Chapter 78 Part 2

Her gossiping instincts were now fully ignited. “She’s actually your ex? Why is it impossible?”

“Because she didn’t commit to me fully and dumped me.” Wen Zenian picked up her beer glass again.

Wen Zenian had a touch of pride about her.

Du Shuwen thought not only she felt that way, but everyone at C Hotel Group did too.

It wasn’t arrogance—Wen Zenian was always polite and measured in her interactions with others. Rather, it was that her emotions were so subdued, as if nothing could stir up much of a ripple in her.

Du Shuwen knew she’d had two girlfriends in the past, and when talking about them afterward, Wen Zenian had always reservedly said they’d parted on good terms.

This was the first time Du Shuwen had heard her speak with any real emotional inflection: “Because she dumped me.”

Someone had dumped Wen Zenian.

Du Shuwen almost suspected she’d had too much to drink. She broke down and reassembled those words several times before confirming what Wen Zenian meant.

“Why?”

“Why do you need to ask so much?” Wen Zenian finished the shallow layer at the bottom of her glass and reached for the bottle again.

“Hey, don’t drown your sorrows in booze.”

Wen Zenian looked at her somewhat helplessly. “Don’t you know how much I can drink? If I wanted to drown my sorrows, would beer even cut it?”

“Oh, right.” Du Shuwen handed the beer bottle back to her. Luckily, everyone around was chatting in their own groups, and no one was paying much attention to the two of them, so she could gossip freely. “I’m just asking for the reason—to help you analyze it and see if there’s any chance of getting back together.”

“No chance.” Her tone was resolute. “And I have no regrets. It was over a year ago, and we’ve already said what needed to be said.”

“Oh…”

Wen Zenian’s lips were always sealed tight. If she didn’t want to say something, Du Shuwen couldn’t pry it out of her.

If not for wanting to stop Du Shuwen from blindly guessing and bothering Meng Ning, Wen Zenian probably wouldn’t have even mentioned her ex-girlfriend.

Du Shuwen had quietly observed them all evening, and throughout the entire barbecue gathering, the two of them truly hadn’t exchanged a single word.

After it wrapped up, Du Shuwen arranged rides for everyone. Zou Min was heading home in a different direction from the hotel, so she left first. Meng Ning waited quietly off to the side by herself, in no hurry.

That was when Wen Zenian walked over to Meng Ning. “I’ve got a driver coming for my car. If you don’t mind, you can ride with me.”

Meng Ning shook her head. “I don’t mind.”

Du Shuwen sneaked glances from nearby, her eyes practically glued to the two of them.

Yeah, very cordial. Yeah, very magnanimous. For the first time, Du Shuwen felt like she’d misread the situation. Whatever sparks had flown between them were probably just lingering remnants from the past.

Now, they seemed to have moved on.

For instance, right then, Meng Ning got into Wen Zenian’s car with a composed expression, along with another colleague who was going the same way.

Du Shuwen also called a driver for her car. Back at the hotel, she made a beeline for the office and immediately pulled up Meng Ning’s personnel file.

She’d been careless. So Meng Ning had worked at the C Sea Island hotel before.

Even if Du Shuwen knew about Meng Ning’s work history, though, she probably wouldn’t have jumped to the conclusion that the two of them had dated.

A beach lifeguard dumping a rich beauty like Wen Zenian, who was practically an urban legend?

Du Shuwen propped her chin on her hand, her fingers tapping her cheek one by one. Her head nearly exploded from thinking, but the only conclusion she reached was: Was Wen Zenian really that aloof?

She said she wasn’t planning to date anymore—was she just giving up on herself?

Meng Ning had the day off and spent some time by the moat watching the old men fish.

As evening fell, she strolled back toward the hotel in the twilight and spotted a familiar figure outside a roadside café.

Suspecting she might be seeing things, she didn’t call out. Instead, she trailed behind first.

The crowds were thick, and she nearly lost her.

She caught up after crossing an intersection, then passed the person and glanced at her profile.

Okay, confirmed.

She slowed down again, falling back behind her, and patted the woman on the shoulder.

“Mommy!” The woman yelped in fright. “In broad daylight, under the clear sky…”

She turned around and saw Meng Ning’s smiling face. “Qi Xiao.”

Qi Xiao let out a shriek and spun to run.

Meng Ning grabbed her sleeve. “No way. Sneaking around my workplace like this—what’s the deal? It’s like you’re crushing on me or something.”

Qi Xiao laughed and turned back, unable to resist punching her shoulder. “What are you doing outside the hotel?”

“I’m off today.”

“What’d you do?”

“Went to watch the old guys fishing by the moat.”

Qi Xiao paused. “Yeah, your hobbies are always so… unique.”

“When did you get back to Pei City?”

“Three months ago.”

“Three months?” Meng Ning raised her voice at the end. “You really never contacted me at all?”

“Not bothering you is my way of being gentle.” But saying it in a normal tone was too hard; she ended up singing the words.

