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"Husband—"

Ning Yuxuan rarely sends messages to Xie Zhiyan, and when she does, it's always something specific.

She guessed that Xie Zhiyan, a big boss who had an entire group to manage, must be extremely efficient and wouldn't waste time sending messages and chatting idly.

Today is an exception. Ning Yuxuan sent that screenshot, but she doesn't know if the man will respond.

After sending the message, I did not receive a reply immediately.

Fortunately, Ning Yuxuan wasn't the type to dwell on things internally. Since he hadn't replied, she simply took off her clothes and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

After taking a hot shower and applying skincare products, Ning Yuxuan comfortably lay back down on the bed.

Picking up his phone again, Xie Zhiyan saw the message he'd replied to fifteen minutes earlier: 【Now?】

Ning Yuxuan didn't understand at first, but she went back to check her previous post before she realized what it meant.

She said that now the only difference is the nickname she gave him in her contact list, and asked him if he felt honored.

As a result, Xie Zhiyan not only did not answer her question, but also seized on the word "now" to ask her a question in return.

I just don't know if he cares about the past or the future.

Ning Yuxuan thought for a moment, then mimicked his response, saying something completely different: "If you behave well, perhaps you can stay this special forever."

Xie Zhiyan: [Then I'll have to work even harder to buy things for Miss Ning.]

...

When Gu Yunhao left the Ning family, he had already forcefully thrown the bouquet of lilies into the back seat of his car, scattering the petals everywhere.

He originally intended to throw it directly into the trash can, but remembering Ning Yuxuan's words, he felt that throwing it into the trash can would be doing her a favor.

He had come with good intentions to reconcile with her, and was even prepared to say a few kind words, but his dignity was trampled on one after another, which made Gu Yunhao extremely angry.

My childhood friend Qi Ang called, his tone as nonchalant as ever: "Brother Hao, how's it going? Did you win the heart of your sweetheart yet?"

Gu Yunhao asked someone to buy the most expensive and freshest lilies all over Beicheng, and the person he asked was his childhood friend.

If a rich young master suddenly wants to buy flowers, there's no other reason than to try and win a woman's favor.

Gu Yunhao had originally agreed to attend the dinner hosted by Qi Ang's group, but he canceled at the last minute to go find a woman, leaving Qi Ang's friends extremely curious.

Which woman could it be that, right after the mess Cen Meng made, the young master of the Gu family was immediately filled with the passion to buy flowers and please her again?

At the urging of his cronies in the private room, Qi Ang made this call to Gu Yunhao.

Gu Yunhao was furious and responded with a string of profanities.

Qi Ang wasn't angry. After Gu Yunhao finished venting, the smile on his face deepened.

The more things didn't go Gu Yunhao's way, the happier he became.

Of course, Qi Ang wouldn't let the young master hear the schadenfreude in his voice.

After Gu Yunhao finished swearing, Qi Ang comforted him, "Hey, Brother Hao, it's not worth getting angry over a woman. I'm with a bunch of brothers here, we just moved to another place and were about to have a bite and a drink, Brother Hao, why don't you come over and have some fun?"

Gu Yunhao thought for a moment and agreed: "Send me the address."

"Okay," Qi Ang agreed. "I'll send you the location on WeChat, and we'll all be waiting for Brother Hao."

After hanging up the phone, a new message popped up on my phone, showing the location sent by Qi Ang.

Gu Yunhao changed the navigation location on the center console, stepped on the gas, and felt a strange sense of vengeful pleasure.

Even without Ning Yuxuan, he was still the candidate heir of the Gu family in Beicheng, still had a group of brothers supporting him, and could still eat, drink, and have fun.

And she—

The day Xie Zhiyan gets tired of her, she'll be nothing to him anymore.

Gu Yunhao drove to the restaurant, where his brothers were already waiting in the private room.

Upon seeing him appear, Qi Ang was the first to greet him: "Come on, Brother Hao, have a drink with us brothers."

Others echoed his sentiments.

Gu Yunhao was angry, so he took the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

After everyone had flattered him, someone asked, "Which blind beauty dared to upset Brother Hao this afternoon? Tell us brothers."

Gu Yunhao took off his suit jacket and sat down in the main seat, saying irritably, "You wouldn't know her anyway, she's just a third-rate woman."

Going back to pursue his ex-girlfriend and being rejected was a huge humiliation for Gu Yunhao, and he would never tell anyone present about it.

Moreover, when he was with Ning Yuxuan before, he had repeatedly expressed his disdain for Ning Yuxuan in front of these people, so it was even less likely that he would contradict himself now.

