Chapter Thirty-Five Nightfall

  In the end, that dinner didn't happen that night. Xiaoyan suddenly spoke up and said they had just arrived here today and needed to rest and recover slowly tonight, and as for eating, it wasn't about when to eat but rather that after returning to Beijing she would definitely treat the Wen family well.

  She completely ignored Wen Shan's unfriendly gaze towards her.

  Ao Yuan suddenly remembered the words Fang Yong had shouted at him in that not-so-pleasant hospital room. He said Xia Yunfei was a heartless and cruel person, who would only say half of what she meant to say, always speaking in a roundabout way, just like what Fang Yong had said at the time. However, Fang Yong wasn't really clear about what kind of person Xia Yunfei was, or rather, he thought that the Xia Yunfei he knew was just a fake image that she wanted him to see.

  After all, Xiaoyan has been in society for a long time and knows how to use the right expressions and words to deal with different people.

  Ao Yuan suddenly felt heartache.

  Xia Yu Fei, a girl of her age, should have been enjoying everything she was supposed to enjoy. However, in the unknown months and years, Xia Yu Fei had already begun to interact with the dark ancient tombs filled with vicissitudes of life, and started to recognize that beneath everyone's dignified appearance lies the most filthy and despicable human heart.

  She never felt sentimental because she had no time for sentimentality.

  Xia Yunfei is a person who always moves forward and never looks back, Fang Yu hopes that one day she can stay for him, but Ao Yuan thinks, how is this possible? Xia Yunfei is destined to move forward all the way to some unknown distant place.

  Ao Yuan felt that when he thought of this, his mood was extremely contradictory. On the one hand, he wanted to go back to Xiaoyanfei's childhood and present all the world to her, letting her receive the most pampering, even if she became arrogant and unruly; on the other hand, he looked forward to seeing how far Xiaoyanfei could go in her current state.

  Xia Yifei had just been called away by Lan Ruoxue from the room, and he sat alone in the dark room without turning on the light, quietly thinking about these things.

  Ao Yuan suddenly realized that even if the three-year deadline was up, he still couldn't let go of Xia Yunfei.

  He thought clearly about this point and sighed with a bitter smile, then fell back onto the bed, covering his eyes with his right hand.

  He was unwilling to let go, but what could he do? Xia Yu Fei never stayed in a place where she wasn't wanted.

  No matter how lowly you place yourself, she won't even give you a second glance.

  Xia Yifei, who was called out by Lan Ruoxue, followed her to the restaurant in a daze. After sitting down, she looked at Lan Ruoxue's behavior of ordering beer without ordering food and raised an eyebrow: "I'm not responsible for paying the bill, I'm telling you first."

  "I didn't plan on letting you pay." Lan Ruoxue picked up two bottles of beer, "Consider it my treat, a small repayment for pulling me out of Snake Mound."

  "Then you must count all the times I saved you originally." Xia Yu Fei skillfully opened a beer bottle with chopsticks in the absence of a bottle opener, and directly gulped down a mouthful from the bottle without using a cup.

  Lan Ruoxue watched her drink directly from the bottle and slowly poured herself a full cup: "When can you change this habit of drinking straight from the bottle?"

  Xia Yanfei replied calmly: "I guess it can't be changed for this life, you know, personal habit problem."

  She couldn't help but laugh at this point: "Probably it's the habit of drinking wine in turns from a wine pot in the past."

  "Hmmph, don't you think that if things go on like this, you won't be able to get married?"

  "Don't drag these unnecessary things." Xia Yu Fei glanced at Lan Ruo Xue sideways, "Speak, what do you want from me?"

  "So I really dislike this about you, always feeling like I can't hide anything from you."

  Xia Yifei was drinking and eating peanuts, enjoying himself. Lan Ruoxue had no choice but to continue: "Did something happen to you in the snake mound?"

  The girl opposite him obviously stopped for a moment before continuing: "Don't you know what happened to me?"

  "Don't try to fool me, just because you can deceive others doesn't mean you can do the same to me." Lan Ruoxue's beautiful apricot eyes stared at her fiercely. "Forget it, if you don't want to say anything, I won't ask further. I'll only ask one thing, what exactly is going on between you and Ao Yuan?"

  "I found out that your gossip skills are indeed maxed out..."

  "Honesty is rewarded with leniency, resistance is met with severity! Comrade Xiaoyan Fei, I'm warning you!"

  Xia Yifei threw away the peanuts in her hand with a slightly annoyed expression and grabbed two handfuls of hair: "What's going on?"

  Lan Ruoxue almost laughed at her: "Are you two inseparable now? Next month, will I receive news of your engagement or pregnancy?"

  "I'm not that kind of person with him... forget it, this complicated relationship can't be explained." Xia Yunfei directly knocked her head on the table, both hands irritably started rubbing her hair.

  Suddenly she raised her head, and in her eyes were anger, compromise or helplessness, Lan Ruoxue couldn't tell: "Yes, I admit I like Ao Yuan. But what can be done about it? Once things are settled, he'll go his own way on the Yangguan Road, and I'll go my own way on the solitary wooden bridge, ultimately we'll just forget each other in the rivers and lakes."

  "Damn it! You're a heartless bastard who actually likes someone? Did I hear that right, dear?"

  Xia Yifei finished the remaining half bottle of wine in one breath, threw down the bottle and opened another one: "I don't know when it started, but when I came to my senses... I was already trapped."

  Listening to her tone, Lan Ruoxue also became serious: "Are you sure you really like him, not because of loneliness and emptiness?"

  "Just because of this one sentence, I found out that it's impossible to have a serious conversation with you."

  "Don't go, dear, I'm completely absorbed in listening. In the second half of the year, I'll have to rely on this to savor the memory."

  "...you're here to join our table, I don't know you."

  Looking at Xiaoyan Fei's appearance, Lan Ruoxue knew it was time to push her good friend a bit, after all, she couldn't just watch her silently entangle herself like this.

  She took a sip of beer and hesitated before speaking: "Then why don't you go try? Just being stuck by yourself like this."

  "Want to try? You're speaking quite lightly." Xia Yu Fei let out a cold snort, "Ao Yuan that person... towards me is at most just interested, put another way, I'm probably just a circus performer in his eyes."

  "...How can being interested in and playing juggling be related?" Lan Ruoxue rubbed her forehead, "I've said this to Ao Yuan before, now I'm saying it to you again verbatim."

  "No one understands Xiaoyan, including yourself."

  "You yourself don't even understand yourself, how can you be so sure that you know what Ao Yuan is thinking?"