Chapter 48: The Invitation
“Your mood doesn’t seem to be very good,” Su Le instantly noticed that there was something wrong with Wei Chu once he got out off his car. She touched her chin while she carefully asked, “Could it be … you’re bankrupt?”
Since he saw Su Le’s mood was still the same as it had been that morning, Wei Chu let out a breath, “Yes, that’s right. I’m bankrupt. I don’t have a single penny on me.”
“It’s alright. You still have a car and a villa. If that’s not enough, then I’ll raise you,” Su Le magnanimously smiled at Wei Chu, “Don’t successful men like to raise pretty girls? Then, for others to see me as a successful woman, I don’t mind raising a pretty boy.”
Wei Chu felt like his position has gotten degraded again. He had now fallen down to the position of a ‘pretty boy’. He couldn’t help but sigh deeply, “Then, my master, where would you like to go to have lunch?”
“You need to ask your master about such a small matter? Shouldn’t you have already been prepared?” Su Le lifted her chin. She was very satisfied with his cooperative attitude.
“Since we had hotpot yesterday, let’s have something lighter like a casserole today,” Wei Chu didn’t mind being teased as a ‘pretty boy’ since he noted that Su Le was currently in a good mood. Anyway, most men had all sorts of nicknames coined by their girlfriend, and ‘pretty boy’ was only used for people with good appearances. This proved that Su Le liked his appearance. At least being called a ‘pretty boy’ was much better than being called a ‘pig’ by his girlfriend. He was satisfied.
“To capture a woman’s heart, first conquer her stomach.” It was definitely a truthful saying. Not only were Wei Chu’s cooking skills good, but he had also searched around for highly rated restaurants with tasty food. He knew which restaurant had the best Sichuan food, and even knew which alleyway store had the best lamb skewers.
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This restaurant’s casserole was truly not bad. Su Le ate some tender meat as she secretly rubbed her rounded waist. It seemed like she had gained quite a bit of weight recently. As expected, good food was the natural enemy of the woman’s waistline. After she had finished musing over it, she carried on eating some beef.
“Once we’re finished, let’s go back to my place. Let’s have dinner together.” Wei Chu placed a piece of spare rib into Su Le’s bowl. His voice was slightly sullen as he said, “There isn’t much meaning in eating alone.”
Su Le discovered that Wei Chu was disciplined in balancing work and rest. Apart from attending dinner parties, he didn’t mess around outside and his actions were steady. He didn’t go clubbing all night and he never had one-night-stands with women. Even when Su Le was dating Zhuang Wei, there were occasions where he would go out with his friends and forget about the time. Wei Chu was wealthier than Zhuang Wei, and his position was even higher than his, but Wei Chu did not pick up any of these bad habits.
He was such a good man. Su Le ate the spare rib. Such a good man belonged to her. Su Le’s mood improved further as she chewed on the rib.
“Okay,” Su Le nodded. “Your computer is better than mine anyway. Even when there are many players in a game, your computer doesn’t lag.”
“You like playing online games?” Wei Chu asked interestedly, ” What game did you play?”
“It’s a game adapted from a martial arts novel. I only play it occasionally. I’m not that interested in it.” Su Le scooped two meatballs into Wei Chu’s bowl. “Casserole doesn’t taste as good once it has cooled. You haven’t eaten much today.”
“Yep.” Wei Chu actually didn’t like eating meatballs but since Su Le was showing care for him, he was very happy to eat it. Even the meatballs he didn’t like tasted better than usual.
After the meal, Su Le was already being lazy and did not want to move. She was getting rather sleepy as she climbed onto Wei Chu’s car. When Wei Chu took her back to his villa, she climbed the stairs back into the guest room and went to bed. Wei Chu was smiling as he watched her fall asleep.
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When Wei Chu returned to the company, he saw Zhuang Wei standing by a group of plants when he entered the entrance. He turned and walked towards the elevator, but he saw Zhuang Wei walking towards him.
