"You"re also friends with Jiaoyang?"
You"d have to be schinzhrophenic to be friends with yourself! Sheng Jiaoyang laughed in her head. Noticing Lin Yan"s gaze, she cleared her throat and put on a serious expression. "She"s my idol."
"So, you"re imitating Jiaoyang!" Lin Yan"s tone was certain.
Imitating myself? Sheng Jiaoyang acted like she"d heard the funniest joke ever as she burst out laughing.
Lin Yan restrained his frown. Did he say something wrong? If she wasn"t deliberately imitating Jiaoyang, how could her mannerisms be identical to Jiaoyang? Even if they were extremely close friends, they wouldn"t be this similar, nevermind two strangers.
Sheng Jiaoyang finished laughing before firmly saying, "If you think that I"m copying her, then so be it."
Lin Yan actually grew uncertain after hearing her words. But, even if he was now more unsure than ever, he had no better explanation for everything that he"d seen.
"You"d actually take the initiative to drink alcohol?" Sheng Jiaoyang looked at the gla.s.s of wine in Lin Yan"s hand.
Lin Yan sat on the rattan chair and didn"t reply.
Sheng Jiaoyang stared at him as hazy beams of light were reflected on his enchanting face. Pain suddenly stabbed her heart. From the day she"d first met him till now, it had already been six years. It went from pure and innocent adoration, to a yearning deeply entrenched in her, love at first sight, and using every possible way to get close to him. Finally, she was forced to give up on him. The flowers of her free and cheerful youth had blossomed and withered.
"Do you like Sheng Jiaoyang?" she suddenly asked. In the end, no matter what kind of reply she received, she wanted to hear it from his own mouth.
"What does that have to do with you?"
Sheng Jiaoyang stared at him and said, "That"s what she always wanted to know. Since she"s had an accident, I would like to ask on her behalf."
Lin Yan silently sipped his drink.
Sheng Jiaoyang giggled slightly as she nodded. "Alright, I understand." Then, she turned around and entered Lina"s room without looking back, closing the balcony door and pulling the curtains over them.
Lin Yan watched the swinging chair, nostalgia and regret circling in his eyes.
When Lina came out of the bathroom, she was greeted with the sight of Sheng Jiaoyang lying on the bed staring blankly. "What happened to you?"
Sheng Jiaoyang suddenly sat up and stretched her arms out for a hug, her lips drooping in a sad smile. "Mei Niu, I"ve completely broken up."
"You and my cousin said to break up?" Lina"s eyes widened.
Sheng Jiaoyang rolled her eyes and took her arms back from the hug. After being interrupted by Lina, her brewing sadness immediately disappeared.
"All right, let"s sleep!"
Lina pounced on the bed. "Don"t keep me in suspense, hurry up and tell me! How did you break up?"
"Your brother is about to get engaged. Don"t tell me that"s not breaking up?" Sheng Jiaoyang was poked until she couldn"t stand it, giggling as she spoke.
"But, you two have never even been together before. So, wouldn"t you two have always been separate?" Poison-tongued Lina made an appearance.
"…" Sheng Jiaoyang had nothing she could rebut.
Not to be outdone, Sheng Jiaoyang started to poke her back. Just like two little kids, they tickled each other until they were finally exhausted, staring at each other as they lay on the bed.
"Now that we"re both single, we can form a single"s pact," Sheng Jiaoyang said.
Lina laughed, "We really are the disaster sisters!"
The two laughed until tears leaked from their eyes.
Lina reached out to hug Sheng Jiaoyang, her voice choking slightly as she said, "This year will be our tenth year of knowing each other."
"We still have a few more decades to come together."
"Mhmm." Lin Na solemnly nodded and extended her pinky finger. "Don"t forget; we said that we"d be each other"s angels. Even when we have lovers, we still need to share the most important things in our hearts with each other."
Sheng Jiaoyang hooked her pinky finger with Lina"s and shook it in agreement.
There was a relations.h.i.+p in this world that crossed the boundaries of ordinary friends, and went beyond the ties of family. This sort of relations.h.i.+p was one that would always have your back, one that would always love you, and one that would always be your companion.
Early morning the next day, the phone rang and woke up the two deeply sleeping girls.
When Lina saw the caller, her head instantly cleared and she sat up. She let the phone ring, not answering it.
"Why didn"t you pick up? Who called?" Sheng Jiaoyang
"George…"
"Eh?" Sheng Jiaoyang was somewhat stunned.
The phone rang again. Lina hesitated before finally choosing to answer.
"Where are you?" George"s voice said from the phone.
"I… Where I"m at now has nothing to do with you." There was only one situation where a couple could remain friends after breaking up; when the couple didn"t have strong feelings for each other. However, she and George hadn"t been that kind of couple.
"Just tell me, where are you?!" George raised his voice, anger visible in his tone.
A thin sheen of tears covered Lina"s eyes as she immediately hung up. Since they"d already broken up, breaking it off cleanly would be for the best. She wasn"t the kind of person that would long for him even after breaking up.
The phone rang again.
"Why is George looking for you?" Sheng Jiaoyang frowned.
Lina took a deep breath and blinked away the tears in her eyes before turning to smile at Sheng Jiaoyang. "Let"s forget about him. Today, we"ll go out to play. Then, in two days, come to the set with me. You still haven"t seen the drama I"m developing."
Sheng Jiaoyang raised a brow. "I see that you"re now a very busy person."
"Are you coming with me or not?"
"Coming! Of course, I"m coming. Come on, pretty lady, give me a smile!" Sheng Jiaoyang hooked her finger under Lina"s chin, her tone coquettish.
Lina giggled and revealed a wide smile.
After getting ready and saying goodbye to Lina"s mother, the two set out.
Lina started up her blue sports car, and they"d just left the neighbourhood when they were blocked by somebody.
Lina gaped slightly when she saw the scraggly unshaven man blocking her car. She couldn"t prevent the alarm from showing on her face as she gripped the steering wheel tightly.
George loosened his tie and walked to the window on the driver"s side, smiling at Lina stiffly. "Come out. I want to have a talk with you."
"How did you know that I was at home?" Apart from lifting her head to speak to him, Lina didn"t move.
"The location feature." George waved his phone. "This is what you"re concerned about?"
Lina pursed her lips. "Weren"t you at the seminar in London? Why"d you come back?"
"Weren"t you the one who called me and told me to come?"
"Me?" Lina"s face stiffened.
"You called me last night," George"s reply was filled with certainty.
Lina turned to look at Sheng Jiaoyang, who shook her head to express her confusion. She checked her phone"s records and really did find a call to George. Lina rubbed her temples before pus.h.i.+ng her hair behind her ear and raising her head to look at George. "I was out drinking yesterday. The stuff I said after I got drunk can"t be counted as real. George, I"m very sorry I disturbed you."
George was silent for a few seconds before asking gloomily, "Lina, can we please have a proper chat?"
"Is talking still necessary? We"ve already broken up, and it"s you that wanted to! Furthermore, you already have a new girlfriend. If we get involved again, it wouldn"t be good for anyone." Lina was starting to get agitated.
"I don"t."
"What?"
"I said that I don"t have a girlfriend." George gazed at Lina deeply.
Lina"s expression regained its previous tranquility and she replied indifferently, "That"s your business."
Sheng Jiaoyang couldn"t stand by anymore and asked George, "Why did you initially break up with Mei Niu?"
George frowned. After Sheng Jiaoyang had left, another one came from who knows where. "This doesn"t have anything to do with you!" His voice was cold.
Lina"s foot pressed down on the accelerator and the car zoomed away, leaving behind a stunned George. He had no idea how he"d angered her.