Chapter 50

After taking another shower, Ji Qingyu left the house feeling comfortable and refreshed. Now, without Feng Chengze’s reminder, she would also have the driver pick her up. By the time she left, the morning rush hour had passed, and it was a quick trip from home to Yundan Shuiqing.
What surprised her was that all the relatives and elders in the family group had shown up!

Ji Qingyu’s cousin, Ji Yishan, pulled her aside and whispered, “Sis, let me tell you, my mom has been cursing at home like crazy these past few days!”

“Is it that serious?” Ji Qingyu laughed in disbelief.

After all, in her life, she had only seen her aunt curse at her uncle.
“Yes!”

At noon, Wang Yunlian hosted a meal for the relatives at a nearby restaurant, and the largest private room was bustling with activity. Under everyone’s gaze, Ji Qingyu reluctantly reported the situation truthfully: “Yuan Bao’s grandma asked us to go back to the old house for dinner tomorrow. After all, Feng Yu hasn’t been back for several years, and the family needs to have a meal together.”

Wang Yunlian sighed, “Actually, it’s best if everyone can part on good terms. Did your mother-in-law mention introducing someone to Feng Yu?”

Ji Qingyu shook her head, “She didn’t mention it to me.”

“Hopefully, he finds someone abroad,” her aunt said. “By the way, what about that girl from before?”

“She’s almost getting married.”

Her aunt sighed, “That’s the right thing to do. You can’t hang yourself on one tree. If he really wants to hang, find another tree, but don’t drag you down with him.”

The family chatted lively over lunch. However, back at the spa, Wang Yunlian and Ji Mingzhi called her into the office alone and said earnestly, “Although Xiao Feng is reliable, and Yuan Bao’s grandparents are reasonable, if you ever feel unhappy, don’t hold it in. Call home, and your dad and I will come to Feng’s house to get you.”

Ji Qingyu couldn’t help but laugh.

“Still laughing?” Wang Yunlian poked her daughter’s forehead with a finger, looking exasperated, “You’ve been like this since you were little. Scared to death by small things, only to come home looking miserable for your dad and me. But you don’t care about big things, just laughing foolishly!”

“Master Ji…”

Ji Mingzhi quickly intervened, “Alright, alright. By the way, you mentioned a few months ago about offering nail services to guests at the spa. It’s available now. Do you want to try it?”

“Yes!”

After saying that, Ji Qingyu slipped out. Wang Yunlian was still worried, and Ji Mingzhi, seeing that the office was empty and their daughter was gone, walked over to his wife, put his arm around her shoulder, and gently patted her, comforting, “Don’t worry, Qingyu can handle it.”

“I know.”

Wang Yunlian turned her head away, her voice somewhat muffled, “I’m just angry.”

Only a mother would understand what she was angry about.

After Ji Qingyu left the office, she changed her playful demeanor, pursed her lips slightly, and after asking the waiter, went to the nail area to get a Kuromi-themed manicure from the new manicurist. It didn’t turn out very well, but it was quite playful. However, she did it to amuse Yuan Bao. Thinking about it, she decided to take a photo for Feng Chengze. While taking photos, she had a mischievous thought, carefully chose the angle, took several shots, and sent the best one.

Feng Chengze had just finished a remote video conference and returned to his office, where several documents awaited his review and signature. He habitually picked up his phone, unlocked it, and saw a message from her sent twenty minutes ago: [Image]

He casually opened it and was greeted by a fair, slender hand. Her hand was beautiful, with healthy pink joints. The originally glossy nails were now painted in a different color. With just one glance, he thought of the cartoon characters on their daughter’s nanny car. Moreover, elements related to purple and Kuromi could be seen all over the house. However, these were not the main points. He focused and noticed that her two legs were also in the photo. The skirt wasn’t short, but the hem was flowing and somewhat revealing.

Feng Chengze stared at it for a while. Ten minutes had passed when he finally managed to look away from the computer screen. He accidentally saved the photo before replying: [Okay.]

On the other end, Ji Qingyu struggled to hold back her laughter.

Unlike her daughter Yuan Bao, she discovered that Feng Chengze didn’t like purple. He didn’t actually like black either. As for why his formal wear was mostly dark, it could only be explained by “a man’s heart is hard to guess.”

For Feng Chengze to say “okay,” he must have noticed her little trick.

Ji Qingyu: [There’s something even better. Do you want to see it? 😏😏😏]

She could swear that she was a very pure and kind, but when it came to him, she just wanted to tease him.

Feng Chengze moved his fingers: [Sure.]

Ji Qingyu immediately sent a close-up selfie: [Image]

Feng Chengze received the photo, couldn’t help but laugh, and pressed his forehead: [Very good.]

