Chapter 33: I Don’t Even Know How to Play Tennis…

By the midpoint of the party, an agreement had been reached between the Vermilion Bird Hall and the White Tiger Hall.

From then on, the Vermilion Bird Hall would also enjoy VIP treatment under JK. Similarly, the White Tiger Hall secured the same privileges that the Azure Dragon Hall once had with the Xia Hong Faction.

Calculating it this way, the Vermilion Bird Hall emerged as the big winner, enjoying benefits from all three factions.

Initially, many had thought the Xia Hong Faction was a discarded piece and had come to watch the spectacle. Now, that seemed narrow-minded. How could a group bearing the Xia Hong name possibly be cast aside? They were the power players themselves, never needing to rely on anyone in the first place.

Unlike the previous White Tiger Hall party, Xia Mi La didn’t serve a wide variety of alcoholic drinks. She only prepared an abundance of snacks, desserts, various beverages, and some low-alcohol cocktails.

The cocktails were the most popular, and as the party progressed, everyone grew a bit more excited.

Jin He sat there, coldly observing the boys crowding around Xia Mi La.

One moment it was, “Mira, can I have a drink with you?”

The next, “Mira, come play games with us!”

Then, “Mira, do you like this singer? Next time you visit my place, I’ll have him perform for you.”

…

This kind of situation would have been nearly impossible in the past.

Xia Mi La had been engaged to Jin He since middle school spoken for from the start. Whenever they went out together, Jin He was always the center of attention, while Xia Mi La stayed gently by his side, never stealing the spotlight.

But now, their engagement was likely to be called off, and Xia Mi La had stepped out on her own.

Given her family background, looks, and personality, it was only natural that she’d be popular.

In fact, if she hadn’t been engaged to Jin He, if her heart hadn’t been entirely devoted to him, and if she had asserted herself earlier, this tripartite balance of power might have emerged long ago.

As the host of today’s party, Xia Mi La carried herself with grace and confidence, handling everything with ease and poise.

Faced with everyone’s attentiveness, she treated them all equally, never showing favoritism based on family status, appearance, or personality.

Jin He found this version of Xia Mi La both familiar and strange.

Perhaps more strange than familiar.

Suddenly, he felt he couldn’t stay any longer. Besides, he had never been so marginalized at parties before.

To be fair, Xia Mi La spent most of the party hanging out with the girls.

But halfway through, Jin He left with Cui Zhe.

Instead of going home, the two ended up at the bubble tea shop where Pei Duo Xing worked.

Pei Duo Xing had cut back on some of her part-time jobs as Jin He had suggested, but with her family background, relying solely on Jin He’s support without doing anything herself made her feel insecure.

So, she kept this one job.

By the time Jin He and Cui Zhe arrived, the shop was about to close. Pei Duo Xing made them two drinks before calling it a night.

Jin He slumped in his chair, visibly sullen.

Without the usual irritation and frustration written on his face, his current despondency was even more apparent.

After all, he and Xia Mi La weren’t just nominal fiancés. Though they had never acted like a sweet couple, they had been childhood friends for years, and the engagement itself was already years in the past. Having Xia Mi La by his side had become such a natural habit.

He felt quite uncomfortable with the scenes at tonight’s party.

“Aren’t you all back from the party?” Pei Duo Xing walked over and sat down beside them. “Why do you look so unhappy?”

In her heart, she really didn’t want Jin He to attend Xia Mi La’s party.

But she had just stopped Jin He from meeting Xia Mi La alone… If she kept restricting Jin He, he would probably grow to resent her.

Neither of them answered her question.

After a few seconds of silence, Cui Zhe suddenly spoke up.

“How about,” he said, “I try pursuing Mira too?”

Pei Duo Xing was handing him a drink when she heard this. Her hand trembled, and the paper cup slipped from her grasp, landing on the table with a thud.

Fortunately, she hadn’t been holding it high. Though the noise was loud, the fruit tea itself was fine and undamaged.

Cui Zhe looked at her, reached out to help, his fingers grasping the paper cup and gently bringing it before himself.

Jin He hadn’t even noticed this small incident. His gaze level, he stared straight at Cui Zhe: “What are you talking about?”

Cui Zhe sighed and repeated: “Since everyone seems interested in pursuing Xia Mi La now, I might as well give it a try too.”

He had sensed the same thing Jin He felt earlier. Tonight’s party gave off a clear vibe Jin He was being marginalized, and so was the Azure Dragon Hall.

After Xia Hong’s people left the Azure Dragon Hall, relations between the two sides had become strained. Since Xia Mi La broke off her engagement with Jin He, there seemed to be no favorable connections left between them.

So why not let him be that connection? By staying close to Xia Mi La, even if he didn’t succeed, at least they could maintain a good relationship.

He explained his thoughts to both of them.

Hearing this, Jin He visibly relaxed. He lowered his eyes, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Pei Duo Xing looked as if she’d heard some absurd fantasy: “Xia Mi La is A He’s former fiance, and you’re A He’s best friend. How could you pursue her? What kind of nonsense is that?”

