At the banquet, Xiaxia finally met the so-called investor. Unlike the others who were dressed in formal suits, she was dressed in casual clothes and looked like she had just stepped out of school and into the workforce.
In this situation, Chu Qing couldn't say much. He just wanted to see his idol, so he and Xia Xia found a slightly secluded spot where they wouldn't disturb others.
Many of the drinks at the banquet were chilled. Xiaxia thought she could drink them, but her father wouldn't let her, so she could only hold onto her straw cup with a sense of grievance.
Halfway through, before the person Chu Qing wanted to see arrived, he saw the person he least wanted to see appear in front of him.
"Oh, you can even come to an event like this? I heard that the investor of your new company is quite good. Could it be that there's some shady deal going on?"
Anyone could easily tell the malice in his words.
Chu Qing looked up at the person who had ostracized her in her former company, her eyes turning slightly cold.
In most cases, Chu Qing would choose to endure many things in order to avoid trouble.
She just has a good temper; it's not that she has no temper at all. Besides, they don't work in the same company anymore, so they don't have to worry about that anymore.
"So concerned about my news, you want to become buddies with Xiaxia?"
Xiaxia, who was drinking water with her head down, reacted very quickly. After understanding what her father meant, she hugged his arm.
"No, this is Xiaxia's father. Don't even think about calling him father."
The man was so angry by Chu Qing's words that his face turned ashen. Before he could even utter a word, Song Shi, the investor behind the company, appeared, holding a glass of room-temperature freshly squeezed juice.
"Who brought you to my house?"
Song Shi was glad he arrived quickly. He placed the glass of juice in front of Xia Xia, stretched his wrists, and then punched the man hard.
"Where's the security guard? Take him out of here. I don't welcome people like him in my home."
He did nothing all day but stay home and take care of his boyfriend's cat. Yet, such a huge accusation was leveled against him. He's more wronged than Dou E.
It's not good for him whether his boyfriend or Brother Wei misunderstands him.
The former can't get into bed for ten days or half a month and can only sleep on the floor, while the latter might even get beaten up.
Feeling embarrassed at being chased away in front of so many people, and realizing he had never even heard of Song Shi, the man grew bolder.
"If it weren't because your relationship wasn't something you could keep secret, would you have given him such an important opportunity?"
Just thinking about how I pulled strings everywhere, only to not even get a spot in that competition...
Chu Qing easily won first place, and his eyes were so red with jealousy that they almost bled.
Song Shi didn't know how to explain to this person that if he could get a spot in such an important competition, he wouldn't have to ask Brother Wei for help with something as trivial as helping his boyfriend start a business.
Qi Yuan'an walked over at this moment, and without much thought, she understood the reason for the argument. She walked to her boyfriend's side and said with a smile:
"That master will be arriving soon. Since you suspect there's something fishy going on here, why don't we talk about it in person?"
That master was Chu Qing's idol, and this person also worshipped him immensely.
He can be confident no matter how much trouble he causes in private, but he chickens out when it comes to the possibility of confronting the authorities.
Those who frequently use their connections and background to threaten others will be more compliant than anyone else once they encounter someone they know they can't afford to offend.
After he left, Chu Qing, Qi Yuan'an, and Song Shi thanked him.
We will not allow others to bully us, nor will we make a scene in such situations.
Qi Yuan'an brought him here out of good intentions. If he made a big scene, it would be disrespectful to the host of the banquet.
For a moment, Chu Qing suddenly felt a bit disgusted with her current life.
When you spend too much time considering other people's feelings, you inexplicably feel like you're being restricted.
Qi Yuan'an sat down to the side and winked at her boyfriend. Seeing him obediently sit down next to her, she felt a little helpless.
This idiot, does he think he can't see through his thoughts? Does he really look like someone who gets jealous for no reason?
"What's there to say thank you for? That kind of person is really disgusting. No matter what happens, they only know how to make connections in that direction."
Qi Yuan'an had also emerged from rumors and gossip, so when faced with Chu Qing, who was in a similar situation, he couldn't help but lend a helping hand whenever he could.
"Yes, this must be Xiaxia."
Song Shi chimed in, his eyes practically sparkling as he looked at Xia Xia.
This child really looks like Brother Wei, but because he is young and has baby fat, he forces himself to keep a serious face, which makes Song Shimeng's heart tremble.
"Hello, Uncle, I'm Xiaxia."
Xiaxia was always very polite to those who had a good relationship with her father. She extended her little hand in an exceptionally gentlemanly manner, and Song Shi hesitated for a moment before shaking it.
"Hello."
At the banquet, Chu Qing finally met the master and asked him some questions. The master even took out a notebook and said that she could study according to it.
On the way back, Chu Qing touched the thick notebook in her bag and felt a strange sense of unreality.
Xiaxia, who was being led by her father, stopped jumping around, stood on tiptoe, and brought her head close to her father's hand.
"Dad, pinch me, and if I cry, it means I'm not dreaming."
Chu Qing smiled broadly and reached out to hug Xia Xia.
"Don't cry, I know I'm not dreaming."
It was so late, Song Shi certainly wouldn't feel comfortable letting the two of them go home, so he called his family driver to take them.
