After Mi Cai decisively hung up my phone, I no longer had any illusions about her. I had to bear the consequences of my own actions.

Actually, it was normal for Mi Cai not to come to my rescue. It was my threat to her, “Don’t let me see you in Suzhou,” that was truly unreasonable.

Feeling helpless, I scratched my head. I really wanted to leave this bar. I sincerely didn’t want to face Jian Wei and Xiang Chen. This unwillingness was just to make myself feel better. But tonight, I couldn’t escape because running away would only prove that I couldn’t let go of Jian Wei.

Just ten minutes later, I saw a group of four people enter the bar. Circle and Yan Yan were in the front, while Xiang Chen and Jian Wei were in the back. They walked towards me, chatting and laughing. I wished I could find a hole to hide in.

Jian Wei was dressed in Chanel fashion and carried a new Hermes bag. Her luxurious appearance made me unable to look directly at her. I quickly fixed my gaze on Yan Yan and Circle, and lit a cigarette to hide my uneasiness.

Yan Yan and Circle sat on the sofa to my left, while Jian Wei and Xiang Chen sat on the right. I remained in the middle.

Circle and Yan Yan looked around and asked me in unison, “Where’s your girlfriend?”

“She’s busy tonight, let’s just have fun.” I replied casually.

Yan Yan said displeasedly, “Don’t ruin the mood. Call her again and ask her to come. We’ll wait for a while.”

I glared at Yan Yan and said, “Stubborn girl, if I say she’s busy, then she’s busy. Why are you so stubborn?”

“Don’t bullshit, hurry up and call your girlfriend. I want to see what my future sister-in-law looks like!” Circle kicked me and said.

Xiang Chen continued, “Zhao Yang, don’t be a spoilsport. We made time for this. Just invite your girlfriend out to play. We’re all old friends, it won’t be boring!”

I looked at Jian Wei. At this moment, deliberately keeping my distance from her only made it seem like I couldn’t let go. So I said, “I think it’s fun. Jian Wei and I haven’t seen each other for over three years. Old faces have become new faces, right, Jian Wei, my sister-in-law?”

Jian Wei, who had been silent since she came in, looked at me and asked, “What did you call me?”

As soon as Jian Wei asked this, my deliberately casual attitude instantly crumbled. For a moment, I didn’t know how to respond to her question.

Circle quickly came to my rescue and said to Jian Wei, “Zhao Yang didn’t call you wrong. Strictly speaking, you can be considered his sister-in-law. When you and Xiang Chen get married, it will be even more appropriate.”

Jian Wei glanced at Circle and said, “Why are you so excited? Did I say he called me wrong? I just didn’t hear clearly earlier.”

Circle awkwardly smiled, and I remained silent. Xiang Chen hugged Jian Wei in his arms and whispered something in her ear that no one else could hear. But this intimate gesture stabbed my heart with pain.

At this moment, I finally understood how Xiang Chen felt when Jian Wei and I were together, openly displaying our affection.

I picked up my beer and took a sip. I wanted to leave this place. I knew that as long as I still loved Jian Wei, this gathering would be torture for me. But in the eyes of Xiang Chen, and even Circle and Yan Yan, I had already let go of Jian Wei. After all, it had been over two years, and I had a new “girlfriend.”

The waiter brought the drinks that Circle and the others had ordered. Everyone started drinking. Yan Yan leaned towards me and whispered, “Zhao Yang, we know you have a girlfriend now. Circle and I are really happy for you. We were worried that you couldn’t let go of Jian Wei, but now it seems our worries were unnecessary…”

A bitter feeling rose in my heart. Even if I let everyone know that I couldn’t let go, what difference would it make? It was better to hold onto this lie and let my friends feel at ease.

Yan Yan pushed me and said softly, “Hurry up and call your girlfriend, introduce her to us. We’ll have another shopping buddy!”

I forced a smile and said, “Next time, she’s really busy tonight!”

