Chapter 20: Hopelessly in Love — Tonight, He Wanted to See Her

Panic flashed across Chi Yang’s face almost instantly.

She hurriedly looked away, her cheeks reddening like ripe cherries. “H-How could that possibly be true? Xiao Tianli, you’ve been reading way too many romance novels!”

“Really?” Jiang Li narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

She knew this best friend of hers far too well. Whenever Chi Yang was hiding something, it showed immediately.

And this reaction was definitely not normal.

Jiang Li opened her mouth. “But—”

“No buts.”

Chi Yang slapped a hand over her mouth and hooked an arm around her shoulders, steering her toward the exit.

“Want a drink? Come on, come on. Today’s a good day. Your sister’s buying!”

Jiang Li: ???

She pulled Chi Yang’s hand off her face.

“Chi Xiaoyang, with your alcohol tolerance? You drink every chance you get, and then expect me to carry you home when you’re wasted?”

But Chi Yang wasn’t in any state to care.

There was no way she could let Jiang Li keep digging. After forcibly changing the subject, she dragged her straight to a bar.

What Chi Yang didn’t know was—

The happier she’d been spending money at the auction today, the more she’d regret it when she woke up tomorrow morning.

Because news of it had already reached the Xie family.

At Mingyue Bay, Su Jinyue had picked up the gossip through the Beijing social circle.

Apparently, the eldest Miss of the Chi family had dominated the auction, casually spending three hundred million yuan in a single day.

She’d even fought the young master of the Sheng family over a ring.

Three hundred million.

The amount alone practically screamed Xie Youci’s name.

Yet Su Jinyue wasn’t angry in the slightest.

On the contrary, she was delighted.

Immediately, she shared the gossip with Xie Xiangming.

“When I first heard it, I couldn’t believe it. Three hundred million! Can you imagine it?”

“Our Ah Ci actually spent three hundred million on a woman! And one of the items was a diamond ring! For once in his life, he finally understands that spending money to make his wife happy is a good thing!”

Xie Xiangming sat nearby flipping through a financial report.

A pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on his nose, giving him the appearance of a refined gentleman. He sounded unimpressed.

“And that’s considered understanding? Spending money on your wife is the bare minimum. If he really cared, he would’ve picked out a gift himself and delivered it to Er’er personally, instead of throwing money at her and letting her buy her own wedding ring.”

“I don’t care.”

Su Jinyue was still grinning from ear to ear.

“He never used to have any patience for wooing girls. This is already huge progress. Their marriage is definitely going to be disgustingly sweet. And don’t even think about breaking up the couple I’ve personally shipped.”

Xie Xiangming turned another page.

Meanwhile, Su Jinyue was already planning ahead.

“Oh, husband, don’t you think we should give Er’er a wedding gift too?”

“We should.”

He nodded.

Su Jinyue immediately began calculating.

“Perfect. That auction house contacted me a few days ago about some private pieces that weren’t being publicly auctioned. There’s a jewelry set I think would suit Er’er perfectly. I’ll call and buy it now. They can send it together with everything she purchased.”

“I have no objections.”

Xie Xiangming never interfered in such matters.

Su Jinyue was the type who acted the moment she made a decision.

She immediately called the auction manager and instructed him to send the jewelry set to Chi Yang along with her purchases at Xizi Bay.

But the manager sounded confused.

“Xizi Bay? Mrs. Xie, are you sure? Miss Chi asked us to deliver everything to Huabanli.”

Huabanli.

The residential community where Chi Yang’s little villa was located.

The moment Su Jinyue heard those words, the joy she’d been feeling vanished by half.

Noticing her expression after she hung up, Xie Xiangming closed the report and looked up.

“What happened?”

It took Su Jinyue a long moment to process the information.

Then she slowly lifted her eyes to meet his, looking utterly devastated.

“Husband… I think my Ci-Er CP has gone bankrupt.”

“Er’er isn’t living with Ah Ci at all. She never moved into the marital home.”

Xie Xiangming’s brows drew together slightly.

Just as he’d suspected.

He hadn’t been mistaken last time.

Er’er simply wasn’t interested in that brat Xie Youci.

Night fell.

Neon lights glittered beneath the dark sky, stretching down the endless avenue.

Near a street corner stood a bar with a sleek metallic sign, glowing softly beneath hazy gold-and-white light.

Tonight She’ll Be Here. May You Wait Until the Wind Arrives.

Of course, Chi Yang would never bring Jiang Li to this bar.

