At the moment Chapter 39 ended, she had a strange yet intense thought...
Next to the booth where Qiao Yunzheng and Jiang Qi were sitting was a carved, openwork display shelf with elegant green plants on it, which was both beautiful and provided some shade.
Wen Miao crouched on the edge of the table like a thief, her hands tightly gripping the mug in her hands, her face completely hidden behind the mug, as if the mug itself would prevent others from noticing her sneaky peeping.
Seeing the two sitting opposite each other, seemingly having a pleasant conversation, their smiles growing wider, Wen Miao, frustrated that she couldn't hear the specifics, scratched her head in annoyance.
Her furtive behavior amused her friends, who teased her, "We never knew you had this habit before! How come you've learned to spy on people after two years of college?"
Wen Miao impatiently brushed away the hand that was waving in front of her eyes: "You don't understand, our house is about to be robbed, what's the point of drinking coffee!"
His childhood friend turned around suspiciously, first glancing at Qiao Yunzheng, then staring at Jiang Qi for a while. After considering for a moment, he came to a more likely conclusion, his eyes instantly lighting up: "Then where are your people?"
Wen Miao choked, her expression like she'd swallowed an egg whole, then shook her hand in frustration: "Forget it, I can't explain it to a little brat like you."
Wen Miao had been tormented for a long time, her mind in turmoil, and seeing the two of them holding hands, she finally couldn't hold back anymore.
She took out her phone, opened Wen Hong's WeChat, and without thinking or caring about logic, typed rapidly: "Brother, I'm at that coffee shop on Lingxi Street. I forgot my money and lost my phone. Can you come pick me up?"
Unaware of this, Qiao Yunzheng had already taken out her phone and scanned Jiang Qi's WeChat QR code.
As expected of someone who works in investigation, Jiang Qi was able to roughly guess Qiao Yunzheng's thoughts from the moment they met, without her needing to say much.
He also very gentlemanly took the blame upon himself: "I am actually a non-marriage advocate, but my mother doesn't believe me. She insists that it's because I haven't met the right girl. So let's just treat this as a formality, make some friends, and have an explanation when the elders ask."
After this conversation, Qiao Yunzheng had a pretty good impression of this person.
Now that they had laid their cards on the table, she stopped beating around the bush and directly stated the purpose of her trip: "Actually, this date was arranged by my mother at my request."
Jiang Qi paused, clearly thinking about something else, and his expression was no longer as natural as before.
Qiao Yunzheng quickly explained, "The reason I invited you here today is that I have a favor to ask of you."
The interpersonal relationships in Kuncheng are complex and complicated. Qiao Yunzheng dared not take any risks easily, and she dared not entrust anyone else to. Jiang Qi was simply the most suitable person. He had no entanglements with the power structures in Kuncheng; and with Yao Jing's connection, he was practically an acquaintance.
Jiang Qi's expression softened slightly: "I would like to hear the details."
Qiao Yunzheng pursed her lips, took out a small envelope from her backpack, and her expression became serious: "I would like to ask you to help me investigate two people."
Clearly not expecting things to develop this way, Jiang Qi raised an eyebrow.
He glanced down at the envelope she was pushing towards him, hesitated for only a moment, then sat up straight and took the envelope: "Okay, I'll do my best."
With a huge weight lifted from her heart, Qiao Yunzheng felt much more relaxed.
"Thanks."
She smiled at Jiang Qi, a smile that was full of sincerity and genuine feeling, so much so that even Jiang Qi was momentarily stunned by it.
Qiao Yunzheng didn't notice that a car had been parked in front of the coffee shop at some point, and the engine was still running, making a low and regular muffled sound.
Wen Hong was already standing at the entrance of the coffee shop, frozen in place, motionless.
Those deep, dark eyes seemed to be filled with ice, staring unblinkingly at the man sitting opposite Qiao Yunzheng.
Upon seeing Wen Hong, Wen Miao shouted, "Brother! Over here!"
