Chapter 158: Boring

Qiao Jiu and Jiang Qingchen did not linger long at the café; they left as soon as they finished discussing business.

Upon returning home, she took a shower, intending to crawl back into bed for a nap. Having tossed and turned through the first half of last night and suffered from insomnia in the second half, her head was now buzzing.

However, no sooner had she lain down than her phone rang. It was Guan Wei.

Guan Wei's voice sounded somewhat dejected. "Qiao Jiu, where are you right now? Are you busy?"

Sensing something was amiss with her voice, Qiao Jiu replied that she was at home and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Guan Wei sniffed. "I'm coming over to see you."

Without waiting for Qiao Jiu to respond, she hung up the phone abruptly.

Putting down the phone, Qiao Jiu racked her brain, and the only person capable of putting Guan Wei in such low spirits was Liang Xiujin.

She got up to boil some water, brewed a pot of tea, and waited on the sofa.

Guan Wei arrived quite quickly. Instead of ringing the doorbell, she gave the door a few heavy, resounding knocks.

Qiao Jiu hurried over. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Guan Wei leaning against the adjacent wall, holding two bottles of alcohol in her hands.

Guan Wei glanced at Qiao Jiu and sidestepped into the apartment. "There's nobody else at home, right?"

Qiao Jiu closed the door. "Of course not."

Guan Wei walked over, placed the bottles on the coffee table, and cast a glance at the freshly brewed tea nearby. "Who drinks tea? We're drinking alcohol."

With that, she turned and headed to the kitchen for wine glasses.

Sitting on the sofa, Qiao Jiu picked up a bottle to check the alcohol percentage while asking, "Did Liang Xiujin bully you again?"

"No," Guan Wei replied, walking back. "He didn't bully me. His attitude toward me has always been very good."

That left Qiao Jiu puzzled. "Then what's wrong with you today? Could it be that your dad is really rewriting his will to leave the company to Jiang Qingchen?"

Losing any mood for jokes, Guan Wei sat down. "It's nothing like that. I just wanted to find you for a drink."

She opened the bottle on her own and poured herself a glass.

Feeling mentally foggy and reluctant to drink, Qiao Jiu poured herself a cup of the tea instead. "I didn't rest well last night and my head hurts, so I'll pass."

"It's fine, you don't have to drink. I'll drink by myself." Unbothered, Guan Wei curled up on the sofa, downing glass after glass.

She was clearly troubled by something distressing. Qiao Jiu initially wanted to get to the bottom of it, but after a moment of hesitation, she decided against it, as she could roughly guess what it was about.

Matters of the heart could never be dried out, even when laid bare under the sun; there would always be damp corners. No outsider could intervene; she could only figure it out on her own.

After tossing back several drinks, Guan Wei's cheeks flushed slightly. She suddenly turned her head to look at Qiao Jiu. "If you could do it all over again, would you still choose Lu Fengzhou?"

"Of course not," Qiao Jiu answered honestly in front of Guan Wei. "I'm not addicted to being abused. If I had a second chance, the moment I laid eyes on him, I'd have had my dad fire him."

Guan Wei let out a low chuckle. "True, we've both learned our lessons."

After a few seconds of silence, she mumbled under her breath, "Me too."

She had clearly been deeply wronged. Qiao Jiu raised her teacup and clinked it gently toward Guan Wei. "I can't lecture you. Some detours have to be walked yourself for you to know if they were worth it. But I still want to tell you: don't make things hard on yourself. If you're unhappy, you have to say it, let him know, and force him to make a choice."

In the past, she had been far too foolish, hiding all her grievances deep in her heart, holding out a sincere heart and a smiling face behind Lu Fengzhou.

Looking back now, she really had been brainless.

Guan Wei nodded silently, offering no further response.

After sitting there a while longer, Guan Wei successfully managed to get herself drunk.

Since there were several guest rooms, Qiao Jiu supported her to the second bedroom to lie down, then returned to her own room while rubbing her sore shoulders.

