A whirlwind marriage with a high-ranking official: Lights out, don't force me to take the initi

All the dishes were served, filling the table to the brim.

Lu Weihua was exceptionally generous and ordered a lot of dishes. Their table ordered the most dishes in the entire restaurant, with plates piled on top of plates.

Zhang Yunxia's gossip-loving nature burned fiercely, and after several rounds of questioning, Lu Weihua finally revealed most of the details about Du Yi.

"Wei Hua, something's wrong with him." Zhang Yunxia dropped a bombshell, "Listen to me, break it off with him."

"Huh? You say that too?" Lu Weihua was stunned, his fork hanging in mid-air.

She instinctively turned her head towards Ding Jiahe, her eyes pleading for help.

Ding Jiahe, with food stuffed in her mouth, looked completely bewildered.

"Hmm? I don't know. I feel like he's alright. Isn't he quite nice to you?"

She swallowed it, then added:

"But I have no experience in this area, so don't listen to me."

Zhang Yunxia was direct again, looking at her:

"Weihua, listen to me. Give him the clothes, consider it repaying a favor, we won't take advantage of him. But this kid definitely has something to gain."

Lu Weihua could barely eat; he felt like his worldview was about to shatter.

"Why don't you try this," Ye Wenxi softened her tone, "create some distance and see how he reacts."

"Don't go on dates with him alone during this time. Just say you're busy and come up with a reasonable excuse."

She looked at Lu Weihua and said seriously:

"If you keep responding to him, you'll keep being led by him. You need to let him know that you have your own life too."

"But how can you be sure he has ulterior motives? He's been treating me really well, hasn't he?" Lu Weihua asked, voicing his doubts.

Ding Jiahe and Zhang Yunxia were silent for a moment.

Ye Wenxi spoke:

"It's precisely because it's so perfect. The timing of his appearance, his actions towards you—there are just too many coincidences."

"When people are immersed in that sweetness, they can't see it. That's what you call an outsider's perspective."

Zhang Yunxia nodded in agreement: "People's hearts need to be tested by fire."

Ye Wenxi looked at her and said, "We'll keep an eye on you, and we promise you won't suffer any losses. You silly thing. If I didn't keep an eye on you, you might have given your whole family away."

Lu Weihua pouted and muttered softly, "Am I that stupid?"

"Weihua, you're not stupid, you're just too sincere." Zhang Yunxia put down her chopsticks and looked at her. "You're kind to everyone, and you don't hide anything from anyone."

She pointed to the table full of dishes:

"Look, this is our first time eating out, and you've already taken us to such an expensive restaurant and ordered so many dishes. You're so honest!"

"If you want to be good to someone, you'd be willing to give them your whole heart. This kind of personality makes you the easiest target for exploitation."

Zhang Yunxia spoke earnestly, her eyes filled with heartache.

Lu Weihua lowered his head and remained silent.

Ding Jiahe whispered a comment from the side:

"I think Sister Yunxia is right... I don't understand it, but it makes a lot of sense."

Ye Wenxi reached out and patted Lu Weihua on the shoulder:

"It's settled then! My best friend promises she won't let you down."

The meal cost Lu Weihua nearly seventy yuan, but she didn't feel bad at all. Besides having money of her own, she felt more that she had made two kind and understanding older sisters.

In the afternoon, they strolled around Central Street and St. Sophia Cathedral. Ye Wenxi took Ding Jiahe to the cosmetics store she had been longing to visit.

From pressed powder to blush, from eyebrow pencil to lipstick, Ding Jiahe bought a complete set.

Ye Wenxi kept his promise and brought her to buy cosmetics after returning from Yunnan, and taught her how to do makeup.

"What did the military say?" Ye Wenxi asked.

They sat in the Madier Ice Cream Parlor, each holding a stick of original flavored milk cake.

"No final decision yet." Ding Jiahe took a bite of her popsicle. "The maximum leave I can get is three months. I guess that's to give me time to think about my future plans."

"Did you suggest any other directions? Or recommend some professional approaches?" Ye Wenxi asked.

"Generally speaking, yes. They're usually assigned to the health system. If I want to stay in the military region, I can go to the medical station."

She paused, then added:

"We'll see. I want to take advantage of this time to get more involved in the clothing company's affairs and see which side I'm better suited for."

Ye Wenxi nodded, then suddenly smiled:

"Okay, my door is always open to you. Cleaning or cooking are both fine!"

"Go to hell!" Ding Jiahe laughed and scolded her.

"Oh, by the way, I called the clothing company yesterday using the guesthouse phone," Zhang Yunxia said, wiping the ice cream off Zhang Xiangyang's chin with a handkerchief.

"It was already past six o'clock, and Sun Xiaolan and the others were still working inside. Firstly, because there were just too many orders, and secondly, because there were a lot of miscellaneous tasks, Sun Xiaolan basically had to dedicate all her time to handling them."

Ye Wenxi listened attentively.

"She said she's received over twenty returned items already. Some had the sender's name and phone number written on them, so I told her to open them. And guess what happened?"

Zhang Yunxia paused, then her tone turned serious:

"The clothes inside this package aren't ours either."

"There are about five or six like that, and about ten that don't have the sender's name or contact information. The remaining few really need to be resized or repaired."

Ye Wenxi frowned slightly:

"It seems there's a lot of complexity involved. Some are just trying to scam us, while others are copying our products and selling them under our name."

She thought for a moment and said:

"Tell Xiaolan not to open the rest of the packages yet. We'll go back the day after tomorrow and analyze them together then."

Ye Wenxi turned to look at Ding Jiahe:

"Jiahe, are you coming back with us, or staying in Harbin?"

"I'm not playing anymore. I'll go back with you guys and keep you company." Ding Jiahe said without even thinking.

That evening, Ding Jiahe treated everyone to barbecue at a halal restaurant. The charcoal sizzled, the aroma of the meat mingled with the smoke, and the group ate until they were all sweating profusely.

After the meal, Lu Weihua went back to school first. Ye Wenxi and the others went back to the guesthouse and the Lu family home.

As night deepened, the campus quieted down, with only a few streetlights standing far apart, casting a dim yellow light that spread across the ground.

Du Yi had just come out of the library and turned into the path leading to the dormitory when he was stopped by someone.

Two or three people emerged from the shadows of the trees and blocked his way.

"Du Yi, come on, let's talk."

His heart skipped a beat, but his face remained expressionless. After a couple of seconds of silence, he followed them deeper into the campus.

After winding their way through the streets, the group arrived at a corner behind the school wall.

Not many people come here usually; the cement on the old brick walls is peeling off, revealing the red bricks underneath.

There wasn't a single streetlamp here; only a sliver of light shone from the distant dormitory building, barely enough to make out faces.

The man in the lead stopped and turned to look at him.

"You said you could pay it off in one day last time. Now you've given me so many days, aren't you being a bit too unreasonable?"

"Are you going to pay me back or not?"

Du Yi lowered his head, remained silent for a while, and then sighed:

"I ran into a little trouble on my end. I'll definitely return it to you in a few days."