Chapter 162: Calculated Schemes

At first, she didn't pay it much mind, but once she started scratching, it became like an addiction; the more she scratched, the itchier it got.

By the time she was waiting for the traffic light at the next intersection, Ruan Mianmian couldn't wait to flip open the vanity mirror in the car.

Looking closely, she discovered a few small red spots near her collarbone. At a glance, they weren't very obvious, but the itch was impossible to ignore.

"Could I have been bitten by a mosquito? It doesn't really look like it though."

It looked somewhat like an allergic reaction to something.

However, Ruan Mianmian had no history of allergies, so she didn't take it too seriously.

When she finally arrived at the café where she was supposed to meet Xiang Kui, Ruan Mianmian walked in and immediately spotted Xiang Kui sitting desolately in a corner.

"What's wrong?"

Ruan Mianmian took small, hurried steps over and sat down opposite Xiang Kui.

Only upon closer inspection did she notice that Xiang Kui's eyes were completely red and swollen, her lips were chapped with peeling skin, and most importantly, there were dark, bruised circles underneath her eyes.

"Did you stay up all night without sleeping?"

Ruan Mianmian surveyed Xiang Kui, a hint of astonishment in her voice.

"Ugh, I'm at my wit's end."

Xiang Kui kept her head down, staring unblinkingly at her phone screen, which remained pitch black, clearly lacking any new messages.

After glancing at it twice, Ruan Mianmian knew that Xiang Kui was waiting for a message from Chen Ci.

Yet it was equally obvious that Chen Ci hadn't sent anything.

At that moment, a thought suddenly crossed Ruan Mianmian's mind. Since the Zhong Group was hosting a cocktail party today and even Jiang Ce had gone, shouldn't Chen Ci be there too?

In Ruan Mianmian's mind, whatever relationship Chen Ci had with Zhong Yu had to be at least better than the one between Jiang Ce and Zhong Yu, right?

"Xiang Kui? Won't you pay a little attention to me? Did you just have me come here so you could leave me hanging?"

Ruan Mianmian offered a timely, teasing remark.

As her voice trailed off, Xiang Kui finally tore a fraction of her attention away from the phone screen and directed it toward Ruan Mianmian.

Xiang Kui glanced at Ruan Mianmian and instantly her lips poured downward in a pout.

"I had a fight with Chen Ci."

Ruan Mianmian wore a knowing look as she said, "I already heard about that. But could you first tell me what actually happened between you two? Only then can I figure out a way to help you."

"I..."

Xiang Kui just opened her mouth when her eye sockets instantly turned red. She lowered her head and buried her face in her hands, her shoulders trembling intermittently as she began to cry.

"Don't cry!"

Ruan Mianmian immediately stood up, moved to sit beside Xiang Kui, and patted her shoulder in comfort. "Stop crying. Tell me what happened and we'll figure it out together, okay?"

"I..."

Xiang Kui wiped away her tears, calmed her emotions slightly, and slowly began. "After I went back last night, a fan in one of our group chats said she had a sudden issue and missed the concert, but she wanted to buy a piece of fan merchandise from me.

When I heard that, I immediately told her I could just give her one for free. After all, we still had quite a lot of items left over in the car, so I offered to mail it to her. But she said there wasn't enough time and that she could come and pick it up instead."

Hearing this, Ruan Mianmian didn't think anything was particularly amiss.

After all, everyone there was a fan, and someone like Xiang Kui was practically a leader among the fandom, so she certainly wouldn't refuse such a request.

Yet, looking at Xiang Kui's reaction, she guessed the matter wasn't that simple.

Xiang Kui suddenly choked back a sob and continued, "So I sent her the address. Very soon, she messaged saying she had arrived downstairs. Then I took the items and went downstairs, ready to hand them over to her.

But..."

Xiang Kui's nose tingled, and her tears instantly formed a continuous string once more.

