Chapter 19

The restaurant was filled with a thread of captivating melody, flowing like a gentle stream into the depths of the heart.

Looking at the food in front of her, Jiang Lai sat uneasily, unable to work up even the slightest appetite. Xu Zhiyi, seated across from her, was eating with relish.

“Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like it?”

Seemingly noticing Jiang Lai’s distraction, Xu Zhiyi set down her knife and fork and asked with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“No.”

Jiang Lai came back to herself and took a sip of water.

“If it’s good, eat more. This restaurant is very hard to book.”

Seeing more food appear on her plate, Jiang Lai gave a faint hmm. “Thank you, Senior.”

Xu Zhiyi didn’t press the issue of how Jiang Lai addressed her. The smile on her face only dimmed slightly; she swirled the red wine in her glass but didn’t drink.

Jiang Lai only felt that every bite tasted like wax. In the end, she had no choice but to set down her chopsticks and apologize softly, “Senior, I can’t eat any more.”

Xu Zhiyi laughed. “If you can’t finish it, then you can’t finish it. Why are you looking at me like that? I’m not going to eat you.”

Jiang Lai bit her lip. “May I ask you something?”

“Mm-hm.”

“I remember that we’d never met before, but you... why did you say those things on the program, and why did you do those incomprehensible things to me?”

Xu Zhiyi placed the wineglass gently on the table, her expression unchanged. “If my actions caused you trouble, I apologize. But... you may have to get used to it in the future.”

“Why? Give me a reason I can accept.”

Jiang Lai looked at her, her gaze refusing to waver.

After a long silence, Xu Zhiyi finally said flatly, “You look like her.”

“Like who?”

“The person I like.”

Jiang Lai gave a furious, almost mocking laugh. “It’s the twenty-first century, and you’re still pulling this substitute-girl drama? Don’t you think what you’ve done to me is a little too much?”

“Are you angry?”

Xu Zhiyi’s face showed a trace of apology. She tentatively hooked her pinky around Jiang Lai’s little finger. Jiang Lai’s entire body jolted, but she didn’t pull back.

“This was my mistake. I’m sorry. Forgive me, okay?”

Her voice carried a softness Jiang Lai had never heard from her before.

Jiang Lai withdrew her hand and lowered her eyes. “You don’t need to apologize to me. The one you should apologize to is the person you like.”

“I..."

“If someone like you liked her, she must be a very outstanding person too. She’s one of a kind. If she knew what you’ve done, she would be disappointed.”

Xu Zhiyi looked at the girl before her, whose expression was so earnest, and something inside her suddenly shifted. It seemed as if something had changed...

But after a moment, she quickly collected herself and smiled, looking past Jiang Lai toward the person behind her. “I’ll show you a good show.”

Following her gaze, Jiang Lai saw Qin Huaicheng and Lin Wanqiu.

Some time ago, Qin Huaicheng had gone to attend an awards ceremony, and the two of them hadn’t seen each other for a long time. From the news, it seemed they had only just arrived here today...

They clearly saw the two of them as well. Qin Huaicheng hurriedly tried to pry Lin Wanqiu’s arm away, but she clung to him like an octopus, stubbornly attached to him. In the end, he could only sigh in resignation and let her keep holding on.

Jiang Lai let out a self-mocking smile. Qin Huaicheng’s current indulgence toward Lin Wanqiu made her feel as if the person she used to be had been living like a joke.

She turned away and no longer paid attention to the people behind her. Some things, once you decided to forget them, should be forgotten completely...

“Jiang Lai-jiejie, Teacher Xu, you’re eating here too?”

Before she knew it, the two of them had already come up to their table and were greeting them with smiles.

“Oh? You two are here as well? It’s not easy to reserve seats here.”

“Yes.”

Lin Wanqiu held Qin Huaicheng’s hand tightly. “A-Cheng finally managed to book this place. He came with me as soon as he got off the plane today.”

Xu Zhiyi raised a brow. “Not bad. Very good.”

“Jiang Lai-jiejie, did you come with Teacher Xu?”

