Chapter 55 Can't Shake It Off
When Shang Qiyue arrived at the private room, almost everyone had already arrived.
The atmosphere was a bit strange. Shang Qiyue's gaze swept around before he spotted someone who shouldn't be there.
Fu Jiayan sat in one corner of the sofa, with an omega who looked like a waiter standing beside him.
She seemed to be one of Fu Jiayan's former lovers. Shang Qiyue almost didn't recognize her dressed like that.
"How about this, little sister, why don't you go outside and talk to Jiayan alone? We're all here now, and we can't let things stay awkward because of you."
Zhao Hetang always prided himself on being a gentleman when it came to omegas. Whether he was genuinely reluctant or just pretending, he seemed unwilling to watch a beautiful omega lose face in front of so many people.
Shang Qiyue searched his memory and found that he still had some recollection of this little girl.
She seems to be a student at a media university. Her family is from out of town, and she has been with Fu Jiayan for quite some time. She has never cried or made a fuss, and Fu Jiayan is quite satisfied with her.
Shang Qiyue looked over and saw Fu Jiayan's brow furrow almost imperceptibly.
“There’s no need to talk privately. There are too many people around, and I don’t want to be photographed with another omega right after our engagement,” Fu Jiayan said, not giving Zhao Hetang any face for his suggestion. “We can talk here. Is it because you don’t have enough money, or are you not satisfied with that house?”
Fu Jiayan is indeed ruthless. Shang Qiyue knows his style. When he wants to end things, he won't even show his face. He'll even have his assistant pay the breakup fee.
Meng Simiao gestured for Shang Qiyue to sit down next to him and whispered in his ear, "This girl is quite persistent. She knew we would be drinking here, and she's been working as a waitress here for almost half a month just to see Jiayan."
Omega stared at Fu Jiayan for a moment, then large tears fell from her eyes.
Fu Jiayan handed her a tissue: "Calm down first, and think about what you originally wanted to say to me."
"Have you ordered yet?" Shang Qiyue asked. The rest of the group had probably been busy watching the fun and hadn't ordered anything even though they'd been there for so long. Shang Qiyue picked up the menu and looked at it. "You guys are really something, coming so early and not doing anything productive."
"How can it compare to you coming late because you're busy with important things at home?" Ren Chengzhou teased. "I know this is the first time you've had sex in over twenty years, but you still need to take care of your health and not overindulge in debauchery."
The group's carefree conversation made the omega next to Fu Jiayan even more flustered. Instinctively, she looked up at Fu Jiayan with teary eyes, as if seeking help.
“My assistant should have already come to explain to you.” Fu Jiayan raised his eyes to look at her, his gaze somewhat unfamiliar.
Fu Jiayan wasn't like Shang Qiyue, who was so clueless about romance that he would yell at an omega who clung to him to get lost. He was known for his gentle and gentlemanly image, so when he suddenly treated his former bedmate so coldly, the omega was almost completely stunned.
Ren Chengzhou felt he couldn't bear to watch any longer and wanted to say something, but Meng Simiao and Zhao Hetang glared at him and shut him up.
“I saw Assistant Zhang, and I received the money and the house... I thought your family sent him.”
"I...I just...I thought you would come here, I wanted to...see you one more time..."
With such a lively scene to watch, Shang Qiyue and his companions lost their appetite for ordering food.
This young girl doesn't seem to be here for the money...?
If it's not for money, then she's simply out of her mind. Judging from her expression, it seems she still thinks Fu Jiayan was forced into the engagement by his family.
Fu Jiayan stubbed out his cigarette, leaned back on the sofa, and said in a calm tone, "Then you didn't hear me clearly enough. It's over between us. I'm the one who wanted to get engaged. I signed the engagement myself."
The air went still for a second.
Omega's eyes instantly reddened again, but she dared not cry out loud.
"Do you like...that lady? If you like her, I..."
"I don't like it," Fu Jiayan replied quickly.
Omega was stunned for a moment, and a fleeting look of joy seemed to flash through her tear-filled eyes.
Shang Qiyue guessed what was going to happen. For some reason, seeing this scene made him feel inexplicably choked up. He grabbed a cigar and thought he would go out for a smoke.
"You... I knew it..." The omega behind him choked up, unable to speak. "As long as you're not officially married, I..."
"I don't like her, and she doesn't like me. But if it's not her, it will be someone else. We..."
The door behind him closed. It was heavy and soundproof, completely blocking out the rest of Fu Jiayan's sentence.
Shang Qiyue lit a cigar, and the inexplicable discomfort in his heart subsided somewhat.
"Is the braised duck soup delicious?" He took out his phone and texted Mu Yan, "Take a picture and let me see."
Mu Yan never takes photos to record his life before eating, but if Shang Qiyue asks him, he will definitely take a picture and send it to him immediately.
Mu Yan is three years younger than him, but he doesn't act like a young person at all. He doesn't even have a WeChat Moments account. When Shang Qiyue first saw it, he thought Mu Yan had blocked him, which made him furious.
