They had wanted to come pick her up, but Jiang Lai estimated the timing—by the time the plane landed, it would already be very late. Even if her flight wasn’t delayed, Chi Yingyu thought it would still be too late, so she didn’t let them come.
Anyway, the airport had a subway that went straight back. It just took a bit longer, but at least it was convenient. By the time Jiang Lai got home, though it was already almost 11 o’clock, she wasn’t very tired. She had just spent the ride catching up on sleep, so aside from a slightly sore neck, she actually felt more energetic than she’d expected.
Chi Yingyu had worked such long hours today. If she came to pick her up at night too, she would be exhausted all day. Jiang Lai couldn’t bear that at all.
Jiang Lai was carrying her small suitcase and was just about to exit the subway station when she spotted a familiar figure at the entrance.
She initially thought it was her imagination, but looking closer, it really was Xie Qingyi.
But why would she be at the subway station near her home?
Jiang Lai watched that lonely figure, unsure for a moment how she should handle it, or whether she should just pretend she hadn’t seen her.
While hesitating, Jiang Lai sent several messages to Shen Ruxue. She needed to know what had happened on their end. If nothing had occurred, Xie Qingyi would never have appeared here without reason. So something important must have happened with Xiaoxue—something Jiang Lai didn’t know about.
Jiang Lai walked to a quiet corner near a subway station exit. It happened to be out of the flow of people, and through the glass, she could vaguely see that familiar figure outside the station. The earpiece emitted a “beep… beep…” waiting tone.
Jiang Lai even worried that sending messages wouldn’t be clear enough, so holding her phone, she walked quickly, her fingertip hovering over the screen for two seconds before finally pressing the call button.
The moment the call connected, Shen Ruxue’s slightly delighted voice came through.
“Hello? Jiang Lai!”
The background seemed to carry the rustling sound of pages turning, as if she was still handling work.
Jiang Lai instinctively lowered her voice, her gaze drifting toward the window again.
Xie Qingyi was still standing there, hands in her trench coat pockets, head slightly lowered. The streetlamp stretched her shadow long, making her look especially lonely.
“Xiaoxue, is it convenient for you to talk right now? I saw Xie Qingyi at the subway station—the one near my home. Why is she here? Did something happen on your end?”
The other end of the line was silent for two seconds, then a soft sigh came through.
Shen Ruxue’s voice carried a few more traces of fatigue.
“I didn’t expect her to go find you… Actually, I’ve been sending people to look for her these past two days, but she seems to be deliberately hiding. Her phone is off too. I was still worried something might have happened to her.”
“What exactly happened?”
Jiang Lai pressed.
“Wasn’t everything fine when I left? Why would it suddenly…”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but the meaning was obvious.
The relationship between the two had been strained when she left, but it shouldn’t have gotten this bad.
Shen Ruxue paused again, as if organizing her thoughts. It was a long while before she slowly spoke.
“I canceled our engagement.”
“Canceled?”
Jiang Lai froze, her hand unconsciously tightening around the suitcase handle.
“Why? Did something go wrong on your end again?”
Shen Ruxue’s voice was soft, yet carried unwavering firmness.
“It was my decision. I thought it would be better for me to break it off proactively.
I didn’t let her suffer any grievance. I took all the responsibility on myself. To the outside, we said our personalities didn’t match. I also gave the Xie family a compensation—a considerable amount of working capital, enough to help them pay off the company’s current debts, and even leave a good amount left over.
I originally thought that would be enough. At least she could live peacefully, not be dragged down by family matters, and not be gossiped about because of the canceled engagement.”
Jiang Lai frowned, a vague bad feeling rising in her heart.
“So now… is it the Xie family causing problems?”
Shen Ruxue’s voice gained a hint of helplessness.
“I still underestimated their attitude toward Qingyi.
After the Xie family received the compensation, they turned around and pushed all the blame onto Qingyi. They said she was stubborn and didn’t know how to behave, that she wouldn’t cooperate with the family’s arrangements, which made the engagement fall through. They even said she delayed the Xie family’s opportunities.
Qingyi simply couldn’t stay in that house anymore. Her parents argued with her every day, and even wanted her to go meet other wealthy businessmen, saying she needed to ‘make up for the family’s losses.'”
Hearing this, Jiang Lai’s heart sank.
She wasn’t particularly close to Xie Qingyi, but she knew her well enough to understand her proud nature. How could she endure such treatment?
“So did she run away from your place? Then why did she come to mine? Has she contacted you? Did you tell her my location?”
“No.”
Shen Ruxue’s voice was tinged with helplessness.
“I don’t know how she found out your address either. As for her coming to you, it might be because you said a few kind words to her. She thinks you’re someone worth trusting.
Do you believe me?”
Looking once more at the figure outside the station, Jiang Lai’s hesitation gradually gave way to sympathy.
‘Being treated as a bargaining chip by her family, yet having to bear all the blame—how wronged must she feel?’
“Then what do you plan to do now?”
On the other end of the phone, Shen Ruxue couldn’t help asking.
Because she knew that her Jiang Lai would never leave such a pitiful person out there alone.
“I know… you must already have a decision in your heart. Then go ahead.”
“Alright… Thank you, Xiaoxue.”
After hanging up, Jiang Lai first placed her suitcase in a corner, then walked quickly to the convenience store in the subway station, buying a hot cocoa and a heated ham sandwich.
It was so cold out. She didn’t know how long Xie Qingyi had been standing there alone, or whether she was hungry.
Jiang Lai held the warm cup, took a deep breath, adjusted her collar, and walked quickly to Xie Qingyi’s side, calling softly:
“Qingyi?”
Xie Qingyi looked up at Jiang Lai, whom she’d thought she wouldn’t see. Her lips moved, but no words came out.
Her eyes carried a hint of panic and helplessness, and for a moment she had no idea what to say at all.
Although she had harbored some unrealistic hopes in her heart, when it actually came down to getting close, she didn’t dare anymore. That was why she had been sitting in the corner of the subway station, hesitating over and over.
As for Jiang Lai, she wasn’t curious about what was on Xie Qingyi’s mind, and she didn’t ask much at the moment. She simply held out the hot cocoa in her hand.
“I just bought this at the convenience store. Warm yourself up, okay?”
Xie Qingyi took the hot cocoa from Jiang Lai with trembling hands.
“Thank you…”
Then she saw Jiang Lai sit down beside her, giving her a warm hug that warmed her cold body.