Qin Zhao was brought to the office by Shen Yixuan. As soon as the door opened, Qin Zhao almost fainted on the spot!
Piercing, strange music surrounded her, coming from the swaying, bewitching flowers.
Hakimi, Hakimi, you're such a lovely little thing.
Hakimi, Hakimi, your existence is so sweet.
Hakimi, Hakimi, your eyes are full of love.
Hey Hakimi, your loveliness blends into the wind.
Hey Hakimi, you're already in my heart...
Qin Zhao looked at the scene before her, speechless.
It contrasted starkly with the expectant look on Shen Yixuan's gorgeous face.
Qin Zhao criticized Shen Yixuan in her mind - did she really expect her to praise this?
Seeing Qin Zhao's reaction, Shen Yixuan was a little dissatisfied. She came over to pinch Qin Zhao's cheeks, determined to squeeze a smile out of her.
Qin Zhao reluctantly cooperated, and asked, "Boss Shen, what are you doing?"
Shen Yixuan let go of her face and pointed to the bewitching flowers in the office. "Don't you think they're cute?"
Qin Zhao glanced at the bewitching flowers' big sunglasses. "They're... alright, I guess."
"Right! Why don't you pick a song for us to listen to together? I pre-recorded some."
Qin Zhao wasn't in the mood to listen to music, but was very polite. "Anything is fine."
So the two of them sat among the bewitching flowers, listening to their strange songs.
Twenty minutes later, Shen Yixuan said, "Did you hear that Nan Yue is going to marry Xu Yiyang?"
Qin Zhao replied, "Mm-hmm."
Shen Yixuan went on, "I was worried you might feel down or get upset over it, so I got all this stuff to try and cheer you up."
"Thank you," said Qin Zhao, turning to look at Shen Yixuan's profile. "But is that really why?"
Shen Yixuan asked in confusion, "What else could it be?"
Qin Zhao patted Shen Yixuan's hand and gently admonished, "Stop pretending."
Shen Yixuan's mouth twisted, and tears burst from her eyes without warning. She hugged Qin Zhao and broke down sobbing!
Qin Zhao calmly patted Shen Yixuan's back like a big sister, consoling her, "There, there, just let it all out."
In fact, the one who was really heartbroken was Shen Yixuan - Nan Yue was her first love.
She had set all this up under the pretense of consoling Qin Zhao, but was really consoling herself.
Qin Zhao saw through her intentions at a glance. Though she looked calm on the surface, inside her heart was bleeding.
Her whole being exuded a profound sadness.
Qin Zhao rubbed her abused ears.
She marveled - so this was how great beauties cried.
She sobbed towards the heavens, not caring for image at all, just venting her emotions without restraint.
Seeing Shen Yixuan cry with such gusto, Qin Zhao felt her own mood was purged as well.
She suddenly understood something she had never grasped before.
Why did people watch mukbang videos when they were hungry or couldn't eat certain foods?
And why did they still get some satisfaction from it?
This was the so-called vicarious experience.
Shen Yixuan had brought Qin Zhao to be her vicarious experience, but instead Qin Zhao became Shen Yixuan's.
By the time Shen Yixuan finished crying, half an hour had passed. She cried until she had no more tears left.
All she could do was keep sobbing to fill up the time.
"Cried enough?" asked Qin Zhao.
Shen Yixuan nodded blankly.
"I have an even better way to make people happy. Do you want to try it?"
Shen Yixuan nodded again.
Qin Zhao suggested, "Let's go drinking at a bar. If you happen to meet someone nice, you can bury your feelings for Nan Yue in your memories once and for all - wouldn't that solve things perfectly?"
Shen Yixuan wiped the tear streaks from her face and said, "But I've never been to a bar before. Won't I embarrass myself?"
"No, you'll be very popular. Call Pei Fanzhi to come with you, her social skills are great and she can help you out."
"Alright, I did kind of want to see what it was like anyway."
When evening came, the three of them first went home separately to change into clothes suitable for going to a bar, and met up in front of a shopping mall.
