Chapter 76 Wen Qi's wife, trying to get my attention, replied to me...
There were dozens of unread messages on her phone, most of them from Xiao Tang, extremely humble, but in the last few long voice messages, Zhu Qingzhi could feel her hysterical breakdown.
But who can be blamed? She did give her a chance to back out. Before things got completely out of control, she even hinted to Xiao Tang to withdraw in time.
It was Xiao Tang who was blinded by greed and fell headlong into the trap woven by Liu Xiaoning. Adults always have to pay the price for their choices.
Sunlight filters through the sheer curtains, dancing a graceful waltz on the ground with the gentle breeze.
She watched quietly for a while, filtering out all the negative emotions before washing up. Then, holding onto the handrail, she walked down the stairs, stopping every step, and discovered that Wen Qi hadn't come to work today.
He was dressed in simple home clothes and sitting on the sofa in the living room. An open laptop sat in front of him, the morning light outlining his handsome profile. He looked focused, as if he was working.
Hearing the noise on the stairs, he looked up and saw her looking as if her whole body was limp, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"woke up?"
His voice had a slight hoarseness characteristic of early morning, revealing no emotion, but Zhu Qingzhi felt her face flush, so she skipped down the last step: "Good morning."
Wen Qi approached, took out a warm bottle of milk from the insulated box and handed it to her. After she took it, he slowly said, "Ten o'clock, not early."
Zhu Qingzhi: "..."
There's no need to be so fussy.
"Mind your own business!" She glared at Wen Qi, then deliberately bumped into his shoulder and sat cross-legged on the sofa.
Seeing that he was still standing there, looking at her with a faint smile on his lips, she added irritably, "You're practically skipping work today!"
Wen Qi didn't rush to respond. He brought a sandwich from the dining table and placed it next to her. Then he took the glass from her hand, leaned over and rested his head on the back of the sofa next to her, trapping her in a small space.
The loose collar swayed open, revealing the firm skin of her chest and a few barely noticeable scratches. The hazy memories of last night surged back like a tide, and Zhu Qingzhi awkwardly looked away.
"I skipped work?" he chuckled. "Mrs. Wen, shouldn't you be a little more understanding of me?"
A crisp, cool aura enveloped her, but it softened slightly with his smile. Zhu Qingzhi, trapped in his arms, hadn't yet realized the seriousness of the matter: "What do you mean by 'understanding'? Did I make you skip work?"
"Hmm." Wen Qi reached out and gently brushed away the strands of hair that fell over her shoulders, revealing a few mottled marks on her shoulder. "How can it not count?"
Zhu Qingzhi: "..."
Would he dare to reveal such a reason?!
She slapped his hand away, straightened her collar, and said fiercely, "There won't be a next time!"
He sat down close to her, pressing his cheek against hers without restraint, rubbing it affectionately.
"That's what you always say."
This sentence was spoken in a breathy tone, warm, gentle, and affectionate.
Zhu Qingzhi involuntarily shrank closer to him before suddenly realizing that his words meant he had ill intentions.
His words ignited her competitive spirit. She abruptly turned her head, almost touching his nose, a sly glint in her eyes, and a charming smile played on her lips: "Oh? It seems Mr. Wen has some reservations about my 'inconsistency between words and actions'?"
She stretched out her slender fingers and gently touched his chest, sliding them down until she felt his muscles tense instantly, then quickly withdrew them, her tone light and ruthless, "To maintain my reputation, I've decided that from today onwards, we will sleep in separate rooms."
"Yes, I believe you." Wen Qi's smile deepened as he held her tightly around the waist, leaving her nowhere to escape. "But you know I'm not a person of integrity."
Zhu Qingzhi suppressed a laugh at his witty remark, her eyes practically squinting upwards, refusing to look at him.
Wen Qi, however, deliberately moved closer to her face, insisting that she give him a look.
Zhu Qingzhi finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, and lightly punched him with her fist: "Wen Qi, have you no shame!"
“It doesn’t seem like I really need to in front of you,” Wen Qi said with a smile after seemingly thinking for a moment.
Then he deliberately squeezed Zhu Qingzhi's face with his cheek, making her pout.
"Let go!" Zhu Qingzhi protested indistinctly, reaching out to push his face.
Wen Qi not only didn't let go, but instead intensified his actions, rubbing his nose against her cheek: "Who told someone to say they wanted to sleep in separate rooms?"
"How childish you are!" Zhu Qingzhi couldn't help but laugh as he tickled her, and she loosened her grip.
She simply raised the white flag, since arguing with a scoundrel was pointless, and fighting him was even more futile.
Just as she was trying to find a way to back down, Wen Qi straightened up, slowly adjusted his collar, and instantly regained his usual noble and composed demeanor.
But a lingering smile remained in his eyes as he raised an eyebrow at her: "The Liu family has given an explanation, and the Zhao family has also come to negotiate, but not for Xiao Tang, but for Zhao Zhixun."
Zhu Qingzhi slumped on the sofa, her cheeks still flushed, making her look tipsy: "I don't want to care."
Wen Qi turned the notebook around to face her; on it was an edited news article.
[Top female star's new romance revealed—boss turned boyfriend?]
Zhu Qingzhi glanced at the title and knew that it was about pairing Xiao Tang and Zhao Zhixun together, a kind of "stepmother literature".
"That's disgusting enough." Zhu Qingzhi narrowed her eyes and glanced at the wall clock again. "Send it in ten minutes? That's Xiao Tang's birthday, consider it my birthday present to her."
Wen Qi moved the computer away, seemingly communicating with the media according to her request, and suddenly asked, "What about mine?"
Zhu Qingzhi: "..."
