Because of Ning Xi’s arrival, all the men present became more enthusiastic, bringing her a gla.s.s of fruit juice, helping her around and basically providing the pinnacle of hospitality. They fluttered around Ning Xi but not to the point of being uncomfortable.
They were all among the best in their high school, so most of them went on to attend a good university. Many of them had begun working while some had continued to study; regardless, they maintained basic courtesies and dignity. They wouldn’t make the scene too unbearable.
When the women saw these men revolving around the beauty like honeybees, some happily watched the show, some scoffed at the scene, while others just felt sour.
“Who is this newcomer?” Wu Qian asked, displeased. She put a hand on Sun Xiumei’s shoulder. “I didn’t know there was such a beautiful woman in our batch. Which year does she belong to?”
Sun Xiumei wanted to reveal that it was actually Ning Xi, but seeing that Ning Xi herself didn’t make an introduction, she simply shook her head, feigning ignorance.
But Wu Qian didn’t really expect an answer from her. She turned around to gossip with Wei Siqi. “Siqi, it’s your fiancé who is truly good, unlike that lot.” She gestured towards the crowd around Ning Xi. “You can’t move them away from the beauty.”
Wei Siqi smiled, satisfied. But she remembered the way Chen Yijun had looked at the woman earlier, and her smile dimmed a little. She tried to cover it up and said, “What kind of woman hasn’t he seen? A common and vulgar woman like this – how could she enter his eyes?”
“The important thing is that he likes you so much that he isn’t willing to look at others.” Wu Qian smiled, glancing at the beauty beside Teacher Yao critically. “Looking at her, she isn’t as beautiful as you.”
“What are you saying?” Wei Siqi smiled, lightly shoving Wu Qian, “It won’t be good if others hear you.”
“So what if people hear? Anyway, I’m just telling the truth. Why would I be afraid of people listening?” Wu Qian said. The many women surrounding them also followed along with similar comments, doing a good job of flattering Wei Siqi, coaxing her into laughing.
Sun Xiumei felt very uncomfortable in her heart, listening to the people laughing and joking around her, but she didn’t want to offend so many of her old cla.s.smates. So, after a while, she said, “The party is about to begin.”
Having come already, Ning Xi’s eyes swept across everyone’s faces. Most people had changed, while she didn’t even remember the names of some.
However, this time, she had come to wish Teacher Yao a happy birthday and didn’t really intend to reconnect with her old cla.s.smates.
Halfway through the meal, Chen Yijun handed Teacher Yao a gla.s.s of freshly squeezed fruit juice and honoured her with a couple of good words He handed another gla.s.s to Teacher Zhang.
Ning Xi had lowered her head to eat and didn’t see Chen Yijun glancing at her. Once everyone had finished drinking, Chen Yijun smiled at Teacher Yao and said, “Teacher Yao, this cla.s.smate is…?”
“Teacher,” Ning Xi interrupted Chen Yijun and turned to Teacher Yao apologetically. “Excuse me, I’ll just go to the washroom and come back.”
“Well,” Teacher Yao nodded with a smile, her face full of love for her.
Because Ning Xi didn’t give him face, Chen Yijun barely maintained his graceful smile and went back to his seat. He didn’t ask again about Ning Xi, but in his heart, he was very displeased.
Shua.
Cold water trickled down the back of her hand and after washing, Ning Xi leisurely took out a paper towel and wiped her hands carefully. At that time, Wei Siqi entered the, sashaying.
Their eyes met and Ning Xi smiled politely. Wei Siqi was surprised and barely managed to smile back. As Ning Xi was going out, Wei Siqi stopped her.
“Wait,” Weisi Qi looked at Ning Xi, “Pardon me, but which batch are you a part of?”
Ning Xi smiled. Her smile was like the spring breeze, soft and lingering. “I’m sorry, I didn’t graduate from this school.”
“Is that so?” Seeing her enchanting smile, Wei Siqi avoided her gaze, smiling uncomfortably. Those eyes of hers were so beautiful that she could only envy her.
Such a woman was terrible in her opinion.
“Yes,” Ning Xi tilted her head, smiling playfully, “There are always some unfortunate things that happen in life, there is no way to avoid them.”
Wei Siqi felt that the other’s words were very strange, but since they were making conversation, she nodded without understanding.
Seeing her confused expression, Ning Xi smiled and gracefully exited the washroom. When she came out, a man exited from the men’s washroom. When she saw him, he also saw her.
Really, a blessed woman was one who was attractive to men.
She took back her gaze and smiled at him politely. The men stopped and stepped to the side, gesturing for her to go first. Ning Xi’s lips curved. With her high heels clicking on the floor, she went out. The man stood still until he could no longer see her. Then he too went out.
