Qiao Meixia began eating in peace once again. 'The food is actually not bad,' she thought to herself approvingly as she took another slow, methodical bite of her delicious meal. It was not until someone suddenly approached her secluded table that she finally paused what she was doing and looked up from her plate.
"Sister Meixia, what are you doing here?"
Qiao Meixia instantly recognised the familiar, overly sweet voice and turned her head toward the source of the interruption.
Standing right beside her table was Jiang Yanna, dressed immaculately from head to toe and accompanied by several unfamiliar, wealthy-looking young people who clearly appeared to be her upper-class friends.
"Eating." Qiao Meixia answered flatly, before looking directly into Jiang Yanna's eyes as though the girl had just asked an incredibly foolish, completely mind-numbing question.
After all, anyone with working eyes could clearly see exactly what Qiao Meixia was doing at this exact moment. She was literally in the middle of chewing her food with a fork poised in her hand.
Jiang Yanna was momentarily taken aback by the blunt, unexpected response, her perfect, polite expression slipping for the briefest moment before she quickly forced it back into place.
"Sister Meixia, why did you suddenly run away from home like that? Mom has been absolutely worried sick about you all morning." Jiang Yanna said, her voice instantly shifting into a tone of deep, dramatic concern as she openly displayed her sisterly affection in front of her high-society friends.
"Huh? Who exactly said I was running away?" Qiao Meixia replied, her voice calm, steady, and completely unbothered by the accusation. "I left the estate simply because I had personal matters to take care of. I was planning to return this evening anyway."
Once again, Jiang Yanna was caught completely off guard by Qiao Meixia's utter lack of guilt or emotional reaction.
"Well... even if that is the case, you still should have properly informed the family before disappearing like this." Jiang Yanna stated, tightening her grip on her designer purse as she tried to regain the moral high ground.
"I already informed Butler Jun before I left. Didn't he bother to tell you anything at all?" Qiao Meixia asked in return, tossing the question right back at her without a single shred of hesitation.
"You should have also told us exactly where you were going." Jiang Yanna retorted, her tone becoming slightly more defensive as her friends continued watching the awkward exchange play out.
"Fine..." Qiao Meixia said simply, completely dismissive of the unwanted lecture. She calmly took another bite of her food before continuing. "Can you all leave now? You are heavily disturbing my peace while I am trying to eat."
Jiang Yanna's eyes widened slightly in sheer shock. She opened her mouth, desperately wanting to say something incredibly sharp in defence of her wounded pride, but someone from her group suddenly reached out and tugged firmly on her arm.
"Yanna, let's just go." The person whispered, sensing the increasingly awkward and heavy atmosphere building around the table.
"Hmm..." Jiang Yanna nodded stiffly, forcing a polite, plastic smile back onto her face.
She gave up trying to talk down to Qiao Meixia for the time being. After all, she had originally come to this expensive establishment today specifically to spend quality time hanging out with her elite social circle. There was absolutely no point in wasting her fun outing and ruining her mood over a country bumpkin like Qiao Meixia.
As the group began walking away toward their own table, one of Jiang Yanna's closest friends, a wealthy young lady named Jin Zexi, leaned in and asked curiously, "Yanna, who exactly is she?"
Jiang Yanna hesitated on her steps, her expression clouding over as though she were struggling internally with whether she should reveal the sensitive matter or keep it hidden.
"If I tell you... Can you all promise me not to tell anyone else about it?" Jiang Yanna asked softly, her voice dropping to a vulnerable whisper.
***This novel is a work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If it is not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, then it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko***