She sent her a WeChat message, 'Hey, I'm home. Where are you? Let's have dinner~"

Xue Jinxu freshened up a bit while waiting for her firend's response. A good thirty minutes had pa.s.sed already, but still, Teng Man Rui had not sent any response to her message. She's getting hungry, but was too lazy to cook. She decided to go down the building, towards the ground level of their apartment complex where most of the establishments were set up.

Among others there were restaurants, a laundry shop, a pet store, a convenience store, a salon and nail care center, and on the second level of the building was the in-house gym. The tenants could be proud to say that their apartment complex was complete with amenities.

Xue Jinxu headed straight towards the restaurants. However, while walking, she suddenly froze on the spot, upon seeing something off. She saw her best friend and her husband seated across each other in a restaurant. They were in deep conversation. She had not known that the two were quite close to the extent of sharing a meal, although she had not noticed that they were not eating.

She felt her heart hurt as if it was pinched a thousand times.

Even with the pain in her heart, she could not avert her eyes. She kept on watching them interact.

In truth there was nothing off that was going on between them. They were only talking, with sufficient distance between them. There was no alarming physical contact whatsoever.

However, in the wife's eyes, she could only discern that her bestfriend and her husband, whom she had left physically to sort out her issues selfishly, were there in front of her, meeting each other, just the two of them. She was not informed – she, that was the middleman who connected the two. Otherwise, those two would not have any reason to mingle with each other. She's the mutual connection.

But how could they inform her if it's about her. 'Maybe they are talking about me. But what if they weren't?' She pursed her lips.

'They're not meeting in secret. Perhaps Man Rui will tell me about it later on. And Chen Linyun... I haven't talked to him yet since he left.'

Actually, it was the first time Xue Jinxu saw Chen Linyun again after he left. Unfortunately, she saw him with her best friend, Teng Man Rui.

If she had been paying that much attention, she could have easily detected how devastated Chen Linyun had become, just seeing him in his current state, his current appearance. However, she had been more concerned with what's going on with the two.

After being frozen for a good few minutes in place, while watching them talk with each other in such seriousness, she saw Chen Linyun stand up. She hurriedly went and entered the adjacent shop, just to keep herself from getting spotted on.

Afterwards, she sent another WeChat message to Teng Man Rui. "Where are you? Let's eat."

She saw Teng Man Rui retrieve her cellphone from her hand bag. Afterwards, she received her response, finally! Teng Man Rui said, "I'm at the Thai restaurant at the ground floor. I haven't eaten dinner yet. I'll wait for you here."

Xue Jinxu let out a sigh of relief. At least, Teng Man Rui had not spoken any lies yet… so far.

'What's this, am I being suspicious of them?!' She thought, disgusted at herself. She shook her head and all her thoughts inside.

She entered the Thai restaurant and occupied the seat where Chen Linyun was seated moments ago. "What are you doing here? I went to the apartment but you weren't there." She asked Teng Man Rui.

"I met someone."

"Who?" Xue Jinxu xould not help but probe her with her eyes. She was antic.i.p.ating her answer.

Teng Man Rui sighed. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but I think you should know. Your husband was here earlier. He wanted to know about your condition. He even asked me to send updates of your recovery regularly."

"Oh." Xue Jinxu blinked several times. She had suspected as much, but then again, she went overboard in her thoughts. "Is that it?"

"Yes." Teng Man Rui answered without looking at her friend in the eye. 'Actually there's more but… It's better if you don't know about it…' She thought. 'Well, not now. I'll tell you about s.h.i.+ Fan Hai some other time.' Her eyes flickered with her thoughts in her mind.

"Let's order. Let's have their catfish salad. It's to die for. And what is their noodle dish called?" Teng Man Rui steered the discussion away.

"Pad thai. Let's get one of that. Alright!" Xue Jinxu agreed.

For now she could be rest a.s.sured that there isn't quite inappropriate that's going on between her friend and her husband. She scolded herself internally.

Not that she readily alluded into that conclusion upon seeing them together inside the restaurant; however, her heart was quite affected no matter how rational she could get. 'I'm still bothered by women who get near my husband, even if it's my friend. No, all the more if she's my friend. Poor Teng Man Rui, my mind was filled with bad malicious thoughts momentarily. Silly me!' She said inside her mind while drinking her sorrows and griefs away that night, while staring out of the floor-to-ceiling window in her apartment.

"What are you thinking?" Teng Man Rui joined her that night, after taking up a shower. She was already in her pajamas, with a small towel draped across her shoulders, and listlessly scrubbing her disheveled hair dry.

"Silly thoughts." Xue Jinxu admitted without being specific. "Man Rui, thanks for being here. You're important to me. You're like my own sister. I trust you with my life." She extended her right hand towards her friend, her palm facing down. Teng Man Rui took it. "Likewise, you're important to me as well, as if we share the same flesh and blood." She sighed helplessly. 'I hope we stay like this forever, Jinxu…' She said in her mind while feeling the weight of the secret which could most probably destroy the friends.h.i.+p she shared with this lady.