Sweet Heart in Honeyed Desire

Chapter 19 — Little girl, are you making a sacrificial offering here?

She took her phone out of her bag and began taking photos of the campus. Occasionally, someone came over to chat with her; some she recognised and others she didn"t.

There were actually many A University students who had heard that there was an alumni reunion today and had also come over to stand and watch. The main targets of all this attention, however, were Gu Kai Ran and Lin Che, those well-known influential figures who everyone knew about but had never met. In the end, even the university directors were aroused into action and came over to especially greet the outstanding alumni, mainly to have them donate greatly to the university.

After practically everyone in the school had become animated, someone finally mentioned that they all should go eat.

A large private room had already been reserved at Tian Xia Restaurant in advance. Tang Mi"s heart trembled when she heard this. Granted, they all brought a lot of money despite haven chosen to split the check AA-style.1

Indeed, she should not have attended this type of nouveau riche gathering.

When such a large group of people majestically entered Tian Xia Restaurant, their entrance attracted a lot of attention. Tang Mi followed this stream of people into the large private room alone, having been separated rom Fu Xin long ago.

She searched for Fu Xin in the crowd, only to find that Fu Xin had actually snagged a seat beside Gu Kai Ran.

Tang Mi smirked before looking for a seat in a corner. Lin Che chose that moment to walk up to her and pull out her chair. "Are you going to suggest that I should not sit beside you?"

Tang Mi pursed her lips and remained silent. Naturally, she felt that she had clearly explained herself to Lin Che last time; what on earth did he want now?

After Lin Che sat down, someone very quickly seized the other seat beside him—a girl Tang Mi did not recognize. That girl incessantly switched between topics, trying to pull Lin Che into a conversation, but Lin Che simply nodded and hummed, paying attention only to Tang Mi.

After the dishes arrived, the dining table became even more lively. Tang Mi focused on her meal and remained silent the entire time. Lin Che, from time to time, would place food on her not-full-enough plate, causing the girl beside Tang Mi to roll her eyes.

Halfway through the meal, He Si Qi arrived late. Many people knew that He Si Qi had chased after Lin Che to France and that they were even running a cake shop together at the moment. As soon as she entered, everyone began to heckle Lin Che. Some even asked about when their wedding invitations were being sent out.

Lin Che laughed at everyone and explained, "You guys are mistaken. We are merely business partners."

He Si Qi"s complexion rapidly changed. She stared at Lin Che"s back but didn"t say anything. The others all believed Lin Che was being shy and did not hold much stock in his explanation. At the moment, Lin Che had people sitting on either side of him, but contrary to expectation, He Si Qi simply stood to the side, rather similar to a turtledove observing a magpie nest.2

Tang Mi did not count on the girl on Lin Che"s other side to yield her seat. As a matter of fact, she didn"t want to continue sitting there and took the initiative to yield her own place, saying, "You can have my seat. I"m going to use the restroom."

After she finished speaking, she left without consulting anyone. She then took out her phone and sent Fu Xin a message. 「I"m heading back first. Later when the bill is being settled, cover for me; I"ll pay you back when you return home.」  

Soon, Fu Xin"s reply came. 「Tang Mi, you terrified egg, you left when He Si Qi arrived! Forget it. Watch jiejie put her in her place later!」

Tang Mi giggled. Not wanting to explain any more, she simply stowed her phone back in her bag.

Just as she was leaving Tian Xia Restaurant, Lin Che came racing out. "I know you want to leave." He quirked his lips, revealing a loving and indulgent smile. "I"ll drive you back, okay?"

Following her predetermined course of action to the letter, Tang Mi refused, "You don"t need to. I know the way."

Lin Che"s eyebrows rose. Still, he walked beside her. "I know why you rejected me. I heard He Si Qi say that you are now together with Yu Yi?"

Tang Mi nearly died of fright at these words of his. She calmed down slightly though, after she realized that his mention of "Yu Yi" actually referred to Yu Xin. "Why do I need to justify myself to you about who I am with?"

Lin Che frowned and said, "Don"t be foolish. People like Yu Yi, how can he possibly be serious about you? Don"t you know that the vegetables and fruits used at Yu Yi"s restaurants are all, for the most part, supplied by the Bai family at a low price? These two families have long held the intention to connect their businesses by marriage. Why on earth are you getting closer to him?"

Tang Mi spontaneously burst into laughter when she heard this. "Lin Che, you and Yu Yi are not the only men in this world. Even if I am not together with Yu Yi, that does not mean I will be with you."

Lin Che fell silent for a moment before saying, "I am only worried about you getting hurt."

Tang Mi looked at him and chuckled. "What qualifications do you have to speak this line? Do you know what I was like after I heard you went abroad back then?"

Lin Che closed his mouth at this. Tang Mi sighed and walked away without a second glance. Lin Che stared at her departing back for a while before returning to Tian Xia Restaurant.

He Si Qi had been standing at the entrance. When she saw him return, a look of ridicule flashed through her eyes. "That person is now holding onto Yu Yi"s thigh; why would she acknowledge you?"

Lin Che saw her and walked over. "I let her down before. Now, I want her back. Suffering is something I should do."

