Chapter 43 Difficult to Coax

Qiao Shu shut her mouth.

Both of them need to calm down, especially Yu Zeheng.

She stayed still for a while, lest someone dump all the problems on her. After a tense standoff lasting several minutes, she felt more alert.

Qiao Shu turned to her side, her voice muffled: "I can't sleep, let's chat for a while."

What do you want to talk about?

Qiao Shu pressed her hand under the pillow: "What kind of terms do you think we should offer..."

“Keep public and private matters separate. Don’t discuss business at home.” Yu Zeheng interrupted her, his voice flat and icy. “What else do you want to talk about?”

"...Thank you, that's all." Qiao Shu had lost all desire to chat.

She felt a warm sensation in her lower abdomen. She opened her eyes, wide awake, and reached for her phone. Just as she unlocked it, a hand reached out and snatched it from her grasp, turning off the phone.

"You need to sleep too, you need to rest as well."

Qiao Shu turned around as he put his phone down, and tried to take it back: "I can't sleep right now, give it to me, I have something to take care of."

"sleep."

Yu Zeheng said it a second time, and then casually pulled her into his arms, with half of her body pressing against him.

Qiao Shu tried to resist, but Yu Zeheng patted her back rhythmically, his movements light and slow. She was stunned for a moment, and then realized that he seemed to be coaxing her to sleep.

She tilted her head back, her nose barely touching his neck, and chuckled softly as she called his name: "Yu Zeheng."

"Um."

"Are there still people who use this method to lull others to sleep these days?"

Yu Zeheng didn't say anything, but continued to pat her back rhythmically.

Qiao Shu yawned and rubbed his eyes: "Is this how your mother comforted you when you were little?"

In my memory, Ms. Jiang Wenxin would make such gentle gestures.

"Maybe." Yu Zeheng couldn't remember clearly, but some of his parents' behaviors could more or less affect their children.

Qiao Shu said in a light voice, "Then she must have sung, right? You can sing for me, and I'm sure I'll fall asleep faster, I promise."

The patting on the back slowed down by half a beat, and Yu Zeheng exhaled: "Qiao Shu."

Qiao Shu asked, bewildered, "What?"

Even Xiaoxi isn't as hard to coax as you.

"..."

Xiao Xi is such a good boy. When it's bedtime, I take him to his little bed, and he lies down and obediently closes his eyes to sleep.

Qiao Shu didn't argue with him. She yawned again, closed her eyes while patting rhythmically, and drowsiness, like his scent, seeped into her through her breath.

I slept quite well that night.

Qiao Shu sat down at the dining table, opposite Yu Zeheng, and they ate quietly together.

Seeing that she had been too busy lately, Aunt Chu brought over a soup that she had cooked that morning to replenish her qi and blood. She served it and let it cool down before bringing it over: "I didn't add any sugar, so you can drink it without worry."

It's all the natural flavor of the ingredients.

"Thank you, Aunt Chu."

“She can’t drink it.” Yu Zeheng glanced at the red dates and goji berries in the soup. “She’s on her period.”

Qiao Shu's menstrual cycle has always been irregular, often arriving a few days early or late.

Aunt Chu took back the soup: "That is indeed not drinkable."

Qiao Shu looked at the soup that had been taken away, then at the composed Yu Zeheng, and frowned, feeling that something was amiss.

During the six days of her period, Yu Zeheng was incredibly patient with Qiao Shu, and he was especially good at putting her to sleep. When Qiao Shu was happy, she found him very pleasing to the eye and thought that she was experiencing a skin hunger due to hormone control. At night, she would lie on top of him restlessly, and when he pulled her off, she would reluctantly stick back on.

She felt his body temperature, and in her hazy state, she thought it would be nice if things could stay like this forever.

If it's destined that there will be someone by her side ten or twenty years from now, the only person she can think of for now is Yu Zeheng.

This is just Yu Zeheng in private.

At work, when Qiao Shu thought of Yu Zeheng's expressionless face, she could only grit her teeth in hatred.

It's normal to have disagreements. The cooperation was initially established after their marriage, and the Qiao and Yu families were a community of interests for a long time. Short-term interests could be ignored. However, after the divorce, the most important condition disappeared. Without long-term benefits, every little bit of short-term benefit was worth considering.

