As soon as she saw Xu Ruobing about to leave, Chi Yingyu’s fingers paused abruptly. The fingers that had been constantly rubbing the ring in her hand finally settled down at this moment, no longer as deliberate as before.
After the separation, the tiny diamonds set in the ring band still carried a trace of warmth from her fingertip, shining under the light like starlight that had been snuffed out.
She quickly straightened up from the sofa, and even the cream-colored shawl draped over her legs slipped off at one corner.
“Don’t go, Ruobing…”
Chi Yingyu’s voice was softer than before, lacking some of her usual sharpness in front of Xu Ruobing, and carrying a rare hint of awkwardness. “I really do have something to talk to you about. I wasn’t deliberately trying to annoy you with the ring.”
Xu Ruobing had already stood up, her hand resting on the back of the chair, her light gray suit jacket making her shoulder line look crisp.
Hearing this, her footsteps paused, but she didn’t turn around. She only tilted her face to glance at Chi Yingyu, her eyes carrying a trace of knowing resignation. “But it looks to me like you specifically called me here to make you angry. I thought you had something important. Don’t tell me you’re deliberately using this method to reduce my time with Jiang Lai! Why are you acting like a child?”
Between her and Chi Yingyu, one could say it was a troubled fate. From the very beginning, they were “love rivals” who harbored hostility toward each other because of Jiang Lai, and later they gradually figured out each other’s temperaments, becoming friends who could occasionally sit down and have a cup of coffee.
Xu Ruobing understood Chi Yingyu too well. This female lawyer, who appeared calm and decisive, would become exceptionally uncomfortable whenever anything related to Jiang Lai came up. She would either deliberately show off like just now, or act as childish as a kid.
But it was also this kind of person who had completely and thoroughly won Jiang Lai’s heart.
This was the first time Xu Ruobing had lost to someone so completely. Although her current situation couldn’t really be considered losing, since during the day she could still secretly meet Jiang Lai in the room, her heart would still feel a bit uncomfortable more or less.
“God, I’m very busy, you know. Daytime is very precious. Some things you can just think about yourself. There’s no need to come find me to talk about them.”
Xu Ruobing checked the time. If she went back now, she could just make it in time to have a sweet lunch together with Jiang Lai.
Chi Yingyu looked at Xu Ruobing’s back as she was about to leave, took a deep breath, as if having made a tremendous decision, and said softly, “The people I can count as friends, there’s only you. So this matter, I can only tell you… I want to hold a wedding with Jiang Jiang.”
She said it very lightly, yet it was like a small pebble dropped into calm water, making the office quiet down instantly.
Xu Ruobing’s movement stopped for two seconds, then she slowly turned around, her face carrying a trace of barely noticeable surprise.
“So this still counts as showing off, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not. I’ve never held a wedding, and right now it’s only a plan in my heart, so I thought it would be better to find someone to discuss it with. So I found you.”
Hearing this reason of having no friends, she walked back to the sofa across from Chi Yingyu and sat down, her body leaning slightly forward, her gaze falling on Chi Yingyu’s face.
“A wedding? Haven’t you two already been living together for a long time? In that case, is there still a need to hold a wedding?”
“But this simply isn’t enough. What I want is to give her a complete experience.”
Chi Yingyu’s gaze drifted toward the window, her eyes becoming somewhat soft.
“Actually, I’ve always been looking forward to this wedding…”
Although she had perfectly accepted the fact that her sister could share Jiang Lai with her, some competitiveness still existed. That is, the memories her sister had with Jiang Lai, she herself must also have. This childlike competitiveness made her also want to have such a blissful wedding.
After all, she still remembered the scene when she attended her sister and Jiang Lai’s wedding. At that time, she thought in her heart… that one day, she too would have such a blissful wedding.
Thinking about everything that happened back then, she paused, and the corners of her mouth curved into a faint smile.
“Sort of a thought from when I was little.”
Xu Ruobing looked at her soft yet persistent expression, and suddenly felt somewhat moved. When she first met Chi Yingyu, she would absolutely never have shown such a soft side.
Xu Ruobing’s fingertip gently rubbed the armrest of the sofa, her gaze falling on Chi Yingyu’s slightly reddened ear tips. But now this person who had once been like a hedgehog, because of a wedding that hadn’t even been spoken aloud yet, revealed such a soft appearance.
“A thought from when you were little?”
Xu Ruobing picked up the tea on the table that had long gone cold, took a sip, trying to conceal the complexity in her tone.
“About everything from your and Jiang Lai’s past, even now I only know bits and pieces. One could say I’m truly very curious in my heart, but I’m clear that you two won’t tell me…”
“Because I simply don’t know how to talk about this matter, and the things involved are too complicated. Maybe you wouldn’t believe it at all…”
Listening to Chi Yingyu’s explanation, she had also heard almost identical words from Jiang Lai. Truly worthy of being lovers. But everyone has secrets, and Xu Ruobing had no need to probe to the bottom of things.
“So you called me here because you want me to help you come up with ideas for your and Jiang Lai’s future wedding?”
Xu Ruobing put down the cup, her body leaning slightly forward, her gaze carrying more seriousness. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll cause trouble at your wedding?”
“Why should I be afraid? I know you’re not that kind of person.”
Chi Yingyu gently shook her head, as if she had finally found an outlet to confide in, her speaking pace even quickening.
“Although we’re love rivals, sometimes I really do treat you as a friend, because I know you genuinely want what’s best for Jiang Lai. Actually, when I became clear on this point, I had already let go of a lot toward you.”
“Because I know that to Jiang Jiang… you really are very important. So now I also don’t mind you accompanying Jiang Jiang during the day.”
Xu Ruobing’s fingers holding the cup suddenly tightened. The icy cup wall pressed against her fingertip, yet it couldn’t block the warmth suddenly surging up from the bottom of her heart.
“Really… what nonsense are you saying…”
“I’m not. Because I really do think this way.”
Chi Yingyu spoke almost with her most sincere words. “I also want to be friends with you.”
“Friends?”
Xu Ruobing put down the cup, her fingertip lightly tapping on the sofa armrest, deliberately teasing her.
“Aren’t you afraid that one day I’ll change my mind and then openly compete with you for Jiang Lai?”
Chi Yingyu didn’t rush to retort. Instead, she seriously thought about it, then shook her head.
“Not afraid. Jiang Lai chose me, and she didn’t push you away either. That shows you have a place in her heart. And besides…”
She paused, the corners of her mouth curving into a faint smile.
“If you really wanted to compete, whether we’re friends or not, that couldn’t stop you at all.”