My Girlfriend is a Cold and Aloof Sickly Beauty 235

Chapter 235: The Tea Party

Because it was located in the “Youth Market,” with a relaxing atmosphere and a randomly appearing Maine Coon cat to pet, Cheng Shizhu’s “Poem of Spring” quickly became a popular gathering spot.

A few close friends would often come for “tea parties,” catching up and sharing business experiences.

Today’s tea party only had four attendees.

Yin Yuan had already treated this place as her third home. Since starting her relationship with Cheng Shizhu, she had gradually become accustomed to coming to “Poem of Spring” after work, chatting with Cheng Shizhu, ordering some snacks to take home, and also using this opportunity to introduce Cheng Shizhu to her family.

Her parents, having experienced love themselves, naturally knew what she was doing, but they still pretended to be oblivious, playing along and completing the whole “introduction” process, which felt more formal.

While Cheng Shizhu was preparing the drinks and snacks, Yin Yuan looked at the two sitting on the soft sofa opposite her with interest.

“So, you’re planning to open a music school near here?”

“Yes, but mainly offering interest classes. We can also do private tutoring if the students or parents need it,” Shen Xianyue nodded. “Chanchan and I will make a list of the instruments we’re familiar with, and then hire a few like-minded friends, so it will be easier for children to switch classes.”

In a way, she had also been inspired by Xiao Luohan’s experience.

According to research, the best age for children to start learning musical instruments was five or six, and she hoped that her “flexible curriculum” could help these young children find the most suitable instrument for themselves.

“Then how will you ensure that the instrument is chosen by the child, not their parents?” Yin Yuan asked. “For example, some parents think it’s prestigious for their children to play the piano or violin.”

“I don’t think it’s possible to completely avoid this, but at least we can refuse parents’ constant supervision during classes, which will also help us observe the children’s true learning progress,” Shen Xianyue said seriously. “This will be included in the teaching agreement, and since the fees aren’t low, parents will read the agreement carefully before enrolling their children, and we’ll also repeatedly confirm the key terms with them.”

“…Should I say it’s a good thing you’re not a ‘shady business’?” Yin Yuan said, half-joking, half-serious. “But the Shen family will probably also take some measures, otherwise, some unreasonable parents, not taking it seriously themselves, might try to exploit loopholes and extort money from the school, which would only affect the children’s learning environment.”

As they were talking, Cheng Shizhu opened the door, steadily carrying four cups of tea and coffee, followed by Yun Chanchan, who was holding Xixi.

“It seems the newly spawned ‘Xixi’ has been captured,” Yin Yuan said with a smile.

Xixi meowed softly, as if agreeing with her.

“For some reason, Chanchan is a cat magnet,” Shen Xianyue said, her gaze on the clingy white cat. “But when I asked her if she wanted to adopt a cat, she said ‘cloud petting’ was enough.”

“That makes sense, Second Miss in our family also said something similar,” Cheng Shizhu said. “Imagine being interrupted by a cat scratching at the door while you’re in the middle of something, or being woken up in the middle of the night by cat fur while cuddling… so they only adopted a dog.”

“Meow!” Xixi, now officially a member of the Jiang family, protested.

“Yes, yes, yes, you’re different, you’re a little demon,” Cheng Shizhu said, teasing it with a smile, then sat down next to Yin Yuan and looked at the two. “To be honest, I’m still curious about how you two got together. Can I interview you and learn some tips?”

Yin Yuan, who also enjoyed learning about other people’s relationships, perked up her ears.

The story she had been working on recently was also about “redemption,” with a hint of “master-servant CP,” and Shen Xianyue and Yun Chanchan’s relationship perfectly fit these two themes.

Most importantly, their relationship was both similar and different from Teacher Sui and Dr. Qi’s. Both involved a despicable, controlling person, and one side of the couple had been silently protecting the other.

The difference was that, despite being childhood sweethearts, Dr. Qi and Huang Qi had not only drifted apart but also had a major falling out, while Yun Chanchan, who had been silently observing her beloved, had ended up with Shen Xianyue.

She found both relationships fascinating and had even secretly visited Sui and Qi, who were now a couple. Naturally, she also wanted to hear the other couple’s story.

“I think it’s thanks to the accumulated foundation of our past,” Yun Chanchan said, blinking, before Shen Xianyue could speak. “I understand Yue Yue very well, I know what she lacks and what she wants. But she’s stubborn and doesn’t like asking for help, preferring to rely on her own abilities.”

She paused. “Even in relationships, she refuses to admit that ‘best friends can also become lovers.'”

“Actually, there’s a similar record in Jiang Mei and Xie Xitong’s case,” Yin Yuan reminded them.

“That’s right, the closer the relationship, the more you see each other as family, losing the spark and passion of romance,” Yun Chanchan looked at Shen Xianyue. “In these situations, one side has to take the initiative. What’s wrong with close friends dating? Even ‘narcissism,’ where you fall in love with yourself, exists!”

