Chapter 607: The Secret About the Past (225)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The girls beside Jin Qingyan were surprised to see how bold An Xiaoning was, to actually have the audacity to act that way in front of the wealthy men.
It seemed to them that she must be close friends with the boss’ wife, Mei Yangyang.
“How are things with Qingyue lately?” An Xiaoning asked.
“Very good.”
“Inform me when you two are getting married. I’ll give you guys a huge red packet.”
An Xiaoning was sitting right opposite Jin Qingyan. She would often make eye contact with him every now and then, though she did not make a conscious effort to stare at him.
“I must invite you, without a doubt. You’re the great matchmaker who pulled us together. You must be present no matter what,” Ling Ciye said with a chuckle.
An Xiaoning nodded and asked, “When did you recognize me?”
“When you were on stage. With that figure of yours, anyone can recognize you after meeting you a few times,” Ling Ciye answered bluntly.
“Ahh…” the girl sitting beside Jin Qingyan purred, surprised and flattered to be pulled into his embrace tightly.
The girl was flushed red with shyness as she leaned against his chest gently, beaming with bliss and joy.
Everyone stared at each other awkwardly. Noticing how calm and still An Xiaoning was, Mei Yangyang glared at her husband sternly.
Long Tianze immediately stretched his back and pretended not to notice anything.
An inexplicable and strange tension filled the air.
“Boss, someone is calling you again!” An Xiaoning’s ringtone crooned all of a sudden, greatly startling Ling Ciye, who was seated beside her.
An Xiaoning whipped her phone out leisurely to take a look before standing up to leave straight away.
Mei Yangyang hurriedly took chase.
Upon reaching the entrance, she chucked her mobile phone inside her pocket while Mei Yangyang asked, “Sis, why didn’t you answer the call?”
“It’s just an alarm I set. I’m going to go back to the hotel to get some rest now. Help me inform them that I’m leaving.”
“Sis, I’ll go with you…”
“Don’t make your husband jealous. What if he forbids you from seeing me again in the future?” An Xiaoning jested, smiling at her.
“He wouldn’t dare to.”
“Okay, I’m driving back now. I have to set off for B City at about three in the morning. I had a whale of a time tonight, all thanks to you.”
“Well then… be careful on the roads, Sis.”
“Yes, I will.”
An Xiaoning turned around and walked toward her car.
She took her phone out again the moment she got inside the car.
Her phone screen lit up immediately. Smiling wryly, she stared at the alarm she had set earlier on.
When the manager called for her to accompany the men, she headed to the washroom to set an alarm on her phone in order to create an excuse for her to leave.
Well, it wasn’t like her to avoid them.
It was almost twenty days since they had gotten a divorce.
Yet, it felt like it happened only yesterday.
Every inch of her was filled with pain and misery, which stemmed from the fact that they had lost each other, something that she had never expected to happen again.
She thought that they could overcome all challenges and withstand all tests, so long as they truly loved each other.
Yet, that was not the case.
When she drove back to the hotel, An Xiaoning was filled with an inexplicable feeling of oppression.
She dared not recall the scenes involving him in the bar earlier. She could tell that he was canoodling that girl on purpose in order to spite her.
She also knew that he was trying to make her feel awkward and awful.
She simply did not want him to get away with it, thinking that she dared not face him because she had a guilty conscience.
Tears welled up in her eyes. The more she tried to hold them back, the harder they seemed to fall. At last, she had no choice but to let them flow freely.
Meanwhile, Mei Yangyang returned to sit down on the couch. “Where did she go?” Ling Ciye asked.
“She left because she had something urgent to attend to.” Mei Yangyang then stood in front of Long Tianze and bent forward, smiling. “Hubby, come with me. I have something to say to you.”
“Say it here,” said Long Tianze, seemingly having guessed something.
“Forget it, we’ll talk when we’re home,” Mei Yangyang answered, since she was not in a hurry anyway. Staring at the girls cozying up to Jin Qingyan, Mei Yangyang instructed sternly, “Leave.”
The girls looked at each other in dismay and stood up to leave reluctantly.
Jin Qingyan straightened his back slowly and took out a box of cigarettes from his pocket. He then retrieved a cigarette and lit it up.
After taking a puff from the cigarette he held between his fingers, he said indifferently, “Were you guys in cahoots tonight?”
Mei Yangyang sat down and answered, “You thought we were in cahoots with each other? No, we’re here purely to have fun.”
Long Tianze admitted, “I dragged you and Ciye here because I heard from Yangyang that she would be here tonight too. I just thought…”
“Thought we ought to have a good talk, right?” Jin Qingyan finished his sentence.
“Yes.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” Jin Qingyan was feeling a little giddy; he had drunk a lot of alcohol that night, though he was still a tad bit sober.
Ling Ciye took a few sips of his drink and asked, “Do you still love her?”
“Not anymore,” Jin Qingyan answered calmly without hesitation, as if he had already rehearsed it in his head a million times before.
“You still haven’t told us what exactly happened between you two. Although it’s your personal matter, Qingyan, you’ll feel better after telling us about it, lest we make blind guesses. It’s so frustrating. I suppose you’re aware that we’re all very concerned about each other’s private lives,” said Ling Ciye.
“There’s nothing much to tell you guys about. I don’t wish to bring up anything about her anymore. It no longer has anything to do with me either. She’s already lost her place in my heart. I’m going to begin my new life from now onwards too.”
Everyone decided not to force him since he was reluctant to speak up.
Mei Yangyang was devastated. Staring at the man opposite her, she said, “You and my Sis have been through thick and thin and overcome so many obstacles together. I thought you would be the one who understands her best. When you met with the tsunami, Sis spent all her days at the office. She said that she wanted to take on all the responsibilities of managing the company for your sake and that she could not allow anything to happen to the Jin Corporation. I know how much she loves you. Although she hasn’t told me how your relationship had come to this, I’m very certain that you’re mistaken about something. If my Sis wanted to be unfaithful toward you, she would’ve long gotten into a relationship with Mr. Gu. She wouldn’t have agreed to reconcile and marry you again. Mr. Jin, Mr. Gu is nowhere inferior to you in every aspect. You only managed to trump him because she loves you. I understand Tianze’s intentions for asking you out tonight. But since you’ve already decided, we onlookers can only wish the best for you guys.”
A silence filled the air and no one dared to speak.
At last, Mei Yangyang added, “During my conversation with Sis today, she mentioned that she would no longer have any fantasies about marriage. However, she hasn’t given up or lost her ability to love someone yet. She still hopes to meet a man who truly understands her. The hardest thing in life to accomplish is to meet the right person at the right time.”
Ling Ciye drove Jin Qingyan home while Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang returned in their own car.
“Honey, are you going to beat me when we’re home?”
“I was planning to do so, but now that I think about it, you did it merely out of good intentions. Fortunately, Mr. Jin didn’t get to gain the upper hand tonight. My Sis managed to get back at him,” Mei Yangyang said with a sigh.