jiang Lai, all her pent-up emotions suddenly found an outlet.
If she couldn’t have the real thing, sampling someone similar before catching the main prize wasn’t so bad.
Although Jiang Leyi’s resemblance to Jiang Lai was only partial and gave off a completely different aura, the only thing exciting Si Yina was that thirty-percent similarity.
Even if she couldn’t have the real thing’s sweetness, she was still famished for even a taste right now.