After the Fake Heiress Died, She Was Filled with Regret - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: (Revised) If It’s With You…

“Don’t be angry anymore. Drink some juice to cool down.” Ming Jing brought a glass of orange juice and handed it to Qian Yu. She had genuinely only planned to use an excuse to leave, but then she found Qian Yu squatting and crying downstairs.

The young girl who used to stand up for her friends, fearless and bold, was now crying, sad and wronged. Ming Jing thought she should help. After much persuasion, she managed to convince Qian Yu to follow her to the bar to sit down and specially made juice and a platter of snacks.

Qian Yu had stopped crying now. She glanced at the juice, pushed it away, “I don’t drink that stuff. Get me a Godfather.”

Ming Jing was startled, then smiled and went to the bar to make one first, handing it to her.

“I thought you were like Junior Xia and couldn’t handle alcohol.”

Qian Yu looked at her: “Xia Shinan has been here too?” Her tears welled up again, and she choked out: “We used to be the best of friends, childhood sweethearts, and never hid anything from each other. But ever since Tang Yin appeared, she’s had her little secrets, boohoohoo… She didn’t tell me she came here to drink, and she certainly didn’t tell me she was dating! She doesn’t treat me as a friend anymore!”

Ming Jing scratched her head awkwardly. Oops, she said the wrong thing.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. How could Xia Shinan not treat you as a friend? She always says you’re the most important person to her! More important than… more important than Tang Yin!”

Qian Yu looked up, blinking away her tears: “Really?”

“Of course! So, she didn’t tell you because she wanted to find a suitable opportunity to tell you, especially since you are a very important friend…”

Qian Yu wiped her tears: “Actually… I don’t demand she tells me everything, but for something as important as dating, shouldn’t I, as her friend, have the right to know? And she’s dating a woman!”

Ming Jing glanced at her: “What’s wrong with a woman?”

Qian Yu ate a piece of fried chicken, “You don’t know! Her mother is completely crazy and keeps pushing her to marry into the Lin family. If she finds out she’s dating a girl, won’t that kill her? If she had told me beforehand, I could at least help her figure something out.”

Ming Jing smiled: “You still care about her a lot. When you got angry and slammed the door at the hotel, Junior Xia was crying hysterically in the room and even said she wanted to find you.”

Qian Yu paused, a trace of concern in her eyes, but the anger in her heart hadn’t completely dissipated: “Let her cry. Someone will comfort her. What am I, a single dog?”

Her phone kept vibrating. Qian Yu saw the messages from Xia Shinan, all apologies. She hesitated about how to reply, typing and deleting words, finally locking the screen without sending anything.

Ming Jing saw this, smiled, and said nothing. The young girl was still upset.

At the hotel, Xia Shinan took a shower and came out after changing into comfortable clothes. Tang Yin took this time to change the bedding. Seeing her emerge, she picked up the hairdryer, “Come here. I’ll dry your hair.”

Xia Shinan sat down obediently, enjoying Tang Yin’s attentive service. Although she was a bit unaccustomed to it, her whole body was aching, and she really had no strength.

Too many things had happened that day, occupying her mind completely. Xia Shinan needed to process it little by little. But whenever she thought of the intimate things she had done with Tang Yin, she felt a little embarrassed.

Tang Yin’s hand gently supported her hair. The temperature of the hairdryer was just right, and she didn’t complain about her arm getting tired, even after drying for a long time.

“Ming Jing said Qian Yu is with her, and the problem isn’t big, so don’t worry,” Tang Yin put away the hairdryer and then told Xia Shinan about the call she had just received.

Xia Shinan lowered her head, looking at her phone. Qian Yu hadn’t replied to her WeChat, and her mood remained low: “This is the first time Little Yu Mao has been this angry. It’s all my fault. I let her down.”

“I was the one who asked you not to tell her. Blame me instead,” Tang Yin comforted her, “Don’t worry, she’ll come to you when she cools down. But Shinan, why did you meet Lin Yu? And why did you hide it from both me and Qian Yu? It was too dangerous.”

“Tang Yin, I feel like I’ve never been able to do anything by myself, ever since I was a child. My family paved every road for me. Outside, Little Yu Mao was always the one stepping up for me, and now there’s you. I just wanted to prove that I am also a useful person, that I can rely on myself!”

