The car sped all the way. Xi Xiaye first brought the documents back to the company. By the time she came out, it was already after working hours, and the sky had already turned dark outside.
Downstairs, her assistant Xiao Mei bade her goodbye. “Director Xi, I’ll go home first. Drive safely!”
Xi Xiaye looked up at the still night sky. She thought about it, then said, “Get in my car. It’s on the way. I’ll give you a ride.”
“There’s no need, Director Xi. There’s still the town bus at this time anyway! It’s too troublesome. I don’t want to trouble you.” Xiao Mei smiled in gratitude.
“The town bus should be quite crowded at this hour. Coincidentally, I want to go to the tea shop near your place for some tea leaves,” Xi Xiaye calmly said before taking out the car keys from her pocket and marching over to the driver’s seat. She pulled the car door open and very quickly hopped in.
Xiao Mei hesitated for a moment before she leaped into the front passenger seat. She put on her seatbelt and thanked her with a broad grin. “Thank you, Director Xi!”
Xi Xiaye nodded slightly before she casually put a CD into the player before starting the car. Then, they were on their way.
The songs that blasted out of the speakers was the perfect music for speeding. Xiao Mei thought the music was familiar, yet she could not put her finger on their titles. She turned to look at Xi Xiaye, noticing that she was leaning her head in one hand while she draped the arm on the car window. The other hand gripped the steering wheel steadily as her weary eyes stared ahead. A cool breeze continued to pour in from the car window, riling up her beautiful hair…
She somehow felt a faint air of repression and desolation.
Xiao Mei hesitated but she still could not help herself. “Director Xi, have you been worn out recently? You seem very tired…”
When she heard this, Xi Xiaye was startled for a moment. Her calm eyes rested on Xiao Mei. “I’m fine.”
“Director Xi, the colleagues in the office have actually been secretly talking about you…”
Xiao Mei suddenly wanted to find a topic to chat about with the girl beside her. Even though Director Xi usually looked very distant, she understood that Director Xi was actually a very approachable and very kind person. She was very caring and considerate towards her subordinates.
When her father had fallen sick and was hospitalized, the expensive medical costs had overwhelmed her. After Director Xi found out, she had immediately handed her $50,000 to help her resolve the emergency, and she had been immensely grateful towards Director Xi.
She even heard that she frequently looked after the orphanage in the north of the city. She offered that orphanage a lot of help.
“What do they say?” Xi Xiaye asked plainly, well aware that the employees of every company would have some internal gossip, which was usually about the upper management, so she expected it.
“They say that you’re talented and good-looking, yet you’re very mysterious. They wonder whether you’re single or not. A lot of the male colleagues in the company want to court you, Director Xi, but they don’t dare to… However, I think that the person that gets to marry you’ll definitely be extraordinary. They’d also be very lucky…”
She felt that Xi Xiaye was in a rather mild mood, so Xiao Mei felt comfortable saying these things.
“Lucky?”
Xi Xiaye muttered softly, then she laughed coldly. Self-mockery flashed across her eyes, then her gaze dimmed again.
When she noticed that Xi Xiaye had suddenly fallen silent, Xiao Mei suddenly did not dare to say anything further and the car instantly fell into a silence again.
She dropped Xiao Mei at the tea shop nearby and picked the tea leaves up. When she drove past a high-class entertainment club under Emperor Entertainment City, she stopped.
Even though the place was not technically the center of the city, it was still crowded.
Xi Xiaye walked in when it was bustling inside. The resident singer on stage was passionately singing a moving song, unlike the usual bars that always blasted music when one entered. This entertainment club was quieter compared to other clubs.
Xiaye had been here a few times although she did not frequent such places. If it were not for the fact that she felt a stifled upset feeling in her heart, she would not have come.
Xiaye sat down in a dark corner of the bar when the bartender smiled and asked her, “Miss, what would you like to drink?”
“A bottle of whiskey please,” Xi Xiaye said softly. When she saw the bartender’s slightly shocked reaction, she just shifted her gaze downwards.
“Miss, whiskey is pretty strong. I’d suggest you get something else. Girls don’t really order this.” The bartender was a very handsome fellow and was doing his job as he smiled and added, “A lot of girls like to drink things like Tears of a Lover or what not. Do you want to try that?”
“There’s no need. Just get me the whiskey,” Xi Xiaye simply said and she lifted a hand to her hurting head.
“Miss, for your whiskey, do you need…”
Before the bartender could finish, Xi Xiaye had already raised her hand to stop him from continuing, then she picked up the bottle and poured herself a drink. She frowned and pulled her attention back to her drink, downing the glass.
Once she emptied the glass, the burn instantly spread down from her throat and then to her chest. In that instant, it seemed as if her entire being was being burnt away.
The dazzling lights flickered and lit up this somber corner. On stage, the song changed one after another. Xi Xiaye did not know how many glasses she had drunk, but no matter how many she downed, she could still vaguely feelclear-headed.
There were some things that she would like to forget, yet she could not no matter what. Not only could she not forget them, but at this moment, the thoughts appeared incredibly clearly in her mind, swallowing whatever remaining self-control she had.
Han Yifeng severing all relations with her, Xi Xinyi’s tearful look begging for her forgiveness, her father’s hostility, her mother’s indifference, and everyone’s warmth gradually fading away…
She had asked herself more than a thousand times if she could redeem herself and make all of her past stay, yet her answer always remained the same: cold air.
How could she make it all stay, how should she move them?
She had tried everything and put great effort in, but no matter what she did, she still could not change anything. She still could not get her parents to reconcile, and she could not force Han Yifeng to return to her side and love her deeply.
Perhaps he had never belonged to Xi Xiaye. How could that count as getting him to return to her side then?
Xi Xiaye lowered her head and chuckled at herself. Her slightly hazy line of sight passed through the swirling liquid in her glass and she looked in dismay at her unbearably haggard appearance. Suddenly, she felt exceptionally bitter.
Look at you, Xi Xiaye…
Look at your battered self right now. You look just like a clown buried in stagnant water. When will you truly understand that once some things leave you, no matter how hard you try, they’ll never come back?
Never ever come back…
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