The old man really gave her a tough nut to crack.

Seeing that she hadn't made any progress for so long, Qiao Kaiyu advised her to give up, saying that if it were that simple, it wouldn't have been delayed for so long.

He then changed the subject: "It's not entirely impossible. If you two remarry, you won't have to change anything, and Chairman Yu will approve it directly."

Qiao Shu pointed in the direction of the door.

Qiao Kaiyu raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, smiled, and left.

It's really not worth her going to such lengths for those ten shares. Even if she were to remarry in the future, it wouldn't be for these reasons.

She had impure motives for both marriage and divorce, and while she might do it once or twice, she would never do it a third time.

Qiao Shu and Yu Zeheng occasionally had meals together. There had been no news from Zhongcheng for a while, so he asked leisurely, "Knowing there's no hope, you gave up?"

"How could that be?" Qiao Shu dabbed her lips with a tissue. "I've been saving my strength, waiting to deliver the final blow."

Just like in a game interface, a beautiful ultimate move depletes all his health bars, stomping him heavily underfoot.

Yu Zeheng imagined the scene and chuckled to himself, "I've been waiting."

Winter days are always short and time flies by. Qiao Shu has been back in China for half a year and her condition has become stable. With the end of the year approaching, she carefully prepared gifts for the servants at home and gave them an extra month's salary. She also gave them a three-day holiday before the New Year to go home for the festival.

Once my family left, Nanwan became much quieter.

Qiao Shu doesn't have any particular feelings about the Spring Festival. She doesn't have many good memories from childhood to adulthood. When she was young, she had to be wary of her older brothers who thought her grandfather was biased and would cause trouble. Her uncle and aunt's words were full of hidden meanings. She was called by her grandfather to perform or dance in front of everyone. She couldn't show any weakness or make any mistakes, or she would embarrass the Qiao family.

She also has a temper, and she argues with her relatives' children. People say that children without mothers are unruly and poorly taught.

The old man's face fell when he heard this. Whether she performed well or not determined whether he taught her well or not. She had suffered a lot before she learned, and no matter how angry or disgusted she was, she still had a smile on her face.

The only trouble this Spring Festival was that Qiao Shu needed to take Yu Zeheng back to make it look like a formality.

In previous years, Qiao Shu would spend New Year's Eve at the Yu family's house and then return to the Qiao family's house the next day.

On this New Year's Eve, Qiao Shu didn't need to go to the Yu family to pretend. There was no one in Nanwan, so she planned to have New Year's Eve dinner at her father Qiao Mingjie's place. The family had booked a restaurant and would go out to eat that night.

Ye Yuzhen was very happy that Qiao Shu could come. In the past, it was always her and Qiao Mingjie who came. Qiao Mingjie didn't like to go to the Ye family and would always make a quick appearance before coming back.

Qiao Shu propped herself up on her arms and half-reclined on the sofa. Qiao Mingjie called to his daughter and chatted with her casually.

Qiao Mingjie knew she went to the company and didn't understand why she was making trouble for herself: "You know what kind of person your grandfather is, and you still went to him. You were just asking for trouble. No matter how well you do, he won't hand over the company to you."

“I don’t need him to hand the company over to me.” Qiao Shu changed the subject. “Do you still hold onto your shares in Shengyu?”

When the prestigious award was given to Mr. Qiao, Qiao Mingjie still held thirteen percent of the shares.

“I’m taking it. I’m not so desperate as to sell these shares.” Qiao Mingjie said.

"Here you go. If you want to sell it, sell it to me." Qiao Shu peeled the orange, and the fresh scent of oranges filled the air.

Qiao Mingjie smiled and asked Qiao Shu how much money she had.

Qiao Shu smiled and stuffed the orange into his hand.

Ye Yuzhen came downstairs and overheard their conversation. She spoke up for Qiao Shu, saying, "What money could Xiao Shu possibly have? She didn't get anything after the divorce."

