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Chapter 14: Enemies Always Cross Paths!

As soon as these words were spoken, all the passersby’s gazes focused on Xie Yanli, each casting him strange looks.

Xie Yanli realized that Song Qiao had forgotten about this agreement, and a trace of disappointment flickered in his heart. After glancing sideways at her, he said coolly,
“Song Qiao, with looks like yours, even if I wanted to take advantage of someone, it wouldn’t be you.”

Song Qiao felt utterly insulted by this remark, her face instantly flushing red with anger.

She frowned at Xie Yanli and blurted out without thinking,
“Xie Yanli, not me? Don’t flatter yourself too much. News about your… shortcomings is all over the place now. What decent girl would still want to be with you?”

Xie Yanli’s eyes narrowed slightly at her words. He closed the distance between them again, placing one hand against the wall and half-trapping her as he said coldly,
“Isn’t that thanks to you? If you hadn’t been spouting nonsense to them last night, how would such rumors be everywhere today?”

Song Qiao raised her head and instantly locked eyes with Xie Yanli’s oppressive gaze. He stared at her directly, his eyes deep and dark, unfathomable.

She was momentarily stunned. Then she pursed her lips, initially wanting to say that it was Shen Huaichuan who had said those things, not her.

But on second thought, that would just make her seem like she was sowing discord—especially since Shen Huaichuan had kindly helped her reserve a private room just now.
Since she and Xie Yanli were already at odds, she didn’t care about adding another grievance, so she simply accepted the blame.

Xie Yanli’s gaze was burning. Feeling uneasy, she shifted her eyes away and said indifferently,
“Anyway, I’ve already said what I said. What can you do about it?”

After a moment of silence, Xie Yanli stared intently at her and said slowly, word by word,
“You ruined my reputation. You just said I won’t be able to find a partner in the future. In that case, I might as well make you my girlfriend.”

His words came out so naturally, but Song Qiao was dumbfounded.

Every time she saw Xie Yanli, he looked like he wanted to devour her, and now he was saying she should be his girlfriend? And he knew she had a fiancé—this was absurd.

She figured he was just trying to mess with her. With a serious face, she replied,
“Xie Yanli, stop joking around. You know I have a fiancé, and we’re about to get married.”

Xie Yanli’s eyes turned cold.
“Song Qiao, do you like him that much? And what about me? You don’t think you should take responsibility for what you did to me?”

Song Qiao felt even more baffled. Even if she had really spread rumors about his… problem, that didn’t mean she had to take responsibility for him.

Besides, every time he looked at her, his expression was cold and full of disgust. How on earth was she supposed to be responsible for him?

She curled her lips and said incredulously,
“Xie Yanli, it was just a joke at the time. You’re a grown man, aren’t you overreacting? You want me to take responsibility for such a small thing?”

Xie Yanli’s expression instantly darkened, and he dropped his hand from the wall.
“Well, Miss Song, you’re certainly casual about things. I must be pathetic to let you trample all over me like this.”

Song Qiao noticed his eyes were slightly red and his voice carried a hint of hoarseness. Her gaze darkened slightly, and an inexplicable discomfort welled up in her chest.

Xie Yanli was about to leave when he sighed and tossed out one last line:
“Your skirt is dirty.”

With that, he walked past her without looking back and left.

Song Qiao didn’t have time to dwell on what he meant by that. She immediately turned to check her skirt and noticed that, indeed, a large patch of it was dirty.

Thinking back to when Xie Yanli poked her waist just now, she realized he had been trying to remind her.

No wonder he was so angry. But now he had already stormed off, and even if she wanted to apologize, it was too late.

At the moment, her stomach ached terribly. Since her coat was still in the private room, she had no choice but to hold her stomach and return there.

When she got back to the room, the food had already been served. Xu Qin and Lin Shiyu were happily chatting and eating.
She sat back down and noticed the bowl of three-delicacy soup she had ordered was nearly empty.

She glanced at them and saw Lin Shiyu scooping more soup into Xu Qin’s bowl while saying cheerfully,
“Auntie, this three-delicacy soup is good for the stomach and nutritious. Drink a little more while it’s hot.”

Xu Qin smiled as she accepted it.

Song Qiao remembered Chen Yang had told her that Xu Qin had a severe seafood allergy, and judging from the situation, she had clearly already drunk quite a bit.

Just as Xu Qin was about to continue drinking, Song Qiao quickly spoke up,
“Auntie, aren’t you allergic to seafood? This three-delicacy soup contains shrimp—you can’t drink it.”

Xu Qin’s face instantly darkened.
“Song Qiao, why are you making such a fuss? Trying to scare me to death? And you call yourself a wealthy young lady? No manners at all. Yes, there’s shrimp in it—I’m not blind—but Shiyu already picked out all the shrimp for me. What could happen?”

Song Qiao didn’t want to interfere, but out of consideration for Chen Yang, she continued to remind her,
“Auntie, do you know that if you have an allergic reaction, at best you’ll get rashes, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, and at worst, it could cause anaphylactic shock.”

Xu Qin snorted angrily,
“Song Qiao, can’t you wish me well? I know this soup was meant for you, and you’re just mad I drank a few sips. You’re not so petty, are you? It’s just a bowl of soup—if you want more, just order another one.”

Before she could say more, Lin Shiyu quickly interjected apologetically,
“Song Qiao, if you want to blame someone, blame me, not Auntie. I overheard your conversation with the restaurant manager and thought Auntie could use something nutritious too. It’s my fault—I apologize to you.”

As she spoke, Lin Shiyu lowered her head, tears quickly brimming in her eyes.

Seeing Lin Shiyu cry, Xu Qin’s anger flared up even more. She pointed at Song Qiao and scolded,
“Song Qiao, I invited Shiyu here. If you’re upset, take it out on me—don’t bully her.”

Song Qiao glanced at Lin Shiyu, who looked delicate and pitiful with tears streaking down her cheeks—something that always evoked sympathy. Song Qiao had never had that kind of skill.

Since Xu Qin didn’t appreciate her concern, so be it. Song Qiao said lightly,
“Auntie, I was just kindly reminding you. If you’re not afraid of an allergic reaction, go ahead.”

With that, she picked up the tablet on the table and ordered another bowl.

Seeing this, Xu Qin made a sarcastic remark,
“It’s not like the soup is gone, and I didn’t drink directly from the bowl. Why waste money ordering another one just because you’re disgusted that I touched it?”

Her abdominal pain continued to worsen, and Song Qiao frowned slightly, suppressing the pain as she replied,
“I’m not short on money.”

“When you marry Chen Yang, won’t your money be his anyway? Song Qiao, you need to learn to manage the household and stop spending recklessly.”

“Auntie, I’m marrying Chen Yang, not selling myself to him. His money is his, mine is mine. We’ve already agreed that we’ll manage our finances separately without interfering.”

“I’ve lived in the countryside my whole life, and I’ve never heard such nonsense. Once you’re husband and wife, of course money should be pooled together.”

“Fine, I’ll do as you say. After we get married, I’ll have him hand over all his money for me to manage. Will that satisfy you?”

“You—”

Just as Xu Qin opened her mouth, she suddenly clutched her stomach, her brows furrowing in pain.

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