Chapter 32: Men are the Mistresses
Zhang Haiming simply hugged Qin Tiantian tighter. She felt different from Ge Lin, or any other woman, always tense in his embrace, showing no affection. Perhaps it was just cheapness. To Qin Tiantian, he was dispensable, like the adult candy she kept in her drawer, only used when needed.
"We are college classmates. We attended a class reunion in Beijing last year. She kept contacting me afterwards, but we never met again..." Such lies came out of his mouth without any rehearsal. Ge Lin had many identities in his eyes: a classmate, a distant relative, and a suitor he met by chance, but not a girlfriend.
Before He Xiaolan could even yawn, Ge Lin standing behind her suddenly spoke, and she was so scared that she swallowed the yawn back, "Sister, good morning." He Xiaolan was stunned for a moment before she reacted. She quickly responded to Ge Lin, feeling a little guilty, "Sister, you didn't go home last night?"
Ge Lin asked suddenly, and He Xiaolan didn't know how to answer, "How did you know?"
"You haven't changed your clothes. You usually change your work clothes every day."
"I had dinner with friends yesterday and didn't go home. You know I live far away." She was talking too much, which made her seem a little unusual. Or maybe she was overthinking it. They had broken up a long time ago. There was no such thing as a scumbag or a mistress. But no matter how she looked at it, she didn't feel like she was in a breakup situation.
He Xiaolan first investigated Yang Fan's whereabouts, found a document and sent it to the general assistant. When she learned that Yang Fan was on a business trip, she immediately called Hua Hudie and insisted on formulating a plan to save Qin Tiantian's relationship and get to the bottom of the truth of the matter.
"If you have nothing to do at noon, come and have lunch with me. I can't stand it. I feel like a chicken wing in a barbecue restaurant, attacked from both sides."
"I forced you to use idioms. What happened?"
"There's definitely something wrong with that Zhang Haiming!"
They decided to have dinner at Lotus Thai Cuisine in Guomao, which was close to both of them and would not interfere with their afternoon work. Hua Hudie looked like she had just woken up from a hangover. She felt that He Xiaolan thought Qin Tiantian was too fragile. She was almost forty years old, and it was just a case of being deceived in love.
"If you have any questions, just tell Teacher Qin directly. What's the point of you getting anxious here?" Hua Hudie flipped through the menu, ordered water spinach and papaya salad, and pushed the menu to He Xiaolan.
"If I could tell her directly, why would we run out here to eat in the middle of the day?"
He Xiaolan has known Qin Tiantian for more than ten years, almost twenty years, and she knows her too well. The only man who can make her come back to him is Zhang Haiming. She is in high spirits now, and if she is poured a bucket of cold water on him, who knows what will happen.
"How about you take a picture of our green curry and show it to Teacher Qin, and ask her if she thinks the color of this green curry is right?" Huadie thought for a long time before coming up with a hint.
He Xiaolan had no other choice but to send a message to Qin Tiantian according to Hua Hudie's suggestion. Qin Tiantian only saw the delicious food and accused the two of cheating on her.
"Has your assistant broken up with you? Let's not spend so much time discussing this here and wrongly accuse her."
"How would I know? I'm a human being and I can't interfere in other people's family affairs. Kids nowadays are very good at hiding their emotions. You can't tell unless you observe carefully. I was angry with her yesterday, but today she greeted me as if nothing had happened. Can you do that?"
Hua Hudie was tearing the shrimp skin with a worried look on her face, hoping to replenish calcium for her brain. Maybe she could come up with a particularly good idea. However, her mind moved as fast as her mouth did. "Why not just tell her directly? If all else fails, take her to KTV and sing "Green Light" to her ten times. She should then understand."
As you get older, you start to anticipate the consequences of anything you encounter, fearing you won't be able to bear the consequences if you act directly. "I should first ask Xiao Ge what's going on between her and Zhang Haiming."
"You just think too much. Teacher Qin has seen all kinds of storms. This is nothing to her. When it comes time to tear the scumbag apart, she will have to thank you."
He Xiaolan went to see Director Xiong of Publicity and asked about Zhang Haiming's company. Ge Lin hadn't submitted any materials for Zhang Haiming's company, so the matter of being included in the supplier list was ultimately left unresolved. He Xiaolan had found an excuse to indirectly ask about her relationship status.
"There's nothing I can do. He said he doesn't want to be associated with our company, and that if anything goes wrong it will affect me, and it's for my own good." Ge Lin was disappointed. If she could add suppliers, she could at least earn enough to pay rent in a year, but this dream was ultimately dashed.
"It's not easy for you two to live in Beijing. Is he busy with work?"
"I'm busy and rarely go home. If you don't know, you would think we broke up a long time ago. We never appear in the same frame."
He Xiaolan got the answer. Even an expert in relationships like Qin Tiantian could be deceived sometimes. It was not appropriate to have dinner together, and it was not appropriate to talk about such things in public. Her home was too far away, so she could just go to Qin Tiantian's home. If she drank too much, she could sleep at her home and then come to work the next day.
Just as I was about to tell Hua Hudie, He Lianhua called and said that Yueyue had a high fever of 40 degrees and she was going to pick her up from school.
While arranging the afternoon work, He Xiaolan told He Lianhua which hospital to go to, where Yueyue's medical insurance card was, and not to use any traditional methods to cool Yueyue down. After picking her up, she should go directly to the hospital for examination, and she would rush to Tianjin later.
"We don't know what you're talking about. Nowadays, hospitals all use mobile phones. We can't understand them at all. We definitely won't be able to get anything done if we go there." He Xiaolan listened to the sound of the station announcement while He Lianhua was on the phone, "It's so late, can't you take a taxi?"
