-The commotion here quickly attracted the attention of the entire room.
-The trembling waiter repeatedly bowed and apologized, "Sir, I didn't mean to!"
-The girl who had tripped him had been waiting to see Xinyi get drenched in red wine, but in the blink of an eye, all the wine had splashed onto Yiyang's body, completely depriving Xinyi of the opportunity to embarrass herself.
-"I'm sorry? What kind of service is this?" The waiter's face turned white.
-What kind of occasion was this? The manager had explained to them yesterday who the guests were and this occasion was made for them, he knew that very well. Pouring three glasses of red wine like this, not only was his job at risk, but he might have to pay for the suit as well. But that suit was so expensive, how could he afford to pay for it?
-"What's wrong? What happened?" Qin Yan, who was greeting the guests, rushed over when she heard the commotion, inquiring with a frown after seeing a drop of glass shards and wine stains.
-"Yan Yan, this waiter didn't hold the wine steady and it all spilled onto Yiyang."
-"What?" Qin Yan looked at the red wine on Yiyang's chest, furrowing her eyebrows, and was about to say something when the waiter apologized again.
-"Miss Qin, I'm sorry, really sorry, it was my fault, I didn't mean to!"
-Qin Yan just wanted to say something.
-"It's okay," Xinyi stepped out from behind Yiyang, looked at the mess on Yiyang's chest and smiled at the waiter in a pleasant manner, "It was just an accident, I believe you didn't do it on purpose, are you alright?"
The waiter shook his head nervously, "It's okay."
The people around them were whispering and gossiping.
"It's okay," Xu Xinyi smiled at Qin Yan, "Qin Yan, don't blame him. It's just a piece of clothing, not a big deal, right, Yi Yang?"
It seemed like she was blaming the waiter for the mishap.
The scent of red wine lingered on the tip of the nose, and Yi Yang's face turned dark as he let out a 'hmm' from his throat.
Before the three cups of wine were spilled on him, Yi Yang had a hunch that the waiter might have an accident and fall, but he chose to stay because he still harbored a flicker of hope in his heart, and even some curiosity.
He wanted to see how Xu Xinyi would handle the situation.
Unexpectedly, this was Xu Xinyi's way of handling the situation, by using him as a shield!
He definitely couldn't say anything in response.
Xu Xinyi acted before him, and Qin Yan swiftly told the waiter, "It's alright, just be more careful next time. You can go now."
After that, she said to Yi Yang, "Let me accompany you to change your clothes in the room."
-"Tsk tsk tsk, the host of a banquet inviting a married man to the room to change clothes, could the next step be getting into bed?"
Yi Yang tugged at his tie, his irritation evident in his furrowed brow. He had just wanted to go change clothes with Qin Yan when he heard Xu Xinyi's words.
One coincidence could be a coincidence, but two or three could not.
"No need, you're the host of the event. Take care of your guests and have the waiter take me instead."
Qin Yan's smile stiffened and she nodded, letting a waiter take Yi Yang to change his clothes.
"Yi Yang, I'll come with you..."
"You stay here!" Yi Yang was worried that he wouldn't be able to control himself if he heard another sentence from Xu Xinyi before his anger subsided.
The broken glasses were cleared, the wine stains on the floor wiped clean, and after Qin Yan apologized to the guests, she chatted with a few friends she had grown up with before finally stepping up to Xu Xinyi.
And throughout this whole process, no other member of the Qin family had appeared.
It was clear that Qin Yan was capable of taking charge on her own.
"Miss Xu, thank you for accompanying Yi Yang to my birthday party. Can we have a private chat?"
Seeing the harmless smile on Qin Yan's face, Xu Xinyi felt a little unwilling.
It wasn't worth it to engage in a struggle on behalf of a menial man, so she might as well show off her pretty dress and have some food and drink in front of others.
But rejecting the visitor would make her appear weak.
"Sure."
