Three-in-One

Upon hearing this, Shen Manyao instinctively touched her lower abdomen and smiled brightly. "It's all right. I can have sweet milk instead. You'll never understand this—in truth, what we drink has never mattered. What matters is who we drink it with."

Chapter 25 [Three-in-One]

When Li Rongxiu and Shen Manyao entered the elegantly decorated, tranquil café one after the other, they immediately drew everyone's attention in the hall. Noticing the supposedly casual glances cast their way, Shen Manyao smiled faintly at Li Rongxiu. But Li Rongxiu did not look at her. Instead, he turned to survey the sparsely populated hall. Shen Manyao instantly found it rather dull, and the honey-sweet smile on her face faded slightly.

A server came over and led them to their old table, quietly asking what they wanted. Before Li Rongxiu could speak, Shen Manyao said, "A hot milk for me. As for Rongxiu..."

Shen Manyao turned toward him with a charming smile. "Still hot cocoa?"

Li Rongxiu nodded, then casually ordered a Napoleon pastry and a plate of macarons. Seeing this, Shen Manyao smiled and shook her head. She returned the menu to the server and said, "I've never seen a boy who loves desserts as much as you do. Cocoa and macarons—so sweet and rich. How can they possibly taste good?"

Li Rongxiu merely smiled without replying. After hesitating for a moment, Shen Manyao's face showed a bitter smile as she said lightly, "But thinking about it carefully, there's nothing wrong with liking sweets. Science has proven that sweet food can improve one's mood. Just like me now... when I'm alone, I've grown more and more fond of desserts too."

Looking at Shen Manyao's lonely expression, Li Rongxiu recalled the gossip magazines and entertainment tabloids' coverage these past few days of Chi Junrui's "journey to win back his wife," and he understood at once. Yet instead of comforting Shen Manyao, he got straight to the point. "Didn't you say you had information about the Chi family selling its shipyard and infrastructure projects? What exactly is it?"

At his words, Shen Manyao could not help giving the white jade bracelet on her wrist a bitter little turn. The bracelet was luminous and translucent, like congealed cream. Under the soft crystal lighting, it seemed as though a glimmer of flowing light drifted within the jade, making that slender wrist appear even whiter and smoother. It truly made one understand what it meant for beauty to be like jade.

This had been the token of love Li Rongxiu privately gave Shen Manyao when the Li family proposed marriage to the Shen family. This pair of white jade bracelets had originally been among Mo Wanrou's dowry when she married into the Li family. They were said to be antiques once worn by the Empress Dowager of the previous dynasty. Later, amid political turmoil, they had fallen into the common world, somehow ending up in the Mo Family's possession. When Shen Manyao used to visit the Li family, she had expressed her admiration for the bracelets to Li Rongxiu more than once. That was why Li Rongxiu had begged Mo Wanrou to give them to him, so he could then pass them on to Shen Manyao.

As the saying went, one would spend a fortune for a beauty's smile. When Li Rongxiu put the bracelets on Shen Manyao's wrists that day, seeing her ecstatic and disbelieving expression, he had even joked that he had captured a beauty with just one pair of bracelets. Unfortunately, Shen Manyao broke off the engagement at the banquet for certain reasons, and all his hopes came to nothing. Later, busy with humiliation and anger, he was egged on by Chi Junhao into giving Lin Junrui a vicious beating, throwing both families into chaos and bringing them to the brink of open conflict. He had long forgotten about the bracelets. Afterward, Shen Manyao used an excuse to go abroad, and the matter was left unresolved.

Noticing Li Rongxiu staring at her wrist, Shen Manyao's hand paused slightly as she played with the white jade bracelet. Then she removed the bracelets from her wrist, reluctantly played with them for a while, and pushed them in front of Li Rongxiu. "These were originally the tokens of love you gave me. Unfortunately, we weren't meant to be. You should take them back. I'm sure these bracelets will find a better owner."

