She didn't expect to be woken up the next day by a phone call. Xi Qian groaned and rolled to her side, blindly searching for her phone. But instead, her hand touched something warm and hard at the same time. As she raised her head to see what it was, she realized that Li Xiran had chosen to spend the night with her and hadn't left yet.
"Who's calling you this early in the morning?" He grunted, before passing her phone to her hand. He then covered his eyes with one arm in an attempt to get more sleep, though it was obvious that neither he nor Xi Qian could go back to their slumber at this rate.
Xi Qian answered the phone and pressed it between her shoulder and ear to listen. She then grabbed Li Xiran's discarded shirt and slipped out of the bedroom barefooted, quietly. It seemed to her that everyone was on a quest to ruin her plans of taking a short break.
Ten minutes later, she came back to the bedroom and slipped back under the sheets next to Li Xiran. Xi Qian wasn't planning on attending the class reunion with her college classmates. She knew what would inevitably happen.
Well, more like whom she would definitely stumble into if she attended. Still, she refused to say that she avoided the encounter with that man because she still hadn't gotten over him. To her, Wei Zhijuan was currently nothing but a person in her past.
"Who was that?" Li Xiran said. He sounded neutral, with a hint of curiosity.
Xi Qian sighed and looked at the blank ceiling of her bedroom, aware that his warm hands were trailing her sides.
"My classmate back in Uni," she replied. "Said there's a class reunion next week."
"But you don't want to go?" When she said nothing, he continued. "Qian, what's wrong? You can talk to me."
The softness of his voice tempted Xi Qian to confide in him, but she couldn't. She knew it wasn't easy to fully rely on him when she had built solid walls around her to protect herself from another heartbreak.
"It's nothing, really. I just know what to expect at this kind of reunion. Bragging here and there, nothing more." She sighed.
It had always been like that, and she didn't doubt that some would use it as an opportunity to gain leverage from their batch mates.
"Or you can just meet friends and catch up with them?" Li Xiran suggested. "You've been working hard and deserve to have some fun, don't you think? Don't overthink it, Qian."
Xi Qian remained silent, but she knew that Li Xiran was right. She must be overthinking things, and it was clouding her judgment. She had been worried about how people would think of her and she started losing sight of what was important to her.
"Perhaps, you are right."
"You know I'm right." He said with a smile.
Later that week, Xi Qian found herself next to Li Xiran in his expensive Porsche convertible. The sun warmed her skin, but it did very little to soothe her churning stomach. She couldn't understand why she was even nervous. This was the first time she was attending a social event with Li Xiran, clearly establishing their relationship with each other.
Buildings and cars blurred into an endless stretch of black and white as the car sped along the highway. The university where Xi Qian finished her nursing degree was a private one and she expected the event to be a glamorous one.
Once they arrived, Li Xiran helped her alight from the passenger seat and Xi Qian smoothed a hand over her hair and white dress. She couldn't afford to humiliate Li Xiran in any way, now that she had chosen to be with him.
"What are you thinking?" Li Xiran said, noticing the slight frown on her face.
"Nothing."
He glanced over at her, taking a moment to take in her appearance.
"We don't have to go in if you don't want to, you know. I can bring you somewhere else." He suggested.
His dark midnight hair was tousled as if he'd just gotten out of the bed. It made him look absurdly endearing in Xi Qian's eyes, making her smile.
"No, I can't do that. I've already confirmed our attendance today."
"Ah, and here I thought you could help me buy a new mattress for my bed. I have no idea that moving out and decorating your own home could be time consuming." Li Xiran sighed.
Xi Qian shook her head and laughed, the knot in her stomach slowly loosening with the help of Li Xiran. He always knew the right words to say to make her relax.
"You know, when I first met you, I thought that you were a control freak, especially with the way you talked to your brother." She admitted as they walked towards the designated venue of the party.
"Is that so? And here I thought I managed to charm you the moment you saw me."
Li Xiran shrugged and smiled. Ever since their small talk at the beach resort he had never tried to hide that he was interested in her. Although Xi Qian resisted his charms at first, trying to convince that what she felt was purely platonic, Li Xiran continued to pursue her.
"It's still not too late to ditch everyone." He said with a mischievous grin.
Her lips twitched. She tried not to focus on the way his shoulders and hips moved under his perfectly fitted clothes. Xi Qian had a devilishly handsome man with her, and somehow she felt like she didn't belong in this place.
"You don't have to go inside with me, if you don't want to." She took his hand and dragged him. "Come on, we're late. Let's go."
When they arrived, Xi Qian plastered a perfect smile, a mask that she put on that would never waver in public.
"Xi Qian, I thought you wouldn't come. You didn't last time."
Xi Qian tried her best not to roll her eyes. While she was acquainted and on good terms with everyone, she wasn't particularly fond of this woman, Fu Yan. She was always trying to find something to criticize her about, no matter how trivial it was. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that. But Fu Yan disliked being overshadowed by anyone.
Fu Yan then shamelessly eyed Li Xiran, her eyes instantly lighting up.
"And this is?" She asked, but she didn't wait for Xi Qian to answer as she had already stretched a hand towards Li Xiran.
"Hi, I'm Fu Yan, Xi Qian's friend."
Instead of taking her hand for a shake, Li Xiran placed a hand on Xi Qian's hip and pulled her closer to him.
"Hello. It's nice to know that Xi Qian has more friends than I thought she has. She has never mentioned your name though. I'm Li Xiran, Xi Qian's boyfriend."
Fu Yan opened her mouth to say something, but Li Xiran didn't give her a chance to respond as he led Xi Qian away.
"You just arrived and you are already breaking the hearts of other women?" Xi Qian chuckled.
"I just don't like how she looks down on you." Li Xiran frowned. "Don't tell me most of your classmates treat you like that. No wonder you hesitated to come today."
Xi Qian shrugged. "Not all, but some can be tiring to talk to."
She no longer tormented herself on why some people, like Fu Yan, would treat her like this. Xi Qian just treated it as one of the indignities of life. She gave him a tight smile, telling Li Xiran that there was more to it.
They stepped into the ivory marble foyer, seeing the gold trimmed chairs neatly arranged along the walls while a long table was set in the center, separating the room into two. Foods were already served, drinks came as everyone laughed and occupied themselves with endless talks Xi Qian couldn't relate to.
As she and Li Xiran chose to move to the part of the room that was less crowded, they stumbled into someone for the second time.
"Xi Qian?" The man looked at her in surprise.
Xi Qian kept her composure and smiled. "Mr. Wei."
Then she glanced at the very pregnant woman next to him. Wei Zhijuan put a hand on his wife's back. The very same woman he married not long after his breakup with Xi Qian. She was wearing an expensive looking ring, her hand rested on her stomach.
"Congratulations! I didn't know you're already expecting."
No, actually, Xi Qian already heard the news three months ago, but she pretended to be oblivious to it. She couldn't believe he would bring his wife here today. Was he planning to torment her by showcasing how happy he was with his wife now?
His wife looked at Xi Qian with an uncertain smile, then at Wei Zhijuan, then back at Xi Qian.
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