"Please, Miss Xu."
The two arrived at a terrace, and outside, there was a hotel garden with various flowers planted. Surprisingly, the flowers were still blooming in the winter.
"These flowers were taken out of the greenhouse by the hotel temporarily," Qin Yan explained when she saw Xu Xinyi's surprise. "But no matter how beautiful these flowers are, they shouldn't bloom in the autumn season. After being taken out of the greenhouse and exposed to the cold for just one night, I'm afraid they will all wither. Similar to people, whether it's making friends or falling in love, regardless of family background, character, or values, it's important to choose what's suitable for yourself. That's why there's such a thing as 'matching door and threshold', don't you agree, Miss Xu?"
Xu Xinyi nodded without saying a word, indicating that she was willing to continue listening.
"I've known Yi Yang since we were children. When we were very young, we used to play together, and the people you just saw were all our friends. When we were kids, a lot of things happened. I think Yi Yang probably doesn't remember them. He said that he would marry me when he grew up and would be good to me for a lifetime. But later, he fell ill, and when he came back, we had already grown up. During our middle school years, he didn't even recognize me, but I recognized him right away."
Xu Xinyi nodded in understanding and sighed internally.
This was a story of reuniting after a long separation, a campus romance.
"We went to middle school, then high school, and then to college together. Even though he was older than me, we were almost inseparable in school. Yi Yang was cold to others, but I knew that he was different with me and with others. I don't know if he still remembers, but he once said that if I wasn't married by the age of twenty-five, he would marry me. Today I'm already twenty-five, but he ended up marrying you."
Qin Yan smiled at Xu Xinyi. "Don't misunderstand or be bothered by it. I just want to tell you about Yi Yang's past."
Xu Xinyi nodded, unable to resist and asked, "What happened later?"
"After that," Qin Yan smiled and unknowingly fiddled with a bracelet on her wrist, "When we were in college, we chose different majors. He studied finance, and I studied design. We saw each other less and less, and when I went abroad, I couldn't contact him for a long time. When I returned to China, he had already taken over the business at the Yi family, so I could only see him when I visited the Yi family."
This was also a story of reuniting after a long separation, a campus urban tale.
"I thought that when I returned, we would have a chance, but unexpectedly, Grandpa Yi made you and Yi Yang get married because of a marriage agreement."
At this point, Qin Yan smiled bitterly, "I know that Yi Yang respects Grandpa Yi, and he didn’t want to go against his grandfather's wishes. Because your grandfather was also seriously ill, and his only wish was to see you get married, Grandpa Yi didn't want your grandfather to leave with any regrets, so he arranged for you and Yi Yang to get married."
"Did you know? When I heard this news, I felt very helpless. We are both educated people, yet we are still going through with this engagement. I thought Yi Yang wanted freedom, but he is willing to accept this marriage agreement. He can even tolerate being married to a woman he hardly knows, and knows nothing about, for a lifetime. I don't know if he is prepared, but now it seems that he doesn't love you, and is not prepared to spend his life with you."
Xu Xinyi sighed. No, he definitely wasn't.
That bastard Yi Yang didn't love me, but was still willing to marry her. She would waste her best years on this awful man.
"I heard that you really like Yi Yang, is that true?"
... Forced to like him, does that count?
"Xinyi, I know you like Yi Yang very much, but you must know that love is not a one-way street. It takes two to tango. If your efforts are all in vain, you won't find happiness in this marriage."
Xu Xinyi hesitated to speak.
Qin Yan's words struck too close to home!
She understands everything, what she doesn't understand is that Yiyang, that dog of a man, is always pestering her and refusing to divorce her.
Scumbag!
"Love is selfless, you can't be so selfish, causing pain to yourself and to others. You should let him go, let him find his own happiness, that's true love."
It's not about letting him go, it's about asking him to let me go. If I could have filed for divorce earlier, I would have done so.
