Chapter 2

Divorce?

Ji Xiran gazed silently at Chu Yuan, saying nothing.

If Chu Yuan were to truly divorce Yan Dai, Ji Xiran would support it with both hands and feet. She was, without a doubt, the person in the world who most fervently wished for their divorce.

Ji Xiran had always been very tolerant of women, rarely disliking anyone—except Yan Dai.

After all, ever since Yan Dai married Chu Yuan, she had constantly made Chu Yuan feel insecure and anxious.

Chu Yuan was her best friend, and after her mother, Ji Yuanlan, she was the second most important person in the world to her.

Ji Xiran found fault with everything about Yan Dai. How could anyone who hurt her best friend be a good person?

Chu Yuan was so beautiful, so lovely, so outstanding, so... (her merits were endless). The fact that Yan Dai didn't cherish her meant she was absolutely blind!

But would Chu Yuan really have the heart to divorce Yan Dai? Ji Xiran didn't believe it for a second.

Ji Xiran was speechless. "I don't believe it."

After all, Chu Yuan had talked about divorce countless times!

Yet every time, the moment she finished speaking, her "love-struck brain" would kick in, and she'd start comforting herself.

Yan Dai must be too busy to remember my birthday.

Yan Dai said she had OCD before we got married, that's why she won't let me touch her.

Our marriage was arranged without any emotional foundation. If I just persevere and make more of an effort, maybe Yan Dai will fall for me after all?

And so it went.

No matter what heartless thing Yan Dai had done to Chu Yuan the previous moment, Chu Yuan would always find some excuse to console herself the next.

Ji Xiran might have had many beautiful older sisters and charming younger sisters around her, but in her heart, Chu Yuan was the only little princess.

In her mind, a pampered Young Lady like Chu Yuan, who had been showered with ten thousand kinds of love since childhood, had always believed the whole world revolved around her. How could she ever stoop so low?

Chu Yuan raised her foot and stomped hard on the designer handbag on the ground, venting her anger. "This time I mean it! I've already decided!"

Ji Xiran played along. "Then I believe you. If you go back on your word and don't divorce, you're a little dog."

Chu Yuan: "......"

She sniffled and fell silent.

Ji Xiran, frustrated by Chu Yuan's lack of resolve, raised her voice. "Chu Yuan! You're so pathetic! She clearly doesn't want anything to do with you, and you're still chasing after her like a dog!"

Chu Yuan shot her a resentful glare. "Why do you have to be so mean..."

Isn't it only natural to coax your wife? What nonsense about dogs and cats!

Moreover, a marriage between wealthy families like theirs is far more than a union between two individuals; it involves the collaborative interests and business dealings of two families.

Thus, Chu Yuan found herself the perfect excuse: "Even if I wanted to divorce, my mother would never agree."

Ji Xiran scoffed coldly. "Heh."

The Eldest Miss Chu, pampered and spoiled since childhood, had never cared about family interests, whether it was her initial dissatisfaction with the arranged marriage or her current desire for divorce.

She simply couldn't bear to part with Yan Dai.

Ji Xiran sighed. "I knew I couldn't take your words seriously when you're drunk. If you had divorced that day, I would have rented the entire square and set off fireworks to celebrate."

Chu Yuan corrected her, "I wasn't drunk."

This was true. She wasn't drunk, just a little dizzy.

If a bit of alcohol could make the Eldest Miss Chu drunk, had her twenty-four years been wasted in vain?!

Ji Xiran unbuckled her seatbelt. "Since you're not drunk, let's go back to my place and have some fun. Do you prefer mature women or sweet girls? My place has both."

"Isn't this a respectable bar?"

"Of course it is. Is it illegal to make a few close friends? You came all the way here after your book signing. What else would you want to do here?"

Ji Xiran paused, then guessed Chu Yuan's motive. "You're just here to throw a tantrum because you're in a bad mood, right? You'll vent your anger and then go home obediently?"

After all, Chu Yuan had done this more than once.

