Chapter 675: What is foresight? This is it

Girls' Dormitory Building No. 9, Room 303.

When Mai Sui pushed the door open and entered the dormitory, there was not a single person inside.

She first tidied up her own bed and desk, stood before Shihe's bed for a while, and finally picked up her books and headed to the library.

She searched the study room once but did not find anyone.

She then went to the reading room. This time, she finally didn't come up empty-handed; in a corner by the window, she saw a delicate figure lost in thought, facing the outside.

Who else could it be but Zhou Shihe?

Mai Sui glanced around the room, and seeing that there was no one else, she walked over and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhou Shihe, looking out the window.

Perhaps because she had been daydreaming, Zhou Shihe's reaction was half a beat slower than usual. It took a good while before she turned her head to look to her right.

Seeing that it was her best friend Sui Sui, she asked gently, "When did you get back?"

Mai Sui said, "Yesterday afternoon, just before dinner time."

After a moment of thought, Zhou Shihe asked, "Did Song Yu leave?"

"She left this morning; I just saw her off at the airport," Mai Sui said.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shihe turned and left, walking toward the exit of the reading room.

Mai Sui followed immediately, and the two left the library one after the other. The reading room was too quiet; it wasn't the place for a heart-to-heart.

Arriving at the intersection, Zhou Shihe stopped and asked with a gentle, fluid grace, "Where to?"

Mai Sui said, "Anywhere is fine."

Zhou Shihe checked her watch, but she headed straight outside the school, bought some groceries and beer, and returned to Lushan Village.

After circling around, they were back in Lushan Village. Mai Sui was somewhat amused, but she didn't go to the neighboring Building No. 26 to call that man over.

Entering, closing the door, and latching it.

The two women went up to the second floor.

Once the food and drinks were laid out, Mai Sui finally broke the silence: "How long has it been since you stayed here?"

Zhou Shihe said, "Today happens to be the 10th day."

As she spoke, she opened two bottles of beer, placed one in front of Mai Sui, poured herself a full glass, and drank it alone.

Then she poured a second glass and drank it alone again.

Just as Zhou Shihe was about to drink the third glass, Mai Sui asked softly, "What's wrong? I've been gone for 11 days, and our relationship has grown distant? Drinking alone in front of me?"

Zhou Shihe smiled knowingly, paused, and still drank the third glass.

Not until she had finished the third glass completely did Zhou Shihe speak slowly. Looking at the empty glass in her hand, she said, "I will ask you three questions, and you answer yes or no."

Mai Sui said, "Okay."

Zhou Shihe asked, "Do you know?"

This question was abrupt, but it meant: Sui Sui, do you know about me and Li Heng?

Mai Sui understood instantly, "Yes."

Zhou Shihe asked, "Are you surprised?"

Mai Sui thought for a moment and said, "The two options you gave me aren't enough to express how I feel."

Zhou Shihe raised her eyelids and glanced at her.

Mai Sui said unhurriedly, "Surprised, and yet not surprised."

Zhou Shihe asked the final question: "Do you think we look like a married couple?"

This question caught Mai Sui off guard.

For a moment, she didn't know how to answer.

Do Shihe and Li Heng look like a married couple? If you put the two of them together alone, there is no doubt—a talented man and a beautiful woman, a perfect match.

But if you put him and Song Yu together, it is also a match made in heaven.

Put Li Heng and Yu Laoshi together, and they are just as compatible.

Xiao Han is also a match for him.

And Zijin is his first love, his original partner.

Moreover, Mai Sui had examined this question herself: am I worthy of Li Heng?

Having lived for 20 years and traveled to quite a few places, among all the women she had met, Mai Sui considered herself inferior only to Song Yu and Shihe; when facing Li Heng's other confidantes, she felt confident.

A jumble of thoughts flashed by. Meeting her best friend's gaze, Mai Sui finally spoke: "Yes, you do. From looks, temperament, and personality to talent, you are extremely compatible, and even more so, perfect soulmates in music. And setting aside personal factors, Li Heng needs your family background."

In the past, the two best friends never brought up this topic.

