Chapter 40 Unwavering Support "Come here quickly! Wen Hong has been waiting for you for a long time."...

Qiao Yunzheng and Yao Jing stood at the entrance of the coffee shop, smiling as they watched Jiang Qi and his mother leave.

As soon as the car left sight, Yao Jing immediately turned to look at Qiao Yunzheng beside her.

Today, Qiao Yunzheng wore a plain-colored long dress with a low round neck, revealing her elegant neckline. She wore a pearl necklace, which made her skin appear even whiter and more radiant.

She stood there quietly, still looking towards the end of the road, her expression unreadable.

After what happened in the coffee shop, Yao Jing couldn't find a trace of sadness or intense emotion on her face.

She even hoped she could vent like before, so she asked worriedly, "Xiaozheng, you and that Wen Hong..." Everyone had noticed the strange and awkward atmosphere between the two of them just now. She paused and asked cautiously, "Have you two been having a fight lately?"

In the past, if she had known that her daughter was going to break up with that Wen family boy, she would have been overjoyed. But seeing the two of them actually fighting today, she couldn't feel happy at all.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yunzheng looked away, still smiling faintly. She put her arm around her shoulder and said softly, "Mom, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

As she spoke, she turned on her phone, glanced at the time, and saw it was only four in the afternoon, still early.

"Mom, let Uncle Zhang take you home first! I have to go to the company later; I have some things to take care of."

As Yao Jing gazed at her daughter's serene and beautiful face, she seemed to see the shadow of her deceased husband in a daze.

At that moment, tears inexplicably welled up.

She looked away, took her daughter's hand, and patted it gently: "Remember to eat on time, and don't overwork yourself."

After saying that, he didn't say anything more, walked over and got into the Qiao family's car that had been waiting nearby.

Qiao Yunzheng's feigned smile only crumbled after Yao Jing left as well.

At four o'clock, the sun was still scorching on the street, and the air was filled with the scorched smell of concrete that had been baked in the sun, which made people inexplicably irritable.

The Joe's Building isn't too far from here, about two kilometers away.

Qiao Yunzheng didn't call a taxi, but slowly walked along the sidewalk towards the company.

Throughout the journey, she held her phone tightly in her hand, occasionally picking it up to glance at it.

The lock screen only displayed a prominent time indicator, reminding her that an hour had passed since Wen Hong left. Apart from that, there were no notifications of new messages or missed calls.

She clenched her fingers, resisting the urge to unlock her phone, while a voice inside her kept repeating in her mind: That's it!

The dappled sunlight filtering through the tree-lined path fell upon her feet. Qiao Yunzheng lowered her head, staring at the scattered lights. In her vision, the boundaries of the light and shadow gradually blurred, intertwining haphazardly and beginning to lose their original form.

Suddenly, amidst the noisy chirping of cicadas, a rapid and sharp car roar rang out, as if tearing a hole in the quiet and dull afternoon.

Before Qiao Yunzheng could recover from her complicated thoughts, what followed was an even more ear-piercing screeching sound of brakes than the previous roar.

A silver Bentley suddenly came to a stop not far from her.

Qiao Yunzheng's gaze slowly moved, she had no impression of the car, until the car window rolled down and she saw Wen Hong's face, she was immediately stunned.

"Get in the car."

His words, devoid of emotion, carried an undeniable air of authority.

Qiao Yunzheng looked up, and the Qiao Group building was right in front of her.

Her already confused mind became even more chaotic because of Wen Hong's sudden appearance.

Qiao Yunzheng was certain that she had only hesitated for a few seconds.

But those few seconds of hesitation seemed to instantly ignite Wen Hong's dissatisfaction.

He had already gotten out of the car, grabbed Qiao Yunzheng's arm, and forcefully shoved her into the passenger seat.

The moment the door slammed shut, Qiao Yunzheng's brain belatedly began to work.

Wen Hong's lips were tightly pressed together, and she stared straight ahead, not giving the passenger in the front seat even a glance.

His hands gripped the steering wheel, his arms taut, and the veins bulging beneath his pale skin were faintly visible.

Qiao Yunzheng opened her mouth, but couldn't find an opportunity to speak, so she obediently fastened her seatbelt.

The car drove out of the city and onto the expressway, gradually reaching its maximum speed.

Even through the car window, Qiao Yunzheng could hear the roar of the engine and her own heart pounding so hard she felt almost weightless.

After driving for an unknown amount of time, just before the gas tank ran out, the car stopped at a parking lot halfway up a mountain.

Her body, which had been tense the whole way, finally relaxed, and she even felt a sense of absurdity, as if she had survived a disaster.

Wen Hong tugged at his collar in frustration, then abruptly spoke in a deep voice, "You told me you had something to do this weekend," his voice still devoid of any emotion, "Is this the important thing you'd rather refuse me to do?"

