Early the next morning, Xie Bingxia returned to school. Xiao Mei specially packed three big bags of snacks for her.
"Xiao Mei, do you think... there might be something wrong with your young master in that aspect?"
Xiao Mei was just putting the snack bags into the car's trunk. Hearing this, she almost fell headfirst into it. "Miss, you're asking me? You're more qualified to answer this question."
"Well, I'm very suspicious." Xie Bingxia pouted. The young master didn't take the initiative to pursue her. There must be something wrong with his mind or his body.
Hey, something's not right. He used to be quite capable. It's only been a little over two years. It can't be that much of a difference. Summing it up, there should be something wrong with his mind. He's almost thirty years old but still so shy. It's just not right.
Xie Bingxia got into the car and then turned to Xiao Mei. "I've got a lot of things to do at school. I won't go home for a while."
What she meant was that she wouldn't go home until the young master had properly courted her. Xiao Mei understood and said, "Don't worry. I'll convey every single word to the young master."
The car drove away. Xiao Mei watched the car disappearing into the distance and murmured to herself, "Should I get some tonics for the young master?"
A few days passed since Xie Bingxia left. Gu Bei didn't send her a single WeChat message or make a single phone call. This made her wonder if he had disappeared from the face of the earth.
Buzz, buzz. Xie Bingxia quickly picked up her phone. It was just a WeChat message from Qin Feng. She instantly felt disappointed.
[Meet me at the back street of the school after class. Yan Xiaoyi said she's treating us to dinner.]
Recently, Qin Feng had been accompanying Yan Xiaoyi every day. They chatted, had meals, played basketball, and even stayed up all night in an Internet café. Yan Xiaoyi had become much more cheerful than before and had also opened up to Qin Feng.
Xie Bingxia was quite relieved. Unfortunately, the lead from Yan Xiaoyi was broken. How could she deal with Yuan Yiyun then? She decided to try to persuade Yan Xiaoyi one last time, so she quickly replied with a: Okay.
After class, Xie Bingxia rushed to the meeting place. Yan Xiaoyi was really generous and chose the most expensive Japanese restaurant on the back street. The four of them sat in a quiet and elegant private room. Yan Xiaoyi first poured a cup of tea for Xie Bingxia, then picked up her own cup and said, "Beauty Xie, I'm really sorry for what happened before. Today, I'll use tea instead of wine to apologize to you first."
Xie Bingxia said jokingly, "No need for tea. Even Lian Po carried thorns on his back to apologize."
Yan Xiaoyi was stunned for a moment and said, "Beauty Xie is right." Then she started to unbutton her top. "I don't have any thorns. You can whip me with your belt later."
Qin Feng, who was sitting beside them, was dumbfounded. He quickly reached out his hand to cover Xie Bingxia's eyes. "Hey, if you act like a hooligan in public, I'll call the police!"
Xie Bingxia pushed Qin Feng's hand away. "Why don't you let me look? Good things should be shared with everyone." Yan Xiaoyi was good-looking, and her figure was definitely eye-catching. It was definitely worth a look.
"No! No!" Qin Feng tried to cover her eyes again. Li Duo held Yan Xiaoyi back while saying, "The goddess is just joking with you. Quickly button up your clothes, or Qin Feng will get angry with you."
Yan Xiaoyi obediently buttoned up her clothes. After sitting down, she continued, "I'm really, really sincere in apologizing to Beauty Xie. It was all my fault. I was so stupid that I caused such a big farce and dragged you guys into it. You got hurt because of me, but you still cared about me and helped me..."
"Okay, okay. We all accept your apology." Xie Bingxia quickly interrupted her. "It's never too late to mend one's ways."
Yan Xiaoyi nodded. "I've decided to completely break up with Yuan Yiyun. I'll drop out of school after this semester and apply for a music university again."
"You're going to drop out of school?" Li Duo heard this for the first time, and his eyes immediately turned red.
"Yes, I've thought it through. I want to pursue my dream."
"He's really something. He directly cut off his financial support from his family. He won't go back until he makes a name for himself." Qin Feng gave him a thumbs up. Then he saw Li Duo quietly wiping the corners of his eyes and quickly comforted him, "Don't be sad. Even if we're not in the same university, we'll still be the best brothers."
"Of course! If you guys don't be good to me, who else will?" Li Duo sniffed and showed a smile again.
Xie Bingxia asked, "Going to a music university is very expensive. It might be a bit difficult just relying on your part-time jobs, right?"
"Don't worry. I've taken him under my wing!" Qin Feng said proudly. "I'll support him through college. When he makes something of himself, he'll pay me back with interest."
