Chapter 85: Thoughts
She didn’t argue much with Zou Qingqing; that girl seemed a little afraid to provoke her now. After putting on a show of warning her, she simply hung up the phone.
Qiao Jiu waited a moment, changed clothes, and went downstairs. She had planned to get some breakfast, but the moment she stepped outside, she spotted Guan Wei’s car parked by the roadside.
She paused in her tracks. That car was originally bought out of spite; she had purchased a limited edition, and Guan Wei, unwilling to lose, had gone out and bought a nearly identical one.
She stared at the car for quite a while, and for some unknown reason, something inside her was suddenly triggered—a surge of anger rose up.
She raised her hand and hailed a cab, giving the driver an address.
The car drove all the way into the city and stopped across from a certain company.
It was Saturday today, and for once, the area was peaceful.
Qiao Jiu got out and stood beneath a streetlamp. Across the road was what used to be her family’s company, the empire her father had built with his own hands.
Her father once said that this company was the labor of his life, and that he would pass it down to her like a throne.
She stood by the roadside for over twenty minutes before a car pulled up and parked in front of the company.
Lu Fengzhou didn’t notice her. While stepping out of the car, he was already answering his phone.
It was a little too far to make out his expression, but he seemed quite serious.
He quickly strode up the steps and disappeared into the building. Qiao Jiu let out a slow breath, crossing her arms and leaning against the streetlamp.
Back when they were married, Lu Fengzhou never took weekends off; he always claimed he was too busy at the company and had to work overtime.
She hadn’t understood it then—why could everyone else rest on weekends, but he had to work all year round without a break?
Looking at it now, maybe not everything he said back then was a lie.
Not long after Lu Fengzhou went inside, another car arrived and parked beside his.
This time, it was a woman who stepped out. She was impeccably dressed, and after getting out, she didn’t head into the company right away but instead stood by Lu Fengzhou’s car, leaning over to peer through the window.
Who knew what she was looking for? After a few seconds, she straightened up.
Qiao Jiu didn’t recognize her. She herself hadn’t come to the company much in the past; aside from a few old family friends of her father’s who occasionally visited their home, she knew no one else there.
She licked her lips and let out a cold laugh.
Just then, her phone suddenly rang in her pocket.
Qiao Jiu glanced at the caller ID and answered, “Mr. Liang.”
It was Liang Xiucheng. His voice was gentle. “Don’t keep calling me Mr. Liang, it sounds too formal.”
He paused, then added, “Call me Acheng. I’ll call you Xiaojiu from now on—we’re friends, after all, so I hope you don’t mind?”
It was only a name, and since he didn’t care, neither did she. “Alright.”
Liang Xiucheng continued, “I don’t have any other reason for calling. I just heard you drank a bit too much with Boss Guan last night and wanted to check in.”
Qiao Jiu replied, “I’m fine, already sobered up.”
She looked up at the office building of the Qiao family company—over a dozen floors high. She had no idea which floor Lu Fengzhou worked on.
To build such a company, her father must have worn himself out.
At that thought, her anger flared up again.
She asked, “Where are you now?”
“I’m at the office,” Liang Xiucheng said. “There was some unfinished business yesterday, and since I was free today, I thought I’d come in and take care of it.”
Qiao Jiu nodded and said okay.
Since Liang Xiucheng was busy, they didn’t talk much longer.
After hanging up, Qiao Jiu thought for a moment, then hailed another taxi—this time heading straight to Liang’s company.
There weren’t many people in the office; it was very quiet.
She walked to Liang Xiucheng’s office and peeked through the glass window.
He was reading a document, frowning a little as if he’d run into a problem.
Qiao Jiu knocked on the door, then pushed it open and walked in. “Hello.”
Liang Xiucheng looked surprised. “What brings you here?”
“I didn’t have anything to do, and it was boring being home alone. I thought I’d come see if I could help you with anything.”
She knew she wasn’t very capable and probably wouldn’t be much help, but she didn’t mind.
Liang Xiucheng hesitated—probably not wanting to discourage her enthusiasm. “Alright then. I have a couple of project files that need data verification. Can you help me check them?”
Instead of going to her own office, Qiao Jiu sat down across from his desk. He turned the computer screen toward her, letting her check the figures against the system.
At first, the two of them worked quietly, each focused on their own tasks.
Once Liang Xiucheng finished his work, he folded his hands on the desk and watched Qiao Jiu intently.
She glanced up. “Is there something you want to ask me?”
He tilted his head. “There’s something I’m quite curious about.”
He said, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. Just indulge my curiosity—why did you and Lu Fengzhou get divorced?”
Qiao Jiu answered flatly, “He was the one who brought it up. You probably know my reputation isn’t great, so he could have found a hundred reasons.”
Liang Xiucheng narrowed his eyes. “But I’ve always felt those rumors didn’t quite fit you.”
Qiao Jiu laughed and set down her file.
In truth, she thought that after everything between her and Lu Fengzhou had been made public, everyone should have known what really happened.
Yet people still chose to side with Lu Fengzhou and throw mud at her.
People mock the poor, not the promiscuous; whoever holds the power, holds the voice.
She said, “Sometimes there’s truth in rumors.”
Liang Xiucheng let out a slow breath and didn’t press the issue. “It must’ve been hard right after the divorce.”
Hard? Of course it was. So hard that even now she didn’t want to remember those days.
But Qiao Jiu only said, “It’s all in the past.”
Ten-odd minutes later, Qiao Jiu had finished checking the data.
This was a project Liang Xiucheng had just taken over. Having just returned to work, he was still unfamiliar with many things. Liang Xiujin had been generous, giving him a project to manage, saying it was good practice.
Liang Xiucheng was learning everything from scratch, and so was Qiao Jiu. The two of them may have started from different places, but what they had to learn wasn’t all that different.
When they finished, it was almost noon.
They tidied up and went downstairs to eat.
In the elevator, as she stared at the digital panel, Qiao Jiu suddenly asked, “Do you think, if I really tried, I could take the company back?”
Liang Xiucheng’s expression froze. He turned to look at her.
Qiao Jiu smiled. “Just joking. Lu Fengzhou is shrewd and plenty capable—it’s probably a little too hard.”