Her attitude shifted incredibly quickly, leaving Ye Yi a bit bewildered.
He didn't dwell on it, though. Seeing her settle, Ye Yi subtly widened the distance between them.
"Just two drinks, and you've been dwelling on it for so long," he said dismissively.
Jing Yiyi was still replaying the scene she had just witnessed in her mind, unable to shake it off. She hadn't fully registered what he was saying. "Hmm? Hmm..."
Noticing her distracted state, Ye Yi stopped talking and began to savor his drink alone.
After a long silence, Jing Yiyi looked up. "Why are you here?"
"What do you think I'm doing at a bar?"
"Drinking, or looking for a fling?" she pouted.
"Miss Jing, you're being a bit too nosy," Ye Yi said coolly. The mention of "Miss Jing" created a palpable distance between them.
Jing Yiyi seemed oblivious, her beautiful foxy eyes fixed on him. "My name is Jing Yiyi. You can call me Yiyi. Don't keep calling me Miss Jing; it doesn't sound good. My friends all call me Yiyi."
"Friends?" Ye Yi mused over the word, his expression indifferent. "I don't have friends."
"From now on, I'm your friend," Jing Yiyi stated earnestly. After their few encounters, she felt Ye Yi wasn't a bad person. After all, he had helped her several times, besides being a bit sharp-tongued.
"I don't need friends," Ye Yi refused.
In his twenty-odd years, the word "friend" had never been part of his life.
"Who doesn't need friends? Haven't you heard, 'more friends, more paths'?"
"A burden," he spat out the words coldly.
Jing Yiyi was speechless. "I don't care. I consider you a friend anyway. Today, I'm treating."
"As you wish." Ye Yi, too lazy to engage further, pulled out his phone.
A post from Jiang Mian from thirty minutes ago showed a picture of a small bouquet of flowers. Ye Yi's heart stirred. Had there been signal?
He tapped his finger and dialed.
The call was answered quickly. "Ye Yi."
"What, did you finally get signal in that little mountain village today?" a playful voice inquired.
Jiang Mian, who was reading a script at the time, responded with a soft "Mm," her tone cheerful. "Yes."
"Do you want me to pick you up when you get back?"
Jiang Mian paused. "No, I should be fine on my own."
"Alright, it's settled then. I'll pick you up at the airport the day you return." He decided, brooks no argument.
Jiang Mian rolled her eyes. "If you've already decided, why ask me?"
"A courtesy inquiry," Ye Yi replied, his mood lightened, a hint of a smile in his voice.
Jiang Mian let out a soft hum. "Don't forget what you promised me. Where is Song Xingjia?"
"I can't reach him. His business activities seem to have ceased. He's completely disappeared from the circle with no news. Do you know him personally at all?" Ye Yi asked.
Jiang Mian's brows furrowed, realizing then how little she actually knew about Song Xingjia. "I only know he's from Port City. I don't know anything else."
She suddenly remembered that apart from their WeChat chat at the beginning of the year, she hadn't been in contact with Song Xingjia at all.
She wondered if he was doing alright now.
Jiang Mian couldn't quite place it, but she felt a natural sense of closeness towards Song Xingjia.
"If you don't know, that's fine. I'll try to look into it later."
"Okay, then I'll wait for your good news."
Jiang Mian spotted Li Zhuyi returning with water for her from afar through the window. She leaned out. "I'm hanging up, I'm busy."
With that, she dropped her phone and hurried forward. "I'll get it."
Ye Yi watched the woman hang up so decisively and tutted.
Jing Yiyi watched him finish his call quietly, her gaze probing. "Who was that?"
Ye Yi tilted his chin up, his eyes chilling. "Miss Jing, from what position are you interrogating me?"
Jing Yiyi fell silent for a moment, then realized she had overstepped.
She recalled the gentle tone of this man just now, finding it hard to believe.
Ignoring the discomfort in her chest, Jing Yiyi downed two glasses of wine in quick succession before saying, "Curiosity."
"Curiosity killed the cat, haven't you heard?"
Jing Yiyi propped her chin on one hand, swirling the liquid in the other, and said with a hint of defiance, "If you don't want to say it, then don't. It's not like I'm forcing you."
Ye Yi glanced at his watch. "I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."
With that, he set down his glass and walked towards the exit.
"Hey, hey, hey, wait for me!" Jing Yiyi quickly got up to follow.
"Miss, you haven't paid your bill yet."
Jing Yiyi took out her bank card and urged him, "Hurry, swipe the card!"
After the card was swiped, Jing Yiyi walked out only to find that he was nowhere to be seen.
"Walking so fast, is there a ghost chasing you?" she grumbled, kicking a small stone by the roadside.
