The white moonlight1 in Xue Ziang's heart was called Xu Miao.
Zhao Yu wasn't sure if Xu Miao was Xue Ziang's first woman, but she knew that Xu Miao was Xue Ziang's only official girlfriend. It was also after breaking up with Xu Miao that he began to overindulge in drinking and women, unable to recover from the loss.
Zhao Yu had hired someone to get close to Xu Miao's university friend. From that friend, she learned the whole story and many details of the relationship.
In college, Xue Ziang and Xu Miao were in the same year and the same department. Both of them had outstanding looks and good grades. It was only natural they attracted each other and fell in love.
However, Xu Miao had an ordinary family background, that reality caused a gap between the two of them. Furthermore, she was a proud but sensitive, strong-minded but fragile person.
After leaving the campus and stepping into the society, the two of them kept conflicting and broke up soon after. To be precise, Xue Ziang was dumped.
Zhao Yu didn't know whether Xue Ziang was unable to accept the breakup or if he really loved her too deeply. Either way, all the women he kept consequently had Xu Miao's shadow on them. Take, for example, Ye Zi, who had a tear shape mole like Xu Miao.
Zhao Yu knew that leveraging Xu Miao was the most advantageous way for her to approach Xue Ziang.
And she always felt that a similar temperament would be more reliable than a similar appearance. After all, Xue Ziang, who has never lacked beauty around him, would never fall in love with Xu Miao's face.
Reality proved her theory right.
Even though she bore no resemblance to Xu Miao in appearance, she had a very similar temperament and personality, still easily got Xue Ziang's attention.
It's just that after this first successful step, the road thereafter can't follow Xu Miao completely, otherwise, they will only repeat the same mistakes and cause the same conflicts between her and Xue Ziang.
Take gift-giving. Xu Miao never accepted gifts from him when they were in love.
At that time, Xue Ziang was still a young heir who didn't know how to be considerate of other people's feelings. He was used to extravagance since he was a child so the things he bought for Xu Miao were all expensive and good. He thought girls liked these things, but the highly self-respecting Xu Miao and did not want any of them.
So much so that it caused there to be strict boundaries in terms of money between the two of them to avoid further conflicts. It is a pity that this boundary was actually a double-edged sword and sometimes pushed them apart even more.
So after accepting Xue Ziang's gift, Zhao Yu bought him a coat of 3,000 yuan.
She checked online and found that the price of the watch was only over 6,000, which was indeed affordable for a person of her salary level. This also showed that Xue Ziang had seriously thought of her when choosing the gift.
She accepted his gift to show that their relationship had no estrangement, and by gifting him in return, on the one hand, expressed her love for him, on the other hand, implied she did not covet his wealth.
The same is true of why she only bought an item worth 3,000 and not 6,000 yuan.
Returning a gift equal to the original price will look like a transaction and make it a big deal. If the gift is a bit cheaper, it'll show her softness and acceptance.
After all, when it comes to financial resources or any other aspects, most men want to have a good face and like to be relied on. In front of Xue Ziang, on one side, she wanted to show that she wants to stand on her own legs but at the same time, reveal that she could rely on him.
Moreover, it was not difficult for her to spend 3,000 yuan. Let Xue Ziang know that giving her a gift will not give her too much pressure, so he can gift her things from time to time, which is also a way to enhance feelings.
After buying the clothes, she walked to the first floor of the mall and passed an eyewear shop. Looking at the gold glasses in the window, Zhao Yu suddenly smiled, went in to buy it. She then took out her phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to Xu Chengyan.
[A gift for you, next time wear it when fucking me]
She didn't expect Xu Chengyan to reply, but she knew that when he saw this pair of "golden glasses for the scum gentleman", he would definitely remember what happened in the fitting room that day.
Not long after waiting in the drinks area, Zhao Yu saw Shi Yu leading Qu Sixiao over, followed by Ji Sui.
After eating together last time, she participated in several activities with the Volunteer Association, one of which was still at a special education school. She met Qu Sixiao and her son but did not see Ji Sui.
Qu Sixiao's eighth birthday arrived, and Zhao Yu promised to accompany him on his birthday, so he negotiated for a date with Shi Yu to take Qu Sixiao shopping, choose gifts for him and eat together to celebrate his birthday in the evening.
Shi Yu was only five years older than Zhao Yu, and the two were able to converse easily, and now that they contact each other more and more, they were becoming more familiar with each other and can be regarded as good friends.
Seeing the bag she was carrying, Shi Yu immediately joked, "Bought it for a boyfriend?"
Zhao Yu took the initiative to inform her about having a boyfriend and even working at Huacan. This will lower Ji Sui's guard against her. Besides, they will be together often in the future, it wouldn't be so easily concealed. If he sees through her lies, everything will be wasted.
"Yes, I'm going to surprise him." Zhao Yu smiled and looked like a girl in love.
Looking across at Ji Sui, she seemed to think of something, a little embarrassed, and said, "Actually, I'm not sure if this fits or not. His body is similar to yours. Can you help me try it on?"
Ji Sui smiled and reached out to pick up the bag from her hands. She quickly took out the clothes and handed them over. He wore a simple shirt so he directly layered the jacket on top, but the size turned out to be too small.
"I thought this size would work." Zhao Yu looked regretful, "Unfortunately, this is the only size available. The other stores do not have large sizes either. It seems that I have to get something in another style. Wait a moment, I will immediately come back."
Seeing her walking towards the elevator with her bag, Shi Yu said, "Take Ji Sui with you to try it on before you buy it. Or else it might not suit your boyfriend. It just happens that Xiaoxiao wants to drink juice. I will get him some and wait for you."
Zhao Yu didn't want to impose, but Ji Sui smiled and said, "I will go with you."
"Your boyfriend is so handsome, he looks great in everything he wears."
After listening to the shopping attendant, Zhao Yu smiled awkwardly but didn't explain. She just looked at the clothes Ji Sui tried on carefully, "It really looks good."
After speaking, she walked forward, helped him put the shoulder piece in place, carefully examined it, and stretched out his hand to help him organize his collar.
Ji Sui's body suddenly stiffened.
She was standing right in front of him. The action brought her close, almost hugging him, the two bodies close to touching.
And because she was so close, Ji Sui could smell the faint perfume smell from her body, and even feel the warm breath was sprayed on his neck.
Zhao Yu deliberately didn't touch his skin, only staying by his collar for two seconds before quickly retreating. After keeping a safe distance from him, she still looked like she was studying clothes carefully.
"Do you think this size fits well? It looks very well-fitting, if there is nothing wrong when you wear it, then this is it."
Ji Sui nodded. "Fits right."
Zhao Yu found that the roots of his ears were a little red.
And she felt the stiffness of his body when she approached.
She had learned that Ji Sui was admitted to the military academy at the age of seventeen. After graduating from the military academy, he left for the army and did not apply for early retirement until just over three years ago.
When he was in the military academy and the army, he didn't have much contact with women, and he never had a girlfriend after he retired. Maybe he hadn't even given away his first kiss.
This is the only possible reason that would make a twenty-eight-year-old man feel uncomfortable with a simple touch.
1 White moonlight = Similar to "the one that got away", someone who's forever in the heart but not with them in person.