On the way over, Xie Dingyuan briefly explained to Jiang Fuyue the relationship between Xie Yunqian and the Xie family.
Nominally, she was the Xie family’s Eighth Miss, only two months older than Xie Dingyuan.
But in reality, she was not the old madam’s biological child, nor did she have much to do with the old master, she was merely the daughter of an old friend.
Because her parents died unexpectedly and she had no close relatives to rely on, Fu Wanxiu, seeing that she had lost her parents at a young age, was moved by compassion and brought her back to the Xie family. She followed the generational name character of the first seven daughters and was renamed “Yunqian.”
She was raised in the Xie family and grew up there. The old master and old madam also treated her as their own, never showing favoritism.
Because they were close in age, before the age of six she and Xie Dingyuan got along very well. But after six, Xie Dingyuan began to display astonishing talent in all aspects, and he himself was willing to spend more time studying, researching, thinking, and exploring.
Aside from being a bit prettier, Xie Yunqian had no advantage in terms of intelligence, let alone possessing outstanding talent like Xie Dingyuan’s, so the gap between the two quickly widened.
Xie Dingyuan was busy learning functions and doing experiments, while she was still holding Western dolls and playing hide-and-seek.
The already infrequent meetings soon lost any common topics.
As she grew older, Xie Yunqian became increasingly beautiful and striking, accompanying the old madam to various public occasions, gradually gaining a name for herself in their social circle.
Meanwhile, throughout his long academic life, Xie Dingyuan gradually came to love solitude. He disliked bustle and didn’t like showing his face, his whole mind filled with his subjects, research, and papers.
In fact, his impression of Xie Yunqian wasn’t very deep.
Compared with the other sisters’ attentive concern and care, Xie Yunqian didn’t seem to like assuming the identity of an “older sister.”
She preferred to chat with him about… well… not very interesting topics, such as where a new restaurant had opened, when a new movie was released, or which celebrity was unexpectedly dating which other celebrity, and so on.
Although Xie Dingyuan wasn’t interested, he still maintained the most basic politeness and respect toward family. He would put his phone down, continue doing experiments while listening to her finish, then call his assistant to help Xie Yunqian reserve a restaurant, buy movie tickets, oh, and by the way, also managed to get autographed photos of the two celebrities who were dating.
Oh, and by the way, he also prepared the same gifts for the other seven sisters.
He was very fair.
Jiang Fuyue’s expression turned strange for two seconds: “……?” To be honest, the straightness of this steel-straight man almost twisted her waist out of place.
When people talk about restaurants, movies, and gossip, it’s not for you to do all that.
Xie Dingyuan: “Why are you making that expression? Did I do something wrong?”
Jiang Fuyue straightened her face. “No, you did very well.”
“I think so too. But after that, she stopped looking for me.”
“……” If it were me, I wouldn’t look for you either.
“Then what?”
Xie Dingyuan looked baffled. “What then?”
“You and her, nothing after that?”
“What else could there be? Three years ago she married into M Country, and after that she cut off contact with the family. The old madam also rarely mentioned her anymore.”
He had almost forgotten there was such a person… so why suddenly call to ask him and Yueyue out for a meal?
Although he had doubts, because of that layer of kinship, and since Xie Yunqian happened to be in NY, not having a meal together did seem hard to justify. In the end, Xie Dingyuan agreed.
But it didn’t disrupt their plans. He set the meeting time for the afternoon. In the morning, he still followed the original arrangement, taking Jiang Fuyue to see churches, listen to hymns, and along the way feed some pigeons.
……
The wind chime at the café entrance was struck, ringing crisply.
Xie Dingyuan scanned the room, then led Jiang Fuyue to a seat by the window.
The coffee cup by Xie Yunqian’s hand was already empty, showing she had been waiting quite a while.
“Ah Yuan…” For a moment, the woman’s eyes flickered with daze, then a smile spread from her lips. “Three years without seeing you, you’re still the same as before, not much changed.”
Xie Dingyuan carefully looked her over for a few seconds, then said, “You look sturdier than before.”
Pfft!
Jiang Fuyue almost couldn’t hold it in.
Sturdier?
Bro, are you serious?
Across from them, Xie Yunqian’s gaze froze. For an instant, she was choked speechless.
“Is… is that so?” She then awkwardly brushed her long hair, her smile stiff with embarrassment.
But Xie Dingyuan didn’t notice at all and replied earnestly, “Yes.”
Xie Yunqian: “……”
Jiang Fuyue: “……”
Actually, Xie Dingyuan wasn’t completely lacking in emotional intelligence, at least he knew to use the word “sturdy” instead of “fat.”
And he wasn’t lying. Xie Yunqian did look a bit heavier than when she was back in the country, and also a bit darker. Put together, wasn’t that just “sturdy”?