"You're quite a good businessman." Xie Bingxia ruffled Qin Feng's hair. "It seems like you're promising to inherit the family business."
Qin Feng's face immediately turned red. Li Duo and Yan Xiaoyi looked at each other and smirked.
Then, Yan Xiaoyi took out a written note and handed it to Xie Bingxia. "I know Beauty Xie wants this. This is the last thing I can do for you."
Xie Bingxia took it and opened it. It was a list of names - the list of Yuan Yiyun's "accomplices"!
Yan Xiaoyi added, "I originally wanted to just part ways with her and pretend that I was blind. But yesterday, she called me and threatened me to just quietly back off and not say anything, or else she'd make me suffer."
"I thought about it all night and couldn't swallow this anger. I believe Beauty Xie can help me bring her down, so please take this."
Although the process was a bit tortuous, she finally got what she wanted and also helped Yan Xiaoyi get out of the prison of love. Xie Bingxia suddenly felt filled with happiness and satisfaction.
She put away the note and said to Yan Xiaoyi, "When you go to the music university, be careful when making friends. Don't get friends like those two again. They're full of bad ideas and are so stupid. They have no brains."
Xie Bingxia's words were so funny that the four of them burst into laughter. Delicious food was served on the table. It was destined to be a happy night.
*
In sharp contrast to Xie Bingxia's situation, Gu Bei was sitting alone in a high - end bar, drinking.
He impatiently looked at his watch. Three hours had passed since the appointed time, but the people he was waiting for still hadn't come. Restlessness and uneasiness were gradually creeping into his heart.
Ring, ring. Gu Bei answered the phone. The middleman on the other end apologized, "Boss Gu, I'm really sorry. Boss Li and Boss Zhang can't come today."
"Then shall we make another appointment?"
"Well..." The middleman hesitated. "We can make another appointment for drinking, but if it's about cooperation... forget it."
Gu Bei was furious. He threw his phone onto the bar counter and raised his glass, drinking it all in one gulp. Recently, his business in the North American market had been failing repeatedly, resulting in heavy losses. The company's senior management had been advising him to withdraw from the North American market, but he refused. He insisted on giving it one more try.
The company's working capital was limited, so he could only hope for external joint ventures. Boss Li and Boss Zhang were the partners he had been in contact with for a long time. They were originally interested in cooperation, but unexpectedly, they suddenly refused. There must be someone behind the scenes.
There was no need to think about who it was. Vincent - Gu Bei's sworn enemy.
"Vincent, your reach is too long!" Gu Bei pushed his glass in front of the bartender. "One more."
The bartender hesitated for a moment and then filled the glass for Boss Gu. He knew that Boss Gu often met people here to talk about business, but he usually didn't drink too much. At most, he would only have one glass. Why was he acting so unusually today?
Gu Bei tilted his head back and gulped down half a glass. At this moment, his phone dinged with a WeChat message, accompanied by a photo.
[What are you doing? I'm having a dinner gathering. There's so much delicious food.]
The photo was a group photo of Xie Bingxia and the other three. She was sitting very close to Qin Feng and smiling extremely happily.
Gu Bei's hands were shaking with anger. He almost threw his phone ten thousand miles away. The bartender was scared silly. He was afraid that Boss Gu would get angry and flatten the small bar, so he quickly turned around and brought the strongest wine to refill his glass.
Clutching the glass, Gu Bei treated the wine as if it were plain water and drank it all in one go. The bartender refilled it without saying a word. Trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol, the more sorrowful he felt, the more he drank. In the blink of an eye, he had downed five or six glasses. Gu Bei felt dizzy and fell onto the bar counter with a thud, not moving.
The bartender heaved a sigh of relief and quickly told the wine - delivery girl to call a designated driver to take Boss Gu home.
After Xie Bingxia and the others finished their meal and came out, they saw dark clouds rolling in the sky. It seemed that it was going to rain heavily. They quickly rushed back to their dormitories. Before they reached the dormitory door, raindrops as big as beans started to fall. Xie Bingxia ran all the way, and half of her clothes were wet.
She returned to the dormitory and changed into a clean set of clothes. Before she could even wipe her hair, there was a heavy knock on the door. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. It was very urgent.
Xie Bingxia thought it was Qin Feng. Frowning, she went to open the door. "It's raining heavily. Why don't you go back to your dormitory and come here instead—"
She opened the door a crack, and then the door was pushed open by the person on the other side. Gu Bei staggered in. He had been caught in the rain, and his clothes were wet. His face was flushed, and his eyes were out of focus. It took him a while to spot Xie Bingxia. Then he grinned stupidly. "Little white rabbit, hehe, little white rabbit..."