My Aloof Rival Seems to Like Me - Chapter 22

After hearing those words, Song Jin froze for a few seconds, failing to react to what she was saying for a moment.

She couldn’t help but scrutinize Wen Yu’s expression; she looked very serious, and there was even a hint of… anxiety in the depths of her eyes?

What was she anxious about?

Just because she had “spread rumors” about her fetishes in front of outsiders?

That seemed a bit much…

Her brain struggled to function for a moment. After a long while, she managed to squeeze a sentence out of her throat: “Then… then you like older ‘alpha’ bad boys?”

At exactly seven in the evening, the last lingering glow of the setting sun had long since faded away. The bright lights outside the manor illuminated the area as if it were broad daylight.

The outfit Wen Yu was wearing had been almost entirely styled by Song Jin, and the makeup on her face was a one-to-one recreation performed by the stylist based on the reference photos Song Jin had provided. She hadn’t felt much back in the manor, but looking at her now, there was a strange illusion of: “She is my custom-made creation.”

At that thought, Song Jin felt her throat tighten.

She inconspicuously looked Wen Yu up and down, her gaze lingering for a moment longer on her slender waist and the high heels on her feet.

Did her waist get thinner?

Was she eating and drinking with her on the surface while secretly losing weight behind her back?

And why wasn’t she wearing the flat shoes she had picked out? Did she not like them?

Song Jin looked a few more times with a complicated mood.

It was clear that Wen Yu’s stylist had ideas of their own; they had moved the hair clip Song Jin specifically chose to a position three fingers wide from the temple, its hanging tassels refracting the light. Standing at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, Song Jin’s eyes were drawn to it several times.

Wen Yu let out a sigh, appearing somewhat helpless. However, meeting Song Jin’s dazed gaze, she didn’t know what to say for the time being.

She tucked the strands of hair ruffled by the wind behind her ear; the chain on her slender wrist was also one Song Jin had selected.

“Forget it, it’s nothing,” she said, pursing her lips.

“Oh,” Song Jin hummed a syllable, feeling a bit bewildered by this cryptic reaction. Before she could ask anything else, the growl from her stomach broke the subtle atmosphere between the two. The hand Song Jin had just extended immediately took a turn to cover her lower abdomen; only then did she realize she hadn’t eaten.

She had originally planned to hit the buffet here…

Song Jin looked at the manor gates unwillingly. But then, thinking about how Wen Yu had finally escaped the lion’s den and how she’d likely have to face all those messy affairs if she went back—Song Jin tore her gaze away.

She struck up a conversation: “Have you eaten?”

Wen Yu shook her head. Before coming, she had only drunk a cup of black sesame paste to line her stomach, then sat in a chair like a ragdoll at the mercy of the stylist. To make her waist look even thinner, the manager had even made her wear a waist cincher and forbidden her from eating anything at the banquet.

If she left just like this, she would definitely face a lecture upon her return.

Wen Yu sighed: “You should go first. I have to go back and keep pulling in investment. I don’t dare go back to Su Tianjiao, so I have to find someone else to try.”

“Don’t—” Seeing her turn to leave, Song Jin recklessly grabbed her wrist again. “You don’t actually think that everyone inside besides Su Tianjiao is a good person, do you?”

They look all dignified on the surface, but behind the scenes, every one of them plays dirtier than the last.

Except for her “rising from the mud unsullied” mom!

Hearing this, Wen Yu stopped in her tracks, looking conflicted. Seeing that the other girl was wavering, Song Jin used her other hand to turn her around, announcing with “cool and overbearing” arrogance: “It’s no big deal. When you go back, just tell your manager you’ve connected with the Li family. My mom just happens to want to invest in a few TV dramas; investing in anyone is still investing.”

“…Okay.”

Song Jin knew she had listened. Like a magic trick, she pulled a phone out of a pocket hidden in the folds of her skirt. Standing under the streetlight with one hand on her hip, she turned sideways to make a call, nodding and shaking her head occasionally in response. She even spared a few glances at Wen Yu every now and then, as if afraid she might run away.

“Done.” She hung up, her face beaming with joy. “I’ve called for a car. Let’s go grab a bite at my friend’s place later.”

“A friend?” Wen Yu instinctively took half a step back.

Realizing she might have scared her, Song Jin quickly tried to fix it: “Don’t worry, it’s just the two of us. We’re going to a shop owned by a friend of mine. The food there is delicious, and they value customer privacy, so you don’t have to worry about being photographed.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.” Wen Yu took that half-step back.

Song Jin’s ride arrived quickly; in less than ten minutes, a Mercedes pulled up. Song Jin declined the offer for a designated driver. Upon hearing this, the driver pulled a folding scooter from the trunk, gave the handles a twist, and whizzed away.

Song Jin plopped into the driver’s seat. It wasn’t until she buckled her seatbelt that she realized Wen Yu was still standing there dazed. Poking her head out of the car window, she craned her neck and said, “Get in.”

Wen Yu snapped out of it, apologized, and tried to open the back door.

She couldn’t pull it open on the first try and thought she was doing it wrong, but after the second attempt failed as well, she realized Song Jin had locked the rear doors.

Wen Yu withdrew her hand awkwardly and resigned herself to getting into the passenger seat.

