PB - Chapter 47
Chapter 47
For some reason, the outdoor temperature in Shenzhen had suddenly risen today. When Qiao Qi left the hotel, she had changed into a wine-red, double-breasted dress with a tie-waist and a ruffled hem. Her calves, in stiletto heels, were fair and straight. The watch on her left wrist was the same one from last night. Gu Jianchu really liked her outfit.
She looked at her, her eyes smiling. “Very beautiful.”
Surprised by the compliment, Qiao Qi looked a little shy. After a word of thanks, she and Su Jiayin left in a hurry. The two of them had come to Shenzhen for business, but Gu Jianchu was different. Her only purpose was Qiao Qi. When she couldn’t see Qiao Qi, she treated it as a vacation for herself.
That evening, President Shen had arranged dinner at a well-known local hotel. In the classic, stately private room, the Shen family had arrived in full force. Gu Jianchu had only brought Liu Yanyan. Qiao Qi and Su Jiayin were delayed by some business and arrived a little late, so the others chatted about work while they waited.
When Qiao Qi arrived, she sounded apologetic. “President Shen, I’m so sorry for being late.”
President Shen had a hearty personality and a booming voice. “Qiao Qi, no need for that. We know you’re busy. What does it matter if you’re a little late? Right, Jianchu?” He then warmly invited everyone to sit down. “Come, come, everyone sit.”
As guests, Gu Jianchu, Qiao Qi, and Su Jiayin naturally sat together, with Qiao Qi seated between the two. Gu Jianchu picked up the conversation, saying, “Uncle Shen is right.” Su Jiayin, who had known her since childhood and had seen her knack for charming elders, rolled her eyes in her direction upon hearing her obedient reply.
“Qiao Qi, will you have a drink?” President Shen was always a generous host when it came to drinking, so Shen Shoucheng had reminded him earlier that day that Qiao Qi shouldn’t drink for health reasons. But now that evening had come, he had to ask again.
Before Qiao Qi could speak, Shen Shoucheng complained first, “Dad, didn’t I tell you Sister Qiqi doesn’t drink?” Then she said to Qiao Qi, “Sister Qiqi, I had them prepare coconut milk for you. I hope you like it.”
Qiao Qi smiled gently. “Thank you.”
Gu Jianchu’s eyebrow twitched slightly. Shen Shoucheng’s concern for Qiao Qi seemed more deliberate than usual in her presence. But what she cared about was the gentleness in Qiao Qi’s expression, which was glaringly conspicuous compared to the coldness she showed when speaking to her. Qiao Qi’s attitude towards her made it clear to anyone that their relationship was mediocre at best. Suddenly, her heart sank, and she no longer refused the toasts that came her way.
Qiao Qi noticed something was off with Gu Jianchu. She knew her, so she could naturally sense when she was happy or upset. In the past, she would have cared and coaxed her, but now, she just wanted to keep a distance between them.
After three rounds of drinks, the topic somehow shifted to business operations. President Shen said, “Qiao Qi, I’ve already spoken to Lao Chen for you. You can go straight there tomorrow. He’ll be waiting for you at the factory.”
President Shen’s out-of-the-blue remark made Gu Jianchu’s brow furrow for a moment before quickly relaxing. She knew this Lao Chen. He owned a local factory that produced new energy products called Xingda, which was quite successful domestically. Her original plan had been to integrate it into Rongfang’s new division. She just hadn’t expected Qiao Qi to have her sights set on it too. She thought she had already guessed the purpose of Qiao Qi’s trip.
Qiao Qi remained composed. “Thank you for your trouble, President Shen.”
Having had a few drinks, President Shen was getting tipsy. He cast aside the formal distance between them and began to ramble, “Qiao Qi, you’re just too polite. It’s not that I’m criticizing you, but you shouldn’t be so reserved in private. You should loosen up. Listen to your uncle, wouldn’t it be nice to have a couple of drinks?”
Shen Shoucheng grew anxious and quickly cried, “Dad, Dad, what are you saying?”
Qiao Qi smiled faintly and graciously replied, “Next time I’m here, I’ll definitely have a couple of drinks with you, Uncle.”
President Shen laughed. “Good, good. You all should come often. It’s more lively when you’re here.”
The dinner didn’t break up until nine o’clock. Gu Jianchu had drunk quite a bit. She wasn’t drunk, but her head was a little dizzy. Her expression was cool, so others couldn’t see anything was wrong. But Liu Yanyan followed closely behind, protecting her. While others turned red when they drank, her President Gu’s face grew paler the more she drank. A pallor like today’s was rare. She asked in a low voice, “President Gu, are you not feeling well?”
