Chapter 82 Birthday Banquet

Wen Chu returned home and lay down on the bed, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

Why didn't this damn system wait until she died to tell her that Qi Siyan was the second male lead?

She put her hand to her forehead and pounded it in frustration. This guy was so handsome, and he was so nice to her the moment he appeared—shouldn't she have expected this? So he really liked her? Or was it just her imagination?

Isn't it always the case that the second male lead doesn't like the female lead but likes the second female lead?

Qi Siyan clearly has no interest in Wen Xue, so isn't that her?

But what is the significance of the other party's appearance?

Offering her comfort? Soothing her heart, broken by Lu Ming's actions? Fearing she might actually quit in a fit of anger? Or just to spite Lu Ming?

While the latter did have a significant effect in the past, it's probably useless now.

She's not good at handling emotional matters at all; even though she knows the other person is a virtual character, she still feels uncomfortable.

It's certainly good to have someone unconditionally on your side, but it's a bit unfair to Qi Siyan, since they are destined to have no future together.

Forget it, she's barely able to take care of herself right now, so let's not let our sympathy get the better of us.

Wen Chu stayed home obediently, waiting for the banquet the day after tomorrow. Ever since she learned that Qi Siyan might have feelings for her, she had been a little nervous and didn't quite know how to get along with people.

But unexpectedly, Lu Ming arrived first.

The moment the other person reappeared at her doorstep, Wen Chu's heart skipped a beat, and her emotions, which had finally calmed down, began to sway wildly like an out-of-control compass.

The last time the other person came, she was tending to the flowers and plants in the middle courtyard. This time, she was tending to the plants in the front yard. When she heard the noise outside the door, she subconsciously turned her head and looked at the person who got out of the car.

Those eyes, unseen for many days, were filled with unfamiliarity and estrangement.

The days of chatting and laughing with people while strolling through amusement parks feel like they happened in a past life.

Wen Chu quickly looked away. The other person wasn't there to see her, so she wisely put down the pruning shears and went inside, intending to go upstairs to her room. Wen Xue wasn't there today, so he was probably going to be disappointed.

The other person took long strides and caught up with her before she even reached the front hall. The two were less than a meter apart, and neither of them uttered a sound.

Hearing the butler's reminder, Wen Shiyang quickly came out to check the situation, feeling confused, angry, and anxious. Wen Chu had finally calmed down, so why had the source of this turmoil come knocking on their door?

He glanced at his daughter. Fortunately, she had some backbone and didn't immediately cling to him and embarrass herself.

Lu Ming stopped in front of Wen Shiyang and greeted him in a low voice, while Wen Chu did not stop and walked straight past them upstairs.

All she heard was Wen Shiyang asking someone behind her, "Why are you here? Xiaoxue isn't here today."

"I'm here today to see Wen Chu," Lu Ming said calmly.

"What?" Wen Shiyang frowned, and Wen Chu was also startled, but she didn't stop walking up the stairs, ignoring what she heard.

Wen Shiyang deliberately lowered his voice and said, "What else is there to say between you and her? Haven't you already explained everything? I won't hold the news matter against you. Whether you did it or not, it's all over now. It's good that things are the way they are now. You and she have nothing to do with each other anymore. Get out of here! Don't cause any more trouble!"

Lu Ming stepped forward again, bowed slightly to Wen Shiyang, and said sincerely, "Wen Chu is currently Baiyue's technical consultant. Director Qiu specifically requested her to be the main technical leader for the robotics project. The cooperation agreement has been signed and will officially launch next Monday. I hope... she can return to Baiyue to continue following up on this project."

"How dare you say that? What right do you have—" Wen Shiyang was furious, feeling that this person was utterly shameless. Just as he was about to curse, Lu Ming continued, "I know that I have no reason to let her continue to help Baiyue, but this project is hard-won and is a great opportunity for training. Wen Chu is very talented and understands AI well, and is also interested in it. I think that instead of keeping her at home wasting her time, you should let her continue to shine in her field."

"At the same time, I also agree that after the project is completed, she can give up 20% of the profit as an additional reward."

Wen Shiyang took a deep breath, glanced at Wen Chu who had already gone upstairs and closed the door, and snorted heavily: "It's nice to say, but it doesn't matter to me! I can't make decisions for her now. She may not be willing to go back with you. You know in your heart how you treated her!"