The “shop owned by a friend” Song Jin mentioned wasn’t far from Minghu Manor; they arrived after passing three traffic lights. After getting out of the car, Wen Yu looked at the sign above with surprise: “Jiangnan Shore?”

How did she remember this place being a food stall before?

“Yeah, it seems pretty famous around here, they have several chain locations.” Song Jin raised her eyebrows with a sense of pride, signaling Wen Yu to enter with her.

Jiangnan Shore had indeed started as a food stall, but it developed well later on. The owner had renovated and expanded it many times, and in recent years, it had become a famous restaurant in Qing City. Song Jin glanced at Wen Yu from the corner of her eye, thinking that she must rarely eat out, otherwise, it would be impossible to be so oblivious to this place.

The two entered the restaurant one after the other. The waiter at the front desk seemed to know the relationship between her and the boss; seeing Song Jin enter, he immediately ushered the two of them into a VIP private room.

“See if there’s anything you want to eat.”

After they were seated, a waiter handed Song Jin a tablet to order. Song Jin, however, looked at Wen Yu, signaling the waiter to give the choice to her.

“You order, anything is fine with me.” Wen Yu sat beside Song Jin, naturally reaching for the bowls and plates in front of her.

Jiangnan Shore still kept the habits from its food stall days; the white porcelain tableware was served wrapped in plastic film. Wen Yu first took a wet wipe from her bag to clean her hands, then pierced the film with her fingernail. She slowly tore off the film and then, somewhat unpracticed, began to rinse the bowls one by one in the basin of hot water provided by the waiter.

Song Jin immediately saw her knuckles turned red by the steam and subconsciously frowned: “Let me do it.”

She was a year older than Wen Yu; there was no reason for Wen Yu to be the one taking care of her.

“It’s okay, I’m almost done.” Wen Yu took the scalded dishes out and started tearing the film off her own set.

Fine then.

Song Jin turned her attention back to the menu, her fingers casually sliding across the screen, ordering a few dishes from memory.

Sour and spicy shredded potatoes, poached shrimp, stir-fried beef with green peppers, steamed pork ribs with dried tofu skin, and finally, a bowl of coconut chicken soup. After thinking for a bit, she added a dish of stir-fried Chinese broccoli that she personally liked.

Wen Yu couldn’t help but lean over to take a look while she was ordering. After seeing what Song Jin had picked, she was a bit surprised: “You eat green peppers?”

“Huh? You don’t?” Song Jin instinctively asked back.

She herself was allergic to green peppers and naturally couldn’t touch them, but she remembered several fanfics saying Wen Yu loved stir-fried beef with green peppers, so she ordered it for her.

Could the fanfics have been lying?

“I do.” Wen Yu gave her a look with a complicated expression but didn’t say anything more.

Jiangnan Shore was bustling, and the kitchen occasionally got overwhelmed. While waiting for the food to arrive, Wen Yu took the opportunity to go to the restroom to remove the waist cincher. She threw it straight into the nearby trash can.

The stylist had fastened it very tightly; when it was removed, clear red marks were left on her fair waist. Wen Yu let out a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted, her chest heaving violently as the air rushed in. She somewhat clumsily pulled her half-hanging clothes back on; this time she remembered to gather her long hair forward first, and though it was a bit difficult, she managed to reach back and pull the zipper up.

Looking at that slightly haggard face in the mirror, Wen Yu realized her lipstick had smudged at some point.

She wanted to touch it up, but she didn’t have the habit of carrying makeup when going out. Wen Yu pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open to leave.

Most of the dishes had already been served. Song Jin was currently holding a bowl, serving soup for both of them. The coconut chicken was the signature dish of Jiangnan Shore; one could smell that sweet coconut fragrance from a distance.

Seeing Wen Yu come out, Song Jin hurriedly called her over to eat. The freshly cooked food emitted clouds of hot white steam, and the aroma of the hearth filled the entire private room.

Wen Yu took the hot soup with both hands and thanked her again.

“Did you lose weight?” Song Jin asked out of the blue. After sitting down, her gaze naturally drifted toward Wen Yu’s waist, and her brain suddenly short-circuited: “Wait, did you sneak off to the bathroom to eat something good behind my back?”

Wen Yu: “…”

She was somewhat helpless: “I took off the waist cincher.”

“Waist cincher? You’re already this thin and you still wore a waist cincher?!” Song Jin’s pupils dilated, and her tone rose by several notches. She had always felt that things like waist cinchers were quite anti-human; there was absolutely no need to suffer for the sake of so-called “beauty.”

Wen Yu scooped up a spoonful of soup, blowing away the heat at her lips. The sweet, fresh soup slid down her throat, dispelling all the chill from her body: “Yeah, the manager required it. I couldn’t refuse.”

Song Jin thought of Su Tianjiao’s face, and her mind immediately conjured up dark industry legends of “unscrupulous managers organizing pimping circles.” She roughly knew why Wen Yu was wearing high heels now; it was one hundred percent the manager ignoring her feelings and instigating it.

Thinking of this, Song Jin couldn’t help but roll her eyes hard: “That manager of yours is really something. With those high heels on, I’d like to see which guy claiming to be 180cm tall dares to stand next to you.”

Wen Yu curled her lips into a faint smile, seemingly liking that sentiment: “Isn’t that great then?”

Song Jin choked slightly on her soup. After a moment of thought, she replied: “You know what, you’re actually right—”

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