Chapter 151: Offering Ideas

The next morning, Lu Fengzhou drove Qiao Jiu to work.

This time, without Qiao Jiu having to say anything, he pulled the car over at an intersection a short distance away from the Liang family’s company.

Qiao Jiu did not get out of the car right away. She turned her head to look out the window. "Drive closer. I don't feel like walking this stretch."

Lu Fengzhou looked somewhat surprised. He glanced sideways at her, but asked nothing and drove the car closer.

Just as Qiao Jiu pushed the door open and stepped out, Liang Xiucheng’s car pulled up. Seeming a bit surprised himself, he stayed in the car and rolled down the window first. "Qiao Jiu?"

Qiao Jiu smiled at him. "Morning."

Liang Xiucheng then shifted his gaze to Lu Fengzhou’s car, staring at it for a good long while before murmuring an acknowledgment, turning the steering wheel, and pulling into a parking space.

Qiao Jiu turned back to Lu Fengzhou. "I've arrived. Drive safe."

Resting his arm on the edge of the car window, Lu Fengzhou stared at her with a half-smile. "Remember to take your medicine on time at noon."

Over by the other car, Liang Xiucheng had gotten out and walked over to stand beside Qiao Jiu. "Mr. Lu."

Lu Fengzhou raised an eyebrow at him, released the brake, and drove off.

Only after Lu Fengzhou’s car had driven some distance away did Liang Xiucheng ask, "Why did he bring you here?"

Making nothing of it, Qiao Jiu started walking toward the company building. "He had time, so he gave me a ride."

Liang Xiucheng hurried to catch up. "Qiao Jiu."

"Hmm?" Qiao Jiu turned to look at him with a faint smile still lingering on her face. "What is it?"

Liang Xiucheng frowned. "You and Lu Fengzhou..."

Qiao Jiu let out a chuckle. "What, afraid I'll get scammed again?"

She patted Liang Xiucheng on the arm. "I know what I'm doing."

Liang Xiucheng’s face remained taut. It was clear he was far from reassured, and his lips were pressed into a thin line.

The two of them went upstairs together and returned to their respective offices. After a short while, however, Liang Xiucheng could not help himself and came over to Qiao Jiu's office.

Qiao Jiu was in quite a good mood, humming a little tune as she organized the documents on her desk.

Her phone lay near the edge of the desk. Catching a glimpse of a reply notification, she glanced at it and promptly deleted it.

Sometimes, one really ought to learn from Lu Fengzhou: when your intentions are impure, you have to think things through thoroughly.

Liang Xiucheng walked up to the desk and stopped. "Qiao Jiu, you said before that you wanted to take back the company, but actually..."

Qiao Jiu raised her eyes to look at him, cutting him off. "A-cheng, I know what you're worried about. I know what I'm doing."

She lowered her gaze again to continue organizing her files. "I'm not as foolish as I used to be. Don't worry."

Liang Xiucheng had a lot of questions on the tip of his tongue, but upon seeing her expression, the words all stuck in his throat, and not a single one could be asked.

Qiao Jiu finished organizing the documents and sat down. "Was there any backlog of work while I was gone these past two days? I'll get through it as soon as possible."

She looked at him. Although her complexion was still pale, her energy level was noticeably much better.

The frown on Liang Xiucheng's face slowly dissolved, and he let out a sigh. "I still have some documents over at my desk. I'll go get them for you."

Giving Qiao Jiu one last deep look, he turned and left.

Knowing the bitterness in her heart, he understood that there were some things she wouldn't be able to let go of without trying. Had he experienced everything she had, he might not necessarily have been more rational or thorough than her, so he had no way to persuade her otherwise.

The backlog of work was slightly heavy, causing Qiao Jiu to head downstairs a bit late at noon.

Just as she stepped out of the elevator, she ran into an acquaintance in the company lobby.

Her life of late had been somewhat muddled, and those who had crossed paths with her were not having an easy time either. Since she no longer cared to hold grudges, she had nearly forgotten all about them.

