CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32: FIGHT EVIL WITH EVIL 2_1

Xu Xiaoya’s face lit up. "I knew it, Xixi! You’re the one who cares about me most."

Xu Xiaoya’s appetite was surprisingly excellent. She finished two whole bowls of rice. Her cheerful conversation and laughter quickly filled the usually quiet house with a lively atmosphere, dispelling its lack of mirth.

Winter days darkened quickly. Lunch had stretched on for a long time, and in what felt like the blink of an eye, dusk was approaching. Yan Xixi’s mother, Mrs. Yan, made an excuse about watching television, leaving the two young women to chat privately in the small bedroom. Xu Xiaoya looked around at the bedroom’s furniture, decor, and the spotless windowsill. She praised effusively, "Xixi, this place you found is really nice. Is the rent expensive? I’ll need to find a place next month too. I could use it for reference."

Yan Xixi’s voice was subdued. "This place belongs to a friend of Huang Xiaojue who is letting us stay here temporarily. They’ve gone abroad and will be back in six months."

Xu Xiaoya’s smile vanished. She hesitated a few times, wanting to speak but holding back, before finally saying, "Xixi, there’s something I’m not sure if I should tell you."

"Xiaoya, is there anything we can’t say to each other? Go ahead."

Xu Xiaoya hesitated again but finally pulled out her phone, brought up a photo, and handed it to Yan Xixi. Yan Xixi took it, her expression changing slightly as she looked.

"It was such a coincidence! I was out for dinner with Zhong Minghui that day and unexpectedly ran into Huang Xiaojue at the restaurant. He and his family were having a meal with a woman he was on a blind date with and her family. Look, this is the woman he was meeting..."

In the photo, the woman was dressed in formal attire. She was very stylish and exuded the shrewd competence of a career woman. She was sitting next to Huang Xiaojue. Their eyes met from time to time, and they looked very well-suited for each other.

"Xixi, I really don’t understand. Why would Huang Xiaojue secretly go on a blind date? Isn’t he two-timing? I thought men as responsible as him were practically extinct. I never expected him to be like this... And his mother! I really can’t stand her. The moment Huang Xiaojue introduced me as your friend, she stood up and very ostentatiously told me that his blind date was a customs officer, highly educated, and from a good family. Tell me, isn’t Huang Xiaojue’s mother just obnoxious? Why did she have to show off so much to me, a complete outsider?"

Having a daughter-in-law who was a civil servant had always been Huang Xiaojue’s mother’s dearest wish.

Her wish had come true. It would be strange if she didn’t show it off.

"Oh, by the way, I heard this woman is Zhou Xiaoxuan’s cousin. Zhou Xiaoxuan probably introduced them. In my opinion, Zhou Xiaoxuan is deliberately scheming to break you and Xiaojue up. She just doesn’t want you two to end up together. Remember when she got married? She sent us invitations specifically to shame us..."

Yan Xixi just stared at the photo without a word. It felt as if a hole had been torn in her heart, leaving a bloody, mangled mess inside, yet she couldn’t even cry out in pain.

"Xixi, Xixi..."

It took Xu Xiaoya calling her name several times before she finally snapped back to reality.

"Xixi, you look awful... Sigh, I initially didn’t want to tell you, but I couldn’t bear to see you kept in the dark. Xixi, don’t despair. Honestly, Huang Xiaojue isn’t all that great anyway. Men are like clothes; out with the old, in with the new..."

She handed the phone back to Xu Xiaoya and gave a faint smile. "Huang Xiaojue has already helped me more than enough. I’m the one who has wronged him."

"Xixi, how have you wronged him?"

She replied, feigning nonchalance, "I was the one who initiated the breakup with Huang Xiaojue. It had nothing to do with him."

Xu Xiaoya cried out, "Yan Xixi, are you insane? Why on earth would you break up with Huang Xiaojue? It was your incredible good fortune that he even liked you! How can you be so ungrateful? Do you honestly believe you can find a man better than him?"