Chapter 2: A Questioning Mist - Pink Roses - A three-year marriage agreement. ...

A crisp "ding" sounded.

Immediately following were a series of WeChat notification sounds.

In the quiet elevator, it was as if a grand concert of WeChat notification sounds was being held.

Then a soft piece of music came in, interrupting the concert.

It was a phone call.

Zhu Qingzhi fell completely silent.

The man followed her out of the private room, remaining silent the entire time. Once they entered the elevator, he seemed to be accompanied by his own WeChat background music.

The elevator was strange; it descended slowly, stopping at every floor, yet no one seemed to get on. But she also didn't want to take the stairs.

The man's phone rang repeatedly, interspersed with a few short WeChat notification sounds, but he showed no intention of answering.

When the elevator reached the 10th floor, Zhu Qingzhi couldn't take it anymore: "Your phone is ringing."

A faint smile seemed to flicker across the man's lips, as subtle as the light flashing in the elevator, so fleeting that she almost thought she was seeing things.

He then took his phone out of his pocket and, without even looking at it, pressed the mute button. No answer, but peace and quiet.

When the elevator stopped on the 6th floor, the man suddenly said, "We're here."

What's here? Where is she?

Zhu Qingzhi didn't quite understand what was going on today. Not just today, but these past few days had felt so surreal.

A month ago, on the day she was filming the LR promotional video, she had just finished work and returned home when she received a bright red marriage certificate. Uncle Zhao had come all the way from Beijing to Haicheng to deliver it to her.

The business marriage between the Lu and Wen families was not made public, but she was one of the main figures involved.

They agreed to a marriage of convenience, with a three-year term. She neither resisted nor cared; she was just being a tool for three years.

Besides, who cares who the other person is? So she didn't even bother to open the marriage certificate before tossing it aside.

Originally, only my family knew about this, but who could have imagined that in the early hours of this morning, a short trending topic inexplicably appeared on Weibo. It was fleeting, but it was like a nuclear bomb, and the entire circle knew about it, no matter what circle it was.

Fortunately, few people in any circle know her identity.

However, Gu Qiao knew that after tearfully demanding an explanation and bombarding her with phone calls all day, she had no choice but to fly back to Beijing from Haicheng. In the end, the young lady stopped answering the phone and simply disappeared.

She doesn't really want her family to know she's back in Beijing, so what should she do now?

Just as the elevator doors were about to close, the man suddenly pressed the open button and grabbed the silver-gray elevator door with one hand. Because of his action, the wristwatch on his wrist could be seen.

With a silver-blue dial set with a ring of diamonds, a sapphire crown, and an alligator leather strap, this is LR's latest men's watch, and it's also a couple's watch.

The women's version features a full diamond design, with a beautiful pink diamond on the crown. She bought it because of this pink diamond.

And this women's watch just happened to be on her wrist today. This was quite awkward, and Zhu Qingzhi quietly slipped her hand into her coat pocket, trying to cover up this damned coincidence.

"Gu Qiao is in V13."

His cool voice echoed, the warm yellow light from outside the elevator shone on his profile, the wind from outside the corridor ruffled his hair, and his eyes appeared and disappeared, shimmering.

His strong, angular features, refined and austere, were given a touch of alluring charm by the warm breeze and light, unique yet perfectly balanced.

How did he know that the person she was looking for was Gu Qiao?

Zhu Qingzhi was clearly taken aback.

The man turned to the side, and she noticed that the top three buttons of his shirt were undone. His Adam's apple and the faint lines of his muscles were visible, and further down, the necklace he wore around his neck was clearly visible.

Silver, with a pendant made of obsidian, this is a men's necklace from LR.

Stylish! Another matching couple's outfit; she's run into someone wearing the same thing again...

Zhu Qingzhi took a deep breath, blinked, quickly said "thank you," and slipped out. Although she was wearing flat shoes, she inexplicably seemed to be fleeing in panic.

After she pushed open the door of V13, Wen Qi let go of her hand and walked out of the elevator.

The corridor was covered with a sound-absorbing dark gray cashmere carpet, and the dim lighting cast long shadows of him. The faint sounds of girls playing could be heard from inside the V13 VIP room.

He paused and listened for two seconds. It seemed that Zhu Qingzhi was scolding someone. Her tone was fierce, but the end of her voice carried a helpless softness.

"Mr. Wen." Yang Luo walked over quickly, holding a cell phone. The screen showed 23 missed calls from "Chaochao." "Shall we return Miss Gu's phone now?"

These were all calls from Zhu Qingzhi, who seemed genuinely anxious. He had already buttoned up all the buttons on his shirt and nodded slightly.

Gu Qiao is the younger sister of Wen Qi's good friend Gu Huaichuan. She is a little princess who can make waves in the circle and a frequent visitor to Xisha. She is impatient and has a fiery temper. If Wen Qi hadn't personally ordered her to do so, she really wouldn't have dared to detain Gu Qiao's phone for so long.