Seeing that Gu Yunhao was unwilling to say more, the others went along with him, saying, "That's right, she's just a woman, not worth getting angry over."

"Yeah, without Brother Hao's favor, what can she possibly do? Look at that little starlet surnamed Cen, what happened to her? After breaking up with Brother Hao, she was nothing."

Gu Yunhao felt relieved to hear this. After Cen Meng left him, she lost her roles and endorsements, and had made countless phone calls to him in the past two days, begging for his help.

Gu Yunhao blocked all the phone numbers Cen Meng had changed, and Cen Meng gradually gave up, probably because she felt hopeless.

Now Gu Yunhao is hoping that Ning Yuxuan will suffer as much as Cen Meng after leaving him, and then, like Cen Meng, come begging to him.

But this afternoon...

Gu Yunhao frowned, then asked casually, "By the way, what's the follow-up to what happened with the Xie family?"

Everyone looked at each other, wondering what Gu Yunhao meant by suddenly mentioning the Xie family at this moment.

Someone asked, "What's the matter concerning the Xie family?"

Gu Yunhao: "I heard that Xie Zhiyan found a woman."

The people nearby exchanged glances, and one of them suddenly realized: "Oh, Brother Hao, you mean someone saw President Xie go to a Sichuan restaurant with a woman?"

This was gossip from several days ago, and no one found out who the woman was. No one present expected that Gu Yunhao was talking about this.

"Brother Hao, why are you suddenly asking about this?" Qi Ang asked. "Do you perhaps know who that woman is?"

Gu Yunhao said irritably, "How would I know? I just suddenly remembered and asked casually."

If he knew who that woman was, he could use her to provoke Ning Yuxuan, so that she would realize sooner that without him, Gu Yunhao, she was nothing at all.

The crowd flattered Gu Yunhao a few more times before starting to drink.

After a few rounds of drinks, the people present gradually got tipsy, and the topics of conversation became increasingly risqué.

Someone dared to provoke Gu Yunhao: "Brother Hao, what about that girl surnamed Ning who embarrassed you before? Aren't you going to deal with her?"

Gu Yunhao glared at the man and slammed his wine glass on the table with a "bang".

Qi Ang quickly tried to appease him: "Brother Hao, don't be angry. This guy just keeps bringing up the things he doesn't want to talk about."

Gu Yunhao's eyes hardened, and he slurred with alcohol, "Ning—Yuxuan…you've left me, and one day she'll regret it!"

.

On Monday, Ning Yuxuan met with the designer.

She started researching hotel design plans half a month ago. After having a preliminary plan, she contacted several designers, but failed to reach a cooperation agreement with any of them.

Finally, Ning Fei recommended an interior designer that a friend knew to Ning Yuxuan. After chatting with the designer on WeChat for a while, Ning Yuxuan found that the designer's design philosophy coincided with many of her own ideas.

So Ning Yuxuan immediately arranged to meet the other party the day after the variety show ended.

After talking with the designer during the day, the two of them immediately finalized the general direction of the design.

However, there are still many details to discuss. Ning Yuxuan made an appointment with the designer a few days later, planning to take the designer to the site to see it in person and finalize a more detailed plan.

Ning Yuxuan invited Tao You to dinner that evening.

The two hadn't seen each other for more than half a year, and this time they agreed to have a big meal. Ning Yuxuan booked a high-end restaurant in the center of Beicheng City.

It's not easy for the average person to book a table at this restaurant; you need to make a reservation at least a week in advance.

However, Ning Fei happened to be a VIP member here, and when she heard that her daughter was going to have dinner with her best friend, she called to help make a reservation.

After they met, Tao You stared at Ning Yuxuan for a long time.

"Xuanxuan," Tao You blinked, "Why do I think you look even prettier than the last time I saw you?"

She had always known that Ning Yuxuan was beautiful, and that she had caused quite a stir when she first entered A University, attracting a constant stream of suitors.

Tao You couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she felt that Ning Yuxuan looked even more beautiful today than she had six months ago.

Ning Yuxuan smiled and said, "Thank you."

She thought that perhaps after breaking free from the control of the plot, she was finally able to be herself again.

The two ordered food and were a little reserved at first, but they quickly became as familiar as before.

We hadn't seen each other for half a year, so we had a lot to talk about.

Tao You is still working at the company she joined after graduation, and she was recently promoted.

She hasn't changed boyfriends either; it's still the same guy from the basketball team. They've been dating for five years and are currently discussing marriage.

