Chapter 56: It Would Have Been Better to Let Her Have It Back Then

Lu Fengzhou's expression remained indifferent, utterly deaf to the blaring horns and rowdy shouts around them. His gaze was fixed solely on Qiao Jiu.

The drivers couldn't see Lu Fengzhou, so they vented their impatience at Qiao Jiu instead. "Are you getting in or not? Hurry up, can't you see how backed up the traffic is?"

Some were even more direct. "If you two want to argue, do it at home. Don’t come out here and hold up everyone else."

Qiao Jiu glanced toward the intersection. The area was crowded with cars, and parking was forbidden at the corner; she doubted she’d be able to hail a taxi over there.

She looked again at Lu Fengzhou, who wore the look of someone entirely unconcerned. Biting her lip, she finally strode over, opened the door, and got in.

Lu Fengzhou said nothing, simply started the car and drove off.

Qiao Jiu felt a surge of resentment. As she fastened her seatbelt, she couldn't help but remark, "I thought I’d made things clear with you last time, Mr. Lu."

Lu Fengzhou asked, "What exactly did you say last time?"

She gave a short, bitter laugh. "Are you pretending to have amnesia now?"

He didn’t reply, but changed direction at the next intersection.

Qiao Jiu waited a moment. "I just ran into the eldest son of the Liang family. He said he’d already informed you that I’d be working at their company."

Lu Fengzhou answered with a noncommittal sound. "Yes, he mentioned it."

Qiao Jiu pressed on, "He also passed along your words. It sounded much like what we discussed before: from now on, we’ll go our separate ways and have nothing more to do with each other. Isn’t that right?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than Lu Fengzhou suddenly started honking the horn.

There was a car ahead—not exactly slow, but impeding the flow all the same.

The passing lane was clear, yet Lu Fengzhou made no move to overtake; he simply kept his hand on the horn, pressing it relentlessly.

The sound was sharp and urgent, especially grating at a time like this.

Qiao Jiu frowned and turned to look at him.

Expressionless, Lu Fengzhou kept honking as long as the car ahead refused to yield.

After a brief standoff—perhaps because the other driver was accommodating, or perhaps intimidated by the value of Lu Fengzhou’s car and afraid of a confrontation—the car finally switched lanes, making way for them.

Lu Fengzhou floored the gas pedal, shooting forward.

He was definitely speeding; Qiao Jiu was keenly aware of it. Clearly, the man was in a foul mood again.

And when he was, Qiao Jiu felt rather pleased with herself.

When they arrived at her place, she undid her seatbelt and got out, not bothering to say goodbye. She headed straight toward the entrance of her building.

But after a few steps, she suddenly heard Lu Fengzhou call her name. "Qiao Jiu."

She stopped and half-turned back. "Should I be thanking you?"

"No," Lu Fengzhou replied, with a ghost of a smile. "Take care of me in the future."

Qiao Jiu blinked, not understanding his meaning.

But Lu Fengzhou clearly had no intention of elaborating. He raised the window, and with a burst of acceleration, his car sped off into the night.

Qiao Jiu stood there for a long time, unable to make sense of his parting words. At last, she spat, "What a load of nonsense."

She went home, hung her clothes in the wardrobe, and sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.

Working at the Liang company would mean putting herself back in the spotlight. There would be no way to avoid running into people she once knew.

Her temper in the past had been truly terrible—she’d made no friends, only enemies.

She could easily imagine the kind of situation she was about to face.

She let out a long sigh. But what else could she do? Life had to go on.

Guan Wei soon heard about her decision and called right away to congratulate her on finally landing a proper job.

Qiao Jiu laughed it off. "So you admit your bar job isn’t a real job?"

Guan Wei snorted. "At first I wanted to put you in an even less respectable position. With that face of yours, the old perverts would have loved it."

If she hadn’t been worried about Lu Fengzhou causing trouble, she would never have gone easy on Qiao Jiu back then.

But then she added, "You know you’ll be seeing people from your past at work. Better brace yourself."

Clearly, everyone had thought of this.

Qiao Jiu murmured her assent. "I ran into Huo Ting recently. That was enough to remind me of what kind of people those are. I’m prepared."

The mention of Huo Ting jogged Guan Wei’s memory. She hurriedly said, "I saw her last night—with Lu Fengzhou."

Qiao Jiu was taken aback. "What were they doing together?"

Guan Wei wasn’t sure. "I was having dinner with A Jin, and saw them outside the restaurant. I don’t know if they ate together, but Huo Ting was grinning from ear to ear. Lu Fengzhou looked indifferent, like he didn’t want to be bothered."

She sighed. "That Huo Ting is persistent. Before you married Lu Fengzhou, she had her eye on him. After you got married, she still did. Now you’re divorced, and she hasn’t given up. That woman is so single-minded. She knows what happened to you—doesn’t she worry she’ll meet the same fate?"

Qiao Jiu mused, "If only I’d handed him over to her back then, none of this would have happened."

Guan Wei burst out laughing. "You can say that now, but back then, when you realized she liked Lu Fengzhou, you were ready to storm her house."

Qiao Jiu chuckled softly. It was true—she’d nearly marched straight to the Huo family’s door.

She’d been so infatuated with Lu Fengzhou then that even the thought of someone else coveting him made her uneasy.

But she remembered Lu Fengzhou had told her, quite clearly, that he didn’t like Huo Ting, even found her somewhat annoying.

Given all the lies he’d told her, who knew if that had been the truth.

…

By evening, she arrived at the bar, just as the bartender was coming in. They crossed paths at the door.

He spoke first. "If it isn’t too busy tonight, come over. I’ve learned a new cocktail recipe that isn’t on the menu yet. Help me taste it."

Qiao Jiu nodded, though she warned, "I’m not much of a connoisseur. I can’t give you any real feedback."

"That’s fine. Just tell me if it tastes good or not," the bartender said with a smile. "Honestly, most customers can’t tell the difference, either."

Qiao Jiu murmured agreement and added, "Most people come here for your looks, not the drinks."

The bartender smirked. "Does anyone come here for you?"

She paused, recognizing the banter. "I wish they did, but I’m just not that charming."

He chuckled, and they entered the bar together before going their separate ways.

Qiao Jiu did a circuit of the kitchen. There weren’t many guests yet. After some thought, she made her way out to the bar.

There were still seats at the high counter. She found a spot near the edge and sat down.

The bartender glanced at her—his preparations were almost complete. He shifted toward her and began mixing drinks.

He kept up the conversation as he worked. "Not busy in the kitchen?"

Qiao Jiu replied, "Everyone says I’m second-in-command here. How could the second-in-command possibly be busy?"

The bar was still quiet. As she spoke, she looked around, only to spot a man holding up his phone and snapping several photos in her direction.