Chapter 57 If I didn't come to North City, would you go...?

As soon as the plane landed in Beicheng, Zhou Qi went straight with her friends who had come to pick her up, while Fu Qingli took Lin Xi and got into Zhao Mingyuan's car.

Zhao Mingyuan was still in shock at the fact that they had known each other since childhood: "Sister-in-law, since you and the eldest brother grew up together, why did you pretend not to know each other back then?"

He was referring to the technology exhibition.

Lin Xi didn't know how to answer, and looked at Fu Qingli helplessly, only to see that he was also waiting for her answer, showing no intention of helping.

No, I wasn't the only one pretending to be a stranger; he also acted as if he didn't recognize me.

She silently condemned his inaction with her gaze, but in the end, she could only answer Zhao Mingyuan's question herself: "Some things happened, and we lost contact for six years. That was the first time we met, and it was at work, so it wasn't appropriate to reminisce."

“That makes sense.” Zhao Mingyuan thought she was right. Back then, the boss acted like he didn’t know her at all. It would have been so awkward for the girl to take the initiative to reminisce.

Then, changing the subject, she began to criticize Fu Qingli, "Boss, really, you didn't say a word at all. At the time, I thought you were just trying to get close to Team Leader Lin for the test, otherwise..."

Fu Qingli, fearing he might say something inappropriate, quickly interrupted, "A Yuan, let Xiao Xi rest for a while."

"oh oh."

The surroundings quieted down, with only the soft music playing from the speakers remaining.

Lin Xi looked out the car window. Towering buildings and crowds of people and vehicles flashed by like fleeting shadows, busy yet real.

When she decided to come to Beicheng, she never thought she could find a place to settle down there, nor did she ever hope that she could get back together with Fu Qingli.

At that time, she felt that she was all alone in this world. Since she had nowhere to go, she might as well go to a place that seemed to have light.

It would be a lie to say that the decision to come to Beicheng had nothing to do with Fu Qingli.

Knowing that Fu Qingli had lived in Beicheng for many years and had been to many places, she was filled with boundless anticipation for this city.

I feel it's okay if I never see him again; as long as I touch on anything related to him, I feel wonderful.

Back then, I never imagined that one day I would feel like I was coming home to Beicheng.

The reason for this is probably because Fu Qingli is by his side.

Lin Xi subconsciously looked at Fu Qingli and saw that he was also looking at her with a focused expression.

He caught her turning around, a slight smile playing on his lips, his dark eyes filled with starlight and utter doting affection.

Lin Xi smiled as he did.

It's good that he's back by my side.

Looking back, Lin Xi realized that the car had turned onto a road she wasn't familiar with.

Although this is the street where my apartment is located, it's not in this direction.

Where are we going?

Fu Qingli explained, "Let's go to the hotel first; all my things are there."

Lin Xi then realized that the two of them hadn't discussed where to stay when they returned to Beicheng. Judging from his tone, he was just going to the hotel to pick up some things.

Are you going to stay at my place?

Fu Qingli nodded matter-of-factly: "It's unavoidable to stay in a hotel in Haicheng, but I can't let you continue to stay in hotels with me when we go back to Beicheng. Besides, I don't plan to separate right after we get married."

As he spoke, he curled two fingers and rubbed them against Lin Xi's soft cheek. "Mrs. Fu, will you take me in?"

Mrs. Fu.

He trailed off, his voice tender and lingering.

Lin Xi blushed slightly, looked away shyly, and said "Oh".

Zhao Mingyuan saw the interaction between the two in the rearview mirror. Seeing his aloof boss talking so fluently and sweetly, it made him click his tongue in disapproval.

The uncontrolled noise drew a cold glance from Fu Qingli.

Zhao Mingyuan felt a chill run down his spine and immediately became obedient, focusing intently on driving his car.

Five minutes later, the car drove into the underground garage and parked in a designated parking space.

Zhao Mingyuan got out of the car, respectfully handed the keys to Fu Qingli, and immediately made his escape: "Boss, sister-in-law, I'm leaving now."

He temporarily filled in as Xiao Tao's driver because he wanted to see what it was like for his boss to be in love. Now that he's done, it turns out his boss can be a tender man too.

"Is this your car too?"

I'd never seen this G-Class before; I'd assumed it belonged to the company or Zhao Mingyuan.

“Hmm,” Fu Qingli casually pointed to a row of cars around her, “These are all mine.”

Before Lin Xi could take a closer look, Fu Qingli reached out and took her hand, their fingers intertwined, and led her towards the elevator: "Have you driven in the past few years?"

Lin Xi got her driver's license during her freshman year of college. Besides the driving school instructors, Fu Qingli was the one who taught her most of the time.

Speaking of learning to drive, that was the first time Fu Qingli got angry with Lin Xi.

At first, Lin Xi didn't want to learn, thinking that with him around, she didn't need to learn to drive at all, and if necessary, she could just take public transportation or a taxi.

But Fu Qingli insisted: "It's okay not to drive normally, but you can't not know how to drive."

"No."

In the first few years, when her condition was severe and she had to take a heavy dose of medication every day, Linxi was strictly forbidden from driving.

Later, the dosage was reduced, and after many years, she didn't dare to touch the steering wheel again.

Coupled with financial difficulties, I never dared to even consider buying a car, let alone driving one.

"Then I guess I'll have to forget my skills from my teacher."

Fu Qingli squeezed the back of her hand. "When I have some free time, I'll take you to practice driving again. You can drive these cars for fun then."