Yang Luo handed her phone to the waiter next to her, gesturing for her to take it inside. Only then did she notice that Wen Qi's phone screen was flashing incessantly, so she added, "President Lu also called Xisha just now, but I didn't mention that you were there."

Wen Qi had expected this. His phone had just been turned on when he saw a missed call from Lu Yao, and the call was still flashing persistently.

He still didn't answer, a soft chuckle escaping his lips: "I understand."

"President Gu and the others have been waiting for you for a while." Yang Luo didn't say anything more, stepped aside to make room for him, and opened the door to the private room for him.

As soon as Wen Qi entered, Ji Ran grabbed his shoulder and pulled him towards the card table without saying a word: "Oh, Mr. Wen has finally decided to show his face?"

Gu Huaichuan glanced at him briefly before tossing the last card face down on the table, his tone indifferent: "You take over."

"What's the point of taking a 2?" Wen Qi threw the card forward without even looking at it, shaking off Ji Ran's hand. He then turned to Gu Huaichuan and said, "Stop playing. Go pick up Gu Qiao and take her home."

Ji Ran shook his hand, sat down casually, one hand bent and propped on the table, the other hand on the back of the chair, his playful tone intriguing: "Young Master Wen, you have quite the tricks, taking advantage of Lu Yao's trip abroad to expose this marriage alliance."

His gaze fell on Wen Qi's suit pocket, and his meaningful tone was a bit irritating, "You dare to do it but not to admit it. Your phone is either busy or switched off. The calls he makes to you are going to all of our cell phones."

Ji Ran's personality isn't as impressive as Ji Cen's, but it's good enough among them.

He was wearing a burgundy shirt today, which stood out against the black, white, and gray background. His teasing gaze shifted to Gu Huaichuan. "Qingzhi came back today just to coax people? President Wen has put a lot more effort into this scheme than he has into bidding projects."

Gu Huaichuan glanced at Ji Ran, probably annoyed by his excessive talking, then held his phone up to Wen Qi: "You'll have to deal with the trouble you caused yourself."

The words "Lu Yao" were flashing on the screen, and everyone at the card table stopped playing. The only sound in the private room was the faint buzzing of the phone.

Wen Qi's expression remained unchanged, and he simply uttered two words: "I'm leaving."

These two words sound so light and airy, it's unclear who they're meant to be said to.

Gu Huaichuan lowered his eyes, pressed the answer button, and turned on the speakerphone: "I really can't get in touch with him, but I heard that Qingzhi went to Xisha."

"Blaming it on the back," Ji Ran gave Gu Huaichuan a thumbs up and leaned over to add, "Yes, Gu Qiao called her over."

He's always eager to stir up trouble, since it's none of his business anyway.

It was early morning in Country M. They could hear sharp bird calls and ship horns on the phone. They listened quietly for a minute, enjoying the birdsong and fragrant flowers.

Then Gu Huaichuan picked up his suit jacket and switched to receiver mode: "The bidding project in Dongcheng."

Less than three seconds later, he raised an eyebrow, a slight smile playing on his lips, and the deal was done.

Is business really that easy these days?

Ji Ran suddenly regretted interrupting. Why did she have to say that?

*

Meanwhile, at the V13 next door, as soon as the waiter opened the door, he saw Gu Qiao being pressed down on the sofa, her long, messy hair covering her face.

When had she ever seen Miss Gu being bullied like this without putting up the slightest resistance, and even laughing like a goose? And the woman on top of Miss Gu was the one who had just come out of the elevator.

She took off her coat, revealing a black fitted sweater underneath, the hem of which had been pulled out of her waistband due to her actions. A bright red scarf was also casually tossed on the sofa, half of it draped over the carpet.

They all offered to take me home, but I refused! I'll just wait here patiently for you~

"I really lost my phone, you can check it out! If you hadn't shown up, I'd still be sleeping~"

Miss Gu laughed so hard she could barely breathe, her voice still carrying a wavy, coquettish tone. But true to form, even in this state of intoxication, she was still reaching for the half-finished bottle of whiskey on the table with one hand.

"Still drinking!" The woman released her grip and pushed the whiskey towards the center of the table in an annoyed tone. "Come home with me."

With just that push, the waiter recognized her.

It's Zhu Qingzhi, but she's quite different from the glamorous, gentle, and generous image she projects on television.

Zhu Qingzhi saw her too, and her heart sank. It was all over; her image was ruined.

Then she noticed the phone in the waiter's hand. Zhu Qingzhi pretended to be calm and said, "Just leave Gu Qiao's phone there, thank you."

Because of the overwhelming amount of information presented, the waiter was so shocked that she did whatever she was told. Just as she stepped away, maintaining a high level of professionalism, Manager Yang's voice came through her earpiece: "Don't meddle in the guests' business."

A note from the author:

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Kiyoshi [resting her chin on her hand]: She suspects she has entered a magical world.

Wen Qi [Okay]: Mm.

Brother [splitting]: Keep making phone calls!

Author [Let Me See]: What does it look like when it's all noisy and disruptive?