Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Shortly after they placed their orders, the waiter served them their drinks first. Fang Jiayin had a cup of coffee, while Xuxu had hot chocolate. Soon enough, the sweet smell of hot beverages
permeated the air.
Fang Jiayin stirred her coffee with a teaspoon. She glanced at Xuxu and asked, “Do you want some red wine?”
Xuxu shooked her head lightly. “I have a low tolerance for alcohol.”
She jolly well know her threshold for alcohol.
“I know. I am just teasing you.” Having said that, she took a sip of her coffee and continued blasting Xuxu another question. “Are you now able to drink beyond one glass of wine without getting drunk?”
Xuxu smiled in her response. “I don’t get drunk but just a little tipsy.”
“You are really bad in holding your alcohol,” Fang Jiayin commented, “but be it one glass or one bottle, the extent of your drunkenness is almost the same.”
This was indeed very true. Xuxu couldn’t help but break into a burst of laughter. “You’re right. I will be struggling to keep my balance and would need someone to hold on to. I’ll also be spouting gibberish.”
Although she had a very low tolerance for alcohol, she had yet to be intoxicated to the point of unconsciousness.
“The most memorable was during Ah Heng’s farewell party. According to Ah Sheng, that was the only time where you had a drop too much.” Fang Jiayin was sipping her coffee and casually talking at the same time. “He said that you must had felt heartbroken and the next day, he was nagging incessantly ‘Wen Xuxu, that dumb and useless woman’ .”
At the mention of this matter, Xuxu had an awkward smile on her face. She sighed and then said, “Those are embarrassing matters of the past and they’re not worth a mention.”
She lowered her head and stirred her hot chocolate with a straw. Feelings of insecurity and inferiority bubbled up to the surface, and she tried her best to hide it.
During that time, Yan Rusheng was still Fang Jiayin’s boyfriend. Yet, that night when he kissed or hugged her, she didn’t shove him away but instead, went all out to pander to him.
Although she knew in her heart that she had misread the cues back then, it didn’t change the fact that she tried to pass off as Fang Jiayin before.
And this is why she did not want to cross paths with Fang Jiayin. It wasn’t just solely because she and Yan Rusheng used to have feelings for each other in the past, but because Xuxu felt guilty towards the girl.
“Xuxu, Ah Sheng has changed so much because of you,” Fang Jiayin said with a smile.
Xuxu felt the embarrassment crept up to her bones when she heard Fang Jiayin said that — she even felt selfish and felt ill.
As compared to her cautious and defensive nature, Fang Jiayin was undoubtedly much better than her. She was gentle, soft-spoken, beautiful and talented, one who was deemed as the darling of the heavens.
Furthermore, Yan Rusheng’s childhood friends and even the entire school had regarded them to be the most compatible. In terms of their intellect and looks, they were a match made in heaven.
She had grown up with Yan Rusheng. Though their names were often put together by people, no one had ever mentioned that they would make a compatible couple. It was only after they got together that people started complimenting them.
She lifted her head and smiled faintly. “Really?”
Yan Rusheng had indeed changed a lot. But one tends to change with times, don’t they?
She would just assume that he had changed because of her. Only then would she strive to keep him by her side and never let him go.
Their steak was served and both of them still chatted as they ate. Fang Jiayin shared with Xuxu some interesting things that happened to her while she was overseas.
Jiayin shared her initial struggles in adopting a new environment—let alone overseas— and the challenges she faced in her studies. She told Xuxu about the people she met and how open-minded and carefree they were, and the places she had visited, and even the activities she participated in.