Lai Hui stopped trying to persuade her. If Cheng Lan’s love for Ouyang was a disease, it was terminal. She was not Hua Tuo, she had no miraculous cure, so for Cheng Lan’s ailment, she was powerless. She handed Cheng Lan a tissue from the table and noticed her phone flashing blue. Picking it up, she saw five missed calls from Zhou Yuqian. Puzzled, she wondered why he was calling on a Saturday. Did he leave something at her place? She dialed back, and after three rings, a low voice answered, “You finally picked up?”
“It was me who called you!” Lai Hui corrected. “Where are you now?”
“I’m at the bar with Cheng Lan! What’s up?” “I’m at Nanling! When are you coming back?” Lai Hui was momentarily stunned, then said, “Today isn’t a…” Zhou Yuqian cut her off. “I’ll pay you overtime!” “I’ll drop Cheng Lan off first, then head back!” Placing her phone back into her purse, she helped the tipsy Cheng Lan up and slowly walked towards the red BMW that Zhou Yuqian had assigned to her. After throwing Cheng Lan onto the back seat, she started the engine and drove towards where she was supposed to be “dutiful and hardworking.” Back at Nanling, Zhou Yuqian lay on the bed, disheveled. Lai Hui thought he was asleep, walked over, and took off his shoes, but as she was about to change, her hand was grabbed and she was pulled onto the bed. “Have you been drinking?” Zhou Yuqian propped himself up on either side of her, squinting his eyes. “Had a bit with Cheng Lan!” Lai Hui looked at him, feeling something was… off, almost dejected, causing her to blink. She thought she must have seen it wrong; how could Zhou Yuqian be dejected? “Did you drive back?” Zhou Yuqian, seeing Lai Hui nod with effort, said angrily, “Why didn’t you have Xiao Li come pick you up?” “I didn’t drink much!” Lai Hui was puzzled. She remembered Zhou Yuqian as someone who wouldn’t change his expression even if the sky fell, so why was he getting upset over this little thing? It was really unusual! After the words left his mouth, Zhou Yuqian realized his behavior was out of character, not just now, but he hadn’t gone out drinking or playing cards, and coming here was already unusual. Not seeing her and calling several times in a row was even more unusual. Li Yueqin had disheartened him more than once or twice, and he used to cope by playing cards with friends. Today, why did he come looking for her by car? “Honey?” “Don’t call me honey. You think I don’t know how fake that ‘honey’ of yours is!” After saying this, both he and Lai Hui were stunned. If he didn’t want her to be fake, did he want her to be sincere? Zhou Yuqian was silent for a long time, then sealed her slightly parted lips with a kiss. Sincerity? Or not? No, absolutely not. One Li Yueqin was enough; he didn’t want Lai Hui to become like that, nor did he want love to turn into hate, making everyone suffer. Besides, if she were to give her heart, it would be to Xie Jiayi, not him. Such a woman, he couldn’t have, absolutely not! He convinced himself so, yet his kiss deepened, his hands roaming her body as if searching for something or trying to push something away. Amidst this conflict, he buried himself inside her, taking again and again… However, that night, he forgot to ask her, did she love him, or did she love his money?
Chapter 7
