Top-Tier Ex-Girlfriend - Chapter 11
Chapter 11: The Department Group Chat
As expected, Cai Xianyu was surprised. 【Huh? What? Girlfriend?】
【Yeah.】
【Is there a problem?】 Pei You replied, chuckling to herself. Even she thought she was being ridiculous.
What was making her so competitive?
Her desire to win.
Her desire to one-up Huo Yichi.
【No problem.】
【I look forward to meeting her.】
Pei You raised an eyebrow. 【She might not come.】
Regardless, she'd told him she had a girlfriend.
Even if she met the virtual girlfriend on Friday and didn't like her, she could still say her girlfriend didn’t want to come to the gathering.
She wasn’t in close contact with many of her college classmates anymore; they didn't seem as interested in gossip as before.
If anyone asked, she could just say they’d broken up.
A seamless lie, undetectable.
Pei You mentally patted herself on the back, pleased with her ingenuity.
Of course, if the virtual girlfriend truly was top-tier, that would be even better.
After the gathering, if anyone asked about her girlfriend, she could still use the "we broke up" excuse.
It wasn't uncommon for relationships to start and end quickly these days.
Fast food was popular, and so was fast love.
Even if the real Pei You wasn't a fan of the concept.
Having thought everything through, Pei You felt a sense of relief, her mood brightening. She even felt motivated at work.
At 5 pm on Wednesday, she received another message from Yi Yi. 【Xiao You, I’ll be at my best when we meet.】
It wasn't the first time Yi Yi had given this assurance. Her customer service was impeccable. Pei You smiled as she read the message.
She didn’t have any particular expectations for Yi Yi. Regardless of whether the arrangement worked out, she would delete Yi Yi afterwards.
These days, business relationships were more reliable than many other kinds.
Pei You replied: 【Okay, I trust you.】
She had a backup plan; no matter what happened, she’d be fine.
Cai Xianyu had already spread the news, which had even reached Tian Jia, albeit a little late.
They were having dinner at a restaurant that evening when Tian Jia finally brought it up. "Youzi, I heard you’re in a relationship. Why didn't you tell me?”
It was the same restaurant where they'd met after Tian Jia’s breakup. They often came here for dinner after work.
Pei You calmly picked up some food. "It's not very stable yet, so I didn’t say anything.”
Tian Jia was still puzzled. "But…," she seemed genuinely confused, "I'm with you almost every day, and I’ve never heard you mention being interested in anyone else.”
Then it hit her. "Damn it! Pei You! You don’t consider me a friend! So that's how it is!"
Pei You: "..."
Pei You: "???"
Pei You frowned. "Calm down. Don’t get ahead of yourself. I’ll explain later, but I can’t tell you now.”
"Why?"
"So you really don't consider me a friend, huh? Just like Huo Yichi said, we’ve shared a bed; you…”
This chatterbox.
Pei You suddenly felt a headache coming on.
She put down her chopsticks, interrupting Tian Jia with a serious expression. “If I didn't consider you a friend, why would I come comfort you in the middle of the night in this freezing weather?" she said, exasperated. "There’s a reason for this. I’ll tell you everything after the gathering.”
Tian Jia processed her words, then heard Pei You add, “It's both simple and complicated. You’ll understand later.”
"Fine," Tian Jia nodded slowly.
Seeing her reaction, Pei You raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute, didn’t you want to see me and Huo Yichi fight? Now that I might have someone to help me, which would make things even more exciting, why aren’t you happy?”
"This is different."
"How is it different?"
"I was a fan of you two as a couple, you know?" Tian Jia said, avoiding Pei You's gaze, her expression slightly unnatural. "I never imagined there'd be a third person.”
Pei You: "..."
Pei You could understand. Their public performance as a couple had been very convincing. It had reduced unwanted comparisons and pursuers, and people even talked about how sweet they were.
But no one knew that behind the facade, they barely communicated.
Like that time they went to the ancient town for the interview, and Huo Yichi slept the entire night.
There had been many such instances; Pei You couldn't even count them all.
"Huo Yichi and I…," Pei You picked up her glass of water, pausing before taking a sip, carefully choosing her words. Under Tian Jia’s expectant gaze, she shook her head. "It’s nothing."
Even though their "breakup" had been unpleasant, she had promised Huo Yichi she wouldn't reveal the truth about their relationship.
This secret would go with them to the grave.
Thinking this, Pei You sighed.
She truly had zero interest in relationships, which was why she had agreed so readily to Huo Yichi's proposal to be a fake couple.
But after a while, even she had started to question the nature of their relationship.
Were they lovers? No.
Friends? No.
Perhaps just classmates, alumni.
That was the label Pei You gave to their relationship.
Friday, the day she was meeting Yi Yi, was approaching. The gathering was on Saturday, but she wanted to meet Yi Yi beforehand.
With 48 hours, she could make plenty of preparations.
For instance, if she was satisfied with Yi Yi, she would take her shopping for an outfit suitable for meeting her ex-girlfriend, Huo Yichi.
If not, she would just treat Yi Yi to a meal as a thank you for being her chat companion for the past week.
Pei You considered herself the best client in the world.
And she had to admit, she was a little bit excited to meet Yi Yi.
Just a little.
On Friday morning, Pei You messaged Yi Yi, explaining her purpose. 【Yi Yi, here’s the thing: I have a party to attend on Saturday night. If I’m satisfied with you after we meet, I’ll bring you along.】
Yi Yi: 【Saturday night?】
Yi Yi: 【Okay, no problem.】
Pei You: 【Yes.】
Pei You: 【But if we’re not a good match, then after today, we probably won’t see each other again.】
Yi Yi: 【I understand.】
Yi Yi: 【Don’t worry.】
Pei You was relieved.
She logged into her main WeChat account and saw the department group chat buzzing with talk about people bringing plus-ones to the gathering.
Pei You scrolled through the messages without participating.
Just as she was about to close the chat, she saw Huo Yichi join the conversation.
Huo Yichi: 【I might bring my girlfriend, too.】
The group chat exploded, everyone asking who she was.
Huo Yichi didn't answer, smoothly changing the subject.
Pei You stared at Huo Yichi's message, her eye twitching—
If the virtual girlfriend wasn't up to par, and Huo Yichi brought her girlfriend tomorrow, wouldn’t she be the one who lost?
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