In the evening, Qin Chengyao and Liu Xuejiao arrived on time.
They were dressed in a black suit and an evening gown, looking as if they were attending a banquet rather than an ordinary gathering.
In contrast, Ji Siyue and Zhu Zhiyao were both wearing identical sportswear.
This was not couple's clothing but just a few sets that Zhu Zhiyao bought for Ji Siyue incidentally. They usually dressed like this at home.
Zhu Zhiyao hadn't seen Qin Chengyao for several months. Meeting him this time with both of them in such identities, recalling the past, he really felt ill - at ease everywhere.
"Old Qin, you're here."
"Yeah, Old Zhu."
After greeting each other, the two walked aside as if to talk about something else. On the contrary, Liu Xuejiao and Ji Siyue were just staring at each other.
Ji Siyue was sharp - eyed and noticed that there seemed to be a bruise on the inner side of Liu Xuejiao's arm. That position didn't seem like it could be accidentally bumped into. Was she injured?
After Ji Siyue took a look, Liu Xuejiao voluntarily showed her arm and said to Ji Siyue, "Miss Ji, what do you think when you see this?"
"Nothing in particular."
"But you were just staring at it. Aren't you even a bit curious?"
"What do you want me to be curious about?"
"What if I said this was caused by Qin Chengyao?" Liu Xuejiao suddenly said.
Ji Siyue stared at her indifferently and suddenly curled her lips, "What do you mean? I don't understand now."
"It means..." Liu Xuejiao felt it was incredible. Wasn't her meaning obvious enough?
"It means if Qin Chengyao beats me, will you regret snatching the wedding back then?"
"What I want to say is that there is no direct evidence to prove that this was caused by Qin Chengyao. And I've known him for so long and been with him for several years. I've never seen him beat someone. I don't think the wound on your arm was caused by Qin Chengyao. Are you telling me these things now just to make me regret or be afraid of him? It's unnecessary."
Liu Xuejiao seemed to be defeated. She wiped off the bruise on her arm. It turned out to be eyeshadow!
"You should have been shocked and then run over to question him."
"And then?"
"He would get angry and get entangled with you again. You would go back to him, and I could get out of this misery."
As soon as she finished speaking, the two men who were talking on the balcony suddenly looked over here. Qin Chengyao was smiling as he looked at Liu Xuejiao, "What are you and Miss Ji talking about?"
"Nothing... It's okay. Just catching up." Liu Xuejiao replied with a forced smile.
Qin Chengyao then looked at Ji Siyue. She just averted her gaze and didn't give any response.
Liu Xuejiao finally could breathe a sigh of relief. At this moment, Ji Siyue suddenly said, "Although I know Qin Chengyao very well, I can responsibly say that the person in front of me now is not the Qin Chengyao I knew. So I can't make any comments. I'm sorry, Mrs. Qin. We can't even be friends. You don't have to say these things to me in the future."
"... Heh, you're really like the current Qin Chengyao. What on earth have you been through?"
"Nothing special. Oh, and I hit my head. I'm suffering from emotional loss disorder now. I can't give the appropriate emotional feedback to all things in the outside world. So don't misunderstand that I'm deliberately pretending not to care. I just can't care."
Liu Xuejiao was stunned.
This was something she didn't know.
Since that incident, Qin Chengyao had been holding back from looking for Ji Siyue and didn't deliberately collect information about her. So he should not know about this.
That meant he probably didn't know about her current situation. So was he deliberately pretending to be like Ji Siyue?
In this case... Maybe she could take advantage of this!
Thinking of this, the distress in Liu Xuejiao's heart seemed to ease a little.
The food in the kitchen was ready. Zhu Zhiyao put the dishes on the table and said to the two people opposite, "We're all friends. Just be casual."
"Do you have any wine, Old Zhu?" Qin Chengyao suddenly asked.
"Uh... No."
"Why is there no wine at home?" Liu Xuejiao asked.
Ji Siyue interjected at this time, "He's afraid I'll secretly drink."
"Is Miss Ji a child? Why does she have to drink secretly? Mr. Zhu shouldn't interfere with this, right?" Liu Xuejiao said.
"He should. I'm an alcoholic. Once I got alcohol poisoning and almost didn't make it back. Since then, there has been no wine around me."
Qin Chengyao suddenly looked up in Ji Siyue's direction.
Ji Siyue shrugged again and said, "If you want to drink, go back home and get some. I don't have any here."
Liu Xuejiao didn't expect this and gave an embarrassed smile.
"Why did you become an alcoholic?"
Ji Siyue looked at Qin Chengyao and shook her head, "I don't know."
"I remember you used to have a very poor drinking capacity. You could get alcohol poisoning only if you were so stupid that you kept drinking. Why?"
"I don't know. Maybe... I was bored?" Ji Siyue thought of this answer and regarded it as her state of mind at that time.
After all, she was not interested in anything now. She either stared blankly or slept.
Perhaps sensing the awkward atmosphere at the table, Zhu Zhiyao quickly said, "Everyone, eat. Don't discuss these things anymore. Siyue, try this. It's a new dish I developed."
Ji Siyue took a bite and nodded approvingly, "It's delicious."
"I remember you couldn't cook, Old Zhu. In the dormitory before, Lao Bai even made instant noodles for you." Qin Chengyao suddenly asked in a low voice.
"Isn't it because there's someone I need to take care of now?" Zhu Zhiyao replied calmly.
During this meal, Liu Xuejiao felt as if she was walking on thin ice. Although the man beside her would occasionally look at her and pick up food for her, the food he picked was always things she didn't like, such as bamboo shoots and fatty meat. For the sake of forced public displays of affection, she had to eat them, and she almost vomited.
Qin Chengyao, you're really cruel!
After the meal, Qin Chengyao took out a small box from his pocket and handed it to Ji Siyue, "A gift for Miss Ji. It's been so long since we last met."
Ji Siyue opened the box, smiled, and said, "Do you think I'm your friend?"
"Isn't that so?"
"Mr. Qin, shall we have a talk in a couple of days?"
"Sure. I'll leave today. Let's go, Jiaojiao."
Liu Xuejiao quickly stood up, "Well... Thank you for today."