Chapter 28
These words didn’t sound like they were about Liang Jincheng; they sounded more like an explanation for certain things. When she spoke, she lowered her head slightly, her unbound long hair suddenly falling, gently framing her distinct profile.
Qiao Xi didn’t want to hear these convoluted words. Irritated, she turned her face away, watching the lingering crimson embers on the barbecue grill.
This appearance was truly annoying—eternally cool and thin, always calm and composed, yet suppressed and restrained.
Qiao Xi moved away, holding back the fire in her heart. She extinguished the charcoal fire and walked upstairs, restraining her temper.
Fu Bei followed closely behind.
There were still friends in the corridor who hadn’t entered their rooms, standing outside chatting. Seeing them, they called out enthusiastically. In front of her friends, Qiao Xi acted as if nothing was wrong, chatting for a few sentences before heading to her room.
Fu Bei suddenly called out to her.
The corridor was empty, with no one else around. Qiao Xi didn’t stop, nor did she look back. She only paused subconsciously when called, then continued walking forward until she reached her room door, opened it, and went inside, leaving the person outside.
Fu Bei didn’t follow. She stood outside the door for a few minutes until someone walked from the other side of the corridor. Seeing her standing at Qiao Xi’s door, looking at her with curious and probing eyes, she finally left.
The light in the room turned on. Qiao Xi glanced at the closed door before going to wash up.
After getting into bed, she suddenly noticed a bouquet of roses on the bedside table. It hadn’t been there when she came in during the morning or noon. A card was placed in the bouquet, but it was blank, without a single word written on it.
Perhaps a friend had put it there; she didn’t pay much attention. The daily rental villa had to be vacated before eleven. It was around 10:30 the next day when everyone finished packing. Tang Yi came over, saw the bouquet of roses, and asked in surprise, “Who sent these?”
Qiao Xi slung her bag over her shoulder. “Don’t know. Didn’t notice who came in.”
Tang Yi hugged the flowers and sniffed them. “Quite pretty. Such a big bouquet, almost can’t hold it.”
Such a large bouquet—if someone had brought it in, everyone would definitely have noticed. Not being noticed meant it must have been in the afternoon when everyone was playing, and no one would have noticed who left.
Neither of them asked further. When leaving the villa, everyone helped carry the gifts to Qiao Xi’s Jeep. Someone laughed, “The color of these flowers matches the car quite well.”
Both were a lush, vibrant red—passionate and flamboyant.
Tang Yi put the flowers in the back seat and sat in the front passenger seat. Qiao Xi did a headcount and didn’t find Fu Bei. Just as she was wondering where the person was, a friend came over and said, “Qiao Qiao, your friend had something to do and left first. Asked me to tell you.”
Everyone was busy, no time to rest all day. Qiao Xi nodded faintly, called everyone, and drove back to the city one car after another. Being a workday, there was no traffic on the way back. It was almost lunch time when they arrived at Qijing Street, so she treated everyone to another meal.
Returning home and checking her phone, she saw Fu Bei had sent her a message around eight in the morning; she must have left then.
Later, Qiao Jianliang came to visit. He had already come yesterday and came again today. Qiao Xi had told him long ago that she wouldn’t be home for her birthday and told him not to come. He insisted on coming yesterday, so naturally, he couldn’t find anyone.
Qiao Xi kept him for dinner. He happily helped cook, tactfully not mentioning the Zhou mother and son. He even brought over his gift as if showing off, cheerfully saying, “Next year, let’s celebrate together. I’ll cook for you guys then; I’ll cook, and you just eat.”
Qiao Jianliang lived his life tragically yet deservedly. He was transparent yet muddled. In front of Qiao Xi, he was fairly clear-headed and understood everything, yet failed at everything he did. Qiao Xi didn’t want to judge him. While making soup, she said, “I’ll drive you back after dinner.”
Avoiding these warm topics, unwilling to accept them.
