Chapter 113 The Three Have Their Own Thoughts

He turned to the side and slowly raised his hand.

A glimmer of hope flashed in Yan Shu's eyes.

Just when everyone thought Zhuang Bieyan was taking the soup bowl from her, his hand suddenly turned, completely ignoring the soup, and reached straight for the steamed grouper on the table.

He picked up the serving chopsticks, took a piece of the tenderest fish belly meat from the middle, removed the bones, and naturally placed it on the small plate in front of Qu He.

Yan Shu: "..."

Others: "......"

Qu He looked at the fish on the plate, a complex feeling rising in her heart.

She had noticed Yan Shu's gaze earlier; no matter where she and Zhuang Bieyan went, there was always a gaze following them.

A chance glance back, and you'll find yourself staring into those eyes.

It is undisguised desire, jealousy and madness stemming from unrequited love.

At this moment, Qu He finally understood why Yan Shu was so hostile towards her after only meeting her a few times.

She liked Zhuang Bieyan, but unfortunately, the person standing next to him now wasn't her.

I was thinking it best to avoid trouble and just enjoy the meal, but unfortunately, someone insisted on making things difficult for themselves.

Qu He first silently noted down Zhuang Bieyan's name in her mind, then suppressed her emotions and put on a smile.

She reached out and took the soup from Yan Shu's hand, then put it aside. "Thank you, Teacher Yan Shu, but he doesn't drink it."

Qu He picked up a damp towel and wiped her hands clean. "The doctor told me that his wound is in the recovery period and I need to keep an eye on his diet. It's not convenient for him to eat things that belong to outsiders."

As she spoke, she turned to look at the man who was peeling crabs for her, "Right, honey?"

Zhuang Bieyan paused in peeling the crab, then looked up with a smile in his eyes. "Yes, I'll listen to my wife."

Yan Shu's smile froze completely.

"Well... that was my oversight."

Her smile was awkward; her hands clenched under the table as she forced herself to sit back down.

Several astute directors sensed the tension in the air, laughed it off, and changed the subject.

The atmosphere became lively again, and they continued to clink glasses.

After several rounds of drinks, many people were tipsy.

Several daring young directors and guests started a commotion, grabbing the producer's neck and noisily heading towards a private room to sing.

The loud, energetic music quickly came through the walls, and many people were caught up in the atmosphere, humming along and swaying from their seats.

Only this corner of the main table seemed to be separated by an invisible barrier.

Each of the three had their own thoughts, and a balance was silently formed.

Qu He put down her chopsticks, her voice tinged with arrogance: "At the farewell banquet, I want to eat shrimp."

"Okay, I'll peel it for you."

Zhuang Bieyan moved swiftly, and soon several peeled shrimp were placed on the plate in front of Qu He.

Without stopping, he picked out another crab, slowly extracted the meat, and piled it onto a plate.

"The crab meat is tender, would you like to try some?"

Qu He glanced at the pile of peeled seafood, feeling a tightness in her chest, and replied with a simple "hmm".

"Where's the pomegranate?"

Seeing that she hadn't touched her chopsticks, Zhuang Bieyan took the pomegranate from the plate and patiently peeled it open, revealing a mountain of tiny ruby ​​pieces.

Qu He actually had no appetite at all; her stomach felt like it was filled with some kind of emotion, making her feel bloated.

She hadn't missed the glances Yan Shu had cast at her, especially that casual look just now, that resentful look in her eyes, which made her feel even worse.

This also shows that the problem between them has not been completely resolved, and Qu He gets irritable whenever she thinks about it.

Yan Shu took in everything, her hand gripping the wine glass so tightly that the veins on it were visibly prominent.

She looked at the man who, in her memory, was always aloof and distant, now so patiently preparing food for a woman, peeling and removing thorns from the lotus leaves, and processing the fruit.

Faced with Qu Hesheng's indifference and lack of appreciation for his good fortune, he showed no impatience whatsoever; in fact, he seemed to relish it.

She had never seen him like this before.

My heart felt like it was being twisted, a mixture of bitterness and jealousy.

Why should Quhe be entitled to all of this?

She was the one who met him earlier and stayed with him longer.

Under the table, she clenched her other hand tightly into her palm, the sharp pain barely managing to maintain her expression as she was on the verge of collapse.

She suddenly grabbed the wine on the table and drank most of it in one gulp.

The burning pain of strong liquor on the throat is nothing compared to the slightest pain in the heart.

Yan Shu seemed oblivious to the effects of the alcohol, drinking several cups until she finally couldn't resist.

