Chapter 17: Haunted by Nightmares

Lu Beixun skipped lunch and went straight to the hotel.  He rested for half an hour, then had He Yi move his two o’clock meeting up an hour.

He cut the three-hour meeting in half.  After the meeting ended, Lu Beixun didn’t rest.  He went straight to handle other matters.

Cen Wan didn’t want to be home alone, so she asked Xu Zhitang to take her out.

Xu Zhitang took her to a bar.  Cen Wan knew that her only entertainment options seemed to be bars.

It was fine.  She could drink some alcohol, go home, and sleep.  She wouldn’t be afraid anymore.  Maybe when she woke up, she would see Lu Beixun.

The music in the bar was deafening.  Colorful lights danced.  Groups of men and women chatted and laughed.  The air was thick with the smell of alcohol.  You could hear the occasional dirty joke.  It was decadent and debauched.

Xu Zhitang led her to a corner of the bar.  The music was quieter there, less annoying.

Xu Zhitang ordered cocktails.  She saw Cen Wan shaking her head in resignation.  “I’m telling you, Cen Da Xiao Jie, Lu Beixun is just on a business trip.  He’ll be back tomorrow.  Why are you so down in the dumps?”

“The Sea Queen wouldn’t understand,” Cen Wan said, taking a sip of her drink.  “But just because you don’t understand now doesn’t mean you won’t understand later.”

She gave Xu Zhitang a meaningful look.  “I’m really curious to see what makes our Miss Xu Zhitang fall in love.”

Xu Zhitang scoffed.  “You’re going to be disappointed.  The person who can make me fall in love hasn’t been born yet.”

She came from a privileged background.  Everyone treated her like a treasure, afraid she would get hurt.  She had been at the top since birth.  She had seen all kinds of men, but none of them had ever captured her heart.

Of course, many men approached her, but they were only after her family’s power and status.  She knew that.

The person who could make her fall in love would have to be like her brothers, who were good to her and spoiled her rotten.

A few minutes later, several men came to chat her up.  Cen Wan looked up at the man who raised his glass to her and smiled.  “I’m married.”

She raised her hand and looked at the diamond ring on her ring finger.

The man’s face showed a flicker of regret.  He knew she was married, so he didn’t push it.  He took his glass and left, looking for his next target.

Xu Zhitang also rejected several men.

“Miss Cen?”

A familiar voice reached her ears.  Cen Wan turned her head and saw Shen Jianyu smiling at her, holding a glass of wine.

Shen Jianyu was the kind of woman who could be both pure and alluring.  She usually looked soft and delicate, like she would break if you pushed her.  But now, she was wearing heavy makeup and a wine-red halter dress.  She was hot and sexy.

Even Cen Wan, who was straight, couldn’t help but stare.  For a moment, she forgot that the woman in front of her was her rival.

Xu Zhitang nudged her.  She finally came to her senses.  “Miss Shen, what’s up?”

Shen Jianyu smiled, her gaze challenging.  “Nothing.  Is Miss Cen at the bar because Beixun Gege is on a business trip?”

Cen Wan heard the implication in Shen Jianyu’s words.  She was basically telling her that she knew Lu Beixun was on a business trip.

Cen Wan suppressed her anger.  She fought back the urge to tear the green tea woman apart.  She racked her brain, trying to figure out how to turn the tables.

She swirled the wine in her glass and suddenly looked at her, smiling.  “Lu Beixun said you’re really ugly.  I think he has a problem with his eyesight.  You’re clearly so beautiful.”

“Although, you’re a little less beautiful than me, but it’s still a bit too much for Lu Beixun to say that.”

She thought Shen Jianyu would react like the green tea women in dramas, looking upset or even attacking her.  But Shen Jianyu still had a smile on her face.  She wasn’t angry or upset.

Shen Jianyu said, “You’re definitely a little more beautiful than me, but it’s still more than enough to be by Beixun Gege’s side.”

“Miss Cen, goodbye.”

With that, Shen Jianyu left.  Cen Wan exclaimed, “Wow, this green tea is even more advanced than I thought.”

“I’m so pissed off,” Cen Wan said, taking a gulp of her drink.

Xu Zhitang asked, “Rival?”

Cen Wan nodded.  “You won’t believe this, but I dug this hole myself.”

She must have been kicked in the head back then to do something so stupid and speechless.

Xu Zhitang seemed to disbelieve her.  She asked again, “Are you sure she’s a rival?”

“I’m absolutely sure,” Cen Wan said.  “Didn’t you hear her calling him ‘Beixun Gege’?  Who is she trying to disgust?”

Cen Wan was already in a bad mood, and now she had run into Shen Jianyu and gotten the short end of the stick.  Her mood was even worse.  She downed several glasses of wine before she could calm down.

“I don’t think so,” Xu Zhitang said, voicing her thoughts.  “When she talked about Lu Beixun, there wasn’t any possessive emotion in her eyes.  She didn’t seem to have any malice towards you either.”

“Rivals are always jealous of each other.  I don’t see that in her.  I think she’s just trying to annoy you.”

Xu Zhitang’s words left Cen Wan confused.  “She’s crazy.  She’s trying to annoy me.”

“Didn’t you also annoy her?  It’s even.  Come on, don’t be angry.”

Cen Wan grumbled resentfully.  She looked at Xu Zhitang with displeasure.  “Xu Zhitang, whose side are you on?  You’re defending her.”

Xu Zhitang: “…”

She patted Cen Wan’s shoulder.  “You’re my person.  I’ll go tear that green tea apart right now.”

As she was about to leave, Cen Wan stopped her.  “Alright, stop pretending.  Plastic sisters.”

As long as Shen Jianyu didn’t try to steal Lu Beixun from her, she didn’t dislike her.

When they left the bar, Cen Wan was drunk.  Xu Zhitang sent her to her car, and the driver took her home.

When she got back to Lu’s house, it was already seven o’clock.  She skipped dinner and went straight to her room.  She grabbed her pajamas and went into the bathroom.  She took a hot shower, washing away some of the alcohol.  She felt much better.

When she came out of the bathroom, she lay down in bed and reached for her phone.  She called Lu Beixun.  She didn’t know if he was busy or if he had eaten dinner yet.

She pressed the call button, but his phone was off.  He must have been too busy and his phone died.  Cen Wan felt empty.  What should I do?  I miss him so much…

Half an hour later, Cen Wan was getting sleepy.  Before going to sleep, she called him again.  His phone was still off.

Cen Wan was disappointed.  She turned her phone’s ringer to the loudest setting before going to sleep.  She was afraid that if Lu Beixun saw that she had called him and called her back, she would be sleeping too soundly to hear it.

At first, she didn’t sleep very well.  Then, she was haunted by nightmares.

In her dream, Cen Wan was trapped in endless darkness.  A voice kept repeating the same sentence, “Lu Beixun is gone.  He doesn’t want you anymore.”

“Lu Beixun is gone.  He doesn’t want you anymore.”

“…”

It kept repeating.

She crouched down, hugging her head, muttering constantly, “He didn’t leave me.”

“He didn’t leave me.”

“You’re lying!  You’re a liar.”

“He won’t leave me!”  She screamed that last sentence.

The unknown voice disappeared, and she came out of the darkness.  The scene changed.  She was in Lu’s house.

She walked into Lu’s house.  They were holding a funeral.