“h.e.l.lo, Mr Chang,” As he walked, the people he pa.s.sed inevitably greeted him with an intention to flatter and please.
The man nodded curtly. “h.e.l.lo,” He looked towards the end of the corridor but saw nothing but a green plant.
After the party was over, everyone came to show off their cars and fought over who would send back Teacher Yao and Teacher Zhang.
Teacher Yao couldn’t bear to trouble her students and kept refusing, saying that her son was coming to pick them up.
When she said so, they realised that it wasn’t good to insist anymore, so everyone got ready to leave.
Someone offered to give Ning Xi a ride but she immediately rejected them.
“For everyone to meet and share a meal, it was destined. I don’t know if I can get the name of my fellow alumni? It’s better if you give your phone number so you can be notified later about other alumni events.” When his proposal to send her back was rejected, the man put forth another request.
Ning Xi was wondering how to respond when her phone rang. She smiled at him apologetically and answered the call.
After hanging up, she said to him, “I’m sorry, my ride is here.”
A lot of men didn’t give up and went along with her downstairs to send her off.
When they looked at the beauty riding away in a car worth more than a million, they remembered that they didn’t even get her phone number. They sighed with regret. When they looked at each other’s expressions, they laughed self-deprecatingly.
Wei Siqi, who stood beside Chen Yijun, asked, “It seemed like a few girls had given you their phone numbers?”
Chen Yijun laughed with a hint of disdain, “A few business cards that I can throw away.”
Wei Siqi smiled and didn’t continue to speak. She was still his fiancée. If someone wanted to flutter around Chen Yijun, she didn’t think that he would really fancy them.
Inside the car, Zhang Qingyun whistled to Ning Xi, “Your Majesty can really attract a lot of peach blossoms.”
“Isn’t a woman’s face and body most attractive to you men?” Ning Xi wore her seatbelt and looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “Such peach blossoms who wither very quickly, who will cherish them?”
“There is no other way. Who made it so that the world loves to see beautiful things?” Zhang Qingyun shrugged.
Ning Xi raised her brows noncommittally. She took out her pocket mirror and looked at her face. She said, “When I was in high school, these boys would laugh at me and call me a turnip behind my back. I have good points, I just like bearing grudges.”
Zhang Qingyun simply laughed. He didn’t want to talk about those unpleasant past events with her.
When one is a child, he is always naive and cruel. Some take pleasure in bullying others. When he grows up, he calls them ‘childish antics’. Only the victims of bullying would know the shadow their actions had cast on their lives.
He felt it was fortunate that Ning Xi didn’t let their actions affect her life, but he wouldn’t be insensitive enough to continue asking her about her past.
“Three days later, ‘My Heart Longs for You‘ will be released. This is your first work being released in China, right?” He said. “Do you want me to take you to a Taoist temple to pray to G.o.d?”
“Don"t you worship Buddha?” Ning Xi asked curiously.
“Native G.o.ds may give you more face.”
Ning Xi smiled and said, “Thank you, I have no use for it.”
‘My Heart Longs for You‘ was not a high-investment project but they spent a lot of money on publicity. Along with the idol Chu Heng’s rising popularity, it received a lot of attention. So the opening figures of the box office were not bad.
The response was very good after the movie’s release. The collection on the first day was as high as 20 million yuan, which, in the modern romance genre, was very good.
The next couple of days, the collection from ‘My Heart Longs for You‘ was quite high and the reviews and discussions online were also quite a lot. Many film critics rated the movie high saying that the acting in the movie was at a higher level.
Of course, there were some who thought that the female lead gave a mediocre performance as compared to the male lead and other supporting actors. However, this didn’t drag the movie behind and the entire movie had the desired effect on the audience.
Since the reputation of the film was very good, Ning Xi also attracted the attention of a lot of people. Many fans of the original book praised her performance of the first love of the male lead.
Fan A: After the first love was knocked down by the car, her eyes in the close-up shots had such a shocking expression that I almost cried. Yes, by the way, I’m a woman.
A Film Critic: In the novel, the role of the first love was only a part of the hero’s memory, and there was no additional description given about her. The screen time she is given in the film is also small, but the director has shot it so beautifully that it’s almost unrealistic. Perhaps, in the director’s imagination, she is not just another role, but a representation of the beauty of first love. She represents the beauty of youth. Although both dissipate over time, and people can’t go back to the past. The actress who played the first love creates and maintains the mood so well that I was a bit surprised. This character, therefore, has become one of the highlights of the movie.
T/N: Hi! Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or don’t understand something, please comment or send me a message, and I will respond immediately.