Chapter 959: Chapter 189: Proposal (Part 5)
Rong Sinan tightened his arm around her, his big hand gently stroking her trembling back. He bent his head to kiss her ear. "Why do you have to do things that make yourself suffer? Are you an idiot?!"
That sentence from Rong Sinan was full of love and heartache.
"I’ll only do it this once. I won’t do it again in the future."
Tang Yige looked at him with red eyes, pleading. "Okay?"
Rong Sinan stared at her for a long time, but in the end he didn’t give Tang Yige a definite answer.
...
Ever since Rong Sinan told Yige he wanted her to go with him to Shengge’s anniversary party, Tang Yige had been quietly counting the days in her head.
Less than a week after the anniversary would be Yuan Xihuo’s birthday.
She had promised Gu Yan to make a qipao for Yuan Xihuo, but had finished less than half of it, so she basically had no time to prepare a dress for the anniversary.
So when she found a bit of free time, Tang Yige called Nie Xiaoxing and Mu Yan out to go look at dresses with her.
Jin Jumo was close to her due date, and Rong Mochen was so nervous every day it was like he’d lost his mind, so of course Tang Yige didn’t dare ask Jin Jumo to come along.
The three of them agreed to meet at a boutique dress shop in Z City.
Tang Yige arrived first and was browsing on her own inside when Nie Xiaoxing and Mu Yan showed up one after another ten minutes later.
When Tang Yige saw Nie Xiaoxing, she was startled. What the hell, how did this girl’s right eye swell up like that.
Tang Yige grabbed Nie Xiaoxing’s arm and tugged her closer, staring at her eye with concern. "Xiao Xing, what happened to your eye? Did a bee sting you?"
Nie Xiaoxing was careless and unbothered about people seeing the swelling around her eye. "It’s nothing. I was doing sparring practice with a student yesterday and they accidentally punched me. I already put medicine on it, the swelling will go down in a couple of days."
"You’re the coach and you can still get hurt by your own student?"
Tang Yige frowned, her fingertips hovering as she traced around her eye. "Does it hurt? You’re a girl, why do you have to choose such a dangerous line of work? Getting punched hurts like hell, okay?"
Nie Xiaoxing looked at Tang Yige and didn’t speak for a long while.
Tang Yige looked back at her, the concern in her eyes utterly genuine.
Nie Xiaoxing suddenly took a deep breath and, rare for her, grinned at Tang Yige. "Even my mom has never worried about me this much. Thanks."
Tang Yige, "..."
Her gaze grew complicated, but she knew that Nie Xiaoxing only looked cold and indifferent on the outside; in reality she was meticulous and very sensitive. In an instant she hid that complexity in her eyes.
Just then, Mu Yan came in from outside with a backpack on both shoulders.
Seeing Tang Yige and Nie Xiaoxing standing so close, she blinked, then bounced over. "What are you two doing... oh damn, Xiao Xing, what happened to your eye? You got beat up? Who hit you? Tell your girl, your girl will avenge you!"
Tang Yige had black lines on her face and swatted Mu Yan. "Alright, put away your little gangster act."
Mu Yan stuck out her tongue, her grape-like eyes staring at Nie Xiaoxing in confusion. "So what happened?"
Nie Xiaoxing had no choice but to repeat what she’d just explained to Yige.
After listening, Mu Yan was a bit speechless. "You’re a pretty useless coach, huh."
The words sounded like she was roasting her, but they were full of concern and heartache.
Nie Xiaoxing shrugged. "It’s fine, I’m used to it. Enough about my eye, let’s look at dresses."
Mu Yan sighed as she looked at Nie Xiaoxing, then hooked an arm through Yige’s and Nie Xiaoxing’s and dragged them off to pick out dresses.
Tang Yige had a great figure and wasn’t afraid of wearing something sexy, so she finally picked a long strapless gown in a nude pink chiffon style and went into the fitting room to try it on.
When Tang Yige came out of the fitting room in the dress, Mu Yan and Nie Xiaoxing both froze for a second.
Mu Yan rushed over and lecherously wrapped her arms around Yige. "Sister Yi, you’re so beautiful, I really want to marry you and make you my wife."
"You’re so improper!" Tang Yige said, both annoyed and amused.
"I’m serious, seriously." Mu Yan pouted, then glanced down at Tang Yige’s chest, her eyes lighting up. "I finally understand what ’about to spill out’ really means."
"Get lost!"
Tang Yige’s cheeks flushed. She gently pushed Mu Yan aside, turned toward the mirror and checked herself from left to right, then asked Mu Yan and Nie Xiaoxing for their opinions. "How is it?"
"Drop-dead gorgeous!" Mu Yan’s eyes turned into stars.
Nie Xiaoxing raised an eyebrow and nodded.
Tang Yige’s red lips curled higher. "Then I’ll go with this fresher, girlier style this time, switch things up a bit."
