Silence fell over the whole archery range. A second later, Qiao Qing and Jia Ying suddenly shrieked out of nowhere almost throwing their bows down.
Jing Yan had her hand on her mouth and looked at Xiu Mei in disbelief while Lia smiled so blindingly as if she was teasing Xiu Mei with her response.
Startled with their strange reactions, Xiu Mei stared at them at a loss.
What? Was there something wrong with what she answered?
She glanced at her tabletâs screen again just in case she wrote something strange but she didnât find anything.
"Oh my gosh!" Qiao Qing almost screamed as she tried to hold down her excitement.
"Ohmygee, did that really just come from our resident professional single since birth, Xiu Mei?" Jia Ying said almost at the same time as her.
"That sounded so unbelievably sweet... and cringey." Jing Yan commented as she continued to stare in disbelief at her.
Lia chuckled at their reactions and sided with Xiu Mei instead. Cupping her own face, she opened her mouth.
"That may look cringey but believe Xiu Meiâs answer. Once you find the right person for you, every time you ask yourself why you fell in love with that person, the only perfect answer for that would be similar to what Xiu Mei wrote."
Xiu Meiâs breath hitched.
Uh... she was glad that Lia didnât react like the other three but somehow... she felt more shy and embarrassed when she suddenly said those words?
She felt her cheeks slightly turn hot as she discreetly erased her answer on her tablet.
Lia poked her arm lightly.
"Xiu Mei."
â?â
"Iâm very happy for you." Lia suddenly said out of the blue startling Xiu Mei. And then, the smile returned to her face as she mouthed a silent thank you to her.
Lia continued smiling at her friend, whom they spent years together back when they were younger.
Back when they first met Xiu Mei, they only knew her as someone who came from the two most prestigious families in the country. But as they got to know her better, she was almost like themâfunny, a foodie, nice and playful. At the same time, the four of them knew that thereâs still some distance between them and Xiu Mei.
Theyâve been together for so many years that it would be impossible to miss the lonely expression flashing on her face for a split second, or the days when she would suddenly miss class out of the blue and return days after.
They honestly felt frustrated when Xiu Mei didnât have any intentions of telling them about her situation, but as a friend, they could only understand her. It may sound fake, but the four of them truly treasured the friendship they have with each other.
In their elite circle, it was truly hard to find true friends that you can really trust. And each and everyone here is people like that.
Xiu Mei smiled and suddenly had the urge to hug Lia, and so she did. Lia didnât reject her and hugged her back.
The other three also heard what Lia said and stopped teasing Xiu Mei. Instead, while Xiu Mei wasnât looking, they all looked so relieved and smiled at Xiu Meiâs figure. They didnât continue on Lu Chenâs topic anymore and continued gossiping about other stuff.
After stretching their muscles in the archery range, they did some short horse-riding before having their lunch.
"By the way, Xiu Mei. Did you see Yu Zhenzhen during the funeral?" Jia Ying asked while consuming a bowl of salad.
Xiu Mei nodded her head. âI saw her but she didnât stay very long at the funeral.â is what she wrote.
"Hmm. You know, we all donât like her very much but still, I feel bad because she suddenly lost her husband when sheâs still in the middle of her pregnancy." Jia Ying said. "I was truly shocked when I heard from my assistant that Mr. Pei suddenly passed away you know."
The others hummed and nodded their heads in response to her statement.
"I wonder who killed him though. I mean, who had the guts to kill someone related to the person with the highest authority in our country?"
"Maybe itâs one of the prime ministerâs enemies? Or maybe someone had a grudge with Mr.Pei so they decided to murder him?"
"Well, maybe someone was envious of him? We know how dark politics could be. Right, Xiu Mei?"
Xiu Mei casually listened to their chat and shrugged her shoulders as an answer implying that she wasnât sure.
Even though she came from a family of politicians, itâs not like she has firsthand knowledge of how dangerous or dirty it was. All of it she learned either from her relatives and observation throughout the years of watching her father and second brother.
"Speaking of Mr. Peiâs case, I heard the military will be involved in the investigation too."
"Hm? Where did you hear that?"
"From my father. He said thatâs what his friend from the police headquarters said to him in passing. Not sure if itâs true or not but, if the militaryâs going to be involved, then doesnât it mean that something scary must have happened since the military is going to interfere with the investigation?"
"If thatâs true then, thatâs really scary."
"Oh, but you know what? I just hope that when Yu Zhenzhen decides to appear again in public, that she wonât suddenly lash out or something."
"Why did you suddenly say that?"
"I mean, remember back in the party? She was very bitchy to Xiu Mei when she didnât do anything to her at all. It was because Mr.Pei held her off thatâs why she didnât go crazy but now that her husband is gone, wonât her personality turn more twisted than it already was before?" Qiao Qing said as she voiced out her true thoughts.
Xiu Mei and Jia Ying who was sitting between Qiao Qing lightly hit her in the back and her arm. Lia even almost threw the cabbage leaf at her while Jing Yan looked sharply at her.
"What? I was just saying that because it could possibly happen you know."
"We know. We all have the same thoughts, but damn. Qiao Qing, youâre really brave to even voice it out. You know walls have ears, right! First rule of gossip!!!"
"Then let them know for all I care!"
"Oh. Then you can wait for your Dad to kill you then once he gets wind that his daughter spoke badly about the Prime Ministerâs daughter a day after her husbandâs burial."
"...Tsk. Fine. Iâll shut my mouth."
"Nah, you donât have to shut your mouth since you definitely wonât. Just think before you speak first. Itâs going to be terrible if our conversation here gets leaked out you know."
Xiu Mei nodded at their words. Even though she was interested in gossip, she was still quite cautious with everything she says since someone could take it the wrong way or bend her words into something negative then put it on the tabloids or anything. That would be terrible not only for her, but for her fatherâs and second brotherâs image as politicians.
After scolding Qiao Qing, the five girls resumed their agenda of going to the spa and full body massage. And then they had dinner before they decided to split up and go home refreshed and satisfied.
She already messaged Lu Chen that he can now pick her up. Of course, her friends discovered this and decided to wait with her so they could meet this famous Mr. Lu. Xiu Mei shook her head helplessly and surrendered.
Sheâs truly helpless if she canât talk back to them ah.
They were still chatting about some random things when she received a message from Lu Chen that he was already at the entrance of the private resort.
When Xiu Mei stood up from her seat, the other girls quickly understood that the person theyâve been waiting for has finally arrived!!
And so, they all left their seats excitedly and followed Xiu Mei to the entrance. They were met with the familiar face that theyâve always seen in business magazines and interviews before.
"Wife." Lu Chen called as soon as he saw Xiu Mei coming out.
The sound of footsteps immediately halted as soon as he spoke.
âShit.â Xiu Mei thought as soon as she realized what he called her.
Without a second thought, she hastened her pace discreetly trying to make her escape but before she could even take more than two steps, two hands held both of her arms preventing her from walking away any further.
She tried to get away with a smile as she turned behind her to look at the four girls but was met with their sharp gazes and grinning faces instead.
"Mei Mei ah~" Lia said softly. And then they pulled her closer and whispered to her.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Looks like weâre going to have short chat later in the group chat?"
Xiu Mei wanted to shake her head but with their gazes turning sharp to her, she hesitantly nodded her head.
"Great!" They exclaimed before releasing her.
Xiu Mei slowly turned behind her and finally saw the culprit who called her âwifeâ first.