But one must have foresight, or there will be immediate worries. Today, however, they spoke with complete clarity. There is a good old saying: don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Nowadays, Yu Laoshi manages almost half of Li Heng's industries, and the Yu family is so powerful; if everything goes smoothly, it's fine. But if things change in the future, relying solely on Song Yu, Xiao Han, Zijin, and Mai Sui herself would not be enough to contend with them.

Therefore, Mai Sui pointed it out directly: Li Heng's weakness is his family background, and Shihe's family is the perfect complement, thereby subtly keeping Yu Laoshi in check.

After listening, Zhou Shihe didn't express any stance on this, but instead filled her empty glass with beer again and said quietly, "Since you came to find me, you must have a belly full of questions. Ask them."

Mai Sui asked, "Before we have our heart-to-heart, I also want to ask you three questions. I hope you will answer me truthfully."

Zhou Shihe didn't make a sound.

Mai Sui shifted, straightened her body, and asked, "Do you love Li Heng?"

Zhou Shihe paused, then gave a low hum.

Mai Sui stared at her eyes relentlessly.

After being stared at for a few seconds, Zhou Shihe parted her red lips: "I do."

Hearing the word "love," even though Mai Sui had been mentally prepared, she still couldn't suppress all her emotions; her face was filled with a complex expression.

Taking in Sui Sui's series of changing expressions, Zhou Shihe remained indifferent, with no intention of offering any defense.

The two sisters faced each other for a good while before Mai Sui asked the second question: "Do you know how many confidantes he has?"

Zhou Shihe said calmly, "I do."

Then, the young Zhou Gu Niang, without joy or sorrow, quoted the opening line of *Bai Luyuan*: "What Bai Jiaxuan later took pride in was that he had married seven women in his lifetime."

Mai Sui was stunned. She had also read *Bai Luyuan*, three times even, but only today did she realize the profound meaning of this sentence.

Mai Sui counted: "Chen Zijin, Xiao Han, Song Yu, Huang Zhaoyi, Yu Laoshi—that's five."

At this point, she stopped counting and looked at her best friend, dazed. The implication was self-evident: including you and me, that makes exactly seven.

Zhou Shihe swirled the wine glass in her hand, placed it on the coffee table, picked it up again after a while, then put it down again, and finally sat up with dignity and asked, "This Chen Zijin, as his first woman, is she very beautiful? How does she compare to Xiao Han?"

As for the others, Zhou Gu Niang had already met them; she was only slightly curious about Chen Zijin, whom she had never met but who was his first love.

Mai Sui pondered for a long time and found a reference point: "At our No. 1 High School, there was a rumor of 'two peerless beauties,' referring to Song Yu and Xiao Han, who overshadowed all other girls, including myself and Zijin.

So, although Zijin is very beautiful, she is slightly inferior to Xiao Han; she should be about the same as Wei Xiaozhu."

After listening, Zhou Shihe said, "This Chen Zijin is still very beautiful. His eye for women is as precise as ever."

Mai Sui acknowledged this and then asked the third question: "You must want to marry Li Heng, right?"

She didn't ask this for no reason; she had a point.

She remembered asking Shihe once: If you were me, in my position, what would you do?

Shihe's answer at the time was: If I were you, Li Heng would have to marry me.

So, now she really wanted to know if Shihe, caught in the web of love, would make a different choice.

Zhou Shihe didn't hesitate at all and gave her answer directly: "I haven't decided yet."

Mai Sui was shocked: "Haven't decided? That doesn't sound like you."

Facing the doubt, Zhou Shihe replied with a calm heart: "Bai Jiaxuan married seven women, one after another as they died. He wants to marry seven at the same time—do you think that's realistic?"

Mai Sui froze, and it was a long time before she said, "Shihe, I just want to hear the most primitive voice from the depths of your heart."

Zhou Shihe said in a soft, gentle voice, "How romantic it is to fall in love at first sight; the beauty in one's heart never fades."

Having said this, she extended her right hand and slowly poured the fourth glass of beer into her mouth.

Mai Sui ruminated on these words for a moment, suddenly feeling an indescribable sense of relief and distress in her heart, and also picked up her glass, saying, "I'll drink with you."

Zhou Shihe said okay.