Xie Yunqian barely maintained her smile, having no desire to pursue this topic, and naturally let her gaze fall on Jiang Fuyue, whose fingers were interlaced with Xie Dingyuan’s.
Young.
That was her first impression of this woman, no, more accurately, this girl.
Black hair like a waterfall, skin white as porcelain, a pair of peach-blossom eyes that seemed to speak. Bright, beautiful, youthfully invincible, the unique gift bestowed by age.
Standing together with Xie Dingyuan, whether in height, appearance, or their achievements in professional fields, they really matched.
Xie Yunqian’s mood turned complicated. In an instant, jealousy and unwillingness, inferiority and resentment all surged up together.
She clenched her teeth, and her originally pretty face tightened instantly.
At the same time, Jiang Fuyue was also sizing her up.
The woman wore C brand’s classic little black dress. The clean, sharp cut outlined a graceful figure. A cinched belt at the waist elongated the proportions of her legs. Chestnut-colored long curls fell down her back, and by her ears were diamond earrings with the double-C logo.
The makeup wasn’t heavy, but certainly not light either, eyeliner slightly lifted, lips a matte true red, perfectly matching the black dress.
From head to toe, she spelled out the words “exquisite” and “fashionable,” the typical urban woman seen in TV dramas.
She was beautiful, yes, but unfortunately, the crown of her head wasn’t full enough, causing the curls to lie almost flat against her neck, lacking volume and looking heavy.
Her skin tone also wasn’t fair, and against the all-black dress, it was hard to immediately catch the eye.
Her height was probably around 1.65 meters, but her calves were too short and her waistline looked long, put plainly, her proportions weren’t good.
True beauty lies in bone structure, not skin.
Jiang Fuyue was not only beautiful in the face; her bone structure was also exceptionally superior.
Xie Yunqian, on the other hand, might only have her looks going for her, her bone structure couldn’t stand up to scrutiny at all.
Viewed separately, both could be considered “beautiful.”
Put together, the difference was immediately apparent.
“Come, please sit. What would you like to drink?” Xie Yunqian smiled as she invited them, then turned the topic to Jiang Fuyue. “Ah Yuan, aren’t you going to introduce her?”
Xie Dingyuan: “My girlfriend, Jiang Fuyue.” As he spoke, he even placed their interlocked hands on the table.
Couldn’t be more of a display.
Although Xie Yunqian had already prepared herself for the answer, after all, Xie Yunshu had said everything that should and shouldn’t be said, she was still stabbed in the eyes by the man’s blatant, undisguised straightforwardness.
Jiang Fuyue simply smiled and cooperated.
If the man loved to show off, she wasn’t shy.
Meeting Xie Yunqian’s gaze, she smiled back, not dodging or avoiding, perfectly innocent and harmless.
Then, Xie Dingyuan consciously turned to Jiang Fuyue and introduced, “This is my eighth sister, Xie Yunqian.”
“Hello, Sister.”
Eighth sister…
This form of address made the smile Xie Yunqian was barely maintaining disappear completely.
In the past, he never called her “sister.” Now she had become “Eighth Sister”?
“Yesterday I saw the news about the Lasker Awards. I didn’t expect you to be in NY as well. Since we’re all family, we should get together.”
“Mm.” Xie Dingyuan nodded.
Jiang Fuyue also obediently followed suit.
Xie Yunqian: “……” What kind of silly, sweet fool is this? All looks, no brains?
So infuriating!
She had forgotten that Jiang Fuyue was this year’s recipient of the Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, or maybe she hadn’t forgotten, just selectively ignored it.
“How are Dad and Mom? And the other sisters?”
Xie Dingyuan: “They’re all doing pretty well.”
After thinking for a moment, he added, “If you want to know the specifics, you can call each of them and ask.”
The smile Xie Yunqian had just raised almost collapsed again.
What did that mean?
Mocking her for not contacting the family for so many years?
Heaven knew that Xie Dingyuan was really just offering a suggestion, nothing more.
“Let’s see what to drink…”
Xie Yunqian handed over the menu.
Xie Dingyuan waved his hand and said to the server, “Two cups of warm water, please.”
“Ah Yuan, they have tea here, and iced Americanos…”
“No need. I’ll just drink warm water with her.” As he spoke, he looked helplessly at the girl beside him.
Jiang Fuyue blinked and revealed a well-behaved smile.
She had woken up that morning with stomach pain. When she went to the bathroom and checked, her period had arrived.
She took a painkiller and felt mostly better, but Xie Dingyuan absolutely wouldn’t let her touch cold water, and wouldn’t allow coffee, tea, or similar drinks either.
To keep Jiang Fuyue from craving them, he simply avoided them himself.
Watching the two exchange glances and affection as if no one else existed, Xie Yunqian saw everything.
She was about to explode with anger!
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