Because it was so late, Xiaxia fell asleep in the car. Chu Qing was in a hurry to get home after getting off the car, so she didn't notice that there was a familiar luxury car parked behind the flower bed.
The driver's side door of the luxury car was open, and a hand rested on the window, a cigarette between the index and middle fingers. The fingers were long and slender with distinct knuckles, exuding a strange, cool sexiness in the night.
After a cigarette burned out, Wei Yutang seemed to wake from a dream, raising his head to stare at the light on in one of the windows of the building.
He had been away on a business trip abroad for so long that it was enough time for him to sort out all his thoughts. Even so, Wei Yutang still found it somewhat unbelievable every time he thought about it.
I dialed a friend's number. The environment on the other end was obviously chaotic. After a few seconds, it quieted down, and my friend's voice came through the phone.
"What's wrong, Brother Wei?"
Do you think it's really possible for someone to fall in love with the same person at different times?
Author's Note:
Xiaxia: Excuses! They're all just excuses!
Good morning, everyone!
Chapter 25
The friend had been drinking a bit, but after hearing what Brother Wei said, he sobered up completely, straightened his hair, and gave a disdainful sneer.
"Brother Wei, I usually say that when I'm tired of someone and have broken up with them, but I want to go back and have some fun again."
After he finished speaking, he shrugged, his tone full of indifference.
"How can you call this being a jerk? I just fell in love with him at different stages of his life."
After hearing this, Wei Yutang was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to refute it, but he was certain that he was not like that.
"Brother Wei, don't follow my example. If my old man hears about it, I'll get my legs broken."
"No, I have something to do, I'll hang up now."
After hanging up the phone, Wei Yutang lit another cigarette and took a deep breath.
Actually... Wei Yutang wasn't unaware that Xia Xia had a knot in her heart towards him and that the reason she resisted his contact with Chu Qing was because when Xia Xia was still a child, Chu Qing came over and tried to hug him, but he pushed her away violently.
The stairs were right next to her; if Chu Qing hadn't held onto the handrail, it could have been dangerous.
Before that, he was holding Xiaxia in his arms, teaching him with Chu Qing to stay away from the stairs, because it would hurt a lot if he fell.
After Xiaxia's little brain remembered it firmly, he stood firmly between him and Chu Qing, afraid that he would do that kind of thing again.
Even now, Wei Yutang still vividly remembers every detail of that scene, how his familiar partner, who made his heart flutter and whom he thought he could love to death, suddenly became a stranger in that instant.
The immense shock left his mind blank, leaving only the instinct to resist.
What Chu Qing did next gradually eroded Wei Yutang's patience, leaving Xia Xia as the only remaining connection between them.
He had said countless times that he would never care about Chu Qing again, but it was always as if he was being held tightly by an invisible thread. Whenever Chu Qing encountered any trouble, he couldn't help but help her from behind.
It's not that I still have feelings for him, but I really can't let go.
Just when Wei Yutang thought that he might spend his whole life working, and that the goal of raising Xiaxia into a qualified successor would be the end of it.
I don't know when it started, but it seems like Chu Qing has come back.
After finishing his cigarette, Wei Yutang smelled the odor in the carriage and couldn't help but think that if Chu Qing were there, he would probably turn his head away in disgust.
Xiaxia would do the same, perhaps even saying in her sweet little voice with great disdain, "Father smells so bad."
He had almost quit smoking long ago. Although Chu Qing never said it directly, she would refuse to let him get close whenever she smelled smoke on him.
As time passed and sanitation workers began to appear under the streetlights outside, people would occasionally glance at the luxury car parked in such an environment.
Wei Yutang didn't feel sleepy at all; on the contrary, he was wide awake. Calculating the time, Chu Qing would be getting up in a little while, so he started the car and drove away.
He rushed here as soon as he got back, without even having time to tidy himself up. He didn't want Chu Qing to see him in such a disheveled and dejected state.
Back at a villa near the company, after taking a shower and changing into my pajamas to rest, I subconsciously picked up my phone and glanced at it.
As soon as he opened the app, he saw a message Chu Qing had sent him around 9 p.m. last night, which instantly woke Wei Yutang up from his drowsy state.
The kindergarten is having an event where parents can bring their children to the zoo. Do you have time?
Yes, I just returned to China yesterday.
Wei Yutang was still thinking about how to find Chu Qing without offending him.
After all, he had used the excuse of bringing back gifts after a business trip many times, and he felt that using it again was a bit deliberate.
Now that the excuse has been presented to me, it would be a real shame to miss it.
Today is Saturday, and Chu Qing deliberately turned off her alarm clock the night before, intending to get a good night's sleep.
The kindergarten activity takes place on Sunday mornings. All the children in one class go to the zoo with their teacher to help each other identify the animals.
Such group activities are usually based on parents' voluntary participation. Chu Qing felt that this was a rare opportunity, so she specially sent a message to Wei Yutang.
Last night, when Chu Qing came out of the shower, he saw Xia Xia lying on his bed in his bedroom, being coaxed to sleep. Her eyelashes trembled as she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.