Chapter 46

Chu Su and Zhao Ke exchanged a glance. They had never seen Lu Yao looking so distraught before. Even when Lu Yao came to the bar with them just to unwind, her aura was still chillingly cold, her back always ramrod straight, making people dare only to admire her from afar. But now, she looked just like an abandoned puppy, her eyes red-rimmed and utterly pitiable.

Of course, Chu Su didn’t dare say this out loud; she just thought it to herself. “But didn’t you say last time that you didn’t like her? Why is your reaction so intense? Logically speaking, it shouldn’t be like this, right?”

“I don’t know either. Anyway, these past few days, I’ve felt so uncomfortable inside. It’s fine when I’m a bit busy with work, but as soon as I have a moment of idleness, I keep thinking about her. I sent her so many WeChat messages, but she hasn’t replied to a single one.” Lu Yao’s voice had lost its usual cold detachment, even carrying a hint of grievance.

“Before we got together, we agreed that we’d only be marriage partners and not date. But I could feel that she liked me. Is she leaving me just because I got together with her because her eyes resemble Wen Jin’s…?” Lu Yao couldn’t understand why Shen Zhirou had left so decisively, nor why she herself cared so much about Shen Zhirou. She recounted to Chu Su and the others everything that had happened after she and Shen Zhirou had moved in together.

Chu Su cleared her throat lightly and spoke up. “So what do you plan to do now? Chase her back? Or let time wash it all away?”

“How do I chase her?” Lu Yao tightened her grip on the wine glass, her gaze shifting to Chu Su.

“It’s pretty tough asking you to go chase Shen Zhirou, isn’t it? After all, you’re the one who said you didn’t want to date. Lu Yao, don’t get mad when I tell you the truth.” Chu Su glanced at Lu Yao.

“Go ahead and say it. I’m not mad. I called you all here precisely to get some advice from you guys.”

“Then I’ll just speak the plain truth. To be honest, your previous actions were pretty scummy. You wanted Shen Zhirou’s love but insisted on keeping your distance from her. The reason you got together was because her eyes look so much like Wen Jin’s, and on top of that, your mom made her write an IOU, which was pretty insulting. If it were me, I’d have broken up with you ages ago.”

Chu Su muttered as she spoke, but when she looked up, she saw that Lu Yao was actually crying. This startled her and Zhao Ke, who hurriedly handed over tissues.

“No, Lu Yao, don’t cry. We’ve known you for so long and have never seen you like this.” Zhao Ke handed over a few more tissues.

Lu Yao wiped her tears while looking at Chu Su. “Go on.”

“In this situation, if you want to make up with her, you can’t just go for the physical stuff without any emotional commitment like before, and you can’t be so aloof anymore. Chasing a girl always requires some patience and a thick skin. The most important thing is, if you want her to like you, you have to give her equal love in return. If you can manage that, your relationship might still be salvageable.” Chu Su thought for a moment and said.

Lu Yao was stunned for a moment. Wasn’t everything Chu Su had just said basically telling her to date Shen Zhirou? She instinctively felt some resistance, but deep down she thought that if Shen Zhirou wanted to date her, she could make some compromises. Worst case, they could date for a while and then think about marriage later.

“So what should I do? I… it’s been so long since I’ve pursued anyone, and I need to act fast. Today I saw Shen Zhirou holding hands with another girl.” Lu Yao sniffled, feeling deeply aggrieved. Shen Zhirou should only be holding her hand.

“To be honest, if you really want to win her back, you definitely know what to do deep down. At this point, if you’re still going to act all aloof and wait for Shen Zhirou to take the initiative like before, I advise you to just forget it.” Chu Su also picked up her cup and took a sip. Seeing this vulnerable side of Lu Yao surprised her quite a bit.

While Lu Yao was talking, she downed several more cups in a row. Her alcohol tolerance wasn’t great to begin with, and by now, she was completely drunk.

She clung tightly to her glass without letting go, mumbling on and on: “Jie Jie, I regret it. Give me another chance. If you want to date, that’s fine too—I can do it all. You can’t hold hands with other girls, and you can’t smile at other girls either, wuwu~”

Lu Yao looked utterly drunk, crying as she said things that didn’t match her usual persona at all. Chu Su tried to persuade her to drink less, but she only cried even harder.

In the end, with no other choice, Chu Su unlocked Lu Yao’s phone. She figured she’d call Shen Zhirou, and if Shen Zhirou came to pick her up out of their past friendship, then she’d have done Lu Yao a huge favor.

Chu Su had already called Shen Zhirou several times, but none of the calls were answered. Worried that something might happen to Lu Yao in this state, she finally dialed the contact saved as “Mom.”

“Yaoyao, are you missing Mom? Come over for dinner tomorrow.” Seeing that it was her daughter’s number, Zhang Huichun spoke with a smile in her voice.

Chu Su hurriedly explained, “Auntie, I’m Lu Yao’s friend. She’s drunk at the bar. Could you give me your address? I’m worried about her being alone tonight—let me drop her off at your place.”

“How did she get drunk out of nowhere? Her dad and I will come pick her up. Just tell me the bar’s address.”

“Alright, we’re at Crown Bar. Give us a call when you’re almost here, and I’ll bring Lu Yao out.”

“Okay, we’re leaving right now.” Zhang Huichun hung up the phone and said urgently to Lu Jitong, “Hurry up, Yaoyao’s drunk at a bar. We can’t let anything happen to her. What’s gotten into her lately? She never used to get drunk like this. Sigh.”