Just as she stepped into her room, her phone rang. Lu Fengzhou had sent her a message saying he had matters to attend to tonight and couldn't come over.

He had mentioned coming over earlier, so something unexpected must have come up.

Twirling her phone in hesitation for a long while, she ultimately chose not to reply. If he wasn't coming, he wasn't coming; it wasn't as if she were pining for him.

Qiao Jiu lay down and, despite not having a drop of alcohol, slept soundly until dusk.

Waking up and shaking off her grogginess, she reached for her phone, but there was still no movement from Lu Fengzhou.

She then went to check on Guan Wei. The two bottles brought earlier had been consumed entirely by Guan Wei alone, and she was still fast asleep.

Retreating from the room, Qiao Jiu went to the kitchen to cook dinner.

Just as she finished, Guan Wei woke up, stumbling out while scratching her head and sniffing the air. "It smells so good."

Then, she muttered casually, "Do you think Lu Fengzhou regrets kicking away such a good wife?"

Qiao Jiu chuckled softly. "As long as he wants to look, there are plenty of women out there better than me."

Guan Wei sat down. "But there probably aren't many who could love him as purely as you did in the past."

Perhaps.

They sat down to eat. During the meal, Lu Fengzhou sent another message saying he had to take a trip out of town the next day and might be delayed for two or three days.

Qiao Jiu paused, staring at the message. After talking with Jiang Qingchen earlier, she knew the land plot in the suburbs was already in the planning stages—much like the Wanze District back then—with various powerful factions eyeing it covetously.

For Lu Fengzhou to leave town at a time like this was, frankly, rather unwise.

After a moment of thought, she finally replied, telling him to watch his safety on the road and wishing him a smooth journey.

Unconsciously, she recalled the times Lu Fengzhou used to go on business trips in the past. Back then, she would always make a fuss—not to stop him from going, but because she wanted to tag along.

She lacked a sense of security and always wanted to be glued to his side.

Each time, Lu Fengzhou would grow impatient, telling her not to be so childish.

Now that he was going on a business trip, Qiao Jiu was actually quite pleased. With him gone, it would be much easier for Jiang Qingchen to maneuver.

Her reply was so formal that Lu Fengzhou must have sensed it, and no further messages came.

Guan Wei's phone kept buzzing while she ate, but after two rings, she switched it to silent.

Placing her phone face down beside her, Qiao Jiu asked in an indifferent tone, "How has Xu Yi been lately? Haven't heard any news about her."

Guan Wei replied, "She was discharged from the hospital long ago, and her recovery is going well. She can run and jump."

Qiao Jiu raised an eyebrow, lifting her gaze slightly to look at Guan Wei. "You're quite well-informed."

"Not well-informed," Guan Wei said. "I saw her."

Today was Saturday, and she had the day off. Liang Xiujin was also off duty. After spending the previous night at her parents' home, she drove back to Liang Xiujin's apartment at noon.

As a result, she spotted Xu Yi right there in the residential complex, naturally accompanied by Liang Xiujin.

The two of them walked and chatted. Although she couldn't hear what they were saying, the atmosphere was pleasant, and Xu Yi was smiling from ear to ear.

Though Liang Xiujin's expression was quite calm, it was at least mild.

Guan Wei had watched from afar for quite a while. While this situation couldn't strictly be called cheating, it left a deeply uncomfortable knot in her chest.

Logically speaking, given their complicated backgrounds, cutting all ties and never seeing each other again should have been the ultimate outcome. Yet the two of them kept crossing paths every now and then, and she couldn't tell if they had a clear conscience or simply didn't care about her feelings at all.

She didn't step forward to greet them, losing even the urge to make sarcastic remarks to Xu Yi, and simply turned and left before the two of them noticed her.

How should she put it? She had suddenly found it all utterly tedious, lacking even the energy to question him.

It was in that exact fraction of a second that she finally understood the true intent behind the phone call Liang's mother had made to her earlier.

Wait a little longer. Don't rush.

Some things could not be resolved simply by getting engaged or married.