"It's just a short distance, the bus will be here soon. I won't call Xiaowei because he is busy with work."
He Xiaolan immediately became angry. Her son was always busy. When taking care of her during the confinement period, whenever He Xiaolan asked Wang Qingwei to make milk powder, He Lianhua would rush over, fearing that her own son would tire his fingers.
But now wasn't the time to argue. By the time all the company matters were finished, it was already 3 p.m. The most suitable high-speed train was at 4:09 p.m., arriving in Tianjin around 4:30 p.m. I sent a message to Wang Qingwei but received no reply. I only received a reply after He Xiaolan's high-speed train had already departed.
"I'll drive you there."
"I'm already on the high-speed train, please check the time on the ticket."
"I just had something to do, I'm driving to Tianjin now."
"You always have something to do and are always busy. My temple is too small to use you."
He Xiaolan's voice was a bit too loud, disturbing the sweet dreams of those around her. She politely apologized and turned to look out the window. Her marriage to Wang Qingwei was also quickly reviewed during the short half-hour journey. While they were dating, they had to save money to buy a house. After buying a house, they had to save money to pay off the mortgage. The few trips they managed to arrange, they either took his parents or Ms. Zhang Xinrong with them, euphemistically calling it filial piety.
After Yueyue was born, there was even less time for the couple. Yueyue often had allergies when she was young, and He Xiaolan had seen the scenes at the children's hospital at one, two, and three o'clock. After staying up all night to put the child down, she felt like she was dreaming when she stood on the subway to go to work.
Once, He Xiaolan got into an argument with someone who cut in line at the Children's Hospital. The other person's strong husband shielded them both behind him, frightening Yueyue in his arms and sending her into tears. Her mother-in-law, who had fallen asleep and didn't hear the call, and her husband, who was working overtime at the company, finally had no choice but to call Qin Tiantian and Hua Hudie. By the time the two of them arrived at the hospital in their pajamas, He Xiaolan had already stopped crying.
The children's hospital was so crowded that even flies had no place to land. He Lianhua asked Yueyue to sit at the door. The child was already delirious with fever and huddled beside He Lianhua like a kitten.
"Mom, I'm sweating so much." Yueyue's paws were still burning, and her cheeks were red, probably because she hadn't wiped off the blush she'd applied on Children's Day. He Xiaolan quickly picked Yueyue up, but the 40-pound child was too much to hold, so she had to carry her on her back and take her to the registration hall.
"Where's Dad? Has he queued up at the registration place?" He Xiaolan looked around but couldn't find Wang Yunfu, so she asked He Lianhua who was following her.
"It's enough for the two of us. Let him cook at home, and then we can take him home to eat after we're done watching."
"Why are we still cooking at this time? If we don't hurry up and line up, when will we be able to see the doctor?"
"Don't worry, I know you are worried because Yueyue is sick."
"Stop talking nonsense here. If Wang Qingwei is sick, you will be worried sick. I don't want to waste time arguing here. Please line up quickly. I will go buy some water for the child."
Before He Xiaolan came back, she heard He Lianhua arguing with someone. Yueyue was beside her, grabbing He Lianhua's hand and anxiously telling her to leave. Before she could ask, she heard someone complaining. He Lianhua insisted on cutting in line, saying that her child was seriously ill, but none of the children who came to the hospital were mildly ill. He Xiaolan didn't want to care anymore and just took Yueyue away.
After much deliberation, He Xiaolan decided to take Yueyue directly to the Harmony Hospital. The child was already feverish and delirious, so she didn't care about anything else. As long as she could cure the child, she would be willing to spend all her money. Price naturally sorted people, and the number of people at the Harmony Hospital was obviously much smaller. It didn't take long for them to complete the examination, complete the hospitalization procedures, and start the infusion.
Yueyue was also exhausted and fell asleep in a short while. When Wang Qingwei rushed in, He Xiaolan fell asleep immediately. Wang Qingwei went to the doctor to ask about the basic situation. It was not a serious illness, just a little pneumonia. The flu is common with the change of seasons, and it is inevitable that children will get sick when they infect each other.
"Why are you here for medical treatment? Didn't I pay for Yueyue's medical insurance?"
"Call your mother and ask her why she didn't go to a public hospital. I'll pay for the medical expenses in the end. You don't have to worry about it." Every word He Xiaolan said was filled with resentment and grievance, but Wang Qingwei didn't hear the key point.
"What does it have to do with my mom? I don't think it's expensive to see a doctor here. As long as I get better, it doesn't matter where I go."
"Wang Qingwei, what you said is meaningless. Do you know how you spent the whole afternoon? Your mother said she didn't know how to do anything, how to register, how to use the medical insurance card, and so she sat at the hospital entrance with Yueyue, waiting for me. The child had a fever..."
"I'll teach her about this when we get home. You can't blame her for this. Mobile phones are used everywhere these days, and she's already that old. It's definitely going to take her a while to adapt." Wang Qingwei couldn't stand He Xiaolan's complaints about her mother anymore. The child's illness wasn't caused by the old woman. After all, they were both in Beijing, and leaving Yueyue to Tianjin was fundamentally wrong.
"Don't blame her, blame me. Blame me for adding burden to your family by having a child. Don't stay here anymore. Go home and see your mother."
"What do you mean by giving birth to a child for my family? Does Yueyue have nothing to do with you?"
"I don't want to argue with you here. Please leave quickly and save some face for us and the child."
He Xiaolan didn't want to say anything more. When the taste of blood seeping from her lips hit her mouth, she realized she hadn't had any water in over seven hours. Only when Yueyue's fever subsided did He Xiaolan finally feel relieved. She texted Qin Tiantian and Hua Hudie to let them know she was safe, then fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
