four

Although I did not particularly expect him to value my call, the moment the call was connected, I still felt an inexplicable sense of comfort in my heart

Even against the light, I could still see the smile on his face clearly

I have always been reasonable; it is the one who breaks promises that lacks reason. I feel as if I have returned to the stubbornness of my childhood, unable to control my emotions

When one does not hold the arrogant notion of "I am the most special" or "He organized this party just to invite me"

Sister-in-law? Nonsense. You should know your brother better than I do, stop joking around

Xiao Wei had an innocent expression as she said, "You two actually have an ambiguous relationship," and made a gesture of "please." Li Yue grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the corner of the room

He looked at me, then at Xiao Wei, and revealed a hint of a smile: "I apologize, but I would like to speak with her privately for a moment, if I may borrow her."

What do you want to say? Why must it be so mysterious? Since I am here, I will make myself comfortable. I leaned against the wall, looking at Li Yue with an empty gaze.

"Xiao Ai," a familiar voice called my name from a certain spot on the long sofa. Following the sound, it was indeed Xiao Wei.

Cheng Tianai, today is my birthday, let's have a party at the Qian Gui, will you come too? Through the transmission of waves, it is restored to Lin Yizhe's warm voice, landing softly in my heart

"Cheng Tianai, can you make some sense?" He gives me the feeling that he might hang up the phone at any moment

Looking back one more time, that door against the light seems to emit a dark gray glow, as if it were in the middle of a black-and-white world

You know again. I am not pleased. You are wronging me! My heart is as clear as the sun and moon can testify, therefore I am actually considering suing you for defamation

Cheng Tianai? Speak up?

The silent world seems like a void and emptiness, with no future in sight, no direction, and no light. Tears flow out fiercely. Unable to see this world clearly, nor can I see myself clearly

Regardless of whether Xie Xintao will once again mock me for where I found my inspiration

If it were possible for the memory system to malfunction like in the scenes of a television drama, where the retention period becomes short and is constantly replaced, a memory, a person, or an event would be instantly forgotten and erased when the retention period expires and the memory capacity reaches its limit, perhaps I would be much happier

However, the feeling that Li Yue gives me is even more uncomfortable than the simple dislike for Han Jiayi. It is like the alien monster that infiltrates the human body in movies, a terrifying creature that can suddenly surge and devour its host

"I like him, but he doesn't like me. What does that have to do with you? Do you like me? Or do you like him?" My gaze coldly shifted to one side, avoiding Li Yue, and looked at Lin Yizhe. The light spread out with the music, falling on his face, creating a beautiful curve. In the alternating lines of light and shadow, his long eyelashes trembled, gently fluttering.

I followed his gaze and saw Lin Yizhe clinking glasses with a girl who was exquisitely made up, resembling a doll. Even under the not-so-bright lighting, her soft smile seemed capable of melting ice and snow, and her eyes were gentle.

I do not want him, I do not want him, I shake my head and open the wardrobe again

Stepping out of the revolving door of the cash cabinet, the sunlight pours down unobstructed, yet it reveals a sense of desolation and solitude, stretching the silent shadow behind me into a thin and elongated form, extending endlessly

Hearing Xie Xintao's calm and unperturbed tone, my heart finally found a sense of reality

Sister, you have finally arrived. The long shadow obscured the already dim light, and the faint glow was scattered. I raised my head, and Li Yue stood before me, in the same position as when I was with Li Zhuo last time.

"What does it matter whether I come or not?" The mindset of keeping a distance from Li Yue and the attitude of being respectful yet distant towards Han Jiayi share a common aspect: the desire to prevent Xiao Wei and Lin Yizhe from knowing another side of me

Someone is singing at the top of their lungs, "A single lie is like a needle piercing the heart." If this is true, my heart is probably already filled with needles, leaving no room to accommodate anything else.

Lin Yizhe's birthday party must be treated with great care

I am so earnest in trying to come up with reasons that I feel like I might collapse, yet he is the one who is getting impatient first

I waved goodbye to Xiao Wei and walked towards the door

Xu Weisheng, I love this bit of your pure affection, but I have to go on a date now ~ bye ~

Even if life ultimately ends up as nothing but a blank slate, even if it is destined to forget the beauty and emotions once experienced, and the people who were deeply loved and cherished, even if at the end of life nothing can be retained or remembered, even if there will be fear, dread, and exhaustion, it is still better than the current pain in the heart that one would rather die than endure.

He paused for a few seconds, and his tone suddenly became gentle: "What happened to your voice? Have you been crying?"

"Because I want to verify..." Li Yue looked at a certain spot in the room, revealing a hint of a smile, "Do you like Lin Yizhe?"

The sun and moon are not that free" He chuckled softly twice and said, "You made an appointment, yet you are willing to break it yourself, but you are even reluctant to come up with a proper excuse. My self-esteem holds too little weight in your heart

I have once again been cast aside by this world

I knew that if Lin Yizhe made the call, you would definitely come

I once again opened the flip cover of my phone and found Xie Xintao's number

How do you know it is a reason

Lin Yizhe walked towards me and said, "Cheng Tianai, thank you for coming"

Heaven has indeed always hated me. At the same time that Lin Yizhe invited me to his birthday party, he actually insisted on pairing it with Xie Xintao, who is specifically responsible for ruining my mood

Cheng Tian, could you please connect your words and speak them together?

Uh ... ... actually ... ...

However, this is not a major issue. The importance of Xie Xintao and Lin Yizhe is something that does not require any intellectual consideration.

