Not long after hanging up the phone, a text message from Li Yan arrived: '5:30 pm, 68 Xuelin Road, Fresh Gourmet Restaurant.'
Xiwan had not been at the school long, so she did not know many places. In this day and age, she had Google and Baidu to help her find them, so she texted back, 'Okay.' She looked at the time, it was already 4:30pm. She had to be there in an hour, so she put down the pen and paper in her hand and got up.
Xiwan tidied up her appearance before going out. It was probably a habit she developed working in the entertainment industry for decades.
She felt dazed every time she looked into the mirror and saw an unfamiliar face staring back at her. However, as time passed, her heart gradually calmed down and she began to accept it.
It was clear the previous Jiang Xiwan had not owned much make-up or skincare, and hadn't done much in the way of maintenance. Instead, she would often use a yellow-colored foundation to cover her skin. The tone and color of her skin was good and had not been damaged, so when Xiwan entered this body... Naturally, she wouldn't waste a gift from God. After all, she was an artist who relied on her face to make a living. How could she bear to hurt her own weapon?
And so, during this period of time Xiwan had bought a lot of skincare and make-up products. She had spent somewhere in the region of 10-20,000 yuan.
Before going out, she washed her face and applied skincare. She put on a layer of sun screen, moisturized, brushed her eyebrows, and applied some pink lip gloss. Her entire person was like a cherry blossom in spring, pink and dazzling.
She wore an A-line shaped blue dress, paired with a pair of flat white sandals. Her long hair fell over her shoulders. She looked extremely beautiful.
As Xiwan walked down the road, passersby everywhere turned back to look at her.
Xiwan checked the map. Xuelin Road was not far from the school, and the bus was only three stops away. At 5:10pm, she arrived at the Umami Restaurant that Li Yan had chosen.
The restaurant was quite low-key. The decor outside was similar to the shops on the side, but not as exaggerated. The red led lights were blinding. Inside, however, it was completely different.
On both sides of the door were two beautiful coral trees, surrounded by sparse colorful neon lights. The hall was constructed out of black marble, and the passageways were fitted with red carpets. The beige marble tables were neatly arranged. Between the seats, there were bamboo curtains and hanging orchids for privacy. It was very elegant.
Xiwan had just stepped inside the restaurant when a cold wind blew against her face. The two beautiful receptionists next to her sang out with clear and melodious voices, "Welcome."
A waitress in a black and white uniform walked over. "Hello, welcome to Umami Restaurant. How many people do you have?"
"Two."
"Do you have a reservation?"
Xiwan didn't know if Li Yan had made a reservation, so she said, "My friend booked and I'm early. May I take a look?"
The waiter nodded. "Okay, Miss. Please follow me. " When they came to the front desk, the waiter explained the situation. Then, the head waiter asked Xiwan, "May I know your friend's name?"
"Li Yan."
"Okay. Please wait a moment."
"Okay, Miss. Your friend, Miss Li Yan, has booked a private room at the Emerald Blue Pavilion," the head waiter said with a smile.
Xiwan was led into the private room. The attendant carefully poured tea and handed over the menu. Xiwan put the menu aside and said with a smile, "I'll wait for my friend to come before I order."
"Okay."
A quarter of an hour passed and Miss Li Yan arrived, late. "You came very quickly."
Xiwan nodded. Only then did she notice that besides the attendant behind Li Yan, there was also a tall, handsome boy.
Xiwan thought that the man was Li Yan's boyfriend. Anyway, she had not said anything about being alone in the text message. She smiled at the man, then shifted her gaze and handed the menu to Li Yan. "I haven't ordered yet. Come and have a look."
The waiter poured tea for Li Yan and her male guest, then stood to the side and waited patiently for her to order.
Li Yan ordered quite a number of dishes, then said to the boy beside her, "Jiang Yi, what do you want to have?"
Jiang Yi frowned. "You have already ordered so much. That's enough."
Ah. It was someone who knew her.
Xiwan heard Jiang Yi calling her name familiarly. She was puzzled because wasn't in her classes.
'Wait,' she thought, 'Jiang Yi... What a familiar name.'
