Chapter 37 - I mind that he once abandoned me, I mind...
Upon learning that the two had registered their marriage, Ji Jiali and the others no longer tried to hide it. After finding out their flight schedule, they went directly to the airport to pick them up.
As soon as Fu Qingli and Lin Xi exited the airport, they saw Ji Jiali and Zou Song standing in the crowd, wearing bright red and green floral shirts and beach shorts.
Zhou Qi kept her distance from them with a look of disgust, glancing at them sideways, her expression suggesting she wanted to get as far away from them as possible.
Although their outfits were very down-to-earth, their outstanding looks and charisma prevented them from appearing unfashionable; instead, they exuded a casual and carefree charm.
Many young girls glanced at them with admiration, and some of the bolder ones went up directly to ask for their contact information.
However, it seems that neither of them gave anything, and they dismissed the girl who came forward with just a few words.
Zhou Qi was probably really eager to get rid of them, as he kept glancing towards the exit. When he spotted them, he waved and ran straight towards them, calling out, "Sister-in-law! Brother Fu!"
Lin Xi's face instantly turned red; she never expected to shout it out so directly in public.
Upon hearing this, Ji Jiali and Zou Song strolled leisurely behind her.
As they approached, Fu Qingli formally introduced her to everyone: "Let me formally introduce you. This is my wife, Lin Xi."
“These are my childhood friends, Ji Jiali and Zou Song. Zhou Qi, as you know, is Ji Jiali’s cousin.”
"sister in law."
The three greeted each other.
Seeing her boss being so respectful in front of her, Lin Xi felt incredibly awkward. Moreover, the way she was addressed was really embarrassing. Lin Xi struggled and said, "Hello, you can just call me Lin Xi."
Zou Song smiled the brightest: "That won't do. Brother Fu's wife is my sister-in-law, and we're used to calling her that in private."
And in private?
Lin Xi looked at Fu Qingli in surprise. Did they talk about her a lot in private?
Fu Qingli smiled, but offered no explanation.
At this moment, Zhou Qi directly took Lin Xi's arm and said, "Sister-in-law, you and Brother Fu are finally together. You have no idea how hard I had to keep it a secret before, and how I had to be careful not to let it slip."
"Qiqi, call me by my name. I'm not used to being called that."
Hearing her say that, Zhou Qi didn't dare to agree casually. She looked to Fu Qingli for help and only agreed when he nodded: "Xiao Xi."
This finally put Lin Xi at ease.
She looked Zhou Qi up and down, taking in the dress she was wearing today.
She had just noticed that Zhou Qi was wearing a light yellow beach sundress today. The skirt was very long, and the pleats spread out like flower petals, but it did not look cumbersome. When she ran, the skirt swayed at her ankles.
She couldn't help but compliment, "The dress is beautiful, it suits you perfectly!"
“Right?” Zhou Qi said smugly upon hearing her praise. “I think so too. We bought it while shopping last night and ripped off Zou Song.”
Speaking of Zou Song, she recalled the ugly clothes of the two people next to her and couldn't help but look disgusted. "But they have no taste. They insisted on buying these ugly clothes. I feel ashamed to walk next to them."
Seeing her frowning and rolling her eyes, Lin Xi couldn't help but smile.
Fu Qingli frowned and asked Ji Jiali, "What's with this outfit? Did you settle things with Zhaohui?"
According to their original plan, Ji Jiali's mind should have been on his relationship with Zhao Hui, so how could he have the leisure to buy such casual clothes to relax?
Ji Jiali rolled his eyes and pointed at Zou Song with his tattered fingers: "Ask him about his idea."
Zou Song clicked his tongue, having his own set of reasoning: "Chaohui is a law-abiding local company. If a large family from Beicheng like yours approaches them to discuss cooperation, especially one that involves internal strife, they won't easily believe anything you say. If you continue to act high and mighty and talk about profits, they'll be even more wary, fearing it's a scheme to seize their market. The best approach is to act ingratiating, the more obsequious you are in trying to get close, the more they'll lower their guard and think you're easy to manipulate."
