“I didn’t know the person at the Four Seasons Hotel was you… That memory is what I most want to forget; I dare not recall it.” Tears welled in her eyes, but she took a deep breath and held them back. “But now, I’m so grateful.”
I'm so glad it's you.
Xiang Jin downed the wine in one gulp, a faint blush rising to her face, her head already feeling a little dizzy.
"Murong Xiao, let me ask you a question. If it weren't you who slept with me four years ago, would you... have despised me?" She only dared to ask this question when she was drunk; she didn't dare to ask it again once she sobered up.
She didn't have the courage, nor did she dare to hear the answer.
“If it were you, I wouldn’t.” He looked directly into her eyes. “Besides, there are no ‘ifs’.”
She nodded, feeling inexplicably relieved.
Then, she buried her face in her arms on the table and began to cry softly.
I weep for myself, and I weep for fate.
How unfortunate she was to encounter the Xiang family, Li Shuhui and Xiang Qi, which made the first half of her life miserable; how fortunate she was to meet Murong Xiao, whom she had secretly loved for many years, at a crucial moment in her life, and even marry him.
She could also tell him all those past, those trivial, messy things.
The Creator really knows how to joke.
Murong Xiao stood up, helped her up from the table, and let her lean against him. Xiang Jin reached out and hugged his waist at the right moment, her tears quickly soaking his shirt.
"Murong Xiao, will you regret this?"
"What's there to regret?"
"You regret marrying me." Someone like her was not worthy to stand next to him, who was so radiant. She didn't have the courage, nor the confidence.
"Xiangjin, look up at me."
With teary eyes, Xiang Jin stared directly into his deep eyes, her gaze filled with confusion and bewilderment.
"I regret it so much, I regret not meeting you sooner." If she had met her sooner, perhaps she wouldn't have suffered so much, and she wouldn't have had to endure so many years of coercion from the Xiang family.
Tears welled up in her eyes again, and her inner defenses crumbled instantly: "No, we've known each other for a long time, it's just that you didn't know me back then."
He frowned and tried to recall carefully, but he couldn't recall anything about her.
Looking at his serious expression and how handsome he was, she was momentarily dazed, her heart pounding, and a question lingering in her mind that she desperately wanted an answer to.
"Murong Xiao, are you...?"
"What."
"It's nothing..." After a while, she took back the last few words.
Do you like me?
When the question was almost on the tip of my tongue, I realized how difficult it was to ask.
Never mind, I won't ask anymore.
They drank a lot more alcohol afterward, but she couldn't remember exactly how much. She remembered that Murong Xiao carried her back, and she cried against his chest, tears and snot streaming down her face. He seemed to be saying something, but she couldn't hear him clearly.
However, there was one question she vaguely remembered.
When Murong Xiao put her on the bed, she asked him, "Do you like Xiang Qi?"
This is what he replied to her at the time: "How could you think I like her?"
“You gave her ‘Deep Sea,’ you made her the spokesperson for Deep Sea, and you also…” She seemed to have rattled off a whole bunch of random things, but he shut her down with one sentence.
"That's to annoy you."
…………
After waking up in the morning, Xiang Jin kept trying to recall the authenticity of the conversation, but she had drunk too much. Although the content of the conversation was very clear, she couldn't be sure if she was dreaming.
Maybe I really am dreaming.
She got up, tidied up, and prepared to go downstairs for breakfast. When she checked her phone, she found twenty missed calls and 999+ WeChat messages, mostly asking about the auction, what had happened, and why Xiang Qi was being attacked online.
Xiang Jin first called Bai Ningshuang back and explained what happened at yesterday's auction. After listening, Bai Ningshuang burst into laughter, bending over backward: "That was so satisfying, hahaha! Xiang Qi actually got what he deserved, hahaha, it's all karma, karma..."
"Yes, yesterday was a real turning point. I thought I was finished."
"I didn't expect Master Xiao to be so reliable. He handled this matter very well. I was originally thinking that if Xiang Qi bullied you, I would stand up for you, but now it seems that's not necessary."
"Shuangshuang, where are you now?"
"I'm in Huadu. I rushed back overnight. I almost called the police when you didn't answer the phone, you know?"
"I was wrong, I drank a little too much last night. Where are you? I'll come find you when I get to the hospital." She wanted to go see Jiang Anqing.
"...Okay, let's meet at the hospital then, I'm here too."
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Why do you need to go to the hospital?"
"It's nothing, just a minor cold. I just came to get some medicine. Don't worry, take your time going out. I'll find somewhere to eat first."
"Okay." Xiang Jin happily went downstairs.
…………
Xiangqi smashed everything in the house that she could.
She vented all night, had a huge fight with Li Shuhui, and didn't stop until dawn.
Upon leaving the auction, Xiang Qi learned that she was trending on social media and immediately instructed her PR team to launch a public relations campaign. The Xiang family's PR team also quickly followed suit. However, the negative news spread too quickly, and the situation far exceeded their capacity to handle it.
Deleting posts and comments is a drop in the ocean; instead, it has fueled netizens' resentment and caused the news to escalate even further.
Helpless, they had no choice but to issue a statement, forcibly trying to justify Xiang Qi's bizarre actions, portraying her as an innocent and pitiful person, and finally adding at the end that Ms. Xiang herself would pursue legal action against those who spread rumors online, etc.
Reading the whole thing felt like scratching an itch through a boot; it didn't get to the point at all, and it was as if I hadn't read it at all.
The statement quickly disappeared without a trace, but the online discussion continued to grow.
Seeing that the situation was unavoidable, Li Shuhui could only try to appease Xiang Qi. These emotions, character flaws, and emotional entanglements were all minor matters; the internet has no memory. In a few days, if Xiang Qi did some good deeds and did some business, netizens would naturally forget about it.
Xiang Qi wouldn't listen to anything, no matter how much she tried to persuade her. She had grown up pampered and spoiled, and had never been criticized by everyone before; she couldn't take it anymore.
Of course, there was an even more important reason: she lost Murong Xiao.
After what happened at the auction, Murong Xiao could no longer like her, and her dream of marrying into the Murong family was completely shattered.
"It's all your fault, all your fault! If you hadn't insisted on going to that auction and causing trouble for Xiang Jin, things wouldn't have turned out like this! Look at what I've become, hated all over the internet, doxxed... Everyone is laughing at me, and it's all because of you!"
"Now Murong Xiao is ignoring me, and Wen Yibai is ignoring me too... I broke up with Wen Yibai because of what you said, so what are you going to do to make it up to me!"
She cried so hard she was on the verge of collapse, which broke Li Shuhui's heart.
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