Chapter 15 A Phone Call with Zhuang Bieyan
With no more endless work emails to deal with and no need to be on call 24/7, Qu He finally had the chance to sleep in until she naturally woke up.
These past few days she's done a thorough cleaning of the house. The rest of the time she and Siyue have been staying at Heyuefang, and their days have been quite fulfilling.
During this time, Secretary Lin from the Secretariat also sent several messages, all of which were full of gossip.
The day after she took leave, Qian Zhaoye had Qiao Mian take over most of her work.
She mentioned that Anda, who usually didn't get along with her, was unusually attentive to Qiao Mian.
It was also said that word had spread in the company's break room that someone had personally witnessed Qian Zhaoye and Qiao Mian entering the same hotel one after the other.
Qu He only replied with a few meaningless greetings; she had no interest in even clicking on the messages about Qian Zhaoye and Qiao Mian.
She wasn't surprised by Anda's unusual behavior.
Anda must have played a significant role in keeping Qian Zhaoye's secret so perfectly for the past three years.
As the old saying goes, birds of a feather flock together.
Once I understood all this, the weight that had been pressing on my heart for so long actually lifted a little.
However, she wasn't in the mood to think about those things right now.
He Yuefang was invited to participate in the Thirteen Lane Street Market. After three days, Qu He was exhausted, but Si Yue was still full of energy.
As it was nearing the end of the day, Si Yue stretched and said, "Finally, it's over."
Just as Qu He was about to make a joke, she heard a clear child's voice, "Sister Qu!"
Zhuang Xi, with her hair in double buns, stood at the front left of the stall wearing the school uniform skirt of Beicheng No. 1 Kindergarten, and was still carrying that pink strawberry bear backpack on her shoulder.
She came running over with small, quick steps, her schoolbag bouncing behind her.
"Zhuang Xi?" Qu He looked around and quickly pulled her to her side. "Why are you here all alone?"
Little Zhuangxi looked up, her big eyes blinking, and said, "I see lots of pretty hair clips here, and I want to give them to my mom..."
She pointed to the stalls selling hair accessories next door.
Qu He's heart tightened.
The North City No. 1 Kindergarten is right next door, but leaving a child who's only in the middle class alone at the market...
"Who brought you here?" Qu He asked.
Zhuang Xi shook his schoolbag, completely unaware of the problem. "The driver was late, so I walked here myself. Stop at red lights, go at green lights, the teacher taught us that in class."
Qu He's vision went black; she could almost see the Zhuang family digging three feet into the ground and the whole city mobilized to search.
She was thankful that He Yue Fang's stall was right at the market entrance; otherwise, if something had happened to the young lady of the Zhuang family... she dared not think further.
Qu He hurriedly exchanged a few words with Si Yue, then took Zhuang Xi's hand and returned to He Yue Fang.
On the way back, Zhuang Xi kept chattering away until Qu He gave her a cookie when they got back to the shop, at which point she finally quieted down.
"Sister Qu, your cookies are tastier than the ones at kindergarten!" Zhuang Xi sat on the sofa, swinging her legs, cookie crumbs falling onto the hem of her school uniform skirt.
Qu He looked at it and felt both amused and frightened.
Just as I was thinking of contacting the Zhuang family, I saw Zhuang Xi jump off the sofa and take out a smartwatch from his backpack.
"Mom called me!" Zhuang Xi waved her watch at her from a distance.
The moment the call connected, before Mom could even utter a single word, she was startled by the voice on the other end: "Zhuang Xi, where have you been?"
Zhuang Xi was startled by the scolding, and stammered, "My...mother..."
The voice on the other end was already choked with sobs, "Didn't your family tell you not to run around after school? The driver called you so many times just now, why didn't you answer?"
Xiao Zhuangxi's eyes immediately reddened. "I'm sorry, Mom... I... my watch is in my schoolbag..." As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, and she burst into tears.
