Chapter 45: Stupid Drama

After a quick shower and a change into fresh clothes, I rushed out of my house to meet Shi Xiao Nian.

"Are you all right?" I asked. She nodded sullenly, but it was clear that she wasn't emotionally all right. She appeared to be brooding over something. I wondered if it was a bad idea to ask her out.

Right now, we were in a café, drinking coffee and stuff. I hated bitter stuff and added lots of cream and sugar to sweeten the taste. I had a sweet tooth and preferred mango juice, but the damned café didn't sell fruit juice.

Unfortunately, I heard that girls preferred café. So I had invited Shi Xiao Nian to this supposedly popular café. Or it was supposed to be popular among the girls, but Shi Xiao Nian didn't look like she was happy to be here.

"What's the matter?" I asked. Then I swallowed. "Do you still miss Jin Bai He?"

"Ah…that's part of it, but I've already managed to come to terms with it." Shi Xiao Nian looked a little embarrassed. "No, this has nothing to do with her. It's just…"

"Just what?" I leaned my elbow on the table, resting my face on my hand. "I can't guarantee I'll be able to help you with anything, but I can at least listen. Of course, if you don't want to tell me about it, I won't pry."

"Sorry." Shi Xiao Nian looked glum. "Even though you're helping me so much, I still…I'm sorry."

"Nah, don't apologize. It's all right. Even I have things I don't want others to know."

"That's not it. I just…" Shi Xiao Nian stared outside the glass window of the café, fiddling with the straw to her coffee. She sighed heavily. "It's complicated."

I nodded silently, but was wise enough not to probe further. As I expected, Shi Xiao Nian decided to tell me everything of her own accord. It was almost a dam had just opened and the waters were flooding outward.

"I actually have this childhood friend…Mu Qian Chu. His family is…quite proud. They are a wealthy and prestigious family, with sights of making either him or his sister the heir to their Mu Corporation."

I had never heard of this Mu Corporation before, but whatever. I just nodded to show that I was listening.

"The problem is that Mu Qian Chu was blind, so they abandoned him in favor of his sister. They threw him to my Shi family for us to take care."

"…what the fuck?"

Fortunately, Shi Xiao Nian didn't seem to care about my coarse language. She continued, almost as if she was in a world of her own. A faint smile touched her lips.

"Since my parents would always favor my sister, I ended up taking care of Mu Qian Chu myself. We got very close…he was my first love, you know? We were always together."

"Uh, okay."

"Then…about a year ago, they decided to perform surgery on him. To cure his eyes and restore his eyesight." Shi Xiao Nian took a deep breath. "The surgery succeeded…but at a cost."

"Let me guess. His memories." I rolled my eyes. This was so cliché that it sounded like it came out of a trashy CEO web novel.

"Yeah. How did you know?" Shi Xiao Nian's eyes widened. I shook my head and gestured for her to continue. She sighed and nodded. "Now Mu Qian Chu has completely forgotten about me. Instead, my sister took my place and now takes care of him. They have gotten very close. I tried to help restore his memories, but he's very cold to me. My sister too…she treats me like a…third wheel or something, and gets angry whenever I approach Mu Qian Chu."

Shi Xiao Nian clenched her fists and trembled in fury.

"It's not fair! I was the one who took care of him throughout our childhood, and now when he has his eyesight restored…when the Mu family finally takes him back and recognizes him as the heir to their corporation, my sister swoops in and steals him away from me!"

There was so much wrong with this that I didn't know where to begin.

Not that Shi Xiao Nian cared. She carried on, as if I wasn't there. Or as if she expected me to shut up and listen.

"My parents too…for some reason, they side with my sister and tell me to stay away from Mu Qian Chu. All these years, they left him to me to take care of, and suddenly…they tell me to keep my distance so as not to ruin Shi Di's relationship with him? What are they thinking? They never cared about Mu Qian Chu before, when he was blind! And now they want Shi Di to develop her relationship with him!"

I assumed that Shi Di was Shi Xiao Nian's sister, but I didn't dare to ask.

Noticing that I was silent the entire time, Shi Xiao Nian blushed and lowered her head apologetically.

"I'm so sorry for ranting like this."

"No, it's okay. I understand." I held up both hands to assure her that it was all right. "Did Jin Bai He know about this?"

"…yes, she did." Shi Xiao Nian sighed and continued to stare at the table. "She was the only one who knew about this. "But now that she is…gone, I don't have anyone else to talk to regarding this matter."

"You have me," I reminded her. "Now, when you need someone to talk to, I'm always available. Don't hesitate to let me know."

Shi Xiao Nian forced a smile as she looked up. "Thank you."

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but I thought you had a crush on Si Nan."

"Yeah, I did." Shi Xiao Nian sighed. "Honestly, he was just a substitute for Mu Qian Chu. I thought that if I could get a new boyfriend…if I could move on, I could get over this…event."

Pushing my glasses up my nose, I nodded sympathetically. "I understand. Again, let me know what I can do to help."

"I will. Thanks again."

Shi Xiao Nian flashed me a smile, but I could sense the sadness in the expression. Despite that, I didn't know what to do or say. Feeling awkward, I looked away and changed the subject.

"All right, let's go. I'll pay for the drinks first."

I went to the counter to pay for everything, but as I did so, Shi Xiao Nian appeared to have caught sight of something through the window. Without waiting for me, she jumped out of her seat and raced outside.