"You look shrewd, but you're actually stupid. Everyone around here goes through a lot without getting divorced. Two years, and you're just going to give up everything?" Qiao Mingjie popped an orange segment into his mouth, his tone filled with disappointment.

Qiao Shu did not intend to argue.

She lay there lazily, holding her phone, which kept vibrating. She knew without looking that it was a New Year's greeting.

On such a joyous family occasion, there's really nothing particularly interesting about it.

The tranquility of the room was interrupted by a phone call. Qiao Mingjie took out his phone, glanced at it, his expression changed, and he smiled as he said he was going to answer the call. Just as he stood up, Ye Yuzhen pursed her lips, her face pale. She sat stiffly for several minutes, then told Qiao Shu to eat some fruit first, and got up to go upstairs to find Qiao Mingjie.

About ten minutes later, the sound of things being smashed and broken came from upstairs.

Ye Yuzhen's voice was trembling with tears, weak and helpless: "Qiao Mingjie, what have I ever told you? No matter how much you misbehave, I've always turned a blind eye. What day is it that you have to answer this phone call today?"

"I told you, we're friends. Can't even a friend say New Year's greetings? When will you ever stop?"

"This isn't over! I'll never let this go!" Ye Yuzhen sobbed. "Are you even human? How could you do this to me? What did I do to deserve this humiliation?"

"..."

Everything that could be smashed upstairs was broken into pieces. Ye Yuzhen covered her face and sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming through her fingers. Qiao Mingjie breathed a sigh of relief and humbly tried to comfort her.

The same old drama has been playing out for years.

When they calmed down and went downstairs, Qiao Shu was no longer in the living room.

Qiao Mingjie rubbed his forehead and made a phone call. Qiao Shu's voice came through the receiver: "You guys eat, I have something to do and I have to go back first."

"Where are you going all by yourself during the Chinese New Year?" he asked, frowning.

“I’ve gotten used to being alone these past two years.” Qiao Shu paused for a moment, then said, “Be nicer to Aunt Ye. You two have been together for so many years. She was a perfectly good person, and you’ve ruined her like this.”

"Let's stop arguing and have dinner together tonight."

"Okay, I'm hanging up."

Qiao Shu hung up the phone decisively. She wasn't alone in Nanwan; Xiao Xi was with her. She hugged Xiao Xi and rubbed its head, saying, "My little darling, you're here with me."

Xiao Xi grinned and happily rubbed her palm against hers.

Qiao Shu turned on the TV and turned the music up to the maximum volume, filling every corner of the house. She shuffled around in her slippers, a small white dog always following her at her feet.

She opened the red wine with a bottle opener and let it breathe. Xiao Xi smelled the aroma and looked up curiously. She held up a finger and shook it, saying, "Puppies can't drink alcohol."

Qiao Shu poured herself a glass, swirled the liquid, and took a sip.

She leaned on the island counter and looked around the house. For the first time, she realized how big the house was. The shadows of the trees in the courtyard looked like stone sculptures in the night.

A beam of light shone in, illuminating a corner of the courtyard.

Qiao Shu's thoughts were pulled back by the engine. Xiao Xi reacted faster than her. After hearing the noise, she ran to the door and jumped back and forth. The door opened, revealing a tall and strong figure.

"Woof woof".

Xiao Xi excitedly rushed to his feet.

Qiao Shu looked at Yu Zeheng and for a moment it was as if she didn't recognize him.

Yu Zeheng squatted down and scooped up the overly excited puppy with one hand. He changed his shoes and then met Qiao Shu's gaze. His eyes shifted to her wine glass: "Pour me a glass, thank you."

“You…” Qiao Shu wanted to ask him why he was here.

Yu Zeheng said casually, "It was too noisy and boring, so I came here to find some peace and quiet. What about you? Didn't you go to your dad's?"

Qiao Shu, holding her wine glass, echoed his tone: "I came back because it wasn't interesting."

"Have you eaten?" Yu Zeheng asked.

"……No."

In the air, it was as if bubbles had been popped, and a sour smell was spreading.

Qiao Shu couldn't explain what kind of emotion it was.

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Author's Note: 50 red envelopes

It's a bit difficult to finish writing this plot, so I'll update this now and come back earlier tomorrow.