When this question came at her, Qiao Yunzheng was not surprised at all; in fact, she felt a sense of relief, as if a guillotine had suddenly fallen to the ground.

With a click, she unbuckled her seatbelt, her eyelashes drooping: "Yes, it's quite important."

Wen Hong suddenly looked at her, his eyes filled with disbelief: "So, what are you doing? Going on blind dates behind my back?"

For Qiao Yunzheng's marriage, Yao Jing had been arranging blind dates for her in a big way recently. This was no secret in Kunming, and Wen Hong had naturally heard about it.

Previously, when his assistant mentioned this matter to him, Wen Hong looked at the girl sleeping peacefully beside him and scoffed.

It wasn't until Wen Miao called him today that he rushed over and saw her sitting opposite a strange man, chatting and laughing as if nothing had happened. He was struck dumb.

"Qiao Yunzheng," Wen Hong said, exasperated that she kept avoiding his gaze, but he simply reached out and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Shouldn't you explain yourself to me?"

If this had happened last week, or even two days ago, Qiao Yunzheng would probably have explained the whole story to him, and perhaps even hugged him to soothe this furious lion.

But at this moment, the words of explanation were on the tip of her tongue, yet she didn't want to say them.

She blinked hard, suppressing the stinging in her eyes, and met those dark, deep gazes: "No."

The last glimmer of hope in Wen Hong's heart was ruthlessly crushed by her.

Qiao Yunzheng said, slowly and deliberately, "I have nothing to explain."

"What?" Wen Hong seemed to have heard something absurd, and in his extreme anger, he let out a cold laugh.

He pointed to a building nestled among the lush greenery outside the car window and suddenly said, "This is an estate left by my mother. Yesterday, I spent the whole day here. I called all my friends and relatives over, thinking that even if you're busy, I should introduce you to them when you're done."

Qiao Yunzheng was stunned for a moment, and when she caught a glimpse of the white walls and green tiles out of the corner of her eye, her heart was suddenly pierced.

His fingers tightened around her chin: "And what about you? You're going on a blind date with someone else? What are you trying to tell me now?"

Qiao Yunzheng used all her strength to suppress the tears that were about to spill out uncontrollably. She didn't dare to open her mouth, afraid that if she wasn't careful, she would shake her already weak resolve.

He suddenly leaned in and pressed her against the car door.

The cold air emanated from her back, climbing up her spine.

Wen Hong gave a self-deprecating smile: "Qiao Yunzheng, are you going to do what you did five years ago, abandoning me without even asking my opinion?"

He seemed to no longer expect her answer. His gaze moved up and down from her innocent and silent eyes, down her nose, and intense emotions surged within him.

He suddenly leaned in, almost rudely and forcefully, and captured her lips in his mouth.

With an irresistible sense of aggression, his lips and teeth, like sharp blades, twisted and rubbed against her.

Qiao Yunzheng's jaw was tightly clamped, and then the back of her head was firmly held in place, unable to break free.

She could only tilt her head back, breathing heavily and laboredly like a dehydrated fish in that dangerous atmosphere.

The barely audible sob that escaped from her lips was almost indistinguishable from his.

He tore and gnawed, his tongue sliding across her delicate earlobe, causing her unbearable stinging and trembling, before reaching for her slender neck.

His disordered breathing was punctuated by a chilling laugh: "What makes you think you can?"

Wen Hong buried his head in her neck.

When she felt a sudden warmth on her neck, Qiao Yunzheng froze.

Then she heard Wen Hong's muffled voice drown out her neck: "What right do you have to treat me like this again and again?"

-

Wen Miao was left on the roadside, still confused about what was going on. How did she end up being kicked off the bus?

Just now, she was sitting in the passenger seat, wisely shrinking her neck, not daring to breathe loudly, and not daring to say a single extra word.

His good brother Wen Hong remained calm, seemingly unconcerned about Qiao Yunzheng's blind date. He even went so far as to confront him, asking, "Out of money? Lost your phone? Did you send your brother a message with your mind while wearing a big head?"

Wen Miao smiled obsequiously, offering no excuses: "My brother is truly wise."

Everything is normal, and there's nothing unusual about it.

At a red light intersection where he was supposed to turn left, he stared at the constantly changing numbers. When the countdown ended, Wen Hong suddenly turned the steering wheel sharply and sped back the way he came.

Halfway there, they left Wen Miao, who hadn't even realized what was happening, on the roadside.

Fortunately, before leaving, he gave her a large sum of "compensation": "Take a taxi home yourself, don't wander off."

Wen Miao opened the mobile app for the nth time, looked at the number in her bank card balance that had suddenly increased several times, and smiled so hard that her eyes disappeared: Okay, I'll forgive him for now!

Wen Miao originally wanted to find a Western restaurant to treat herself, but when she looked up, she caught sight of a familiar figure on the street.

Her teeth started grinding: Wasn't this the man who went on a blind date with her beautiful sister-in-law?