After saying that, she smiled bitterly: “But it turns out I was naive. I actually thought he contacted me because he genuinely wanted to cancel the engagement, and I was looking forward to telling you the good news.”

“I’m truly useless.”

Tang Yin stood behind her, listening to Xia Shinan’s self-evaluation, and couldn’t help but hug her from behind: “Don’t say that. If you were truly useless, how would you have so many friends? People like you not because you’re the daughter of the Xia family, but simply because you are a good person.”

Xia Shinan nestled into Tang Yin’s embrace, eager for her affirmation, “Really? What about you? Why do you like me?”

Tang Yin’s smile faltered for a moment, “Of course, it’s because you are Xia Shinan.”

The Qian family home.

Unlike the cold and quiet atmosphere of the Xia family, the Qian family’s home was much livelier and warmer.

At ten in the evening, the TV downstairs was playing a variety show. Mr. and Mrs. Qian were laughing while watching the TV, but their eyes kept glancing at their daughter sitting on the sofa.

It had been two or three days. Since Qian Yu came home, she had been gloomy, with a long face, and when asked, she insisted she was fine. She spent every day either watching TV or looking at her phone, making her parents suspect she was either dating or heartbroken.

Mr. Qian finally couldn’t help it: “Ahem, is something going on with you recently?”

Qian Yu raised an eyebrow, “What ‘going on’?”

Mrs. Qian asked directly: “Are you dating? It’s fine if you are.”

When Qian Yu heard their words, she suddenly flared up, “Why is it ‘fine’? What if the person is bad? There are so many bad people now. Isn’t it important?”

Mr. Qian panicked upon hearing this: “Are you dating?!”

“No, I don’t have the energy to date!” Qian Yu snapped, “It’s… my roommate. She’s dating but didn’t tell us, making us worry. Although she has apologized to me, I’m still not happy. I feel like she doesn’t consider me a friend.”

“Since she has apologized to you, why are you still holding onto it?” Mrs. Qian comforted her daughter, “Everyone has their own path in love. Let her follow her heart.”

Qian Yu looked up at her mother and said glumly, “But I’m worried she’ll get hurt.”

Mrs. Qian sighed, “Whether it’s a blessing or a curse to get hurt, only the person involved knows…” She then remembered something, “Just like the Xia family…”

The Xia family? Qian Yu instantly became alert, “What about the Xia family?”

Mrs. Qian: “I just heard this. We live close to the Xia family, but a lot of things aren’t leaked. I heard that… Xia Shentu is keeping a woman outside. She’s only in her early twenties, not much older than you, but she’s pregnant…”

Qian Yu’s eyes widened, “Pregnant?!”

Mrs. Qian: “Yes! You should spend more time with Xia Shinan. Her family is probably in for a lot of trouble now.”

Qian Yu leaned against her mother grumbling, thinking Xia Shinan didn’t need her company; she had Tang Yin now.

However, she really hadn’t expected Uncle Xia to be doing something like this at his age. No wonder Xia Shinan had been rebellious and hadn’t gone home recently, and Auntie Xie hadn’t been paying much attention to her—she was probably busy dealing with family affairs.

But her mother was right. When Auntie Xie remembered Xia Shinan, she would definitely take her anger out on her!

After struggling for a while, Qian Yu still stomped upstairs and sent a message to Xia Shinan.

After staying at the hotel for two days, Xia Shinan felt her condition had almost completely recovered. However, she always had nightmares at night, so Tang Yin stayed with her all the time, just in case anything unexpected happened again.

The two didn’t mention their intimate encounter, maintaining their previous level of affection with only kisses and hugs.

After receiving the message from Qian Yu, Xia Shinan immediately called her without a second thought.

“Wh-What do you want?” Qian Yu’s tone on the other end was stiff, but the fact that she answered the call indicated that her anger had significantly subsided.

Xia Shinan felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders, “Little Yu Mao, thank you…”

Qian Yu: “What’s there to thank me for? I just wanted to let you know beforehand so you could be mentally prepared, in case… in case you come crying to me again.”

“But you have Tang Yin now, so you probably don’t need me.”

“Of course not!” Xia Shinan immediately said, glancing at Tang Yin, “Little Yu Mao, you are the most important friend in my heart. Tang Yin and you are different.”

Different… Xia Shinan had said that before. At that time, she didn’t understand how they were different. Now she understood. They were different in every way!

“Anyway, I’ve passed on the message. You decide what to do. I don’t want to talk about anything else right now. I’m hanging up.”

