Chapter 114: The Blind Date Prospect

Qiao Jiu sat in her seat, her cheeks flushed. The server who had brought them their dishes did not look much more composed.

Just moments ago, she and Lu Fengzhou had been kissing so passionately that neither wanted to stop when the server suddenly pushed open the door and caught them in the act.

It was hardly anything shameful, yet Qiao Jiu was mortified.

With her head lowered, the server hurriedly set the dishes on the table, then turned and left.

Only after the private-room door closed did Qiao Jiu finally let out a breath. She glanced at Lu Fengzhou, who was sitting across from her.

He looked completely unruffled, as though nothing had happened.

When the server had come in just now, he had even lost his temper, asking why she had entered without knocking.

But really, who could have imagined that the two of them would be doing such a thing in a private room?

After waiting a while, Lu Fengzhou placed some food in Qiao Jiu’s bowl to break the awkward silence. His voice was much gentler than before. “If you don’t want it, I’ll have someone take the news down.”

Qiao Jiu lowered her face. “Take it down. Nothing else has happened yet, but if it stays up too long, someone might come investigating me. It wouldn’t be good if they happened to uncover what happened in the past.”

Presumably, Lu Fengzhou did not want his past exposed either.

Lu Fengzhou acknowledged this with a quiet hum and changed the subject. “Eat first.”

They had been at each other’s throats earlier, but now both of them fell silent.

The meal dragged on awkwardly, with Qiao Jiu visibly ill at ease.

Lu Fengzhou glanced at her several times. It was only when the gloom in his eyes had completely faded that the corners of his lips finally curved upward.

After the meal, Lu Fengzhou paid the bill, and the two of them left the restaurant.

“I’ll take you back to the company,” Lu Fengzhou said.

This time, Qiao Jiu did not refuse. “All right.”

Once she was in the car and had fastened her seat belt, Qiao Jiu thought for a moment before lowering the sun visor. She pouted at her reflection in the mirror and examined herself.

Lu Fengzhou could not help glancing at her. Her lips were swollen, and anyone with experience would know exactly what had happened.

He smiled. “It’ll go down soon. Don’t worry.”

Qiao Jiu glared at him, though her expression had become somewhat more natural. “This is all your fault.”

Lu Fengzhou started the car and backed out. “How can you blame me? In that situation, it was the only solution.”

Qiao Jiu gave a hum that was neither quite angry nor quite coquettish.

It was as though all the arguments between them had never existed.

The car drove all the way to the Liang family company. Liang Xiucheng had already returned, and his car was parked in the lot.

Qiao Jiu breathed a sigh of relief. With Lu Fengzhou beside her the entire time, she had been unable to call or message Liang Xiucheng. If he had been waiting for her all this while, she would have felt guilty.

Qiao Jiu got out of the car and hesitated, unsure whether she should turn around to say goodbye or simply leave.

At that moment, Liang Xiujin’s car drove over. He got out, looking rather surprised. “Mr. Lu?”

Lu Fengzhou also stepped out. “Mr. Liang.”

Liang Xiujin’s gaze fell on Qiao Jiu. “You came to bring Miss Qiao here?”

Lu Fengzhou answered frankly, “Yes. We had lunch together, and I brought her here for work since it was on my way.”

Liang Xiujin nodded. It was impossible to tell whether he thought anything of it; he seemed merely to have asked in passing.

Qiao Jiu, however, looked a little uncomfortable. “All right, I’ve arrived. Thank you, Mr. Lu.”

Lu Fengzhou turned to look at her, the corners of his lips raised and his eyes carrying a meaningful gleam. He nodded, then turned and got back into the car.

Only after his car had driven away did Liang Xiujin speak. “You and Lu Fengzhou…”

Qiao Jiu hurriedly interrupted him. “We were discussing the gossip news. There’s nothing else.”

Liang Xiujin let out a breath. “I wouldn’t object if the two of you were together. You just need to know where to draw the line, and you should also deal with certain other matters properly.”