Qiao Jianliang pretended to be confused while understanding perfectly. He chatted about family matters, asking how she was doing. Finally, he tactfully asked if Qiao Xi had opened his gift. Qiao Xi was quite direct, saying, “All the gifts are in my room; haven’t had time to open and look.”
He didn’t mind at all, wiping his hands and saying, “Don’t you like diamond necklaces? I bought you two. The styles are popular now, very suitable for you young girls.”
Qiao Xi paused, not speaking.
Liking diamond necklaces was something from when she was a few years old. As a child, she didn’t understand anything and just loved shiny, flashy things. Growing up, there was nothing to like about them. Qiao Jianliang thought he had given the right gift, but his concern and understanding of his daughter were still stuck more than ten years ago. What was the use?
After a long time, long enough for the soup in the clay pot to boil and roll, Qiao Xi finally said, “Don’t buy them in the future. Diamond necklaces don’t match my clothes well.”
Qiao Jianliang choked up, giving an “Ai.”
Qiao Xi remained unmoved, continuing, “Stay away from Liang Jincheng in business. Don’t be like before, sticking to him every day. He can barely protect himself now; be careful not to get into trouble.”
“No, won’t get involved with him,” Qiao Jianliang said resentfully, remembering the cooperation with Liang Jincheng a few years ago. Back then, the other party egged him on to bid, thinking he could make a fortune. Later, when things went wrong, he had to shoulder it himself. Liang Jincheng had no loyalty in business; only business mattered.
Too lazy to admonish further, Qiao Xi didn’t care much, sending Qiao Jianliang off at dusk.
Approaching the compound, Qiao Jianliang talked about Fu Bei, mentioning things Qiao Xi didn’t know. Fu Bei seemed to be at odds with her family. Not long after returning to the country, she moved out to live near the university town. The Fu family was furious about this, especially Grandpa Fu, who wished he could go to the university town and drag her back. To save face, Liang Yuzhi went there several times to persuade her, but unfortunately, Fu Bei just wouldn’t return.
Qiao Jianliang couldn’t figure out what was wrong with moving out, thinking young people should have their own space and it was normal not to want to live with elders. However, thinking again, he said, “Maybe other families have different rules. Their whole big family lives together, bustling and lively.”
With the Zhou mother and son at home, Qiao Xi only drove Qiao Jianliang to the main gate and didn’t go in. Qiao Jianliang tried to keep her, but she refused decisively: “A customer has an appointment at the shop today. I’ll come back another day.”
Before starting the car to leave, she couldn’t help but look at the Fu family’s house opposite.
Such a big house. Many years ago, people came and went, and the windows of the practice room on the second floor were always wide open. Now it was cold and deserted. The upstairs windows were rarely opened, sunlight couldn’t enter, heavy and lifeless.
**
This day was the Qixi Festival according to the lunar calendar, a day suitable for romance.
Qijing Street was bustling and prosperous. To welcome this day, various malls and shops were holding events. For a street with such high foot traffic, any holiday meant a wave of so-called promotions.
There were slightly fewer people around the tattoo parlor. Qiao Xi didn’t go in, driving straight back to her residential complex. At the gate, the security guard stopped her, saying she had a package.
Several from friends and a bouquet of baby’s breath. The baby’s breath came in various colors, looking very beautiful. The security guard found it novel and smiled, saying, “These flowers were sent by a flower shop. You weren’t home, and the phone couldn’t get through, so they delivered them here for me to pass to you.”
Thanks to the security guard knowing her; otherwise, he definitely wouldn’t have accepted it on her behalf.
Qiao Xi took everything. “Troubled you again. Thank you.”
The security guard waved his hand. “No thanks needed.” Looking at the bouquet in her arms, he praised, “These flowers are quite nice.”
Although he knew Qiao Xi, the security guard wouldn’t pry into others’ privacy. Sending flowers on Qixi Festival definitely meant an important person. However, Qiao Xi didn’t think much of it. After all, yesterday was her birthday; maybe a friend sent it. Plus, Tang Yi called as soon as she got home, asking, “Received the stuff?”
