Bai Changxia thought she hadn’t heard clearly and was about to repeat the na when the man in the driver’s seat interrupted, "Xiaxia, where does your friend live?"
Shen Jianian was busy chatting with Bai Changxia and hadn’t noticed the road. Upon hearing this, she looked out the car window and realized they had already passed the hotel where she was staying, so she hurriedly said, "I’m staying at the Xiting Hotel."
Bai Changxia had a lot to say, and there was no way she was going to part with Shen Jianian just like that. She put her arm around Jianian’s shoulders and decided on her behalf, "She’s staying at my place tonight."
Shen Jianian was both amused and exasperated, "My clothes and daily necessities are still at the hotel."
"Wear mine, use mine." Bai Changxia considered these minor problems.
"But I have a flight back to Jiang City tomorrow morning. I’ll be too late." Shen Jianian had co to Beicheng specifically to attend Yan Qiusheng’s concert, and her schedule was quite tight.
Bai Changxia turned to face her, staring for a while, still not accustod to her face, finding it very unfamiliar, "Is there sothing urgent in Jiang City?"
"Not really."
"Don’t you want to spend more ti with ? It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other, don’t you have a lot to say to ?" Bai Changxia sounded aggrieved.
Bai Changxia’s fiancé heard this, shook his head, and chuckled. She had never said such sappy things to him; the friendship between girls was more intimate than he had imagined.
Shen Jianian hesitated for a mont before relenting, "Would it bother Uncle and Auntie?"
"My dad went abroad and won’t be back for a while." Bai Changxia paused, her tone slightly lowered, "My mom... has passed away."
Shen Jianian looked at her, wanting to say sothing but pausing, "How did Auntie..."
"Late-stage cancer. Not long after you left Beicheng, her condition worsened." Bai Changxia tried not to sound too lancholic, but the ntion of her mother’s passing still pained her heart. "Before that, the doctors had prepared us family mbers. Staying in the hospital was just about maintaining her life with dication. We were ntally prepared, so the outco wasn’t unexpected. We just kept it from my mom. Before she passed, she said that sotis leaving is a form of relief. The treatnt process was very painful for her."
So parts of what she said, Shen Jianian didn’t understand, like when she ntioned, "Not long after you left Beicheng," was she referring to when she and her parents left Beicheng to travel to Jiang City?
Bai Changxia exhaled a breath, her eyes red, "Let’s not talk about these things. I’m doing well now, and my mom, if she has a spirit in heaven, would probably be relieved too."
With her fiancé’s interruption, Bai Changxia forgot to ask Shen Jianian if she had contacted Fu Jichen.
Shen Jianian looked at the man in the driver’s seat. From her angle, she could only see his profile, which was very handso, "Is he your boyfriend?"
Bai Changxia patted her cheeks to adjust her mood, smiled, and introduced him, "He’s my fiancé, Zhu Qisen. We got engaged last month and are planning to get married on National Day this year, though the exact date hasn’t been set. It’s perfect timing with you back. Without you as a bridesmaid, my wedding wouldn’t be complete."
Shen Jianian was slightly surprised, not expecting Xiaxia to be getting married. Then comparing it to herself, she wasn’t getting married anyti soon either.
Zhu Qisen drove the car into Bai Changxia’s residential area, his tone rather sentintal, "So she’s Shen Jianian. I’ve heard you ntion her so often, and now I’ve finally t her in person."
After parking the car, Zhu Qisen turned around to look at Shen Jianian and joked, "Compared to this best friend of yours, I, as your fiancé, have to take a back seat."
Shen Jianian pursed her lips and smiled.
Bai Changxia hugged Jianian’s arm and raised an eyebrow at her fiancé, "So you need to keep up the good work and perform well."
Zhu Qisen nodded modestly, escorting the two ladies to the doorstep. Only when he saw them enter did he leave with peace of mind.
Shen Jianian had been to Bai Changxia’s house before and still had an impression of it. After entering, Bai Changxia took out a new pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet and placed them by her feet, "Make yourself at ho, as if you were at your own place."
"I won’t be polite with you then."
Shen Jianian smiled, balancing against the cabinet as she changed shoes, the diamond ring on her ring finger gleaming brightly.
Bai Changxia was about to get her so water when she suddenly stopped in her tracks, disregarding other concerns, and directly asked, "Is it what I think it is? The ring on your finger... are you already married?"
Shen Jianian followed her gaze to her ring finger. The ring had only been worn recently. She laughed gently, "Not married yet, but it should be soon. I’m going to try on wedding dresses in a couple of days." It was hard to say who would be whose bridesmaid first between the two of them.
Bai Changxia was stunned. Who was she marrying?
She hadn’t heard that Fu Jichen was getting married. Earlier in the month, she had seen online rumors about him and the Xu Family’s daughter, saying the two families wanted to form a marriage alliance. But the following day, that Xu Family daughter had fallen from grace, and the rumors about their marriage were quickly debunked.