Gu Jianchu shook her head slightly. Under the night sky, she stood outside the hotel entrance and gazed at Qiao Qi, a restless agitation fueled by alcohol in her eyes. She watched Qiao Qi smile faintly as she said her goodbyes to the Shen family, then started walking over. The temperature hadn’t dropped much today; the night wind was just as hot. The sound in her ears was her own heartbeat, masquerading as the clamor of the wind. Qiao Qi’s coldness, distance, and neglect all made her feel wronged. But more than feeling wronged, she wanted to get closer to her, to kiss her.
She walked hastily, with Liu Yanyan following in her footsteps, but then she suddenly stopped. From a few steps away, she watched Qiao Qi quietly. Qiao Qi had caught her approach in her peripheral vision and also knew that she had inexplicably stopped. Qiao Qi turned to look back. Gu Jianchu’s beautiful eyes were as bright as stars. Her gaze seemed calm, yet it felt as if it could devour her. Suddenly, a smile bloomed on Gu Jianchu’s lips, bright and captivating. Then, she turned and walked away.
Qiao Qi stood frozen in place, watching Gu Jianchu’s back until it disappeared. Su Jiayin touched her shoulder from behind and said, “Let’s go back.”
Qiao Qi nodded and got into the driver’s seat. While fastening her seatbelt, she heard Su Jiayin say, “A Qi, Jianchu has really fallen in love with you.”
Qiao Qi started the car and pulled onto the road. The streetlights cast mottled patterns of light and shadow on the windshield. Her expression was calm, and even her words were unusually placid. “Jiayin, I’ve heard people say before that if someone is always good to you, and then one day they suddenly disappear, you’ll feel unaccustomed to it. You’ll miss how good they were to you.” She paused, then added, “And I’d say I was pretty good to her.”
Su Jiayin turned her head to study her expression, but it was hard to find any clues. It was perfectly understandable that Qiao Qi was wary of Gu Jianchu and lacked trust in her. Qiao Qi could understand Gu Jianchu’s situation at the time, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t hold it against her or pretend nothing had happened. That would be asking too much of Qiao Qi. Besides, they were both adults. Su Jiayin knew they would eventually sort out their relationship.
She smiled and said, “Get some rest when we get back. You have a busy day tomorrow.”
Qiao Qi pursed her lips into a faint smile. “It must be hard for you, being caught in the middle between us.”
Su Jiayin imitated President Shen’s tone, coaxing her gently, “Qiao Qi, you’re just too polite. You shouldn’t be so reserved in private. You should loosen up.”
The joke brought a moment of lightheartedness. They understood each other, so much was left unsaid. Qiao Qi was just used to downplaying things. If she hadn’t been hurt and heartbroken, why would she deliberately ignore Gu Jianchu? After all, for all these years, whether it was Jin Zhihuan or Jin Zhilan, Qiao Qi had never failed to show the proper courtesy. It was precisely because she had loved with all her heart that she now distanced herself with all her heart.
But there was one thing Su Jiayin couldn’t know. Just moments ago, Gu Jianchu’s dark eyes had quietly stirred waves in Qiao Qi’s heart, like a scorching meteorite plunging into the sea, burning on the tranquil seabed.
The next day, Gu Jianchu didn’t get to see Qiao Qi. Shen Shoucheng reluctantly saw her off. Their two families were also about to begin a collaboration. The weather forecast had predicted a typhoon would make landfall soon. A gust of wind blew as Gu Jianchu stood on the boarding stairs, looking towards the horizon. Dark clouds were churning silently. It was about to rain.
Nearing evening, affected by the typhoon, a torrential downpour began in Shenzhen. The raindrops hammered loudly against the glass. The windshield wipers were set to their highest speed, but the view, blurred by the rain, still made it impossible to see the road ahead clearly. Yao Qiu drove with concentration, her lips pressed together. Thankfully, they were already back in the city and getting closer to the hotel.
When the car reached the hotel, Yao Qiu let out a breath. She saw in the rearview mirror that the thin blanket on Qiao Qi had slipped off, but she hadn’t woken up yet. She didn’t move for a moment, wanting to let her sleep a little longer. Yao Qiu sighed. These past few days, Qiao Qi had been busy and had things on her mind; she surely wasn’t sleeping well at night. This morning, especially, she had looked utterly exhausted.