Lu Jitong slipped on his shoes and headed out the door with Zhang Huichun, frowning as he said, “Do you think we made a mistake? Lu Yao was perfectly fine when she was with Shen Zhirou. Wasn’t it going a bit too far to make Shen Zhirou write that IOU?”

“Too far? That Shen Zhirou was clearly never good enough for Yaoyao. Now that they’ve finally broken up, how can you say something like that? You should be happy for our Yaoyao—no more being treated like an ATM by that broke family of hers.” Zhang Huichun’s face was icy as she spoke. The news of her daughter’s breakup with Shen Zhirou was the best thing she’d heard all week, and she didn’t regret her actions one bit.

“Sigh, let’s go see what’s really going on first.” Lu Jitong shook his head.

When they were nearly there, Zhang Huichun called Lu Yao’s phone again. Chu Su had just managed to help Lu Yao to the bar’s entrance, with Zhao Ke assisting by carrying their bags.

Zhang Huichun’s heart ached at the sight of her daughter in such a state. She rushed over to take her, asking worriedly, “What on earth happened? How did Yaoyao end up like this?”

Chu Su gave a light cough and told the truth. “She got her heart broken. She was feeling down.”

“No way. She didn’t even get this bad after breaking up with Wen Jin. Thank you for bringing her out—I’ll take Yaoyao home now.” In Zhang Huichun’s eyes, her daughter had always been cool-headed and self-possessed, with emotions that rarely fluctuated so wildly. She couldn’t imagine Shen Zhirou—an utterly ordinary girl—having the power to shake her up like this.

Lu Jitong drove, stealing glances at Lu Yao in the rearview mirror every so often. Lu Yao slumped against the back seat with her eyes closed, dead to the world from the alcohol. Her cheeks and the corners of her eyes were flushed pink, and she mumbled softly to herself now and then. Her voice was quiet, but in the confines of the car, every word came through crystal clear.

“Jie Jie, I miss you so much. Please don’t be mad.”

“I don’t want to be apart from you. I don’t want you to move out.”

“Can’t you just not hold other girls’ hands? You can hold mine.”

Her drunken words came out soft and slurred, laced with the hint of tears.

Zhang Huichun only grew more furious with every murmur, snapping, “That Shen Zhirou must be some kind of witch. What kind of love potion did she slip Yaoyao to turn our girl into this? Shameless! I’m calling her up right now and giving her a piece of my mind.”

“Forget it—they already broke up, right? We shouldn’t even mention Shen Zhirou around Yaoyao anymore. Give it a little time, and she’ll get over it.” Lu Jitong thought it over. Calling Shen Zhirou now would be awkward, especially after the split.

“Fine. Tomorrow I’ll call Xiao Ye over too. Yaoyao just went through a breakup and needs some company. If Xiao Ye puts in a real effort, who knows—maybe something will spark between them?” With that in mind, Zhang Huichun pulled out her phone and messaged Ye Qi on WeChat, telling him to come by first thing in the morning and filling him in on Lu Yao’s breakup with Shen Zhirou.

Lu Yao dozed in a haze the whole ride home. Zhang Huichun simply helped her into some pajamas, and Lu Yao crashed in her old bedroom. The next morning, she was jolted awake by noisy voices from outside. Her hangover pounded like a drum in her skull. She dragged herself up, took a quick shower, and shuffled out of the room, still lacking any real energy.

Ye Qi was already in the living room. Spotting Lu Yao, he flashed a smile and waved her over. “Hey, you’re up. I grabbed your favorites—xiaolongbao and soy milk. Have some breakfast; lunch is still a ways off.”

Lu Yao was already in a foul mood. She frowned at Ye Qi, her voice icy cold. “Why are you here?”

“Auntie said you were feeling low and asked me to check on you. She mentioned Uncle and his family would be stopping by soon too.” Ye Qi explained with an easy smile. Lu Yao giving him the cold shoulder wasn’t anything new; he was pretty much used to it by now.

Lu Yao didn’t reply. She poured herself a cup of hot water and retreated to her room. Seeing that Lu Yao hadn’t touched the breakfast Ye Qi had bought, Zhang Huichun called out from the living room, “Yaoyao, at least eat some breakfast before heading back in. Xiao Ye went out of his way to get it for you.”

Lu Yao sat frowning on the edge of the bed, ignoring Zhang Huichun’s words. Her gaze drifted to her phone. In WeChat, there were the drunken messages she had sent to Shen Zhirou last night—no surprise there, still no response.

A pang of discomfort stirred in Lu Yao’s heart. She suddenly understood what Zhirou must have felt back then. When Lu Yao hadn’t replied to her messages, it must have hurt just as badly. She had been so thoughtless before.

Lu Yao took a sip of hot water, easing the burning in her throat a little. She tapped open Zhirou’s Moments and spotted a new post: a photo of her with that girl, plus a few shots of their new home.

Lu Yao clutched her phone so tightly that the veins stood out faintly on her arm. Only when she read the caption did she finally let out a breath of relief.

“Moved to a new home with my little sister~”

There were a few replies from Zhirou below it. Lu Yao wasn’t connected to those people on WeChat, so she couldn’t see their questions, but Zhirou’s responses were visible.

“It’s my biological little sister—she’s six years younger than me.”

“Yeah, we just moved in today. I’m wiped out~”

Lu Yao exhaled heavily. So that girl was Zhirou’s actual little sister? Thank goodness it wasn’t anyone else. The tension finally eased from Lu Yao’s face. If she was Zhirou’s sister, then she was practically Lu Yao’s sister too.