Ruan Mianmian patted her back to soothe her. "What happened? Isn't that all pretty normal? Did Chen Ci get angry just because of that?"

Ruan Mianmian figured Chen Ci wouldn't get upset over such a trivial matter.

Biting her lip and wiping away her tears, Xiang Kui went on. "When I got downstairs and found the spot she mentioned, there was absolutely nobody there. I stood in the same place waiting for two minutes, and that person kept telling me she was arriving right away, but the person who showed up wasn't her."

"It wasn't the person you arranged to meet?"

Ruan Mianmian was somewhat startled.

"Right, the person who made the appointment with me claimed to be a girl and even described what clothes she was wearing, but there was nobody there at all."

At this point, Xiang Kui's expression turned somewhat panicked and fearful.

She continued, "Just as I was about to leave, out of nowhere several hoodlums and ruffians popped up. They insisted on claiming I was a call girl they had ordered... an escort service girl, and tried to drag me off to a hotel... wuwuwu..."

As her words ended, Xiang Kui could no longer hold back, collapsing onto Ruan Mianmian's shoulder and sobbing loudly.

Around the café, sporadic glances began following the sound, looking over in their direction.

Ruan Mianmian noticed that even the café waiter wore a hesitation-filled expression, but guessing that Xiang Kui was in a fragile emotional state, the staff member refrained from coming over to intervene.

"Xiang Kui, come get in my car with me first. We'll go somewhere else to talk; there are too many people here."

Ruan Mianmian paid the bill, then helped Xiang Kui into her car. After driving around for a bit, Ruan Mianmian ultimately brought Xiang Kui back to Starfish Bay.

This was the first time she had ever brought a friend back here. Old man Zhang was extremely enthusiastic, bustling about to serve tea, snacks, and fruit.

Upon taking a clear look at Xiang Kui's appearance, Old Zhang even smiled and said,

"So it's this young lady!"

When Xiang Kui had previously dropped Ruan Mianmian off, she had briefly crossed paths with Old Zhang at the entrance; Ruan Mianmian hadn't expected Old Zhang to remember her.

Ruan Mianmian quickly smiled and said, "Old Zhang, don't fuss over us anymore. Go take a rest, I'm just going to chat with her."

Seeing Xiang Kui's reddened eyes, Old Zhang nodded hastily and departed, leaving the space to them.

Afterward, Ruan Mianmian hurried to pull Xiang Kui close and ask, "You weren't hurt, were you?"

"No."

Xiang Kui shook her head with a muffled sound and said, "Later, when Chen Ci saw that I hadn't come back for a long time, he came down to look for me. By that time, those people were dragging and pulling at me, so I was screaming desperately for help. Chen Ci must have heard it and happened to rescue me.

So I wasn't hurt, but those punks wouldn't let it go. When Chen Ci fought with them, he probably got hurt quite a bit."

Saying this, Xiang Kui lowered her head despondently.

Ruan Mianmian couldn't help clicking her tongue in dismay. Fortunately, Chen Ci had come down to look for her; otherwise, the consequences would have been truly unimaginable.

"Alright, alright, everything is fine now."

Ruan Mianmian pacified Xiang Kui and then asked further, "So, your argument with Chen Ci was because of this incident?"

Xiang Kui nodded silently.

Suddenly, Ruan Mianmian could understand.

If such a thing had happened to her, Jiang Ce probably would have blown a gasket.

Yet, when all was said and done, this truly wasn't Xiang Kui's fault—that fan who used a fake excuse to lure her out was the real culprit behind it all.

"What about that fan? What did she say in the end?"

Xiang Kui was silent for a moment before replying, "I tried asking her later, but she had already blocked me. Her Weibo account was a burner account, her phone number showed as powered off, and now she's completely untraceable."

"How could that be?"

This was blatantly a premeditated trap!

Ruan Mianmian's brows twitched as she asked, "Xiang Kui, did you perhaps offend someone?"