1987 My Era

Chapter 671
After listening patiently, Mai Sui raised a question: "You said that Song Yu and Teacher Yu are working together to deal with you, but that's just your guess."

Zhou Shihe picked up a full glass of beer from the coffee table, took a slow sip, and said, "Song Yu and Teacher Yu met and had a very pleasant chat."

After saying that, she asked in a gentle and refined manner, "Sui Sui, two incompatible rivals are chatting and laughing together on their first meeting. Do you think that's normal?"

Wheat Ear was taken aback. "You saw it with your own eyes?"

Zhou Shihe remained silent.

After going through her friends, Mai Sui realized, "Manning and Song Yu are also very close friends, so they're definitely neutral among you. Ningning told you that afterward, right?"

Zhou Shihe did not deny it.

Mai Sui was still a little incredulous: "Song Yu really would team up with Teacher Yu? They are both very proud and arrogant people."

Zhou Shihe smiled lightly: "Before you fell in love with Li Heng, weren't you just as proud and arrogant? Among his female confidantes, who wasn't proud and arrogant?"

Temporarily setting aside one's pride might bring lifelong happiness. If it were you, wouldn't you refuse?

Maisui said in a muffled voice, "I never thought of competing for it."

Zhou Shihe didn't refute or reopen old wounds, but she already knew that her best friend had accepted her analysis.

The reason why she didn't stab the wound is because the premise of Sui Sui's lack of ambition was that Song Yu blocked her way. Otherwise, she might not have been willing to be the concubine from the beginning.

This is human nature; it has nothing to do with belittling or praising.

After all, Sui Sui has excellent qualities. It's just that she can't stand out by Li Heng's side. If she were outside, she would be one in a million, a goddess that many men can only look up to for their entire lives.

After glancing between the two lots for a moment, Mai Sui asked, "If I drew 'Leave forever,' how would you end his pursuit?"

Zhou Shihe looked down at the wine in her glass: "I will have my own way."

Wheat Ear stared at her. "I want to hear what's on your mind."

Zhou Shihe hesitated for a moment and said, "I will never marry."

Hearing this, Mai Sui suddenly felt a pang of heartache and sympathy, and murmured to herself, "Sigh, when you said 'Love at first sight is so romantic, and the beauty in my heart will never fade,' I knew you would take this path."

Actually, Li Heng seems to be quite tolerant of us and very accommodating, but he is actually very stubborn.

I have a feeling that if you choose to leave him, he will be obsessed with you for the rest of his life.

Zhou Shihe tacitly agreed with her best friend's explanation, and it was precisely because she had considered this point in advance that she let Sui Sui draw lots.

After waiting a while and receiving no reply from her best friend, Mai Sui asked a question that struck right to the heart: "Is it worth it?"

Zhou Shihe remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "It doesn't matter whether it's worth it or not. The song 'Rain's Imprint' is the best gift he ever gave me in this life."

Mai Sui sighed: "I'm not good at music and can't really understand the key between you, but every time I watched you perform together on stage, I vaguely felt that you and him had an inexplicable connection."

Mai Sui never expected that Shi He had fallen so deeply in love with Li Heng.

But then she suddenly understood. Shihe lacked nothing from birth; her family had prepared everything for her, except for love. In the long journey of life ahead, the only thing Shihe could pursue was love.

Moreover, a talented woman like Shihe, with such outstanding qualities, is generally hard to fall in love with. But once she falls in love, she will engrave that love in her soul and become very extreme.

Then, Mai Sui thought about herself: Would she leave Li Heng?
The answer is no.

She had already pledged her life to Li Heng, vowing to stay by his side for the rest of her life.

At this thought, the wheat ears and the poem instantly resonated with each other on a spiritual level.

Mai Sui said softly, "I haven't drawn lots yet. Would you like to try a different method?"

Zhou Shihe gently shook her head: "Let's not put off the problems between us. Let's resolve them today. Whether it works or not, it's up to fate."

