Chapter 22: Is This How You Ask for a Favor…

After finishing his drink, Jin Can simply sat down beside her.

The two of them sat in silence.

“Acan, Mira,” the people around them tactfully called out, “we’re leaving first.”

Xia Mi La smiled and waved. “Go on ahead.”

Only when most of the people had left and they were alone did Jin Can speak.

“What do you plan to do now?” he asked.

Xia Mi La found it amusing and looked at him. “So worried about me, are you?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t worry.” Xia Mi La averted her gaze and smiled. “I have my own plans.”

“Is there anything I can help with?”

Xia Mi La didn’t refuse his kind offer. “I’ll come to you if there is.”

Jin Can nodded. After a brief silence, he asked again, “What time should I pick you up on Saturday? Do you want to go a little earlier and hang out for a bit?”

Xia Mi La shook her head. “Let’s hang out next time. I have plans during the day on Saturday. I’ll call you beforehand.” She added a reminder, “It’s not a very formal party, so you can dress casually.”

Jin Can nodded again.

Xia Mi La looked at him once more. She saw his head slightly bowed, his thick, dark hair damp with sweat and lying obediently in place. He looked like a gentle, large animal.

She couldn’t help but smile. “You’re a good basketball player. You looked very handsome on the court just now. A few girls over there were about to go crazy watching you.”

Jin Can grunted in acknowledgment. “I’m used to it.”

“Hm?” Xia Mi La laughed out loud. “So you know you’re handsome?”

Jin Can looked at her and raised an eyebrow, as if to ask in return, “Am I not?”

Xia Mi La couldn’t stop laughing. “Yes, you are.”

Jin Can smiled too, the corners of his mouth curving into a small arc.

Just as the atmosphere was getting pleasant, someone called Xia Mi La’s name from the doorway.

“Mira.”

The two turned to see Jin He standing at the entrance.

The smile on Jin Can’s face immediately faded.

Xia Mi La also felt her good mood sour.

“Why are you here?” she asked him.

“I came looking for you.” Jin He’s face was dark. “Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

When she didn’t answer his calls, he had to ask around for her… and was told she was at the gymnasium.

Only after arriving did he realize, ah, so she was here to watch Jin Can play basketball.

He had seen the two of them smiling and talking face-to-face just now. It felt like all of Xia Mi La’s gentle smiles were now reserved for Jin Can, while she was cold and distant with him.

“Just ignore him,” Jin Can said to Xia Mi La. “Let’s go.”

“It’s fine,” Xia Mi La replied. “There are some things I need to make clear to him.”

Jin Can said no more.

Jin He waited for a long time, but seeing that Xia Mi La had no intention of getting up, he had no choice but to walk over to her.

When he reached them, he gave Jin Can a cold glance. “I have something to say to Mira alone. It’s not convenient for an outsider to be present.”

Looking at the two similar faces before her, Xia Mi La felt that she was the one who should be considered the outsider.

Jin Can, accustomed to Jin He’s coldness, looked at Xia Mi La, waiting for her response.

“It’s okay,” Xia Mi La said to him. “You can head back first. I can handle this myself.”

Jin Can’s expression turned cold, his eyes sweeping over Jin He.

In his eyes, Jin He saw impatience, disdain, and annoyance, as if his very presence was a huge inconvenience.

“Hey,” Jin He’s temper flared. “You.”

Jin Can lifted his eyelids, still too lazy to bother with him, and simply said goodbye to Xia Mi La.

“Not a shred of courtesy,” Jin He said to Xia Mi La, criticizing Jin Can’s retreating back. “Just as expected of a brute with no upbringing from an orphanage.”

Xia Mi La glanced around.

The atmosphere in the gymnasium had taken a sharp turn since Jin He’s arrival. The few people who were left now scrambled to get out upon seeing Jin He’s dark expression.

“Sometimes, the way people interact is like looking in a mirror,” she said faintly, retracting her gaze.

“What?” Jin He didn’t understand.

“If you were warm and friendly to Acan, like a real older brother,” Xia Mi La looked at him, “he would surely be just as good to you.”

Jin He frowned immediately. “Me, to him? On what grounds?”

Not only did he not see Jin Can as a brother, but even if it were just for show, Jin Can should be the one to bow his head first. Why should he be the one to make the friendly gesture?

Xia Mi La had no desire to discuss this further with him. She asked directly, “Why are you looking for me?”

Jin He immediately remembered his purpose, but the thought of it made him frown again.

Cui Zhe had spent a long time convincing him to come and find Xia Mi La. Cui Zhe had told him to have a proper talk with her about the Azure Dragon Hall.

He felt that even though he and Xia Mi La had argued, he still had to consider everyone’s interests.

It was bad enough that the Xia Hong Faction had left. If they went over to Zhao Taihe’s side and joined the White Tiger Hall, it would be more than just doubly painful.

The mere thought of it was a headache.

“Everyone was angry and acted a bit irrationally, which led to this result,” Cui Zhe had been persuading him earlier. “Mira is your fiancée. You brought another girl in, so of course she’d have a hard time accepting it at first. But she’s soft-hearted and has always been obedient to you. This time, you were in the wrong and hurt her feelings. She’s a girl, after all, so just give in to her a little. Speak more gently, apologize to her, and coax her a bit. Mira likes you so much. As long as you’re willing to lower your head, she’ll definitely be willing to come back.”

