The friend on the other end first expressed her surprise at the right moment, then defended Qian Jin.
"Maybe you saw wrong?"
"Old Qian isn't that kind of person."
"Weren't you the one who knew him best in college? He made a name for himself pursuing you in our department."
"Did someone say something to you? You have to trust him."
Qi Sui numbly read her words and asked only one question:
"Duoduo, do you know that Qian Jin doesn't like women?"
Chen Duo was probably stunned by this news, or maybe she just wanted to find an excuse to brush her off. In any case, she didn't reply for a long time.
Qi Sui typed and sent another message:
"I will find evidence."
Not "will find," but already had it.
Qi Sui wasn't stupid; she was just easy to get along with and naive. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been admitted to one of the top five universities in the country. What she said would likely be relayed to Qian Jin by Chen Duo, so she couldn't be too direct.
Perhaps, subconsciously, she was still making excuses for Qian Jin?
Even though she knew it was all true.
Her phone vibrated for a long time. When she answered, a very polite voice came through:
"Hello, is this Ms. Qi? The cake you ordered has been placed at your public address. Whipped cream may melt if left in warm temperatures for too long, affecting the taste. Please enjoy it as soon as possible. Sorry for the inconvenience."
"Ah... okay, sure."
WeChat promptly sent a message:
[Cake, remember to pick it up.]
[Not sweet, it's Li Pu taro paste flavor.]
As if reporting.
Incomprehensible.
Qi Sui wished she could run to the other side of the screen, drag the man out, and point at his head, yelling:
"Who the hell are you?"
Dazedly, she left the house. Dazedly, she retrieved the cake from the cold storage cabinet downstairs. Dazedly, she sat at the dining table and opened the cake—
She looked down.
The candles were candy-colored, playful and vibrant, and they had even chosen her specific age.
28 years old.
Thoughtfully included in the cake box was a small lighter, also in a playful style.
She inserted the candle into the white-purple cake, sat there staring blankly at the cake, then inexplicably took a picture. She opened her WeChat Moments, which she hadn't updated in ages, and as if possessed, she posted it with an incredibly childish caption:
Happy 18th birthday.
No one liked it at first.
She put down her phone, closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and made a wish.
She really didn't know what to wish for, so in her mind, she maliciously fantasized—
May the third party Qian Jin likes inexplicably fall for a woman, so they become sworn brothers instead of lovers.
Then, with a tangled heart, she blew out the candle, cut a small piece of cake, and put it into her mouth.
She didn't like sweet things and rarely ate this kind of cake, so her impression of cake was still of those cloyingly sweet, unpalatable desserts. But this one, perhaps because of its high-quality ingredients, tasted very different.
The taro paste was smooth and silky, mixed with a hint of chestnut fragrance. The cake base had no extra jam or excessive sugar; its sweetness seemed to come naturally from the combination of taro and chestnut, with a coolness from refrigeration.
It instantly overpowered the bitter coffee taste in her mouth.
Delicious.
Unexpectedly.
Delicious.
She wondered if she was heartless.
Her husband might be with someone else right now, but she was here devouring the cake sent by the third party, eating it all up.
Her stomach was thoroughly filled, with a non-sweet cake and a rare sense of fullness.
She picked up her phone on the table.
She refreshed her feed casually, and a notification popped up:
"Xiang" commented on your post:
Happy 8th birthday.
...
Was he mocking her?
Indeed, the third party had no class.