Tang Yi didn’t specify what it was, asking if it looked good. Qiao Xi assumed she sent it. There was still a blank card in the baby’s breath bouquet, perhaps included by the flower shop.
Placing the baby’s breath in the living room next to the roses—one pure, one passionate. The contrast was stark yet strangely harmonious.
She said, “Looks good.”
Tang Yi was proud. “I knew you’d like it. Took a long time to choose before placing the order.”
Among the pile of packages, there were also things bought by Tang Yi and birthday gifts sent by friends, arriving a day late. Qiao Xi didn’t delve into it. While opening the boxes, she said, “I’ll go find you at school in a couple of days. Nothing to do anyway.”
Tang Yi agreed readily, saying her parents sent local specialties over, and they could eat together when Qiao Xi came.
Qiao Xi opened all the gift boxes, piling up cardboard boxes as high as a person. She felt a bit emotional; she usually didn’t think she was popular, but unexpectedly received so many gifts for her birthday that she couldn’t distinguish who sent what. She sent messages to everyone one by one to express thanks, only missing Fu Bei. Fu Bei gave a bracelet, a style not currently popular, simple and plain. She looked at it twice, feeling it was a bit familiar, but didn’t pay much attention.
The bracelet was casually thrown into the drawer of the bedside table, separated from its box, each occupying a corner.
It rained lightly on the evening of Qixi. The sky was unreasonably dark. Qiao Xi lay in bed scrolling through Weibo, checking celebrity gossip and current events. This year, video apps were extremely popular, major apps rising like a storm, rushing to the top of the app charts. However, she rarely played with these, having little interest.
Tired, she went to sleep, phone on silent.
So she didn’t receive the call in the early hours of the morning. There was only one call; the other party probably thought she was asleep and didn’t call again.
Waking up early the next morning, washing up and going out, checking her phone and seeing the red missed call notification, Qiao Xi frowned. Calling at 1:00 AM—this person really had issues.
She didn’t call back. Even if they called during the day, she wouldn’t answer.
For the next two days, Fu Bei and Zhao Shihuan both disappeared without a trace, not even a message. Not that Qiao Xi specifically cared about them, but she used to hear about them from others, yet no one mentioned them in the past two days.
She didn’t care about these two. However, running into Zhuang Qiyang and his friends on the street in the afternoon, someone couldn’t hide their words and said, “Afraid there’s going to be another round of maneuvering this time. Can’t even hide by teaching at a university.”
Who else could it be? The implication was too obvious.
Zhuang Qiyang kicked the blabbermouth, scolding in a low voice, “Even cigarettes can’t plug your mouth. What nonsense are you spouting?”
Qiao Xi was stunned, not knowing if she should greet him.
Zhuang Qiyang waved first, asking politely, “Where to?”
She pursed her lips. “Back to the shop.”
Zhuang Qiyang gave two “Ohs,” slightly perfunctory, not chatting much. Finding a random excuse, he left, looking a bit evasive.
Qiao Xi wasn’t interested in these things and didn’t actively pay attention. Qiao Jianliang called once but didn’t mention anything related. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal. Besides, going to the university town to find Tang Yi that day, she saw Fu Bei at the gate of the University of Science and Technology.
During the summer vacation, the school was sparsely populated and desolate, with few people coming and going. At that time, she was standing behind the electric retractable gate, so she wasn’t discovered.
Fu Bei dressed very casually—high-waisted pants paired with a slim-fit shirt, hair let down rarely (usually tied up neatly). She was walking side by side with a woman in her fifties or sixties, chatting as they walked.
They walked towards the Jiang University campus, never looking this way from start to finish.
Tang Yi came out at this time, noticed what she was looking at, and explained, “That’s someone from the Jiang University Academic Affairs Office. Super fierce. I helped the professor pick up stuff from her before; simply terrible attitude.”
Every school’s Academic Affairs Office always had one or two people like this—impatient and fierce.
Qiao Xi withdrew her gaze and smiled. “You know everyone.”
