Chapter 422 - 421: Persuasion
Xie Yuanzhou acted quickly, handing the menu to the waiter right after ordering the dishes.
While waiting for the food, Wei Zhirong curiously glanced at Wen Lin, then turned to Xie Yuanzhou and asked, "Brother Xie, is this your friend? I don’t think I’ve seen him before."
Before Xie Yuanzhou could say anything, Wen Lin had already started speaking on his own, "Although our Wen family is originally from Shangjing, we moved to the South over ten years ago and only returned recently, so you certainly haven’t seen me before. But our family and Yuan Zhou’s family have always been good friends; we’re always in contact, so our friendship has always been strong."
Upon hearing this, Wei Zhirong nodded.
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the entrance, "Brother, why didn’t you invite me to eat? That’s not okay."
As the voice faded, a gentle-looking woman walked in. However, seeing the scene before her, she couldn’t help raising her eyebrows, "Quite a crowd here. Adding me shouldn’t be too much, right?" As she spoke, she directly sat next to Wen Lin.
Yiyi, seeing the newcomer, had a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
The woman before them was none other than the one who dined with Xie Yuanzhou that day and was rejected by him, unexpectedly, she was Wen Lin’s sister.
Wen Lin saw his sister arrive and introduced her with a smile, "This is my sister, Wen Tao. You can just call her Little Tao. You’re all girls, so I guess you’ll have common topics to chat about."
Yiyi and others responded with a smile and nod.
Wen Tao turned to look at Yiyi and the others, but her expression wasn’t overly friendly.
Wei Zhirong’s attention was entirely on Xie Yuanzhou, thus she didn’t pay much heed to Wen Tao. Right now, she was all smiles, pouring water for Xie Yuanzhou, and when the food was served, she’d surely be the first to serve him dishes with public chopsticks.
Seeing Wei Zhirong like this, Wen Tao couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows, then directly looked her straight in the eye and said, "You like Xie Yuanzhou, right?"
Hearing this, Wei Zhirong was momentarily shocked but quickly nodded openly, "Yes, I like him."
Seeing Wei Zhirong admitting so frankly, Wen Tao was taken aback, even Wen Lin was somewhat surprised. Then he looked at his friend with a dignified demeanor and sighed; his friend’s charm with women was just too good. He had quite decent looks himself, why didn’t he seem to be liked by any girls?
Both Yiyi and Fei Erya were used to Wei Zhirong’s straightforwardness, so their faces didn’t show much emotion.
Here, Wen Tao quickly recovered and gave Wei Zhirong a sympathetic glance, saying, "Even though Xie Yuanzhou is indeed good-looking, he is emotionally unavailable. I advise you, it is better not to like him, otherwise, you’ll end up hurting yourself. I’ve been rejected by him many times and we even had a marriage contract, which eventually came to nothing."
Upon hearing this, Wen Lin quickly tugged on his sister’s sleeve, telling her not to say too much.
Wen Tao ignored her brother and continued, "At first, I quite liked him too, but after being rejected twice, I woke up to reality; my parents feel sorry for me, and my brother loves me. I’m clearly the one who should be cherished, why let others abuse me? So you should wake up soon."
Wei Zhirong was full of surprise upon hearing this.
Xie Yuanzhou, however, couldn’t keep from frowning after hearing Wen Tao’s words. He instinctively disliked Wen Tao saying these things to Wei Zhirong but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what bothered him.
Yiyi was quite in agreement with Wen Tao, knowing that when someone doesn’t care about you, you shouldn’t belittle yourself. However, Wei Zhirong probably wouldn’t listen now as she’s liked Xie Yuanzhou for so long. Even if she were to give up, it wouldn’t happen at this moment.
"The dishes are all served, let’s just enjoy our meal."
Xie Yuanzhou suddenly said a sentence, interrupting the topic.
Yiyi, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but glance at him. She didn’t know if it was just her illusion, but she always felt that Xie Yuanzhou didn’t want Zhirong to continue listening to Wen Tao.
As for the others, they all started eating after hearing Xie Yuanzhou’s words.
Wen Tao, seeing this, didn’t say more.
"Brother Xie, try the local chicken, it’s really delicious. Brother Xie, try the fish; it’s very fresh."
During the meal, Wei Zhirong kept urging Xie Yuanzhou to try different dishes.
Xie Yuanzhou didn’t say anything, yet in the end, he did eat quite a lot of dishes recommended by Wei Zhirong.
Seeing his friend like this, Wen Lin couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows as the two were very close and he understood Xie Yuanzhou well. Although Xie Yuanzhou hadn’t said anything, there wasn’t a shred of impatience in his eyes, which was a bit unusual — when did his friend’s patience become so good?
Yet, Wen Tao watched Wei Zhirong with a sympathetic look, feeling that Xie Yuanzhou was utterly clueless about romance, and this straightforward, forthright girl was bound to be disappointed.
The meal ended amidst Wei Zhirong’s enthusiastic chatter, and finally, Fei Erya looked at her and asked, "Zhirong, do you have any plans next?"
Wei Zhirong, hearing this, couldn’t help but look at Xie Yuanzhou, who said lightly, "Wen Lin and I have things to do."
Upon hearing this, Wei Zhirong was slightly disappointed but still said with a smile, "Then go ahead and busy yourself."
Wen Lin also looked at Wen Tao and said, "Yuan Zhou and I will go ahead and tend to our tasks; you can head straight home."
After Xie Yuanzhou and Wen Lin left, Wen Tao didn’t go straight home but looked at Wei Zhirong and said, "To be honest, Xie Yuanzhou really isn’t a good man for you; you should realize this soon."
"I’ve noted your words, but whether I decide to give up or not is up to me, not you," Wei Zhirong’s expression was very determined, her eyes leaving no room for argument.
Wen Tao, hearing her words, couldn’t help but furrow her brows, "Why are you still so oblivious? Never mind, I won’t waste my breath on you anymore, I’m heading back now." With that, she waved her hand and left briskly.
Watching Wen Tao walk away, Wei Zhirong shook her head and said, "Why does she keep urging me to give up on Xie Yuanzhou? Just because she was rejected doesn’t mean I have to be the same."
"Alright, Zhirong, since you’re sure of yourself, just listen to the words as passing advice. But, we also hope for your happiness; if Xie Yuanzhou keeps this attitude, then you really should think it over."
Fei Erya also nodded in agreement, "Yes, Zhirong, make sure you’ve got it in your mind."
"Yiyi, Er Ya, I understand. Thank you."
Having heard Wei Zhirong’s words, Yiyi and Fei Erya were reassured.
Fei Erya was quite curious about Wen Tao, "That girl looked very gentle, yet her speech was brisk and straightforward. Quite a contradiction."
Thinking about Wen Tao’s manner and the way she spoke, Yiyi also nodded with a laugh, "Yes, it is quite contradictory, but she’s indeed very direct."