As she spoke, Shen Manyao looked at Li Rongxiu with eyes full of words left unsaid.

Unfortunately, Li Rongxiu did not notice Shen Manyao's expression. His gaze remained fixed on the bracelets. After pondering for a long while, he sighed deeply, reached out to pick them up, and said with a sigh, "All right. Since you're with Chi Junrui now, there's no use keeping these bracelets. If he sees them, it might damage the relationship between you two. I'll take them back, then... No matter what, these are heirlooms passed down to the Li family's daughters-in-law. It wouldn't be appropriate for you to keep wearing them."

At his words, Shen Manyao's expression stiffened slightly. Her hands instinctively opened as if to snatch the bracelets back, but she immediately came to her senses and stopped herself. She watched helplessly as Li Rongxiu casually tossed the pair of priceless white jade bracelets into the inner compartment of his backpack. Her heart ached as though it were bleeding.

A stifling breath lodged in her chest and caught in her throat. Shen Manyao's expression became increasingly conflicted. She could not tell whether Li Rongxiu had seen through her tactic of retreating in order to advance and was deliberately acting this way, or whether he was truly so blunt that he had failed to understand the deeper meaning behind her actions. Or perhaps...

Did Li Rongxiu truly no longer love her? Did he no longer have even the slightest feelings for her? Was that why he had taken back, without hesitation, the pair of white jade bracelets he had once gone to such lengths to obtain—the ones she loved most?

After a long silence, Shen Manyao quietly bit her lower lip and ultimately chose to believe that Li Rongxiu was simply straightforward. She truly could not believe that Li Rongxiu was clever enough to see through her thoughts, much less deliberately play along and toy with her.

Of course, Shen Manyao would never admit that Li Rongxiu no longer loved her. He had once been so infatuated with her. It was impossible that after only a few days, he no longer felt anything for her.

Thinking this, Shen Manyao suddenly felt a flicker of unease and panic. She vaguely sensed that something which belonged to her was slowly slipping from her palm. This anxiety and torment made it impossible for Shen Manyao, who was naturally possessive and always liked to keep everything under control, to calm herself.

Of course, Li Rongxiu's true thoughts were indeed just as Shen Manyao believed—he had not put much thought into it. He simply found it unpleasant that something belonging to his family had ended up in an outsider's hands, so he wanted it back. As for unintentionally shattering Shen Manyao's confidence in her own charm... that was merely an unintended consequence.

The nostalgic atmosphere between them, which had initially been rather pleasant, turned sour because Li Rongxiu took back the bracelets. An awkward silence spread between them. Fortunately, the server arrived just then with their hot drinks and desserts. Shen Manyao composed herself, nodded her thanks to the server, and took a sip of hot milk. The warm liquid slid through her mouth and into her body, soothing her slightly agitated mood as well. She rallied again and smiled at Li Rongxiu. "Since my father threw me out of the family, this is the first time I've come here for a drink. Thank you for coming with me... Have I ever told you that you're actually a very gentle person, Rongxiu?"

"No," Li Rongxiu said with a straight face, shaking his head woodenly. "You only said I was an ignorant, good-for-nothing playboy who didn't know how to improve himself. You said you didn't want to spend your life with a boy who would never grow up. You said the man you married in the future would definitely be mature and steady, ambitious, and the pride of everyone."

Shen Manyao: "..."

She suddenly realized there was a reason why, despite knowing Li Rongxiu for so many years, she had never been able to fall in love with him. Compared to Chi Junrui's maturity and steadiness, humor and charm, romance and passion, Li Rongxiu—with his silly cowlick and tsundere personality—was like a cup of lukewarm, tasteless water, or a steak fried until well-done: dry, tough, and completely flavorless.

