Chapter 2 Is He Busy?

That evening, Qin Huan calculated the time difference and video called her daughter, Qin Zhiyi, who was in England.

The nanny, Ruiya, was feeding her.

The little girl had a few grains of white rice stuck to her mouth. Seeing Qin Huan on the screen, she giggled and lunged toward the phone.

“Mommy, I miss you so much!”

Qin Huan’s heart melted.

“Mommy misses you too.”

“Then Mommy, when will you come and get me?”

Qin Huan thought for a moment.

“After Mommy settles down here and finds a suitable kindergarten for Yi Yi, I’ll come get you right away, okay?”

Qin Zhiyi nodded, her chubby cheeks trembling with the movement, looking incredibly cute.

“Okay, Mommy, you have to hurry.”

After hanging up, Qin Huan looked through Yi Yi’s photos on her camera. 

Those eyebrows and eyes, so similar to Jiang Jingchu’s, made her reluctant to let go, and also caused her to repeatedly lose focus, wondering if returning to North City this time was the right decision.

Shangye, the hottest trendy bar in North City in recent years.

Jiang Jingchu leaned lazily on the sofa in a booth, several empty bottles of Romanee Conti on the coffee table in front of him.

Han Xian arrived late. Seeing this scene, the corners of his mouth almost reached his ears.

“Jiang Ye is so generous! If I could have a few customers like you every day, I’d laugh myself to sleep!”

Jiang Jingchu didn’t even lift his eyelids.

Han Xian was adept at reading people. He immediately noticed something was wrong. Although this gentleman was usually taciturn, his aura was significantly lower today.

He suppressed the playful smirk on his face, looked at Xiangdong suspiciously, and mouthed a question.

Xiangdong shrugged.

“Who knows? I asked him, but he wouldn’t say anything. He just kept making me drink with him.”

Han Xian felt a sense of déjà vu. Five years ago, after that person left, Jiang Jingchu had been in this state for months.

Thinking of this, his expression darkened. He nudged Xiangdong, who was sprawled beside him, and sat down next to Jiang Jingchu.

“Did you… run into her?”

It was a nonsensical question, but Jiang Jingchu understood immediately.

He paused the wine glass halfway to his lips, slightly lifting his eyelids, and asked back,

“You know she’s back?”

“Of course. I’m getting married to her best friend, Zhou Tiantian, next month.”

So, that’s why he’s back.

Jiang Jingchu nodded and downed the rest of the wine in one gulp.

The burning liquid slid down his throat and into his stomach, making his chest feel hot. He loosened his collar, feeling slightly better.

“I mean, it’s been five years. Things have been over for so long. You can’t let the girl hide away forever, never going home, right?”

Home? Does she have a home in North City?

Jiang Jingchu scoffed, a deep darkness swirling in his narrow eyes.

“She has her own legs. When did I ever stop her from coming back?”

Han Xian was stunned.  He thought, You’re playing amnesia with me, huh? Where’s the intensity you had when you were making those harsh words?

Jiang Jingchu chuckled self-deprecatingly, his voice low and deep.

“Besides, with her personality, do you think I could scare her with just one word?”

That’s true.

Everyone in the North City second generation circle knew that the once aloof and successful Jiang family heir had suffered his only setback at the hands of a girl.

Han Xian sighed, looking at Jiang Jingchu, who was drinking like water, and exchanged a glance with Xiangdong.

“So, what are you going to do now? Revenge, or chase her again? Don’t forget, you’re engaged to Ji Jingya.”

“So what if we’re engaged?”

Jiang Jingchu casually lifted his eyelids, stood up, grabbed his coat, and left without looking back.

“I’m leaving. Put tonight’s drinks on your tab.”

Han Xian: ??

After realizing what happened, he thought:

Damn! Why? What does Jiang Jingchu’s ex girlfriend’s return have to do with me?

When Qin Huan woke up in the morning, the pain in her foot hadn’t lessened; instead, an excruciating itch had developed.

She lifted her foot to see a shocking rash on her entire instep and lower leg.

Worried about a more serious problem, she took a day off from work and took a taxi to the hospital.

It was peak hour at the hospital. The entire outpatient hall was packed.

Dragging her aching foot, she ran up and down several floors before finally reaching the front of the line.

