Chapter 26

Nine-sided Mirror - Confession (1)

“Luo Wei? What’s wrong?” Xi Yan grabbed her arm. “Are you feeling unwell?”

She couldn’t escape. As Su Jianiang entered the hall, Xi Yan’s father loudly announced, “Our grand pianist has arrived. Welcome, welcome!”

Thunderous applause erupted, and over a hundred pairs of eyes turned toward them, including He Yingze’s. Su Jianiang greeted Mr. Xi warmly, but Luo Wei kept turning her head, afraid to make eye contact with He Yingze.

Xi Yan hooked her arm and said, “Senior is about to perform. He likes to drink an energy drink before performing, but there isn’t any here. How about we go outside and buy some?” All she wanted now was to get away from He Yingze, so she left with Xi Yan without daring to look at He Yingze again.

They entered a supermarket, and as they reached the entrance, Xi Yan twisted her ankle, screaming in pain, “Ah, my foot.”

“Are you okay?” Luo Wei hurried over to help her.

“Ugh, I was asking for it, wearing 11 cm high heels. It hurts so much...” Xi Yan glanced at the time, limping forward. “We need to hurry and buy the drinks, or we’ll be late.”

“You can’t walk now, I’ll go get it. Wait for me here.”

“Okay, I’ll hold your bag. It’ll be quicker that way.”

“Alright.” Luo Wei handed her bag to Xi Yan and jogged to the drink aisle, picking out a few energy drinks. When she returned to the front, however, Xi Yan was already gone. Her bag was placed at the cashier, and the clerk handed it to her. “That lady said her foot hurt too much, so she went back to wait for you.”

“Oh... okay, thanks.” She paid for the drinks. As she opened her bag to get her wallet, she felt something odd. Her sketchbook, which she always kept at the very bottom of her bag for important notes, was now on top. Something wasn’t right. She flipped through it, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so she put it back in her bag. After paying, the cashier suddenly called out to her. “Miss, your friend seems to have some issues. Be careful.”

“Why?”

“She was hiding in the corner just now, rummaging through your bag, and took out your phone, but couldn’t unlock it. Then she opened your hardcover notebook and secretly read it for a long time.” The clerk pointed to the monitor in the corner. “Everything is visible here.”

Why did Xiyean rummage through her notebook? Wait, what did she write in the notebook... Thinking of these details made her feel like she was suffocating. How could she be so careless! It’s said that a leopard can’t change its spots, and a person’s aura doesn’t change either. Back in elementary school, He Yingze was always surrounded by martial arts drama, while Su Jiani’s world was filled with palace intrigue. Su Jiani had always attracted such girls, and as they grew up, these girls’ strategies only became more sophisticated. How could they suddenly change type? She quickened her pace toward the hotel, but at the same time was afraid of facing the situation ahead. But she had to return. If she didn’t, she had no idea how things would unfold.

Back in the party hall, she happened to catch everyone applauding as Su Jiani went to perform at the piano. Seeing Luo Wei enter, he walked out from a group of chattering girls and looked at her. He neither smiled nor looked angry, but turned his gaze away and walked toward the grand piano, adorned with jewels. Luo Wei quickly approached him and whispered, “Jiani ge.”

He didn’t look at her. “What is it?”

“Focus on your performance, you’re the star tonight. Whatever it is, we can talk after you’re done.”

He exhaled lightly but still didn’t look at her, walking straight to the piano. He lifted the tail of his tuxedo, sat down with perfect posture, and lowered his head deeply. He looked quite dejected. However, his mental fortitude was strong. As soon as he pressed the piano keys, the first melody echoed in the hall, and the expressions of everyone in the room softened. The music was captivating, but the atmosphere around her felt as heavy as lead. Xiyean stood far away from her, clearly drawing a line between them. The other music girls no longer enjoyed the art; instead, they gathered in whispers, occasionally glancing at her and quickly turning away when their gazes met. She listened calmly to the performance, not looking at them. When they saw that she didn’t care, they exaggerated their laughter, turning their heads more frequently, like children trying to assert their presence. It wasn’t until Su Jiani’s performance ended that everyone applauded again, and one girl walked toward her, plastering a fake smile on her face. “Girl, did you look in the mirror today?”

Luo Wei didn’t answer. She could no longer hide her bitterness. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Have you ever seen Senior’s ex-girlfriend? Liu Yixue, our music academy’s number one beauty.”

This time, Luo Wei didn’t even look at her. Realizing that provocation was futile, the girl glanced at Xiyean, who furrowed her brows and walked toward them. She whispered in Luo Wei’s ear, “Luo Wei, do you know? Liu Yixue... she was...”

She looked behind her, suddenly stumbling over her words, unable to finish her sentence. Not only her, but the other girls also looked in shock at what was behind her. She instinctively turned around and was also startled: several middle-aged businessmen in suits had brought He Yingze to sit behind them. Although He Yingze was younger than most of them, he didn’t appear the least bit courteous.

