Chapter 74: Jealousy
Xiao Moyan’s face was full of smiles. She quickly walked over to Xia Lingying and grabbed her hand, locking their fingers tightly together.
“How did it go?”
Xia Lingying’s face turned red. She quickly pulled her hand back, bit her lip, and looked at Xiao Moyan shyly.
“There’s still someone…”
Xiao Moyan, who only had eyes for her Xia Lingying, finally noticed the very much alive and pretty woman standing beside them. But she still felt annoyed. So what if someone’s here? Does that mean they can’t hold hands? Xiao Moyan turned around and looked coldly at the obstacle. When she saw clearly who it was, her body trembled and she froze.
Xia Lingying didn’t notice. She turned and gave Director Fang an apologetic smile, then turned back to introduce,
“This is my friend, Xiao—”
“President Xiao, I know. Hello, Fang Ruoxi.”
Fang Ruoxi spoke softly, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Xiao Moyan. Xia Lingying had just turned back to smile shyly at Fang Ruoxi, but happened to catch the tears in her eyes. She paused for a second, pressed her lips together, then silently walked to Xiao Moyan’s side. Without saying anything, she secretly reached out and gave a firm pinch to a certain soft waist that was still zoning out.
“Hiss—”
Xiao Moyan sucked in a breath from the pain, lowered her head, and stared wide-eyed at Xia Lingying.
What? What’s that for?!
A sharp glare flew over, but Xia Lingying did not even look at her. Fang Ruoxi came back to her senses, gave an awkward smile, said no more, and walked ahead to lead the way.
“Xiaxia will get used to this place in a few days. It’s not exactly bustling, but it’s lively. If you don’t want to eat at the cafeteria at noon, you can just go down and buy something.”
“Mm.”
Xia Lingying answered casually, her eyes still glaring at Xiao Moyan. Xiao Moyan rubbed her waist and pouted but said nothing, following the two slowly into the café. She had seen through it now—this Xia Lingying’s so-called pride and coldness were all an act for strangers. Now it looked like she was a total overbearing queen. First she bit a big mark on her neck without a word, now she pinched her hard again without a word. If this keeps going, she really might have to use her taekwondo to deal with this little woman.
Fang Ruoxi and Xia Lingying were talking on and off about the radio station, but Fang Ruoxi kept glancing at Xiao Moyan. Xiao Moyan only frowned and held Xia Lingying’s hand tightly in her right hand without saying a word.
“Xiaxia, your voice is soft and relaxing to listen to. I discussed it with the station staff, and we decided to let you try the evening show first. As for the prime time slots, we can take our time later.”
Fang Ruoxi said with a smile. Xia Lingying took a sip of coffee and nodded, forcing a smile.
“Okay.”
Xia Lingying was not too satisfied with the time slot, but since she was new, she had to compromise on many things. Having been in the entertainment circle for a long time, this kind of grievance was nothing.
Xiao Moyan, who had been silent while listening to the two talk, suddenly frowned. She looked up and, for the first time, stared directly into Fang Ruoxi’s eyes.
“Evening show? After midnight?”
“Yes.”
Fang Ruoxi looked straight into Xiao Moyan’s eyes as she answered. Her hand holding the mug tightened again and again. Xiao Moyan shook her head, then put her arm around Xia Lingying’s shoulders right in front of Fang Ruoxi. She ignored Xia Lingying’s slight struggle, pulled her closer, raised an eyebrow, and said,
“Can the time be moved earlier? My woman shouldn’t work that hard.”
Xiao Moyan’s words made Xia Lingying tremble in her arms. She looked up at Xiao Moyan’s side profile in disbelief. Xiao Moyan had always been bold, but she also knew exactly how far she could go in every situation. She was domineering, yet rational. Now, saying something so bold in front of… a stranger they just met—could it really be like what she had guessed?
After hearing Xiao Moyan’s words, Fang Ruoxi still looked calm, but her eyes stared at Xiao Moyan with a complicated expression for a while. Then she gave a soft smile.
“Is President Xiao trying to make things difficult for me?”
“Not at all. I just hope Director Fang can give me this favor.”
Xiao Moyan’s signature smile returned to her face. Fang Ruoxi stared at her, stunned for a moment, then quickly looked down with a slightly red face and said no more. She frowned, lost in thought. A beam of afternoon sunlight shone on her body, making her skin look as fair and clean as if it were see-through. Xia Lingying quietly watched her. For some reason, that delicate side profile felt familiar. Without warning, a name flashed in her mind—Fang Ruolin?
“Haha, since President Xiao asked, of course I have to give you this face. Besides, Tianhuang and—”
“No. Just follow the original plan.”
Xia Lingying cut them off and looked firmly at Fang Ruoxi. She didn't want to rely on Xiao Moyan. At least when it came to work, she wanted to be completely independent.
"This—"
Fang Ruoxi looked a bit surprised at Xia Lingying, but when she accidentally saw the scar on Xiao Moyan’s neck, she bit her lower lip and swallowed the rest of her words.