A white light flashed in her mind: 'Isn't he the Campus Beaux?'
Jiang Yi, the influential figure in The Department of Computer Science at University A, was just like her and Li Yan. They were all "celebrities" in the school. The three of them were famous not only for their outstanding looks, but also because of their well-known "love triangle" relationship.
What kind of love triangle this was!
Jiang Yi was the kind of person who only knew how to make money peacefully. He wished that there were 48 hours in a day so that he could work more. Jiang Yi didn't actually do anything when he said that he wanted to court Xiwan. After all, he didn't see Jiang Xiwan very often. The few times he did see her, she just glanced at him and said, "Oh," or a simple, "Goodbye," on camps. As for Li Yan, she was either sulking or scolding him verbally, but she never came to find fault with him.
These people whom she rarely met, what kind of love triangle was that supposed to be?
When Zhou Liqing and her were talking about the grudges between her and Li Yan, she felt that it was funny. This child-like love triangle would only matter when she was a student.
She thought about the relationship between her, Lin Xi, and Su Nuanyu... Ha, she really didn't know anything about being part of that love triangle. If she had known, she might still be living her first life.
"What do you mean? Are you saying that you ordered more than ten dishes?" Jiang Yi said. Li Yan was also being stubborn. She stared at Jiang Yi with reddened eyes and shot back, "Are you trying to protect Jiang Xiwan?"
"Won't more than ten dishes be too much? How big is your appetite!" Jiang Yi was displeased. Not to mention the ridiculous prices of the dishes here, Xiwan was just a poor student with no money. Even if they were really hungry, they wouldn't be able to eat so many dishes.
When Xiwan saw that the two of them were about to quarrel, she looked at the waiter with a slightly shocked expression and said to Li Yan, "Give me the menu. I want to order some more."
Li Yan snorted at Jiang Yi. She threw the menu to Jiang Xiwan.
Jiang Yi wanted to speak again, but when he thought of Xiwan's peace of mind he changed his mind. He decided to endure his displeasure and thought that he would pay for the dishes later.
Xiwan took the menu and realized that all of the dishes cost at least 100 RMB. She then understood why Jiang Yi was so displeased when Li Yan ordered too many dishes. Fortunately, she wasn't from her previous life and had money on hand. She casually looked at the menu and ordered a few dishes that she liked the look of. She then asked Jiang Yi what he wanted to eat, but he quickly shook his head. "I like everything you ordered."
Li Yan was clearly unhappy. She glared at them with red eyes. "How do you know what she ordered? Maybe she didn't order anything after seeing the prices!"
That's right. She chose this restaurant today, but she didn't intend for Jiang Xiwan to pay. Instead, she wanted to embarrass Jiang Xiwan when she ordered the dishes. After all, everything was so expensive. The penniless nerd would definitely have an ugly expression! That explained why she'd dragged Jiang Yi over. She just wanted him to see that the goddess he held in his heart was really a penniless wretch who wasn't worthy of him. She didn't expect Jiang Xiwan to be so calm. She ordered a few more dishes and even asked Jiang Yi what he wanted to eat once more. "Forget about it!" Jiang Yi snapped. He even said something mushy in front of her. It was really too hateful!
Li Yan was so angry that she didn't think before she speaking about the scene that she had planned in her heart.
Xiwan roughly understood Li Yan's plan and swore without meaning to.
Little Miss Li had a childish temper but wasn't very good at scheming. Compared to Su Nuanyu, she was nothing. Xiwan wasn't angry. After all, the girl in front of her wasn't a bad person. Otherwise, she wouldn't have helped her solve the trouble at the television station. Besides, it was better to pay for a thousand yuan meal than owing anyone a favor.
Speaking of which, it was Lady Li who suffered a loss.
"You are crazy!" Jiang Yi snapped at her.
"Me? You're the crazy one!" Li Yan shot back.
Seeing that the two of them were about to break into another World War, Xiwan quickly waved over the waiter. She took out quickly the menu that she had ordered in and handed it to the patient waiter. The waiter smiled and nodded slightly, then immediately left the room. He even closed the door.
