Chapter Fifteen
As the weather gradually warms up, spring in Chanjing is often rainy, with light drizzles that resemble a veil sweeping across the sky.
Xing Bei received a notice that he would have to go on a long business trip, which would take about half a month to return. In the three days before his departure, he especially liked to stick to her and didn't stop at night.
For the first three days after Xing Bei left home, Lu Runxu returned to Zhuqing Bay on time. As time went on, he would often think of Xing Bei when he was alone at home at night looking at the empty house, so he simply stayed at the company instead.
For him, it didn't matter where Xing Bei was, and going back would only increase his longing. Even Zhuqing Bay was only home to him when Xing Bei was there; it was just a temporary place for him to stay.
In the president's office of the Lu Group, a group of people were frantically typing on their phones.
- @Secretary Lin, do you know who offended the boss again, or if the performance target was not met this month?
—Exactly! The boss has been acting like he's possessed these past few days, practically living at the company. I've been working overtime until midnight and he still hasn't left.
—Yeah, the boss always left work on time before, and since he was so dedicated, we didn't dare to slack off.
Secretary Lin looked at her boss, who was carefully reading the cooperation agreement, and then glanced at the company gossip group, a wry smile on her face.
What else could it be? Of course, it's because your dearest boss's wife is away on a business trip, and the boss misses her so much that he can only pass the time by working.
And shouldn't he be the one who suffers the most and works the hardest?
- I don't know. Maybe I think there's still room for improvement in the company, and I hope to set an example so that everyone can work together.
—Secretary Lin, you've been talking like an honest working-class person lately. Have you been driven crazy by your boss?
Secretary Lin, you should try to persuade the boss. If this continues, I'm going to die of overwork at my desk.
What can he do? All you can do is hope that the boss's wife will return from her business trip soon.
After finishing the contract, Lu Runxu looked up at the window. The sky had already darkened, and a half-moon hung high in the sky, radiating a cool glow.
He picked up his phone to check the time; it wasn't early. He tidied up a table and prepared to return to Zhuqing Bay.
He had just turned off the light when his phone screen lit up again. He glanced at it casually; it was a message from Lin Zhuochi.
Come and have a drink at Late Spring.
He looked at the message on the screen, paused for a few seconds, and then agreed.
Okay, I'll be right there.
It wasn't until evening that Lu Runxu discovered an uninvited guest had arrived.
Lin Qiuwan.
"Hey, you're married and still dare to come out this late?" the person sitting next to Shang Yichen joked. "Looks like your wife doesn't love you very much."
Lu Runxu gave her a cold glance and sat down next to Lin Zhuochi: "What's it to you?"
Lin Qiuwan stuck out her tongue at him: "I haven't met your sister-in-law yet. I heard from Yichen that she's a great beauty."
“That’s right.” Mu Rong took out her phone and showed her photos from Lu Runxu’s WeChat Moments. “Your sister-in-law is incredibly charming, and she’s ten times more beautiful in person than in the photos.”
Lin Qiuwan liked it immediately after just one glance: "Wow, it's the one I like."
“However,” Lin Qiuwan looked at him defiantly, “why did you block me?”
Lu Runxu looked at her and frowned slightly: "Don't you know why I blocked you?"
She leaned closer and teased, "Is this still the Lu Runxu I know who's confident in everything? How come he has so little confidence in his own abilities?"
Her usually aloof and beautiful face took on a chilling quality under the dim light, and when she met Lu Runxu's dark eyes, a layer of icy frost appeared on them. Lin Qiuwan dared not make any jokes.
She grew up with Shang Ruixing and naturally hung out with this group of rich young men. In her memory, Lu Runxu was a shy and sunny boy. Later, that youthful face matured and he became the dream man of many people in the industry.
But his personality was also unusually cold. The title of "cold and beautiful fox" was not given for nothing. The colder he was, the more attractive he became, and the more people wanted to explore him.
Shang Yichen knew that he wasn't in a good mood tonight, so he also spoke up for Lin Qiuwan: "Axu, you know, Qiuwan is usually like this, so don't be angry."
Lu Runxu glanced at him indifferently, said nothing more, and downed the wine on the table in one gulp: "You should keep a close eye on her. I know her little schemes all too well."
Lin Qiuwan looked at him and snorted. He really knew her inside and out. She had actually been planning to sneak a peek when she had time.
She was quite curious about what kind of fairy Lu Runxu would protect like this.
Lu Runxu hadn't planned to stay here long, so after having a couple of drinks, he got up and went back to Zhuqing Bay.
No sooner had he left than Lin Qiuwan nudged Shang Yichen and asked him, "What's the background of this sister-in-law? Why is A-Xu protecting her so closely?"
Lin Zhuochi suddenly leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "After all, he's been thinking about her for ten years. Now that you've finally married him, how can you not protect him so fiercely?"
Lin Qiuwan looked at him in disbelief: "Someone like A-Xu has a crush? You must be joking."
Shang Yichen watched Lu Runxu's departing figure and shook his head: "What can we do? A-Xu is a coward when it comes to relationships."
Lin Qiuwan really wanted to slap Lu Runxu across the face right then and there. Among them, she had always thought that Lu Runxu was the least likely person to have a crush on someone.
She and Lu Runxu went to the same high school. Back then, Lu Runxu was shy yet sunny, but he had excellent grades and was a prodigy, so naturally he had many suitors.
Back then, whether it was due to ignorance or dislike, he never took a liking to any of them. Despite the persistent advances of those senior female students, Lu Runxu always maintained an unapproachable demeanor.
She once thought Lu Runxu had a problem with his sexual orientation, but she never expected that he had someone he liked at the time and had a crush on her for ten years. With his looks and wealth, if he had just taken a little more initiative, would it have taken him so long to win her over? It's really shameful.
With Lu Runxu's abilities, he will succeed in whatever he does.
The weather in Yangcheng hasn't been very good lately, with occasional light rain. Xing Bei went out for a late-night snack after finishing her work.
These past few days, she often thought about the food Lu Runxu cooked. It took her three days to barely accept the food in Yangcheng. It was this kind of hard work spirit that urged her to finish her work as soon as possible. She completed half a month's worth of work in just over a week.
Just as she was about to return to the hotel, she had just replied to Lu Runxu's message when someone stopped her. She looked up in confusion: "Zhou Xuzhe?"
Why is he so persistent? I wonder what kind of trouble he's up to this time?
Xing Bei didn't really want to deal with him, so she coldly walked around him. Zhou Xuzhe then blocked her way from the other side. She took a deep breath and forced a smile: "Zhou Xuzhe, what are you up to now?"
"You've misunderstood me. I was just chatting with a friend over there when I saw you and wanted to come over and say hello," he explained, withdrawing his hand.
Xing Bei nodded perfunctorily: "Now that I've said my goodbyes, can I leave?"
“I…” Zhou Xuzhe paused, “Can we talk?”
Xing Bei sighed and looked at him helplessly: "Zhou Xuzhe, I really don't think there's any need for us to talk. If you still want to ask those questions, I don't think it's necessary. My answer is still the same."
Zhou Xuzhe frowned and asked in confusion, "But Xing Bei, that's seven years of relationship. Can you really just let it go like that?"
Pooh.
How dare he even bring up this question? How can he be so lacking in self-awareness?
She was the only one who invested her feelings in them, and she didn't feel any regret. Zhou Xuzhe, on the other hand, felt sorry for her.
"Alright, stop pretending to be all sentimental." Xing Bei sneered. "It's only been seven years. What's there to hold onto? When I liked you, I liked you. When I didn't like you, I really didn't like you. There's no need for all this entanglement."
Zhou Xuzhe took her hand and sincerely apologized: "Beibei, I really know I was wrong now. Please forgive me if I change."
Xing Bei smiled mockingly, stepped forward and gently patted Zhou Xuzhe's face, her voice exceptionally cold: "Zhou Xuzhe, it's useless to talk about right and wrong now, besides, you don't even know where you went wrong."
As she spoke, her hand slid down, forcefully poking his chest: "You were the person I liked during my youth. Criticizing you is criticizing the me of that time. So I don't care whether you liked me or not now. I'm a very ruthless person. Let's end it here."
Zhou Xuzhe looked at her and could only smile bitterly: "What if I said I didn't want to? What if I wanted to win you back?"
Xing Bei, standing opposite him, was so angry she laughed: "Zhou Xuzhe, why can't you understand my words? I know there's no possibility between us, and besides, I'm already married and have someone I like and want to spend the rest of my life with."
She wasn't a very patient person. Once she had said what she needed to say, she didn't want to get entangled with the other person. She glanced at the person opposite her and walked straight past him.
Seeing her heartless back, Zhou Xuzhe clenched his fists even tighter, the veins on the back of his hands bulging and his knuckles turning slightly white.
Back at the hotel, she went straight to the bathroom, turned on the tap to wash her hands, and felt upset just thinking about Zhou Xuzhe.
Zhou Xuzhe's belated realization was never love; it was all resentment and habit at work in his heart.
--
The next day at noon, after finishing her work with another colleague, Xing Bei bought a high-speed rail ticket to return to Chanjing that day, as she didn't want to run into that annoying Zhou Xuzhe again.
But fate just seemed to be working against her; not only did they meet, they were also in the same train carriage. Xing Bei felt certain that if she bought a lottery ticket recently, she would definitely win.
Zhou Xuzhe hadn't expected to run into her. He took his ticket and switched seats with the person next to him, and kept trying to strike up a conversation with her.
Annoyed by what she heard, Xing Bei simply turned her head away, closed her eyes, and ignored everyone. Before long, she finally found some peace and quiet and took the opportunity to rest.
After getting off the high-speed train, she received a call from Lu Runxu. Following his directions, she found Section B and spotted Lu Runxu's Maybach among the many cars.
A tall, slender man stood beside the car, dressed in a well-tailored white suit that looked like a wedding suit on Lu Runxu. Xing Bei dragged her suitcase and jogged over.
Lu Runxu opened his arms, and she smiled and threw herself into his embrace, her voice carrying a hint of coquettishness: "Boss Lu, I missed you so much."
"I miss you too." Lu Runxu leaned down and kissed her forehead, smiling gently as he said, "I'll make you some soup when we get home."
Xing Bei snuggled against him and softly hummed in agreement.
Those standing at a distance saw this scene and were so angry that they clenched their clothes tightly. Lu Runxu also felt a strong gaze staring at them and looked up to meet Zhou Xuzhe's eyes.
The smile on his face suddenly froze. For some reason, Lu Runxu curled his lips slightly again. At this moment, the scene appeared to the other party as a blatant provocation.
Zhou Xuzhe angrily dragged his suitcase away, while Lu Runxu smiled again and took Xing Bei's hand to get into the car.
Xing Bei needed to go back to her company to hand over her work, so after Lu Runxu took her back to the company, he went back to Zhuqing Bay to cook soup and meals for her.
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