He Si Qi laughed. "Lin Che, when did you become so stubborn? Why on earth are you insisting on hanging yourself on Tang Mi"s tree?"

Lin Che smiled at her. "I have explained this to you before, back when you had followed me to France; I already made this very clear to you."

He Si Qi wrinkled her brows and spoke no more. Lin Che walked past her, adding, "I won"t allow your uncle to continue working at the shop. You should clearly know why. If you continue to inconvenience Tang Mi, I will not mind tearing you apart."

He Si Qi"s complexion paled slightly as she stared at him, but she followed him inside nonetheless.

After Tang Mi left Tian Xia Restaurant, she didn"t take public transportation to return home and instead wandered around in the city. Lin Che"s words were incessantly echoing in her mind—about how the Bai family and Yu family intended to marry their businesses together, to be precise.

Tang Mi frowned and knocked on her own head. What did the matter of the Bai family and Yu family marrying their businesses together have to do with her? Why was she here, worrying?

She pursed her lips and decided to go find somewhere else to continue lunch.

After pa.s.sing an intersection, Tang Mi subconsciously glanced around. This road led to Happiness. Last time Yu Xin had brought her to Happiness, he had driven down this road.

She remembered seeing a snack bar on this street, one with a good reputation, and therefore began walking down this road.

It was lunch rush hour, so the snack bar was almost packed full. Tang Mi risked her life to find an open table with great difficulty and then ordered and .

She had found a window seat, so when she finished ordering, she subconsciously looked outside the window. Across the street, there was a small, fenced garden with fresh flowers, a photograph, and a card with a written description.

Tang Mi stared at it for quite a while, but it was too far away. She could not clearly read the words on the card.

"Your chili oil wontons and sweet water noodles." A waiter set down Tang Mi"s snacks and bill before leaving. Tang Mi turned her gaze away from the window and picked up her chopsticks to eat.

After leaving the snack bar, Tang Mi intentionally walked down the street to look at that small garden. The girl in the photograph on the fence was especially eye-catching. She wore a graduation gown and seemed to have just graduated from a four-year university degree.

Tang Mi"s eyes flashed. She shifted her gaze over to the card beside the photograph.

『 Mama, are you alright up in the Kingdom of Heaven? Today, I graduated university. Time really flew by.』

At the bottom, a large smiley face was drawn.

Tang Mi blankly stared at it before catching sight of another card. Only three words were written on it—『 Rest in Peace』.

Tang Mi suddenly understood. Was this indeed a sacrificial altar to the deceased? But why was there a sacrificial offering here?

An auntie pa.s.sing by saw her crouched by the fence and inquired, "Little girl, are you making a sacrificial offering here?"

Tang Mi jumped back up and shook her head, saying, "No. What happened here?"

The auntie was carrying two bags of fruit, but she still raised a hand to point at the snack bar Tang Mi had just eaten in. "That used to be a jewelry store. Around ten years ago, burglars ransacked it. All of them had guns, and when the police rushed over, they suddenly opened fire! I still remember those gunshots sounding exactly like firecrackers! At that time, it was very chaotic, and some pa.s.sersby were hit by stray bullets. The media had reported this for quite a while."

The auntie glanced at the fresh flowers and card before sighing. "Although that event swept through the town like a hurricane at that time, everyone had already forgotten about it after so many years. Only those who lost family members still remember."

The auntie"s words left a vague impression on Tang Mi, but, at that time, she had still been quite young. At most, she would have heard adults mentioning a gunfight, people dying, and such.

She did not know why, but she always felt that this matter was why Yu Xin had taken her on a detour the last time, avoiding the area. After the auntie left, she paid her respects to the garden and very quickly headed home.

She hurried to her room and impatiently started up the computer. Tang Mi then typed into the search bar these keywords:「A City, jewelry, armed robbery」.  

The browser swiftly brought up results. Tang Mi skimmed through them. All of them mentioned something along the lines of "b.l.o.o.d.y event" and "three people dead, two lightly wounded."

Unable to calm her rapidly beating heart, Tang Mi clicked open a news article and carefully read it.

The robbery happened fifteen years ago. Altogether, there were three burglars—two of which were shot dead by the police at the scene while one escaped only to be arrested by the police a day later.

Although the criminal was punished according to the law, that gunfight had begun very suddenly and had sent the crowd into ma.s.s panic. The chaos had led to pa.s.sersby getting hit by stray bullets, and three people had died by accident.

Tang Mi"s brows furrowed. Previously, Yu Yi had told her that Yu Xin had first appeared when he was twelve years old, which just happened to be fifteen years ago.

Tang Mi did not realize that her hand was trembling slightly as she grasped the mouse. She scrolled down, hoping to find information about the victims, but this report did not mention the names.

She closed the window and opened another report, skimming through it very quickly.

Investigation process, information on the criminal, police casualties, information on the victims…

Tang Mi subconsciously held her breath.

Luo Jian De, Dong Shi Qing, Yu Yan.

Author"s Note:

Third chapter completed!

Bowing in thanks to all the little angels who support this official publication!

Tomorrow, I will update at 9AM. Muah~! (づ￣3￣)づ╭?～

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