Occasionally, I would see children in my dreams, and I would also see Liang Shi. Every time I woke up, it felt like a dream.
When I woke up, reality was cold and quiet, so quiet that I could only hear my own heartbeat and the ticking of the clock on the wall.
I don't know what kept her going.
Countless times I opened my phone to contact Liang Shi, but I suppressed the flutter in my heart and told myself not to bother her.
She must have something to do.
Therefore, I should listen to others.
I've comforted myself with these words countless times, yet I always wake up crying from my dreams. After crying, I feel it's not good for the baby in my belly, so I touch my belly and tell the baby stories to comfort her.
I don't know if those words were meant to comfort her or myself.
Hsu Ching-chu would tell her, "Mommy loves us, she's just temporarily busy."
"Mommy will come back."
"Mommy isn't that kind of person."
"..."
He muttered to himself, then drifted off to sleep again.
During her final check-up, the doctor gave her some more instructions, telling her not to let her guard down even after returning home, and most importantly, to maintain a good mood.
On the day she was discharged from the hospital, she also received good news: after discussing it with Lu Jiayi, they decided to jointly acquire Huayi Film and Television.
The company's senior management had previously undergone a reshuffle, replacing them with a group of corrupt individuals, and there is a possibility that the senior management may fall apart.
Su Zhe is very familiar with the founder of this company, and the founder wants Su Zhe to acquire it, but Su Zhe is currently unable to spare the time and energy for it.
In this era of pervasive entertainment, owning a film and television company not only brings financial benefits but also a great deal of social influence.
Therefore, after establishing their cooperation with Lu Jiayi, Xu Qingzhu and Lu Jiayi quickly finalized their plan to acquire Huayi Film & Television.
During Xu Qingzhu's hospitalization, Lu Jiayi was busy taking care of everything.
He even visited her once during that time and expressed surprise: "Isn't your wife here?"
"She's busy." It's still the same old answer.
Lu Jiayi frowned slightly at the time, but because it was a family matter, she didn't say anything.
As she was about to leave that day, Xu Qingzhu hesitated for a moment before asking, "Miss Lu, have you ever had one of those strange dreams?"
Lu Jiayi asked in confusion, "What?"
“I dreamed of marrying you,” Xu Qingzhu said frankly. “The scene felt so real, it didn’t feel like a dream at all.”
Fearing Lu Jiayi might misunderstand, Xu Qingzhu quickly added, "I'm not trying to express my feelings for you or to get closer to you. I'm just simply asking you... have you ever had a similar dream?"
Xu Qingzhu spoke the last word very softly.
It was spoken almost in a breathy voice.
After a few seconds of pause, Lu Jiayi nodded sincerely: "Yes."
"You did that too?" Xu Qingzhu asked in surprise. "Where was it?"
Lu Jiayi looked at her, and after a moment replied, "Island."
At the same time, Xu Qingzhu asked, "An island?"
Their voices overlapped for a moment.
Then they looked at each other in disbelief.
Lu Jiayi slapped her forehead: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have had such a dream that offended you. Psychology says that dreams are a person's subconscious, but I really didn't have any intention of destroying your family, not at all. I also know that you and your wife love each other, so I have no intention of interfering. Admittedly, you are very outstanding, very suitable to be my partner, and you also match my requirements for a partner, but I have never had any unreasonable thoughts about you."
She spoke quickly and at length, sincerely explaining the matter to Xu Qingzhu.
Xu Qingzhu didn't react at all after hearing this, she just nodded blankly: "I know."
The two women were having the same dream, as if some unseen force was guiding them to do so.
As Liang Shi once said, "The person you should be with is not me."
So, the person she should be with is Lu Jiayi?
If Liang Shi hadn't changed his ways back then, she and Liang Shi would probably be divorced by now.
Now that she's single again, if she meets Lu Jiayi, she'll likely become Lu Jiayi's ideal marriage partner.
Someone like Lu Jiayi wouldn't mind if her partner had been married before.
Because Lu Jiayi is a very competitive person, she values her career more than her family and marriage, and she has a strong sense of responsibility. Marrying someone like that actually fits Xu Qingzhu's previous expectations.
They are incredibly compatible in some ways.
We both like obscure books and the same poet. Even when we're working on a project, if one of us mentions a point, the other can almost always fill in the gaps.
So working with Lu Jiayi is a very comfortable experience, so comfortable that it feels like I've found another version of myself.
Living with someone like that for a lifetime would be very comfortable.
There's no need to doubt the other person, no need to compromise for their feelings, and no need to argue with them.