"Teacher Qu He,"

She tried to make her expression look like genuine concern. "Is President Zhuang's injury still not healed? He's been running around like this all the time, shouldn't we let him rest for a bit?"

Even without a mirror, Yan Shu knew how stiff and unsightly her smile looked.

Qu He narrowed her eyes slightly upon hearing her words.

She didn't look up to respond to Yan Shu, but casually poked at the shrimp in her bowl with her chopsticks, a cold smile playing on her lips.

“Zhuang Bieyan,” she turned to the man beside her, “Are you tired?”

Zhuang Bieyan ladled her a bowl of soup, met her gaze, and said firmly, "I'm not tired."

"Really? I saw that Teacher Yan Shu was paying so much attention to you, I thought you were tired."

Zhuang Bieyan followed her gaze to Yan Shu and nodded slightly: "Thank you."

Not a single word was superfluous; the atmosphere was one of estrangement.

Qu He then turned to look at Yan Shu, "He said he's not tired."

Yan Shu's lips twitched slightly.

"However, Teacher Yan Shu's reminder is also correct."

Qu He changed the subject, picked up the empty bowl in front of Zhuang Bieyan, scooped out a bowl of soup, and said, "Your wound hasn't healed yet, you should eat more to nourish yourself."

She brought the soup back, placed it in front of Zhuang Bieyan, and gestured with her palm, inviting him to join her.

Zhuang Bieyan picked up a spoon, tasted the soup, and looked at Qu He with a smile, "It tastes good, thank you, Ahe."

Yan Shu could no longer sit still. She suddenly stood up, the chair legs scraping against the ground with a screeching sound.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back." She didn't even look at their reactions before quickly walking out of the private room.

The fleeing figure looked disheveled and heartbroken.

Qu He looked in the direction Yan Shu left, but she didn't feel particularly comfortable or triumphant. Instead, she felt a deeper sense of exhaustion and confusion.

Zhuang Bieyan's gaze remained fixed on Qu He, not missing the subtle changes in her emotions.

A faint sense of panic welled up in his heart. He reached out and covered her slightly cool hand, holding it tightly.

“Ahe…”

Qu He neither struggled nor responded, and remained in his grasp.

This silent standoff has no winners, no gunpowder smoke, only an intense, unyielding bitterness and tension permeating the air.

...

Thick carpets covered the corridor outside the restrooms, absorbing the footsteps of passersby and isolating most of the noise from the private rooms.

After composing herself and touching up her makeup, Yan Shu pushed open the door and came out. She looked up and saw Qu He leaning against the opposite wall.

She bent one leg, crossed her lower leg, and the toe of her shoe touched the ground intermittently.

Upon hearing the voice, she slowly raised her head, clearly having been waiting for a long time.

Yan Shu dried her hands and stepped forward.

Now that her thoughts were known, she no longer bothered to maintain a polite demeanor in public. With her chin slightly raised, she coldly asked, "Waiting for me?"

Hearing the wariness and hostility in her words, Qu He stopped the pleasantries and went straight to the point: "What is your relationship with Zhuang Bieyan?"

She wasn't stupid. The way Yan Shu looked at Zhuang Bieyan just now, the kind of obsession and pain that had been building up over the years, couldn't have happened overnight. There must be something between the two of them.

Since Zhuang Bieyan wouldn't say, she would ask Yan Shu instead.

Although asking your rival in this way is rather spineless, it's better than keeping it bottled up inside.

Yan Shu hadn't expected Qu He to be so direct.

She snorted, crossed her arms, and looked at her sneered, "Our relationship? Didn't he already tell you? Why are you asking me again?"

She deliberately threw the question back at her.

Qu He stared into her eyes. "Zhuang Bieyan said your family helped him in England, but there's no connection between you and him."

"No common ground..."

Yan Shu murmured these words repeatedly, as if she had heard something ridiculous. A deep sense of self-mockery and bitterness gradually rose in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.

"So that's what he thought?"

Even though I knew all along that it was all wishful thinking on my part, hearing such heartless words still made me feel like a joke.

Looking at the expression on her face, Qu He felt a faint unease rise in her heart.

At this moment, Yan Shu took a step forward, her breath reeking of alcohol. "Since that's what he said, then just accept it."

She paused, deliberately drawing out her words with a deliberately ambiguous tone: "Anyway... I've always listened to him."

Qu He frowned slightly, displeased, upon hearing her highly suggestive words.

She admitted to nothing, but it was as if she had said everything.

There was a secret between them, and she was just an outsider kept in the dark.

The unease and doubt that Qu He had managed to suppress surged up again.