Qiao Yunzheng felt that the voice was somewhat familiar. She turned her gaze to the source of the voice and saw Wen Miao's small face. She was a little surprised, and then turned her head 180 degrees in the direction of her shout, meeting Wen Hong's gaze.
Wen Hong did not respond to Wen Miao, but paused for a moment before walking into the coffee shop.
On a summer afternoon, the coffee shop wasn't crowded.
Because of Wen Miao's voice, everyone looked towards the man who walked in.
He seemed not to hear Wen Miao calling him and walked straight toward Qiao Yunzheng step by step.
As he approached her step by step, Qiao Yunzheng almost instinctively clenched the hem of her clothes.
In the quiet room, the faint sound of his footsteps on the wooden floor could be clearly heard.
Wen Hong finally stopped at Qiao Yunzheng's table, glanced coolly at the man opposite her, and said casually with a slight smile, "What a coincidence..."
Only she knew how unfortunate his so-called "coincidence" was.
Jiang Qi sensed the strange atmosphere between the two and tried to say something: "Yun Zheng, is she your friend?"
Qiao Yunzheng hadn't recovered from the surprise of Wen Hong's sudden appearance when she heard Jiang Qi ask, and almost subconsciously hummed in response.
As soon as the words were spoken, a not-so-soft snort came from Wen Hong's mouth.
Jiang Qi scratched his head awkwardly, realizing that he had asked a rather inappropriate question.
"Would you like to sit down and have something to drink?" he tried again to break the awkward silence.
This time, no one accepted his well-intentioned offer.
It seemed as if Qiao Yunzheng and Wen Hong were enveloped by something invisible, enclosing them in a space isolated from the outside world, making any words spoken by others futile.
Just as they were at an impasse, the sound of high heels clicking away came from the doorway.
Yao Jing has returned with Jiang Qi's mother.
When Yao Jing saw that Wen Hong was now at the table, she was immediately stunned. After realizing what was happening, she looked at her daughter with some worry.
Jiang Qi's mother, however, was completely unaware of what was happening and was still warmly greeting Wen Hong: "And this is..."
Wen Hong didn't seem inclined to speak, and Qiao Yunzheng didn't seem to have reacted much either, so Jiang Qi could only say, "This is Yunzheng's friend, we just happened to run into her."
Jiang Qi's mother clapped her hands: "What a coincidence! This is fate!" As she spoke, her gaze slid towards Qiao Yunzheng, and the more she looked at her, the more she liked her: "You young people should get to know each other better..."
She turned to look at Wen Hong again, her eyes filled with even more amazement. She could only sigh that the child was good-looking, but seemed a bit cold.
"Son, sit down and chat for a while. How about we have a meal together later?" Jiang Qi's mother warmly invited.
Wen Hong's expression was indifferent, revealing no emotion.
He glanced at Qiao Yunzheng again before finally saying, "No, I have something to do."
He seemed to finally remember something, and looked at Wen Miao, who was shrugging in the distance: "Aren't you leaving yet?"
From the moment Wen Hong walked in, Wen Miao's heart was in her throat.
But compared to losing Qiao Yunzheng as his sister-in-law, being scolded or hit by Wen Hong a few times was nothing. So after thinking it over, he found a reason to trick Wen Hong into coming.
"Oh." She obediently replied, held up three fingers to say goodbye to her childhood friend, and followed Wen Hong out of the coffee shop.
Wen Hong glanced at Yao Jing, nodded as a greeting, then turned around and led Wen Miao away.
He didn't look at anyone else again.
Only after that figure disappeared did Qiao Yunzheng dare to look in the direction he left, as if his shadow was still imprinted in that place.
At that moment, she had a strange yet intense thought.
She didn't want to explain anything to him; that was it!
It doesn't seem so bad to end these tangled and complicated relationships in such an ambiguous way.
Author's Note: Today is a short day. I went out for dinner to celebrate my birthday, and I got a bit tipsy. I'll finish this tomorrow, sob~
Thank you to "Sunshine" and "?" for the nutrient solution, and thank you to "71741935" for the landmine! Mwah!
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