Cheng Shizhu choked on her tea and started coughing violently.

She thought of the two young misses in her family.

Although she still couldn’t confirm the “parallel worlds” theory everyone was speculating about, all those who knew the truth tacitly agreed that “Jiang Xue and Xiao Luohan were the same soul.”

Yin Yuan, also one of those who knew the truth, hurriedly patted her back, then said seriously, “Sorry, please continue.”

If it were before, Shen Xianyue would either refuse to talk about it or feel embarrassed, but now that the “villain” was gone, and she had also emerged from the shadows he had cast, she could calmly recall the past.

“Yes, we know each other very well,” she said, continuing Yun Chanchan’s words. “We know each other’s preferences and habits, and even which topics, or even which words, can trigger a reaction. But to be honest, this information doesn’t necessarily reveal our choices in relationships.”

“I understand, love is indeed unpredictable,” Yin Yuan nodded. “Sometimes, two people are very compatible, but their relationship remains at the level of friendship, neither able to imagine being in a romantic relationship with the other, let alone trying.”

“And sometimes, people you think will eventually break up end up together and even get married.”

“We’re actually the latter case,” Yun Chanchan said with a mischievous smile. “You haven’t seen Yue Yue arguing with me, it’s terrifying~ every time we fight, outsiders think we’re definitely going to break up!”

“Ahem… but we didn’t,” Shen Xianyue coughed lightly. “At most, we would ignore each other for a while, then go back to normal.”

“From a practical perspective, there’s no reason for us to be enemies. Although the Shen and Yun families aren’t as closely connected as the Qi and Huang families, our businesses still interact frequently,” Yun Chanchan analyzed seriously. “And emotionally… we both understand each other’s thoughts and feelings, and we even review our arguments afterwards, finding the points of disagreement, trying to control our emotions, and focusing on the issue itself, not resorting to hurtful words.”

“So since you’re such close friends, maintaining the relationship is a necessary and mutual effort?” Yin Yuan asked tentatively.

“Yes, it has to be mutual, otherwise, only one person will bear the burden,” Yun Chanchan nodded, petting the white cat in her lap, then nudged Shen Xianyue with her shoulder. “This little creature also endured a lot, from that jerk Tao Wu.”

“He kept suppressing her, blaming her for everything, telling her to ‘reflect on herself’—of course, those weren’t his exact words, that dog is very good with words, who knows how many scripts he had prepared!”

“He made our Miss Shen so quiet and withdrawn! And it’s my fault for being too busy with my studies. By the time I noticed something was wrong, she had already become a snail, instinctively retreating into her shell to protect herself!”

“The worst time, I called her ten times in one afternoon, and she didn’t answer. You know, these days, who doesn’t have their phone with them constantly? So I went to all the places she might be, searching for her one by one…”

Yun Chanchan looked helpless. “I did find her, but no matter what I asked, she just told me ‘mind your own business’ and ‘I can handle it myself.’ I’m usually willing to respect my friends’ choices, but not that time!”

“I knew the source of her pain, and to help her break free and become her old self again, I had to drag her away from that Tao Wu! Or send him as far away as possible!”

“And I happened to have the ability, the resources and connections, but it would take some time,” she said.

“And it was during this time that we encountered ‘Xue Luo’—”

“Why are you mentioning us?”

Jiang Xue’s voice came from outside. She and Xiao Luohan had been invited to this tea party, and they had overheard the conversation as they arrived.

“Don’t worry, we were praising you,” Yun Chanchan said with a brighter smile. “We were just saying that meeting you accelerated the process of getting rid of that Tao Wu.”

“Oh, that’s true,” Jiang Xue said casually, finding a seat and beckoning to Xixi, which immediately jumped from Yun Chanchan’s lap and rubbed against her legs, meowing softly.

She and Xiao Luo knew the rest of the story.

The modern-day Crown Prince had brought his downfall upon himself, receiving his just desserts, and because of this, they had also connected with Yun and Shen. They had been collaborating for many years now, creating many popular original songs for Non-Dream.

“No wonder you said it was thanks to your past experiences,” Yin Yuan said, still immersed in the story. “Without a deep understanding of each other, not only can you not solve the problem, but you might even encounter the ‘I’m trying my best to pull you out of the mire, but you seem to enjoy bathing in it’ misunderstanding, which would only push two people who should be together further apart.”

Having gathered enough “material,” seeing that it was getting late, she excused herself and was about to leave when Cheng Shizhu grabbed her wrist.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Cheng Shizhu asked with a playful smile.

Yin Yuan let out a short gasp, and although she looked flustered, she still kissed Cheng Shizhu’s forehead, then leaned down and kissed her lips.

Even someone as socially anxious as her, having been in a healthy relationship with Cheng Shizhu, exchanging affection, now had the courage to kiss her in public.

[My Girlfriend is a Cold and Aloof Sickly Beauty – End]