328: A tight slap to her face

A tight slap to her face

Xi Ting turned around and saw how pitiful Nie Mianmian looked, but he seemed unfazed. When he spoke, it was with a distant coldness, "What are you doing here? Didn't I already tell you that I'm not free to meet you today?"1

His cold attitude was a stark contrast from the gentle one he showed Qin Yan just seconds ago.

When he looked at Qin Yan, it was with love and gentleness. But when facing Nie Mianmian, it was coldness and more coldness.

There was even distance in his eyes. His attitude was killing Nie Mianmian. The tears that had welled up in her eyes finally trickled down her face.

Tearing up, Nie Mianmian complained, "Ah Ting, do you have to be like this? You don't have the time to meet me, but the moment you heard that Qin Yan is here, you actually walked out of an important meeting just to see her?"

Nie Mianmian's tone was full of indignance, "Is this what you mean by not having time? You've got time for her, but not for me? Do you not have time, or do you not want to see me?"

Qin Yan was speechless. It seemed like loving someone would really lower one's IQ. Nie Mianmian was a smart woman. But why was she asking such a dumb question?

Was she going to be satisfied only when Xi Ting said explicitly that he didn't want to see her?

But, from what Xi Ting said, it seemed like Nie Mianmian had informed him earlier that she was coming? But had been rejected by him on the basis that he didn't have the time?

Upon thinking about that, Qin Yan felt a little flower of joy sprout in her heart. She suddenly felt like kissing Xi Ting as a reward.

It seemed like her moonpie was very self-aware. She didn't even need to step forward. He had taken the initiative to get rid of other potential rivals for her.

Even someone like Nie Mianmian who had been with him for over 20 years was being taken down just like that.

Although this was exactly what a committed person should do…Not many were actually this proactive. Xi Ting was considerably very self-aware. That alone deserved a reward from Qin Yan.

Xi Ting was looking at Nie Mianmian, completely unfazed in the face of her tears. He was so cold that even Qin Yan felt that he was a little too heartless, "Since you know I don't wish to see you, what are you doing here?"

The tone he used was so icy, even Qin Yan's hair stood on end, "Yan Yan is my girlfriend, of course, I have time for her whenever she's here. Nie Mianmian, I don't think I need to tell you the difference between a friend and a girlfriend. You don't have to compare yourself to Yan Yan. Your places in my heart are different, to begin with."

"And…" Xi Ting ignored Nie Mianmian's ghastly expression, picked up his mug, and looked at the lipstick stain Qin Yan had left on the rim, "In the future, don't act as if you know me well in front of my girlfriend. If she misunderstands anything, I'll have to take a long time to coax and convince her. Although I don't mind doing that, I don't like to and cannot stand being given the cold shoulder when she's upset at me."

"I do have germophobia, but nobody has germophobia towards their other halves. Do you understand that?"

The mug was a ceramic white one. Nie Mianmian had already seen the lipstick stain. When she saw Xi Ting drink from the mug, right where Qin Yan left her lipstick stain, she felt as if someone had given her a tight slap to the face. She could practically hear the slaps on her cheeks.

At that moment, she realized that everything she and Qin Yan had said had been overheard by Xi Ting. He was using his actions to prove that he didn't mind it the least bit.

Nie Mianmian's biggest edge over Qin Yan was the friendship with Xi Ting of over 20 years. In everyone's eyes, they were childhood sweethearts, a perfect match for each other. They were the most compatible pair possible.

Moreover, she was the only female friend allowed around Xi Ting in all 20 years and more. Xi Ting had no other female friends.

Although he was never that close or intimate with her, Nie Mianmian had always been satisfied with the status quo. No matter how he treated her, she was a notch above everyone else, just on the basis that she was Xi Ting's only female friend.

She felt that nobody else could ever understand Xi Ting more than she did. Meanwhile, what Xi Ting had just said directly denied her of that "privilege."

Whether he meant it from the bottom of his heart or was only saying it so Qin Yan wouldn't misunderstand, it didn't make much of a difference to Nie Mianmian.

Both reasons were equally painful. She felt as if her heart had just been stabbed and was bleeding profusely. She knew Xi Ting too well. That was precisely why she felt so hurt.

He had really fallen for Qin Yan. He was being so protective of her and refused to let her be aggrieved or wronged in any way.

But did he know how much hurt it caused her to watch him defend that woman? Did he know how much it hurt her when he said those words?

Her heart wrenched, and the pain spread all over her body. Her eyes were bloodshot while her face went pale.

"Ah Ting," Nie Mianmian's voice was trembling and her tears couldn't stop rolling down her cheeks, "You're this protective of her? How long have you both even known each other for, that you're being so loyal and devoted to her? Don't you think that she is eyeing your status and the position of Young Madam Xi?"

At this moment, Nie Mianmian crumbled completely. Her facade was gone. When she realized that Xi Ting had really fallen for Qin Yan and that she no longer had a chance, she lost it completely.

She turned towards Qin Yan and screamed hysterically, "Qin Yan, you don't love Ah Ting at all. You don't deserve to be treated so well by Ah Ting. Who are you to deserve all of this? On what basis do you deserve Ah Ting's love and treatment?"

"On the basis that she's my girlfriend, the woman I love." Before Qin Yan thought of a response, Xi Ting had put his arm around her shoulders, as if making a statement. She was his.

Seeing how irrational and hysterical Nie Mianmian looked, Xi Ting furrowed his brows. He gave in a little and said calmly, "Nie Mianmian, this is the last time I'm saying this to you. I am serious about my relationship. Qin Yan is the woman I've decided to spend the rest of my life with. Besides her, I won't consider anyone else for the position of Young Madam Xi."

"This is my last warning to you. My relationship with Qin Yan doesn't call for anyone else's intervention, including yours. In the future, if you do anything like this in the name of my interests, I won't be so kind."

"Also, Yan Yan is my wife, the woman I care for. Anyone mean or rude to her is doing so to me. Anyone who offends her is offending me too. You know very well what ought to be said, and what ought not to be."

Nie Mianmian opened her mouth and a tear rolled in between her lips. She tasted the saltiness of her teardrop. And her heart ached even more. Xi Ting was warning her.

Also he was telling her that he would not tolerate her anymore even on the account of their friendship.

He was being so cruel and heartless to her in front of somebody else. He was trampling all over her pride and dignity. Without saving her a single ounce of face.

These 20 years of friendship and companionship meant nothing to him. In his eyes, there only existed a single Qin Yan.

Even though the woman knew him for only one-thousandth of the time she did. Even though the woman was only with him for the benefits. Even though the woman wasn't the least bit true to him, unlike her…

He was willing to stab her in the heart time and time again for the sake of that woman. He really… didn't care about her at all.

She thought that he would hold her in high regard no matter what happened because of their long friendship.

However, she was wrong. It was only at this moment that she realized it. She was wrong the entire time.

She was the person that understood him the best. She was the one who was most suitable for him and the one who gave her heart to him. She had loved him for over twenty years.

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