Chapter 26 “Mind Your Own Business…”

As Xia Mi La emerged from the restroom, she spotted Zhao Taihe waiting in the corridor.

“What’s wrong?” She sauntered leisurely toward him. “Afraid I’d get lost?”

Zhao Taihe chuckled.

He stood there, waiting until she reached him before grabbing her wrist. With a pull and a push, he pinned her between the wall and himself.

“Aren’t you being overly attentive to that Jin Can kid?” He lowered his head, gazing into her eyes. “What, if Jin He doesn’t work out, you switch to Jin Can? Do you just have a special preference for that type of appearance?”

They stood extremely close. Zhao Taihe, tall and long-legged, looked down at her with intense, sharp eyes, creating an immediate sense of oppression.

Yet Xia Mi La felt neither nervous nor embarrassed.

Since she was already in this position, she leaned lazily against the wall, tilting her chin up to look at him. “Jealous?”

Zhao Taihe silently watched her for a few seconds before laughing again. “Speaking of which, I suppose I should apologize to you. Sorry, I was originally just targeting the sponsored student. I never expected her influence over Jin He to be so great that it would affect you and cause your fallout with him.”

He reached out, casually twirling a strand of her long hair that fell beside her around his finger. “I heard you’ve left Azure Dragon Hall. How about it? Want to come join me?”

Xia Mi La blinked. “I don’t see much remorse in you.”

Zhao Taihe burst out laughing.

Of course he felt no remorse he was quite satisfied with the current situation. He’d been pleased with himself for several days now.

“Regardless,” he said to Xia Mi La, “you and I share the same goal now. Working together would only make things more efficient.”

“Thanks for the invitation,” Xia Mi La declined calmly. “But I have my own plans.”

“What?” Zhao Taihe’s peach blossom eyes lifted slightly, a teasing tone in his voice. “Can’t bear to leave Jin He? Still want to return to his side?His face was truly such that even when speaking provocative words, it was hard to feel any real animosity toward him.

Xia Mi La raised her hand, her fingers gently caressing his face. “The label of ‘Jin He’s’ on me is about to be removed. What will you do then?”

Zhao Taihe felt her cool fingertips tracing his cheek, taking a moment to collect himself and process her words.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“It means our engagement will be canceled.” Xia Mi La’s fingers moved downward, pressing against his shoulder and giving a light push. “So, don’t waste your time on me.”

Zhao Taihe instinctively grabbed her hand.

Should their engagement really be called off that was the question he should have been seriously considering, but his attention was completely captured by Xia Mi La’s face.

She was still the same as before, always wearing a slight smile, but the feeling of that smile was completely different now.

Her smiles used to be gentle and harmless, but now they seemed to carry an air of mystery.

Her appearance hadn’t changed at all, yet somehow she had gained a tantalizing quality.

Zhao Taihe held her hand, about to speak, when an angry voice suddenly interrupted them.

“What are you two doing?”

Jin He had appeared at some unknown time. After speaking these words, he began walking toward them.

He shoved Zhao Taihe aside, then grabbed Xia Mi La’s wrist, pulling her out of Zhao Taihe’s embrace.

“Zhao Taihe,” Jin He said angrily, “you should have some boundaries. No matter what happens between you and me, innocent people shouldn’t be dragged into it.”

Zhao Taihe sneered but didn’t respond. His gaze returned to Xia Mi La. Her expression remained unchanged – she showed neither shame nor panic at Jin He’s sudden appearance, still maintaining the same lazy, go-with-the-flow, composed demeanor as before.

As if being held by him or being dragged away by Jin He meant nothing significant to her.

Zhao Taihe suddenly felt somewhat dissatisfied with her attitude.

Jin He didn’t like his reaction either. He pulled Xia Mi La and turned to leave.

Even after getting away from Zhao Taihe, his anger hadn’t subsided.

“Don’t you know Zhao Taihe is an emotional scammer?” he questioned Xia Mi La. “You wouldn’t actually believe his sweet talk after just a few words, would you?”

“Scammer is going too far,” Xia Mi La defended Zhao Taihe. “He just has a casual approach to relationships, but I wouldn’t call him an emotional scammer.”

Jin He paused mid-step and looked at her incredulously. “Have you lost your mind? You called off our engagement just to be with someone like that?”

This actually made Xia Mi La laugh.

Jin He was really too full of himself. In her opinion, when it came to being scummy, Zhao Taihe couldn’t even compare to Jin He.

Her mocking laugh clearly reached Jin He’s ears.

“What are you laughing at?” Jin He pressed, his tone growing darker.

“None of your business,” Xia Mi La replied. “Worry about yourself.”

As she spoke, she tried to pull her arm back.

Jin He was still holding her wrist, and seeing her resistance, he deliberately tightened his grip.

He dragged her back to the living room like this, where Pei Duo Xing, standing in the center of the room, saw everything.

The living room was crowded and chaotic. Jin He only noticed Pei Duo Xing in her convenience store uniform when he was almost right in front of her.

He immediately released Xia Mi La’s hand. “What are you doing here?”

Pei Duo Xing had come to deliver Chamisul.

When Liang Dongxun ordered the alcohol, he never expected Pei Duo Xing would be the one delivering it. But given the circumstances, Pei Duo Xing couldn’t avoid receiving some sarcastic remarks.

