With that, Ji Yi immediately grabbed her handbag from the coffee table and got up.
From the corners of her eyes, she caught a faint glimpse of He Jichen's lips moving when she turned around. Before she could make out what he said, she had already walked far away.
Only Ji Yi knew just how drained her entire body was, but she still forced herself to walk elegantly out of the hall and into the restroom.
She only walked ten short meters from He Jichen's side to the bathroom, but it felt like she walked several kilometers. Both her legs felt weak and unsteady.
She was scared she was going to fall any second, so she found an empty cubicle and rushed in.
As soon as she shut the cubicle door, her whole body went limp as she took a seat on the toilet.
Ji Yi wasn't sure just how long she sat there frozen nor how many people entered the restroom or what those people said. She only knew that her bag vibrated endlessly in her palms, and her hand was a little numb from the constant vibrations. She finally looked down, opened the zipper, and reached in to pull out her phone.
There were five missed calls from He Jichen.
She wasn't going to call He Jichen back and was about to put her phone away when she got another call from him.
She stared at the name of the incoming call for some time before taking the call.
Just as she put the phone to her ear, she heard the flustered voice of He Jichen: "Where are you?"
"I'm..." When Ji Yi spoke, she felt her voice was a little hoarse, so she quickly paused to swallow then said, "...in the restroom."
"Oh..." Over the phone, He Jichen's voice sounded a lot more relaxed.
Ji Yi knew He Jichen was going to continue talking, so she clutched her phone silently.
But just when He Jichen said "Then," she heard the sweet sound of Xia Yuan over the phone saying: "Jichen, are you finished talking on the phone?"
Ji Yi's heart suddenly sank for a moment and it became hard to breathe again. She didn't wait for He Jichen to finish as she quickly said, "Errr, it's not convenient to talk right now so I'm hanging up."
With that, Ji Yi removed the phone from her ear and hung up the call.
After about ten seconds, the phone in her palms vibrated again. It was a text from He Jichen: "After you're out, remember to come find me."
Ji Yi didn't reply but put her phone away and stayed in the restroom for a while before she got up and headed back to the hall.
He Jichen and Xia Yuan were still sitting on the sofa by the window.
The empty coffee table now had a spread of all different types of desserts.
Xia Yuan scooped up some ice cream with her spoon. She would take a bite and turn her head every now and then and smile sweetly at He Jichen as she spoke.
Behind them was a night view of Huangpu River beyond the tall windows.
The two of them sitting together, a handsome guy and a beautiful woman, looked like a shockingly beautiful piece of art against the backdrop of a glistening night's view.
Ji Yi watched on with a piercing pain in her eyes, yet she didn't look away until an attendant passed and asked in a quiet voice if she needed anything. That was when she blinked and looked at the glass of wine in their hands.