Chapter 096: What do you know!

In the private room of an upscale restaurant.

Luo Yixian leaned back arrogantly in the chair behind him, sizing up Jiang Yao across the table with a malicious gaze from head to toe.

"Miss Jiang, is it?" He lifted a brow, every inch of him reeking of dissoluteness. "What exactly is your relationship with He Yunqing? Why is he willing to help you?"

Jiang Yao took a calm sip from her glass. "Mr. He has a good character and likes to help others. Not everyone can do that."

Luo Yixian gave a soft laugh. "Good character? Spare me. In this circle, who’s clean?"

"People who are dirty themselves see everyone else as dirty."

Luo Yixian frowned and slapped the table. "Miss Jiang, no one has ever dared talk to me like that before!"

"Then now there is."

Jiang Yao stared back at him fearlessly.

Luo Yixian looked her over again, then suddenly let out a contemptuous smile. "I see you’ve got a bit of looks about you, and I’ve always been one to show mercy to the fairer sex. As long as you watch your tone, I can let this slide."

"Whether you let it slide or not is your business," Jiang Yao said, taking another large swallow of wine. "I only want to know where Ye Yiyi is."

"Ye Yiyi? Isn’t she your good friend? How come you don’t know where she is?" Luo Yixian made an exaggerated face. "Oh, you two had a falling-out? She won’t answer your calls? How tragic."

Though the traces of cosmetic surgery still showed on his face, Luo Yixian was, by appearance, rather handsome.

But at that moment, looking at that face across from her, Jiang Yao wanted nothing more than to slap him.

"I know she’s with you, and I know exactly what kind of man you are. Ye Yiyi is a very innocent girl. If you dare hurt her, I won’t let you off," Jiang Yao said through gritted teeth.

"What kind of man am I?" Luo Yixian frowned. "Miss Jiang, throwing around slander like that can make you liable. Yiyi and I are truly in love. Don’t you go stirring up trouble between us."

Outside the private room, a slender figure stood still.

Ye Yiyi was at the door, her body lightly pressed against the wall as she listened quietly to the movement inside. She drew a slow breath, and her long lashes trembled with faint moisture.

"Where is Ye Yiyi, exactly?!" Jiang Yao glared at Luo Yixian in anger. "Take me to see her."

Luo Yixian spread his hands. "To be honest with you, Yiyi said she doesn’t want to see you. She said you’ve really disappointed her. She always thought of you as her best friend."

"I want to ask her myself whether she’s never planning to contact me again, whether she’s going to cut ties with me over this!"

"Miss Jiang, why make things unpleasant for yourself?" Luo Yixian shook his head. "Yiyi doesn’t want to be disturbed right now. And that wine is strong. I’d advise you not to drink too much, so that later I don’t have to send you home, only for you to splash more needless filth on me."

Jiang Yao picked up the bottle and filled her glass to the brim. "Do you know why I’m drinking?"

"Hm?" Luo Yixian looked at her in confusion. "What?"

The moment he finished speaking, a glass of red wine flew straight at his face. It landed solidly, and the white shirt on his body was immediately stained with a faint red.

"To keep myself from laying hands on scum like you," Jiang Yao said as she slammed the empty glass hard onto the table.

"Don’t think I won’t hit you just because you’re a woman!" Luo Yixian barked in fury.

The door to the private room flew open.

Ye Yiyi rushed in at once, seized Luo Yixian by the arm, and wiped the wine from his face and clothes with tissues. "Yixian, calm down."

"I can’t calm down! What kind of friends are you making!" Luo Yixian pointed at Jiang Yao. "Her? Her too counts as a woman?!"

Ye Yiyi soothed him. "Yixian, don’t be angry. Let me talk to her."

Only then did Luo Yixian sweep his sleeve aside and stand to one side, glaring at Jiang Yao.

"You finally came out," Jiang Yao said, looking at Ye Yiyi.

After a few days apart, Ye Yiyi seemed somewhat haggard, with faint tear tracks still on her face. "Don’t come looking for me again."

"That’s all you have to say to me?"

Ye Yiyi turned her face away and sniffled. "Jiang Yao, I’ve thought about it these past few days. We really were very good friends once, but people change. The road I’m taking and the road you’re taking are different now. We were bound to never be the way we were before."

"Ye Yiyi!" Jiang Yao looked at her in anger, even wondering if she had heard wrong. "Do you even know what you’re saying?"

"Of course I do." Ye Yiyi’s voice turned cold. "Go back. Live your life properly. Isn’t that what you always wanted, to live peacefully? Don’t ever worry about my affairs again."

"Fine. I’ll ask you just once." Jiang Yao sniffed. "Are you really never going to acknowledge me as your friend again?"

Ye Yiyi drew a deep breath. After a long silence, she forced one word through her teeth with great difficulty.

"Yes."

"All for this man?" Jiang Yao pointed at Luo Yixian.

"Not just because of Yixian. A-Yao, don’t you understand? Everything has changed!"

Jiang Yao shook her head. She did not understand. How could the once innocent, radiant girl who had given her heart so sincerely simply vanish without a trace?

"We’re leaving," Ye Yiyi said, turning to Luo Yixian.

Luo Yixian casually wrapped an arm around Ye Yiyi’s shoulders, shot Jiang Yao a provocative look, and walked out with Ye Yiyi in his arms.

"Yiyi!" Jiang Yao stepped forward.

Luo Yixian raised a hand to block her. "Miss Jiang, the matter’s been made perfectly clear. If you keep pestering us, that’s just rude."

Jiang Yao followed the two of them all the way to the underground parking garage.

She watched as they got into the car together, the engine started, and the vehicle drove farther and farther away.

She stood there motionless, dumbstruck, for a very long time.

Her mind was filled with nothing but memories of every moment she had shared with Ye Yiyi.

Ever since they were little, Ye Yiyi had loved following her around, tugging at her arm and calling her "A-Yao, A-Yao."

Every time she was sad, Ye Yiyi would stay by her side, looking at her with those innocent, wide eyes. She would gently wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes, then plant a little smack on her cheek.

Ye Yiyi would always say, "A-Yao, we’ll never be apart in this lifetime. We’re going to be best friends forever."

As Jiang Yao thought and thought, tears began to fall uncontrollably.

That innocent and radiant Ye Yiyi, her best friend Ye Yiyi, how could she have simply disappeared like this...

Sitting in the car, Ye Yiyi stared blankly at Jiang Yao growing smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror, and a single tear slowly slid down her cheek.

Luo Yixian, beside her, gave a contemptuous smile. "Yiyi, what’s so worthy of your tears in someone like that? Come on, don’t mind her."

"What do you know!" Ye Yiyi snapped at him. "Now are you satisfied?"

Luo Yixian looked unconcerned. "Wasn’t I just doing this for your own good?"