Xue Lin sent Ge Chen to their home and then drove to the place where Puja asked her to come. She was feeling somewhat relieved for not having to face her husband right now. When she arrived at the destination, she noticed that it was a bar. It was a little far from her house and the street was a bit dark and quiet.
Xue Lin looked around before parking the car. She got out and locked the door. Two security guards were standing on the doorway. They saw her ID card and let her go inside. She cautiously went into the bar and her eyes were blinded for a moment. Inside the bar, it was completely different from the outside.
Once her eyes adjusted to the light inside, she could finally take it all in. The bar was extravagantly luxurious. It was quite a s.p.a.cious room. There was a red carpet on the floor and the wall was deep red. The pillars were of golden color and the chandeliers were glittering from the ceiling. The wall decorations included the oil paintings of some famous artists. There were sculptures as the floor decoration. Xue Lin recognized a few of them since they were imitations.
The whole place was divided into two sides. The left side was for drinking and the right side was for dancing and singing. Highly professional performers were hired. One of them was showing magic to entertain the members. Only high-cla.s.s members could afford to be in a place like this.
Suddenly Xue Lin saw someone raising a hand and waving at her. She instantly recognized the person and walked closer. "You almost made me nervous. Why are you here?"
Puja was wearing an elegant red mermaid gown. She smiled and replied, "I owe this bar. Sit here. I"ll order something for you."
"Thank you but give me something that has less alcohol. I"ll have to drive." Xue Lin sat down and looked at the performance on stage. "Is this your idea? This place is exceptional. I"ve never seen a bar like this."
Puja chuckled. "I wonder how many bars you know."
"I have only been to one bar in Paris and usually I go to pubs with colleagues and cla.s.smates." Xue Lin didn"t mention that her husband took her to the bars sometimes.
Puja sipped her drink and licked her lips. She said, "You have never shared anything about your husband. What kind of person is he? Is he handsome and caring?"
"Did she call me to interrogate me about my husband?" Xue Lin pondered. She simply replied, "He is someone I needed in my life." She glanced at her schoolmate and asked, "Why did you call me for? I thought it"s urgent."
Puja looked at her while a smile, "What? Can"t I call my friend if it"s not urgent?"
Xue Lin shrugged. "You could have said, I"m lonely, so give me some company." She got her drink and thanked the bartender.
"But you would have still come to me either way. Xiao Lin, you are a good person." Puja smiled and shook her head. She hung her head and played with her fingers.
"She is getting drunk." Xue Lin thought. She took a glance at Puja and softly asked, "Did something happen Puja?"
Puja raised her head and looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"
Xue Lin commented, "You don"t look well."
Puja tilted her head and said, "I"m fine. Just accompany me for a bit."
Xue Lin observed her. "You look nervous and tired. You haven"t slept well for a while. Are you having insomnia? What are you scared of?"
"Wha- Xiao Lin, how did you guess that I couldn"t sleep?" Puja panicked and checked her makeup on the cell phone camera function.
Xue Lin shook her head slightly. "It"s not your makeup. It"s your eyes. You cannot put makeup on your eyeb.a.l.l.s, can you? They were red and puffy. You cried."
Puja looked at her in awe. "Xiao Lin… you are scary."
Xue Lin didn"t miss the uneasiness in her eyes. She looked away. "Observing people is my occupation."
"I"m not going to pay you when you aren"t counseling me." Puja shrugged. She ordered another drink for herself. The handsome bartender gave her another drink.
"Counseling… let"s not talk about that. Since I came, why don"t you tell me what"s troubling you? It"ll ease your pain if you share your burden." Xue Lin sipped her drink and tasted a sweet-sour flavor. She wasn"t fond of sour but it didn"t taste bad.
Puja suddenly turned to face her and spoke in a serious manner, "Xiao Lin, let me ask you something."
Xue Lin nodded. "Okay."
Puja asked, "Why are you being so nice to me? We don"t know each other very well. We weren"t exactly on friendly terms in the school."
Xue Lin didn"t think Puja would think like that after dragging her to the shopping mall and the reunion. She paused for a moment before replying, "It"s not that we were enemies either. Also, you gave me a beautiful dress. This is the least I can do for you."
Puja questioned her in a low voice, "Are you feeling obligated because of the dress I gave you?"
"Not really. Although I do appreciate the beautiful dress u gave me. It"s you who offered to give me a present. I didn"t ask you to do anything for me." Xue Lin thinks that she has no reason to feel she owes Puja anything in the first place. She didn"t tell her to buy the dress of her or treat her. She didn"t approach Puja. It was Puja who approached her and wanted to do something to show off her wealth.
Puja slowly nodded her head. "You are right. You didn"t force me. It"s my choice. I called out to you, I took you to the café, I bought you a dress, I told you to join the reunion. It"s on me. It"s all my fault. You did nothing wrong."
"Now you are scaring me. Did something happen?" Xue Lin asked again.
"Lin Tinfeng. He died." Puja dropped the bomb