After Jiang Mingxiu left the restaurant, Xia Yan sat there dumbfounded, staring into space. Chen Ma couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy seeing her so distracted. She thought it over, knowing the madam favored Miss Ke and intended to make things difficult for Miss Xia. Stepping forward, she comforted, "Xia Yan, don't overthink it. You've barely eaten a bite."
"Chen Ma, I'm fine. Go ahead and tend to your work; I'll clean up later."
Under Chen Ma's watchful gaze, Xia Yan forced down a few more mouthfuls.
That afternoon, after Jiang Mingxiu had her nap, she sent a servant to fetch Xia Yan. As if prepared, Xia Yan had everything ready before the servant arrived. When she followed the servant to the living room, Jiang Mingxiu saw her dressed and ready to go out at a moment's notice. Narrowing her eyes, she gave Xia Yan a blank look. The person behind her handed Jiang Mingxiu her limited-edition Hermès handbag, and then Jiang Mingxiu strode past Xia Yan with her chin held high, her haughty gaze unclear as to whether it was directed at her. Xia Yan lowered her head, let out a faint sigh, and followed unhurriedly.
A black Maserati was parked at the entrance. As the driver opened the door, Jiang Mingxiu slid into the back seat alone. Xia Yan followed, taking a step forward, but before her foot could even enter the car, Jiang Mingxiu shot her an irritated glance. A bit slow on the uptake, Xia Yan didn't understand why. As she stood there dumbfounded, the driver approached her and led her to the passenger seat.
Seeing this, Xia Yan frowned but said nothing. Fine, the passenger seat it was. Sitting together with Jiang Mingxiu would have been a torment for her anyway.
The largest department store in Jiang City was located in its commercial district, a towering building standing out among the many malls. This was a business area where vehicles weren't allowed. Jiang Mingxiu got out first, and Xia Yan quickly followed. They walked one behind the other, not too far apart. The streets were crowded with people chatting and laughing in groups, along with a few hurrying past. But in Xia Yan's eyes, the atmosphere between the two of them was probably the strangest of all.
Jiang Mingxiu walked ahead alone, seemingly forgetting there was someone behind her. Xia Yan didn't even have a chance to speak to her, which left her feeling a bit frustrated.
Entering the department store, a cool breeze hit them instantly. The building had eight floors, plus a basement level making it nine. The basement was a mixed bag, with food, beauty-related shops, and a large supermarket. Floors one through three were exclusively women's stores, while the fourth floor sold men's clothing. From the fifth floor up, there were restaurants and a movie theater...
Back when she was a student, Xia Yan used to come here whenever she had free time. She knew the ice cream at a dessert shop on the fifth floor was especially delicious—it was always a must-order. But today, she wasn't the main focus, so she didn't dare indulge herself. She followed Jiang Mingxiu as they browsed through clothes, cosmetics, and jewelry starting from the first floor. Every store Jiang Mingxiu entered, she'd pick out one or two items she liked and take them. Seeing her generosity, the staff fawned over her, while Xia Yan, trailing behind with bags in hand, instantly looked like a servant in their eyes.
As Jiang Mingxiu went to pick up another outfit, one of the saleswomen standing near Xia Yan lightly tugged at another and whispered, "Hey, if we ran into a big spender like this every day, wouldn't our salaries skyrocket?"
"Keep your voice down," the other saleswoman said, glancing at Xia Yan. "I'd love to meet a client like that every day too."
With that, one of them openly sized up Xia Yan without hiding her scrutiny. Xia Yan was dressed casually—a loose white T-shirt, light blue ripped jeans, white sneakers, and her flowing hair tied back in a ponytail. She looked fresh and youthful, but standing next to Jiang Mingxiu, she lacked an air of refinement. With her hands full of shopping bags, it was easy to mistake her for a maid.
Xia Yan seemed to know what they were thinking. She'd noticed their appraising looks earlier. She was about to say something when she was interrupted. Hearing her name called, Xia Yan froze, turned to look around, and saw Ye Yunchen standing by the elevator not far away, dressed in a white shirt, his gaze fixed on her.
Ye Yunchen had his jacket casually draped over his wrist as he slowly walked toward Xia Yan. The two saleswomen who had been sizing her up immediately lit up at the sight of him. Xia Yan watched him stop in front of her, feeling an inexplicable sense of unfamiliarity. Something seemed different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Long time no see," Ye Yunchen said, looking at the woman before him. Xia Yan was the one who haunted his dreams. After so long without seeing her, he hadn't expected her to become even more pure and captivating.