“I did not do the news, but she was indeed hurt because of me. I came here to ask for her opinion. I want to talk to her alone... I don’t want her to give up her career because of me. Of course, if she doesn’t agree, I won’t force her. I’m just giving her the choice I can. I fully respect her decision.”

Wen Chu leaned against the bed, playing on her phone. Although her mind was elsewhere, she maintained a calm and composed demeanor. A moment later, there was a knock on her door. Although she had expected it, her heart still skipped a beat.

She went over and opened the door, only to meet the person outside in a blank stare.

"What do you want?" Wen Chu found her voice was colder than she had expected.

They had become so estranged that they couldn't be more estranged.

"The contract is signed. Are you coming back?" Lu Ming asked succinctly.

Wen Chu wondered if she had misheard.

This man came with an arrogant air, but he wanted her to return to Baiyue.

When Wen Chu heard that the man had come to find her, she had a pretty good idea of ​​his purpose. After all, the only connection they had left was the robot project. But she didn't expect that the man had come to beg her to come back.

This was contrary to her expectations. She thought the other party had come to announce that she had been completely removed from the project, or, if she were to be kind, to talk about compensation, since she was largely responsible for the other party winning the project.

Then, while on a dignified and superior level, I'll check on her situation, say a few self-satisfied words, advise her to let go as soon as possible, and wish her happiness.

She had already prepared her retort, but now she could only look at the other person, bewildered, and say, "You're quick, aren't you? But don't you think it's a bit ridiculous to ask that?"

“We’ve discussed this issue before. It’s up to you whether you stay or leave. I’m here for an answer. I don’t want to be a person who breaks their promise.”

Wen Chu gave a disdainful twitch of her lips.

"That's all I wanted to say. You can think about it carefully," Lu Ming said expressionlessly.

Unfortunately, she didn't have time to think about it at all.

The system's voice echoed in my mind: "Congratulations, host, for triggering main quest five—assisting the male lead in developing the companion robot algorithm!"

After hearing this, Wen Chu took a deep breath and almost fainted from anger. Did she have absolutely no say in her own life now?

Even after being dumped, you still want to make money for the other person? Is that something an ordinary person would do? It's too humiliating and pathetic!

She suppressed her anger, not in a hurry to give him an answer, and only asked, "You came to my house because you know I've been locked up at home and not allowed to go anywhere, right? Do you feel even a little bit guilty? Don't you feel any unease? You're still pretending to be a good person, how disgusting."

Surprisingly, the system didn't issue an OOC warning when she said that.

Lu Mingchui's hand twitched slightly at his side, and he retorted, "You won't let me go anywhere? Weren't you out shopping and eating with Qi Siyan just the day before yesterday?"

Wen Chu's eyes flickered: "You saw it?"

"So what?"

Wen Chu calmed down. She and Qi Siyan walked in through the main gate openly, which was normal for the other party to see them. She said sarcastically, "Isn't that thanks to you guys? My parents now find Siyan incredibly pleasing to the eye and only allow me to go out with him. I don't want to stay at home, so of course I have to go see him. But how dare you question me? You're much more carefree than me."

Lu Ming took a deep breath, concealing the emotions in his eyes, and said seriously, "I didn't come here today to talk to you about these things. Your confinement is indeed related to me, and this is the only solution I can think of. Go back to Baiyue to do what you want to do, or continue to stay at home doing nothing. Think about it carefully."

"No need to think, I'll go." Wen Chu didn't want to hold back now and then have to find another way out later. Anyway, she would have to go back eventually, so there was no point in overthinking it. So she agreed directly. "But it's not because of you, so don't overthink it. I am indeed very interested in this project. It originally belonged to me, and it is only right that I complete it."

"good."

"But I have one request."

Lu Ming's gaze lingered on her face for a second, deep, as if worried that she would say something to blackmail him, something he couldn't do: "Go ahead."

Contrary to his expectations, Wen Chu simply said, "Let me move my office to the technical department. I want to be away from you."

Even after she said that, the system still didn't warn her.

The air seemed to freeze for a second. The man seemed surprised that she would take the initiative to say something about distancing herself from him, but he quickly regained his composure and replied expressionlessly, "Okay."