Get upset with Yan Dai, then come to Wink Bar to make a scene. Once she's had her fill, she goes home.

Why doesn't she just confront Yan Dai directly?

Ji Xiran grew angrier as she thought about it. Without waiting for Chu Yuan's response, she continued to twist the knife. "So what if you come here to play? Do you really think Yan Dai hasn't found someone new abroad? How could that be possible?"

In their circle, everyone had at least two or three girlfriends.

Ji Xiran, who only engaged in ambiguous relationships and did whatever she pleased while prioritizing her own enjoyment, was practically a paragon of virtue by comparison.

It wasn't uncommon for married people to have affairs. After all, if their spouse didn't love them, would they just live like a widow?

Yan Dai's coldness toward Chu Yuan made it obvious she had a new lover. Chu Yuan had long suspected this possibility, but now that Ji Xiran had pointed it out, she felt her defenses crumbling.

Fueled by alcohol, Chu Yuan no longer needed Ji Xiran's encouragement. She threw open the car door and strode back into Wink Bar with renewed determination.

Hmph, who could still be hung up on Yan Dai? she thought. If my wife treats me so poorly, I'd be a fool not to find someone new.

Ji Xiran followed her out of the car.

They returned to their original seats, where the group from earlier was still gathered, sipping Long Island Iced Teas and playing Avalon.

When they saw the two women return, several of the staff's eyes lit up, and they swarmed around, chattering excitedly in Ji Xiran and Chu Yuan's ears.

"Boss Ji, who's this sister? We rarely see her here!"

"Sister Xiran, your friend is so beautiful! What's her name?"

"Hey, pretty lady~ Are you single? Let's add each other on WeChat!"

Chu Yuan had married right after graduating from college, a classic case of marrying young. Still in her early twenties, she looked far too youthful to reveal her marital status.

For a wealthy and generous woman like Ji Xiran, her friends were bound to come from similar privileged backgrounds, with equally lavish lifestyles. Combined with Chu Yuan's innocent and sweet "girl-next-door" face, she was a hot commodity in the lesbian circle.

Even without Yan Dai by her side, Chu Yuan remained the center of attention, the little princess everyone doted on. As long as someone was around, they couldn't help but shower her with adoration.

Ji Xiran casually slung an arm around Chu Yuan's shoulders, her gesture and tone so natural that she took the initiative to introduce her, "You can call her Xiao Yuan. She's here to make some friends today."

Xiao Yuan was Chu Yuan's nickname.

Her real name was deliberately withheld because, in Beijing, everyone knew her true identity—

The sole cherished daughter of the Chu Family of the Beijing Circle, she had entered into a powerful alliance marriage with the Yan Family, another prominent clan in the Beijing Circle, right after college. Her wife was Yan Dai, the eldest daughter of the Yan Family.

If her true identity were revealed, Chu Yuan doubted anyone here would pay her any attention.

Not out of unwillingness, but out of fear.

It's rare for ordinary people to get close to a rich second-generation of her social standing.

Ji Xiran was an exception. She loved flirting with girls and even opened Wink Bar to make it easier. Most of the bar's patrons had likely interacted with her.

When Ji Xiran mentioned Chu Yuan, the others mistakenly assumed she was single and looking for a girlfriend. This spurred them to approach with even greater enthusiasm.

Chu Yuan watched the girls flocking toward her. Their faces held a mix of curiosity, genuine interest, and a desire to make friends.

Each girl was beautiful in her own way, exuding a faint, pleasant fragrance.

The round-faced girl was cute, the one with bangs looked demure, the one with arched eyebrows exuded playfulness, and the cool, aloof beauty with sharp features possessed an extraordinary aura. Some were slenderly elegant, others voluptuously charming. Whether their skin was fair or sun-kissed, each had a unique beauty.

Yet Chu Yuan couldn't find that initial, heart-stopping thrill she'd felt when she first met Yan Dai.

Sometimes, the heart is too small to hold more than one person.