Qu He quickly squatted down and patted Zhuang Xi's trembling back with her palm to help her catch her breath.
She took the watch, which was still connected to the phone, and said, "Hello, Xiaoxi's mother, this is Qu He. Don't worry, she is safe. We are at Heyuefang Pottery Shop in the Thirteen Lane neighborhood. You can have your driver come directly here. I will stay with her the whole time."
There was a long silence on the other end of the call. Qu He pursed her lips and continued, "You can also call me directly. My mobile number is 1352..."
"Miss Qu, I am Zhuang Bieyan."
A deep male voice cut in without warning, and Qu He's fingers trembled.
She was taken aback when she saw that the person on the other end had changed so quickly. "Mr. Zhuang, hello."
A rustling sound came from the other end of the watch: "I'll be at the store in five minutes. Could you please keep an eye on Zhuang Xi for me, Miss Qu?"
The lotus leaves should be lowered.
Five minutes later, the black Maybach stopped in front of the store.
Zhuang Bieyan wore a dark gray three-piece suit. As he got out of the car, the hem of the suit fluttered slightly in the wind.
He wasn't wearing his gold-rimmed glasses today, and the sharpness in his eyes was completely unobstructed.
Although Zhuang Xi had stopped crying, her eyes were still red. She was leaning on Qu He's shoulder, trembling slightly. When she saw Zhuang Bieyan coming over, she buried her head in Qu He's arms.
"Zhuang Xi." Zhuang Bieyan stepped forward, extended his hand, and his voice was a few decibels deeper than when they were on the phone.
But Xiao Zhuangxi remained unmoved. Upon hearing the sound, she hugged Qu He's neck even tighter, her tears smearing onto Qu He's shoulder, leaving a noticeable water stain on the shoulder of her beige dress.
A standoff without gunfire thus began.
Qu He patted Zhuang Xi on the back and mouthed softly to Zhuang Bieyan, "President Zhuang, how about I..."
Before she could even speak, Zhuang Xi's legs were already kicking in mid-air, and his little leather shoes nearly hit her stomach several times.
Zhuang Bieyan's eyes darkened, and his fingers gripping the back door tightened slightly, his wristwatch reflecting a cold light.
“It’s Friday today,” he suddenly said. “Zhuang Xi, PADA closes in an hour and a half.”
These words seemed to have a magical power, and Zhuang Xi immediately stopped crying.
She raised her tear-streaked face and looked at Zhuang Bieyan, her small mouth pursed into a stubborn straight line.
Zhuang Bieyan remained as calm and collected as ever. Just as he raised his hand to check the time, Zhuang Xi finally spoke his first words, "I want Sister Qu to come with me!"
Qu He was taken aback, "?"
What is PADA?
Fifteen minutes later, the black Maybach came to a smooth stop in a roadside parking space.
Qu He sent a message to Si Yue from the back seat.
Children's emotions come and go quickly.
Zhuang Xi had regained his energy and leaned against her, chattering away as he introduced her to the delicious desserts at PADA.
Before getting in the car, Zhuang Bieyan noticed her confusion and explained to her that PADA was Zhuang Xi's favorite dessert shop, but she was in the process of losing her baby teeth and her family restricted her from having sweets, so she could only have them once a week on Fridays.
Qu He understood. No wonder Zhuang Xi stopped crying earlier; it turned out that his gluttonous nature had resurfaced.
After the car was turned off, the three people got out.
The PADA dessert shop is decorated in a soft cream color, and there is a teddy bear hanging on the sign at the entrance. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, you can see several pretty girls taking photos.
After entering the store, Zhuang Xi took Qu He's hand and led her to the counter to place their order.
As I passed the customer area, I heard several girls taking photos exclaim in hushed tones:
"Sister, this time it's for real! This guy is pretty handsome, his face is practically my ideal type! We can talk to him! We can talk to him!"
"He's undeniably handsome, but he looks kind of familiar. But don't get your hopes up yet, he already has a wife and kids..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