"Huh?" Lin Xi was still a little resistant when it came to driving practice. "Can I not practice?"

“No,” Fu Qingli patiently guided, “I’ll say it again: you don’t have to drive, but you can’t be unable to. What if we encounter an emergency and neither I nor the driver can get there in time?”

Lin Xi understood; he wanted her to have the ability to handle crises.

Although I understood, I still felt a little reluctant: "Alright then."

Fu Qingli was amused by her resentful tone: "Let's put driving practice aside for now, and move house when we get home."

"What? Moving?" Lin Xi asked in surprise, wondering why they were suddenly talking about moving.

“Okay.” Fu Qingli nodded and led her into the elevator. “Your current place is still a bit far from the company. I have an apartment near Songjia. When we come back, we can move there. Or you can see which neighborhood you like and we can buy another one.”

Lin Xi was a little anxious: "No need to buy a new one. No, I signed a five-year contract for that apartment, so I can't just terminate the lease."

Fu Qingli showed no surprise or further questions, her expression remaining calm: "It's alright, I'll talk to the landlord later."

Seeing how readily he accepted it, Lin Xi was now surprised: "Aren't you going to ask me why I rented it for so long?"

Last time, Zhou Leyan heard about it for five years and asked a lot of questions, almost going so far as to contact the agent to find out more about the landlord's situation. How can Fu Qingli be so calm?!

Fu Qingli was taken aback, but her expression quickly returned to normal. She explained, "I know. I heard Zhou Leyan mention this before. It's okay. I'll talk to them about it. If it doesn't work out, we can continue renting it, and we can stay there occasionally."

"That's too extravagant." Besides, Lin Xi didn't want to go back on her promise to the landlord. "How about we talk about it again and just stay here for now?"

Seeing that she was unwilling to talk more, Fu Qingli did not press the matter and decided to wait until she returned to Beicheng to discuss it further: "Okay."

Fu Qingli's room was a presidential suite, just like the one in Haicheng, and the room furnishings were almost identical.

The only difference is that this place feels more lived-in than when Lin Xi first saw Haicheng's room.

Giant panda-themed items are everywhere in the living room, some of which look like rolling toys.

Some items belonged to Fu Qingli, such as the blanket with panda prints on the sofa and the cups with panda prints on the coffee table.

Lin Xi blurted out, "Fu Qingli, you seem to really like giant pandas?"

Fu Qingli, who was opening the window to let in fresh air, casually replied, "Because you like it."

After saying that, both of them were stunned for a moment.

Before they separated, Lin Xi liked all cute animals, but didn't particularly like giant pandas.

This is something Fu Qingli knows.

Lin Xi's love for giant pandas reached the point of being a deep affection for them in the second year after the two separated.

That day, the dessert shop where Linxi worked temporarily closed, giving her some free time. Her roommates dragged her to visit Jiangcheng Zoo.

At that time, her depression was quite severe, but when she saw the adorable appearance of the giant panda Rou Rou, her heart suddenly calmed down, and all the hardships and troubles of life instantly disappeared from her mind, and the world became peaceful and serene.

From then on, Linxi fell in love with pandas, and especially adored the giant panda Rou Rou.

Those who know her well know this.

From this perspective, it's not surprising that Fu Qingli knew she liked giant pandas, but upon closer inspection, something seemed off.

When they were in the north of the city, they hadn't gotten too close yet.

And thinking about it, he already knew I liked giant pandas when we reunited, and he even specially invested to get me a giant panda plush toy.

That's what's strange.

Lin Xi couldn't ignore the doubt in her heart: "How did you know I like giant pandas?"

When they met again, Zhou Qi was unaware that their relationship wouldn't be mentioned automatically, and Fu Qingli wasn't the type to ask Zhou Qi about her preferences.

At this point, Fu Qingli hadn't originally intended to hide it: "Back then, I found your Weibo account."

At that time, Lin Xi had no friends or family. She had nowhere to release her sudden emotional outbursts, and she couldn't post them on social media to let her classmates know about her emotional problems.

So she registered a new Weibo account as her emotional confession channel.

Unexpectedly, Fu Qingli discovered it.

Yes, if you really want to find someone, how could you not find them?

only……

She wanted to ask Fu Qingli, "Why didn't you come to find me?"

But then I thought about it again. He was the one who broke up with me back then, and he was in America at the time. I never mentioned my father’s death on Weibo.

He probably thought he and his father had always lived a good life.

So, the words that came out of his mouth were: "If I hadn't come to Beicheng, would you have come looking for me?"

She suddenly wanted to know whether this marriage was something she had begged for out of pity, or whether he still missed her and wanted to reunite with her.

"meeting."

Fu Qingli walked over, embraced her, and whispered, "When Qingyuan returned to China, the initial plan was to go to Jiangcheng, but we changed it after Azou told us that you decided to develop your career in Beicheng."

As a third-tier city in central China, Jiangcheng is entirely detrimental to the development of Qingyuan.

But Fu Qingli was determined to do things her own way, and even the repeated persuasion from Ji Jiali and Zou Song was to no avail.

Zou Song made numerous inquiries about the reason without success. It wasn't until the personnel department sent over the documents for the proposed appointment of Lin Xi that Ji Jiali saw them by chance. Only then did he realize that Fu Qingli's "childhood sweetheart"—Lin Xi—was actually working at his Jiangcheng branch.

For the sake of Fu Qingli and Qingyuan's future, he dared to have HR issue an offer to Lin Xi without Fu Qingli's consent.