Wen Miao sneaked over and followed him at a distance of about ten meters, determined to expose the true face of this despicable man.

Jiang Qi first went to a dessert shop to pick up a cake, and then took the cake to a Western restaurant, where he met a woman with a graceful demeanor.

Wen Miao also entered the restaurant and chose a seat with her back to Jiang Qi.

While waiting for the food, Jiang Qi placed the cake on the table and said gently, "Today is your birthday. I didn't prepare anything in advance, so I ordered a small cake. Don't mind it."

Unexpectedly, the woman opposite her looked pleasantly surprised, even a little tearful with joy: "Thank you, you are the first person to remember my birthday today."

Wen Miao thought to herself: Ha! What a cunning man.

Their intermittent conversation drifted into Wen Miao's ears; it was probably an old-fashioned scene of a beautiful woman who had been wronged crying and a kind-hearted man offering warm comfort.

After listening for a while, seeing that the poor woman was about to fall into the scumbag's trap again, Wen Miao couldn't listen anymore.

She suddenly stood up, the sound of the chair being dragged attracted the attention of the two men.

Wen Miao smiled and waved to Jiang Qi: "Hi! Darling, what a coincidence..."

The woman opened her mouth in surprise, but Jiang Qi remained unexpectedly calm.

"That's quite unfortunate..."

Wen Miao took two steps forward, stared at the woman's face, and said sincerely, "Pretty sister, you mustn't be fooled by him! He's good at sweet talk, but he's actually full of bad intentions!"

She immediately contradicted him, filled with righteous indignation.

To everyone's surprise, the woman, who had been teary-eyed, instantly stopped crying after hearing her words, and even smiled slightly. She turned to Jiang Qi and asked, "Is this your girlfriend?"

Jiang Qi remained calm, gave a wry smile, and did not deny it.

“I’m sorry for taking up Mr. Jiang’s time,” the woman stood up, put the cake back in the box and picked it up. “We can reschedule for another day.”

Before leaving, he glanced at Wen Miao with a smile and said, "Also, Mr. Jiang's girlfriend is very cute."

After the woman left, Wen Miao took a long time to react before suddenly turning around and glaring at Jiang Qi: "Who's your girlfriend? Trying to take advantage of me?"

Jiang Qi shrugged: "That's because you misunderstood people. I'm the one who got taken advantage of, okay?"

Wen Miao choked, seeing his calm expression, she took a step closer and asked, "Why aren't you surprised at all? Did you know I was following you?"

Jiang Qi: "Otherwise what?"

Upon hearing this, Wen Miao felt a chill run down her spine. After thinking for a moment, she asked again, "Do you know who I am?"

Jiang Qi pretended to think for a moment, then frankly said, "I've been watching you for a long time since we met at the coffee shop."

"Scumbag!" Wen Miao blurted out almost immediately.

Jiang Qi: "What do you mean?"

"What can't you do at such a young age? Living off a woman! Having multiple partners at the same time!" Wen Miao clenched his fists.

Jiang Qi smiled helplessly: "You call having a normal meal with a client 'living off a woman,' and it's true that the client pays for the meal, so strictly speaking, that's not wrong."

Wen Miao choked: "Customer?"

Jiang Qi nodded: "Otherwise what?"

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Wen Miao's eyes lit up: "Then my sister-in-law is one too?"

Jiang Qi paused, realizing she was referring to Qiao Yunzheng, and sighed helplessly, "Otherwise what?"

-

The next morning, Qiao Yunzheng, unusually, stayed in bed until ten o'clock before slowly getting up to wash and get ready.

Looking at her slightly red and swollen eyes in the mirror, she sighed softly.

She believed that after what happened yesterday, Wen Hong was probably unwilling to talk to her anymore.

How could someone as proud and arrogant as him tolerate being treated like that again and again?

That was probably the last time they met.

She rarely indulged herself like this, so she didn't plan to go to the company. She didn't put on makeup, simply tied her hair into a bun, wore a lounge dress, and slowly went downstairs.

As soon as I turned the corner of the stairs, I noticed something different in the living room.

A man in a sharp suit sat upright on the living room sofa.

He was facing away from the stairs, talking to Yao Jing across from him.

Qiao Yunzheng was practically rooted to the spot.

She could recognize that person even if it was just a glimpse of their back.

The man she thought would never appear in her life again, the man whose eyes were wet with tears from her anger, sat on her sofa in a sharp suit just one night later.

Qiao Yunzheng was unaware of what had happened and remained stunned.

It was Yao Jing, who was facing the direction of the stairs, who first spotted her.

She smiled and waved to Qiao Yunzheng, seemingly in a good mood: "Xiaozheng is awake? Come over here! Wen Hong has been waiting for you for a long time."

Author's Note: A huge thank you again to "Sunshine" for the nutrient solution! Love you~ Mwah~