Tao You instructed Ning Yuxuan, "When I get married, you absolutely must be my bridesmaid! We agreed on this a long time ago; no matter who gets married, we'll be each other's bridesmaids!"

Ning Yuxuan nodded: "Okay, tell me the date a little in advance and I'll make sure the time is available."

Tao You beamed: "I'm relieved to hear that. I'll let you know as soon as the wedding date is set!"

Ning Yuxuan mentioned that she plans to help her mother manage a hotel and also plans to design two themed hotels.

Tao You was very excited: "Really? Then when your new store opens, can I go and experience it? Maybe, just maybe, I can hold my wedding there!"

Ning Yuxuan readily agreed: "Of course, whether you want to stay or hold a ceremony, you can go anytime you want, and I'll give you the bill for free."

Tao You quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need, just give me a discount!"

The two got in touch because of Shen Chipeng's trending topic, and Tao You brought him up again while they were chatting.

“Xuanxuan, you have no idea about that Shen Chipeng.” Tao You wrinkled her nose. “He’s been talking about you to everyone lately.”

Ning Yuxuan: "What did you say?"

Tao You opened her phone's photo album and showed it to Ning Yuxuan.

Inside is a screenshot of a chat log; the group name is "A University School of Management Basketball Team".

Shen Chipeng: [Has anyone heard? Our department's most beautiful girl got married.]

Zhang Zhong: [Which department's most beautiful girl?]

Shen Chipeng: [Who else could it be but the beautiful Ning, Ning Yuxuan?]

Zhang Zhong: [I haven't heard she got married? Didn't she just have a public feud with her wealthy ex-boyfriend online a few days ago?]

Chen Jie: [Yeah, it's impossible for them to get married. I've been following her WeChat Moments, but I haven't seen her post any wedding photos.]

Zhang Zhong: [Where did you hear this news from? @Shen Chipeng]

Shen Chipeng: [When I invited Ning Yuxuan to dinner, she told me herself that she was married and had a husband.]

Shen Chipeng: [[Chat Log]]

Chen Jie: [Hahaha, buddy, she's just making this up because she doesn't want to have dinner with you, right?]

Zhang Zhong: [Yeah, buddy, I heard that these days when women reject advances, they like to say they're married. You're the one being rejected.]

Chen Jie: [Zhang Zhong, you can't say that. It's Ning Yuxuan who doesn't know what's good for her. She probably still thinks she can marry into a wealthy family, and she actually rejected our Captain Chen.]

...

That concludes the chat history screenshots.

Tao You, seeing that Ning Yuxuan had finished reading, said indignantly, "That Shen Chipeng is a real scoundrel. What does it matter to him whether you get married or not? He even posted your chat history in the group."

Ning Yuxuan pushed the lemon tea that the waiter had just brought over over her shoulder: "Calm down."

Tao You picked up the glass and took a big gulp: "It tastes good."

“It’s a pity…” Tao You added, “I was right next to them when they were chatting in the group. I got angry when I saw it, so after taking a screenshot, I told my boyfriend to leave the group. Anyway, he won’t contact these people after graduation.”

Tao You took another sip of lemon tea: "Looking back now, it was impulsive. I should have told my boyfriend not to rush to leave the group, so we could see if they would continue to talk about you in the group."

Ning Yuxuan comforted Tao You: "It's okay, I don't care what they say."

Tao You pouted: "I know, I'm just so angry. Especially this Shen Chipeng, he's the most annoying one. Back when we were in school, he tried to pursue you but failed, so he went around telling everyone bad things about you."

The two chatted while drinking cold drinks, and the dishes were almost all served.

This restaurant is quite expensive, and the dishes seem to match the price, with extremely exquisite plating.

Tao You took photos of the dishes on the table from various angles, and then pulled Ning Yuxuan over to take a selfie together.

"We finally met up, and at such a nice restaurant, I have to post this on my WeChat Moments," Tao You said.

Tao You opened a beauty camera app, took several photos of the two of them together, and then uploaded them to her WeChat Moments with the caption—

"Long time no see, my dearest Xuanxuan! [heart]"

.

On the other side, Shen Chipeng was also having dinner with several college classmates.

That day, after chatting with a few other people in the group, Chu Bowen suddenly mentioned that he hadn't seen the basketball team members for a long time, and suggested that they all have a meal together, with him paying.

There are nearly twenty people in the group, all of whom used to be on the basketball team of the School of Management at University A.

Besides those who went to other cities after graduation, there should be a total of eight people currently in Beicheng, but one of them left the group at some point.