Jin He felt that Cui Zhe was right.

Xia Mi La had always been obedient to him. As long as he apologized, she would surely forgive him.

Thinking of this, he felt that his earlier behavior had indeed been a bit excessive.

Of course, he didn’t regret bringing Pei Duo Xing into the Azure Dragon Hall, but he felt he could have been more tactful and communicated with Xia Mi La with a better attitude.

However, thinking about it was one thing; actually facing her, it was easy to be swayed by other emotions.

He looked at Xia Mi La and frowned. “You left so decisively just now. Did you and Zhao Taihe plan this last night?”

He felt that Xia Mi La was the one at fault in this matter. How could she have dinner with that guy Zhao Taihe?

He had actually been hesitant about bringing Pei Duo Xing into the Azure Dragon Hall at noon, and it was this incident that solidified his decision.

Since Xia Mi La could cross the line, he thought, why couldn’t he?

Therefore, he felt that, in the end, she was also at fault. It shouldn’t be just him apologizing.

He waited for Xia Mi La to answer his question, only to see her start to laugh.

It was as if she had heard a joke, not a question.

This laugh was also very different from her previous smiles.

Before, her smiles were elegant and reserved, always carrying a gentle kindness. But at this moment, her laughter was mocking and brazen, her eyes holding only the playful scorn that comes after a final judgment.

This mockery and scorn made Jin He’s frown deepen.

“What are you laughing at?” he asked.

“Jin He,” Xia Mi La retorted, “is this how you ask for a favor?”

“Ask?” Jin He almost couldn’t believe his ears.

“That’s right.” Xia Mi La leaned back, casually crossing her right leg over her left. It was a simple posture, yet it exuded an air of complete control, like a decision-maker sitting in a top executive’s chair, scrutinizing a subordinate.

“Asking me to bring my people back to the Azure Dragon Hall. Asking me to cooperate with you to break off the engagement. Asking me not to make things difficult for Pei Duo Xing. Of all the things going on around you, which one doesn’t need my nod to proceed smoothly?” she said.

Jin He said, “Are you threatening me?”

“Threatening you?” Xia Mi La laughed again, her gaze sweeping over him with disdain. “What do you have that’s worth my threat?”

Jin He found this hard to accept. He couldn’t accept what she was saying, and even less, the attitude with which she said it.

“You want to get revenge on me, don’t you.” Jin He felt he had found the answer. “You’re jealous of Pei Duo Xing, so you want to obstruct us, to get back at us.”

“I’m jealous of Pei Duo Xing?” Xia Mi La asked. “What does Pei Duo Xing have that’s worth my jealousy?”

“Because the person I like is her, not you,” Jin He answered.

Xia Mi La said nothing more, just stared at him lightly.

They locked eyes for a second, two seconds… a minute later, Jin He suddenly wasn’t so sure about his answer anymore.

There was no emotion in the way she looked at him.

Uncertainly, he said to Xia Mi La, “You…”

Xia Mi La had money, status, and beauty. Would she really get obsessed with revenge, turn into a villain, and relentlessly oppose them just because a man didn’t like her?

She couldn’t be bothered with all that trouble; she was very satisfied with her current life. She enjoyed what she had.

She then stood up from the chair.

“I will bring up the matter of breaking off the engagement with my grandmother,” she gave Jin He her conclusion directly. “I will not return to the Azure Dragon Hall. But rest assured, I won’t be joining the White Tiger Hall either.”

Breaking off the engagement was something Jin He also wanted to do. Her not joining the White Tiger Hall was a somewhat acceptable conclusion.

The overall result was neither good nor bad, yet Jin He found it somewhat difficult to accept.

“What’s wrong with you?” He looked closely into Xia Mi La’s eyes, trying to find some clue. “You’re still angry with me, aren’t you? You’re just saying things out of anger, right? I admit that what I’ve done these past few days has been a bit…”

“Jin He.” Xia Mi La had no desire to hear his apology. She cut him off. “Don’t you want to break off the engagement?”

“I…” Jin He’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

He should have said yes, but when the words reached his lips, he couldn’t quite say them.

They had been engaged since middle school, for almost four years now. After four years together, even without love, there was habit and a tacit understanding. It wasn’t something that could be severed instantly.

Faced with his silence, Xia Mi La was a little speechless. “Didn’t you just say you like Pei Duo Xing?”

“Yes. I like her.” At the mention of Pei Duo Xing, Jin He sobered up a little.

He didn’t dislike Xia Mi La, but Pei Duo Xing was the one he truly liked.

“Then that settles it.” Xia Mi La breathed a sigh of relief. “For the sake of our friendship, I will help you two be together.”

“Then what about you?” Jin He asked. “Are you okay with canceling the engagement just like that?”

“The sooner, the better,” Xia Mi La said. “You don’t want Pei Duo Xing to be constantly ridiculed for her current awkward status, do you?”

Jin He: “…”

———————–

Author’s Note: Mira: I gave you an inch and you took a mile. [chin resting on hand emoji]