The two women looked at each other for a while, and Mai Sui finally agreed. Then she closed her eyes, reached out her right hand, and grabbed a crumpled piece of paper.

After catching them, Mai Sui said, "That's all."

Zhou Shihe's gaze fell on her palm, and she remained silent.

The wheat stalk asked, "Will you open it? Or should I?"

Zhou Shihe said, "You drew the lot, so naturally you get to decide."

Upon hearing this, Mai Sui didn't ask any more questions. After taking a deep breath, she nervously began to fiddle with the crumpled paper, peeling it off little by little.

At this moment, the living room fell into an eerie silence.

Both women held their breath.

The difference was that, just as the paper ball was about to be unfolded, Zhou Shihe closed her eyes and sat dignifiedly on the sofa, like a stone Buddha statue.

Mai Sui glanced at her best friend before continuing.

3!

2!

1!

When the count reached 1, the wheat ear unleashed its swift and decisive action, unfolding all the paper.

Then she paused, stunned.

Then, she held up the paper again and said to Shihe, "Okay, you can read it now."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shihe opened her eyes and took the note.

The note clearly displayed four characters written in pen: "Sisters for life."

Seeing her best friend staring at the note in silence for a full minute, Mai Sui asked softly, "You made an exception for me, you broke your bottom line for me, do you regret it?" Zhou Shihe touched the words "sisters for life" with her slender fingers, put down the note, picked up her wine glass again, and turned to Mai Sui.

Maisui understood, picked up her wine glass, and held it out.

Without a sound, the two wine glasses clinked together in the silence.

The two women exchanged a glance, then downed their drinks in one gulp.

After finishing their drinks, the two best friends looked at each other, their unspoken understanding unspoken.

Today's conversation, today's dispute, today's turmoil, today's draw—the two women reached a tacit understanding in their hearts that they would keep it to themselves for life and never tell outsiders.

Even if it were Li Heng, the two women would choose to remain silent.

With her biggest inner conflict resolved, and with the answer she had been longing for, Mai Sui picked up a beer bottle and, for the first time, poured Shi He a drink. "Thank you for being understanding," she said.

Her thanks were mainly to thank Shihe for her consideration and for valuing her.

She understood better than anyone how much Shihe struggled, how unwilling, and how painful it was when she wrote the "Sisters for Life" signature, but at the same time, how deep her affection and loyalty were.

Zhou Shihe remained silent, sipping her beer in small, deliberate sips, treating it like water.

The wheat ears silently accompanied them.

After drinking more than half a cup, Mai Sui broke the silence: "Now, all his female confidantes see you as a thorn in their side, and they want to get rid of you as soon as possible. How are you going to deal with that?"

Zhou Shihe said calmly, "I'm already taking action."

"Action?" Mai Sui looked puzzled, then racked her brains to figure out what was going on in Shi He's current situation.

Two minutes later, no results were obtained from the wheat harvest.

Five minutes later, the wheat still hadn't produced any fruit.

Zhou Shihe didn't urge him, but sat quietly on the sofa and waited.

Unbeknownst to them, 10 minutes had passed. Suddenly, Mai Sui raised her head and said, "The tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind. Are you now making a hasty retreat? A strategic retreat to advance?"

Zhou Shihe gave a soft "hmm".

Mai Sui said softly, "Before I came, I thought you had given up on this relationship, and I was incredibly worried about you. I even thought of so many things to say to comfort you. Sigh..."

Maisui sighed again.

Zhou Shihe said, "It's not exactly an escape; I need some time to calm down."

Mai Sui suddenly asked jokingly, "Calm down? What if Li Heng is captivated by someone else and doesn't come looking for you?"

Zhou Shihe slowly stroked the wine glass with her fingers: "To gain it is my fortune, to lose it is my fate."

The implication is: if he doesn't come looking for me, then it's fine to just live like this, at least she won't feel burdened or conflicted.