Xia Yan hadn't anticipated running into Ye Yunchen here. Ever since he was fired from the Lu Corporation, she'd called him countless times, only to be met with a robotic voice. Later, when she went to his place to find him, she unexpectedly saw Lin Xujia there. After thinking it over, she decided this was a good chance to let Brother Ye know about Xiaojia's feelings for him.
"It really has been a while, Brother Ye. How have you been lately?"
Hearing this, Ye Yunchen couldn't help but sneer inwardly. If Xia Yan truly cared about him, why hadn't she contacted him all this time? Showing concern now was hardly convincing. With that thought, a faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth. Spotting Jiang Mingxiu looking for Xia Yan, his eyes instantly softened, as if they could melt. He reached out, gently ruffled Xia Yan's hair, then suddenly leaned in. "Xia Yan..."
Before he could finish, his gaze caught the faint hickey on Xia Yan's neck. His eyes narrowed. Knowing Jiang Mingxiu had seen it, he casually straightened up and pinched Xia Yan's cheek affectionately. This series of actions caught Xia Yan off guard. Before she could even refuse, Ye Yunchen had already reverted to his gentle, refined demeanor.
"Brother Ye, this isn't appropriate in a public place, is it?"
"I didn't think it through. You're right, it's not. Do you have time now?"
Xia Yan glanced at the bags in her hands and checked the time. Jiang Mingxiu had been browsing the first floor for nearly an hour. Before she could respond, Jiang Mingxiu stepped out from behind her, looked down at Ye Yunchen, who had suddenly appeared, then swept her gaze over Xia Yan. With a cold smirk, she asked, "Xia Yan, who is this?"
"Auntie, this is my college senior, Ye Yunchen."
"College senior?" Jiang Mingxiu narrowed her eyes skeptically.
Seeing this, Ye Yunchen smiled politely. "Hello, Auntie."
Jiang Mingxiu gave a cold glance at the empty hand extended toward her, signaling Xia Yan to take the bag the saleswoman handed over, then turned to leave. But just then, Xia Siyue walked out of a nearby store with her dormmate, whom Xia Yan had met once before. That wasn't the issue now. Xia Yan felt uneasy at Xia Siyue's appearance. This girl always took pleasure in targeting her. If she didn't seize the chance to stir up trouble now, Xia Yan wouldn't believe it.
Sure enough, Xia Siyue let go of her companion's arm, grinned, and walked up to Xia Yan, linking arms with her as if they were close. "Xia Yan, I didn't expect to run into you here. You have no idea how sad Brother Ye was after you got together with President Lu. Now that he's finally moved past the shadow of you dumping him for Lu, I can't believe you two still ran into each other."
"Xia Siyue, what nonsense are you talking!"
"Nonsense? Xia Yan, how is that nonsense? Isn't it common knowledge? If you hadn't gone after President Lu, Brother Ye would still be working fine at the Lu Corporation—how could he have been suddenly fired!" Xia Siyue enunciated each word, noticing Xia Yan's face growing darker. She then glanced at the woman beside Xia Yan, feigned shock, covered her mouth, and looked at Ye Yunchen with guilt. "Brother Ye, did I mess up?"
Everyone fell silent. Xia Yan glared at Xia Siyue in anger. "Xia Siyue!"
At that, Xia Siyue put on a sincere expression, looked around at the others, then pushed past Xia Yan to approach Jiang Mingxiu. "Hello, Auntie. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Xia Siyue, Xia Yan's sister. Please don't take what I just said seriously—I was just rambling nonsense."
Jiang Mingxiu frowned, her sharp eyes scanning Xia Yan. With a curl of her lips, she said, "The Xia family?"
"..."
"What are the Xia family worth, daring to show up in front of me?" With that, Jiang Mingxiu shot a disgusted look at the few people present, bypassed Xia Siyue, and added disdainfully before leaving, "Anyone comes to talk to me—the Xia family's upbringing is truly unworthy of praise."
Xia Siyue's face twisted. Feeling the stares of others on her, she fumed. Xia Yan, expressionless, glanced at the furious Xia Siyue, then turned to Ye Yunchen. "Brother Ye, I'll head off now. Call me when you have time."
"Xia Yan, even now, do you have any regret about choosing Lu Zhengting?"
"...No."
Ye Yunchen watched Xia Yan's retreating figure. Beside him, Xia Siyue, her face sour, said coldly, "What are you staring at? She's long gone!"
Hearing this, Ye Yunchen shot her a chilly look. "What's it to you?"
"Hmph, none of my business? Don't forget, you're working for the Xia Corporation now."
"So what?"
"Ye Yunchen, I'm telling you, you'll never get Xia Yan in this lifetime. I suggest you give up." With that, Xia Siyue couldn't help but shiver.