Ethan's expression darkened. His eyes turned hostile as his hand balled into fists and he shouted sternly, 
“Mia! You dare say that again?!”
“What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”
Mia shouted back with confidence, 
“I’m saying that Victoria is a wild chicken. No matter how she dresses up, she won’t become a real phoenix. She’s just a shameless white lotus that only knows how to use cheap tricks to climb her way up. Did I say anything wrong?”
“Shut up!”
“Ethan... Forget it...”
“Mia, I’m telling you about the thing between Arya and I had nothing to do with Victoria. As for Arya, I can only say I’m sorry. I’m very clear about who I hold dear in my heart. Why do you have to pester me here because of this?”
...
Pester?
So, it turns out that that was how they viewed it.
There was an instant when she felt like she had seen herself from years ago again...
That rainy night, she stood along the street with the glorious lights.
She smiled and watched her past self after the damage was done...
Arya, who had been standing behind Mia, suddenly took a deep breath and slowly shut her eyes. Then, she opened them and turned around. She looked at Mia's slim figure and said plainly with some fatigue in her voice, 
“Get into the car, Mia.”
Her unexpected, feeble and hoarse voice rang out, startling a few of them.
Ethan slowly looked up and realized that besides the car not too far away behind Mia, Arya, whose twinkling eyes had been silently watching all of this, stood holding an umbrella in the drizzle.
The freezing wind kept flapping her clothes and the swaying windbreaker made her body seem even frailer, yet her exquisite face, which was half-covered by her shades, revealed stubbornness and apathy.
“Arya...”
Ethan's handsome face suddenly turned rigid. A mix of emotions quickly flashed across his profound and silent eyes as his hands by his sides slowly tightened.
Victoria had also sensed that the arm Ethan circled around her waist had become unnaturally stiff. She immediately chewed on her pink lips slightly and slowly looked up. Her beautiful eyes twinkled with light, reflecting weakness and longing in the way she looked at Arya.
She sniffed slightly, and at that instant, her eyes started to water as she called out to Arya with a raspy voice, 
“Sis... I... I really miss you...”
Sis?
I really miss you.
These words that echoed in Arya's ears were akin to a sharp knife scraping against her wound that had not had the time to heal. A coldness started to recklessly invade her body...
People said that time was the best healer, that with time, the worst wounds would heal eventually...
They said that once you let go, you would realize that that person was never actually that important...
They say that after breaking up and getting used to the loneliness, you may not love that person as deeply as you thought you did...
At first, she thought that since it had been quite a few years, these things would lie in the past. She had gotten used to it too. Slowly, she could bear all of this, but hearsay was just hearsay. Who could prove that all of these were true?
In that second, she could feel so many things at once. Her chest hurt and her breath shortened. She found it hard to breathe as dizziness struck her and her heart ached.
However, as much as all the discomfort made her suffer, she could only just turn her head. She tightly shut her eyes and calmed herself down. Then, she opened her eyes, and, hiding beneath the shade, they had returned to their usual indifference.
She inhaled a little and apathetically looked towards the two people before her, her thin lips faintly curving into a trace of nonchalance. She gently lifted her hand to pat Mia's shoulder lightly. Without so much as another look at the couple, she closed the umbrella and lowered herself into the car. From the start till the end, she did not say a word to Ethan and Victoria.
“Arya, how are you? Are you okay?!”
At this moment, Mia started to feel her eyes burning up as she turned to look at Arya who had already gotten into the car. When she saw that she was already leaning back with her head leaning to one side, her heart ached. She could not help but cover half her face with her hand. Her furious gaze passed through the flickering bright colors towards Ethan and Victoria...
“Ethan, you’ll never know what you’ve missed out on! I consider myself blind for having known the two of you heartless scumbags!”
In a hoarse voice, Mia left these words before she got into the car.
“Arya, how are you? Say something!”
In the car, she inched towards Arya and both her hands gripped Arya's shoulders tightly. When she saw that she was not moving at all, she started to panic.
Arya pushed Mia's hands that were on her shoulders away and she turned away to look out of the car window. Calmly, she assured, “I’m fine. Driver, let’s get going. Go to Emperor Entertainment City in the north.”
