Chapter 127 Cocktail Party
"I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to pressure you."
Qiao Wenbo slowly lowered his head, his voice filled with deep sadness and despair, "You know... the Qiao family is gone, and I'm just an orphan with no relatives by my side. I'm thirty-three years old this year, and all I want is... a home, a home that I can build with you."
His words caused Shi Qingman's heart to clench painfully.
The Qiao family was once a prominent and wealthy family in Jiangcheng, and they had a close relationship with the Shi family. Therefore, she and Qiao Wenbo were betrothed by their parents when they were young.
However, just a few years after the engagement, Qiao's father went bankrupt due to mismanagement. Unable to accept the fact, Qiao's father, in a fit of rage, dragged his wife and children to commit suicide by poisoning.
Fortunately, Qiao Wenbo was rescued in time and survived, but his parents died.
Shi Hongzhen pitied his loneliness and helplessness, and continued to take care of his life financially. He did not break off the engagement even though the Qiao family was in decline.
She still betrothed her daughter to him.
After he came of age, he even offered to support him in rebuilding the Qiao family.
However, Qiao Wenbo declined the offer. To repay the debt of gratitude, he joined the Shi Group after completing his studies and worked to build the Shi family empire.
Shi Qingman and he were childhood sweethearts. Because he lost his parents, she also lost her beloved mother. So the two not only liked each other, but also had a deep sense of mutual respect and affection.
Shi Qingman was also well aware that although the Shi family treated Qiao Wenbo very well and regarded him as family, he would never feel a sense of belonging until he got married.
She also knew that Qiao Wenbo had wanted to start a family all these years.
But she always wanted to establish her career first.
She wanted to rely on her own efforts and abilities to become the president of the Shi Group and prove to her father and everyone else that she was no less capable than a man.
Qiao Wenbo delayed their marriage repeatedly in order to accommodate her.
But now she's pregnant.
She knew that if she insisted on aborting the child, it would be a heavy blow to Qiao Wenbo.
After all, he longed for his family so much.
Shi Qingman felt caught in a dilemma.
She didn't want her lover to be sad or hurt, but she was also unwilling to give up her hard-earned career.
Finally, she closed her eyes tightly and whispered, "Wenbo, can you give me some time to think about it?"
Seeing that she had finally agreed, Qiao Wenbo was overjoyed and immediately hugged her tightly, nodding repeatedly, "Okay, okay."
*
The cocktail party on the evening of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.
When Qin Shuzhi and Shi Yuanxing arrived, many business celebrities were already at the reception.
Shi Yuanxing led her to a less crowded area. "I might have some social engagements later, so I'll find you a quiet spot where you can sit and play for a while. If you get really bored, we can go home early..."
Qin Shuzhi found his incessant chatter amusing. "Mr. Shi, please don't imagine me to be so incompetent. I'm not some clueless little girl. I can handle this kind of situation with ease, okay?"
Looking at her slightly arrogant expression, Shi Yuanxing's eyes filled with a doting smile.
"I know my wife is capable, I just can't bear to let you go to social events."
His precious child doesn't need to socialize with anyone.
As the two were talking, Qiao Wenbo walked over.
After greeting them, Qiao Wenbo said to Shi Yuanxing, "Mr. Shi, the director of Shengrui is on the second floor. Shall I introduce you?"
“Okay.” Shi Yuanxing nodded, then turned to look at Qin Shuzhi.
Before he could speak, Qin Shuzhi quickly said, "Go ahead and do your work. I'll have some snacks here by myself."
"Okay, I'll be back soon."
Shi Yuanxing squeezed her hand and whispered, "If anything happens, call me immediately."
Qin Shuzhi smiled helplessly to herself.
She was just attending a cocktail party; what could possibly happen to her?
But to put his mind at ease, she obediently replied, "Okay, I understand."
Shen Yichen, who was standing at a corner in the distance, watched them silently.
From the moment Shi Yuanxing and Qin Shuzhi entered, his gaze was fixed on the two of them.
He saw that they were behaving intimately and tacitly. Qin Shuzhi naturally and affectionately linked arms with Shi Yuanxing, and would occasionally look up at him with a sweet smile.
When she spoke, Shi Yuanxing would lower his head slightly, listen attentively to her, and then respond with tender eyes.
Seeing their loving appearance, Shen Yichen recalled a few days ago when he was receiving eye treatment in Greenland. One day, he missed her so much, but he had no way to contact her, so he could only secretly use a new account to check her private social media account.
To his surprise, as soon as he clicked on the link, he saw that she had posted a photo of herself and Shi Yuanxing, with the caption:
My wish is to grow old with you.
He was receiving eye treatment at the hospital, while she was in another country, honeymooning with another man.
At that moment, Shen Yichen felt as if a thousand arrows were piercing his heart.
She made a lifelong promise to another man on social media.
He, who had been with her for three years, had never had the chance to appear on her private account.
There are no photos, not even any words.
During those days, she posted a lot of photos of her travels and fun.
It's clear that she had a very happy honeymoon.
Lying in his hospital bed, Shen Yichen would secretly check her messages every day, almost like he was torturing himself.
He even fantasized that if they hadn't separated, the person who would have accompanied her on her honeymoon abroad would have been him, Shen Yichen.
pity!
Unfortunately, it was all too late.
He actually gave Zhou Siyan away for such a dirty piece of trash.
His mother was right; in this world, he was the only one who was both stupid and blind.
Not recognizing pearls.
The pearl was lost.
*
Qin Shuzhi looked at the exquisite pastries on the table, and self-disciplinedly did not eat them, but frantically sent photos to Qi Yishan and cried about it.
[I really want to eat it, but I'm afraid. (Crying)]
Qi Yishan: [What's there to be afraid of? Eat whatever you want!]
Qin Shuzhi: [I've gained three pounds since my trip abroad.]
Qi Yishan, [School starts in a couple of days. You, this model teacher who gets up early and works late, will probably lose those two or three pounds in less than a week.]
You should take advantage of this opportunity and think about how to accumulate more meat.
Qin Shuzhi thought about it and felt that what Qi Yishan said made a lot of sense.
[Your words have been a wake-up call; I'll go start gathering meat now.]
Convinced, Qin Shu put down her phone with a clear conscience and picked up a piece of the chocolate lava cake she had been eyeing for a long time.
She took a bite and thought it tasted pretty good. Holding the paper plate in one hand and her phone in the other, she planned to take a picture to tempt Qi Yishan. However, while she was busy taking pictures, she forgot about the snack in her hand. She tilted her head, and the snack fell and rubbed directly onto her skirt.
The chocolate sauce was especially noticeable on the white skirt.
Qin Shuzhi quickly put down her things and was about to go find some tissues when a piece of paper was handed to her as she turned around.
She paused for a moment, looked up and saw it was Shen Yichen. Qin Shuzhi didn't answer or respond, picked up her phone and was about to turn and leave.
"I meant no harm."
As Shen Yichen spoke, he offered her the tissue again. Seeing that she didn't take it, his expression was full of disappointment, and he said in a low voice,
"Shuzhi, we've known each other for many years. Even if we can't be husband and wife, we can still go back to being friends, right?"
Qin Shuzhi still didn't speak to him, but her icy expression was the clearest answer she could give him.
Seeing her take a step to leave, he blurted out, "I'm sorry."
He abandoned his usual haughty and arrogant demeanor, looking at her with deep remorse, "Shuzhi, I'm truly sorry for many things that happened in the past."
He owes her a formal apology.
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