Taking a deep breath, Shen Manyao stopped trying to reminisce with Li Rongxiu about their old feelings and the beautiful times they had shared. She wrapped her left arm around her right, while the fingertips of her right hand, resting at the edge of the table, unconsciously traced circles on its surface. It was an obvious gesture of weakness and femininity. With her body making such gestures and hints, she said with a lonely expression, "...Do you know, Rongxiu? I always thought Junrui loved me. He once did so many romantic and wonderful things for me. We met when we traveled to F Country during last summer vacation. We walked every street in its capital together, drank coffee at roadside cafés. He dressed up as a wandering artist and sketched portraits of me. He took me to watch the stars by the sea, fall asleep listening to the waves, and made me bracelets from seashells he picked up himself..."

"I had thought Junrui treated me that way because of love. But only today did I discover that even without love, if Junrui needed to, he would still do so many things so romantic they could melt a person's heart. But those things would no longer be done for me..."

As Shen Manyao spoke, a crystal-clear tear overflowed from the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek. The next second, she lifted her head and tried hard to widen her eyes, stubbornly refusing to let any more tears fall. The salty tears dampened her lashes, making them appear even brighter and more glistening under the crystal lights. She looked heartbreakingly fragile, yet also immensely strong and proud.

Shen Manyao had always known how to use her beauty. Li Rongxiu knew that very well. Yet at that moment, as if bewitched, Li Rongxiu pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his school uniform and held it out to Shen Manyao. "You're crying. Wipe your tears."

Hearing that, Shen Manyao raised a hand to cover her moist eyes and curled her lips in embarrassment. Her shy appearance, crying and smiling at once, made her seem even more charming and adorable beneath her strength. She took Li Rongxiu's handkerchief and wiped away her tears, then held it in her hands and played with it. After hesitating for a moment, she said softly, "I'm sorry for losing my composure. I even dirtied your handkerchief. Let me wash it clean and return it to you."

Shen Manyao said this because she wanted to find an excuse for them to meet again. Who would have thought that Li Rongxiu, who had understood how to be considerate of a woman just moments ago, would become so unromantic the next? He shook his head and said bluntly, "No need. I have several dozen handkerchiefs like this that go with my school uniform. It's not anything valuable... You can just throw it away."

A sudden feeling of helplessness rose in Shen Manyao's heart. She gave an awkward little cough and decided not to dwell on the matter. Instead, she said, "By the way, I haven't been back to school in a long time. I heard you're leading Alan and the others in making a film now, preparing to compete for the title of Best Student at the centennial celebration. When did you become so hardworking and ambitious... Could it be because of the things I said before?"

Li Rongxiu lowered his head and took a sip of hot cocoa, then picked up a macaron and put it in his mouth. He did not respond to Shen Manyao. This made her feel awkward and powerless once again. As if to conceal it, she picked up her hot milk and took a sip as well, smiling nonchalantly. "Is there anything I can help with?"

Li Rongxiu did not want to discuss what he was doing with Shen Manyao, so he pulled the conversation back to its source and asked directly, "Didn't you say you had news about the Chi family for me? Do you or don't you?"

Seeing impatience appear on Li Rongxiu's face, Shen Manyao's heart tightened. Right—how could she have forgotten how impatient Li Rongxiu, once so pampered, arrogant, and spoiled, could be?

He was a child spoiled rotten by the indulgence of the elders and his older brother at home. Whenever things did not go his way, he would immediately lose control of his temper.

Yet in front of Shen Manyao, Li Rongxiu had always restrained that frivolous, irritable side of himself. He had done everything he could to be gentle and accommodating, just to make her happy. But now... the privilege that should have belonged to her was gone.

Shen Manyao sighed in disappointment and no longer tested Li Rongxiu's patience. She said directly, "The Chi family had Chi Junrui court Yao Pingting because they wanted to use the opportunity to win over the Yao family and solve their shipyard's crisis. But they never expected the scandal involving an oil leak from a cargo ship polluting the sea to emerge at the most critical moment. Now the Chi family has nowhere to retreat. They have no choice but to sell off their assets to restore their reputation. Of course, the Chi family also wants to take this chance to withdraw from the real estate and infrastructure industries, and besides—"