To Sweep Across Like Wildfire - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Meng Chi’s gaze swept over the person and quickly snapped back. She turned her face and asked, “Why do you say that?”

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say… I was worried you’d judge me…”

Meng Chi: “Don’t tell me you…”

She instinctively assumed Jiang Sitian had booked someone of that “type.” Although Jiang Sitian loved to have fun, she had never shown interest in that sort of thing. For some reason, the thought just jumped into Meng Chi’s head.

“No…” Jiang Sitian closed her eyes and opened them again, gathering her courage before blurting out in one breath, “Jiang Yiku was on a business trip recently and brought someone like that back to his hotel from a bar. It happened to be his birthday, so Sister Nianzhou rushed there to give him a surprise. The result… well, now Sister Nianzhou is demanding a ‘clean break’ divorce. She found out he’s done this multiple times while away for work.”

Jiang Yiku was Jiang Sitian’s older brother, and Wen Nianzhou was her sister-in-law—or soon-to-be ex-sister-in-law. Jiang Sitian’s cheeks flushed red with anger, calling her brother “Jiang the Dog,” cursing her own surname in the process.

“Back in middle school, I used to tell you all about the romance between Jiang the Dog and Sister Nianzhou. He chased her for two years in high school and even managed to get into a top-tier university just for her. She finally said yes around their sophomore or junior year, and they got married shortly after graduation. Who knew… I was actually touched back then, thinking that even though he has a temper, he was devoted. I even dragged you along once to deliver one of the love letters he wrote her in college…”

Meng Chi had absolutely no memory of delivering a love letter. After all, she and Jiang Sitian were only middle school classmates; while they had kept in touch, she hadn’t really met her friend’s family.

She vaguely recalled Jiang Sitian showing her a wedding photo. She couldn’t remember his face well, only that Wen Nianzhou was very beautiful. She remembered commenting back then that it was no wonder Jiang Yiku had spent years chasing her.

Growing up, Jiang Sitian had been picked on by her brother constantly, so she never had a good word for him and always called him by his full name. Over time, Meng Chi had picked up the habit too.

In middle school, everyone had those budding romantic feelings. Jiang Sitian had always envied the relationship between her brother and Nianzhou, often sighing to Meng Chi and complaining that the boys in their class were “sent by the Monkey King”—always jumping around and never staying grounded. She had lamented about when she would finally stop being classmates with “monkeys” and find a romantic love of her own.

At that time, Meng Chi hadn’t felt much; she was busy with her studies and painting. Under Sitian’s influence, she would occasionally remark that Jiang Yiku seemed quite devoted.

Reflecting on it now, Meng Chi realized she had never really had romantic inclinations or special thoughts about the opposite sex while growing up.

Was she normal?

She had never thought there was a problem; she was just busy with school. She assumed things would change once she had free time. This was the first time she had doubted herself, but a moment later, she brushed the thought aside, attributing it to the shock of being cheated on.

Meng Chi was indeed surprised by the news about Jiang Yiku. Thinking back to how Jiang Sitian used to ramble about her brother’s love story, she let out a small sigh.

Jiang Sitian picked up her beer and sipped the foam. Seeing that Meng Chi hadn’t responded, she said in surprise, “You don’t remember the love letter? The day before we delivered it, Jiang the Dog messed up my hair while cutting it. I cried all night. My parents had no choice but to take me to the barber and give me a boyish buzz cut. You even said it looked handsome… I was a kid then, my anger vanished quickly, and I was curious about my future sister-in-law, so I agreed to deliver the letter. But right before school ended, I got shy and dragged you along. We got lost on the university campus, and it was Sister Nianzhou who found us. She said she spotted me instantly because I looked like a ‘miniature version of Jiang the Dog’… Oh, and she praised you for being pretty, teasing us by asking where this ‘little boy’ had found such a pretty ‘little girl’ to hold hands with…”

“…With lines that terrible, it’s no wonder I don’t remember.” Meng Chi pressed her hand to her forehead, feeling a surge of embarrassment. She suddenly remembered the original topic they had strayed from. After a moment of thought, she asked, “Does Jiang Yiku have something to do with those people in the corner?”

Jiang Sitian took a quick drink and set the glass down. “I got sidetracked. When you came up, did you see the ‘friend-making’ info on the display screen? Some of those photos were uploaded by someone in that corner—that ‘Little Tiger seeking adoption’ thing. The ‘special service’ Jiang the Dog found on his birthday was through one of those QR codes labeled ‘seeking adoption’ in a bar. And… I saw his secret WeChat account; two of the people sitting further inside look like people I saw on his ‘special’ tag list.”

Meng Chi looked at the person in the corner again; that person was sitting on the outermost edge. Meng Chi said absently, “How do you know so much about Jiang Yiku’s affairs?”

“It’s a long story. Sister Nianzhou thought our family knew about that scumbag’s behavior and was intentionally hiding it from her. She was furious with us. I had to explain myself a thousand times and even chased her to her office building before she’d see me. Later, she told me a lot. Maybe she trusts me, or maybe she just wanted to verify the ‘timeline of his crimes,’ but she showed me some of his WeChat screenshots… The level of explicitness in those chats makes my toes curl just thinking about it…”

Meng Chi turned her face, her expression turning much more serious. She said softly, “Why did you think I would judge you because of what Jiang Yiku did?”