However, that person was never a sociable person and didn't like to speak in the group before, so everyone pretended that he didn't exist.

Hearing that someone was going to pay the bill, the remaining people immediately agreed to have dinner together on Monday night.

There were seven people in total at the dinner party, and Chu Bowen was in charge of treating everyone.

The reason for organizing this gathering, besides the obvious one, is also because Chu Bowen has been very successful lately.

He wasn't doing very well among his classmates at University A; his salary was low, and he was only able to make a living because his family was local.

However, this year his family's house in the suburbs was demolished, and he received three apartments and over a million yuan in compensation.

Life suddenly became much more comfortable for Chu Bowen, who was single and had no family to worry about. So he started spending money extravagantly, wanting everyone to know that he was now rich.

I hosted a dinner for my former basketball teammates this time because I wanted to show them how well I was doing.

As soon as he entered the private room, Chu Bowen took off his coat and showed off his newly bought Swiss watch, which cost him 100,000 yuan, just to impress others.

When everyone noticed the watch on his wrist, he casually mentioned that his house was being demolished, which immediately drew everyone's attention.

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone started drinking and chatting.

When men in their twenties get together, the conversation quickly turns to women.

Zhang Zhong asked, "Chi Peng, why did you suddenly decide to ask the most beautiful girl in our department out to dinner a few days ago? Are you trying to win her back?"

Mentioning this, Shen Chipeng looked a little embarrassed: "I didn't mean that. I just happened to see it on the trending topics and it reminded me of it. She misunderstood."

Chen Jie joined the conversation: "Speaking of which, I remember that Chi Peng wasn't the only one in our team who liked Ning Yuxuan, right? Bowen, did you ever have a crush on her too?"

Chu Bowen waved his hand: "She doesn't even look at Captain Chen, so why would she look at me? Besides, her ex-boyfriend is a rich young master from a wealthy family, so he would look down on ordinary people like us."

Chen Jie sighed and said, "You're wrong about that. No matter how great your ex-boyfriend is, he's still an ex-boyfriend. As long as you don't marry him, he's just playing around! Besides, Bowen, you're not the same as before. You're financially independent now, right? Even if Ning Yuxuan doesn't like other people, she wouldn't look down on you."

Shen Chipeng's expression was not good. Chen Jie's words were implied that he was praising Chu Bowen and belittling himself.

Chu Bowen made a few modest remarks, but in reality, he was extremely pleased with himself.

Several people then praised Chu Bowen a few more times.

Chen Jie was scrolling through his phone when he suddenly exclaimed, "Hey? Aren't these Tao You and Ning Yuxuan? They seem to be eating around here too."

The others immediately looked over with interest.

Chen Jie showed his phone: "Look, this is Ning Yuxuan's roommate Tao You's WeChat Moments. Judging from the location, she seems to be nearby."

Someone recognized the restaurant name in the location: "Silverer... I've heard of this place, it's a high-end restaurant, just a few floors above us. Hey, Bowen, why don't you invite us to eat there?"

Chu Bowen's expression was somewhat unpleasant.

He searched for upscale restaurants near the city center that were suitable for entertaining guests, and the first result that appeared was Silverer.

Chu Bowen originally wanted to book this place to save face for the veteran team members.

But when he called, he was told that only VIPs could make an appointment one day in advance, otherwise it would take at least a week to get one.

Zhang Zhong noticed Chu Bowen's expression was off and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Oh, this place is quite nice, isn't it? It's pretty high-class too?"

Shen Chipeng suddenly interjected, "Since they live so close by, why don't we invite them over for a get-together?"

Chen Jie already had this idea, so he immediately said, "Okay, I'll call Tao You."

He dialed a voice call: "Hello, is this Tao You? Yes, yes, I saw your WeChat Moments. I happen to be having dinner nearby with some classmates. Why don't you guys come over in a bit and we can all catch up?"

After exchanging a few words with Tao You, Chen Jie's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Jie said sheepishly, "That girl is really something. She doesn't give me any face, and she doesn't give Bowen any face either. I've tried everything to persuade them, but they just won't come. Should we just forget about it?"

Shen Chipeng persisted, saying, "Maybe it's because we're a bunch of men and the two young ladies are too shy to come over? Why don't we send a few representatives up to them and see?"

...

After Ning Yuxuan and Tao You finished dinner, they had just stepped out of the restaurant when they saw three men coming towards them.

Tao You's expression changed: "Why are you here?"

Tao You knows all of these people; she used to be on the same basketball team as her boyfriend.

