Chapter Four: Alone in the Shadows

Sister?

Du Xin was momentarily stunned, unable to grasp why Jiang Yingnan had suddenly brought up Du Zhiye. She pressed her lips together, then smiled after a few seconds. “The two of us... hmm?” She blinked playfully. “Nothing special, just like sisters in any ordinary family.”

Her answer was deft and subtle, a masterstroke of tact. She neither claimed a close bond with Du Zhiye nor admitted to any discord. After Du Zhiye’s mother divorced Du Qi, Du Qi married Du Xin’s mother. The two girls were related by blood, but they didn’t share the same mother. Naturally, their relationship was rather distant.

Jiang Yingnan raised his eyebrows, casting a sidelong glance at Du Zhiye, who was devouring her meal with gusto. He lowered his gaze slightly, lost in thought.

They exchanged a few more words of little consequence. When Jiang Yingnan saw that Du Xin had nearly finished eating, he got up to pay the bill.

As they passed Du Zhiye, Du Xin paused, suddenly realizing why Jiang Yingnan had asked about her relationship with Du Zhiye.

“Sister.” Du Xin opened her mouth, but with Jiang Yingnan by her side, she refrained from uttering anything sarcastic.

Du Xin had learned yesterday that Tao Ranming had cheated on Du Zhiye; she had even secretly opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate. Six years of romance, and Du Zhiye seemed to have moved on so easily, still in the mood to dine at a couple’s restaurant.

Yet, compared to the paired-off diners around her, Du Zhiye’s solitary figure seemed rather pitiable.

“Sister, why are you here alone? Where’s Brother Ranming?” Du Xin couldn’t stand to see Du Zhiye happy; she stabbed right at her heart.

Du Zhiye snapped out of her shock. She hadn’t expected Jiang Yingnan’s blind date to be Du Xin. Seeing the two of them standing side by side before her, Du Zhiye frowned, inwardly cursing the ancestors of Table 39 for all eternity.

Of all the men she could have slept with, why did it have to be one connected to Du Xin?

Her grip on the fork tightened as she lifted her eyelids slightly. “Is it against the rules here to dine alone?”

Du Xin shook her head innocently. “Sister, that’s not what I meant. I just thought your relationship with Brother Ranming was so good...”

Du Zhiye’s expression instantly turned cold. She withdrew her gaze and stabbed at her steak with the fork. Her mind was in turmoil, emotions bitter and tangled. She replied stiffly, “He’s busy.”

She meant Tao Ranming.

Du Xin knew it was just an excuse. Tao Ranming wasn’t busy, he’d cheated. The day after their engagement party, no less. He had thoroughly humiliated Du Zhiye.

Seeing Du Zhiye’s unhappy face, Du Xin felt nothing but delight. On any other day, she would have seized the opportunity to humiliate her, but today... She glanced at Jiang Yingnan beside her, then said gently, “Sister, enjoy your meal. Yingnan and I will be going now.”

Du Zhiye nodded faintly in reply, never once glancing at Jiang Yingnan throughout the exchange. Jiang Yingnan, however, studied Du Zhiye for quite a while in secret.

He was surprised; when Du Zhiye had entered the restaurant earlier, she had boldly thrown him flirtatious glances, her intentions unmistakable—she was clearly hoping to sleep with him again. Now, she was suddenly so cold...

Jiang Yingnan was no fool; he quickly deduced the reason.

On the drive back to the Du family home, Jiang Yingnan was silent throughout. Du Xin was anxious, repeatedly wanting to ask about his intentions regarding their relationship, but every time she glanced at his cold, expressionless face, her probing words died in her throat.

When they arrived at the Du residence, Jiang Yingnan was a gentleman, getting out to open the car door for Du Xin himself. Standing in front of the car, Du Xin asked, “Would you like to come in for a while?”