After the breakup, I was taken in by a group of trendy young women.

"love?"

Lin Ye pulled over an empty chair from the side, straddled it, and sat down with his arms draped over the back of the chair and his chin resting on his arms.

"I love you so much, I'm living the life of the fittest right now."

She opened her mouth, wanting to refute, but she found that she couldn't refute at all.

Because she knew everything Zhang Qian had ever done.

"Even if Zhang Qian did something wrong, what did you do in the parking lot today?"

Zhang Xue's voice rose half an octave. She turned her head, her gaze falling on Wang Xiaoying, a disdainful smile curling at the corners of her lips.

"Yingying, you're becoming more and more pathetic. You're with a man like that? What were you two doing in the parking lot? Tell me, what were you doing in the car?"

Wang Xiaoying sat in the chair, still holding the iced Americano in her hand.

A few stray hairs from her high ponytail had fallen loose when she ran out of the haunted house, clinging to her ears. The collar of her white quick-drying T-shirt was slightly damp from the dry ice air conditioning. Her legs, encased in dark gray yoga pants, were pressed together, and the tips of her light pink sneakers gently rested against the table leg.

Upon hearing Zhang Xue's words, she gripped the handle of the coffee cup tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white.

Zhang Xue's face changed from ashen to purplish-red.

She turned her head away from Lin Ye—she knew she couldn't win an argument with him; she had experienced this man's sharp tongue far too many times.

She turned her fire back on Wang Xiaoying, her contempt replaced by a more subtle but vicious tone—the kind of sharp sarcasm only understood between close girlfriends, precisely targeting each other's weaknesses: "Wang Xiaoying, I've known you for ten years. You weren't like this before—you looked down on men like this the most, penniless and incompetent, only good at lying to women. Do you remember what you said about Zhang Qian's ex-boyfriend last time? You said he was a good-for-nothing, couldn't even pay rent, and that Zhang Qian was wise to dump him. And now? You're with this good-for-nothing yourself? You think I didn't see what you did in the parking lot?"

Wang Xiaoying's fingers began to tremble.

It wasn't out of anger, but because everything Zhang Xue said was true.

She did say those things.

She did indeed look down on Lin Ye.

She did indeed side with Zhang Xue after Zhang Qian broke up with her boyfriend, thinking that it was something to celebrate that Zhang Qian had dumped a worthless man.

Now she herself has become the one who has been most embarrassed.

Looking at her trembling fingers, Zhang Xue thought she had the upper hand. She took half a step forward, her tone changing from harsh to earnest, as if advising a stubborn sister to turn back from her delusions: "Yingying, wake up. You've been deceived by him. Who is he? A man who can't even pay rent, a hoodlum who parades around with a bunch of shady characters. What does he have besides good looks? Can he be sincere towards you? He can't be sincere towards any woman—look at the group of people around him, where do you think you rank? How important do you think you are to him? You're just the next Zhang Qian, he'll dump you once he's had enough of your money."

"Shut up!"

The loud slam on the table startled everyone in the restaurant.

Wang Xiaoying stood up.

Her hand was still on the table, and the coffee cup shook twice from the force of the slam, spilling a few drops of iced Americano that left dark spots on the white tablecloth.

Her high ponytail swung behind her, and her bare face was completely unmasked.

"Zhang Xue, I've known you for ten years. You always compare yourself to me—grades in college, jobs after graduation, even boyfriends. Your sister dumped Lin Ye, and you think I should stand with you and belittle him. You think we're on the same side, right? You're not standing up for me, you're just jealous. You're jealous that Lin Ye treats me well, you're jealous that I'm happy, you're jealous that I look better in my tracksuit and without makeup than you in your carefully made-up outfit. You're even jealous of your sister—because your sister dated Lin Ye for at least three years, and you don't even deserve a second glance from him."

Zhang Xue took half a step back.

Wang Xiaoying didn't give her a chance to back down, taking a step forward with her hands still clenched into fists, her long legs wrapped in yoga pants casting a slender shadow in the afternoon sunlight.

She took a deep breath and said the harshest thing she'd said all night: "He's just great. I feel good even when he insults me, so what's it to you?"

The restaurant was silent for a full three seconds.

Then the tattooed man stood up first, took the cigarette out of his mouth, and clapped his hands forcefully a few times—not applauding, but slamming his palms on the table, shouting a word with each clap: "Well said!"

The blond-haired man jumped up from his chair and quickly grabbed the glass of cola from the table, so it wouldn't be too cold when he spilled it later.

Hua Tui looked up from the small mirror, the rose tattoo on her leg glaringly red in the sunlight. Her tone was light, but every word pierced Zhang Xue's lungs: "Auntie, your best friend says our brother is better, what are you still trying to persuade him for? If you want to try too, go get a number and wait in line yourself."

Green Hair peeked out from the side, his mint green earrings slipping down from behind his ears to cover half his face: "We're already overstaffed, but if you're willing to sever ties with Zhang Qian, we can consider letting you be an intern."

The pink-haired girl nodded vigorously beside him, her peach-pink hair swaying slightly: "Yes, the internship is three months. Only those who perform well can become full-time employees."

Qi Liuhai sat in the corner holding Wangcai. He rarely spoke up, but his voice was small but every word was very clear: "You're so old, and our brother doesn't lack motherly love."

The blond-haired man finally managed to hold the Coke cup steady and took a step forward.

Seeing the still-bubbling Coke in her hand, Zhang Xue subconsciously took a half-step back, the stiletto heel of her high heel striking the chair leg behind her with a piercing metallic scraping sound.

The designer handbag she was carrying slipped from her arm and fell to the ground, but she didn't bother to pick it up.

A look that Lin Ye had never seen on her face before finally appeared on her exquisitely made-up face—a look of utter helplessness.

She turned around and looked at the people around her—the blond guy was holding a Coke cup, the tattooed man was standing to her left recording her with his phone, the tattooed leg was adding insult to injury to her right, the green-haired and pink-haired men were making a scene on the other side, the man with bangs was holding a cat and saying the harshest things with the most innocent expression, and the sisters Shen Qing and Shen Na were standing side by side by the long table, quietly watching this scene, their eyes showing neither anger nor smugness, only a faint trace of sympathy that made Zhang Xue feel even more uncomfortable.

Wang Xiaoying, her best friend of ten years, was standing next to Lin Ye. Her bare face was slightly flushed with excitement, but she stood firmly with clear eyes. She was a completely different person from the woman who had trembled when Lin Ye asked her "What are you doing in the parking lot?" ten minutes earlier.

Looking at Zhang Xue's state, Wang Xiaoying remained silent for a while before bending down to pick up Zhang Xue's designer bag from the ground. She dusted off the bottom of the bag, handed it back, and spoke in her usual calm tone. But beneath that calmness lay a layer of unfamiliarity and distance that Zhang Xue had never heard before: "Zhang Xue, you can go now. We're not best friends anymore."