“CEO Wei.” Wei Chu noticed that Zhuang Wei seemed to look a bit more haggard as compared to last time. He soundlessly took a step to the side away from the elevator, “Mr Zhuang, is there something you need from me?”
“Please give this to Su Le. She didn’t go to work today and my calls to her don’t get through.” Zhuang Wei held an invitation out to Wei Chu. His expression was slightly dark, “It’s in 3 days.”
Wei Chu glanced at the invitation but he did not accept it. “You can put it in Le Le’s letterbox.”
“You don’t dare to take it?” Zhuang Wei sneered, “Or are you afraid that this invitation will make Su Le upset and she will vent it out on you?”
“You’re right. I don’t dare,” Wei Chu kept his composure as he smiled, “I care about Su Le so much that I won’t do anything that would disrespect her or affect our relationship. Also, as a man, shouldn’t one be treating the woman they love gently, as well as be prudent to them to prevent them from getting upset?”
“So you rely on pretty words to trick Su Le’s feelings?” Zhuang Wei replied as he heard the sarcasm in Wei Chu’s words. “Speaking about being eloquent, it is true that many people can win against CEO Wei.”
“My words can’t be compared to your actions. If you didn’t cheat, I wouldn’t have had a chance to be with Le Le. Honestly speaking, I should be thanking you,” Wei Chu’s words were increasingly vicious, “Of course, your conduct and actions are rather problematic. I’m very glad a beautiful flower like Le Le did not get placed into the wrong hands.”
“So what if you speak more eloquently?” Zhuang Wei stuffed the invitation in his pocket, “Su Le is not a shallow woman who will be moved by some pretty words. Even if I don’t have her, you may not actually be the final winner.”
“It is not my decision whether or not I’m the final winner; it’s up to Su Le. I am pursuing her, not snatching her.” Wei Chu frowned. He was not willing to speak to Zhuang Wei any longer. “I don’t have much time anymore. If Mr Zhuang wishes to discuss something with me in the future, you can make an appointment in advance.”
Wei Chu dropped the smile once he entered the elevator.
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When she had just entered through a transportation portal, Su Le’s character was quickly killed by some bored people waiting nearby. Su Le sighed and closed the game before opening Microsoft Word to work on her novel.
Since she had just had a nap, she was no longer sleepy, but she also didn’t dare to log into any social network after seeing the text messages from her editor, so she could only browse through discussion forums and play some games.
When her phone rang, Su Le was thinking about ideas for her novel as she reached for her phone to answer, “Hello?”
After a few moments of silence, Su Le dryly said in response, “Alright. Wait for me.”
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Zhuang Wei sat in a coffee shop and spotted Su Le getting off a taxi through the shop’s window. They hadn’t seen each other for a while, but it appeared that Su Le’s complexion looked better. She was dressed simply but her aura had increased and she looked rather dazzling.
Then, she pushed open the glass doors and steadily walked closer to him. She didn’t seem angry or sad like he had expected. Instead, she had an indifferent expression.
He took a sip of coffee. It tasted rather bitter.
“One blue mountain, please. Thanks,” Su Le ordered a coffee before she sat down opposite Zhuang Wei. She had a polite smile on her face. “Congratulations.” Since the other party had insisted on giving her an invitation, then she should also gracefully give her blessings. If Zhuang Wei thought that she was going to cry bitterly over it like those female leads in romance dramas, he was only going to be disappointed.
“Thank you.” His tongue felt somewhat numb. Zhuang Wei felt like he had said those words in a foggy state and he was not clear-minded, “I thought that you wouldn’t come.”
“I have just had a good nap and I also didn’t have to work today, so it’s fine to take an outing,” Su Le smiled but it didn’t seem like she was really happy.
Zhuang Wei observed the person in front of him. Her cheeks were rosy, and her actions were natural; she didn’t appear to have any reluctance. It was like they had never been lovers. He felt a little bitter and couldn’t help but ask, “Su Le, do you really don’t mind? Not even a little?”