Qiao Jiu walked over to Huo Ting. "Looking for me?"

Huo Ting stood up, her previous arrogance long gone. Although she wore exquisite makeup, her expression was haggard, with dark circles under her eyes.

Staring at Qiao Jiu for two seconds, she said, "Qiao Jiu, whatever grievances exist between you and me should be settled by us. If you have the nerve, let's fight it out fair and square. Having someone else step up to fight your battles—what kind of behavior is that?"

Qiao Jiu let out a slight chuckle. "What, has your marriage arrangement with the Hu family still not been sorted out? Out of options, so you thought of me?"

She clicked her tongue. "Finding me is useless, though. Your business with Hu Ming wasn't decided by me. If you truly don't want to marry him, it's a matter of whether you have the backbone to fall out with your family. If you do, nobody can force you into marrying him."

Huo Ting pressed her lips together without uttering a word, apparently lacking that exact backbone.

Qiao Jiu offered her a second piece of advice. "You mentioned before that Lu Fengzhou was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. Since you can't defy your family, you might as well go to him and beg for mercy. Maybe if his heart softens, he'll let you off the hook."

Huo Ting widened her eyes. "You know full well what Lu Fengzhou's attitude toward me is. He's only doing this because he's angry with me! And now you..."

Not caring to hear any more of this, Qiao Jiu turned and headed outside. "If you don't like either option, then so be it. What's the use of coming to me with this? Did you actually think I would help you? What were you thinking?"

Huo Ting called out a couple of times behind her, but Qiao Jiu ignored her, and Huo Ting did not chase after her.

Standing by the curb, Qiao Jiu looked left and right before heading to a small restaurant nearby.

Lunch did not take long. When she returned and entered the lobby again, Huo Ting was gone.

She must have been truly at her wits' end to grit her teeth and come looking for her.

So it went to show that people really shouldn't take themselves too seriously.

Just like her, who used to look down on everyone, daring to retort to anyone, scolding whoever crossed her, and even wanting to throw punches when her temper flared.

In the end, the heavens couldn't stand it and reduced her to this desolate state.

Huo Ting had thought she could still push Qiao Jiu around now that her status had fallen, but look at that—heartless Lu Fengzhou had stepped out once again to back her up.

Wasn't that ironic?

Back in her office, Qiao Jiu took out her phone and sent a message to Lu Fengzhou, asking if he had time that evening.

Lu Fengzhou replied quite quickly, saying he had a business dinner.

Qiao Jiu did not mind and instead called Guan Wei.

Guan Wei was still in bed; she answered with a sleepy drone, "What is it?"

Qiao Jiu went straight to the point. "I want to go to your bar tonight. Are you free?"

Guan Wei sounded quite surprised. "Why the sudden urge to go to a bar? Are you going by yourself?"

Vaguely, Qiao Jiu replied, "Aren't you going to be there? How could that count as by myself?"

Guan Wei said, "Sounds like you've got something to tell me. Fine then, come straight to the bar tonight, and I'll wait for you there."

They exchanged no further words and hung up. Qiao Jiu sent out another text message.

Putting her phone down once more, she let out a long breath, leaned back in her chair, and stared blankly up at the ceiling with an expressionless face.

Lu Fengzhou sat in a private dining room, raising his glass to clink with his client's before draining it in a single gulp.

After exchanging a few more polite pleasantries, he excused himself to use the restroom and stepped out of the room.

He had lived this kind of life before as well. To avoid going home and facing Qiao Jiu, he used to spend every day shuttling between drinking tables, dealing with an endless stream of business partners and maintaining clients.

Yet now, for some reason, he had suddenly grown sick of it.

The exhaustion of some people accumulated over the years, while the exhaustion of others surged up in a single moment and could never be pushed back down.

Suddenly, it all felt meaningless, and a life like this seemed to have lost its destination.

He stopped by the window in the corridor, hesitated for a long while, then took out his phone and dialed Qiao Jiu's number.

The phone rang for a long time before being abruptly disconnected on the other end.