Because both Lu Jiayi and she value efficiency, they had a disagreement on a certain matter. Lu Jiayi and she sat down together to discuss the matter rationally and even listed three solutions, A, B, and C, to resolve it, and she did the same.
With this kind of efficiency, who would still argue?
As for the Cold War, it never existed.
We're already busy enough with work every day, how could we possibly have a cold war?
It's normal for the two of them to not speak when they're together, because that's how they effectively solve problems.
If it weren't for Liang Shi... she wouldn't have refused someone like Lu Jiayi entering her life.
But... she fell in love with Liang Shi.
She wanted to stick close to her older sister.
She longed to hear Liang Shi call her a spoiled brat, and she wanted to kiss her lips.
Xu Qingzhu sat there in a daze for a long time until Lu Jiayi spoke up and pulled her back to reality, "Why did you suddenly ask this?"
Xu Qingzhu lowered her eyes and smiled bitterly, "Just asking."
Lu Jiayi: "Oh..."
After Lu Jiayi left, Xu Qingzhu sat there pondering the logic behind it all. Halfway through her thought, she yawned, something that had never happened before.
Then I realized that the children needed to rest.
So she lay in bed and slept.
But I was suddenly awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of the wind outside; the fierce winter wind was blowing wildly.
Startled, she turned on her phone and instinctively dialed Liang Shi's number.
Soon, the call was answered, and Xu Qingzhu said in a choked voice, "Liang Shi, I miss you so much."
There was a pause on the other end of the phone, and Liang Shi's hoarse voice, choked with emotion, replied, "Baby."
One sentence brought tears to Xu Qingzhu's eyes.
Liang Shi said, "Why are you crying again?"
Xu Qingzhu cursed at her: "You bad person."
Liang Shi said helplessly, "Don't cry."
Xu Qingzhu thought she was dreaming again, but when she woke up the next day and checked her phone's call history, she found a call record from 4 a.m.
It lasted for three minutes.
Xu Qingzhu put away her phone, washed her face in the bathroom, and was discharged from the hospital.
//
Liang Shi answered the phone call unconsciously. Only after finishing the call did he realize what he had done. He wanted to hang up but couldn't bring himself to do it.
Finally, I heard Xu Qingzhu cry for two minutes before hanging up after she fell asleep.
While Xu Qingzhu was hospitalized, Liang Shi accompanied Gu Yixue to Shen Fenghe's wedding.
That day was just an ordinary day of the year.
There was no wind and no snow.
The most luxurious hotel in Haizhou City was booked out, and Shen Fenghe stood in the middle of the red carpet in her wedding dress, remaining unmoved no matter what others said.
As the countdown she set continued, Gu Chunmian finally yielded to her family and appeared on the first floor of the hotel in a wedding dress.
At that time, Gu Yixue and Liang Shi were sitting in a car by the roadside, watching the car with consecutive license plate numbers parked in front of the hotel. Gu Chunmian got out of the car, like a proud princess.
Liang Shi felt a pang of worry for Gu Yixue, and she turned to look at Gu Yixue in her wedding dress.
Today, Gu Yixue is stunningly beautiful and charming. The wedding dress suits her better; it is her face that complements the dress, not the other way around.
Afraid that she would feel uncomfortable seeing this, Liang Shi tentatively asked, "Shall we leave?"
Gu Yixue shook her head: "The matter is not yet settled."
After saying that, she got out of the car, walked to the roadside, and lit a cigarette.
Someone spread the rumor that the second young lady of the Gu family was also seen outside the hotel in a wedding dress.
This attracted a large crowd of onlookers.
Gu Yixue stood there calmly and looked back, as if those people were the clowns.
Just when everyone thought everything was settled, Gu Chunmian received a phone call halfway through the wedding. Her expression changed drastically, and she grabbed her wedding dress and ran out. When she was stopped by the Gu family's bodyguards, she pulled out a knife from somewhere and pointed it at her neck, saying, "I'm telling you, even if I die today, I will not marry!"
He turned to look at Shen Fenghe and said coldly, "Shen Fenghe! If you want, you can marry my corpse."
Shen Fenghe watched coldly, her expression practically screaming, "If you die, I'll collect your corpse."
Gu Chunmian actually pressed the blade in a few more inches, saying, "Let me go!"
Both Gu and Chen's elders were present. Chen's father's face had darkened, and he seemed to be considering breaking off the engagement, but he was restrained by Madam Chen.
Shen Fenghe glanced at Gu Chunmian indifferently and asked, "No regrets?"
Gu Chunmian roared, "I'll regret marrying you! You workaholic!"