The call ended. Xia Shinan thought for a moment and carefully sent a message: [Thank you, my best Little Yu Mao. Cat acting cute.jpg]

When will you be willing to meet up and hit me, or call and scold me?

It took a while for the reply to come: [In a few days.

Indifference.jpg

Xia Shinan: Obediently waiting.jpg

Tang Yin watched her, curious, “Does that work?”

Xia Shinan shook her head: “I don’t know, but that’s how I usually talk to her. She used to apologize and coax me like that too.”

Tang Yin thought for a moment: “If we quarrel in the future, and I beg for forgiveness like that, will you forgive me?”

Xia Shinan blinked at her: “Tang Yin, I believe we won’t quarrel.”

Tang Yin smiled faintly, “What if we do?”

“Mhm… Then I promise you, as long as you properly coax me, I won’t be angry anymore,” Xia Shinan smiled at her.

Tang Yin took a deep breath, nodded, “Then it’s settled. I’ll always remember that.”

“Pinky promise! It will never change!” Xia Shinan held out her hand, “This way, you’ll believe me, right?”

“Okay.” Tang Yin linked pinkies with her, then leaned in to kiss her lips.

Xia Shinan remembered what Qian Yu had said and hesitated before voicing her inner thoughts, “Tang Yin, I want to go home. If Dad really has a child outside, Mom must be very sad.”

A trace of worry flashed in Tang Yin’s eyes, “Aren’t you afraid she’ll take her anger out on you?”

Xia Shinan smiled, “I’ve been afraid of her since I was little, and I’m used to it. Maybe this time will be different? And I believe that if she locks me up at home, you’ll find a way to save me, right?”

Tang Yin nodded helplessly, “Yes.”

She looked at Xia Shinan’s smile and suddenly dared to ask, “Shinan, have you ever thought about leaving the Xia family, leaving A City, and starting a new life?”

Xia Shinan was startled, not quite understanding why Tang Yin would ask this.

“I just asked casually. If the freedom you want requires you to abandon everything the Xia family has given you, would you be willing?” She added, “If it’s hard to answer, then don’t say anything.”

“I would be willing!” Xia Shinan tightly held Tang Yin’s hand, her eyes shining: “If it’s with you, I would be willing!”

Leaving A City and starting a different life in another city with Tang Yin—this was the life she yearned for!

Tang Yin received her answer, and a little green sprout seemed to grow in her heart, only to be plucked clean the next second.

“Perhaps, that day will truly come.”

If it does, I look forward to it. I hope you won’t blame me too much.

After making the decision, Xia Shinan still had to return to her place to change into clothes that Xie Wan liked. Tang Yin naturally went with her.

“Are you planning to tell her about Lin Yu?” Tang Yin watched her busy herself in front of the wardrobe, remembering the man.

A trace of hesitation flashed in Xia Shinan’s eyes, “I haven’t decided yet. I’ll see how things go when I get home. I don’t want to bring up these things when Mom is already unhappy, lest I make her more upset.”

Tang Yin leaned against the door, suddenly realizing that Xia Shinan’s personality made her vulnerable to being taken advantage of.

“You worry too much about others. You need to think more about yourself. Also, it’s not okay to always take on everything yourself.”

“I know,” Xia Shinan said with a smile, “Tang Yin, do you prefer me in this style or the one I usually wear at school?”

“I like both,” Tang Yin smiled, “I prefer it more when you call me ‘Tang Tang’.”

Xia Shinan was startled, turned away shyly, and continued to look for clothes.

“Shy?” Tang Yin rarely teased her, “You called me that perfectly fine the other day, didn’t you? And your WeChat alias for me is ‘Tang Tang’.”

“How did you know… the alias?” Xia Shinan was surprised.

Xia Shinan bit her lip. She had forgotten that she kept calling her ‘Tang Tang’ that day until Tang Yin brought it up.

“I won’t tease you anymore,” Tang Yin smiled. If she continued, Xia Shinan would probably cry out of embarrassment and anger.

“Ding dong…”

A sudden doorbell interrupted the lovers’ intimacy. Xia Shinan felt an inexplicable chill. She walked to the door, looked through the peephole, and then took a step back.

“What’s wrong?” Tang Yin asked, concerned.

Xia Shinan bit her lip, her face gradually turning pale: “It’s my mother.”

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