In late October, the north was already swept by howling winds and chilly air, while the south was still bathed in warm sunshine. Stepping out of the airport, Zhu Qianying, who had spent a month in the north, felt a momentary disorientation, as if she had traveled through time and space into another world.
She walked to the roadside with her coat draped over her arm and her luggage in hand to hail a taxi. After getting in, she took out her phone, hesitated for a moment, and finally turned it on.
After disappearing for a month without contacting anyone, she eventually had to return to face the reality that she found so tedious.
Her phone was flooded with unread messages. She first picked out a few work-related ones to read. The others included messages from Xing Bailun and others, Qin Xiu, and Yan Shao. She glanced at them and, without exception, they all asked where she had gone. However, Xing Bailun's messages showed concern, while Yan Shao's messages mostly conveyed anger.
Zhu Qianying slightly curled her lips, checked off the names of the people inquiring about her whereabouts in the text messages one by one, typed "I'm back" in the text message editing bar, and was about to press send when she picked out the names of Yan Shao and Qin Xiu before pressing send.
After sending the message, to avoid being bombarded with phone calls, I quickly turned off my phone, leaned back, and closed my eyes to rest.
As the car entered the city, Zhu Qianying felt inexplicably irritable, thinking about the faces of the Zhu family members she was about to face.
"Sir, could you please stop at the chain hotel at the intersection ahead?"
Forget it, I'll stay away from home for a couple of days, and wait until I've rested enough and mentally prepared myself before going out to meet people.
Actually, if she wasn't worried about the Yan family's opinions, she would have stayed in that small city until mid-December before returning, and then in ten or eight days, she would have married into the Yan family directly. That way, she wouldn't have had to face the annoying faces of the Zhu family.
But if she disappears for more than two months, will Young Master Yan let her go?
Thinking about the contents of Yan Shao's two text messages, she knew that having such wishful thinking was absolutely delusional.
The hotel wasn't high-end, but it was very clean. After taking a shower, Zhu Qianying turned on the TV and randomly pressed buttons on the remote.
"...Since rumors of poor hotel management surfaced, Mingxuan Group's stock price has continued to fall, and yesterday it even hit the daily limit down..."
Zhu Qianying stared at the screen for two seconds, then switched to another TV channel.
Zhu Qianying listlessly changed channels, and then, without realizing it, she lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
"Ding-dong ding-dong..."
The sudden ringing of the bell startled Zhu Qianying awake. The TV was still playing something with a crackling sound. Zhu Qianying groggily sat up, glanced at it, and ran barefoot to the door, peeking through the peephole.
Surprisingly, it wasn't the hotel staff or someone promoting special services that she had assumed, but rather Qin Xiu, Yan Shao's all-powerful special assistant.
Feeling deep sympathy for the other party, Zhu Qianying opened the door almost without thinking.
"Mr. Qin..."
Qin Xiu stood outside the door, glanced at her, and then quickly looked away.
"Miss Zhu, Young Master Yan sent me to pick you up."
Zhu Qianying looked at him suspiciously, not understanding why he lowered his head as if he had seen a ghost as soon as he saw her.
Looking down at himself, Qin Xiu realized he was only wearing a revealing tank top and shorts. Was he feeling embarrassed?
Zhu Qianying understood Qin Xiu's position. She was Yan Shao's fiancée, and indirectly, his superior, so naturally, she couldn't afford to offend her.
"Wait for me!"
Zhu Qianying had no intention of making things difficult for Qin Xiu. She closed the door, turned around, and went back inside to change her clothes.
Actually, she didn't expect to be able to avoid Young Master Yan, but she didn't expect him to come knocking on her door so quickly.
She thought she could at least enjoy a few more days of freedom.
Little did she know that the moment she booked her flight back to L City, Young Master Yan had already gotten wind of it and instructed his driver to pick her up from the airport on time.
However, Zhu Qianying's flight was delayed by more than two hours, and the Yan family's driver waited for more than two hours. Later, he went to the restroom and happened to pass by Zhu Qianying.
The driver, who hadn't picked up the person, had no choice but to bite the bullet and apologize to Young Master Yan.
Having been simmering with anger for a month, Yan Shao gave the driver a thorough dressing-down and then ordered Qin Xiu to find Zhu Qianying immediately.
As for how to find it, Young Master Yan trusted Qin Xiu's abilities.
Qin Xiu's first instinct was to call the Zhu family, only to be told that the Fifth Miss had not yet arrived home.
Qin Xiu immediately had someone check the hotel check-in records. Once he got the exact location, he drove over personally to pick them up. This time, he dared not let the Yan family's driver pick them up again; if anything went wrong again, Qin Xiu couldn't bear the responsibility.
Standing outside the door, Qin Xiu was filled with trepidation, fearing that Zhu Qianying, who had retreated back into the guest room, might sneak away using some means.
Of course, an ordinary woman wouldn't be able to slip away from a hotel room. But in Qin Xiu's eyes, Zhu Qianying was no longer an ordinary woman.
Fortunately, Zhu Qianying didn't make him anxious for long. In less than ten minutes, Zhu Qianying changed into a refreshing casual outfit, carried a light bag, opened the door, and came out.
Seeing her attire, Qin Xiu peeked behind her and asked, "Miss Zhu, where's your luggage?"
Zhu Qianying took out the access card and slammed the door shut. "Inside."
Although Yan Shao knew her whereabouts, she had no plans to return to the Zhu family for the time being, so her luggage was still here.
Qin Xiu had no right to advise Zhu Qianying, and Zhu Qianying seemed unconcerned about why Young Master Yan had sent someone to pick her up. She quietly followed Qin Xiu into the elevator and then quietly got into the car.
Finally, Qin Xiu couldn't help but reveal to her the general mood of his master at that moment.
"Miss Zhu, Young Master Yan sent a driver to pick you up from the airport, but he didn't find you and gave the driver a good scolding."
Qin Xiu secretly glanced at Zhu Qianying in the rearview mirror, but to his surprise, Zhu Qianying didn't even raise an eyebrow, only gave a faint "oh" and then said nothing more.
Qin Xiu didn't know whether to admire her courage or blame her indifference.
"Young Master Yan seems quite angry, Miss Zhu, you should go along with him for a bit."
That being said, Qin Xiu didn't actually have high expectations for Zhu Qianying.
Because he had seen her go against her husband far too many times.
Strictly speaking, when Zhu Qianying faced off against her own master, even Qin Xiu couldn't be sure who would emerge victorious until the very last moment.
"Hmm..." came another perfunctory response.
Qin Xiu sighed silently, secretly praying that the battle between his master and Zhu Qianying wouldn't spread to him, an innocent bystander.
However, despite his prayers, he knew better than anyone that the chances of the war not reaching him were zero.
Unless, Zhu Qianying puts out the fire before her master gets involved.
But given Zhu Qianying's lukewarm attitude, would she take the initiative to help Yan Shao put out the fire?
It's good enough if they don't add fuel to the fire!
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