Chapter 148: It Still Hurts

Madam Liang added, “Back then, Acheng’s father even tried to use connections to get involved, but at that time our business was just starting and we were short on funds. Plus, we didn’t have the right contacts, so it never happened.”

She then smiled, “That piece of land was like a goldmine—just touching it could bring in oil money. It was truly profitable; such a pity.”

After speaking, she looked at Qiao Jiu. “What’s this all of a sudden? Why are you asking about it?”

Qiao Jiu tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Recently, I’ve been out socializing, and the topic of real estate came up. Someone mentioned that development. My father used to be in real estate, so I was just casually asking.”

Madam Liang nodded, unsure whether to believe her or not.

After a moment, Qiao Jiu asked again, “At the time, when everyone was competing for that land, did anything really nasty happen?”

“Nasty?” Madam Liang frowned slightly. “In business, it’s normal to play little tricks—slip some money under the table, grease some palms, or intimidate the competition with force. That hardly counts as nasty.”

She wore a faintly mocking expression. “The business world’s always like that; nothing’s clean. That land was coveted by so many, so whenever something happened, the rival would expose it. Nowadays, the methods for snatching business are even uglier—filthier dealings abound. It’s not much better than back then.”

Qiao Jiu composed herself. “I see.”

Madam Liang glanced at her twice and casually remarked, “I think your company hadn’t even been established then. Had it existed, you’d have joined in to take a share of the pie—would’ve made quite a bit.”

Qiao Jiu forced a smile. “Yeah, back then my father was still out running errands, earning a hard living. We just didn’t have that kind of luck.”

At that moment, Liang Xiucheng emerged from the bathroom; the thermos was already cleaned.

Madam Liang glanced at him and stood up. “Alright, I just came to check in. Nothing major, so I’ll be leaving.”

Without waiting for any polite words from Qiao Jiu, she said to Liang Xiucheng, “Acheng, come out with me for a moment. I have something to tell you.”

Liang Xiucheng wiped his hands with a tissue. “What’s up? Why do we need to go outside to talk?”

Though he said that, he still followed Madam Liang out.

Once the ward door was closed, Qiao Jiu placed the fruit plate aside and leaned back against the headboard, wiping all emotion from her face.

Her hand rested on her belly, unconsciously stroking it.

After a sleep, her emotions had steadied considerably, but an ache lingered in her heart, and some thoughts kept rushing back uncontrollably.

Toward the end of her marriage, her feelings for Lu Fengzhou had already deteriorated. She hadn’t even thought about children anymore.

As Guan Wei had said, having no children was the best outcome. She and Lu Fengzhou definitely couldn’t continue, and more children would only bring more trouble.

Yet she could not help but feel a persistent, stabbing pain inside.

Outside, those two were talking somewhere, but Qiao Jiu couldn’t hear any sounds from beyond the door.

After a while, she reached for her phone, idly scrolling through her social feed.

The post Assistant Cui had shared earlier had been deleted—she didn’t know who had ordered it removed.

Just as she was browsing, the phone suddenly rang.

Qiao Jiu was startled. Seeing the caller ID, her expression flickered through countless emotions in a single second, and a flood of thoughts surged in her mind.

Yet in the end, she calmly answered, “What’s up?”

It was Lu Fengzhou; his voice was as cool and indifferent as usual. “Are you feeling better?”

Qiao Jiu said, “Much better. I should be discharged tomorrow.”

He asked again, “Are you alone at the hospital?”

Qiao Jiu gave a light laugh. “Of course not. Acheng is here with me.”

Lu Fengzhou responded with a soft “Oh.” “You two seem pretty close.”

“Naturally,” Qiao Jiu replied. “He’s a good person.”

There was an undertone in her words—Lu Fengzhou was clever enough to understand.

Silence fell on his end; she wasn’t sure if he was angry.

After a few seconds, Qiao Jiu said, “Mr. Lu, is there anything else? If not, I’ll hang up now.”

Without a word, Lu Fengzhou quickly ended the call.

That confirmed it—he was indeed angry.

Qiao Jiu put the phone aside and again covered her belly with her hand.

After a while, Liang Xiucheng came in.

His expression betrayed no discomfort. He looked at the fruit plate. “Don’t want to eat? What would you like instead? I’ll wash some fresh fruit.”

“No need,” Qiao Jiu said. “I just finished eating. I can’t really handle fruit right now.”

She asked, “What were you two talking about outside?”

Liang Xiucheng’s expression faltered for a moment before he smiled. “What else could it be? Matchmaking. My mother hasn’t given up yet. She says she’s done with it, but her body betrays her—she keeps trying to nudge me into meeting a couple more girls.”

Qiao Jiu sighed softly. “Going to meet them isn’t bad. You can’t completely reject this kind of thing. Some connections come unexpectedly.”

Liang Xiucheng sat down and leaned against a nearby cabinet. “I don’t really need that kind of connection.”

Qiao Jiu glanced at him and after a while asked, “Is there someone you like? Otherwise, why haven’t you been looking?”

Liang Xiucheng lowered his eyes to his hands, then after a few seconds, met Qiao Jiu’s gaze. “What do you think?”

She had no idea, nor did she dare to imagine.

…

The next morning, Liu Changyong came to the hospital. He must have heard from Liang Xiujin about Qiao Jiu’s hospitalization.

He brought a large pile of gifts and, upon entering, immediately wore a concerned expression. “Xiao Jiu, what happened? How did you end up in the hospital like this?”

Qiao Jiu was surprised. “Uncle Liu, why are you here?”

Liu Changyong sat down and appraised her from side to side. “It hasn’t been long since I last saw you, and you’ve lost weight.”

He then said, “I heard from President Liang that you were hospitalized. It scared me. What’s going on? How did you end up admitted?”

Qiao Jiu sniffed. “I left the window open at night and caught a chill.”

Liu Changyong gave her a reproachful look. “You have to take better care of yourself, even if you’re alone.”

Qiao Jiu nodded. “I’ll remember that from now on.”

They chatted casually for a while before Liu Changyong’s phone rang.

He was always so busy. When he reached for it, he looked a bit helpless. “Probably another invitation to drink. Drinking every day—I really can’t handle it anymore.”

He sat beside Qiao Jiu, close enough for her to see the screen, though it wasn’t facing her directly. Still, the caller ID was clear.

Seeing the name on the screen, Liu Changyong visibly froze for a moment, then laughed heartily. “See? I told you, it’s the same old thing.”

He didn’t answer immediately but stood up. “I won’t keep you. Rest well. I have to get back to work.”

Qiao Jiu responded softly, “Uncle Liu, I won’t see you out.”

“No need,” Liu Changyong waved and left the ward.

Through the glass panel in the door, Qiao Jiu saw Liu Changyong answer the call outside.

He spoke quietly, so she couldn’t make out the words.

The name on the phone was Qi Dong, the same as just now.

Qiao Jiu reached for her phone again.