Not at all. The wind is too strong to hear, hurry over here, I hung up

"I can't tell that you are still a fujoshi," Li Yue chuckled lightly. His smile indeed proved that he and Li Zhuo were brothers; both had a seemingly sincere smile, yet their eyes lacked warmth. However, he was very pleased, very cold, and very arrogant. His face, resembling Li Zhuo's, bore a sly and sinister expression that Li Zhuo rarely displayed. "After all, you can be considered my sister-in-law, so I have to keep an eye on you for my brother."

"It's excessive everywhere!" I said fiercely, "Look at what time it is, why are you still not here? How long do you plan to make the girl wait?"

Happy birthday. I responded lightly, with a slightly apologetic expression, "I'm sorry, I have a few things to attend to, so I have to leave first"

I walked out of the room

We have an appointment

Cheng Tianai

Where, Xie Xintao

Hmph, men. On the surface, they appear to be indifferent and aloof, yet in reality, they are just like cats, becoming astonishingly eager when it comes to their desires. Take Xie Xintao, for instance; he seemed so reluctant to agree to the conditions I proposed for our date, putting on the guise of a self-sacrificing devotee for his dear senior Zhou Wei. But in truth, he still accepted my invitation.

"Xiao Ai, please stop joking with me all the time." She habitually felt shy

"Excuse." Xie Xintao confidently threw out these two words, his tone laced with a mocking laughter that was infuriatingly sarcastic

Lin Yizhe, who is favored by more than half of the girls in the entire school, does not need to go to such lengths for Cheng Tianai. Because all he has to do is smile and nod, and I am left at a loss for words. Moreover, he has consistently shown much more tenderness and attention to Xiaowei than to me, and the sense of distance between him and me has always been present; this is an undeniable fact. Having expectations only to have them shattered is clearly what I deserve. However, when I see that there are so many people in the entire room that I cannot spot Lin Yizhe at a glance, I still cannot help but bitterly smile at the vague expectations that I cannot suppress.

... ... uh ... ...

Are you leaving?

I sat down beside her and asked, "Where is the dear senior from your family, the main character of today?"

I left Li Yue and walked towards Xiao Wei

Lin Yizhe's words "It's okay" became almost inaudible due to the music, passing by my ears, the slightly vibrating air made the area behind my ears feel a bit itchy

Could you please speak with a bit more logic? Where have I gone too far?

Hmm?

Well, I had already made an appointment with someone, just showing up is enough. The secret of being a supporting character is to know when to stop; the term "ice-cold intelligence" was created just for me, you know. I pinch Xiao Wei's face and say, "If you weren't going to be my future boyfriend, I wouldn't even want to come, so you must remember how much I love you."

"Xie Xintao, how could you be so excessive!" I regulated my breathing and returned to the normal state of conversation with him

"Alright, if you need a good reason, then just consider that my mother is getting married today and I need to be present at the ceremony." I threw down this sentence and angrily hung up the phone

Since I was not specifically invited by Lin Yizhe, there is actually no point in staying. After all, I never had any specific intentions towards Lin Yizhe. Even though at this moment, sadness and bitterness are continuously carving crescent-shaped crimson marks at the edge of my heart, I do not actually hold a position of sorrow, do I? It is enough for me to have landed in his heart; I do not wish to take root.

I took out my phone and dialed the number

"Why did you call me here?" My mood felt as if it had instantly frozen over, producing a creaking sound as it solidified. It was also like being trapped in a confined underground space, devoid of windows, light, or any way out, with even the air growing thin. "Why?"

Hmm?

"I have an appointment, so I'm leaving first." I picked up my bag that was placed beside Xiao Wei, pointed at Lin Yizhe, and winked at Xiao Wei, "There are subtle and overt ways to express one's feelings, but the impact is the same! Go for it! You can do it!"

"What is it, my dear? Xiao Ai, you are really too open." Xiao Wei pushed me hard and pointed to the elevated second floor of the room, "The senior is upstairs."

I relied on Xie Xintao, thinking that I truly wanted to meet him

It is unfortunate, as there is some pain on the left side of my chest. However, I do not want the sympathy of this guy who takes pleasure in mocking me.

Aside from nodding in agreement in a hurry, I truly had no better way to demonstrate my composure. It was only after hanging up the phone that I suddenly remembered the appointment I had made with Xie Xintao.

Little do they know how much they are looking forward to seeing me. That is why I believe I cannot entice him. Then I will wait to see how splendid the expression on Dr. Xie's face will be when I cast him aside

On the Saturday when I arranged a date with Xie Xintao, I specifically chose the shortest outfit that best showcased the "short skirt" style, as long as I feel happy in what I wear.

When the phone rang, I was internally mocking Xie Xintao's hypocritical demeanor. My originally stable and fulfilling mood was completely disrupted by the three characters "Lin Yizhe" displayed on the phone's outer screen

I am short of breath, this is unbearable! I am also fed up, what reason is there? Let Shen Tao die, that would be good enough. Just give him an explanation, that would be sufficient respect. My parents do not allow me to go out, they want me to stay at home and study. You don't need to entertain me this afternoon.

Although I have long been accustomed to it, being alone is truly lonely, and my heart feels so empty

Of course, this afternoon at 3 o'clock at the entrance of McDonald's on Chengnan Road, your forgetfulness is truly exceptional, enough to dominate the world.

Alright, alright, I do not know, but I know that if one truly wishes to meet someone, they will certainly be able to do so

"Cheng Tianai, what is wrong with you again?"