Nobody said that, and his birthday is today?
Zhu Qingzhi glanced at the calendar without showing any emotion. It wasn't the birthday listed on his resume. Could it be his lunar birthday? Are there people whose lunar and Gregorian birthdays are more than half a year apart?
However, we cannot rule out the possibility that he changed his age, which might be the reason for his absence from work today.
Her face shifted dramatically as she tried to fabricate a schedule for the day to show that she cared about his "real" birthday.
"Yes, at noon today..."
It's probably impossible to book a restaurant for lunch now, but it might be possible for dinner.
"No, I'll treat you to dinner tonight, and then..."
The three essentials of a date: eating, shopping, and watching a movie. But Wen Qi probably wouldn't like that.
She racked her brains but couldn't come up with a decent date itinerary, but Wen Qi gave her one: "Then I'll go to the company with you."
Zhu Qingzhi: "...?"
Going on a date at the company? What could we possibly do? Look at documents together? Some little movies in her mind started playing out automatically.
Wen Qi closed his laptop and, seeing her lost in thought, stuffed a sandwich into her mouth: "What are you thinking about?"
His gaze swept over her slightly reddened earlobes, a knowing smile appearing in his eyes. "Thinking about how to turn the company conference room into a date spot?"
He gently ruffled her hair and patted her cheek. "Wake up. Your micro-interview is at 2 PM today. It's about the New Year's gift box lottery."
"Oh, oh, oh, I know, I know!" Zhu Qingzhi snapped out of her daze, still with a sandwich in her mouth, and immediately stood on the sofa, hands on her hips, looking down at him and accusingly saying, "It's not your birthday, why are you lying to me?!"
"Who lied to you?" Wen Qi slowly unlocked his phone, turned the screen towards her, and the lock screen clearly displayed "10:14".
A faint smile appeared in his eyes, and his voice carried just the right amount of innocence, "According to you, it was my birthday a minute ago."
Sometimes, people can easily choke on their own words.
Finally, Zhu Qingzhi sat next to him, chewing her sandwich indignantly, while Wen Qi smiled and helped her organize the afternoon's activities with a printed schedule.
*
The micro-interview officially began at 2 PM.
The micro-interview lasted one hour, and the lucky draw for the New Year's gift boxes involved randomly selecting the posters of the first, tenth, twentieth, and so on Weibo posts from the interview, and distributing a total of 1,000 gift boxes.
The person who posted the Weibo reply to Zhu Qingzhi will also receive a New Year's gift box, which will not be counted in the total number of gift boxes.
In the small meeting room, Zhu Qingzhi's eyes couldn't keep up with the speed at which her fans were posting on Weibo. It took her about five minutes to adjust before she could pick out a few questions from the scrolling, double-image Weibo posts.
[Happy New Year, my daughter! Wishing me great wealth! Wishing me success in my career and love life!]
Happy New Year! May your wealth increase and your love life flourish!
I loved your performance in "Twin Cities"! You were so sweet and adorable. When will you be doing another urban drama?
I'm also looking forward to the new notebook!
【My dear daughter! Look here! I want to ask if there will be any new surprises for us in the New Year? I really miss you!】
[I'll be meeting everyone with a new identity!]
Wow, a new role?! Does your daughter have some new work arrangements? Can you tell us?
There's a dating reality show!
Xiao Tang is in a new relationship! Do you have any dating plans?
Zhu Qingzhi couldn't actually reply to this Weibo post, but she stubbornly persisted: "I saw the news too! Best wishes!"
Suddenly a short Weibo post appeared, but it was quickly pushed to the top. Zhu Qingzhi's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately scrolled up dozens of times before she saw the familiar Weibo name.
"Don't eat buckwheat noodles when you're on a diet": [I'm the person who loves you the most in the whole world!]
Zhu Qingzhi breathed a sigh of relief. Wow, if she hadn't seen it, she would have been dead meat: [Me too!]
Wen Qi sat next to her, watching her type and reply with complete concentration, and then saw Gu Qiao constantly trying to make her presence known, so she also took out her phone and posted a Weibo.
But before Zhu Qingzhi could even realize it, he took the mouse from her hand and searched for his own ID, "Jinzhao".
"Reply to me."
Zhu Qingzhi looked closely and saw only two words: "Wife."
Her lips twitched, and she replied with a single, extremely perfunctory word: "Hmm." Then she decisively switched to another page and continued to use her eyesight on Chongying's Weibo.
Wen Qi didn't seem to make any moves, but after Zhu Qingzhi replied to the last Weibo post, he picked up the mouse again and searched for his own ID.
It was still that same short two-word Weibo post, but the number of fan comments below it exceeded a thousand.
[Hey, your wife responded to you, but only with one word.]
[Standing God: Wife, look at me. Kiyoshi: Indifferent (image)]
[Hilarious! The God of War just finished shipping a couple and is now back to shipping his own.]
Zhu Qingzhi also saw Gu Qiao's [fifteen haha] inside.
Well, how should I put it, they do seem rather pitiful.
Zhu Qingzhi glanced at Wen Qi, only to see him with his thin lips slightly pursed, seemingly not caring much. But if he really didn't care, why did he show it to her in the first place?
She reached out and ruffled his hair, shaking her head and sighing with a smile, "Some people are just so childish!"
But she still slowly typed out another reply: 【Husband. 】
-----------------------
Author's note: Kiyoshi [doge emoji]: Hey.
Wen Qi [starry-eyed]: Mm.
Gu Qiao [smirking]: Oh?
Ah Mei [starry eyes]: Barcelona is so beautiful! I've walked 20,000 meters already, and I still have to keep walking... [crying emoji]
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