The Lady I Flirted With Is Here - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: The Fight

“A kid?” The friend looked up, mouth half-full, not quite understanding why Fang Daiyu was asking this.

“You mean my daughter?” the friend asked again.

Fang Daiyu nodded.

The friend struggled to swallow a whole piece of steak and adjusted her black-rimmed glasses. This friend was Li Xiang, a fellow provincial from Fang Daiyu’s company. She was five years older, but they had formed a bond after attending a training session together years ago.

Li Xiang had married a few years back. Thinking of her young daughter at home, she couldn’t help but smile: “She’s only two and a half; what kind of ‘discipline’ is there? When she cries or throws a tantrum, I just coax her with some small toys, candy, or cake.”

Candy? Toys? Fang Daiyu thought of Lin Xian’s playful “meatball” hairstyle and nodded silently. So that’s how it is? Kids like toys and candy? That’s easy enough to handle.

…

When Lin Xian returned to the living room, the atmosphere was uncharacteristically quiet. She laughed: “What? You guys stop playing the moment I leave?”

Jingjing was slumped on the sofa in a “Ge You” sprawl. “It’s a holiday, and we’re waiting for the birthday girl. Come on, tell them about your new romance. I can’t keep up with their questions anymore.”

“Romance?” Lin Xian grabbed a throw pillow and plopped down on the sofa, answering casually, “You mean that beautiful sister?”

He Yao’s eyes were brimming with gossip. “Beautiful? How beautiful? Let us see a photo!”

Lin Xian certainly had photos, but she had worked hard to “scam” them into her possession. Why should she let others benefit? She wasn’t about to share the “Younger Student” version of Daiyu or the “Sexy Bathrobe” version of Daiyu with anyone.

Lin Xian pretended to be coy: “I’ve only met her once. How would I have photos?”

“Tch—” Wen Chao jeered, her face full of disdain. “I told you, who would look at her? It’d be a miracle if the lady actually gave her a photo!”

Lin Xian was truly fed up with Wen Chao tonight. When a friend crosses the line and ruins the mood, Lin Xian doesn’t feel like playing nice. She grandly announced the good news: “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m off the market. That beautiful sister is mine now!”

Lin Xian finished with a flourish of her eyebrows, waiting expectantly for the group’s reaction.

The air suddenly froze.

Everyone was stunned, as if they were collectively experiencing a bizarre dream. In this dream, Lin Xian… was actually in a relationship?

Wen Chao was the first to dismiss it. “If you’re going to snap at me, at least make up a believable lie. You? In a relationship?” Wen Chao scanned Lin Xian from head to toe. “Sun Wukong would have to be born from a rock again for that to happen!”

Jingjing’s boyfriend chimed in: “Uh, wasn’t Sun Wukong actually born from a rock?”

The tension broke instantly, and everyone started talking at once.

“Is this for real? Yaya, pinch me.” This was Nannan.

“Did the Old Man under the Moon finally show mercy? Xianxian is in love?” That was Yaya.

“Wait a minute. If you’re off the market, why didn’t you invite your girlfriend to your birthday?” Jiang Binliu reminded her, “It’s your birthday; she should have done something. Does she even know?”

Lin Xian caught the lead and quickly replied to Jiang Binliu: “We only got together this morning. I forgot… I only just remembered I’m in a relationship. I haven’t told her it’s my birthday yet.”

“So, how many days have you actually known each other?” He Yao asked.

Lin Xian smiled shyly: “Including today, eight days.”

“Eight days?!” The collective exclamation of disbelief was so loud that no one could stay calm.

“Getting together in eight days? Sorry Lin Xian, I clearly underestimated you.” Yaya was awestruck, her brain still reeling from the impact of Lin Xian’s lightning-fast romance.

Lin Xian waved her hand dismissively: “It’s nothing, really.”

Wait, was she being praised? Why was she looking so proud?

Seeing Lin Xian’s beaming face, the group realized that “Lin Xian is in a relationship” was likely true. Moreover, the person involved didn’t seem to realize how rare and miraculous this event was. Thinking of the campus rumors, the group looked at Lin Xian with a touch of pity.

No one noticed that the smile in Wen Chao’s eyes didn’t reach the bottom, and even the curve of her lips seemed stiff. She tried her best to ignore the churning in her heart, suppressed her impulse, and asked calmly: “Are you really just entering a relationship with a stranger like this? Do you have any sense of responsibility for yourself, Lin Xian?”

He Yao realized right then—Wen Chao was truly a “special” person, a top-tier master at ruining the mood. Everyone was immersed in laughter and shock, yet she somehow managed to deviate from the group and twist the narrative.

To put it nicely: she didn’t follow the crowd.

To put it bluntly: she was asking for a beating!

Yes, Wen Chao was asking for a beating!

As He Yao thought this, Lin Xian had already reached her limit. There were a few things that were absolute red lines for Lin Xian, as everyone at the party knew.

1. Cleanliness. Lin Xian would get so angry she’d throw all the cutlery at someone. She’d spend extra money just to maintain her standards. When others might share a bottle of water to save space, Lin Xian would buy everyone their own bottle just to avoid sharing saliva without being criticized. She had done thousands of things like this. Her “obsession” wasn’t extreme—sharing a dish or a pot of rice was fine—but no one’s chopsticks could touch the food inside her personal bowl. In short: she was obsessive about other people’s germs.

Wen Chao had just stepped on that line deliberately.