“Sorry! Mr. He!” Realizing that she was blocking He Yingze’s view, Xiyean pulled the other girls aside. He Yingze ignored her and turned to listen to the businessmen discussing matters. Just then, Su Jiani finished his performance and came back. Xiyean and the others stood close to him, like birds around him. Su Jiani cast a cold glance at Luo Wei, his eyes quickly moving elsewhere, not intending to talk to her. Luo Wei knew that this wasn’t the best time to explain, so she just stood there, fiddling with her phone. After a while, he walked over to her. “Don’t you have something to say to me?”

Luo Wei looked up, smiled, and said, “Your performance was great. It was really nice to listen to.”

“Is that all?”

Xiyean’s anger seemed like it was on the verge of boiling over. She glared at Luo Wei, her eyes filled with warning. Luo Wei only focused on talking to Su Jiani. “You’re very smart. You figured out that I’ve had feelings for someone else. I’m sorry to you.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind.” His eyes shone brightly, and when he was sad, they seemed like dewdrops on flower petals.

Before the conversation could continue, Xiyean had already maneuvered around Luo Wei and whispered in Su Jiani’s ear, “Senior, it seems someone sent a message to your phone. Sigh, although Luo Wei was wrong, I think it can be forgiven. You can take a look.”

“I don’t want to look. I trust her.”

Xiyean gritted her teeth and then glared at a girl. The girl, loyal like a Tibetan mastiff, nodded and said to Su Jiani, “Mr. Su, it’s not that we’re meddling, but not telling you would be a disservice to you. Until yesterday, she was still writing about other men in her notebook. They’re childhood sweethearts, named Xiao Ying. In short, to her, you’re just a backup.”

When Su Jiani heard the name “Xiao Ying,” his spine stiffened. Luo Wei felt a chill run down her spine, her palms sweating cold, and the smell of alcohol and sweet pastries around her made her feel uncomfortable. She secretly glanced at He Yingze behind her, but it seemed he hadn’t heard their conversation. However, Su Jiani caught that small detail. His pupils contracted slightly, and his voice trembled. “...Is it him?”

“I have nothing to do with him. You have to believe me.”

“It’s Yingze.” He closed his eyes, his lips trembling. His anxious, neurotic state at the edge of losing control looked just like when he was young. “I should have guessed it. No matter how much time passes, you’ll only see him. It won’t change.”

At this moment, a girl waved her phone excitedly. “Wow, you all should check the group messages. The content is so explosive!”

Several girls pulled out their phones to check the message. The girl who had been loyal to Xiyean opened a picture and recited the message like a textbook: “‘Today, on the way to the racetrack, I accidentally brushed Xiao Ying’s arm, and I was upset for the whole afternoon’...”

Upon hearing this, Luo Wei was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized what had happened: Xiyean not only peeked at her diary, but had also taken a picture of it. Xiyean pulled out her phone, lightly shook it, and put her arm around Su Jiani’s shoulder. “Are you okay? Don’t be sad. Luo Wei didn’t mean to.”

The girl didn’t stop, and her voice grew louder: “‘I really don’t understand, why has Xiao Ying become like this? He used to be so gentle on the phone, but now he’s like this. I don’t even understand myself, why do I keep thinking about him?’”

Luo Wei’s cheeks quickly flushed, and a buzzing sound rang in her ears. She wanted to stop them from reading more, but as she reached out, she grabbed nothing. A few waiters passed by carrying trays of drinks, and she saw He Yingze on the sofa. His eyes widened slightly, looking at her in surprise. At that moment, the air seemed to freeze. He… had heard it all. This feeling was even worse than death. The girl waved her finger at her and deliberately read in a weak voice: “‘When I’m with Xiao Ying, I feel really insecure, my mood is always messy. What am I thinking? He has clearly said before that he’ll never marry me.’”

Upon hearing this, Luo Wei’s face turned bright red, and tears swelled in her eyes. The girl was so focused on reading the diary that she didn’t notice the awkwardness between them. She clicked her tongue and continued, “And here’s another line, oh, this one’s terrible: ‘Why can’t I like Jia Nian?’”

At this point, Su Jia Nian’s hand clenched so tightly that it started trembling. He finally threw his hand down and walked briskly towards the door of the hall.

Author’s note: Lu Xiren: “… Why stop here? I really want to know what happens next.” Xiao Lajiao: “Heh, playboys love gossip.” Lu Xiren: “…” Luo Wei: “By the way, the popularity survey for the main characters of ‘Mirror Roses’ was conducted on Shanshan’s Weibo @JunziYize. In the next update, we’ll show you the voting results. Guess who will be number one?” Xie Xinqi: “I’m not interested in such voting results.” Xie Xiuchen: “Actually, I think you’ve secretly peeked at them and got hurt.” Xie Xinqi: “Xie Xiuchen, don’t think you understand me so well!” Luo Wei: “Uh... let’s move on to the next segment. Now it’s time to share some reader comments, which may contain spoilers. So, those who don’t want spoilers, be cautious when scrolling.”