Chapter 32: A Game of Tennis and Unforeseen Encounters

Xie Yun’s voice, brimming with provocation and flirtation, drew closer to Qian Surou.

Her palm rose, almost brushing Qian Surou’s cheek.

‘This is so annoying,’ Qian Surou thought, a headache throbbing.

The “dates” of late had been too relaxed, causing her to forget her initial objective.

‘That’s right, I must take the initiative.’

Qian Surou swiftly seized Xie Yun’s restless wrist.

Leveraging her own notoriously poor balance, she rapidly pivoted, relying on a shift in her center of gravity.

One arm swept around Xie Yun’s back, transforming their abrupt movement into the foundation of a dance.

In an instant, their positions dramatically reversed.

Xie Yun, now firmly pressed into Qian Surou’s half-embrace, stared blankly at her.

She watched as Qian Surou leaned in close to her ear.

“What do you think?”

Her voice was imbued with a tantalizing ambiguity.

‘This woman truly knows how to play the game.’

Xie Yun felt her heart pound wildly.

She was usually the one taking the lead, making this a completely new experience.

Moreover, this person, both in countenance and words, wielded an absolute offensive, and as someone with similar traits, Xie Yun couldn’t help but feel defeated.

The thought even crossed her mind that perhaps losing wasn’t so bad, that she might even want to experience being dominated by her.

Qian Surou, however, simply found Xie Yun, especially in heels, remarkably easy to manage.

Normally, her height wasn’t noticeable when she was with Qian Xidong.

Yet, standing beside Xie Yun, it became strikingly apparent; Xie Yun only matched her height when wearing high heels.

While certainly not towering, Qian Surou was clearly not the type of girl one would describe as “cute.”

Perhaps Ji Yushu found her aura too formidable, which was why she couldn’t accept it.

Xie Yun scrambled to her feet, appearing much more docile this time.

Qian Surou walked ahead, even taking Xie Yun’s hand.

Rather than letting Xie Yun choose peculiar locations, it was better to seize the initiative herself.

A sudden, unsettling feeling washed over Qian Surou, as if she were a hostess coaxing customers to order drinks with paltry promises; she felt a pang of unease and dedicated a little more effort to her role-playing.

She addressed Xie Yun by name.

“Xie Yun, do you enjoy sports?”

She had always overlooked this detail; using honorifics hardly conveyed the intimacy of lovers.

She realized she was the type to give nicknames to her romantic partners, just as she’d habitually named stray cats “White Knight” and the swallows nesting at her home “Leafy.”

“It’s alright.”

“How about tennis? I feel like I need to release some stress.”

“Could it be the stress I’m causing? It seems my charm is not to be underestimated. Alright, I’m also keen to get some exercise.”

Xie Yun made a light joke, agreeing to play tennis with a hidden agenda.

The reason, of course, wasn’t exercise, but rather a desperate attempt to curb her escalating desires.

After all, being constantly in the presence of a captivating beauty who stirred her heart, yet being able only to look and not touch, was sheer torment.

The two then proceeded to an indoor tennis court.

The expansive hall was sparsely populated, with only a handful of people active.

High-quality equipment, available for use, was neatly arranged in storage cabinets in the corner.

Such facilities were entirely free for members.

“Shall we play a match, or warm up with the machine first?”

“Let’s warm up first, then play a match later.”

Qian Surou wasn’t skilled at playing matches, as they required considerable movement around the court.

However, unwilling to be a spoilsport, she agreed for now.

“I’ll go grab a bottle of water,” she said, stepping away and heading towards the chilled cabinet.

“OK!”

Xie Yun readily agreed.

She then located an unused ball machine, intending to invite Qian Surou to join her, as couples could easily take turns.

As her gaze searched for Qian Surou, she suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure.

Jin Xiaoyue was intensely hitting balls in front of the adjacent machine, her swings so powerful and frequent they bordered on violent, with something dangling from her ear.