Qiao Jiu did not understand what he meant by “other matters.” “What matters?”

Liang Xiujin looked at her, considered it for a moment, then clicked his tongue. “Never mind.”

…

Lu Fengzhou acted quickly. Qiao Jiu was busy for a while that afternoon, and when she went online again, every piece of news about her and Lu Fengzhou had disappeared without a trace.

This was why having money was so wonderful. Anything unpleasant could vanish at once.

After waiting a little longer, Qiao Jiu organized the documents in front of her, then got up and took them to Liang Xiucheng.

She knocked and pushed open the door, only to find someone else in Liang Xiucheng’s office—a woman.

Qiao Jiu had no idea what they had been discussing, but the atmosphere did not look particularly pleasant.

Liang Xiucheng’s expression was solemn, while the woman looked thoroughly embarrassed.

Keeping her eyes lowered, Qiao Jiu walked over and said in a businesslike tone, “Manager Liang, these are the documents you asked me to review earlier. I’ve finished checking them, and there don’t seem to be any problems. Please take a look.”

Liang Xiucheng gave a quiet acknowledgment. “All right. I’ll come to you if I find anything.”

His expression was unpleasant, but his voice remained gentle.

Qiao Jiu turned and left. As she pulled the door shut behind her, she heard the woman say, “Liang Xiucheng, what do you mean by this? You’re making it seem as though I’m desperate for you.”

Liang Xiucheng’s voice was even colder than his expression had been. “Then why did you come here? Didn’t I make myself clear before?”

“You…” Before the woman could finish, the door closed, and Qiao Jiu could no longer make out what was being said.

She took a slow breath and vaguely guessed that the woman was probably Liang Xiucheng’s arranged blind date.

The woman looked to be about her age and was quite attractive. Judging from her clothes, her family was probably well-off too.

Qiao Jiu clicked her tongue twice. To turn down someone like that, Liang Xiucheng certainly had high standards.

She did not know when the woman left. Near the end of the workday, Liang Xiucheng came over with the documents Qiao Jiu had delivered earlier and told her that two of the annotations were problematic.

Qiao Jiu quickly took them from him. As she looked through the pages, Liang Xiucheng explained, “The woman just now was someone my mother arranged for me to meet. It didn’t work out. I told her very clearly that I wasn’t interested in her, so I don’t know why she came here.”

His tone was calm, though edged with impatience. “I was surprised too. Still, she didn’t seem to have any particular feelings for me either.”

Qiao Jiu wore an expression that was half amusement, half restraint. “Then what did you talk about?”

“Nothing much,” Liang Xiucheng said. “We didn’t have anything to say to each other. She left less than two minutes after you went out.”

Qiao Jiu found the places he had marked as problematic. In truth, they were not really errors; the annotations were simply too brief. She said, “She was pretty. You could actually give it a try.”

Liang Xiucheng lowered his gaze and stared at her.

Qiao Jiu was adding to the annotations on the document. Her eyelashes cast a shadow across her face, concealing her eyes so that he could not clearly see her expression.

He exhaled. The irritation he had suppressed earlier began to rise again, little by little. “There are plenty of women more attractive than her. You can’t judge this sort of thing by looks alone.”

Qiao Jiu laughed. “That’s true. I used to care too much about appearances. As it turns out, the prettier someone is, the more thorns she may have—and the more painful the wounds. You really do have to consider things from every angle.”

Only then did Liang Xiucheng ask, “What did you and Lu Fengzhou talk about at lunch?”

At the mention of it, Qiao Jiu quickly glanced at the small mirror beside the desk. The swelling in her lips had already gone down, and it was no longer very noticeable.

She breathed a sigh of relief. “He took down all the gossip news involving me. We only discussed that.”

Liang Xiucheng turned and leaned back against the desk. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Lu Fengzhou has connections in the entertainment industry. Something like that would be easy for him to handle.”