Ji Qingyu was actually a very considerate girlfriend. Feng Chengze suddenly didn’t want to define her as a “wife.” Unless it was an emergency, she generally wouldn’t call him during work hours. If she wanted to chat, she would only send messages. Even if he replied much later, she would still be happy.

After chatting for a bit, Ji Qingyu considerately said: [You go ahead and get busy~]

Feng Chengze, however, needed to wash his face to refocus on work. He put down his phone, turned, and opened the sliding door to the lounge. He rarely went in, and the cleaning staff only cleaned it once or twice a week. When he reached the sink and looked up, he was surprised. In the lower right corner of the mirror, there was a smiley face drawn with lipstick. He didn’t need to confirm it; he could guess she left it that night. She might have been waiting for him to notice it these past few days.

Feng Chengze stared at it for a while, wanting to touch it with his finger but afraid of smudging it. He turned on the faucet, washed his face, and felt inexplicably uplifted.

In the private room, Chen Yuwei took a sip of coffee and looked at Luo Xuan, who was sitting opposite her with a nervous expression, and smiled, “I suspect someone with ulterior motives is trying to stir up trouble. But that was a private club, and the guest list was not disclosed. There are no cameras in the corridors or outside the restroom. I don’t know what they look like. Do you have any suspects?”

Luo Xuan opened her mouth but said nothing, slowly shaking her head.
She was extremely flustered. She didn’t expect Chen Yuwei to know all this after just one night. She was in a panic and couldn’t say a word. She had the illusion that if she looked up, she would see a net closing in on her.

“Xiao Xuan, is what they said true?” Chen Yuwei put down her cup. “Did you really have an unpleasant past with Mrs. Feng?”

Luo Xuan was speechless.

But that was already an answer. Chen Yuwei understood. She could understand Luo Xuan’s desire to hide it. Everyone has a past, some good, some bad, and some they desperately want to forget. Admitting or hiding it is a personal choice, and there’s nothing to criticize.

Chen Yuwei carefully said, “Xiao Xuan, Zhizhou is my younger brother. No matter who he likes or wants to be with, my parents and I will support him. If you had past relationships or liked someone before, that’s very normal and ordinary to me. It’s just a part of life.”

“But…” She paused, looking at Luo Xuan, who had been keeping her head down. Some words were hard to say.

When Luo Xuan forced that car to stop, did she know the man was taking his girlfriend to meet his parents? Did she know they were in a relationship? If she knew, yet still used such an extreme and unreasonable method to force the car to stop…

In her eyes, Luo Xuan was gentle and reserved, so she couldn’t imagine Luo Xuan doing such a thing. Indeed, those two women in the restroom had deliberately guided her, but one thing was undeniable: if the woman in the car at that time wasn’t Ji Qingyu but a young lady from another wealthy family in Jing City, would Luo Xuan still have done it?

She didn’t want to use the term “bullying” on Luo Xuan. But she couldn’t understand or agree with such behavior.

Luo Xuan remained silent. From the time this incident happened until now, every time she thought about it, besides feeling lost, she also felt guilty. Xiao Chong said she was not wrong; she just wanted to be brave for once.
But she asked herself, why be brave at that particular moment?

Chen Yuwei collected her thoughts, her tone still as gentle as before but with less closeness, “Does Zhizhou know about this?”

Luo Xuan looked up in panic, then lowered her eyelashes and shook her head.

“Xiao Xuan, you and Zhizhou have a good relationship. I can see that you really like him, and he likes you too. Normally, I shouldn’t say anything, but now that I know, and Zhizhou is my younger brother.” Chen Yuwei was also in a difficult position. After all, so much time had passed, and when the incident happened, Luo Xuan and Zhizhou didn’t know each other. She had no obligation to share every detail of her past twenty-plus years; that would be too harsh. But as his sister, knowing this, it was hard to stay out of it and pretend nothing happened. It was too difficult for her. If Luo Xuan was willing to tell Zhizhou about this, they could resolve it themselves as a couple. As his sister, she wouldn’t interfere and would respect her brother’s decision.

Luo Xuan felt her palms sweating, and a chill spread from her feet. Who was it that insisted on planting this thorn in her life?

Before leaving, Chen Yuwei hesitated and patted Luo Xuan’s shoulder, “Although I’m not very familiar with Mrs. Feng, I know a bit about her character. She couldn’t have done this; she’s not that kind of person.”

Luo Xuan was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said softly, “I know.”

She knew it wouldn’t be Ji Qingyu. It wouldn’t be such a coincidence to meet in the afternoon and then arrange this in the evening.

“I’ll go now.” Chen Yuwei thought for a moment and said earnestly, “Xiao Xuan, I’ve been with Xiao Chuan’s father for fifteen years, through thick and thin, so I want to share some experience with you. Couples don’t have to share everything; they can keep their own secrets. But if one day you can’t keep this secret, I think your partner should hear it from you than from someone else.”