When Mu Yan received Shang Qiyue's message, he thought his boss was going to call him to work overtime again. Looking at his mother and brother, who were enjoying a happy time together, and the table full of food, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
Mu Juanhua was serving him duck soup when her brother grinned and said he wanted a duck leg too.
"Yes, yes, yes, a duck has two legs, I'll serve you some right away."
Mu Yan had no desire to work overtime.
After a couple of seconds of mental preparation, he finally opened the message.
It is Shang Qiyue.
Regardless of the cause and effect, Mu Yan was very happy the moment he saw the news.
He stood up, took a serious panoramic photo, and then took a close-up of each dish.
One braised duck, one soup with fresh snails, one stir-fried cauliflower, and one stir-fried beef with pickled radish.
Mu Yan's photo was sent over quickly.
The dishes looked pretty good; the golden duck soup was served in large white porcelain bowls, and the bamboo shoots looked tender and fresh. The other dishes also looked decent, but the red plastic tablecloth was just awful, ruining the overall style. Shang Qiyue thought to himself.
Although he lacks class, Mu Yan possesses a magical quality. Even a chaotic and crowded breakfast shop like the one he took me to last time can be transformed into something as down-to-earth and relatable as described by social media when he's there.
If Mu Yan wanted to take her along like that day, she wouldn't necessarily refuse to go along...
"It's delicious." Mu Yan replied earnestly, "My mother especially loves the soup here, and the ducks are all freshly slaughtered in the kitchen."
"What did you eat, sir?" Mu Yan quickly followed up with a message, and Shang Qiyue couldn't help but smile. "Was it good?"
Even when he was having dinner with his family, Mu Yan seemed to care about him quite a bit.
"The food hasn't even arrived yet, they're dawdling, they must be starving. This place is alright, I'll bring you here next time."
"You should have dinner with your aunt first. I'm not going to talk to you anymore."
Mu Yan replied, "Okay, sir, have fun."
With a third of the cigar burned, Shang Qiyue fiddled with his phone, scrolling back and forth over the pictures Mu Yan had sent, unsure of what he actually wanted to see.
There weren't many chat messages between him and Mu Yan. They rarely chatted; usually, he would say when he was coming over, and Mu Yan would ask if he had eaten yet, and if not, what he wanted to eat.
Mu Yan only ever used a few fixed emojis when sending messages, like roses and hugs. With his expectations lowered, Shang Qiyue was even relieved that Mu Yan still knew that deadpan smile emoji, proving he wasn't too old-fashioned.
The door to the private room opened, and an omega dressed as a waiter walked out of the room with his head down and shoulders trembling slightly, brushing past Shang Qiyue.
The cigar was almost halfway burned. Shang Qiyue didn't want to go in immediately after she came out, as if he were keeping her locked up. After waiting a while, he put out the cigar and returned to the private room.
"You're back?" Meng Simiao gestured for him to sit down next to her. "So, are you going to drink red or white wine?"
"I don't want to drink anything today, can I have a beverage?" Shang Qiyue replied with a smile, pulling out a chair and sitting down.
"Get lost."
Fu Jiayan sat there calmly, his face showing no unpleasant gloom from what had just happened.
"What happened, Jiayan? Was that omega you were with for two or three years?" Ren Chengzhou couldn't help but ask. "Was she after money or was she serious...? How much did you give her as a breakup fee?"
“An apartment in the city center and two shops on Huai’an Road. She doesn’t like flashy cars, so I gave her a discount of two million.”
"That's enough... I don't think she's really going to cling to you now. Is she the one you helped at the bar before and who followed you for a long time? I always thought she was pretty decent and sensible."
"Who can really say whether someone is honest or not, or whether they know what's good for them?" Fu Jiayan frowned slightly. "She has always been quite well-behaved, never crying or making a fuss, which is why I've kept her with me for so long. She has never asked me for money. I thought she knew her place, but who knew she wouldn't be able to get rid of me."
The new waiter quickly registered the dishes. Shang Qiyue glanced at him and said, "Nothing else is needed, just bring the food quickly."
"Then think about it, if people aren't after your money, then they're after you for who you are," Ren Chengzhou teased Fu Jiayan with a grin. "Look at you, you've been too good to your lover and now she's taken advantage of you. You can't shake her off, she's like a piece of chewing gum."
Ren Chengzhou's tone made no attempt to hide his desire to watch the show. Shang Qiyue frowned. For some reason, he suddenly felt like smoking a cigar again; he should have finished that one just now.
“She is usually very well-behaved,” Fu Jiayan said calmly. “She takes better care of me than the nanny at home. I always thought she was a smart person who knew her place and wanted to stay by my side longer in this way.”
“You didn’t expect that, did you?” Meng Simiao couldn’t help but interject, “It’s exactly the opposite of what you thought. Not only is he not smart, he’s also stupid.”
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