Auntie Zhang purposefully baked cookies, knowing that A Miao would be hosting her girlfriend at home. A Miao found it to be rather interesting and stayed behind to learn. She asked Shen I to pick Zhou Xiao instead.
The journey from Zhou Xiao's home to this place required them to drive through the entire city. Two hours later, A Miao stood in front of the villa and looked around. She could see the black car driving in from afar.
"A Miao!" Zhou Xiao got off, looking a little flustered.
"What's wrong?" A Miao immediately asked after seeing her reaction.
Zhou Xiao held firmly onto her hand and said embarrassedly, "N-No… I'm just a little nervous."
"Hehe! Come, let's go in." A Miao thought that her friend was feeling out of place in an unfamiliar place but did not know that the latter had started off feeling uncomfortable after entering the car alone. When Zhou Xiao saw that Shen I was rather courteous no matter what she asked, she asked rather casually,
"Your Boss must take responsibility for A Miao. If he has another woman someday, he must remember to pay us a breakup fee."
After she said these words, Shen I began to ignore her and even began to give her a rather scornful look. Naturally, Zhou Xiao dared not tell A Miao this. She hoped that the chauffeur would not tell A Miao later.
"It's so spacious!" Zhou Xiao completely forgot her worries after entering the villa.
Everywhere she looked were furniture and decorations that she had never seen before. Even the wooden furniture exuded aroma. The massive crystal chandelier and the pseudo-classical wall lights were unexpectedly harmonious together.
There was so much to see that Zhou Xiao felt like a pair of eyes was not enough for her. "It's so beautiful here!" She walked around, seeing and poking at things. "A Miao, this is even more beautiful than your family home."
Knowing that she was referring to the Xia family villa, A Miao smiled without answering. Auntie Zhang pushed in a cart filled with all sorts of beautiful desserts. Zhou Xiao stared at them wide-eyed.
"Can I eat them?"
"Of course! I prepared them all for you!" A Miao expressed her thanks to Auntie Zhang and then poured a glass of fruit juice for Zhou Xiao. "Here, your favorite mango juice."
Zhou Xiao clasped her hand over her mouth after taking a sip of it. "It's so much tastier than the one they sell at the end of our street!"
"The stall at the end of the street dilutes their fruit juice with god knows how much water…" A Miao pushed a plate of cookies and biscuits in front of Zhou Xiao. "Drink more if you like it."
The two girlfriends chatted happily inside the living room, with most of the conversation dominated by Zhou Xiao's questions. The latter kept asking what this was, how much was it, and whether it was very expensive.
A Miao answered very patiently. When she did not know the answer, she would shake her head. When the sky began to darken outside, Auntie Zhang came out to ask when they would want their dinner.
"You've been munching on snacks all day. Why don't we have our dinner a little later?"
Zhou Xiao belched. "Okay. I'll be spending the night here anyway. It doesn't matter how late it is!" She stood up. "Why don't you take me for a house tour?"
"Okay then…" A Miao scratched her ear. She herself had no idea about the layout of this villa.
It took them quite a while to tour the entirety of the three-story villa. When Zhou Xiao saw the swimming pool behind the garden, she said that she wanted to go for a swim.
"Which is your room?" Zhou Xiao asked.
A Miao pointed at one of the rooms. "There."
After taking just a few steps, Zhou Xiao turned her head around to ask, "Are there only three rooms on the second floor? Does that mean I can pick a room for tonight?"
"Of course you'll be staying in my room." A Miao gave her a strange look. "Why are you sleeping on your own?"
"I don't want to sleep on your bed!" Zhou Xiao curled her lips. "You've already slept with that chairman."
A Miao's expression changed. "What nonsense are you saying?"
"Why… Why are you so angry?" Zhou Xiao's neck shriveled. "Isn't that the truth?"
A Miao took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to scold her. "Zhou Xiao, I don't know where your dirty thoughts come from. If you still consider me as your sister, then don't say things like that in the future."
Zhou Xiao was also a little mad after seeing how serious A Miao was. It was not like she was spouting nonsense.
"Shen Xinglan and I have always slept in separate rooms. The remaining rooms are his bedroom and study." A Miao saw that Zhou Xiao was extending her hand for the door to the study.
"You better not go in. That's his quarters."
Zhou Xiao turned around fiercely. "What do you mean, A Miao? Are you looking down on me because you're now married to a wealthy man?"
"How could you think that way?" A Miao shook her head weakly.
"How else could I think? It's just a room! If you don't want me to enter, then I'll just not enter!" Zhou Xiao ran downstairs while panting with rage. When she saw that A Miao did not chase after her, she felt an instant pang of regret.
After A Miao walked downstairs, she saw Zhou Xiao walking toward with a pout just as she was worrying over how to speak to the latter.
"I'm sorry, okay?" Zhou Xiao swayed A Miao's arm. "I'm the thoughtless one. Please don't get angry at me."
A Miao sighed in relief after hearing her words. "How can I get angry at you? I'm worried that you'll blame me instead." A Miao smiled. "I'm sure you're hungry. Let's go and have our dinner?"
Auntie Zhang was aware that A Miao was a person who would only consider a meal with meat a complete one. Thus, she prepared several main dishes for their dinner and among them was the blue lobster that was air-flown over this morning.
"So this is what it looks like!" Zhou Xiao poked at the lobster curiously. This was her first time seeing it. "Is this really that delicious?"
A Miao pulled her to her seat. "You'll know once you taste it."
Naturally, Zhou Xiao would not be courteous with her. She herself ate half of the lobster and then took her phone out to snap a photo.
"You've been snapping photos the entire day. Aren't you done yet?"
"I want to show them to Mom when I get home." Her gaze shifted. "That's fine, right?"
