Chapter 56: You Can’t Even Walk Fast, and You Still Want to Chase Someone.
Huai Xing’s reaction did not surprise Chu Wantang. She only felt fortunate, fortunate that she had not played such word games with Huai Xing at the hospital in the morning, otherwise, the situation would have been even more embarrassing than now.
And fortunate… that Huai Xing still had some not-so-calm emotions towards her, even though such emotions were negative.
“I’m sorry,” Chu Wantang immediately lowered her eyelids, looking as if she had crossed a line. “I misunderstood.”
The sunset filled the sky, lingering around them, and the sea breeze, with a hint of saltiness, rushed around them.
Su Cheng held her daughter’s hand and timely made a request to ease the tense atmosphere. “Xingxing, let’s have dinner together tonight? You’ve been looking after Qiaoqiao for so long.”
“No need, Sister Su Cheng,” Huai Xing also put away her cold expression, her face wreathed in smiles. “Qiaoqiao is so cute, and she didn’t cause me any trouble. I have an appointment with a client tonight.”
“Auntie,” Qiaoqiao said, immediately walking up to her and taking her hand, looking up and blinking her big eyes. “Qiaoqiao wants to have dinner with you.”
Huai Xing stroked her head. “We’ll have a chance in the future.”
“When is the future?”
“When you come to Haicheng to play, okay?” Huai Xing knelt down. “Or when I go to Jingcheng, I’ll ask you out to play, okay? And I’ve already added your mom on WeChat, so you can contact me anytime.”
Su Qiao digested this for a moment, then hooked her little finger with Huai Xing’s and said crisply, “Pinky swear, Auntie.”
Huai Xing couldn’t help but laugh and made the gesture with her. “Mm, a hundred years, no changing.”
Chu Wantang stood at the side with her crutches, looking at the gentleness Huai Xing showed towards Su Qiao, and just felt that it was a little distant, distant from several years ago, when Huai Xing had also looked at her like this; distant from this moment, when Huai Xing would not give her such a look.
A sudden phone ringtone broke the atmosphere at this moment, and Chu Wantang’s nerves were pulled together again.
As expected, she saw Huai Xing take out her phone from her bag. She didn’t even have to look at who was calling and asked the person on the other end, “Xianyue, how much longer until you arrive?”
“Okay, I’ll wait for you. Drive safely. It’s the evening rush hour now.”
After she hung up, it was the first time Su Cheng had heard her ringtone, and she asked with some surprise, “Is this the Ultraman theme song?”
“Yes, ‘Miracle Reappearance’.”
Su Qiao started to hum, her voice childish. “A new storm has appeared~~~”
Huai Xing was very supportive and said, “It sounds good.”
She then said to Su Cheng, “Then Sister Su Cheng, you can take Qiaoqiao to dinner. I’ll be leaving in a while.”
“Alright,” Su Cheng said, bending down to hold her daughter. “Then we’ll go to dinner first. We’ll contact you on WeChat if anything comes up.”
Huai Xing nodded, her gaze sweeping over Chu Wantang’s calm face for a moment. This person had had a fever in the afternoon, and her face still looked a little pale.
Chu Wantang forcefully resisted the huge rock rolling in her heart. She opened her mouth and called out in a distant manner, “President Huai.”
“Is there anything else?”
“…” Chu Wantang really wanted to ask what was with this ringtone. Everything was stuck in her throat, because it was a question she already knew the answer to. Why bother asking again?
Besides, what right did she have to ask now? She pressed her lips together and revealed a polite, formulaic smile. “I’ve already proposed to the company our intention to cooperate with your company. I’ll participate in the evaluation after I return to Jingcheng. I believe that we’ll meet again soon.”
“Okay, ‘Silk Season’ welcomes every friendly cooperation,” Huai Xing’s words were also very official.
Su Cheng at the side could barely listen anymore. She pulled at her friend’s crutch. “Let’s go, Wantang.”
She then said to Huai Xing, “Then Xingxing, we’ll be leaving first. See you next time.”
Su Qiao also waved goodbye to Huai Xing reluctantly and shouted loudly, “See you next time, Auntie!”
Chu Wantang cleared her throat. “See you next time, Huai Xing.” She then asked uncertainly, “Is it okay to call you by your name?”