“We’re here. Why didn’t you wake me?”
“I wanted to let you rest a little longer.”
Qiao Qi smiled faintly. “Let’s go. It’s raining so hard, we’ll just grab a bite at the hotel.”
The heavy rain fell all night. The amount of precipitation could easily cause urban flooding. The result was that some of their plans had to be postponed. Qiao Qi stood by the window, looking out at the cloud-covered evening, lost in thought. Su Jiayin sat on the sofa behind her with a glass of red wine, joining her in a daze.
After a long while, Su Jiayin finally asked, “How did the talks go?”
Qiao Qi turned and sat down beside her, saying lightly, “It seems Hongyuan made a very high offer. President Chen doesn’t seem very interested in Ruifeng’s late arrival.”
“Hongyuan?” Rongfang’s subsidiary in Shenzhen. But on second thought, Hongyuan’s involvement made sense. “So what are you going to do?”
“Terms can be negotiated.”
Su Jiayin clicked her tongue. “You and Jianchu are something else, always setting your sights on the same thing. You take your time with the negotiations. I’m going back to bed. Looks like this rain will last a few more days. I hope it doesn’t delay our trip back.”
Qiao Qi glanced at the bad weather outside, her brow furrowing. “If I get back late, Ping An will throw a tantrum at me again.”
Su Jiayin’s interest was suddenly piqued. “What, Ping An has learned to get angry with you now?”
Qiao Qi gave a rather helpless smile. “After you left Beijing, I had to board him at a pet shop when I went out. One time when I went to pick him up, he was fine on the way back, but as soon as we got home, he wouldn’t respond to me no matter how I called. I don’t know if he learned it from the other cats.”
Su Jiayin couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Has Ping An become a little spirit? With him to look after you, I can rest a little easier when I’m not in Beijing.”
Qiao Qi shot her a look, chiding, “Nonsense.”
Putting aside the gloom brought by the heavy rain for the moment, Su Jiayin, having showered and changed into a nightgown, came to Qiao Qi’s room again. She reclined on the sofa, continuing to enjoy the red wine the Shen family had provided. Qiao Qi had also showered and changed into a silk nightgown. She lay on the other end of the sofa with a glass of milk, looking at a tablet propped on her bent legs.
Su Jiayin secretly sized up Qiao Qi with a hazy gaze. Her figure was long and slender, her skin as fair as satin. Qiao Qi’s eyes were lowered as she scrolled on the tablet, not noticing her gaze. Su Jiayin was captivated by her expression, which was at times serious, at others furrowed in thought. She even saw a droplet of water, which had taken a long time to form on a strand of Qiao Qi’s not-quite-dry hair, fall onto her delicate collarbone. But the woman was too absorbed to notice, and the drop of water trickled down her chest before disappearing.
She secretly took out her phone, silenced it, and snapped two photos. With a tap of her finger, she sent them to Gu Jianchu. A moment later, she sent a text to go with them: “How did I never realize A Qi was this beautiful before? I can barely tear my eyes away. And you beat me to it.”
Gu Jianchu, who was working late into the night, clicked on the photos, and a smile appeared on her face. But when she read the text, her expression darkened. She replied, “Go back to your own room.” She looked at the photos carefully again, then sent another message: “Hurry up.”
Su Jiayin quickly replied, “I’m sleeping with A Qi tonight. Good night, Miss Gu.”
When she first met Qiao Qi, she had been jealous of Su Jiayin and Qiao Qi. Back then, it was because Su Jiayin couldn’t go three sentences without mentioning Qiao Qi. But now, her jealousy was sparked by their intimacy. The Qiao Qi in the photos was serene yet very alluring. Emotions flickered in her eyes, and for a long time, she couldn’t bring herself to close the pictures.
Seeing that she hadn’t replied for a while, Su Jiayin sent another message: “Alright, I was just joking with you.”
Gu Jianchu smiled and replied, “Make sure she gets some rest. You too. Good night.”
Putting her phone away, Su Jiayin kicked Qiao Qi’s calf lightly and asked, “Aren’t you going to sleep? How late are you planning to work?”
“I rested on the way back. I’m not sleepy now. You should go back to your room and sleep.”
After Su Jiayin returned to her room, Qiao Qi glanced out the window. The rain had stopped at some point. The city was filled with artificial lights, shimmering and splendid. She could see the treetops swaying ceaselessly in the wind.
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