He clearly didn't care much about her attitude towards him.

Her chest was almost at its limit, feeling like it was being squeezed tighter and tighter by an invisible hand, on the verge of spasm. Wen Chu turned around, adopting a gesture of seeing her off: "You can go now. After Qi Siyan's birthday, if my parents have no objections, I will return to Baiyue."

Lu Ming's gaze lingered on her for two seconds before he turned and left.

The door closed, and Wen Chu stood frozen in place. She swallowed hard, moistened her dry throat, and suppressed the sourness in her eyes.

Every word she speaks to anyone now feels like a slow, agonizing torture. She hates him, yet she can't bring herself to completely blame him.

Over the years, except for when her father passed away, she had never been so sad for anyone. It had reached the point where just thinking of that name would make her nose start to sting.

She really needs to make some adjustments; she can't get too caught up in the role anymore.

Everything here, whether it's love or hate, is just an illusion.

On her birthday, Qi Siyan delivered the dress to her as promised.

In stark contrast to Lu Ming's taste in clothes, Qi Siyan prepared a light pink princess dress for her, adorned with pink pearls, made of silk organza fabric, with gold thread embroidery, light, smooth, and incredibly gorgeous.

Wearing it, Wen Chu's curves were faintly visible beneath the thin gauze, enticing the imagination and perfectly combining a woman's maturity with a girl's delicacy.

Qi Siyan's gaze followed her intently, a smile playing on her lips, her eyes filled with undisguised amazement and admiration: "Very pretty."

Wen Shiyang and Yang Lan looked around and were delighted, praising Qi Siyan for her good taste.

Qi Siyan smiled and looked at Wen Chu's left wrist: "I thought of this because I saw the bracelet Wen Chu was wearing. It looks very suitable. I was thinking of buying you a necklace from the same brand, but I can't seem to find out which jewelry brand it is from?"

Wen Chu instinctively and awkwardly covered her left hand. "This was designed for me by... some unknown designer I just randomly picked."

"Is that so? Then it makes me seem less unique." He opened the long gift box in his hand, inside was a rose necklace inlaid with pink diamonds, which looked very valuable. But the man said, "I'll just wear it tonight."

Wen Chu was surprised: "Why did you buy this? That's such a waste of money."

"Giving you this isn't expensive at all. Shall I help you put it on?"

Wen Shiyang and Yang Lan watched with satisfaction.

Yang Lan added fuel to the fire, saying, "Siyan, you're so thoughtful! Chuchu, remember to reciprocate! It's getting late, hurry up and put it on and have some fun. Happy birthday, Siyan."

Qi Siyan smiled, touched the earring on her earlobe, and said, "Thank you, Auntie. I also really like the gift Wen Chu prepared for me. This is my way of returning the favor."

Upon hearing this, the two elders exchanged a glance, sensing that there was hope.

Wen Chu couldn't refuse in front of everyone, so she simply swept her hair to one side and let Qi Siyan put it on for her.

When they arrived at the dock, there were already quite a few people waiting on the deck. Qi Siyan's yacht was very luxurious, and he had invited many friends from the industry. They were all dressed up smartly, and most of them brought their female companions. As soon as they saw them, they leaned on the railing from afar and started cheering to welcome today's protagonist.

Wen Chu linked arms with Qi Siyan, and looking into the distance, the first thing she saw was the most eye-catching figure in the crowd.

It was too far away for her to see where the man's gaze was. By the time she got closer, he had already turned away and was talking to someone else.

Chen Shih-hao, Zhou Jia-yang, and the others who were relatively silent at the club that night smiled awkwardly at Wen Chu and Qi Si-yan, offering a dry greeting, and for a moment they didn't know what to say.

They rested their hands on the yacht's railing, looking at each other, then secretly glanced at Lu Ming and Wen Xue standing not far away.

The situation changed too quickly; they couldn't keep up.

The affair between Lu Ming and Wen Chu sparked considerable discussion among people in the industry, but everyone kept their gossip to themselves and dared not bring it up in front of them. On the surface, they could only pretend to be clueless and act as peacemakers.

Wen Chu could only smile politely at them; she wasn't the only one who felt awkward.