Xie Yun’s face froze; to her, each heavily struck tennis ball seemed to embody herself.

‘Damn it, this madwoman is clearly very displeased.’

Her next thought was:

‘Why is she here?’

They had agreed to meet at the Apennine Peninsula Restaurant on the ninth floor, not the tennis court.

‘She must have been so furious that she needed an outlet, hence coming here to vent her frustration on the machine,’ Xie Yun mused.

‘How unlucky. If this madwoman sees me intimately playing tennis with the girl she fancies, won’t she just pin me under a racket and grind me into the ground?’

‘I’m doomed.’

“An acquaintance?”

Qian Surou, holding a bottle of mineral water, approached Xie Yun.

Following Xie Yun’s gaze, she naturally saw the girl performing brilliantly at the other ball machine.

‘Déjà vu.’

‘She seemed to have seen her more than once.’

A memory of a sudden glance back overlapped, conjuring the symbols of glasses and candied hawthorn.

It was the same girl who had helped her on the street that day; currently playing, she wasn’t wearing glasses, which was why Qian Surou hadn’t recognized her immediately.

Moreover, the person she had seen in the car on her first date with Miss Yan also seemed to be her.

Qian Surou wasn’t entirely certain, as her attire and aura had been quite different then.

‘She truly is a very beautiful person.’

Her slightly pale lips possessed a unique, delicate quality.

In moments of gasping from strenuous exercise, her bright white teeth flashed into view.

Her smooth, contoured cheeks were entirely different from Ji Yushu’s, giving her the appearance of a particularly demure girl.

When still, she resembled an elegant literary maiden; when active, she seemed both determined and endearing.

Her physique was perfectly sculpted, an ideal type Qian Surou had once aspired to.

“Not really,” Xie Yun replied. “I merely pursued her for a while.”

“A scoundrel’s declaration, then.”

“Spare me, please. Her dislike for me far surpasses her dislike for you.”

‘Despite being coerced into doing anything in a subservient manner, just seeing that face made it all acceptable.’

‘I had intended to prioritize quantity over quality, but in the end, I was utterly captivated by her absolute excellence.’

‘Yet, behind such beauty lies potent venom. Fine, I’ll help you out this time,’ Xie Yun mused to herself.

“You must have done something truly terrible, then. Were you two-timing multiple people, or relentlessly harassing her? Or perhaps you gathered a crowd for a grand, coercive public confession?”

“Cough, cough…”

While she knew her reputation wasn’t stellar, Xie Yun hadn’t anticipated it was *this* bad.

The crucial point was that she had, in fact, done *all* of those things during her pursuit of Jin Xiaoyue.

The outcome had been threats from both Jin Xiaoyue personally and her family.

Given Jin Xiaoyue’s understated demeanor, who would have ever guessed she was the heiress to the Jinding Group?

She was an entity capable of crushing Xie Yun with just a sliver of effort, yet no one around them seemed aware of it.

Xie Yun slowly lowered her head, guiltily averting her gaze from Qian Surou.

Then, she saw a milky-white throat, with veins beneath the surface faintly blushing a delicate pink.

Unbeknownst to them, Jin Xiaoyue was already standing right before them.

“Senior, have you found another new girlfriend?”

Having been assailed by Jin Xiaoyue’s icy demeanor countless times, the impact was less severe than expected.

Since her “scoundrel” persona was already well-established, there was no need to fear its collapse.

Instead, to showcase her ‘accomplishment,’ Xie Yun attempted to loop an arm around Qian Surou’s shoulder.

She had fully expected to be evaded, but to her surprise, Qian Surou’s professional dedication faltered at this crucial moment.

Not only did Qian Surou not dodge, but she leaned into Xie Yun’s arm with remarkable cooperation.

‘Oh, no!’

“Xiao Yun, what’s with the ‘another’?”

‘No… What is with this sudden girlfriend aura? That’s not how things are between us at all!’