The atmosphere going between the three of them was a little awkward. Xiwan broke the silence. "Well, aren't the two of you a natural pair of enemies?"
Li Yan's face instantly turned red. "This is the first time that I've realized you have quite good taste."
All the while, Jiang Yi was furious. The feeling of being misunderstood by his goddess was truly unbearable. He tried to distance himself from Li Yan. "What kind of enemies? Xiwan, please don't misunderstand. Ever since I first saw you, my heart has been fixed on you."
"You!" Li Yan was so angry that her eyes turned even redder.
Xiwan stayed silent.
She really wanted to say something. 'Jiang Yi, kid,' she thought to herself, 'I know you can't help it, but don't go making such strong opponents for me, okay?'
The atmosphere remained stagnant.
Fortunately, the Umami restaurant's service was fast, and exquisite dishes were soon served one after the other. Despite the awkward atmosphere, everyone valued food above all else. The two people in front of her were aristocrats, and they were skilled at leaving the explosive atmosphere that they had just experienced behind them. They started to move their chopsticks happily.
Umami's dishes looked good and tasted even better. That meant that it was expensive. Xiwan had been in the entertainment circle for many years, and in that time she had eaten a feast of gluttonous food from different top restaurants. She had no choice but to praise the food here.
Xiwan realized that she really was not familiar with the two people she was sat with. They knew her more than she knew them, actually, and she didn't know what to say for a moment. After some time, she remembered that the meal was supposed to be a thank you to Li Yan, so she said to her, "Li Yan, thank you so much for this." Even if she didn't really care about the blacklist, or the television station, she still had to thank her.
Lady Li Yan lifted her chin and accepted Xiwan's thanks. She then glanced at Jiang Yi and saw that Jiang Yi was looking at her with a puzzled expression. She was even more delighted.
Xiwan then explained what had happened to Jiang Yi.
Jiang Yi nodded to show that he understood.
Li Yan said that Jiang Xiwan had wanted to treat her to a meal and asked Jiang Yi if he wanted to go with. He said no originally. After all, the goddess didn't invite him herself. But when he thought about meeting with her, he thickened his skin and took Li Yan up on her offer.
He'd been unhappy when he arrived and that they were eating at Umami. After all, he knew his goddess was not wealthy. He thought about how he could pay for the meal later on and brushed his hair back. He would not embarrass himself in front of her, and Li Yan would not embarrass his goddess. It wasn't bad. Thus, his displeasure towards Li Yan faded a little.
Now that he knew that Li Yan had helped Xiwan a great deal, he couldn't help but change his opinion of her. Perhaps she was not such a hopeless young miss after all.
When she saw Jiang Yi's small eyes soften, Li Yan was so happy that she wanted to fly.
It was 7:30pm by the time they finished their meal. Even though it was the beginning of autumn, the sky was already very dark.
Xiwan called for the waiter to settle the bill. It came to more than 2,300 yuan. When she took out her bank card to settle the bill, Li Yan proudly took out her black card. "Hmph," she sneered, "I don't want to eat your food for free."
Pride wasn't something that could be bought with just 2,000 yuan.
At this moment, Jiang Yi took out his card and placed it in the unfortunate waiter's hand. "I am a boy. I will pay the bill."
Xiwan smiled. She insisted the two others taking their cards back. She placed her card firmly in the waiter's hand. "Today is my treat, everyone. Don't fight over it!"
The waiter had a good impression of Xiwan. He took the card and and swiped it immediately.
The machine buzzed as it waited for the transaction to be approved.
The printer made a swishing sound as it printed the bill.
She signed her name and finished paying.
The two second-generation heirs on the opposite side of her were wearing unsightly expressions.
Xiwan simply smiled.
At the same moment, Li Yan's phone lit up on the table. The screensaver was a very intimate photo of her and a man.
Li Yan was as beautiful as a flower, but so was that man was standing next to the dazzling Li Yan. He wasn't inferior to her, but somehow even more magnificent than the girl next to him.
Who was that man? It was obvious with one glance that it wasn't Jiang Yi, but he certainly looked very familiar.
'Ah...'
She suddenly remembered.
It was him!
He was the man she kissed!