"Beautiful lady, alone?"
"Add me on WeChat?"
Two voices spoke up in succession. Jing Yiyi looked up.
What was this, a "love to hate" gang?
One with yellow hair, one with blue, one with purple—each uniquely ugly, she thought to herself.
Perhaps her look of disdain was too obvious, or perhaps she hadn't responded for a while. The one with yellow hair, who seemed to be the leader, said, "Hey, beauty, can you say something?"
His lewd gaze roamed brazenly over Jing Yiyi's face, then slowly drifted down to her chest.
He winked at his companions with a knowing look. "Not bad, quite well-endowed! Hahaha!"
"My luck is really good tonight."
It wasn't uncommon to find people waiting outside bars for "easy prey." Jing Yiyi was not unfamiliar with this.
However, Seattle was also known for its good reputation in this area. If Jing Yiyi turned her head, she could see the doorman standing only fifty meters away.
With a casual call, she could have him come out to help her resolve the situation.
But at this moment, she was in a bad mood.
Jing Yiyi took a deep breath and flexed her wrists. "Are you looking to die?"
Her tone was arrogant, and her gaze was as if she were looking at ants.
This immediately angered the men.
"We didn't want to make trouble for you because you're a beauty. What, do you want to fight us?"
"Just have a few drinks with us, and this will be over."
"Oh, a feisty one!"
Jing Yiyi curled her lips into a smile and looked at the leader with yellow hair. "You, come here."
The yellow-haired man, with one hand in his pocket and the other reaching out, said, "What, scared? Say a few words to me..."
Before he could finish speaking, his right cheek was struck hard by a gust of wind.
Pain shot through him, and the yellow-haired man's fury erupted. "Damn it, you tricked me."
"Brothers, get her."
Jing Yiyi's smile disappeared, and her entire demeanor turned serious. Her years abroad had not been in vain.
The men surged forward, expecting it to be easy to grab her. To their surprise, the woman was as agile as a swallow, incredibly slippery.
Instead, they found themselves being kicked here or slapped there.
After a few minutes of fighting, without having even touched her, the yellow-haired man realized something was wrong. He cursed loudly, "Damn it, this woman is playing with us! Brothers, we must teach her a good lesson!"
A flicker of displeasure crossed Jing Yiyi's eyes. No longer playing around, she grabbed the blue-haired man's wrist and twisted it hard.
"Ow, ow, ow... it hurts... ease up..." the blue-haired man pleaded, utterly bewildered by the woman's strength.
"Quick... let go of my brother... or don't blame me for being rude!" the yellow-haired man urged, but he dared not make a rash move.
The purple-haired man stealthily tried to sneak up behind her, but it was as if she had eyes in the back of her head. Holding the blue-haired man, she turned and kicked the purple-haired man flying.
Jing Yiyi had practiced Taekwondo since she was young, and this kick carried considerable force.
The blue-haired man lay on the ground for a long time before getting up.
The yellow-haired man stared, dumbfounded. "You..."
Jing Yiyi raised her eyebrows, feeling a slight release from her pent-up frustration. "Do you want a turn too?"
The yellow-haired man was no fool. He pointed for a long time but couldn't bring himself to say anything coherent.
He raised his hands and, with a thud, knelt on the ground. "Sister, my dear sister, please let my two brothers go. We were blind and didn't recognize your eminence. We'll never dare to bother you again!"
"Please, sister! Look at my brother writhing in pain; it's really embarrassing!"
"He has elderly parents and young children, and his sister married early. Today was truly an unfortunate coincidence, provoking a great ancestor like you!"
The blue-haired man chimed in, "Sister, I know I was wrong, truly. Don't worry, we'll steer clear of this street from now on!"
Jing Yiyi chuckled and released his wrist. "Get lost, now."
The three scrambled away, supporting each other, and quickly disappeared.
After the exertion, she felt warm all over.
Jing Yiyi took off her wool coat, draping it over her arm. Her camel-colored slim-fit inner top accentuated her good figure. She brushed a strand of wind-blown hair from her face.
Suddenly, she looked up and saw a familiar figure in the distance.
Standing by the traffic light, the man stood leisurely. His features flickered in the night, a half-lit cigarette held in his right hand. His expression was unclear. He was only a few steps away.
Yet, Jing Yiyi felt an inexplicable certainty that he had been there all along.
Perhaps it was the perfect atmosphere, or perhaps it was the victory from the fight just now, but Jing Yiyi felt a vague sense of exhilaration.
She broke into a smile, ran towards him with the wind, and stopped, tilting her head up. She didn't pursue why he hadn't stepped in to help.
Instead, she asked, "Was I, just now, cool?"