Qin Zhao was the first to arrive. She sat at a roadside cafe, stirring her coffee with a spoon, bored as she waited for them.
It was already March, and the weather was neither cold nor hot - perfect dress-up weather.
Qin Zhao didn't like complicated clothes, prioritizing comfort above all. Going to a bar, it was best not to dress too sexy, so as not to attract trouble.
She had chosen a white shirt and light blue jeans, paired with Hawaiian print sneakers, giving off a youthful vibe.
But together with her chestnut-colored long curly hair and charming face, it added a touch of mature charm.
The two contrasting attributes created an allure of forbidden fruit.
She attracted the gazes of passersby.
One guy on a bike stared so intently at her that he crashed into a telephone pole and got a bloody nose.
The two college girl-looking students sitting across from her whispered about her.
The girl in orange poked her friend staring at her phone and said, "Look, that big sister over there is so pretty!"
Without lifting her head from her phone, her friend replied, "How pretty could she be? Is looking at pretty girls more fun than looking at your phone?"
"Of course! Just look, it's free eye candy. I guarantee if you look, your dreams tonight will all be beautiful ones!"
"Oh really? If it doesn't have that effect, you're treating me to coffee."
"Fine, stop talking and look quickly! Once that sister leaves we won't get to see her!"
The girl in black finally looked up reluctantly...
"Wow, she really is gorgeous."
"See, I told you!"
The girl in black stood up, but was grabbed by the girl in orange. "What are you doing?"
"Going to ask for her phone number!"
The two whispered back and forth for a bit, then walked over to Qin Zhao's table together. Carefully, they said, "Sister, can we add you on WeChat?"
Qin Zhao looked up at the two girls. "What do you want my WeChat for?"
The girl in orange explained, "Sister, don't worry, we won't bother you normally. It's just...because you're so pretty, I want to see the photos and selfies you post on Moments."
"Fine," said Qin Zhao. She took out her phone and let them scan her code.
After adding Qin Zhao on WeChat, the two girls bounded off happily.
Qin Zhao's mouth quirked up in a smile. She thought, youth is great.
Her phone suddenly vibrated. Qin Zhao picked it up and saw it was from an unfamiliar number.
She answered, and a voice processed through a voice changer came through. "Qin Zhao, how do you feel about Nan Yue getting married?"
Qin Zhao asked in a flat tone, "What do you mean?"
The other party laughed loudly. "I didn't expect you to be able to pretend so well. Your heart must be bleeding right now. Let's see how long you can keep pretending!
When Nan Yue is married and has a child with another man, as good as you are at pretending, I bet you can even smile and be the child's godmother! Hahahaha..."
Qin Zhao rolled her eyes and interrupted his arrogant laughter. "Who the hell am I pretending for? You're spouting nonsense.
But you, Ye Chenxi - did you really think I wouldn't recognize your stupid voice with that old man filter?"
Ye Chenxi stopped laughing, but didn't stop well - he let out a pig squeal.
Qin Zhao: "......"
She suppressed the urge to burst out laughing and pressed her lips tightly together.
Embarrassed, Ye Chenxi was silent for a while before pretending nothing had happened. He asked, "How did you recognize me?"
"Other than you, no one I know has a voice as nasty as yours."
Ye Chenxi immediately exploded in anger, slamming the bed board. He started cussing out Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao quickly hung up, blocking the noise!
Ye Chenxi called her several more times but she rejected them all, eventually just blocking him.
Whatever else he wanted to say later wasn't important. Their earlier conversation had already revealed that the manipulator behind Nan Yue and Xu Yiyang's marriage was none other than Ye Chenxi.
Since he couldn't succeed himself, he got Xu Yiyang to take his place.
He really was a lingering evil spirit.
In the distance, Pei Fanzhi and Shen Yixuan were walking over.
Qin Zhao put the unpleasant person out of her mind and stood up, waving to the two women.
They quickly approached, and Shen Yixuan said, "Sorry to keep you waiting, there was some traffic on the way."
Pei Fanzhi added, "We walked the last kilometer on foot."
Qin Zhao just smiled and shook her head. "Not long, I just got here myself. Let's go."