She still believed that Luo Xuan must have offended someone. If those two women didn’t get what they wanted, they would find another way. Even she could see that this had become Luo Xuan’s weakness. She just hoped Luo Xuan would take her words to heart. She knew her brother well, and their relationship over the past two years was genuine. So, this matter could be big or small, but the important thing was to be honest with each other.

Luo Xuan’s face revealed no real emotion. She just nodded and said softly, “I understand. Thank you, sister.”

Chen Yuwei picked up her bag and car keys and left in a hurry.
…

The wedding details were extremely tedious, and Luo Xuan wanted to handle them personally. She had arranged to meet Luo Chong this evening to finalize the flowers for the venue, but she canceled at the last minute. If it had been before yesterday, Luo Chong wouldn’t have thought much of it. But now, hearing his sister’s barely calm voice on the phone, he felt something was wrong. He thought his sister had quarreled with her husband and found an excuse to call Chen Zhizhou.

Chen Zhizhou was still busy at the hospital. After brushing him off, Luo Chong grabbed his car keys and drove quickly to Luo Xuan’s apartment. He knew her password, swiped in, and found the hallway lit with soft lights. He reached the living room, where Luo Xuan was sitting on the sofa in a daze.

There was a smell of medicine in the air, and a blister had formed on the back of her right hand, looking quite scary, with ointment applied to the transparent blister.

“How did this happen?” Luo Chong asked anxiously.

Luo Xuan shrank back, her unfocused gaze falling on his face, and replied slowly, “Oh, it’s nothing. I wasn’t careful while cooking.”

“What happened?” Although they are cousins, their parents were not very responsible. In Luo Chong’s memory, his sister always accompanied him when he was young. To him, Luo Xuan is like a real sister, so as long as she needs him, he will do anything without frowning.

Luo Chong knows that not many people or things can occupy Luo Xuan’s heart. Once, Feng Yu almost occupied everything, but now…

“Could it be that I guessed right?” He frowned, “Did that woman really say something to Sister Wei?”

“It wasn’t her.” Luo Xuan shook her head, her expression dazed, “I don’t know who told her.”

Now, besides worrying about how to confess to her fiancé, she also felt inexplicably afraid, constantly feeling that her life had fallen into a trap, and perhaps she had already stepped into it.

“Could it be Brother Yu?” Before Luo Xuan could answer, Luo Chong immediately shook his head in denial, “No, impossible, Brother Yu is not that kind of person. If he wanted to do something, he would have done it long ago.”

Luo Xuan closed her eyes wearily, not wanting to discuss the topic any further. But thinking of her brother’s impulsive nature, she opened her eyes again and hoarsely emphasized, “Zhizhou has been busy lately. When he has some free time, I will tell him. Do you still remember what you promised me?”

Hearing this, Luo Chong’s jaw tightened. Not many people clearly know about the incident on Songjing Road. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this had something to do with Ji Qingyu. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence? What else is Ji Qingyu dissatisfied with? For her, Brother Yu cut off all contact with his sister. For her, whenever they met at social events, they would deliberately avoid each other.

Ji Qingyu stayed at Yundan Shuiqing until four o’clock. She was initially planning to go home to have dinner with Yuan Bao, but as the driver drove past a section of the road, she inadvertently saw the sign of the Youwei convenience store. Seeing that it was still early, a thought popped into her mind like a gourd floating in water, and she couldn’t suppress it. So she gave the driver a new address.

There weren’t many cars on the road at this time. Soon, the driver found a parking spot. She opened the car door and got out, looking up at the building with a peculiar feeling. In fact, she hadn’t lived in this apartment for long. Before she came here, she had only moved in a few days earlier.
Maybe because it was in a relatively prosperous area, not much had changed in five years. The noodle shop with tiny portions had closed down. The chain fruit store was still open, but its storefront had expanded. Puzzled, the driver followed her into the apartment complex. Her memories, which had been gradually fading, became clear again as she entered the complex. The apartment her college classmate sublet to her was very narrow and small, about thirty square meters, divided into one bedroom and one living room. The room was so small that it could only fit a 1.5-meter bed. The living room had only a double sofa provided by the landlord, with tough cushions, covered with a light gray sofa blanket, and decorated with cute pillows, along with an oval coffee table.
Five years ago, Feng Chengze should have stayed in this apartment many times. Didn’t he mind how small it was?

…

After standing downstairs for a few minutes, Ji Qingyu turned and walked towards the apartment entrance. She mentally reconstructed the layout of the apartment, imagining Feng Chengze’s broad shoulders and back moving awkwardly inside and couldn’t help but laugh softly. It was almost five o’clock. She should go back. As she walked towards the parking direction, a loud female voice suddenly called from behind—

“Beauty! Beauty!!”