“What do I need to be bothered about?” Su Le’s lips twitched, “Zhuang Wei, you’re getting engaged in 3 days. Don’t put on a frustrated look. Life is not like a drama and there are not that many stupid women who are willing to act out a play with you. Being like this, you are letting down your future wife as well as making me feel disgusted. Don’t treat women like they can be coaxed by a few words like cats. If you act like this, you will make me doubt my judgement in the past.”
“Must you say everything so bluntly?” Zhuang Wei’s expression was really sour. He couldn’t even keep the smile on his face anymore. “As long as you say ‘don’t’, I will cancel the engagement.”
Su Le never knew Zhuang Wei liked acting and causing drama this much. How did he have the courage to say such melodramatic words? Right at this moment, a staff member came over to serve Su Le’s coffee. She took a drink before she calmed down, “Whether or not you are getting engaged, how is it related to me?”
Zhuang Wei was thoroughly defeated. He smiled bitterly as he lowered his head, “I knew that you would not forgive me no matter what I did. Sorry, I was forgetting my status.”
Su Le became silent. Sitting before Zhuang Wei, she no longer had anything to say to him.
“When you left that day, I knew that everything was finished. You are a prideful person. I knew from the start but I couldn’t be as resolute as Wei Chu. Neither could I be like him, confident in his position even when you didn’t need me. So maybe that’s why it’s reasonable that everyone in university called Wei Chu a ‘God’. At least he has more self-confidence compared to me and he also knew how to socialize with you.” Zhuang Wei put the invitation in front her, “I actually saw Wei Chu today.”
Su Le looked at him. The corners of her lips moved.
When Zhuang Wei saw her reaction, he knew that Su Le cared about Wei Chu. His heart hurt, “I’m jealous of him but I also admire him. Maybe you would be happier with him than you were with me. Su Le, I owe you an apology. I am sorry.”
Su Le’s hand that was clasped around the cup trembled slightly. The liquid in the cup also rippled a bit. Her phone started ringing. At that moment, her ringtone was rather ear-piercing. She answered her phone.
“Is it Wei Chu?” Zhuang Wei asked even though he already knew the answer.
“Yep, he coming to pick me up for dinner,” Su Le sipped some coffee. As expected, she still didn’t like the taste of coffee.
Zhuang Wei smiled bitterly once more. He did not know what else to say and it looked like he would no longer have the chance to invite Su Le for dinner anymore.
Soon, he saw Wei Chu’s car parked outside the coffee shop. Then, he watched Wei Chu walk into the shop gracefully. There were quite a few females who sneakily glanced at Wei Chu. It seemed like this man would always be the center of a crowd. He was like this in the past and he was still like this in the present. Now that Su Le was with him, what else could Zhuang Wei say?
“Mr Zhuang, we meet again.” Wei Chu nodded towards Zhuang Wei before turning towards Su Le, “The car is parked outside. Let’s go.”
Su Le put down the mostly filled cup onto the table and picked up the invitation and placed it in Wei Chu’s hand, “Help me accept it.” She stood up and was prepared to walk away. But she suddenly stopped, as if she had just thought of something and turned back towards Zhuang Wei. “I will be there 3 days later. Also, I accept those 3 words.” Then, she left the coffee shop with Wei Chu.
When Wei Chu got into the car, he thought inwardly, ‘I love you’ and ‘I am sorry’ both have 3 words. He wasn’t sure which option was the one that Su Le accepted. He stole a glance at Su Le. He was dissatisfied as he thought about how Zhuang Wei was getting engaged soon but still didn’t stop bothering them!
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Outside the coffee shop, Zhuang Wei watched Wei Chu’s car drive off into the distance. In the end, he contracted an illness that there was no medicine for. It was called regret.
It was him who had ruined their relationship and he finally experienced what regret felt like.