Moreover, this is the result she wanted.

If even Li Heng has temporarily forgotten about her, then Song Yu, Yu Shuheng, and Xiao Han will also gradually follow him and forget about themselves.

Zhou Shihe understood the current situation better than anyone else: Li Heng cared most about Song Yu, followed by Xiao Han, and probably third was his first love, Chen Zijin.

This ranking is based on evidence.

Last time, Li Heng dared to hold hands and take Xiao Han away right in front of Shen Xin and her daughter Yu Shuheng after leaving Building 25. This suggests that Xiao Han currently holds a higher place in his heart than Teacher Yu.

If we compare Yu Shuheng and Xiao Han more comprehensively: in terms of personal qualities alone, Xiao Han wins in terms of refinement and charm, while Teacher Yu wins in terms of her perfect scholarly temperament. Both are true beauties, and their overall strengths are about the same.

If we disregard personal circumstances, Xiao Han's family background is far inferior to Teacher Yu's, yet Li Heng dared to make such a choice, especially in front of Shen Xin. This shows how high Xiao Han's status is in Li Heng's heart.

It is clear that Li Heng is a person who cherishes old friendships.

Otherwise, Zhou Shihe couldn't understand the logic behind it. Anyone with eyes could see that choosing Teacher Yu would be much more advantageous than choosing Xiao Han, but he just wouldn't.

Moreover, in her contest with Song Yu, Li Heng chose Song Yu in the same way, which made her seem to have figured out a certain pattern of Li Heng: the earlier a woman was with him, the more difficult it was for her to shake his position.

Zhou Shihe even thought: if the Chen family had been more farsighted and generous back then, and had taken the opportunity to accept Li Heng and get engaged during the summer after their junior year of high school, Li Heng and Chen Zijin would probably have been together for life.

For all of the above reasons, Zhou Shihe chose to temporarily avoid confrontation.

Mai Sui understood: if Li Heng stopped bothering Shi He, Shi He would gradually return to being his classmate and friend, accompanying him in a different capacity; if Li Heng couldn't withstand the inner torment and went to find Shi He again, then there would undoubtedly be a big net quietly waiting for that philanderer.

It's often said that what you can't have is always the best.

Of his current female confidantes: Huang Zhaoyi has been completely taken advantage of, Chen Zijin was given her body and soul long ago, Xiao Han has also been won over, and Mai Sui and Teacher Yu are almost there. Song Yu will likely be next. In the end, only Zhou Shihe remains, whom he hasn't yet taken a bite of.

At this point, a sentence suddenly popped into Mai Sui's mind: A skilled hunter often appears as the prey.

Isn't Shihe also playing psychological warfare?
Wasn't Shihe also betting that Li Heng would lose control and come looking for her?
If Shihe persists in competing with Song Yu and Teacher Yu, she will only waste her energy and gain nothing, she will only lose points with Li Heng, and Li Heng will only think that the goddess who is unattainable in the world is just like this, and he will also be jealous of her.

But if Shihe were to change her approach and become the prey as before, Li Heng would not only maintain the thrill and sense of accomplishment of the chase, but at some point in the future, when Li Heng was confident that he was about to win her over, Shihe could use this as leverage to make demands.

Thinking of this, Mai Sui's gaze towards Shi He changed, becoming particularly complex: Shi He's retreat back to the dormitory to calm down seemed to be forced away, but in reality, she turned the passive situation into an active one, placing herself in a favorable position where she could advance or retreat at will.

It's obvious that Shihe is lying in wait, quietly laying the groundwork for a major operation.

If Li Heng were to pursue Shi He again, he would be trapped in the game.

Once Li Heng becomes unable to extricate himself from this relationship, it will be time for Shi He to end the game. Even if Song Yu and Teacher Yu join forces, it's still uncertain who will emerge victorious.

Ps:

(End of this chapter)