“As you wish.”
With those two words, Huai Xing lifted her leg and walked in a different direction from them.
Ten minutes later, she arrived at the parking lot.
Lu Xianyue’s call came through again at this moment, and “Miracle Reappearance” sounded in the space.
“What’s wrong?” Huai Xing put it on speaker.
Lu Xianyue asked angrily, “How much longer until you arrive? Didn’t you say you were coming to pick me up?”
“Something came up. I’m on my way.”
On the other side, Chu Wantang was sitting in the back seat of the car, next to the obviously a little sad Su Qiao. She reached out to pull the little girl into her arms and asked, “Why does Qiaoqiao look a little unhappy?”
Su Cheng looked at the rearview mirror from the driver’s seat and answered with great understanding, “She’s separated from Xingxing.”
“Mommy, when can we go find Auntie to play?”
Chu Wantang raised an eyebrow. “Do you like this auntie very much?”
“I do,” Su Qiao said, giving her reason. “She let me watch cartoons on her phone this afternoon.”
Chu Wantang’s eyes were filled with a smile. “Is that all it took to buy you over?”
Su Cheng: “I don’t know where Xingxing got her experience with children. I see that she handles these things with ease, not like someone who doesn’t have much contact with children. And her posture when holding Qiaoqiao is also very accurate.” She sighed. “I still feel that she’s changed so much. She used to be a bit like flowing water, but now she’s like…”
“Su Cheng,” Chu Wantang called her friend’s name.
“What?”
“The exhibition is over tomorrow. Are you in a hurry to go back to Jingcheng?”
Su Cheng was silent for a few seconds. “…” She said to her daughter, “Qiaoqiao.”
Su Qiao immediately: “Here!”
“Get ready to be a tool child!”
“Okay!” Su Qiao replied, then realized. “But Mommy, what’s a tool child? What kind of toy is a tool?”
Hearing her childish words, Chu Wantang rubbed her temples, but the corners of her lips couldn’t help but curl up.
But when she thought of her interaction with Huai Xing during their reunion these two days, all her joyful emotions instantly disappeared, and with what Su Cheng had just lamented…
She had to admit that the current Huai Xing felt strange to her.
She didn’t know how to interact with Huai Xing, nor could she answer the things Su Cheng had just said. She had been excluded from Huai Xing’s world.
But perhaps “unaccustomed” could accurately express her inner feelings at this moment. She was not used to the Huai Xing who used to have only her in her heart and eyes, but now seemed to have someone else in her eyes…
The three words “twin trees” floated in her mind, and she couldn’t get rid of them.
After a long while, she closed her eyes and adjusted her breathing.
No matter what, it was good that she could see Huai Xing again. As long as Huai Xing still had emotional fluctuations towards her, it wasn’t too bad.
She would find a chance to explain the past clearly. Now was indeed not the best time. She could take it slow and dismantle the intimacy between Huai Xing and Lu Xianyue bit by bit.
And the cooperation between the two companies was the best opportunity.
The clothing expo in Nancheng this time was very successful. There were many hot topics online, and the market feedback was also very strong. The trade orders and transaction volume were higher than the exhibitions held in other cities last year. Therefore, at the closing ceremony of this clothing expo, the host announced that the expected goal had been achieved.
Many people in the audience applauded, and Huai Xing and Lu Xianyue, who were sitting in the front row, were no exception.
After clapping many times, Lu Xianyue leaned closer to Huai Xing and said softly, “Do you feel like someone is always looking at us?” She then laughed. “Forget it. There really aren’t many people like us who are good-looking, young, and capable.”
Huai Xing looked at the stage, not disturbed at all.
After thinking for a moment, she still said with a smile, “Is it possible that we’re sitting in the front row, but there are more people in the back row?”
Lu Xianyue lifted her chin. “I don’t care. This young lady is as beautiful as a flower and can topple cities. I am the center of attention.”
Huai Xing fluttered her eyelashes and “mm”-ed. The closing ceremony was also a bit boring, but she found it interesting to listen to. But what Lu Xianyue had just said was not false. She could clearly feel the gaze from her right rear.