Ji Qingyu wasn’t sure if she was being called, but she still turned around. The woman in the convenience store uniform was panting, bending over with her hands on her knees. When she lifted her head, revealing her face under the brim of her hat, Ji Qingyu was stunned.

She had come from five years ago, so she was still familiar with everything from the past. For example, the woman in front of her. If she remembered correctly, she was the cashier at the convenience store, possibly working part-time. She had seen her several times, always at night. The cashier was very attentive and enthusiastic, always reminding her of store promotions and how to get coupons on the app. Even when she bought sandwiches for a late-night snack, the cashier would check the date and tell her if it was close to the best-before date.

“Beauty, do you remember me?” The woman smiled, fanning herself with her hand, and asked.

Ji Qingyu nodded honestly, “I remember. Five years ago, I lived here. You…” She was slightly surprised, “Are you still working at this convenience store?”

“Yes.” The woman seemed slightly embarrassed, but her eyes were bright, “I got promoted to store manager.”

“Really? Congratulations!” Ji Qingyu knew she wasn’t here for small talk or to reminisce, so she patiently waited with a smile.

“I saw you when I was notifying the driver to unload the goods. I thought I was seeing things and waited at the door for a while. I didn’t expect it to really be you.” The store manager pointed to the store, “Beauty, if you’re not in a hurry, can we go inside and talk? I have a favor to ask. But if you’re in a rush, can we exchange contact information?”

After thinking for a moment, Ji Qingyu smiled and said, “Let’s go to the store. I need to buy some things anyway.”

She turned back to the driver and told him to wait in the car. After that, she followed the store manager into the convenience store, just a few steps away. Inside, two employees were busy unloading goods, but they were organized. Once inside, the store manager explained the reason: “You might have forgotten…”

Five years ago, around mid to late August. She had a particularly good memory, but she remembered because a violent typhoon had swept through Jing City, bringing almost half a month of continuous rain. One evening, the sky was overcast, and suddenly, it started pouring rain. A woman in a beautiful dress used her bag to cover her head, probably trying to rush home, but she felt sorry for her bag and reluctantly entered the convenience store, her long hair slightly damp. She was stocking shelves and looked up to see a familiar customer, and they exchanged smiles.

“Do you need to borrow an umbrella?” she asked.

The woman shook her head and ordered a cup of oden, her voice pleasant, “The weather forecast says the rain will stop in about twenty minutes. I’ll have dinner here and wait.”

“Okay.” The woman sat on a high stool, resting her chin on her hand, taking small bites of the oden radish, and playing with her phone, seemingly unaffected by the rain and quite relaxed.

She continued stocking shelves.

Suddenly, the door chimed with a “Welcome,” and a man in a shirt and trousers walked in, looking around until his gaze fell on the woman eating. Sensing the intense stare, the woman turned her head, and they recognized each other. She heard the woman exclaim in surprise, almost as if she had seen a ghost. The man stared at her calmly.

Worried that the imposing man was there to cause trouble, she kept a close eye on the situation and even went to the storage room to get a defensive tool. However, when she came out of the storage room, the man was at the door, opening a black umbrella. The woman, looking a bit embarrassed, still moved under his umbrella. In the rain, she heard the man ask in a low voice, “Where do you live?”

Working at a convenience store, she saw all kinds of people every day.
This scene wouldn’t have stayed in her mind for so long if the man hadn’t returned to the store half an hour later to buy a set of items…

In short, she had a deep impression of that man.
…

Listening to this story, Ji Qingyu had already guessed who the store manager was talking about. She raised her hand, tucking her hair behind her ear, revealing the wedding ring on her ring finger, “Yes, the person you’re talking about is my husband. We got married, and our child is in kindergarten now.”

The store manager’s eyes widened in surprise and joy, “Really? Congratulations to you both!”

“That’s great.” The store manager sighed in relief, “Your husband left something here. It’s been almost five years now.”

“Ah??”

In Ji Qingyu’s stunned gaze, the store manager went to the employee workroom. When she came out, she was holding a box and explained as she opened it, “That night, I was on the night shift. I remember your husband was sitting right there—”

She pointed to the high table by the floor-to-ceiling window. Ji Qingyu followed her gaze. “Not long after he left, I was cleaning the table, and his glasses were left on it. I ran out to catch him, but it was too dark and too late, and I didn’t see him. I never saw you again either…”

“Is this his?” The store manager laughed. Generally, the store wouldn’t keep lost items for so long, but their manager had a rule that even if no one claimed them, they had to keep them. If it was something valuable, they could hand it over to the relevant authorities. However, since it was just glasses, they stayed in the convenience store year after year.

Finally, they were back in the hands of their owner’s wife.