"But—"
"Xiao, I have to build up experience."
"This—" Fang Ruoxi looked a bit surprised at Xia Lingying, but when she accidentally saw the scar on Xiao Moyan’s neck, she bit her lower lip and swallowed the rest of her words. "But—" "Xiao, I’ve got to build up experience." Xia Lingying shook her head and looked at Xiao Moyan, not letting her interrupt. Xiao Moyan saw that she’d made up her mind, so she didn’t push it. She sat back in her chair with a gloomy face and stayed quiet. Fang Ruoxi, on the other hand, kept staring straight at Xiao Moyan. Xia Lingying felt more and more confused, and her eyes kept shifting between the two. To avoid dead air, Fang Ruoxi would look up now and then and say a few words to Xia Lingying. Xiao Moyan just sat to the side without a word, her whole body giving off a cold vibe. The three of them made small talk for about half an hour. Then Fang Ruoxi stood up, smiling at the two of them. "I’ve got to head back. There’s still work at the station." She looked at Xiao Moyan with a half-smile and said quietly, "I’m sure we’ll meet again." She stood up, nodded, waved, and walked away. Before leaving, she turned back one last time and gave Xiao Moyan a long, quiet look. Once she was gone, Xia Lingying and Xiao Moyan fell into a short silence again. Xia Lingying pressed her lips together and didn’t speak. Her instincts told her there was something going on between Xiao Moyan and Fang Ruoxi. But as a woman, she selfishly hoped Xiao Moyan would tell her that she was wrong. While she was stuck, not knowing what to say and feeling torn up inside, Xiao Moyan took a sip of cold coffee. She stared off in a daze, then slowly spoke. "Xiaxia, Fang Ruoxi... she was my first love."
Xia Lingying listened quietly, not saying a word.
Xiao Moyan saw the obvious displeasure on Xia Lingying’s face. She snapped out of it, shook her head, and gave a small smile.
"Xiaxia, no matter what, you have to believe that from now on, there’s only you in my heart."
"How did you two fall in love?"
Xia Lingying ignored what Xiao Moyan said. She just wanted to get to the bottom of their relationship.
Knowing Xia Lingying’s personality, knowing she would dig deep no matter what, Xiao Moyan sighed. She had not planned to hide anything anyway, so she said,
"We met in college, same major, same class. We had the same goals and ideas, so we got close and spent the simplest and happiest time together. Later, after we graduated, when we had to choose between career and love, we both chose to give up the latter. After that, we stopped keeping in touch."
Xiao Moyan tried to sum up their relationship using the plainest words possible. She had seen how jealous Xia Lingying could get. The weather was so nice today. She really did not want to ruin it and end up in the dumps because of someone else. Seeing Fang Ruoxi again brought some pain in her heart, but Xiao Moyan clearly knew that it was not love—just a little regret over her first love.
"What’s her relationship with Fang Ruolin?"
Xia Lingying kept asking. She squinted her eyes at Xiao Moyan like she wanted to see right through her.
Xiao Moyan gave a bitter smile and shook her head.
"Don’t look at me like that, like you’re interrogating a criminal. Fang Ruolin is Fang Ruoxi’s younger sister. I only found out later."
"You only found out later? Didn’t you say you two never kept in touch?"
"I heard it from Fang Ruolin."
"You two are so close. How could you not know about her sister? You must’ve hung out together at least a few times."
Xia Lingying spoke aggressively, with a faint fire dancing in her eyes.
"Are you jealous?"
Xiao Moyan looked at Xia Lingying with a soft smile. In her eyes, Xiaxia’s little pout, lightly furrowed brows, and cold jealous look were very cute.
Xia Lingying rolled her eyes at Xiao Moyan fiercely, but her heart was already a mess.
That’s right. She was jealous. Very jealous! Did Xiao Moyan really have women all over the place like Mrs. Xu said? Why does she always run into some old flame no matter where she goes? This time it’s a first love—what about next time?
"Xiaxia, you said you would trust me. It’s just an old first love I haven’t seen in years. Don’t take it so seriously. Aren’t we going to the supermarket? Let’s go. Mrs. Xu’s probably already getting anxious."
Seeing that this little woman was really upset, Xiao Moyan quickly changed the subject, trying to distract her. Xia Lingying stared at her with a blank face, twirling the cup in her right hand. Just when Xiao Moyan was starting to get nervous from her gaze, Xia Lingying suddenly stopped moving, looked up at her, and gave a sweet smile.
"Alright, let’s go to the supermarket."
For no reason, a chill blew through Xiao Moyan’s heart. She gave Xia Lingying a fake smile that did not reach her eyes, stood up, and got ready to leave.
Author’s Note:
So sleepy. Yezi’s got an exam on the fourth, please forgive me for updating a little late.
Ai. Hope I don’t fail. I haven’t studied much yet... Being a student is really tough.