Disappointment appeared on Yan Yan’s face…

Just then, almost all the eyes in the bar suddenly focused on a graceful figure walking towards us. Her figure was so good, and her walk was even more graceful and charming. However, due to the flickering lights, I couldn’t see her face clearly, but that didn’t stop me from recognizing her. It was Mi Cai! Only she had such allure, attracting so many gazes.

Mi Cai noticed me and walked towards me gracefully. I quickly stood up and before she reached everyone, I pulled her aside and asked in a low voice, “Why are you here?”

“Didn’t you say, ‘Don’t let me see you in Suzhou’? I came to see what consequences there would be if you did see me.” Mi Cai looked at me with a smile that wasn’t a smile.

“So, you came to find trouble with me, not to help?” I frowned and said.

Mi Cai looked at me and said, “You were the one who threatened me. How can you say I came to find trouble with you?… Now that I’m here, go ahead and do something.”

I felt like a snake being held by Mi Cai’s seven-inch grip. I was afraid she would expose me in front of everyone, so I had to soften my tone and say, “I was just angry earlier. Don’t take it seriously, okay?”

Mi Cai disdainfully said, “Where did your arrogance go just now?”

“Sister, I was wrong. I promise to be more cautious in the future!”

“Is that you begging for mercy?”

“Yes.”

“Beg again.”

A sense of powerlessness welled up in my heart. I couldn’t resist, so I gritted my teeth and said, “I was wrong. I promise to be more cautious in the future!”

Over there, Circle shouted at me, “Zhao Yang, what are you whispering about? Hurry up and introduce your girlfriend to us.”

“I’m coming.” I replied, then asked Mi Cai, “Are you not angry anymore?”

Mi Cai remained silent, seemingly intentionally making me uneasy. It was then that I realized how difficult this woman was to deal with. She wouldn’t yield to either hard or soft tactics.

I lowered my voice again and said, “Can you say something?””Remember to buy insecticide tomorrow, the cockroaches in the bathroom are as annoying as you!” Mi Cai said before walking towards the crowd.

I was stunned for a moment, then puzzled. Was she letting me off the hook, saving me from a difficult situation?

Mi Cai sat down where I had just been sitting, greeted everyone, and I sat down next to her.

Yan Yan smiled and said to me, “Zhao Yang, you have good taste, your girlfriend is amazing and beautiful!”

“Of course, we are a perfect match! Let me formally introduce you all, this is my girlfriend, Mi Cai.” I spoke with a tone of triumph, but my heart was full of trepidation. Who knows what this unpredictable woman is thinking.

“Hello, everyone.” Mi Cai smiled and greeted everyone.

Circle, Yan Yan, Xiang Chen, in that order, introduced themselves to Mi Cai, and finally, it was Jian Wei’s turn.

Mi Cai and Jian Wei looked at each other, their expressions were equally indifferent, but I couldn’t understand what was hidden beneath their expressions.

Jian Wei spoke first, “We met the other day.”

Mi Cai just nodded. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t the type to be overly friendly with strangers, she was somewhat aloof.

“My name is Jian Wei, I’m Zhao Yang’s ex-girlfriend.”

We are all very open-minded people, so it wasn’t surprising that Jian Wei introduced herself this way. Besides, there was nothing to hide. Clarifying the relationship would make future interactions more straightforward.

Mi Cai responded with a polite smile and said “hello” to Jian Wei, but didn’t say much else. The atmosphere cooled because of her indifference.

Yan Yan started to liven up the atmosphere, asking Mi Cai, “When did you meet Zhao Yang? He’s really good at keeping secrets, we only found out yesterday!”

I nervously watched Mi Cai. If she didn’t expose me at this moment, then today’s uncomfortable gathering could pass without incident.

“It’s been a while.” Mi Cai gave a vague answer, but it was an answer without flaws.

Yan Yan smiled and said, “From now on, we’ll leave Zhao Yang to you. He’s a bit wild, you’ll have to keep him in check.”

Mi Cai nodded and said, “I will, his character is a bit lacking!”

Yan Yan was taken aback for a moment, looked at Mi Cai and then at me, her expression somewhat puzzled.