Just as she was feeling wronged, she saw Jin He holding Xia Mi La’s hand as they approached.

Her eyes swept over Xia Mi La, and they immediately reddened. “What am I doing here? I’m here to be your slave, delivering alcohol so you young masters and mistresses can enjoy yourselves better!”

After saying this, she turned and ran toward the door. The delivery was complete anyway – she didn’t want to stay there a second longer.

Jin He glanced back at Xia Mi La with a complicated expression, but ultimately chased after Pei Duo Xing.

He thought Xia Mi La had serious issues, but right now, comforting Pei Duo Xing was clearly more urgent.

Xia Mi La couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

This was exactly what made Jin He scummy – he only needed to care about Pei Duo Xing, yet he had so much unwarranted sense of responsibility.

“Mira,” Cui Zhe came forward with concern, “what happened? Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Xia Mi La nodded. “It’s nothing.”

She returned to her previous seat and sat down.

Jin Can looked at her. “If you hadn’t come back soon, I was about to go look for you.”

“Don’t worry,” Xia Mi La said. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Got some Chamisul,” Jin Can picked up a bottle of soju. “Want to try it?”

“I’ve had it before,” Xia Mi La replied, leaning closer to him and whispering, “I’m not as clueless as them… though it’s true this stuff doesn’t taste great.”

The corners of Jin Can’s lips lifted slightly, revealing a faint smile.

“I had them bring juice,” he said. “Let me mix you some better-tasting drinks.”

Zhao Taihe happened to witness this scene when he returned.

Jin Can usually wore an icy expression, rarely showing any emotion. But even Zhao Taihe, who barely knew him, could tell he looked pleased and in good spirits.

“What are you playing at?” Zhao Taihe plopped down on the sofa unabashedly, leaning toward the two. “Let me join in.”

The others around didn’t pay much attention to them, as their focus remained on Pei Duo Xing.

Although Pei Duo Xing had already slipped away, the crowd wasn’t about to let her off easily.

“My party’s pretty impressive today, huh?” Liang Dongxun laughed heartily. “I even got people from your Azure Dragon Hall running errands for me.”

He wasn’t actually acknowledging Pei Duo Xing’s status but rather taking a jab at the Azure Dragon Hall.

The faces of several Azure Dragon Hall members near Cui Zhe immediately darkened.

At that moment, their confusion about Jin He reached its peak they felt that letting someone like Pei Duo Xing join the Azure Dragon Hall brought nothing but shame.

Cui Zhe still spoke up for Pei Duo Xing: “She’s earning money to support herself. There’s nothing to mock about that.”

“How noble,” Ding Yuan clapped sarcastically. “So now your Azure Dragon Hall is on this path pay up, and you get your services.”

“You bastard.” “What are you saying!” “…”

Even Cui Zhe was left speechless.

The class divide was stark here. It seemed he needed to make Pei Duo Xing change something.

Xia Mi La paid no attention to their verbal sparring, intently watching Jin Can mix drinks.

Jin Can was quite skilled at mixing. With added juice and soda water, the harsh soju became refreshing and sweet. She drank several cups in a row until Jin Can stopped serving her.

“That’s enough,” he halted. “Kids shouldn’t drink too much.”

“Kids?!” Xia Mi La was shocked. “You’re underage yourself!”

Besides, the drink he mixed could hardly be considered alcohol anymore it was mostly juice and soda, with just a tiny bit of Chamisul. There was no way it could get anyone drunk.

But Jin Can just shook his head and refused to pour more.

Surprisingly, Zhao Taihe backed him up, reaching out to move Xia Mi La’s glass away. “He’s right. This stuff has a strong delayed effect. What if you get drunk and start causing a scene later?”

Xia Mi La: “Thanks. Drinking manners reflect character, and my character is just fine.”

Zhao Taihe squinted with a grin: “That’s not for you to decide.”

Xia Mi La rolled her eyes at him: “Definitely better than yours, anyway.”

Jin Can stayed silent beside them, mixing another juice drink for her.

It was true, as they said the alcohol’s effect crept up a bit later, but she was far from drunk.

That night, Jin He never returned after all.

Xia Mi La left early. Zhao Taihe wanted to escort her, but Jin Can refused and ended up seeing her home himself.

Sitting in the car, Xia Mi La felt her head growing somewhat heavy as she lazily leaned back against the seat.

“You can sleep for a while first,” Jin Can’s voice was soft, carrying a hint of tenderness. “I’ll wake you when we arrive.”

“No need,” Xia Mi La replied. “I’m not really that sleepy.”

“Mhm.” Jin Can’s voice held a trace of laughter. “Your alcohol tolerance really isn’t bad after all.”

“Of course,” Xia Mi La glanced at the flickering lights and tree shadows outside before turning back to look at him. “There are many things you don’t have to like, but it’s better to know how to do them. Next time, I’ll teach you how to drink red wine.”

The interior of the car was dimly lit, barely revealing their faces to each other.

Her eyes gazed at him, reflecting the outside lights that flickered between brightness and shadow – innocent and pure.

Jin Can looked into those eyes: “Alright.”

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Author’s note: No update tomorrow~ Happy National Day!