Volume 4 Chapter 15 (1/2)
Book 4 Chapter 15 – Chance Encounter
Ying Mei walked to a sofa on display nearby and sat down, closely scrutinizing Li Yiming and Fu Bo every step of the way. She felt that something was off with Li Yiming since he gave her a strange feeling, but she could not quite tell what it was exactly. As for Fu Bo, she had already ”forgotten” about him.
Ji Xiaoqin followed Ying Mei around with an embarra.s.sed expression. Her dream from the night before came to her mind again and she felt the strength in her limbs fading away.
”Are you tired? We can take a break if you want.” Ying Mei no longer had her attention on Ji Xiaoqin and attributed the latter's unease to nothing more than a lack of sleep. She thought that Ji Xiaoqin was a nocturnal person, since otherwise there was no way she could have met Guo Xiang.
”Hey, didn't you say that she was your cla.s.smate? Show me what you can do.” Fu Bo poked at Li Yiming with his elbow and exhorted him with a smirk.
”Stop it.” Li Yiming rolled his eyes and turned around. Ji Xiaoqin was the last person he wanted to have a face-to-face with right now.
”Well, if you're not going, then I will.” Fu Bo grimaced and walked toward Ying Mei before Li Yiming could stop him. His misfortune had already instilled in him a rather shameless character, since he was going to be forgotten right after.
”Can I sit here?” Fu Bo addressed Ying Mei politely, but instead of waiting for an answer, he sat down straight next to Ying Mei.
”This place is filled with sofas, can't you find somewhere else to sit?” Ying Mei frowned and replied coldly. She had chosen her spot to observe Li Yiming and Fu Bo from a distance, but she did not expect Fu Bo to approach her on his own.
”It's because you're here.” Fu Bo said with a firm voice and a rather aggressive stare that surprised Ying Mei, given his frail physical appearance.
”Oh?” Owing to her cold air, it had been a while since Ying Mei had last met someone who dared to try to start a conversation out of the blue with her.
”You're also buying furniture?” Ying Mei looked at Li Yiming, who was still busy at the register.
”My friend's moving into a new apartment. He's setting himself up in his new home.” Fu Bo smiled; he knew he was getting close to success. 'The women who possess a cold air, especially those who always seem to be pus.h.i.+ng others away, are actually the most fragile and are sensitive inside. Just the right amount of initiative and the protective bubble will be easily shattered. I'm already halfway there if she's willing to talk to me.'
”Here's your receipt, sir. Please conserve it. Just to verify, the delivery address is room 906 of building 139, Second District, correct?” The cas.h.i.+er wiped away the sweat on her forehead and gave the receipt to Li Yiming with trembling fingers. For some reason, she wrote down her phone number on the receipt.
”Yes, that's right.” Li Yiming completely disregarded the cas.h.i.+er and walked toward Fu Bo unwillingly. 'And here I thought he led a sad life. Can't tell if it's the experiences that make someone's character or the other way around…'
”Your friend lives in building 139?” Ying Mei, who had been paying close attention to Li Yiming the whole time, grew nervous. 'That's right in front of Ji Xiaoqin!'
”Are you done?” Fu Bo was also alarmed at hearing Ying Mei's remark; unlike himself, Li Yiming was not going to be forgotten, so it would be appropriate if everyone knew about his address. He acted as if he did not hear the question, offered no confirmation, and turned toward Li Yiming.
”You're here? What a coincidence.” Li Yiming tried his best to overcome his embarra.s.sment and greeted Ji Xiaoqin. He could not simply ignore her, but he could at least pretend that he was barely an acquaintance.
”What… a coincidence.” Ji Xiaoqin looked away. Although she had recovered from the weakness in her limbs, a tingling sensation remained between her legs. 'Guo Xiang's cousin is right here…'
”You know each other?”
”So you actually do know each other?”
Ying Mei and Fu Bo asked the same question. Only Fu Bo seemed to be amused whereas Ying Mei was baffled.
”College cla.s.smates.” Li Yiming explained, a little frustrated. Seeing that Fu Bo had no intentions to leave, he sat down right next to him.
”Hi, I'm Guo Ying. I'm Ji Xiaoqin's cousin.” 1
”Hi, I'm Li Yiming. This is my friend, Fu Bo.” Li Yiming was confused when he heard Ying Mei's self-introduction. 'A cousin? I've never heard about Ji Xiaoqin's having a cousin. The shopping bags, these are all from designer stores… Guo Ying… Unless?'
Fu Bo smiled politely and looked away. He had given up by now, since Li Yiming's ”bragging” turned out to be true. It would a mess when there was the possibility of him seeing Ji Xiaoqin again. 'Not only that, by the looks of it… I'd bet that these two weren't just ”friends”.'
”You live right next to each other?” Ying Mei finally noticed Ji Xiaoqin's unease. She then thought about what happened in the morning. 'Wait… I didn't find anyone in her apartment… unless it happened somewhere else?'
”It's a pretty big coincidence. I've only moved here recently,” Li Yiming admitted the fact without hesitation, since it was not something that could be covered up. 'Regardless of whether this Guo Ying is actually Ji Xiaoqin's cousin or not, it'll be hard to avoid seeing her again. I might as well be honest. I'll just move away after three months.'
Fu Bo seemed a little suspicious by Li Yiming's answer. 'Don't tell me he bought the apartment because of this girl…?'
”Oh really? That's quite the coincidence then.” The answer also caught Ying Mei's attention. 'I need to have this investigated thoroughly. It might just be the single most valuable piece of information I've obtained today.'