CHAPTER 600: CHAPTER 517: JUST BROKE UP

"I’m still the same! Buding can sit up now, though he’s still a little clumsy at crawling. Hey! How did you lose so much weight?"

Liu Xiaole’s gaze flickered as she smiled nervously. "Work’s been busy, so I slimmed down!"

Li Si didn’t expose her and glanced at her watch, "Xiao Le! It’s already noon, why don’t we eat while we chat? You know this place, right? Since you’ve gotten promoted, aren’t you supposed to treat me!"

This wasn’t the best spot for talking, with people bustling around.

Liu Xiaole’s face lit up with a smile, quickly nodding. "Of course! Sisi! I’ll take you to try that revolving hotpot restaurant! But, the place is pretty affordable! Once the opening is over and I’m less busy, I’ll treat you to a big fancy dinner, how about that?"

To be fair, she had just graduated and had been placed here to handle everything by Mr. Leng. It was impossible that Li Si’s influence wasn’t a factor.

She’d been meaning to properly thank Li Si by treating her to a meal, but she’d been too caught up with work recently. Today presented the perfect opportunity.

Li Si tapped her nose lightly. "You! Who needs a fancy dinner? I’m not a picky eater! How about this—if you really insist on treating me, why don’t we go to your family’s restaurant and eat your parents’ signature dishes? How about that?"

She knew Liu Xiaole’s parents were great cooks. If she hadn’t been so busy lately, she would’ve gone to their place for a meal herself.

"Sisi! You! Alright! Whenever you have time, I’ll take you there! I promise it’ll make you happy!" Warmth spread in Liu Xiaole’s heart. Even though Li Si had married well, she still remembered her as a friend—this was her way of helping her save money.

"It’s a deal, definitely!"

When the two arrived at the restaurant, which had just opened, it wasn’t crowded. After they ordered some vegetables and meat, Li Si hesitated for a moment before asking, "Xiao Le, are you going through something?"

In the past, losing so much weight would’ve made her ecstatic. But now, Li Si could clearly see traces of weariness and sorrow in her.

Liu Xiaole lowered her head, staring at the bubbling little pot on the table. After a while, she finally smiled and said, "Sisi, actually, even if we hadn’t run into each other today, I was already planning on reaching out to you to talk for a bit. I broke up with An Zhengran."

The hand that Li Si was using to wipe the table paused. Her heart skipped a beat. Though there had been many signs pointing to the difficulties ahead for them, she hadn’t expected the breakup to happen so quickly.

At her wedding, she’d asked about An Zhengran, and Liu Xiaole’s expression hadn’t been right.

"When did you break up? And why?"

Liu Xiaole clenched her fingers tightly and sniffed, "We’re just not suitable for each other. His mom always wanted him to go abroad, and he said he stayed in the country because of me.

I was under a lot of pressure, you know? I was afraid that if things didn’t go well for him here and he ended up achieving nothing, he’d blame me. So, I was constantly walking on eggshells within this relationship.

Even so, it still didn’t work. He’s always been popular with women at the company. Honestly, I’m not someone who gets jealous easily. Interaction and communication between colleagues are perfectly normal.

But over time, it became so exhausting! Later, his mom approached me, saying that if he didn’t like his childhood sweetheart, it was fine.

She’d found him a girl who’d studied abroad, someone with an excellent family background. She told me to recognize my place and stop clinging to him since I had kept him from going abroad and now he was left in the country. For his future, I should stop holding him back."

"And then?" Li Si pulled out a pack of tissues from her bag and began wiping away her tears.

Her heart ached listening to this. An Zhengran’s mother was completely unreasonable.

But looking at it more deeply, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of resign. Class divides had always been there.

For someone like Liu Xiaole, trying to achieve a happy ending with An Zhengran was genuinely difficult.

She herself had been lucky. If Leng Mochen hadn’t softened his heart, her own relationship with him wouldn’t have been easy.

Liu Xiaole chuckled bitterly. "Back then, I tried to assert myself and said that if we were truly going to break up, it had to come directly from An Zhengran."

Later one day, his mom sent me a text asking me to go somewhere. I knew full well what she had in mind, but in the end, I still went.

Honestly, I wanted to see how An Zhengran truly felt!"

"And then?" Li Si asked softly, already guessing the answer in her heart.

Liu Xiaole let out another bitter laugh. "I really hadn’t expected it. Turns out, he’s not so cold and aloof after all—he was chatting and laughing with that girl. My impulsive self stormed up to them and asked who she was. He seemed annoyed, felt I was embarrassing him, and snapped at me right then and there.

The girl calmly said they were middle school classmates and asked me not to misunderstand! At that moment, I felt truly let down. Sisi, I ended things with him right there and then.

The thought wasn’t something that just popped up then. I’d been doubting for a long time whether we were truly compatible. It wasn’t until I saw him sitting elegantly with that girl—handsome and talented, a perfect couple—that I realized we were never meant to be."

"Well, it’s over now. No big deal. Once I find a good match for you, I’ll introduce you!" Li Si hugged her tightly, gently stroking her much thinner back, and sighed. Love was the hardest wound to heal.

Liu Xiaole’s eyes were red, but she shook her head. "Sisi, I’m not going to look for a boyfriend lightly anymore! Love hurts me too much!

But it’s okay. Who am I? I’m Liu Xiaole, the girl who smiles every single day, right?

I just wanted to vent to you. Saying it all aloud makes me feel better!"

Li Si gazed at Liu Xiaole, who was putting on a brave face. She felt a pang of emotion. There was a time when, in a past life, she had felt exactly the same as Liu Xiaole.

Even Meng Zijun’s family wasn’t particularly wealthy, yet his mother had still come to her, asking her not to hold him back.

"Xiao Le! This is nothing. It just means your true destiny hasn’t arrived yet. Stay strong! Out with the old, in with the new!"

Liu Xiaole clutched her hand tightly, nodding with conviction. "Yes, out with the old, in with the new!"

When Leng Mochen saw Li Si again, she had already eaten her fill before coming to find him.

Leng Mochen shook his head with a smile. "You’ve already eaten?"

He had originally planned to wait for her so they could go out to eat together.

Li Si giggled playfully to appease him. "I can keep you company and eat a little more!"

She had seen how upset Liu Xiaole was and thought to use mealtime to console her further.

In the process, she’d completely forgotten about Leng Mochen.

"Let’s go!" Leng Mochen flicked her on the forehead lightly with his finger. "Putting friends before me!"

"Not at all!" Li Si protested stubbornly.

The next day, August 18, turned out to have lovely weather. For the recently hot and humid Beijing, it was a surprising treat to have a gentle breeze blowing.

The opening ceremony for Mo Si International attracted a large crowd. Some were there simply to watch the performance, while others wanted to browse and see if they could find something suitable to bring home.

There were also all kinds of reporters stationed there, their cameras ready, hoping to capture some useful news.

Bai Shasha was among them. She had heard from Xu Er that the opening might not be entirely straightforward today.

There was a chance something unexpected might happen, so she had volunteered to come on-site.

If nothing happened, all the better. If something did, she’d have first-hand coverage. (To be continued. If you like this story, please visit Qidian.com to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile readers, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)