Fu Qingli thought about it and felt that what he said actually made some sense: "That makes sense, then let's try your method first."
Ji Jiali originally wanted to get rid of Zou Song by relying on Fu Qingli, but it sounded like he was playing with their ideas.
To his surprise, Fu Qingli actually agreed. He felt a wave of dizziness and, without hesitation, dragged Fu Qingli into the mess: "Then I'll buy you a set later. If we're going to fawn over each other, we'll fawn over each other; if we're going to lose face, we'll lose face together!"
“Let Zou Song come along, and I’ll…” Fu Qingli wanted to say that she wouldn’t wear it, but before she could finish speaking, she suddenly felt an expectant gaze directed at her.
Turning his head, he saw Lin Xi's eyes were unusually bright, and she looked expectant. He couldn't help but ask with a smile, "Want to see me wear it?"
"Hmm," Lin Xi said, sticking out her tongue guiltily after her little secret was exposed. "I've never seen you wear this style before. I'd like to see it. I think it looks pretty cool."
“Okay, then we’ll go buy it later, you can choose.” Fu Qingli agreed readily.
Zou Song looked incredulous and nudged Ji Jiali with his elbow: "No, Brother Fu just... compromised like that?"
From childhood to adulthood, when had he ever met Fu Qingli who was so easy to talk to!
Ji Jiali was already used to it, and patted him on the shoulder with the air of someone who had been there before: "It's just basic operation, you'll get used to it slowly."
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When Zou Song and Zhou Qi arrived, they brought Gun Gun, who was originally going to be sent to Nanqing, with them.
Gun Gun heard the news of Fu Qingli and Lin Xi's marriage from them in advance.
As soon as Lin Xi opened the car door, it jumped straight into her arms, its little voice almost cracking with excitement: "Xiao Xi, you're finally home! Fu Lili and I have been waiting for so long~"
Before it could finish its excitement, Fu Qingli grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, lifted it up, and put it on the back seat: "Gungun, I've told you so many times, you're heavy and you'll tire Xiaoxi out."
Okay~
As soon as Gun Gun was put down, it jumped down, poked its head out from the middle of the seat, and tried to cross the middle to get to the passenger seat.
Finally, Fu Qingli poked his forehead with two fingers, stopping him from going back to his senses, and he calmed down a bit.
Five people, one cat, and two cars.
We agreed to go back to the hotel to settle in first, and then go out for dinner and shopping later.
Upon arriving at the hotel, Zhaohui's boss somehow learned that Fu Qingli was in Haicheng that day and suggested meeting him and Ji Jiali for a small family banquet.
Taking advantage of the rare opportunity, Fu Qingli and Ji Jiali decided to go directly to the banquet, and even dragged Zou Song along.
The current situation makes it easier for them to win over and cooperate with the Zou family, given their support.
Moreover, Zou Song is adept at interpersonal communication and might be able to glean some information from subtle details.
Despite the trip being cancelled, Zhou Qi remained unaffected and enthusiastically discussed going out with Lin Xi.
Seeing that Lin Xi was interested, Fu Qingli was naturally pleased and entrusted her to Zhou Qi, but instructed Gun Gun to stay with Lin Xi at all times.
Haicheng, a famous coastal city, just ended its fishing ban last week, so seafood is naturally the best choice for dinner.
Although the hotel restaurant offers seafood, it still feels a bit lacking.
Zhou Qi, full of ideas, took Lin Xi directly to the beach, looking for a small shop where they were busy preparing their freshly caught seafood, enjoying the sea breeze and the ocean view while eating fresh seafood.
"This life is so wonderful!" Zhou Qi took a sip of cola and couldn't help but sigh, "But it would be even better if you could drink! I didn't expect Brother Fu to be so meticulous."
Before leaving, Fu Qingli specifically instructed that Lin Xi should not be allowed to drink tea, coffee, or alcohol.
Lin Xi smiled awkwardly and did not respond.
