Chapter 88: Self-Important and Wrong

Guan Wei cried out in surprise. “You know me?”

She looked the other woman up and down. “What, were you once under Madam Qin?”

Qiao Jiu frowned, not because Guan Wei’s words were harsh, but because the woman seemed almost eager to advertise how many unsavory dealings her bar was hiding.

The woman did not know who Madam Qin was, but from the title alone, she could tell it was no kind of person.

She pressed her lips together and shifted her gaze to Liang Xiucheng and Qiao Jiu. “Mr. Liang, Miss Qiao.”

Qiao Jiu was a little surprised. For her to know that much, either they moved in the same circles or she had done her homework.

Liang Xiucheng asked bluntly, “And you are?”

At that moment, Lu Fengzhou spoke up. “This is the manager of my company’s public relations department, Ding Mei.”

Qiao Jiu blinked. So she was one of his people; that meant the two of them had indeed gone to work overtime together that day.

Liang Xiucheng’s expression did not change. His tone was flat. “Never met her.”

Ding Mei gave a small laugh. “That’s only natural. Young Mr. Liang has just returned to the country, and we’ve never had dealings before. But now our companies are working together, so I hope you’ll look after us in the future.”

Liang Xiucheng answered with a light “Mm,” and that was that.

Hardly had he finished when someone called from not far away, “Avi.”

It was Liang Xiujin, apparently just arriving.

He had left early, yet he was arriving so late; who knew where he had been wandering.

Qiao Jiu looked over his shoulder but did not see Xu Yi. He had come alone.

Guan Wei merely glanced at him and did not even bother to answer. She turned around. “Let’s go.”

Liang Xiucheng was quite cooperative. “Let’s go.”

The three of them turned at once and entered the banquet hall first.

Inside, the hall was already bustling, figures overlapping in clusters of three or five, smiling and chatting.

There was a small stage at the front. Qiao Jiu looked up at it but did not see Zou Qingqing.

Beside her, Guan Wei clicked her tongue. “What, did she hear we came and go hide?”

She flicked her hair. “No way. I spent so much effort getting ready today. I have to stir up a little trouble for her. I’m going to look for her.”

Qiao Jiu was somewhat helpless. “Is that really necessary?”

“It is,” Guan Wei said. “If I’m annoyed, no one gets to be happy.”

With that, she lifted her skirt and disappeared into the crowd. Qiao Jiu remained where she was and said to Liang Xiucheng, “I’ll find a place to sit. You should go deal with your own affairs too. There must be people you know who need entertaining.”

“Not going.” Liang Xiucheng used a bit of force to trap her hand before she could withdraw it. “So many people. I’m annoyed too.”

He turned and looked around. In a corner not far away, there did not seem to be many people, and there were chairs. “Let’s go over there.”

He led Qiao Jiu over. Just as they settled in and looked back, Liang Xiujin and Lu Fengzhou had also come in, bringing Ding Mei with them.

Once inside, Liang Xiujin’s gaze swept around, clearly searching for Guan Wei.

Lu Fengzhou, however, did not look around. On a nearby table were drinks and pastries. He took a glass of wine and led Ding Mei into the crowd.

Qiao Jiu drew her gaze back and murmured, “There are quite a lot of people. Both families care so much about appearances, yet their children are hopeless.”

Liang Xiucheng gave a low chuckle. “If anyone were to expose what those two have done today, both families would lose face completely.”

The two of them sat there for a while, watching the excitement, when Qiao Jiu’s phone, tucked in her bag, rang.

She took it out and glanced at the screen. It was Guan Wei; she must have found Zou Qingqing.

She answered, and sure enough Guan Wei said, “Qiao Jiu, I’m in the corridor behind the banquet hall. Zou Qingqing is here. Do you want to come over?”

Qiao Jiu had not really wanted to go. Zou Qingqing was no great match for her; winning a verbal spar would not feel like much of an accomplishment.