Meng Ning burst out laughing along with her. “Why’d you come back?”

“My mom’s sick. She needed surgery.”

Meng Ning’s expression changed instantly.

Qi Xiao waved her hands frantically. “Don’t worry—it’s done. The biopsy came back benign. She’s in the hospital for some follow-up treatment now.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“My mom’s tough as nails. Before the results, she wouldn’t even let relatives know. And…” Qi Xiao trailed off midway.

She’d almost said Meng Ning probably had trauma around family illnesses and hospital runs, but decided it was overthinking.

Meng Ning hadn’t said anything herself, so who was she to judge?

“Can I go see her now?” Meng Ning asked. “I’ll visit your aunt sometime.”

“Sure.” Qi Xiao nodded.

“Are you in a rush back to the hospital?”

“Nah, my aunt’s there. Mom’s fine now; I’m just out for a breather.”

“Come on, let’s grab dinner.”

Qi Xiao hesitated.

“No way.” Meng Ning grinned. “You weren’t really planning to just sneak a peek at my workplace and leave, were you? So devoted.”

Qi Xiao couldn’t hold back her smile and curved her lips along with her.

Seeing Meng Ning like this, she seemed much better off than over a year ago. Sigh, no helping it—who could predict fate making them cross paths again?

Meng Ning asked, “What do you want? Hotpot?”

“No way! Every relative’s dragged me to hotpot since I got back to Pei City.”

As Qi Xiao spoke, she glanced toward the entrance of Xihua Hotel and rubbed her eyes hard.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing…” Qi Xiao thought maybe she’d been too exhausted lately and was hallucinating.

Meng Ning followed her gaze. “You’re not hallucinating. It’s her.”

“It’s really Gwyneth?! What’s she doing here?!”

Meng Ning took Qi Xiao to the barbecue place she and Zou Min had gone to before.

They sat down, ordered food, and she explained how C Hotel Group was trying to acquire Xihua Hotel.

“So that’s why she’s working back home,” Qi Xiao said. “You two just ran into each other by chance?”

Meng Ning nodded.

“That’s too much of a coincidence.” Qi Xiao sighed in amazement, then glanced at Meng Ning again.

Meng Ning was more straightforward. “If you want to ask something, just ask.”

Qi Xiao figured she was right. Fate had brought her and Meng Ning together again, and Meng Ning was doing so much better. She really couldn’t keep treating her like a patient anymore.

So she asked directly, “What did it feel like seeing her again?”

“I was dying of nerves.” Meng Ning stared at her plate. “She was pretty natural about it, though. Even took the initiative to clear the air with me.”

“Clear the air how?”

“You know, the past was beautiful, and we both wish each other a bright future.”

“Huh? That’s how she sees it? What about you?”

If it were anyone else, Meng Ning would’ve brushed it off.

But this was Qi Xiao.

Meng Ning didn’t know how to put it—maybe because Qi Xiao’s sincerity had once touched her deeply. So when facing Qi Xiao, she always found herself more honest than even with herself.

She thought about it seriously first, then told the truth. “Not me.”

Qi Xiao didn’t know what to say for a moment and twirled the skewer stick in her hand.

Meng Ning continued, “I heard her tell a colleague she has no plans to date. Same here—I don’t plan to start dating again either.”

“So you still… like her?”

Meng Ning nodded calmly and affirmatively.

“What about her?”

“I don’t know.”

“And you…”

“It’s like this: Before she went abroad last time, she said I went to find her without thinking things through, so she was probably pretty disappointed in me. Now, I still like her, sure, but could we get back together? I want to, but I don’t know if we can.”

“I don’t know how well I’d handle being with her—facing those past memories, and the gap in our backgrounds. I’m really scared she’d feel even a little sad because of my mental state.”

Qi Xiao tapped her skewer stick on the grill plate twice. “Yeah, that’s tough. How long is she staying in the country this time?”

“Don’t know.” Meng Ning shook her head. “Not familiar with these acquisition deals. Maybe a few months?”

Qi Xiao really wanted to ask: So during these few months, what are you going to do? Watch her leave again, just like she said—hoping in vain for both of you to have bright futures?

But Wen Zenian was right too. If they couldn’t commit fully, it would hurt both of them even more.

Qi Xiao sighed. Meng Ning looked at her and smiled.

“What are you smiling at?”

“I’m just happy to see you again.”

Qi Xiao clutched her chest. “What the hell? Now you’re the one acting like you have a crush on me!”

Meng Ning laughed again, and Qi Xiao smiled with her.

Meng Ning asked, “What about you? Since coming back to Pei City, have you seen… her?”

Qi Xiao knew exactly who Meng Ning meant—Lin Qingwan.

Their friendship had reached a new level now. And she’d subtly noticed Meng Ning was a bit different from before. Previously, Meng Ning never pried into these matters, never crossing that line called “politeness.”

She realized that when Meng Ning stepped over it first, it felt pretty good.

She shook her head in reply. “No, not even once. I think she’s avoiding me.”