He staggered to the rarely used employee passageway, which was quiet and dimly lit.
At this moment, Lu Yuzhi could no longer hold on. His body seemed to have lost all strength, and he collapsed onto the steps. All his emotions and pain surged out like a flood bursting its banks.
More than a decade ago, his mother, who had shown him little love, passed away from a terrible cancer. Although his mother hadn't given him much love, he deeply respected and loved her. So when he heard Li Peiyu say that she had cancer and only had a few days to live, his heart was filled with extreme fear and pain. It was as if he had returned to the despair and helplessness he felt when his mother passed away. Those painful memories buried deep in his heart resurfaced like a shadow, plunging him into an abyss of endless sorrow and pain from which he could not extricate himself.
After a long while, Lu Yuzhi sent his secretary Qiao An to deliver a cell phone to Li Peiyu.
Qiao An looked disdainful, her eyes filled with undisguised jealousy, and said sarcastically, "I really underestimated Miss Li. Even after breaking up, she can still continue to entangle with President Lu. That's quite a skill."
Li Peiyu showed no fear, raised her chin, and retorted with a hint of mockery and provocation in her eyes: "Secretary Qiao is not bad either. She has been sitting firmly in the position of President Lu's secretary. Even President Lu's discerning eyes could not see that you are a prodigy."
“Miss Li’s ability to win over both father and son is truly monstrous. Compared to you, my skills are utterly insignificant.” Qiao An’s face was full of contempt, and her eyes held a hint of malice.
Li Peiyu's face revealed a confident and proud smile, with a hint of ruthlessness as she said, "Thank you for the compliment, Secretary Qiao. If you know how shrewd I am, then don't mess with me. After all, even if I just become Mrs. Gu, I can still make Secretary Qiao regret it."
What a joke! Does she, Li Peiyu, think she can be bullied by just anyone? She's got a natural talent for arguing.
In just a few rounds, Li Peiyu had Qiao An so angry that she could barely breathe.
Just then, the phone on the bedside table rang.
Li Peiyu answered the phone and heard, "Hello, Ms. Li, Mr. Lu specially instructed the cafeteria to prepare an extra meal for you. Would it be convenient for you to bring it up now?"
"It's convenient." She had forgotten she was hungry while arguing with Qiao An.
"Secretary Qiao, can you help me analyze this? Lu Yuzhi doesn't want me anymore, so why is he still caring for me so meticulously?"
Qiao An was so angry that her face turned pale. Why did President Lu never get entangled with women? She couldn't figure it out either.
A moment later, the door opened, and a nurse brought in a table full of delicious food, a variety of dishes, but all of them were light and bland. The nurse said, "Mr. Lu specifically asked me to make it light for you, because you are having surgery tomorrow."
"Thank you for your help." He was extremely polite to Nurse Li Peiyu.
"It's no trouble at all, it's our pleasure to serve you," the nurse said as she placed the food in the small dining area of the ward.
Li Peiyu picked up her chopsticks and enjoyed the food. "Secretary Qiao, what are you standing there for? Do you want to eat too? But I'm sorry, this was specially arranged for me by Yu Zhi."
"Li Peiyu, don't be so smug."
"Secretary Qiao, are you arguing with me to avoid work? Do you not want to go back to work? Does this kind of work attitude deserve the salary Yu Zhi pays you?"
"What? It's none of your business how I do my job!" Qiao An's face twisted with anger.
In the past, which of those women didn't try their best to please her? Even when she verbally bullied them, they all obediently endured it. But this Li Peiyu has horns on her head and dares to disobey her.
"Secretary Qiao, what's your annual salary? Is it five million?"
"Hmph, I may not earn much, but I earn clean money."
"Well, I'm ashamed of myself in this respect. I would like to earn clean money, but my face won't allow it, and neither will the men. Unlike Secretary Qiao, no man would have any romantic thoughts about you. You can be a decent person."
Li Peiyu's words pierced Secretary Qiao's flesh.
"Shameless." Secretary Qiao only knew these three words, which were utterly harmless.
"Take care, I won't see you out. Close the door behind you." Li Peiyu gave him the order to leave.
Secretary Qiao was so angry at Li Peiyu's words that her face turned red, her whole body trembled, and she was fuming. She gritted her teeth and slammed the door shut with a loud "bang" to vent her anger. However, when she looked up, she suddenly saw Gu Yan staring at her coldly.
Gu Yan learned from his father that Li Peiyu had been hospitalized with appendicitis, so he rushed over without stopping.
Gu Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sharp as a knife, and questioned, "Secretary Qiao, why are you so angry?"
Qiao An was so embarrassed she wanted to disappear into the ground. She stammered, "I... I came to deliver a cell phone to Miss Li."
"So what happened to make you so unhappy?" Gu Yan's eyes grew colder as he pressed on aggressively.
"I, I..." Qiao An stammered for a long time, unable to speak, with fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. Finally, she managed to squeeze out, "I'm not upset, it's just that I closed the door too hard. I'll definitely be more careful next time."
Qiao An wanted to expose Li Peiyu's two-timing, but wealthy families are most averse to servants interfering in their masters' family affairs, so this matter could not be said by her.
"If Secretary Qiao is unhappy at work, feel free to speak up. If you can't serve her, just stop serving her. Why make yourself suffer and hurt yourself?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Gu." Qiao An lowered her head, feeling extremely ashamed, her face flushed red.
Gu Yan, with a cold face, ignored him and pushed open the door to go inside.
Li Peiyu was leisurely eating her meal at the small restaurant.
"Why is Secretary Qiao bullying you?" Gu Yan plopped down in the chair opposite him.
"Um..." Li Peiyu dared not tell the truth, nor could she make up a lie. Theoretically speaking, this was the first time she and Secretary Qiao had met, so there was no reason for them to quarrel.
"Hmm? Why?" Gu Yanjian frowned slightly, afraid that Li Peiyu had suffered some injustice, so he was determined to find out the reason so that he could stand up for her.
“Secretary Qiao is very perceptive. When she saw that I ordered so many dishes, she complained that I was wasting food and got angry,” Li Peiyu said casually.
"Really?" Gu Yan was clearly a little skeptical.
"Yes," Li Peiyu replied with a smile and a nod.
"She's such a busybody, always meddling in other people's business," Gu Yan couldn't help but complain.
"She's a dog, and I'm a mouse?" Li Peiyu said jokingly, trying to dispel Gu Yan's doubts.
"No, how could you be a rat? You're clearly a vixen." Gu Yan looked at the woman in the hospital gown, her face haggard but with a unique charm, like Lin Daiyu with a poignant beauty.
At this moment, Li Peiyu was too lazy to argue with Gu Yan. She picked up a bottle of mineral water and gulped it down. Her mouth was dry from arguing with Secretary Qiao, and she desperately needed to replenish her fluids.
"Are you full?" Gu Yan asked softly.
"Hmm," Li Peiyu put down the water bottle, tightened the cap, and responded.
Gu Yan sat there casually, naturally picking up the chopsticks Li Peiyu had just used, and started eating. Dinner would have to be simple.
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