After parking the car, Jing Yi followed the waiter into the private room where Shen Xi had already ordered and was waiting.
Shen Xi's round face was tense, her expression very serious.
Seeing this, Jing Yi immediately put on a bright smile, her dimples showing as she approached Shen Xi.
"Xi Xi! Long time no see, I've missed you so much!"
Shen Xi glanced at her, her eyes full of doubt.
Missed her?
She'd been back for almost a month and hadn't bothered to contact her. Is that what she called missing her?
Jing Yi noticed Shen Xi's dissatisfaction and laughed awkwardly, moving even closer.
"Alright, alright, it's my fault. I apologize! I'll make it up to you! Blame it on my nearly non-existent memory!"
Jing Yi solemnly promised that she would definitely make up for hurting Shen Xi's feelings.
Shen Xi's small face finally softened, the corners of her mouth slowly turning up. She reached out and hugged Jing Yi, her eyes and brows full of joy, her words of complaint tinged with happiness.
"Jing Yi Yi! You're heartless, coming back for so long without contacting me! Are we still best friends?"
Jing Yi gently patted her back, smiling, "Okay, okay, I'm the heartless one. I'll cover your meals for a whole month! We'll go shopping later, and you can get whatever you want!"
Shen Xi looked up in delight, "Really?"
Jing Yi raised an eyebrow, "Of course!" She was now somewhat of a small-time rich girl, and she could certainly afford this much.
"But, Xi Xi, I'm hungry."
Right now, filling her stomach was more important. She had only eaten a few pastries for breakfast.
Shen Xi reluctantly let go of her, laughing and scolding, "Such a touching moment, and all you care about is food!"
Jing Yi felt a bit wronged; she really was hungry.
The two finally started eating.
"By the way, how did you know I was back in the country?" Jing Yi asked curiously as she picked up some boiled sliced pork in front of her.
Shen Xi opened her mouth, then suddenly stopped, her fingers unconsciously gripping her chopsticks tightly, conflicting emotions flashing in her eyes.
This made Jing Yi even more confused: "What's wrong? Is it not convenient to tell me?"
After a moment's hesitation, Shen Xi decided to tell Jing Yi about the incident.
It all went back to three days ago when Shen Xi accompanied her mother to a banquet. At that banquet, she overheard several young ladies discussing the Jing Family.
Although her family didn't rank high in North River, she had heard of the famous Jing Family.
She initially thought it was just gossip about a wealthy family, but then she heard Jing Yi's name.
Could it just be someone with the same name? Shen Xi was confused at the time, as Jing Yi had never mentioned being part of the North River Jing Family when they were abroad.
But as these young ladies revealed more information, Shen Xi became increasingly certain that the 'Jing Yi' they were talking about was indeed the Jing Yi she knew.
So Shen Xi decided to call Jing Yi to test her, and unexpectedly, it turned out to be true.
"You've never heard that you're the Jing Family's young miss?"
Shen Xi was still amazed that her best friend was actually from a wealthy family, and not just any wealthy family. How could anyone not be surprised?
Jing Yi didn't take it seriously. When she heard Shen Xi mention being a wealthy young miss, she found it amusing.
"Young miss? Don't joke around, how could I be considered a young miss?"
Then, Jing Yi briefly explained the whole situation to Shen Xi.
"No wonder those people said..." Shen Xi trailed off, hesitating to continue.
Jing Yi could guess it was probably not very pleasant, but she became curious.
She had just returned to the country and hadn't had the chance to meet other wealthy families yet, so she was genuinely curious about how they would talk about her.
Shen Xi sighed, wondering why this person seemed to enjoy hearing about her own misfortune.
"They said that the Jing Family had found their real young miss, and you, the fake one, had the nerve to come back with them."
"Is that all?"
Shen Xi glanced at her, knowing that what those people said was certainly more unpleasant.
Jing Yi smiled indifferently. It was normal for wealthy families to gossip, after all. It wouldn't affect her ability to sleep in or the interest in her bank account!
However, at most she was adopted, so how did this turn into a matter of real and fake young misses?
In the novel, the original Jing Yi had quickly socialized with some socialites after returning to the country and began to intentionally or unintentionally use her status as the Jing Family's young miss, which led to the issue of real and fake young misses.
But since her return, she had spent almost all her time with the Jing Family and didn't know any socialites. Or was it that certain plot points were destined to happen?
Jing Yi's mood became heavier, losing her previous relaxed and carefree demeanor.
Shen Xi thought she was upset because of what those people said, and quickly tried to comfort her, "Oh, those people are just foul-mouthed. If worst comes to worst, I'll argue back for you next time!"
Jing Yi looked at Shen Xi, who was clamoring to defend her honor, and smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons.
The person in front of her was her first friend in this world. Shen Xi was a very sweet, cute, and innocent girl, quite different from herself.
"I'm just kidding. It's only a few words, they can't eat me alive!"
Shen Xi felt a bit indignant; those were still very hurtful words.
"But seriously, don't you feel uncomfortable in the Jing Family?"
She had only ever heard Jing Yi mention her grandmother. Since she grew up abroad, she probably wasn't very familiar with the current Jing Family members, right?
"I don't. Don't worry, the Jing Family members are all quite nice."
At least so far, they were easy to get along with. There was just an added 'tiger balm', but that could be considered a spice to an otherwise plain and peaceful life.
Seeing that her expression showed no signs of reluctance, Shen Xi finally felt relieved.
"Then, what about that rumored real young miss?"
Jing Yi looked up at Shen Xi in surprise, "Didn't you hear what her name is?"
Jing Yi had assumed Shen Xi would already know Jing Zejun's name, considering even she had gained 'fame' in the wealthy circles.
Shen Xi's eyes were filled with confusion. What did she mean? Should she know her?
She had heard long ago that the Jing Family had found their biological daughter, but such matters of the top wealthy circles had nothing to do with her.
Jing Yi smiled mysteriously and said, "Her name is Jing Zejun."
Shen Xi frowned slightly upon hearing this, feeling it sounded familiar. When she realized, she suddenly looked up, her expression shocked.
"Jing Zejun?!"
She only knew one Jing Zejun, the female general from that TV drama she loved!
Jing Yi calmly nodded, composedly watching Shen Xi's surprise.
Jing Yi had also watched that TV series featuring Jing Zejun with Shen Xi, so she naturally knew how much Shen Xi liked Jing Zejun.
Shen Xi stared at Jing Yi with wide eyes. This was too much information for just one afternoon!
"So what those gossip accounts said was true!" She had previously thought those gossip accounts were too far-fetched, criticizing how even in this day and age, there were still such entertainment gossips about lost young misses being found by their wealthy parents.
"But I'm still on your side!" Shen Xi suddenly began to express her stance, firmly declaring her position to Jing Yi.
Jing Yi's hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly, looking at her amusedly, a hint of emotion flashing in her eyes.
"It's not like we're going to fight. Don't worry, Jing Zejun is a very gentle person, easy to get along with."