The moment she said that the driver immediately started his engine. As the car slowly drove past him, Ethan could vaguely see Xi Xiaye, who sat in the car with her head turned the other way, looking out.
He hesitated for a moment. He hesitated whether he should chase after him, yet after a momentary contemplation, the mixed emotions in his eyes quieted down. At last, everything returned to its previous calm state.
Suddenly, by his ear came the soft sound of Victoria choking on her sobs.
“Ethan, I... did I do something wrong? Sister, she...”
Ethan turned around and saw gloom written all over Victoria's face. Her beautiful eyes were teary, yet she still bit down hard on her lip, determined to force her tears to stay in. When he saw this face, it inevitably made his heart ache for her sake.
He did know what to say. He could only tighten his grip around her waist and pull her further into his arms.
Victoria then hugged him and leaned tightly in his embrace, her stifled cries muffled.
He looked ahead pensively at the car that had already vanished into the hazy drizzle. Then, Ethan coldly retrieved his gaze, focusing on Victoria who buried herself in his embrace to cry. His apathetic face started to ease and he said softly, 
“Okay, don’t cry now. We’ll slowly explain these things to her later on. She’s a very sensible person, so she’ll see it and will understand.”
“But, but... when I saw her like that earlier, I was really devastated. Father says she hasn’t been home for a long time already. She’s definitely still blaming Father and Mother because of us...”
“Let’s not talk about these things first. Get into the car. Uncle and Aunty are waiting for us at the Emperor's.”
Ethan took out a handkerchief from his pocket and carefully wiped away her tears. He opened the car door and coaxed, 
“Get into the car first.”
Victoria sniffed and swallowed the lump in her throat before she tearfully got into the car.
...
The car sped towards the northern city’s Emperor Entertainment City. Along the way, Arya did not say anything. The car was filled with an indescribable gloom. It was so stifling that Mia felt an acrid and bitter taste in her throat.
She wanted to console her, yet she saw Arya had already leaned back and maintained her composure while looking out the car window. Her cold lips were sealed tightly. Through the dim lights outside the car, with various depths that kept reflecting her in their brightness, in that instant, if one looked over, she seemed particularly desolate and distracted.
“Arya, don’t be sad... I’m sorry, I... I know I shouldn’t have acted like that, but I really couldn’t control myself. Seeing them in their cheap happiness, I just couldn’t hold back. I was about to explode and go crazy! How could they still live so happily without feeling ashamed at all after hurting you?”
Mia was furiously rambling on as both her hands held Arya's shoulders. She looked at Arya's fair and beautiful face before she asked anxiously and with worry,
“Tell me, Arya. Have you not let go? It’s been so many years, but you haven’t been willing to let go and try to accept another relationship. Is it because you haven’t let go of Ethan? Is it? Tell me!”
Mia shook Arya by the shoulders and asked dejectedly.
Arya became dizzy from her shaking, so she could only lift a hand to hold down the hands that held her shoulders. Her crimson though slightly pale lips parted with a voice filled with fatigue and powerlessness.
“Mia, stop talking. Just let me be alone for a while, okay?”
“Is it that hard to answer this question? Arya!” Mia fixed her stare on her.
Arya was stunned. She fell silent for a moment, then she suddenly put down her hand that was in Mia's arms. Turning over to Mia, she thought about it for quite a while before she finally said softly, 
“He and I have long become the past...”
Have long become the past...
She already knew all of this from a long time ago. Her circumstances had already been marked with a full stop.
...
At Emperor Entertainment City, New York's highest-class and the one and only consumption area.
This was where many money-squandering establishments of rich people were at. Most of them were people of status.
The White family was also considered a literary family. Mia's father was the President of New York University, while her mother was the city center’s educational administration director. They did hold some status in the City of New York, so Mia could be considered the daughter of an eminent family too.
Usually, Mia would frequent Emperor, not only because the dishes there were delicious, but even more so because of their one-stop service. She was also satisfied with the attendants’ flawless customer service.
Every time Mia asked Arya out for a meal, 8 out of 10 times it would be at the Emperor's, so as time went on, Arya got used to it too. She immediately decided on Emperor for the homecoming dinner for Mia.
After the food and drinks were served, Arya poured herself a drink and downed quite a few glasses at a go. She looked quite pale.