But Guan Wei immediately added, “Zhao Shuo is here too. The two of them are in the lounge arguing about something. Come quickly and listen.”

Gossip?

That changed things. Qiao Jiu was instantly interested. “Wait for me. I’ll be right there.”

After hanging up, she turned to Liang Xiucheng. “Avi found Zou Qingqing. I’m going over to take a look.”

Liang Xiucheng was not very interested in this sort of thing. After a moment’s thought, he said, “I won’t go. If anything comes up over there, call me.”

Qiao Jiu nodded. Liang Xiucheng was not suited to going either; if he kept mingling among women, he would easily invite gossip.

She gathered her skirt and went out through the side door of the banquet hall. Reaching the corridor behind it, she spotted Guan Wei at a glance.

Guan Wei raised a finger to her lips and pointed toward the lounge not far away.

The lounge door was shut, but the voices inside, unable to control their anger, still drifted out.

It was Zou Qingqing and Zhao Shuo. Their voices came and went, not always easy to make out, but it sounded as if they were accusing each other of being dissolute.

After listening for a while, Qiao Jiu said, “Hear Zhao Shuo? He messes around outside, and that’s nothing, but if Zou Qingqing keeps a pretty boy on the side, that becomes some unforgivable crime.”

Guan Wei leaned against the wall with her arms folded. “At this moment, I almost feel sorry for her.”

Perhaps it was sympathy through shared suffering; after all, they were not much better off than Zou Qingqing.

On Liang Xiujin’s side there was that tangled, impossible former lover, and here she herself had been miserably trapped by Lu Fengzhou.

No one had it better than anyone else.

The quarrel inside went on and on. After listening for a while, Qiao Jiu tugged at Guan Wei. “Let’s go. No point.”

Guan Wei felt the same way. If the door were open, at least there would be something to watch; with it closed, all she could hear were scattered fragments, and that was just irritating.

The two of them turned around. After only a few steps, they saw Ding Mei coming from the opposite side.

There was a restroom over here; she must have been on her way there.

Seeing Qiao Jiu and Guan Wei, Ding Mei paused in surprise, yet she still kept her same pleasant manner. “Miss Qiao, Miss Guan.”

Qiao Jiu nodded and did not intend to say more.

Unexpectedly, Ding Mei suddenly said, “When the old gentleman was gravely ill, I also went to the hospital to visit him. At that time, his condition was not yet very bad, and his mind was still clear. He mentioned Miss Qiao.”

Qiao Jiu frowned and turned to look at her.

Ding Mei sounded entirely sincere. “The old gentleman said that Miss Qiao had an easy, unrestrained nature, and that the company should originally have been handed to you. But as a father, he also had a little selfishness and wanted you to live more freely.”

Qiao Jiu’s brows slowly relaxed, and she looked amused.

So that was why the woman had suddenly brought this up — she was trying to whitewash Lu Fengzhou.

In the end, she was simply trying to tell Qiao Jiu that the inheritance and everything else landing in Lu Fengzhou’s hands had been her father’s wish.

He must have been terribly afraid that this wastrel daughter would squander the whole estate away.

Guan Wei also caught on and let out a sneer. “You really should have gone to Madam Qin. With a mouth that sweet, you’d probably be very good at coaxing men. Then you’d be the top earner in my bar.”

She even rummaged through her handbag, pulled out a business card, and shoved it straight into Ding Mei’s hand. “Take it. Consider it a backup plan. If you can’t make it in business, you can still earn your bread with your looks.”

Ding Mei had not yet reacted. The card was pinched in her hand as she lowered her head to look at it.

Qiao Jiu glanced at her. “Miss Ding has probably been in business for quite some time, so why is it that even now she still cannot find her proper place? I may be divorced from Lu Fengzhou, but I still know him fairly well. What he hates most are people exactly like you — self-important and presumptuous. If you want to stay by his side a little longer, I advise you to put away those little schemes.”