2. Lin Xian hated being lectured and criticized. Specifically, the kind of lecturing that jumped to conclusions without asking, or was based on stubborn, prejudiced stereotypes. Back when Lin Xian was accused of “acting superior” by not applying for a scholarship despite her good grades, she had played a “game” with the girl who spread the rumor. Eventually, that girl ended up moving out of the dorm and never stepped foot inside again.

And Wen Chao had just committed the second sin.

Before He Yao could even act on her thought of punching Wen Chao, Lin Xian’s fist had already connected with Wen Chao’s face.

“Wen Chao, you just can’t stand the sight of me, can you?” Lin Xian laughed out of pure rage. “Are you so eager to lecture me because you want to replace my mother?”

It was well known that Lin Xian came from a single-parent home; her parents had been divorced for a long time.

Hatred flashed in Wen Chao’s eyes as she stared at Lin Xian like an enemy. “That’s right! From the first day of school, I couldn’t stand you. Lin Xian, what the hell are you pretending for? Deep down, you’re like a desperate dog chasing after any woman you see, so why act like a ‘goddess’ on the outside? Are you that starved for women? Are you that desperate?”

Wen Chao’s words were so foul that He Yao rushed in and joined the fray. “Are you out of your mind today? Are you sick?!”

Lin Xian let go of Wen Chao. She didn’t even want to bother with her anymore. If Wen Chao hadn’t said such heart-piercing things, she would have still considered her a friend—if they didn’t like each other, they could just fight it out. But today, Wen Chao had spoken her true feelings. Lin Xian gave a bitter smile: “I treated you as a friend, but you think I’m disgusting. Go, Wen Chao. From now on, I’ll just treat you as an ordinary classmate.”

After saying this, Lin Xian, who had been provoked to the limit all day and then had fuel added to the fire, couldn’t stop a tear from falling.

He Yao was the first to pull Wen Chao away. She punched Wen Chao twice and then grabbed Lin Xian’s hand. “Oh, come on, why are you shouting? Lin Xian, you know Wen Chao is famous for her foul mouth. You two have been through thick and thin together for years; how can you break up over one sentence?”

Wen Chao gently pried He Yao’s hand away. Her eyes were clouded with complex emotions that no one could decipher.

Wen Chao bowed to Lin Xian: “I’m sorry, Xianxian! Please forgive me.”

Lin Xian’s eyes turned bright red, and her chest felt tight with infinite grievance. She couldn’t quite describe the feeling—perhaps her emotions toward Wen Chao had always been complicated.

They had always interacted this way.

Lin Xian couldn’t tell if Wen Chao’s “liking” of her was as a friend or out of hate, and she couldn’t decipher those extra, subtle emotions that Wen Chao occasionally let slip—feelings that often made Lin Xian want to flee in panic.

Now, she suppressed her grievance and said softly: “It’s okay.”

He Yao pulled Lin Xian to sit on the sofa, while Wen Chao sat alone on a small stool in the corner. Her tall frame looked as if it might break the stool at any moment. No one talked to her; they focused on comforting Lin Xian with laughter and chatter.

Wen Chao found it funny, yet ironic. She let out a small scoff through her nose.

The sound was faint, but Lin Xian heard it. In fact, ever since the fight, she had been silently monitoring Wen Chao’s every move. Lin Xian’s eyelashes flickered.

Then Wen Chao stood up from the stool. She stood tall, her voice sounding characteristically androgynous: “It’s late. You guys have fun. I’m going home; I have things to do.” Without waiting for a response, she walked out of the apartment alone, until the sound of the door closing echoed.

The atmosphere in the room immediately relaxed.

Yaya suggested an activity to liven things up: “How about we play Truth or Dare? What do you think?”

Everyone agreed. Those who lost would either have to drink, tell a truth, or do a dare.

Outside in the hallway, Wen Chao stared into the dark passage. Hearing the lively sounds coming from inside, she somehow thought of a quote: “The excitement belongs to them; I have nothing.”

Wen Chao walked out of the building and looked up at the lights on the fourth floor. Finally, she murmured in a low voice: “Goodnight. Happy Birthday.”

The person inside couldn’t hear her, and Wen Chao didn’t know if she had made her happy or miserable today.

“Still, being remembered is a good thing, right?” Wen Chao muttered to herself before disappearing into the night.

…

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Lin Xian didn’t see Wen Chao again. The campus was large, after all. Except for Wen Chao, everyone else was in the same department; they saw each other in lectures every day. As for Wen Chao, she was in the School of Management but somehow hung out with the literature crowd—everyone knew that was because of Lin Xian.

Lin Xian didn’t have much time to think about Wen Chao, anyway.

The day after Mid-Autumn, she woke up to a “bombshell” on her phone: “Xianxian, a seven-day break for Mid-Autumn and National Day? Have you thought about where you want to go with me?”

A date?

Lin Xian’s mind was filled with those two words. Before she could even struggle, Fang Daiyu gave her a buffer: “I might go to Qinhuangdao for the first few days of the break—planned it with friends a long time ago. How about October 1st? A national celebration? An anniversary for our date? It just so happens I’ll be back in Beijing the day before.”

Lin Xian bit the bullet and replied: “Okay.”

The first thing she did after scouring her closet was go on Taobao and spend a fortune on three sets of clothes.

Those items that had been sitting in her shopping cart for months, which she had been reluctant to buy, were finally no longer just decorations.