If one of the employees reported it to the boss, Ji Fengting would immediately drag Xue Rang and Xie Youci over.

Ironically, Xie Youci himself ended up there tonight through a strange twist of fate.

Driving home from work, he passed the avenue and caught sight of the bar’s illuminated logo.

Tonight She’ll Be Here.

As the lights swept across the corner of his vision, Chi Yang’s face surfaced in his mind without warning.

The vivid way she looked when she bared her claws and got angry.

The intoxicating haze in her eyes when she kissed his Adam’s apple.

The peaceful sleeping face she wore after throwing herself into his arms.

And last night…

The way her eyes had reddened with tears.

The rare vulnerability she’d shown.

The sight had squeezed painfully at his heart and made him want nothing more than to pull her into his embrace.

He wondered how her hand was doing.

Tch.

A trace of irritation creased his brow.

In the end, he simply parked the car and walked into the bar alone.

He rented a private room, sat facing the glowing logo sign, and drank in silence.

Tonight she’ll be here…

Would she?

The sign literally said she would.

Surely she’d be here.

Half an hour later—

Xie Youci tipped his head back and drained his glass in one gulp.

“Damn it.”

He slammed the empty glass down irritably.

She wasn’t here at all.

Frustrated, he finally called Xue Rang and Ji Fengting over.

Originally, he just wanted a distraction.

Unfortunately, the moment Ji Fengting walked through the door, he started shouting.

“Holy shit! Brother Ci, have you heard? Holy shit! Chi Xiaoyang’s gone completely insane today!”

Xie Youci lounged lazily against the sofa.

His collar hung loose.

One leg stretched out carelessly.

The posture looked relaxed, yet somehow carried an unmistakable weariness, as though exhaustion had seeped into his bones.

The dim light traced one side of his jawline, reflecting off the red wine in his glass.

For some reason, he looked almost melancholy.

He didn’t respond.

Instead, Xue Rang looked ready to throw a drink in Ji Fengting’s face.

“Will you stop saying ‘holy shit’ every two seconds? Did you suddenly become a stutterer? Just get to the point!”

“It’s not that!” Ji Fengting gulped down a mouthful of alcohol to steady himself. “I’m just genuinely shocked. Chi Xiaoyang spent three hundred million yuan at an auction today!”

“Pffft—”

Xue Rang nearly sprayed his drink.

“Three hundred million? What the hell did she buy?”

“That’s the most shocking part! A wedding ring! Can you believe it? Chi Xiaoyang, the woman who’s terrified of marriage, spent nearly two hundred million on a wedding ring today!”

Xue Rang froze.

“…Has she lost her mind?”

“What kind of trauma did she suffer?”

Suddenly, he jabbed Xie Youci with his elbow so hard that wine nearly sloshed out of the latter’s glass.

“Brother Ci, your information network is insane. Do you know what happened to her?”

Xie Youci clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Pulling his arm away, he slowly sipped his tequila.

“Why would I know anything about her business?”

She wasn’t here.

She wouldn’t move into the marital home.

She never took the initiative to contact him.

Still…

She probably liked him.

After all, there were countless things she could’ve bought with those two hundred million.

Yet she had chosen a wedding ring.

“Fair point.”

Xue Rang nodded thoughtfully.

“You two are lucky if you don’t start fighting whenever you meet. I doubt you’d be checking in on her. But seriously, which idiot gave her three hundred million? No way Chi Qing handed her that much money.”

Wronged Victim Xie Youci: “…”

He slowly lifted his eyes and looked at Xue Rang.

Three hundred million?

She still had another two hundred million she hadn’t spent yet.

“If you’re so curious,” he said lazily, swirling the liquor in his glass, “call her and ask.”

“Not a chance.”

Ji Fengting immediately shook his head.

“Even Sheng Lanqing was avoiding her today. That wedding ring was originally his target. But seeing how fiercely she was bidding, he had no choice but to back off.”

“Impressive.”

Xue Rang gave a thumbs-up.

Then something suddenly occurred to him.

He turned back toward Xie Youci.

“By the way, Brother Ci… why did you call us out tonight? Since when do you suddenly feel like drinking?”

The room fell quiet.

For the first time that evening, Xie Youci lowered his gaze to the wine in his hand.

The crimson liquid shimmered beneath the light.

After a long pause, he finally laughed softly at himself.

Why?

Because somewhere along the way—

he’d fallen into a one-sided love.

And tonight…

he really wanted to see her.