Caught off guard and directly addressed, Jiang Lai couldn’t keep pretending she was invisible and could only force out a smile. “Mm.”

Then, looking at the silent Qin Huaicheng, she said hoarsely, “Mr. Qin, long time no see.”

“Long time no see...”

Knowing full well some things shouldn’t have been said by her, she still couldn’t break the habit formed over years. “If you have time, go visit Auntie. A few days ago, Auntie even called me and asked when you were going to see her.”

For an instant, Qin Huaicheng’s smile stiffened. He made a visible effort to control his emotions. “Okay, I know. I’ll go see her when I have time.”

Xu Zhiyi said, “If there’s nothing else, would you like to sit down and eat with us?”

Afraid Qin Huaicheng and Jiang Lai might say one more word to each other, Lin Wanqiu hurriedly said, “No need. We’ll be seated soon anyway. We won’t disturb you and Senior Xu, so we’ll be going.”

As they left, Lin Wanqiu suddenly turned back and glanced at Jiang Lai, smiling at her. That smile held provocation and dissatisfaction, and she even seemed to catch a trace of fear...

“Why? Still unable to let go?”

“No.”

Jiang Lai sighed. “After all, we were together for so many years; we were only one step away from getting married. How could I see him again and feel nothing at all..."

“Look ahead. There’ll be someone better waiting for you.”

“Thank you..."

Seeing that Jiang Lai’s mood had already dipped, Xu Zhiyi very shrewdly changed the subject. “Have you and your Aunt Cheng been fighting lately?”

“No.”

“Really not?”

Xu Zhiyi narrowed her eyes as if she could see straight through Jiang Lai’s heart. “I know what you’re thinking, but Jiang Lai, you and she are not the same kind of people. Besides..."

Jiang Lai was listening closely, but Xu Zhiyi suddenly went quiet. A little anxious, she asked, “Besides what..."

“Jiang Lai, can you really not care about her past?”

Jiang Lai looked away, her voice muffled. “What are you talking about? She’s just an aunt who treats me well..."

Xu Zhiyi suddenly leaned in close. “Have you ever been with a girl?”

Jiang Lai’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“Nothing. I’m just curious.”

“...What’s there to be curious about?”

Xu Zhiyi only smiled without answering.

Night fell. The two of them got up and headed back to the hotel. They said good night to each other at the entrance; Jiang Lai went upstairs to the second floor and saw a faint light still on in the living room. Cheng Shuyang, who had not yet gone to bed, was wearing glasses and reading on the sofa. Hearing the noise, she looked up at her.

“Aunt Cheng.”

Jiang Lai greeted her and was about to go into her room, but Cheng Shuyang called her to a stop. “Wait.”

She sniffed the air carefully, then frowned. “You drank again?”

“Senior Xu asked me to drink, so I only had a little..."

“She told you to drink and you drank?”

Jiang Lai lifted her head. “You taught me to respect and yield to our seniors.”

Cheng Shuyang couldn’t help feeling a little headache coming on. “You remembered that part pretty clearly; everything else I said, you remember none of it.”

“Aunt Cheng..."

“Hm?”

“I... have I made you angry during this time? Why have you been avoiding me..."

“I haven’t been avoiding you.”

“You are avoiding me!”

Jiang Lai’s voice suddenly rose.

Cheng Shuyang was startled. Without time to think, she immediately reached out and covered her mouth. “Have you lost your mind? Do you want everyone on the crew to know you’re drunk and throwing a fit?”

“Sorry..."

Jiang Lai fished something out of her bag and pressed it into her hand. “I ran into someone selling this hair clip at the restaurant entrance just now. I thought it would look really good on Aunt Cheng, so I took the liberty of buying it for you.”

“It does look good.”

Jiang Lai gently hugged her, resting her cheek against her shoulder. “Aunt Cheng, stop avoiding me. I feel uncomfortable..."

Cheng Shuyang’s hand, which had been patting her back, paused. “A-Lai, you’re drunk. Go back and rest.”

“Oh. Then good night, Aunt Cheng..."

“Good night..."

Author’s Note:

Jiang Lai: “(cries) Aunt Cheng is still the best!”