Cui Zhe looked at her calmly: “This circle is small, with the same people going around. There have been more cases of marriages and divorces among us, let alone engagements and relationships.”

Pei Duo Xing turned to Jin He in disbelief.

Jin He remained equally calm, showing no objection to Cui Zhe’s proposal.

Still unable to accept it, Pei Duo Xing showed a disgusted expression: “The relationships in your wealthy world are truly complicated and dirty.”

Cui Zhe met her gaze with a self-mocking smile but said nothing.

“Fine.” Jin He reached out, grasped the cup of fruit tea in front of him, feeling the chill of the ice cubes, and said casually, “Then go ahead and try.”

He didn’t know why he had been so tense earlier. Jin He felt much calmer now.

This was just an idea Cui Zhe had come up with.

After years of companionship, he understood both of them well.

Xia Mi La had only ever liked him she wouldn’t be easily won over by someone else.

And Cui Zhe was the same; he didn’t like girls of Xia Mi La’s type.

Yes, there was no way he would fall for Xia Mi La.

*

Once Cui Zhe made his decision, he started taking action.

However, he wasn’t aggressive about it, remaining relatively subtle.

From Xia Mi La’s perspective, it seemed like this person had been appearing around her frequently lately.

Sometimes they’d chat briefly in the cafeteria, sometimes they’d run into each other reading in the library, and occasionally they’d meet on the basketball court.

For example, today, Xia Mi La was playing tennis. No sooner had she stepped onto the court than Cui Zhe arrived, walking up to her with a smile and suggesting they rally for a bit.

Since their skills were evenly matched, Xia Mi La didn’t refuse.

Xu Lian Yi and Song Ya-yun stood by, watching the match.

Song Ya-yun was purely there for the fun of it she disliked sweating and rarely exercised aside from the occasional golf game.

Xu Lian Yi had changed into tennis attire, but her athletic ability clearly lagged behind her sharp intellect. She wasn’t exactly a great tennis partner for Xia Mi La, so she didn’t mind watching from the sidelines.

“But,” Song Ya-yun whispered to her, gossiping, “why do we keep running into Cui Zhe lately?”

Xu Lian Yi had noticed this a while ago.

She let out a soft hum. “Haven’t you seen? At the party last Saturday, Jin He was completely ignored. They’re probably trying to make up for it now, hoping to repair the relationship between the Hanlin Faction and us.”

Song Ya-yun snorted at that. “If they knew it would come to this, why did they act that way in the first place?”

Things had been going quite well for their Vermilion Bird Hall lately they were finally holding their heads high.

Xu Lian Yi glanced at her. “How’s your father’s lawsuit going?”

Song Ya-yun’s face immediately fell. “Why bring that up now?”

Xu Lian Yi had meant it kindly. But seeing her reaction, she didn’t press further and turned her attention back to the court.

Xia Mi La thoroughly enjoyed her game that day.

After finishing, she walked off the court with a smile and complimented Cui Zhe, praising how much his game had improved.

“You too,” Cui Zhe replied with a grin.

He could clearly sense Xia Mi La’s progress. It wasn’t so much about technique more that her smashes were sharper and her attacks more aggressive than before.

He’d had a satisfying match as well.

“We should play again sometime,” Xia Mi La said. “Let’s schedule another game.”

To her, Cui Zhe was an excellent partner skilled, considerate, and adept at setting up shots to match her rhythm.

It was a perfect opportunity.

Gazing into her smiling eyes, Cui Zhe asked softly, “Only for tennis? What about something else? How about dinner tonight?”

Three questions in one breath though really, it was just one invitation.

Xia Mi La didn’t answer right away. After a moment’s thought, she agreed, “Sure.”

Cui Zhe hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly. A smile touched his eyes, and his tone grew even gentler. “I know a new Italian restaurant that just opened. Shall we try it?”

Xia Mi La nodded. “Alright, you decide.”

So that evening after school, everyone saw Xia Mi La get into Cui Zhe’s car.

“Those two have gotten closer,” Ding Yuan mused, stroking his chin. “Lately, it seems like I often see them together.”

“Xia Mi La and Cui Zhe?” Bian Junye scratched his head. “I don’t really get it.”

Standing between them, Zhao Taihe let out a disdainful snort.

Perhaps men understood men better just by watching Cui Zhe, he knew exactly what he and Jin He were up to.

He suddenly recalled an evaluation Xia Mi La had once given: *tacky*.

He decisively applied it to Cui Zhe and Jin He those two tacky men!

In another direction by the school gate, Jin Can stood watching, eyes fixed as Xia Mi La got into Cui Zhe’s car and drove away.

“Lately, Cui Zhe and Xia Mi La have been getting a bit close, haven’t they?” Park Young-hyun beside him remarked similarly.

Jin Can didn’t respond.

“What about you?” Park Young-hyun glanced at him and asked again, “Haven’t seen you hanging out with Mira much this week.”

“What’s there to do together.” Jin Can’s voice carried a chill, “I don’t know how to play tennis anyway.”

Park Young-hyun couldn’t help but raise a hand to rub his nose.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but the reply sounded somewhat plaintive.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have asked that question.