Rose in No-Man's Land

34 Think about it now

In the evening, Tao Ye arrived as promised, carrying the soup she had prepared.

Tang Li stood by, observing Xia Xing Mian's expression as if watching a play. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't difficult to guess her feelings. When Xia Xing Mian saw Tao Ye, her happiness was evident; she continuously called out "sister, sister" without pause. Her sparkling eyes showed how much she enjoyed Tao Ye's visit.

However, it was apparent that their earlier conversation had some impact on her. Despite the warm and harmonious atmosphere throughout the meeting, when it was time to say goodbye, Xia Xing Mian resolutely told Tao Ye, "You shouldn't come back for this week."

She was clearly beginning to fear exposure. Xia Xing Mian wasn't sure which was more important to Tao Ye, her or money.

Tao Ye's reaction was calm, there was no obvious change in her emotions, just a nod in agreement. It seemed like she didn't mind whatever decision Xia Xingmian made.

After Tao Ye left, Xia Xingmian fell unusually silent. Although she was generally quiet, in the following week, she was quiet as if she were invisible. She hardly spoke or engaged in any pastimes, she simply stared blankly, hugging her knees, facing the windowsill, holding a paper crane folded from a hundred-yuan bill.

It seemed she was waiting for a WeChat message from Tao Ye. But Tao Ye was quite busy and rarely messaged her. In a 24-hour day, she probably only found 5 minutes to chat with Xia Xingmian. Yet, Xia Xingmian spent her entire 24 hours waiting for those 5 minutes.

Tang Li also remained silent, sitting in a corner with her laptop, handling business for Lu Qiurui's company.

On the penultimate day of the week, the situation suddenly changed.

Lu Qiurui, who had been in France, unexpectedly altered her itinerary to go to Italy. There was an upcoming music concert in Naples featuring many international masters. Lu Qiurui asked Tang Li to bring Tao Ye and Xia Xingmian along.

"Give them leaves if they need them, and provide money where necessary. It'll be boring for me to go alone, I want them to accompany me."

Lu Qiurui's sudden decision was quite willful. Even though Xia Xingmian had distanced herself from her, she still seemed confident in being able to invite her over.

— Perhaps she was buoyed by the confidence stemming from Xia Xingmian earlier concession.

Tang Li boldly questioned, "If there's a concert, isn't it enough to just invite Miss Xia? Miss Tao might not be interested."

Lu Qiurui replied, "I'm primarily inviting Tao Ye, Xia Xingmian is just an addition."

Tang Li couldn't help but roll her eyes secretly. She inquired, "But Miss Xia's final exams are coming up, isn't that an issue?"

Lu Qiurui stated, "Exams are exams, she has to come. Tell her there will be a make-up exam next year, if all else fails, she can just extend her graduation."

Tang Li felt that Lu Qiurui was being a bit excessive. Yet, she dared not say too much, only agreeing.

Putting down her phone, Tang Li notified Xia Xingmian, "I'll arrange your visa in the next couple of days. The day after tomorrow, when you get discharged, you'll fly to Italy. President Lu wants to see you."

Xia Xingmian coldly replied, "I won't go..."

Tang Li countered with, "Miss Tao is also going, aren't you going?"

Xia Xing Mian instantly perked up, as if revived from the dead, "What?"

"President Lu specifically mentioned asking for Miss Tao to go, and she will definitely be going. Can you trust her to be alone with President Lu?"