Who wants to spend a lifetime with that jerk?
"So, are you saying Yiyang likes you?"
Qin Yan touched the bracelet on her hand and smiled gently, "This bracelet was given to me by him on my 18th birthday. I have been wearing it all these years, I can feel the difference in his feelings towards me. I believe he loves me."
Xin Yi sighed. This turned out to be a campus urban fiction of a long-lost reunion and deep tortured love.
In this lifetime, Qin Yan would probably have to be with Yiyang.
"Qin Yan, you're wrong. He may not love me, but I can be sure he doesn't love you either. If he loved you, why didn't he contact you during the time you were abroad? If he loved you, how could he agree to marry me? If he loved you, why would he bring me to your birthday party today to provoke you? After listening to so much from you, I'll give you a piece of advice, don't cling to a worthless man. You may not see it, but it's very unattractive."
Qin Yan's smile suddenly disappeared.
"Xin Yi, what do you mean?"
"I don't mean anything, I'm just advising you. You're giving advice to others, but you can't take advice yourself?"
"So, you don't want to divorce Yiyang?"
"I won't take the initiative to file for divorce with Yiyang. If you have a way, you can make Yiyang propose a divorce to me." What a joke, if she filed for divorce, it'd all be over.
Life is not easy to come by, she hasn’t even touched the boy band, and her kindergarten husband hasn't even grown up yet. She can't waste it like this.
Qin Yan looked at her in silence, not knowing what she was thinking.
"If I can make Yiyang propose a divorce, will you agree?"
Xin Yi provocatively responded, "Of course, I'll agree."
Qin Yan looked past her and Xin Yi understood at once.
In front of Qin Yan, she rolled her eyes openly, "Do you know that I'm an actress, I'm tired of playing these tricks."
As Qin Yan looked confused, Xin Yi fell straight back and fell to the ground.
Footsteps were clearly audible.
Looking up, Xin Yi saw Yiyang standing at the terrace door, along with his F4 friends.
"Yiyang, you're here?" Xin Yi cried pitifully, threw herself into Yiyang's arms, tears streaming down her face. Pointing at Qin Yan, covering her face, as if she had suffered a great grievance, "Qin Yan said she wants me to divorce you, she wants to reunite with you. I refuse, so she hit me! Look, she slapped me and knocked me to the ground, can you see if there's a handprint on my face, if it's disfigured?"
Xin Yi looked up at him.
Upon hearing this, Qin Yan panicked.
The rhythm was disrupted, she looked at Yiyang in desperation, anxious and afraid, afraid that Yiyang might misunderstand her, "I didn't say that...”
Xin Yi, who held onto Yiyang tightly, looked at Qin Yan with hatred, "You said it, you want me to leave Yiyang. I won't! I will never leave him in my life!"
One was notorious for meddling, the other pitiful and wronged.
To the audience, who was right and who was wrong was probably clear in their minds.
Yiyang looked at Xin Yi's performance helplessly.
How did she survive in the entertainment industry with such exaggerated acting? Have the directors all gone blind?
"Xin Yi, speak nicely, what's going on?"
"Yeah, Yan Yan, just say it, don't be afraid, we'll support you." F4's friends spoke up.
"I didn't..." Qin Yan tried to hold back her tears, looking at Xin Yi as if she had done nothing wrong.
She's really a pitiful little stubborn thing.
Xin Yi let go of Yiyang and wiped off the exaggerated expression on her face, smoothed her hair, and smiled faintly, looking composed.
"It's nothing, we were just acting, "Xin Yi wiped away the non-existent tears and said, "I just mentioned my work on the set to Qin Yan, and she was curious, so we did a little act of a love rivalry. How was it? Both of us acted well, right? We fooled all of you."
"Qin Yan, right?"
---"Playing tricks in front of Guan Yu, playing mind games in front of me, do you know who I am? I'm an actress!"
---"Trying to set me up? Dream on!"