Fu Qingli wasn't being overly controlling; rather, she couldn't drink these stimulating beverages while taking antidepressants.
Actually, they haven't talked about the medicine since yesterday, and she hasn't mentioned these dietary restrictions to him.
He seemed to know a lot about these things, and even paid more attention to them than I did.
Lin Xi glanced at Gun Gun, who was curled up on a chair to the side, and suddenly realized that he might have done some research when designing Gun Gun.
After all, it was the first time they met, and Gun Gun reminded himself not to drink coffee, which clearly indicates that there are such system settings inside.
Zhou Qi quickly put her mind at ease, "But it's normal for Brother Fu to be a little nervous after being separated from you for so long. You don't know, when Brother Fu came back from Nanqing when he was seven years old, he wouldn't let me call him Brother Qingli. He said that if I had to call him that, I should call him Brother Fu with my brothers. I was only four years old at the time, and I thought he hated me. I cried at home for two whole days. When I grew up, I realized that he didn't allow anyone other than you to call him brother because you were the most special one in his heart."
Fu Qingli wouldn't tell, and Lin Xi had no way of knowing about these things.
Upon hearing this, she looked surprised: "Really?"
Would Fu Qingli really care about something as trivial as how she's addressed?
"Really! We even joked later that it was lucky Brother Fu didn't have any girls among his relatives, otherwise what would he have done!"
"..." Lin Xi couldn't help but laugh when she thought of that scene.
“But Xiaoxi,” Zhou Qi asked cautiously, “why did you two separate? Where did you go afterward? How come you disappeared for so many years?”
Yes, why is that?
Was it because of a misunderstanding? It doesn't seem like that's entirely true.
If it weren't for the previous text message, seeing Su Yi'an come out of his room, he would definitely have asked him, no matter what the outcome was.
Thinking of this, Lin Xi recalled the problem she had been avoiding.
Fu Qingli never dated Su Yi'an, so what did that morning mean? Was it a one-night stand, or did he try to accept Su Yi'an but ultimately failed?
Even though she was already married to him, Lin Xi became increasingly aware that she minded that he had abandoned her and that he had had relationships with other women.
Countless times I've told myself, "As long as he loves me and he's by my side, that's enough," but I can't shake the bitterness in my heart about that incident.
Seeing Lin Xi put down her chopsticks and suddenly become listless, Zhou Qi realized she had said the wrong thing and apologized repeatedly: "Xiao Xi, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that. I was just too curious. Don't take it to heart."
"It's okay." Lin Xi tried hard to force a smile, but the smile looked forced.
Feeling suddenly down, Lin Xi didn't have the energy to accompany Zhou Qi shopping: "Qiqi, I'm a little tired, I want to go home first."
Seeing her pale face, Zhou Qi didn't dare to stay any longer: "Okay, I'll take you back to rest."
Back at the hotel, Zhou Qi wanted to stay in the room with Lin Xi, but Lin Xi dissuaded her, saying, "I'm fine, I'm just tired and want to go to sleep early."
Zhou Qi still wanted to persevere, but Gun Gun touched her ankle: "It's okay, Xiao Xi needs to rest now, Gun Gun will stay with Xiao Xi~"
Only then did Zhou Qi dare to let Lin Xi go back alone.
The elevator arrived at Zhou Qi's floor first. As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, Lin Xi called out to her again: "Qiqi, please don't tell Fu Qingli about this. I'm begging you."
It was Zhou Qi's own excessive curiosity that led to this mistake, and she dared not be willful again. She nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, I won't tell you, but if you have anything to say, don't keep it to yourself. You can talk to Brother Fu or to me."
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Author's note: I've been traveling recently, but I'm still trying to write and update daily.
So could you please add this pre-order novel, "Ke Li's Little Fish," to your collection? The male lead sings "Everywhere I Kiss" everywhere, is a master of kung fu tea (not really), and the female lead has a pitiful background but grows up with great effort.
After I finish this book, I'll start writing Little Fish.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