A Miao wiped her mouth. "Of course. But you must never show anyone else."
If Shen Xinglan found out that someone went around his house and took photos everywhere, she figured that she would have to compensate him with money again.
"I'm done!" Zhou Xiao made a lazy stretch. "There's Wifi here, right? Do you have a computer?"
A Miao helped Auntie Zhang collect all the dirty dishes and place them in the sink. "There is. There's a laptop under the side table in the living room."
By the time she was done cleaning up and returned to the living room, she saw Zhou Xiao chatting happily with another person.
"Your classmates?"
"Yes, it's our group," Zhou Xiao answered casually.
Suddenly, A Miao was hit by a bad feeling. "You're not telling your classmates about my affairs, are you?"
"Do you think they need me to tell them?!" Zhou Xiao leisurely picked up a peach. "Everyone saw the news, okay? They knew about it a long time ago."
What she failed to mention that while they knew about the chairman of Ji Conglomerate getting engaged, they did not know that the fiancee was her best friend.
"Please don't say anything about it," an anxious A Miao warned her. "You'll bring trouble to other people."
That person was naturally Shen Xinglan but Zhou Xiao failed to grasp her meaning. She nodded and said perfunctorily, "Don't worry. I'll keep my mouth shut out there!"
When they were about to sleep at night, Zhou Xiao spent some time marveling over the bed sheets and covers made out of pure silk. She forced A Miao to give her a similar set.
"Your bed isn't as big as this one. It's useless even if you bring it home," A Miao said with difficulty. She knew that there were several sets like this one in the storeroom on the first floor but she could not simply take them as they belonged to Shen Xinglan.
Zhou Xiao curled her lips. "I can ask Mom to alter it and turn it into two bed sheets. That way, I can alternate them between washes!"
"Next… Next time, then. Where do I find one for you now? I can't give you the one that I've already slept on, can I?" A Miao made up an excuse so they could drop this topic.
"That's right!" Zhou Xiao lay down in satisfaction.
A Miao sighed in relief. "Good night!"
"Good night." Zhou Xiao closed her eyes but her heart was not at all tranquil.
Ever since stepping foot inside this villa, she had been plotting ways to come here and play every weekend. It was great that she could now come next week on the pretext of taking her bed sheets!
"Hehehe…" Zhou Xiao could not help chuckling. She wondered if that Shen Xinglan was handsome. Photos of him online were only of his side profile and those might even be edited.
"What are you laughing about?" A Miao heard the sound of activity.
Zhou Xiao immediately closed her mouth. "Ah! Nothing, nothing… Let's sleep!"
The next day, Zhou Xiao woke up early in the morning and dragged A Miao for a jog.
"This place houses the wealthiest people of City S. Who knows if we might run into one or two?" Her daydream was particularly beautiful. If she happened to come across a chairman, she would be able to shed her life and be reborn as a new person like A Miao.
Thinking that she wanted to try something new, A Miao did not say much about it. The two of them jogged for an hour but ran into very few people. Instead, they did come across quite a lot of dogs.
"It's so nice to be a rich person's dog!" When they returned to the villa, Zhou Xiao planted her head straight on the sofa. "There's even a specialist bringing them for walks. They live a classier life than humans."
Auntie Zhang happened to come out to call them for breakfast. When she heard Zhou Xiao's words, her eyes flashed with emotion.
She had become quite fond of A Miao after interacting with her for some time. But this friend of hers…
"Breakfast is ready."
This was not something that she should interfere with. Auntie Zhang beamed at A Miao and said, "The weather is getting warmer and you must be having a hard time studying. I made you soup to relieve your internal heat!"
"Thank you, Auntie Zhang!" A Miao treated this servant who was sincerely concerned about her very well. "Come, Zhou Xiao. Let's have breakfast."
Zhou Xiao waited until Auntie Zhang entered the kitchen before secretly whispering in A Miao's ear. "Your servant is really impolite. She doesn't even use honorifics with you."
"Stop talking. Let's eat!" A Miao had long become immune to Zhou Xiao's various thoughts. She stuffed a sausage into Zhou Xiao's mouth. "Didn't you say you want to swim? Hurry and eat then."
Zhou Xiao's attention was instantly diverted once she thought about swimming. She drank a sip of the milk and said, "I didn't bring my swimwear. Do you have any new ones?"
"I think I have one."
The swimwear was the one that Yao Lili bought for her when she first returned to the Xia family. She must have somehow brought it along while packing her luggage but she had no plans of ever wearing it. She had long thrown it inside the cabinet.
"Great. You can lend me then." Zhou Xiao then asked long-windedly, "Is it branded?"
Seeing the puzzled look on A Miao's face, she could not help giving her a scornful look. "Seriously! You should at least study up on brands. Ever since you became a wealthy person, I've been borrowing and reading magazines every day at university!"
"I…" A Miao wanted to say that she was not a wealthy person but knowing that Zhou Xiao would say that she was putting up an act, she decided not to reply and immerse herself in drinking the soup.
Once she found the swimwear for Zhou Xiao, Zhou Xiao turned the swimwear over in her hands and said in disappointment, "This isn't a famous brand at all?"
"I don't know. It's fine as long as it's wearable." A Miao gave her a little push. "Hurry up and change into it!"
A Miao did not know how to swim. Zhou Xiao, owing to her swimming classes at university, could swim a little. She swam in the pool below while A Miao watched her with a book in hand.
After a while, Shen I suddenly ran over to her.
"Miss, Le Yi called earlier. He said he'll be coming over now."
"That doctor?" A Miao remembered him.
"Didn't you tell him that Shen Xinglan isn't around?" She found it strange. Why would he come at this time?
Just as Shen I was about to tell her that he had already informed Le Yi, they saw a car driving into the compound.