I put my phone back into my pocket and turned to Mi Cai, who was still looking at the snowman, and asked, “Are you free at noon today?”

“Do you have something in mind?”

“A friend invited me for lunch. If you’re free, you can join us.”

“I don’t want to go.” Mi Cai unexpectedly refused me.

I didn’t give up: “Come on, it’s the weekend anyway. Consider it a way to relax.”

“Such gatherings are not relaxing for me. I’m not familiar with them.”

I quickly said, “You know Circle and Yan Yan, they’re not strangers to you!”

Mi Cai suddenly realized, “So your ex-girlfriend will be there too, right? You want me to be your shield again?”

I honestly said, “Yes, every time I face her alone, I feel very uncomfortable!”

“Because you can’t forget her. I can understand your feelings, but I’m not your girlfriend. If this keeps happening, I will feel very awkward too!” Mi Cai gave me a legitimate reason for refusal this time.

“You don’t have to go, but I want to make it clear that I don’t love her anymore. The reason why I feel uncomfortable…” I suddenly couldn’t continue, because I couldn’t find a valid reason for my discomfort.

Mi Cai looked at me and asked, “Hmm? Why do you still feel uncomfortable?”

I couldn’t answer for a long time, and finally said, “Not everything in this world can be explained clearly. Anyway, I don’t love her anymore… Now I’d rather treat her as a friend.”

“If you can really treat her as a friend, why do you still feel uncomfortable? Isn’t that contradictory?”

I waved my hand impatiently and said, “I don’t want to discuss this topic with you!”

Mi Cai shrugged, showing an indifferent attitude.

I checked the time, it was almost noon, so I said to Mi Cai, “At least you can drop me off at the hotel, it’s on your way. I can save some taxi fare.”

“That’s no problem.”

……

I rode in Mi Cai’s car to the agreed hotel. We didn’t talk at all on the way. When we were about to reach our destination, Mi Cai asked me, “Have you finished the renovation plan for the bar?”

“I can finish it and communicate with the decoration company tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

I asked Mi Cai again, “Are you going to the bar tonight?”

“I’m not sure, it depends on my mood.” Mi Cai gave me an ambiguous answer.

I sincerely said to her, “If you have time, just go and have fun. It’s also a way to relax for yourself.”

Mi Cai still didn’t give me a definite answer, driving with a cold expression.

I was bored and started to blurt out, “Are you on your period? You kicked me yesterday, and you’re ignoring me today. You seem very irritable!”

“Zhao Yang, will you die if you don’t do or say something boring?” Mi Cai finally lost her calm, her beautiful eyes filled with disgust as she glared at me.

“See, your current behavior further proves that my guess is correct. You’re just like a ticking time bomb!”

Mi Cai slowed down the car, then stopped by the roadside and said to me, “Get out of the car.”

“We’re still two stops away!… I’m not getting off!”

“But I don’t want to hear your nonsense anymore… You’re really annoying!”

I immediately got into an argument, and said unhappily, “Who’s annoying? Isn’t it just a guess about whether you’re on your period or not? If you dare, don’t have it this month!”

Mi Cai bit her lip and glared at me hatefully, but she couldn’t do anything about me. After a while, she said, “You’re so uncouth.”

“Those who are polite are all beasts in gentleman’s clothing. If you look beyond the surface, you’ll find that I’m a very simple person. Of course, by simple I mean in thought, not in behavior!”

Mi Cai was amused by my words, but she bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. Finally, she said to me, “There are two more stops. Can you promise me not to talk anymore? Otherwise, we can just stay here. I have time to waste with you today, and you don’t have to go to lunch with your friends.”

Mi Cai gave me a way out, and I didn’t want to argue with her anymore, so I immediately promised, “I won’t talk for the rest of the two stops.”

Mi Cai nodded and was about to start the car again, but I quickly stopped her and said, “Wait, one last question… How did we start arguing just now?”

“I forgot.” Mi Cai only answered with two words, then started the car and drove on the road again.

So for the next two stops, I kept thinking about why we started arguing. Finally, when we were about to reach the hotel, I remembered and muttered to myself, “It was about whether she was on her period… Yes, that was it… It’s really something, she could argue with me about this. Why couldn’t she just tell me? Is it that hard to say?”

……

The two stops passed quickly. Before I got out of the car, two Audi A4s drove into the hotel courtyard one after another. One of them was Chen Jingming’s. I didn’t expect Xiang Chen to invite Chen Jingming this time. It seemed that it was a wise choice not to bring Mi Cai to the appointment.

If Chen Jingming knew about my relationship with Mi Cai, he would definitely link the leak of the internal struggle in Zhuo Mei to me. Although I had left Bao Li, such complications should still be avoided.

I unbuckled my seat belt and said to Mi Cai, “I’m leaving now, drive safely.”

In response to my concern, Mi Cai impatiently replied, “Talk less, get out quickly.””Why are you acting so displeased with me today! Be honest with me, are you on your period? If you are, I can accommodate you once in the spirit of humanitarianism. If not, we need to have a serious talk!”

“You’re not getting out of the car? Then I’ll keep driving, onto the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway.”

Remembering the night she left me near the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway, I immediately lost my temper and hurriedly said, “Calm down, calm down… I’m getting out of the car now.”

Mi Cai ignored me, but bent over to open the car door for me. I got out of the car feeling rather foolish, and Mi Cai, having had enough, started the car and quickly disappeared into the traffic.

I turned and walked towards the hotel, my mood shifting like a roller coaster ride. At this moment, although my body was standing in the hotel courtyard, my subconscious was somewhat resistant to the upcoming gathering, but I couldn’t escape it. So, once again, I experienced the helplessness of having to grit my teeth and bear it.

In the face of this helplessness, I realized how much I cherished the times when Mi Cai and I would bicker.

Lost in thought, Chen Jingming and Circle had already parked their car on the other side. Chen Jingming spotted me first, called out to me, and started walking towards me.

Facing Chen Jingming at this moment, I still felt guilty. I forced a smile and walked towards him.

—————-

I just finished the third update, it’s a bit late, sorry!