Chapter 456: [Chapter 417] Second Update, Requesting Monthly Pass
Avoidance!
For Yu Xiaodi, there was only avoidance.
At nineteen, she was still at an age where she loved recklessly. If she followed her nature, she might have loved without restraint. But over the past few months, after meeting Li Yan, she had matured quite a bit. She considered Li Yan’s position; he hadn’t divorced Zhang Yurong, naturally for his reasons. If she really disregarded everything, she might not only hurt her rival Zhang Yurong but also herself and the Li Yan she loved.
So, these days, she was merely avoiding. She didn’t interact with Zhang Yurong and avoided the topic when with Li Yan. She tried hard to return to her previous state, but she knew in her heart that no matter how she avoided it, she couldn’t go back to her original mindset.
When she received Zhang Yurong’s call, her first thought was that the primary wife was coming to scold her! She was instantly nervous, wondering whether to face it or continue avoiding.
"Yu Xiaodi, are you free tonight? I’ve reserved a place and would like to invite you to dinner. There’s something I want to discuss with you."
Yu Xiaodi didn’t expect that there was no scolding, no sarcasm, and no ridicule. It was just a very plain invitation.
She couldn’t refuse!
She could guess that because of her, Zhang Yurong must have felt a sense of crisis and had been even better to Li Yan. Now she might want to have a rational confrontation and ask her to leave. Even so, she couldn’t refuse this invitation.
...
In the evening, the two rivals, who should have been at odds, both appeared on time at the agreed restaurant.
However, something Zhang Yurong didn’t expect was that Yu Xiaodi brought someone with her, which made her a bit unhappy because she had said she wanted to have a discussion with Yu Xiaodi. But being smart, she thought it through and guessed that Yu Xiaodi was worried about being driven away, hence brought a friend for support. This made Yurong secretly smile wryly.
Indeed, Yu Xiaodi was young. As long as Zhang Yurong remained calm, the pressure Xiaodi felt in front of her was immense. She had many friends but could she bring friends for such a matter? Regardless of the outcome, it would only embarrass herself in her circle, spreading the news. Of course, her friends were young and might impulsively help her by attacking Zhang Yurong, which would be difficult for Li Yan and not what she wanted.
So... the person Yu Xiaodi brought this time was Qiao Huanxuan, someone she had met just two days ago who had no connection with her other friends yet had a subtle relationship with Li Yan!
When seeing Qiao Huanxuan, Zhang Yurong didn’t pay much attention, just thought she looked decent and was about two years her senior. She assumed Yu Xiaodi had found someone to offset her strengths. But a comment from Yu Xiaodi made her pay more attention.
"Sister Zhang, hello, long time no see. Let me introduce you, this is Sister Qiao Huanxuan. She is Li Yan’s middle school classmate, hehe, supposedly his first love."
Qiao Huanxuan was also quite puzzled, not understanding why Yu Xiaodi would bring her to meet her friend. Upon seeing Zhang Yurong, she was also surprised; she hadn’t expected such a perfect woman in terms of looks, temperament, and figure.
Zhang Yurong reacted quickly, immediately changing her guess. She figured Yu Xiaodi knew her momentum was weak, and with no advantage in identity, she found another person to share the pressure. Though unsure if it was true, just the mention of "first love" was enough to make her cautious.
However, she wasn’t there to confront Yu Xiaodi but to seek her help, so Yurong didn’t want to pressure Yu Xiaodi too much. During her self-introduction, she didn’t say she was Li Yan’s wife, just subtly expressed her suspicion: "Hello, my name is Zhang Yurong, Li Yan’s bos... boss. By the way, I know him well; how come I’ve never heard him mention Miss Qiao?"
While she spoke, Yu Xiaodi’s heart was in her throat, worried she would say "wife." Hearing "boss" made her feel slightly relieved. In her passionate relationship, she was always insecure. Besides Zhang Yurong and Wen Qianyi, she also viewed Qiao Huanxuan as a rival. She thought about using Zhang Yurong to drive away this secret admirer and considered teaming up with this first love to fight Zhang Yurong, making relationships always so tangled.
Qiao Huanxuan was unclear about their relationship with Li Yan. It seemed to be either a boss or a good friend. She straightforwardly said: "Sorry to amuse you, Miss Zhang. Actually, Miss Yu was joking; what first love? Li Yan and I were just good classmates back in the day and haven’t been in touch for years. We just met at the airport the day before yesterday."
Within her words was a subtle "back then." Now, she had already taken him, making it not purely a classmate relationship anymore. But she also didn’t want to have a showdown with Yu Xiaodi, Li Yan’s "official girlfriend," so she didn’t reveal anything.
This sentence, however, dispelled Zhang Yurong’s doubts. It matched what Li Yan had said. Although he had never mentioned Qiao Huanxuan, he did say upon returning the day before yesterday that he went to a middle school reunion. Did they reunite at the reunion or first at the airport? How did Yu Xiaodi know Li Yan’s classmate? Airport... Could it be that Yu Xiaodi went to the airport to pick up Li Yan and met someone she knew there?
Her eyes glanced briefly at the uneasy and tense Yu Xiaodi, internally sighing. This girl was truly devoted to Li Yan, more so than I perhaps. If circumstances and perspectives were different, maybe like Yue Yao, I could have been friends with her?
Afterward, when the three of them spoke, they were all very cautious. Initially, Li Yan was a common topic, but due to so many unspeakable things, as they slowly ate, Qiao Huanxuan and Zhang Yurong talked about work, allowing for a more open conversation.
Being two years junior to Zhang Yurong, Qiao Huanxuan had seen more of life, easily seeing there was another reason Zhang Yurong wanted to discuss with Yu Xiaodi, something inappropriate for her to hear. So after eating, she immediately excused herself to the restroom, giving them space to talk.
After a meal of easing tension, Yu Xiaodi still felt a bit nervous, but Zhang Yurong was calm, directly explaining last night’s situation involving Li Yan and what she needed help with.
As she suspected, Yu Xiaodi was more concerned about Li Yan than herself, immediately getting anxious, needing Yurong to comfort and calm her. Finally, for the first time on the same side, they calmly devised a rough plan to trick Li Yan into getting a health check-up.
Before Qiao Huanxuan returned, Zhang Yurong said to Yu Xiaodi: "I know you want to ally with this woman, possibly Li Yan’s first love, against me, but be cautious not to let a wolf into the house."
"What do you mean?"
"You met the day before yesterday? Li Yan went with her to the reunion?"
Yu Xiaodi nodded one by one.
"The night before last... Li Yan didn’t come home to sleep." Zhang Yurong sighed; this was to warn and shake Yu Xiaodi. How did knowing herself make her feel better?
"...!" (To be continued. To find out what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters available. Support the author and legitimate reading!)