Jiang Jingchu was also at the hospital.

He hadn’t drunk that much in a long time. His stomach ached unbearably in the middle of the night, and Gao Fei rushed him to the hospital at 3 AM.

After getting an IV and a bit of sleep, he finally felt a little better.

While waiting for Gao Fei to pick him up, he saw a familiar figure.

She was carrying a bag of medicine and hopping down the stairs.

Jiang Jingchu’s brow furrowed slightly. He glanced at her hobbled foot, then scanned behind her no one was with her.

On a whim, he took a few steps forward. Just then, Gao Fei’s car pulled up in front of him.

“Mr. Jiang.”

Jiang Jingchu snapped back to reality, looked deeply at the figure, and got into the car.

Gao Fei didn’t see Jiang Jingchu’s momentary distraction. He truthfully relayed the doctor’s words to him.

“Mr. Jiang, you had a stomach bleed a few years ago. The doctor said you shouldn’t drink alcohol. You should take better care of your health.”

The car was silent. Jiang Jingchu didn’t utter a single syllable.

Gao Fei, emboldened, glanced at the rearview mirror. He found that the Boss was looking at the rearview mirror with an unreadable expression.

He suspiciously followed his gaze and vaguely saw the figure of a slender woman, gradually shrinking into a black dot.

Gao Fei pursed his lips and spoke again,

“I’ve cleared your schedule for today. Shall I take you back to Hengfeng Jiayuan to rest?”

Jiang Jingchu closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat.

“No, go to the company.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a pattering sound started on the car window, getting louder and louder.

Gao Fei clicked his tongue and muttered softly,

“This rain just won’t stop.”

Hearing this, Jiang Jingchu slowly opened his eyes, glanced at the pedestrians running for cover in the rain, and gritted his teeth in annoyance.

He suddenly straightened up and said to Gao Fei,

“Turn around.”

Turn around? It was rush hour, and the cars behind them were lined up in a long queue. Turning around would be a huge waste of time.

Gao Fei tentatively asked,

“Did you leave something at the hospital? I’ll send someone to get it later.”

Jiang Jingchu gave him a cold look.

“Turn around. I don’t want to repeat myself a third time.”

Qin Huan felt incredibly unlucky. She’d twisted her ankle, and now she was allergic to the spray.  When she tried to hail a taxi, she got drenched in the rain.

The spring rain was damp and cold. It seeped through her clothes in no time, making Qin Huan shiver uncontrollably. She hugged herself and huddled inside the bus stop.

More and more people crowded into the shelter. Qin Huan thought that with her injured foot, she might not even be able to board the bus.

She sighed and looked around, thinking of finding a nearby convenience store to rest for a while. Suddenly, a black Cullinan slowly pulled up beside her.

Everyone wondered why this luxury car would stop at a bus stop. They all craned their necks to look.

The window rolled down, revealing a resolute and stern profile.

“Get in.”

Jiang Jingchu didn’t even look at Qin Huan. He simply opened his thin lips and uttered two stiff words.

Qin Huan stood there, seemingly still reeling from Jiang Jingchu’s sudden appearance.

A bus was about to arrive at the stop, but it was delayed by the Cullinan.

The man impatiently turned his head, his cold eyes seeming to pierce through the rain to Qin Huan’s eyes.

“Get in. Do I have to get out and invite you?”

“Hurry up. There’s a car, and you’re not taking it? What are you waiting for? You’re delaying us.”

Qin Huan was caught in a difficult situation. She didn’t want to get into Jiang Jingchu’s car, but she couldn’t bear the gossip from the crowd. Finally, she took a deep breath and hopped to the passenger side.

However, she found that the door was locked. She glanced at Jiang Jingchu and resignedly hopped to the back door.

Qin Huan, drenched and cold, got into the car. The large temperature difference between the inside and outside of the car made her sneeze.

Jiang Jingchu frowned in disgust and tossed her a cashmere shawl.

Qin Huan glanced at the obviously feminine shawl and didn’t move.

Jiang Jingchu scoffed, thinking, Whatever. Wear it or not, I’m not the one freezing.

After a moment, he felt even more annoyed.

“What? Is your boyfriend so busy that he doesn’t even have time to accompany you to the hospital?”