Qi Siyan stepped onto the boat first and reached out his hand to her. Wen Chu was wearing a skirt, which made it inconvenient for her. After hesitating for a moment, she still helped him step over.

She lifted her skirt and walked up the stairs to the deck, receiving stares from almost everyone. Several women crowded around to compliment her on her beauty. She responded, her gaze inadvertently meeting that of someone on the deck.

Lu Ming's gaze lingered on her for a moment, looking down at her, before quickly shifting away.

Wen Chu also looked away without showing any change in expression and continued to get to know the others.

The sea breeze caressed everyone's hair and clothes, causing the women's skirts to flutter like newly blossoming flower buds, a beauty so captivating that it was impossible to look away.

After the woman turned around, Lu Ming's gaze fell on Wen Chu again without showing any emotion.

It's obvious that she didn't choose this outfit herself.

The rose necklace adorned with pink diamonds on the woman's snow-white neck and the bracelet on her wrist complemented each other perfectly, like a complete set.

Someone else took his place and filled that vacancy.

The other person walked past him as if she hadn't seen him, but the sea breeze carried her fragrance into his nostrils.

He overheard people teasing him, "Hey, Qi-ge, your earrings are really nice! It's been so long since I've seen you wear earrings. They must have been a gift from someone important!"

Qi Siyan smiled and said, "Of course, it was given by a very important person."

Hearing the sound, Lu Ming glanced over. Qi Siyan, wearing deep blue diamond earrings, looked like a peacock spreading its tail feathers, and he had a feeling who had given her the earrings.

He looked away and whispered to Wen Xue, "The wind is too strong, let's go inside the cabin."

"It seems like something's really going on between them," Wen Xue said with a smile, silently observing the interaction between Wen Chu and Qi Siyan.

Lu Ming casually replied, "It's fine."

"I hope Xiao Chu has really come to her senses this time," Wen Xue sighed.

Once everyone had arrived, the yacht began to sail towards the middle of the sea.

The system's voice rang in Wen Chu's ears: "Congratulations, host, for completing the main quest and receiving an S-rank item reward: Healing Card!"

"Healing Card: Using this card can alleviate the injuries of the recipient and accelerate their healing. In critical moments, it can even save lives! Recipients: Unlimited. How to use: When in close contact with the recipient, silently recite the recipient's name and the card's name!"

As the birthday boy, Qi Siyan skillfully controlled the atmosphere and the occasion. He said to everyone in a gentle voice, "Thank you all for coming to my birthday party. Please make yourselves at home and have fun. But before we begin, I would like to introduce my beautiful female companion today, Wen Chu."

Wen Chu was suddenly called upon, and she greeted everyone generously.

Someone joked, "Brother Qi, is she your date or your girlfriend?"

Qi Siyan looked at Wen Chu, her eyes flickered, and said in a low voice, "I'm working on it."

Everyone immediately understood, and another round of commotion ensued.

Wen Chu's heart skipped a beat; she was quite surprised by Qi Siyan's answer.

Is this... is this a sign that they're going to reveal their hand? She looked at Qi Siyan, who smiled gently at her.

Now, there's nothing she can control about how things are going.

Zhou Jiayang muttered under his breath, "Damn it, I knew Qi Siyan's gaze towards my sister-in-law was off." He instinctively wanted to complain to Lu Ming, but then realized there was another person next to him, so he awkwardly shut his mouth.

"It's really hard to say what's really going on between them. If you ask me, it was definitely Brother Lu who did something underhanded first," Chen Shihao said. "When my sister-in-law came last time, I could tell she really liked Brother Lu, but we all know he used to like Wen Xue. Maybe it's because Wen Xue is back that he's acting like this... sigh."

"But it can't develop this fast!"

"Still calling her sister-in-law? We've already broken up."

The bespectacled man pushed up his glasses: "Maybe Brother Qi is just speaking up for Miss Wen as a friend. If I were Wen Chu, seeing the person I like and my white moonlight together again, and even attending the banquet together, would be so disgusting."

Zhou Jiayang said with a pained expression, "This whole mess has made me feel awkward. I used to have a good impression of Wen Chu, but now I'm too embarrassed to even talk to her."

“If you have feelings for someone, go after them,” Chen Shih-hao teased.

Zhou Jiayang elbowed him: "Go to hell!"