Male superiority and female superiority: forced love

Liu Dongxiang's face turned pale, her lips trembled uncontrollably, and tears flowed from her eyes like pearls from a broken string.

"No, Suiyun wouldn't do this to me! You must have seen it wrong!"

As if unable to bear the blow, Liu Dongxiang stood up suddenly, his eyes became empty and lifeless, and his whole body seemed to be shaky as if his soul had been sucked out.

Ruan Chuyin, Cai Lei and Wang Yumei were shocked by her overreaction and quickly pushed her back to her seat.

"Come on, have a cup of hot tea first." Wang Yumei quickly filled her teacup.

"Why drink hot tea? Give me some cold tea!" Cai Lei gave her another cup.

"Hatsune, what you just said was all a lie, right?" Liu Dongxiang pulled Ruan Chuyin's hand, sobbing uncontrollably. The pleading look in her eyes made Ruan Chuyin unable to bear it and shook her head. She sighed and advised, "Fu Suiyun isn't worth this."

"That's right! This man isn't satisfied with you, and he's still coveting Yue Huashan. Could it be that he wants to marry two?" Wang Yumei fell into deep suspicion. The law doesn't prohibit men from marrying more than once. It's just that there are too many people and too little money, and most men don't have the conditions.

"Why do you all think Fu Suiyun wants to get married?" Ruan Chuyin asked, puzzled, the question weighing on her mind. The word "marriage" never entered the Neptune's vocabulary. Every woman was one of his.

Cai Lei was stunned for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

But Liu Dongxiang was still stubborn. She took out the gift Fu Suiyun gave her and sobbed, "This is the gold filigree butterfly hairpin he gave me today. If he had no sincerity towards me, why would he give me such expensive jewelry?" As she spoke, she opened the wooden box.

The golden hairpin is inlaid with a butterfly made of priceless ice soul stone. The two round pearls embellishing its golden antennae are also rare and fine oriental pearls. They sparkle in the sun and emit dazzling light.

Wang Yumei gasped and exclaimed, "What a grand undertaking! This butterfly body, crafted entirely from Ice Soul Stone, alone costs no less than six figures."

Cai Lei stared with her eyes wide open. It was the first time she had seen such an exquisite hairpin. She suddenly felt that the ones she had collected in her dressing table were no longer as attractive.

Ruan Chuyin was much calmer than the others. Among the one hundred and twenty boxes of betrothal gifts Qin Guanzhi had given her was a pair of earrings crafted from Ice Soul Stone. The Sanjia Zhenbaozhai that Xiang Yunchi had given her also had a headdress crafted from Ice Soul Stone. She didn't usually pay much attention to her wardrobe, but she had to pick out a few pieces to wear when she got home; she couldn't afford to waste any.

"Has Fu Suiyun ever proposed to you?" Ruan Chuyin felt that this gold hairpin only proved that this man was willing to spend money.

Liu Dongxiang's face turned even paler, and her eyes were instantly filled with tears.

No! Fu Suiyun never asked her about her relationship.

The three of them studied her expression, their faces becoming serious.

Cai Lei picked up the butterfly-shaped gold hairpin from the wooden box, hesitant to speak. Fu Suiyun resembled her in some ways. If it were her, there would probably be only one reason for giving her this hairpin.

He looked up at Liu Dongxiang and asked with mixed emotions, "Have you slept with him?"

"It's already this time, and you're still asking this!" Wang Yumei rolled her eyes at her unhappily.

"Don't interrupt, this is very important. Dongxiang, tell the truth." Cai Lei didn't bother to pay attention to Wang Yumei, her expression was extremely serious.

Liu Dongxiang sniffed twice, then sniffed, "We were together yesterday at noon." At this point, she couldn't help but chuckle. What did Fu Suiyun mean by going off to find another woman right after they'd been intimate? What did he think of her?

"Don't cry. It's not worth being sad for such a man." Ruan Chuyin gently stroked her back and comforted her.

Cai Lei gazed at her friend's heartbroken expression and knew she had truly fallen in love. Adhering to the principle that a moment's pain is worse than a lifetime's, she spoke frankly, "I think this hairpin is most likely a parting gift from Fu Suiyun, symbolizing a happy separation."

"What did you say?" The crying sound echoing in their ears suddenly stopped. Liu Dongxiang, Ruan Chuyin and Wang Yumei's eyes suddenly tightened, and they stared blankly at their friend who said something shocking.

"Don't talk nonsense! Who would give such an expensive breakup gift!" Wang Yumei was the first to deny her point of view.

Ruan Chuyin understood what she meant, but looking at Liu Dongxiang's almost collapsed face, she swallowed back her words of agreement.

The air was filled with a sense of brokenness, and no one spoke anymore. All that remained were the sounds of heartbroken sobbing and the laughter emanating from a few distant pleasure boats.

After a long while, Liu Dongxiang finally stopped crying. She picked up the hairpin with trembling hands and said with a wry smile, "I thought this was a token of love he gave me. I didn't expect it to mean parting ways. I really wanted to marry him."

"Maybe Leilei guessed wrong." Wang Yumei had never seen her friend so sad, and she was heartbroken.

Ruan Chuyin thought of the unbearable scene on the boat yesterday and said firmly, "Even if Fu Suiyun didn't mean that, he's not worth your sincere love. Besides, he's far from being as simple as you think. You two... are not suitable."

"It's easy to verify if what I said is true. Don't go looking for him from now on, and see if he comes back to you," Cai Lei said, unable to contain herself. She and Fu Suiyun were on the same page when it came to relationships, so they shouldn't have misunderstood. The reason she sent him the gift was to quickly escape this entanglement so she could fully devote herself to her new goal.

"Yue Huashan?" Liu Dongxiang suddenly raised her head and asked with red eyes.

"I don't think so," Cai Lei shook her head. Fu Suiyun, who could play games with his friends without a care in the world, certainly wouldn't marry Yue Huashan. And Yue Huashan didn't necessarily have that intention either. Given her background, she probably wouldn't choose a businessman as her legal husband. Even if she did harbor such thoughts, the Minister of Rites wouldn't approve.

Now the four of them no longer had the heart to cruise the river and enjoy the scenery, so they asked the boatman to dock and left early.

Just after noon, Ruan Chuyin returned to Mingyue Restaurant.

Business was as booming as ever. Many court officials were obsessed with the paintings that the Crown Princess had promised them, and they would come to the building every now and then to stake out the place. As a result, she didn't even dare to go through the main entrance, and could only sneak in through the back door.

"Woman, you're here early!"

As soon as he stepped on the pedal, he was caught by Wei Jiusi.

"Jiusi, have you had your meal?" Ruan Chuyin awkwardly took his big hand and shook it coquettishly.

"It's already this late, do you think I've used it? Is this what you said about coming to the building to help every day? Thanks, Wei!" Wei Jiusi had been holding his breath since early morning. Old Wen said she had come to the building that morning, given Zhang the prescription, and left.

How can you not go upstairs and say hello when people are here?

"I haven't eaten yet. How about you eat some more with me?" Ruan Chuyin had only taken a few bites on the boat, and her stomach was already empty. Anyway, she had to satisfy her stomach first.

"You've been so busy that you haven't even had a meal? What have you been doing?" Wei Jiusi asked suspiciously, but his mood had brightened considerably. From this point of view, she definitely wasn't with those people.

"Let's talk while we eat." Ruan Chuyin nestled in his arms and went upstairs, eagerly waiting for the chicken noodle soup, grilled prawns, steamed yellow croaker, grilled rice cakes and sea urchin stewed eggs that she would order the kitchen to prepare.