Bai Changxia didn’t have ti to ask her inner doubts as Shen Jianian’s phone rang. She dug it out of her bag, glanced at the caller ID, and pressed the answer button.
It was Pei Che calling, always concerned about her safety: "I haven’t heard from you and thought you might have been abducted. Have you arrived at the hotel?"
"No. Guess who I ran into at the concert?" Shen Jianian’s smiling eyes fell on Bai Changxia, and without waiting for the person on the phone to guess, she revealed the answer herself, "I bumped into Xiaxia. What a coincidence! She also ca to watch the concert, and we were just chatting. As expected, she didn’t recognize ."
Bai Changxia, sitting next to her, looked sowhat confused. She didn’t know who the person on the phone was, but could tell from Jianian’s words that they also knew her.
anwhile, on the other end of the line, Pei Che broke into a cold sweat and didn’t say a word for a long ti.
Beicheng is so big, Little Nian just went to see a concert and would co back afterward. He thought she wouldn’t so coincidentally run into soone she used to know, and even if she did, with her current appearance, no one would recognize her.
He never expected that the person would be Bai Changxia.
If the person she ran into was Bai Changxia, Little Nian would definitely approach her because they were good friends.
Pei Che wasn’t sure if Bai Changxia brought up the past with Little Nian. Even if she didn’t ntion it now, she might later. He couldn’t afford to take the risk, forcing himself to calm down quickly, his tone as usual: "Oh, it’s Bai Changxia. That is quite the coincidence. I haven’t been in touch with her for a long ti either. Could you let have a word with her?"
Ah Che and Xiaxia were also friends, so Shen Jianian didn’t doubt it and handed the phone to Bai Changxia: "Ah Che wants to talk to you."
Bai Changxia: "Huh? Who did you say?"
"Ah Che, you know him."
Shen Jianian found her reaction amusing, not understanding why she was so surprised.
Of course, she didn’t understand, because in Bai Changxia’s mory, Pei Che had already died and even had a funeral. A "dead person" asking to talk to her, how could she not be surprised?
What happened tonight was enough to overturn Bai Changxia’s understanding of the past twenty-so years. She hesitated as she took the phone from Shen Jianian and put it to her ear, her eyes wide: "Hello?"
A familiar voice ca from the receiver: "It’s , Pei Che."
Shen Jianian gestured to Bai Changxia that she was leaving and headed to the restroom expertly, leaving Bai Changxia in the living room to take the call.
Bai Changxia held the phone, and her breath stalled for two seconds: "Pei Che, is it really you? Didn’t you already..."
"I didn’t die." Perhaps afraid she’d say sothing Shen Jianian could hear over on that side, Pei Che urgently interrupted her, his tone heavy and calm, "Listen, Bai Changxia, Little Nian suffered serious trauma in that car accident and lost part of her mory, especially everything related to Fu Jichen. I hope you won’t bring this person up in front of her, to avoid causing her harm. And her parents’ death, she’s forgotten that too, you’d best not ntion it."
What does this all even an? Bai Changxia’s mind was extrely chaotic, constantly receiving the information Pei Che was feeding her, hardly having ti for deeper thought, only rembering that "Jianian has amnesia."
No wonder when she just ntioned Fu Jichen, Jianian had no reaction.
"I hope you understand my intentions." Pei Che took advantage of Bai Changxia’s concern for Shen Jianian, delivering a strong dose, "Jianian’s car accident can’t be separated from the Fu Family. Before she left Beicheng, Fu Jichen’s mother approached her. The best protection for her is to ensure she has no ties with the Fu Family, do you understand?"
Bai Changxia barely understood his aning. She also didn’t want Jianian to be hurt again; what she went through in the past was hard enough.
But there’s one thing she needs to clarify: "So, the person going to marry Jianian is you?"
Pei Che didn’t answer. After a long while, he asked an unrelated question: "Is Jianian beside you?"
"She went to the restroom," Bai Changxia answered honestly.
Pei Che avoided the question, but Bai Changxia knew she was right; Pei Che was about to marry Shen Jianian. If it were before, she would have sincerely blessed them and even given a big red envelope.
The problem is, so many things have changed.
Bai Changxia hit the nail on the head: "Pei Che, this is deceit!"
Jianian lost her mory and doesn’t rember Fu Jichen, but she hasn’t forgotten Pei Che, who she grew up with, so Pei Che took advantage of this to resu their past relationship.
If this isn’t deceit, what is?
Pei Che was at a loss for words.
Bai Changxia was quite angry, continuing, "Do you know that the person she loves is Fu Jichen? She once admitted it to ! Even if she shouldn’t have any ties with Fu Jichen, she shouldn’t be kept in the dark, cluelessly marrying you!"
There was a sound from the restroom direction. Although Bai Changxia’s face was still angry, she turned her head to see Shen Jianian coming out, shaking water droplets from her hand.
Reviews
All reviews (0)