Her meaning was clear: she wouldn’t conflate his actions with Jiang Sitian.

Jiang Sitian blinked, taking a moment to realize Meng Chi was responding to her earlier worry.

They had been talking for so long that Sitian had forgotten she even mentioned it, but Meng Chi remembered and made sure to reassure her. She said, touched, “Meng Chi, is it my imagination? In this moment, you don’t seem quite so ‘cold and aloof.'”

“…” Meng Chi silently drank her hot water.

A moment later, Jiang Sitian sensed something was off. Her “aloof” friend seemed very concerned about the people in that corner, glancing there frequently.

Sitian took a few looks herself and realized there were indeed handsome guys there. In the spirit of helping her friend move on from her heartbreak, she encouraged her: “Do you want to go over and say hello?”

Her friend turned her face toward her, expressionless.

Jiang Sitian doubled down: “Don’t worry about me. You’re different from my brother. He’s married; what he did was immoral. But you? You’re a single, gorgeous woman. You can do whatever you want.”

Her friend lowered her head and silently took another sip of hot water.

Sitian knew her friend was a “proper” person and worried about making her angry. After the teasing, she was about to change the subject when her “aloof” friend set down the water glass and spoke: “You’re right.”

“…?”

A moment later, Jiang Sitian watched the elegant silhouette walk away, her jaw dropping. She swallowed hard, trying to stay calm while recalling the way her friend had downed that last bit of hot water before leaving.

Sitian reached out, grabbed the glass from the opposite seat, poured the remaining hot water into her own cup, and gulped it down.

She wiped her mouth, looking at the cup in confusion.

This water isn’t alcoholic, is it?

Meng Chi hadn’t drunk “fake” booze, so… what was happening?

Jiang Sitian had been encouraging her, but she never expected her friend to actually do it. If it were anyone else, she wouldn’t be this shocked. If she told their other middle school classmates about this, they’d think she was dreaming. They’d say, “No way—you might as well tell me Meng Chi found life meaningless and decided to become a nun.”

Sitian patted her chest, telling herself that if you live long enough, you’ll see everything. She took a small sip of her beer to calm her nerves and turned to look again. This time, she spat out her drink. Luckily, it wasn’t much; it just dampened her collar and didn’t hit any other tables.

Her eyes went wide, her face turning red from coughing as she witnessed the scene:

The “aloof” Meng Chi was standing in front of an enchanting woman in the corner. She looked incredibly nervous, her body completely still, her back even appearing a bit stiff. There were handsome men nearby, but she showed no sign of moving toward them.

Jiang Sitian couldn’t believe it. After drinking more hot water to soothe her throat, a thought flashed through her mind. Seeking proof, she hurried over to sit in Meng Chi’s old seat. Looking toward the corner, she realized there was a partition from that angle that completely blocked the handsome men from view. All you could see was the woman with the seductive aura.

So, from the very beginning, Meng Chi was heading for the beautiful woman.

…

Shen Qingruo had been busy with work lately. She had planned to get a good night’s sleep, but her friend Xie Zhen had been badgering her to come out for a drink.

The bar they were at seemed to be newly opened. The interior design was somewhat interesting—the duplex layout with metal materials and unique details—but after looking at it for a while, it felt rather mundane.

Xie Zhen had invited several other people. Shen Qingruo couldn’t even name two or three of them; they were just friends of friends of friends. In these surreal night scenes, a “friend” was just someone you’d had a drink with once or met twice.

Aside from her actual friend, everyone else bored Shen Qingruo. After sitting for a while, she began plotting an excuse to leave.

Should she say her house was on fire? Or that she had been robbed?

Or maybe both: her house was currently burning down and being looted.

On the surface, she remained motionless, but internally she was crafting tragic sentences. That’s right, I’m the ‘lucky goose’ on tomorrow’s local news.

Just then, a girl approached from not far away. She was holding a glass, her eyes a mix of curiosity and nervousness. She stopped right in front of Shen Qingruo.

At the same time, laughter erupted from the next table. A flamboyant man twisted his waist and sat on the lap of a pot-bellied, middle-aged man. Ignoring the gazes around them, he said in a high-pitched voice, “Are you going to leave with me or not? If you don’t, I’m going to find someone else…”

Meng Chi pulled her gaze away from the side table and turned around, unexpectedly meeting the eyes of the person in front of her.

Up close, this woman was breathtakingly beautiful. Her refined, three-dimensional features were visually striking, drawing one in before they even realized it. Her aura was enchanting, a natural seductiveness that avoided being tacky by the finest of margins. She was like a poppy swaying under the night sky.

The woman glanced at the side table, then back at Meng Chi. Seeming to realize something, she let out a low laugh.

Meng Chi’s cheeks suddenly burned. She didn’t know what the woman was laughing at or what she should say. She stood there like a “clumsy goose,” stiff and upright.

Shen Qingruo tilted her head back, crossing her long legs. Looking at the girl who was desperately trying to act calm, she spoke with a leisurely smile:

“I’m sorry, but I don’t take orders from little sisters.”