Because Yan Dai lived there, everyone else seemed utterly unremarkable.

The more Chu Yuan thought about it, the more frustrated she felt.

Her emotions were a tangled mess. Yan Dai, Yan Dai, what kind of love potion did you give me to make me like you so much?

As Ji Xiran put it, for the past three years, Chu Yuan had been trailing after Yan Dai like a devoted little puppy.

Perhaps it was a fit of pique, or perhaps the accumulated frustration finally erupted at that moment. Regardless, Chu Yuan threw caution to the wind, pulled up her WeChat QR code, and placed it directly on the table.

Beep, beep—several girls immediately scanned her code and added her as a WeChat friend.

Ji Xiran beamed with satisfaction and quickly urged, "Come on, let's keep playing!"

Under Ji Xiran's instigation, the atmosphere grew even livelier. The group switched to a new card game, an amorous version this time, and quickly got high on both the game and the alcohol.

The table's Long Island Iced Teas were emptied in no time.

This drink was only meant for casual sips to test the flavor. Despite its sweet and refreshing taste, it was deceptively high in alcohol.

They say a single Long Island Iced Tea can knock out a novice, and even seasoned drinkers struggle after a couple of glasses—unless you're a super-powered drinker like Chu Yuan.

But the group stubbornly persisted until closing time, finally dispersing with reluctance.

Chu Yuan was completely drunk, too weak to even stand up.

Ji Xiran stepped forward to help her.

It's difficult to lift someone who's not fully conscious, even if Chu Yuan wasn't particularly heavy.

Moreover, when drunk, Chu Yuan wasn't the type to quietly fall asleep. She babbled incoherently, spouting nonsense, and fidgeted restlessly, as if afflicted with hyperactive disorder.

Ji Xiran called over two young women working part-time at the bar to help. With their assistance, they managed to get Chu Yuan into the passenger seat of the car.

Ji Xiran wouldn't leave Chu Yuan at Wink Bar overnight. No matter what, she had to take her home.

Her own home, that is.

As she leaned down to carefully buckle Chu Yuan's seatbelt, she noticed Chu Yuan staring at her with wide, unfocused eyes, her gaze fixed on Ji Xiran for a long, long time.

After more than a minute, Chu Yuan pouted slightly, her voice tinged with grievance. "You're not my wife."

Ji Xiran: "......"

She was utterly speechless.

After all, they'd been having a wild time earlier. Intimate gestures like face-to-face closeness, hand-holding, and ten-second eye contact were par for the course.

After such an energetic night and getting this drunk, how could Chu Yuan still be thinking about that woman Yan Dai?

Too lazy to deal with this drunken fool, Ji Xiran silently stepped on the accelerator.

The car sped down the road, the scenery outside the window blurring into a streak.

Chu Yuan tilted her head slightly, resting her forehead against the glass. After rambling incoherently for a while, she suddenly murmured softly, "I miss my wife."

Ji Xiran: "......"

As a carefree socialite who played the field, Ji Xiran couldn't empathize with Chu Yuan's lovesick state.

But Chu Yuan was already drunk, consumed by her emotions. Even without a response, she continued to babble on.

"I want to see her, I want her back in the country soon, but she definitely doesn't miss me. Maybe... maybe she's even found a foreign girlfriend... wuwu..."

"Wuwu, why am I so miserable? So many girls like me, but she doesn't cherish me. I want to cry so badly."

"We haven't talked in half a month. I'm always the one who initiates contact. Why can't she just reach out to me once?"

"I'm hurting, I'm hurting so much."

By this point, Ji Xiran was furious.

She should have forced more drinks down Chu Yuan's throat at Wink Bar and knocked her out completely.

Gritting her teeth, Ji Xiran snapped, "I don't understand! How could you be so obsessed with Yan Dai?"

How could you love her so much?

Chu Yuan herself didn't know.

But she clearly remembered the scene of their first meeting three years ago.

How to describe the feeling of that first encounter?

Perhaps one word could capture it, heartbeat.