I had to impatiently wait for the cashier to count my payment and hand me my change before I chased after her. To my complete lack of surprise, I saw Shi Xiao Nian approaching a young couple. A handsome young man with silvery hair and a younger girl with purple hair.

"Shi Xiao Nian, what do you think you are doing?!" The girl snapped at her, interposing herself between the young man and Shi Xiao Nian. "I told you to stop getting in our way!"

"You are simply stalking us," the young man said coldly, adjusting his tie and glaring at her.

"No, I just…" Shi Xiao Nian protested, on the verge of tears. "Mu Qian Chu, do you really not remember me?"

"No, I do not. I've told you that many times." Mu Qian Chu was blunt. "And frankly, even if I did remember you, I don't think I will hold any favorable feelings for you. You're just an eyesore."

"How could you…?"

"You heard that, Shi Xiao Nian?" Shi Di sneered. "Qian Chu doesn't like you. Never did. Now stop being so obsessive and quit getting in our way! Otherwise we'll call the police!"

"Actually, we should do that right now," Mu Qian Chu said and reached for his smartphone. "I have enough of this obsessive girl stalking me."

"Wait…" Shi Xiao Nian begged. "I wasn't…!"

"Hah!" Shi Di giggled. "Even now you still want to deny it? Do you think we are stupid? You even followed us all the way out here! How did you know we would be here? You must have checked Qian Chu's phone! How obsessive! Now get lost!"

"I…I…" Shi Xiao Nian was crying in public, even as her sister and her first love berated her cruelly. I honestly couldn't stand the scene. The drama was too contrived and forced. Only in a trashy CEO novel would such nonsense occur. Nobody did this in real life.

Even so, I had promised Jin Bai He that I would look out for her. And to be honest, this stupid couple was pissing me off.

"You guys flatter yourselves too much," I told them.

"Huh? Who are you?" Shi Di demanded.

"I'm a friend of Shi Xiao Nian," I replied politely. "I was the one who invited her out for coffee. She didn't know you would be here – we were in that café this whole time. The staff can attest to that. It's only a coincidence that she saw you two passing by here, and she meant to say hello. Don't you think you guys are overreacting?"

"Heh…" Shi Di studied me, contempt and scorn in her amused eyes. She then turned back to Shi Xiao Nian. "I thought you still have feelings for Qian Chu, but it turns out that you've already moved on and are dating a new guy! What a slut!"

What the fuck?! What was wrong with this bitch?

Before I could say anything, Shi Di turned to sneer at me.

"Hah! What a shabbily dressed guy. Just one look at him and you can tell how poor he is. You have an interesting taste, Sister. I didn't think you would date trash. But that makes sense! Both of you trash suit each other very well!"

"What a matching trash couple," Mu Qian Chu added.

Was there something wrong with their brains? Who the fuck judged people like that? Who the fuck insulted strangers in public like that? They clearly didn't know who I was, and yet they were spouting such nonsense? Calling me trash, verbally abusing me and making judgements? No rational human being would ever do this.

They were behaving like caricature villains right out of a trashy web novel, whether it was a CEO novel or a cultivation story.

"I think you're misunderstanding something. Firstly, we are not dating. I'm just a friend of Xiao Nian, a classmate. The reason why I'm checking on her is because of you people bullying her. She just lost her best friend, and instead of emotionally supporting her, you decide to abuse her. You're just so heartless. Also, even though you have no idea who I am, you're making quite the stupid assumptions."

"Oh, shut up! Do you think we're stupid? We won't fall for your lies! There's no reason why a young man and young woman wouldn't be dating if they are together!"

I threw both of my hands up in exasperation. "You've never heard of platonic relationships?"

"Platonic relationships don't exist!" Shi Di snapped at me. "Now stop lying!"

This bitch…

I didn't have the opportunity to retort because my smartphone chose that moment to ring. I turned away, pulling Shi Xiao Nian with me, to answer the call. To my surprise, it was from Na Lan Yan Ran.

"Shu Cong, I forgot to ask you earlier. You said you'll be coming today, but what time will you be arriving, exactly?"

"Oh, right. I'll be coming immediately. I just finished my appointment, so I'll be heading over right now."

I saw an excuse to get away from the abusive couple. Seemed like Shi Di and Mu Qian Chu suited each other very well. Even though Shi Xiao Nian clearly had feelings for Mu Qian Chu in the past, the Mu Qian Chu who had memories was a completely different person from the one he was right now.

And I didn't know if his memories would ever return.

Not wanting to leave Shi Xiao Nian alone with the bitch and bastard, I asked Na Lan Yan Ran for a favor.

"Do you mind if I bring my friend along?"

There was some hesitation, and then Na Lan Yan Ran finally replied.

"It shouldn't be a problem. But we can't tell ordinary people about the cultivation world."

"Understood. But I can't leave her alone here."

"I see." Na Lan Yan Ran sounded puzzled, but thankfully she didn't ask for too many details. "I'll see what I can do."

"Then I will come over immediately. To the Na Lan residence?"

"Yeah."

After confirming a few details, I hung up and gently pulled on the stunned Shi Xiao Nian. Turning to her sister and first love, I maintained a cold gaze.

"As we have an appointment, we'll be leaving right now. Enjoy your date. You suit each other a lot."

Then I stalked off, with Shi Xiao Nian in tow, while ignoring whatever verbal abuse Shi Di threw at our departing figures.