Chapter Fifty-Two: Do Not Fall in Love with Him

Time slipped by, and soon it was almost the appointed day.

Lately, a heavy sense of loss had wrapped itself around Mai Xijun, so much so that she didn’t even know why she felt this way. Still, having Little Stone by her side, just like when they were children, brought her comfort and eased her heart.

“Little Pudding, what do you want for lunch today?” Her phone buzzed twice in the drawer.

“The weather forecast says it might rain soon in Paris. I need to prepare a few things after work, so you’ll have to eat by yourself today, Little Stone~”

After sending the message, Mai Xijun tossed her phone into her bag and left the office. Her finger tapped the elevator button impatiently, the sound echoing in the hall. She couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement at the thought of studying in France—it was a happiness greater than winning the lottery.

She cleared her throat, took a shallow breath. In three days, everything would be a new beginning.

The elevator doors opened slowly. Mai Xijun lowered her head, looking at the tips of her shoes, but what entered her gaze was a pair of impeccably polished black leather shoes. Instinct told her it was Shen Yanlie—his office was just one floor above hers.

Beside him stood a woman, her seven-centimeter high-heeled sandals revealing toenails painted a rose-red, sultry and striking.

She raised her head slowly, and as she suspected, it was that man. Her heart skipped a beat. After days apart, seeing him again, he had a beautiful woman at his side…

His deep black eyes were calm, unfathomable, his face as cold and resolute as ever, tinged with a dangerous allure.

She stared at him, lost in thought.

He, too, never once looked away from her the moment their eyes met. Yet now, his gaze held a cold arrogance and indifference. The natural air of a king still clung to him, but the unrestrained mischief and recklessness were gone.

Xie Yunting looked at the woman before her, finding it hard to believe—this girl, in some ways, resembled herself. And Shen Yanlie, he simply kept gazing at her, not saying a word to the girl across from him.

After all these years, Xie Yunting still couldn't read Shen Yanlie’s emotions. But the vacant surprise on the other woman’s face flashed through Xie Yunting’s mind in a series of images.

Mai Xijun’s eyes stung. When she turned away, she caught Xie Yunting's scrutinizing gaze. She smiled slightly and nodded in greeting, stepping into the elevator and pressing the button, standing quietly at the back.

Looking at his tall figure, her heart was a tangled mess. The chaos of her life, the endless worries, surged at her like a flood, unstoppable.

Though it was only a matter of seconds in the elevator, Mai Xijun felt her heart pounding wildly for much longer. Even after stepping out, it wouldn’t settle, as if at any moment it might leap from her throat.

“Yanlie, let’s go to that little restaurant we used to visit! After lunch, we can shop for clothes—I’ll pick a few out for you.” Xie Yunting nestled by Shen Yanlie’s side, half her body leaning into his arm, delicate and affectionate. The two looked perfectly matched.

Her elegant words flowed with the same grace that defined him.

Watching their departing figures, Mai Xijun blinked several times, fighting back the haze and the trace of red in her eyes.

Suddenly, she thought perhaps it was best to just eat at the office today. The things she needed for Paris could wait until the very last day.

Turning around, she ran straight into Mo Shaoxing. She stopped abruptly. He clenched his jaw, staring at her, trying to read her heart.

Almost instinctively, Mai Xijun brushed her palm across her eyelids, then put on a smile. “Little Stone, do you want to eat at the office or go out? My treat!”

She patted her chest with gusto, but before her hand fell away, Mo Shaoxing caught it in his grasp.

His cold, penetrating gaze and somber expression made her feel as if he could see right through her. The smile on Mai Xijun’s face faltered, growing strained, awkward, until in the end she looked like a child who had made a mistake, lowering her eyes, her face full of silent sorrow.

“Don’t fall in love with him. You’ll only get hurt.”

He gripped her wrist tightly, his words full of resolve, yet they sounded like a plea.

Looking at her now, he couldn’t see into her eyes, only her long, fluttering lashes. But if she was still the Mai Xijun from over a decade ago, he believed he understood her.

Her every word, every smile, every frown and glance—all were deeply engraved in his mind, impossible to forget.

“Little Stone, what nonsense are you talking about? What kind of joke is that? You mean I shouldn’t fall in love with you? Ha! We grew up together—there’s nothing embarrassing about me that you haven’t seen. So, Little Pudding knows her own limits!”

Mai Xijun suddenly became cheerful, smiling as innocently as a child untouched by the world’s hardships. Yet while she spoke lightly, her words struck a chord in the listener’s heart. Could she fall in love with him? After so many years as childhood friends, could they become something more?

“So, what shall we eat? I said it’s my treat, so hurry up and decide, or if I change my mind, you’ll miss out on this special offer~” Mai Xijun kept the conversation moving.

Mo Shaoxing watched her, so bright and lively, as if nothing had happened. His vision blurred. The Mai Xijun he knew was always like this—like the wind, like the rain, stirring his heart, yet bringing warmth to his soul…

﹡　﹡　﹡　﹡　﹡

Whether by coincidence or by some design of fate, it seemed deliberate.

The restaurant Mai Xijun suggested was, as she scanned the room for a seat, exactly where she met that burning gaze again. Her smile froze, turning instantly to ice.

Mo Shaoxing noticed the stiffness in Mai Xijun’s expression and followed her gaze. He saw that man—the one who had unsettled Little Pudding’s heart.

Xie Yunting paused with her chopsticks, looking back to see Shen Yanlie’s unwavering gaze fixed on the pair. She saw her again. And still, Shen Yanlie’s eyes were locked on her, as if at this moment, she did not exist in his world at all.

Five years—it had been a full five years. What had changed in Shen Yanlie’s world? What was the relationship between this woman and him?

But the more Xie Yunting watched, the more something stung behind her eyes. She dared not let her thoughts wander further, for the heat in Shen Yanlie’s gaze was unmistakable. Yet, since her return, he had never once looked at her like that…