Tang Yi took her arm and walked out, making jokes. Walking to the school gate and getting into the car, Qiao Xi looked towards Jiang University. The gate of Jiang University was even emptier than the University of Science and Technology, with barely anyone in sight. The familiar figure was long gone.
Traffic was congested during rush hour; a short distance was jammed twice. Tang Yi was a chatterbox, rambling endlessly along the way. She had something to say but held back.
Only after dinner when seeing Qiao Xi downstairs did she carefully ask, “Qiao Qiao, is there something going on between you and Professor Fu?”
Such overly private matters shouldn’t be asked, but Tang Yi always felt it wasn’t simple between the two; their interaction was weird. Out of worry for Qiao Xi, she struggled for a long time before asking. At the school gate, she had seen Fu Bei across the way from afar, but fearing it would make Qiao Xi unhappy, she held back until now. Actually, she had sensed it long ago.
Qiao Xi lowered her eyelids, then raised them, tilting her head to look at her and asking back, “Do I look like I have a relationship with her?”
Tang Yi was embarrassed. Guessing the truth would make her unhappy, she said, “Not really like it. Little interaction.”
The atmosphere stagnated for a moment. Qiao Xi didn’t know what she was thinking. After a long while, she said in a low voice, “I’m not very close to her. Just acquaintances.”
Knowing she had touched a sore spot, Tang Yi silently scolded herself for being a blabbermouth, wishing she could take back her words, and quickly changed to other relaxed topics.
Qiao Xi’s emotions weren’t lost or unhappy as she imagined; instead, she looked indifferent, making her unfathomable.
The Jeep gradually disappeared into the dark night. In the distance were lights, pedestrians in twos and threes, and the boundless silent night.
**
The cool temperature in Jiang City rose for two days, reaching the twenties.
In these two days, Qiao Xi received a bouquet of flowers every day, different each time. Moreover, the flowers weren’t sent to the residential complex but to the shop.
Perhaps because she wasn’t there that day, the flower shop didn’t deliver the flowers to her hand and gave feedback to the buyer after returning. Not knowing who sent them, she asked the delivery staff, who said they didn’t know. Orders placed on the app couldn’t trace the customer’s real information, and even if they knew, they couldn’t tell her to protect the customer’s privacy.
Qiao Xi thought about who it could be but couldn’t guess. The ones she knew didn’t seem like the flower-sending type, including Fu Bei.
However, the sender seemed to anticipate her thoughts, never revealing a trace of information, delivering punctually here every day. Refusing wasn’t an option; when she tried to refuse, the flower shop staff was extremely troubled, so she had to accept.
She had no interest in flowers. Every time she received them, she put them directly on the counter, leaving them there ignored, not taking them home.
Life went on as usual. The change appeared on the third day.
Qin Si came back early. Before boarding the plane, she specifically called, asking Qiao Xi to pick her up at the airport.
“Wait for me outside at 9:30. Taking you to dinner tonight.” Truly unceremonious, as if treating her to a meal was such an honor.
Fortunately, Qiao Xi was used to her bad temper. She asked puzzledly, “Weren’t you coming back next month? Why back now?”
Qin Si said lazily, “Too boring outside. Tight on cash recently; coming back to Jiang City to open shop and make money.”
Too lazy to even use her brain to make up an excuse; saying she was short of money—Qiao Xi didn’t believe a word. But since she wanted to return to Jiang City, she couldn’t stop her, so she agreed: “Fine, see you at the airport later.”
Qin Si hummed and hung up immediately.
Qiao Xi tidied up and went out, heading straight to the airport without going to the shop. It was still early, and there weren’t many people at the airport; it looked empty at a glance. Qin Si was usually extremely lazy and had nothing urgent today, yet she bought such an early flight back.
At 9:40, people trickled out of the airport. Not seeing Qin Si, she looked around but found no trace. Qiao Xi took out her phone to check, thinking maybe she would call.
However, instead of waiting for Qin Si’s call, she looked up and saw Fu Bei standing not far away, also waiting for someone.
She was instantly stunned.
