To put it bluntly, she just wanted some excitement and to embarrass him a bit. After all, she still carried the title of the Regent's fiancée.
Fortunately, she had booked a private room. It was quiet and peaceful, and it was truly delightful to drink alone.
After a few rounds of drinks, when the scenery in front of her began to blur, she got up and staggered out. Maybe she was really having too much fun. As she passed by a private room, she would open the door and peek inside. Most of the scenes were too racy for young people.
Sometimes she would stop and listen for a while, but in the end, she would always be driven away.
Until she casually pushed open this door.
She found that the people sitting upright inside were all well - dressed and looked cold - faced. Although she was all hot from drinking, as soon as she stepped in, she suddenly felt a chill.
She squinted and took a closer look. She always felt that one of them was extremely familiar.
She scratched her head and ears. Suddenly, she remembered that the man sitting in the middle was none other than the Minister of War. And the man next to him also seemed familiar, but her mind was over - taxed at the moment and she really couldn't recall.
But her intuition told her that she had to play dumb.
So she started to sing a song. No one knew what she was singing anyway. No one would care what a drunkard was singing.
As she sang, she staggered backwards. But within seconds, she felt someone suddenly grab her around the waist.
There was no sense of familiarity at all. Instead, it exuded an aggressive aura.
She was so scared that she immediately ran out. Then she saw a drunkard grinning stupidly at her: "Little lady, you're so pretty. Why don't you come and have some fun with me, sir? Sir will give you money. You can have as much as you want!"
After she had retreated far enough, she kicked him away: "Get out of here. Who wants to play with you?"
She walked downstairs with a look of disgust on her face. But this guy was persistent and kept chasing after her.
What puzzled her was that even when she reached the first - floor lobby and mingled with the crowd, he still managed to catch up with her quickly.
"Little lady, are you playing hard - to - get with me?"
Hard - to - get your ass!
Unexpectedly, this guy took out a rope from somewhere. The length seemed just right to tie someone up.
Cheng Xiran tried to push her way out, but instead, she was blocked by the people around her and couldn't move.
The guy was getting closer and closer. She could clearly see the smile on his face, which also made her want to vomit.
"I'm telling you, I'm the Regent's fiancée. If you dare to lay a finger on me, I guarantee the Regent won't let you off easily when he finds out!"
But this guy wasn't the least bit intimidated. Instead, he laughed even more recklessly: "So I've got the Regent's woman today!"
He even seemed very excited.
As he was about to throw the rope to tie up Cheng Xiran, the next second, he was kicked several meters away. He crashed straight into the railing, breaking two or three of them.
Cheng Xiran knew it was him. There was just a tiny bit of gratitude in her heart, but this tiny bit was not enough for her to forgive his concealment or for them to make up.
After leaving Huayan Pavilion, Cheng Xiran walked towards the inn she had booked. Helian Duo didn't say a word. He just silently followed behind.
The two walked one in front and the other behind until he made sure she arrived safely at the well - lit inn.
Just then, Zuo Yan came out.
"Miss, you're back. I've made all the arrangements inside. You can stay here as long as you like."
Cheng Xiran forced a smile.
Zuo Yan then realized there was something wrong with what he said, so he corrected himself: "I've checked the room. There's nothing abnormal."
After seeing Helian Duo approaching, Zuo Yan stepped back.
Helian Duo tried to soften his tone. "You should rest well tonight. Don't run around and make people worry."
Cheng Xiran didn't even look at him. She just said indifferently: "Whether I live or die doesn't seem to matter to you at all. Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?"
"Your fiancé." Helian Duo answered without hesitation.
Was he still not going to tell her?
Cheng Xiran was already disappointed. Regardless of anything else, she just said whatever was cruel enough that came to her mind.
"Tomorrow I'll go to the palace in person and ask the emperor to call off the engagement. Then from now on, we'll go our separate ways, get married to others, and never see each other again."
After saying these harsh words, she felt a sharp pain in her heart. Then she walked inside.
"Cheng Xiran, are you serious?"
Helian Duo shouted.
Cheng Xiran bit her lower lip tightly. After feeling the pain, she said insincerely: "I'm serious. Anyway, our relationship was just a show. Now it's just time to end this show."
There was suddenly no sound behind her. When she turned around again, Helian Duo was already gone.
He really just left like that without any attempt to stay?
It seemed that he really had someone new... No, she might not even count as his old love.
Cheng Xiran laughed at herself. Then she dragged her tired body into the inn, went back to her room, and fell onto the bed to sleep.
The next day, instead of lying in bed dejectedly, she pulled Zhuque and Yun'er to look for a job. She had originally planned to go to the palace, but who was she? Just an ordinary commoner. How could she see the emperor whenever she wanted?
She spent the whole day looking but couldn't find a suitable job. No one came to see her or mentioned Helian Duo in front of her. She suddenly thought that it wouldn't be long before she could completely forget about him.
At night, she was supposed to attend Yan An's wedding banquet, but she really had no appetite or mood. So she asked Zhuque to go to the newspaper agency to pick up some small gifts and send them to him on her behalf. She just sent her best wishes and that was that.
"Miss, I heard there's a folk dance on West Street tonight. Why don't we go and have a look?"
Yun'er begged her, using all her soft - spoken skills. She couldn't refuse, so she agreed.
As soon as she left the inn, she saw Chu Liyin and Xue Lianyu.
"We knew you were bored, so we came to play with you, sister. Sister, we're going to West Street to watch the dance. Why don't we go together?"
Xue Lianyu chimed in: "I know what happened to you, Xiran. Don't worry. We all support you!"
Chu Liyin pulled her along. They didn't mention Helian Duo either.
No one mentioned him, but she still missed him. She was really obsessed.
What could cure this obsession?
It seemed there was no cure.
However, it was really strange how they knew about the matter between her and Helian Duo.
She originally wanted to ask, but West Street was extremely lively and noisy tonight. Gradually, she temporarily forgot this question that had been bothering her. She started to indulge in the fun just like in the afternoon and stopped thinking about him.
"Sister, come and have a look. It's so beautiful!"
There was a graceful woman standing on a high - rise pavilion. Although she was only wearing a white shirt, under the soft moonlight, she seemed to be covered with a silver glow. From afar, her features were delicate and beautiful. Her long black hair was like a waterfall, flowing as she moved.