It had only been two days since Chu Wantang’s foot injury. She had changed her medicine several times, and her foot was still swollen, but not as exaggerated as the first two days.
She adjusted her underarm crutches and placed them in front, sitting in the middle row, keeping a little distance from Huai Xing. And at this moment, her vision could only see Huai Xing. Everything around her was blocked out.
In the past five years, she had not even had such an opportunity.
Her eyes unknowingly softened, because she had a lot to say to Huai Xing. But seeing Lu Xianyue and Huai Xing whispering to each other, her heart sank.
Back when Huai Xing was at “Lan Ling,” they were clearly in the same company, but they had to meet secretly. Even kissing had to be done in a hotel or in the car in the garage. They had never been open in public.
Then what was the situation with Huai Xing and Lu Xianyue now? On what grounds was the person sitting next to Huai Xing Lu Xianyue?
Also, when was Huai Xing leaving Nancheng? Tonight? Or tomorrow?
She lowered her long lashes, hiding the gloom in her heart. When she looked up again, she had a gentle and amiable look, a faint dimple on her lips.
The closing ceremony lasted for a full two hours before it ended.
A small number of people left first to rush to the airport, but more stayed to continue communicating with their peers.
Manager Chang, holding his briefcase, walked up to Huai Xing. “President Huai.” He was beaming. “You have to give me face tonight. I’ll treat you and Little President Lu to dinner.”
Lu Xianyue chuckled lightly. “Manager Chang, you’re not greeting me. What? Am I an accessory to Little President Huai?”
“How could I think that, Little President Lu? You’re really misunderstanding me,” Manager Chang said, quickly waving his hand, his gaze still on Huai Xing.
Seeing him like this, Huai Xing said, “I wonder what Manager Chang wants to treat us to? We’ve been in Nancheng for a few days, and we’ve already eaten almost everything. There’s nothing new.”
“You don’t know about this,” Manager Chang said with a laugh. “There’s a high-end private restaurant here in Nancheng. The taste is absolutely amazing.”
“Is it the restaurant you mentioned last time that requires a reservation?”
“No, this one is more expensive and has more face. It’s called ‘Cloud Top.’ When we go back to Haicheng tomorrow, we won’t have time to be so leisurely.”
Huai Xing’s peripheral vision fell on the vicinity for half a second, and she chuckled lightly. “Alright.”
“Then it’ll be your treat, Manager Chang.”
Lu Xianyue at the side first experienced confusion, and now she understood what Huai Xing meant. She also said generously, “Manager Chang, you’d better prepare your wallet. We’re both big eaters.”
Before long, the three of them left.
Chu Wantang was behind them with her underarm crutches. She said to Su Cheng at the side, “Su Cheng, we’re also going to ‘Cloud Top’.”
Su Cheng looked at her difficult walking posture and couldn’t stand it anymore. She complained, “Aren’t you still preparing to go to Haicheng? Can you not force yourself now? You can’t even walk fast, and you still want to chase someone.”
“…” Chu Wantang silently looked at her friend, looking very pitiful.
Su Cheng waved her hand and resigned herself to her fate. “Alright, alright, let’s go, let’s go. We’ll go to Sister Lin’s to pick up Qiaoqiao first.”
But when they arrived at “Cloud Top,” they did not see Huai Xing’s figure.
Chu Wantang had no intention of eating. Her gaze was always on the various parts of the restaurant. After more than half an hour, she still couldn’t help but go to the front desk and ask, “Hello, may I ask if two women and one man have come in tonight? The two women are very beautiful, about the same height as me, and the man is not very good-looking…”
She had always had a bad impression of the men who liked Huai Xing and found it hard to describe them with good words.
“I’m sorry, no,” the front desk said with a faint smile, replying very politely.
In a home-style restaurant in Nancheng with a strong smell of fireworks.
Huai Xing sat by the window, propping her chin on her hand and looking at the thick night scenery outside. Her other hand was gently swirling the drink glass, a hint of a smile in her eyes.
While Manager Chang was in the restroom, Lu Xianyue shoveled two mouthfuls of rice into her mouth and said to her friend beside her with confusion, “I really don’t understand you. Why did you change your mind halfway and come to the restaurant he told you about last time? I thought you were going to fleece him…”