"Sister Yi, I can guarantee that on the night of the party, you won’t even have to lift a finger and you’ll outshine the whole room." Mu Yan winked at her.
Tang Yige reached out and patted her face. "I’ll take your good-luck words."
"Hehe, but of course." Mu Yan laughed.
Just like that, the very first dress Tang Yige tried on was easily decided on.
Tang Yige paid, left her address, and asked the salesclerk to have it delivered straight to Jinxiu Huadu.
After that.
The three of them walked out of the dress shop. Tang Yige wanted to treat Mu Yan and Nie Xiaoxing to a meal, so she took them to a Thai restaurant in Z City that had pretty good reviews for some Thai food.
The three had just sat down in the restaurant and were in the middle of ordering.
Nie Xiaoxing’s phone rang just then.
Nie Xiaoxing took out her phone and glanced at it, then hung up the incoming call.
Because Nie Xiaoxing’s phone was lying right there on the table, Tang Yige and Mu Yan both saw it. The call was from Gu Yan...
Seeing her directly hang up, Tang Yige and Mu Yan exchanged a look but didn’t say anything.
Less than five seconds after Nie Xiaoxing hung up, her phone started ringing again.
Nie Xiaoxing hung up again.
Tang Yige, Mu Yan, "..."
While Tang Yige and Mu Yan were ordering, Gu Yan called no fewer than ten times, and every single one was mercilessly hung up by Nie Xiaoxing.
Once they were done ordering, as Nie Xiaoxing hung up on Gu Yan yet again—
Mu Yan couldn’t hold it in a little. Staring at Nie Xiaoxing’s cool profile, she whispered, "Xiao Xing, you and Uncle Gu are okay, right?"
"We’re fine." Nie Xiaoxing’s tone was normal, and the look she swept toward Mu Yan was normal too, like it really was fine.
Mu Yan’s mouth twitched. "Did my Uncle Gu make you mad?"
"He made me mad? Why would he? He’s not even important." Nie Xiaoxing still looked like nothing was wrong with her.
Mu Yan, "..."
And she says Uncle Gu isn’t important. To Mu Yan it looked more like he was way too important.
Otherwise she could just turn her phone off.
Why keep waiting for him to call again and again, just to stubbornly hang up each time?!
That’s what she was thinking, but Mu Yan didn’t say it.
Nie Xiaoxing, this person... she’s a bit twisted.
Her self-esteem is too strong, and she forces herself too hard on top of that.
If you keep saying the opposite of what she insists on, you might actually set her off.
Puff, puff, puff...
Gu Yan’s call came in again.
This time, both Tang Yige and Mu Yan turned to look at Nie Xiaoxing in unison.
Just waiting for Nie Xiaoxing to hang up in a cool, dramatic fashion.
However, Nie Xiaoxing deliberately went against their expectations, picked up the phone, and answered.
Tang Yige, Mu Yan, "..." They honestly felt Nie Xiaoxing’s temperament was impossible to read.
"Nie Xiaoxing, where the hell did you go die? Why are you hanging up on me? You’d better give me a reasonable explanation, or else..."
Nie Xiaoxing frowned, took the phone away from her ear, and hung up on him.
Tang Yige and Mu Yan were both expressionless.
Nie Xiaoxing calmly picked up a glass of water and took two sips.
When she set the glass down, Gu Yan’s persistent call came in yet again.
Nie Xiaoxing stared at the phone.
This time she didn’t hang up right away, but waited until the call was about to time out before picking it up and putting it to her ear.
The first thing that came through was Gu Yan’s rough breathing; he was obviously pissed, but he forced his voice down as he said, "Where are you?"
"Mr. Gu, our relationship isn’t at the level where we need to report our whereabouts to each other." Nie Xiaoxing said coolly.
"You fucking... Nie Xiaoxing, can you stop being so twisted?" Gu Yan’s angry voice was filled with helplessness.
"Then stop talking to me." Nie Xiaoxing said.
"You—fine, I’m not gonna argue with you about who’s got the sharper tongue right now. Just say it, where are you?" Gu Yan said in a low voice.
"I already said—"
"Nie Xiaoxing, are you trying to drive me crazy?" Gu Yan growled.
Nie Xiaoxing’s eyes suddenly filled with a layer of heat.
Her hand, clenched tightly on her knee under the table, squeezed hard. After a while, she said, "Can I even do that?"
"You’re sure as hell the best at it!" Gu Yan had clearly pushed his temper to the limit and roared.
Nie Xiaoxing pressed her lips together. "I’m eating with Sister Yi and Little Yan right now."
Hearing that she was with Yige and Mu Yan—
Gu Yan didn’t speak for quite a while on his end, but his breathing stayed rough and heavy.
Nie Xiaoxing’s tightly clenched hand slowly relaxed. "If you have something to say, wait for me—"
"Where are you eating? I’ll come find you."
Before Nie Xiaoxing could finish, Gu Yan asked, his tone slightly calmer.
"..."