As far as she knew, their character was not good. Her boyfriend refused to associate with these people and was ostracized because of it.

After graduation, my boyfriend distanced himself from that group of people.

Chen Jie grinned: "Hehe, we just happened to be downstairs, so we came over to check it out. Miss Tao, Miss Ning, do you still remember us?"

Tao You glanced at Ning Yuxuan and knew that Ning Yuxuan didn't recognize these people at all.

She whispered to Ning Yuxuan, "These are the people from the basketball team. From left to right, they are Chu Bowen, Chen Jie, and Shen Chipeng."

Ning Yuxuan narrowed her eyes. She didn't recognize these people, but she remembered the name Shen Chipeng.

Since meeting Ning Yuxuan, Shen Chipeng's eyes have been glued to her face.

When he saw Ning Yuxuan in Tao You's WeChat Moments just now, he was struck by a thought that rekindled his feelings for Ning Yuxuan.

However, judging from the photo, it was obvious that it had been edited with filters. Shen Chipeng thought that perhaps Ning Yuxuan's appearance had changed a lot over time, and she was only passable under the filters of beauty cameras and live streams.

Now that she's in person, Shen Chipeng thinks she's even more beautiful than before.

Seeing Ning Yuxuan looking at him, Shen Chipeng stepped forward and said, "Yuxuan, you made excuses not to see me last time, but I didn't expect that our fate was not over and we still met here."

Ning Yuxuan: "..."

I don't know how this person had the audacity to say "our fate is not over."

Tao You, who was standing to the side, couldn't hold back any longer: "Chen Jie, I told you on the phone that I didn't want to meet, so why did you guys still come?"

Chen Jie chuckled awkwardly, "Isn't it Chi Peng who insisted on coming?"

Turning his head, he saw that besides Shen Chipeng, Chu Bowen was also staring intently at Ning Yuxuan.

Seeing that Ning Yuxuan ignored Shen Chipeng, Chu Bowen was secretly delighted.

Back in school, Shen Chipeng was popular because of his good looks and outgoing personality, and he always had a girlfriend. Chu Bowen was not as popular as him.

But now Shen Chipeng has gained a lot of weight and his looks have declined, yet he is richer than Shen Chipeng.

I've heard that women become more and more materialistic after graduation, and I'm now more popular than Shen Chipeng.

Chu Bowen stepped forward and extended his hand: "Hello, Yuxuan, I am Chu Bowen."

When he reached out, he deliberately shook his cuffs, revealing the Swiss watch on his wrist that cost him 100,000 yuan.

Shen Chipeng gritted his teeth and glanced at Chu Bowen.

This guy had been dominating him at the dinner party, and now he's insisting on taking over.

Who doesn't know that he also had feelings for Ning Yuxuan back then?

Shen Chipeng interjected, "Bowen, Yuxuan might not remember you. I'm quite familiar with Yuxuan, let me introduce you—"

"You two," Ning Yuxuan interrupted, "Tao You and I have other things to attend to, so we won't keep you company as we catch up."

Tao You nodded: "Yes, yes! Xuanxuan and I are going shopping."

Shen Chipeng was unwilling to give up. He had finally managed to run into her once, but it would be difficult to see her again next time.

He insisted, "Yu Xuan, I know I was rash last time, which is why you had no choice but to say you were married. This time it was just a coincidence, so can't we even chat for a bit?"

Ning Yuxuan said expressionlessly, "No."

Shen Chipeng: "..."

Chu Bowen felt that Shen Chipeng had ruined his plans, so he said, "Chipeng, they've already said they have things to do, so why don't you just give up? Yuxuan, Taoyou, you're busy, we won't bother you. But since we've run into each other, how about we add each other on WeChat before we go?"

Ning Yuxuan sighed.

What bad luck! I went out to have dinner with my best friends and ran into this bunch of annoying people.

Ning Yuxuan took out her phone and glanced at it twice in her pocket.

Xie Zhiyan: [Auntie told me you had dinner with friends at Silverer tonight.]

Xie Zhiyan: [I happen to be in this area discussing work. Shall I pick you up after I'm done?]

If it weren't for the current situation, Ning Yuxuan would probably still hesitate.

Now that she needed an excuse to get rid of these people, Ning Yuxuan simply stopped typing to reply to Xie Zhiyan's message and made a voice call instead.

After two rings, the call was answered.

Ning Yuxuan spoke in a sweet voice, "Husband—"

[Author's Note]

Happy Children's Day everyone! ~88 red envelopes are dropping here!