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Yu Qing endured her drowsiness and ate alone for half an hour, but Yu Jingze still hadn’t returned.
Resting her cheek on her hand, she felt the strong urge to take a nap.
If she leaned on the table now, she would surely fall asleep within ten seconds.
Their little fishling was truly a sleepy baby.
Summoning her strength, Yu Qing stood up and decided to walk toward the window to shake off her sleepiness.
After just a few steps, she unexpectedly ran into Li Yanzhuo.
“I’ve been looking for you for ages. I thought you’d already gone home.” Li Yanzhuo had heard that both sisters from the Yu family were attending the cocktail party. He had originally left the evening event but turned back halfway.
Yu Qing hooked her arm through his. “Let’s go find a quiet spot outside. You can be my crutch while I stand here and nap—I’m about to pass out from exhaustion.”
She suddenly remembered to ask, “Was the gala live-streamed?”
Li Yanzhuo: “Yes, it was streamed online.” Tonight’s tenth-anniversary celebration gala of the group was organized and planned by their company, including the live-streaming arrangements.
Yu Qing thought for a moment. “When we host Lemong’s concert, it’ll also air on satellite TV and stream online.”
“You’re this tired and still thinking about work?”
“If I stop thinking about work, I’ll get even more tired.” Even though her mind was constantly occupied with work, she almost dozed off. This kind of exhaustion couldn’t be overcome by sheer willpower.
Li Yanzhuo didn’t understand why she would endure such suffering instead of going home. He assumed, “You’ve been waiting here for so long—are you waiting for Fu Jichen to arrive?”
Yu Qing shook her head. “He’s still on a business trip. I came with Yu Jingze, but he went off with Zhou Siyuan.”
Li Yanzhuo harbored hostility toward Yu Jingze. Hearing that Yu Jingze had abandoned Yu Qing, he couldn’t resist throwing shade. “Why did you have to come with someone so unreliable? Anyone else would’ve been better.”
Seeing her eyelids drooping, Li Yanzhuo held back further criticism of Yu Jingze. When she was more awake, he’d give her a proper life lesson.
Trust anyone, but don’t trust Yu Jingze.
They hadn’t yet reached the door when commotion broke out nearby. Someone had arrived, greeted with considerable fanfare as the host of the cocktail party personally went to welcome them.
Through the crowd, a tall figure caught her eye.
Yu Qing saw the man she occasionally missed when she wasn’t sleepy.
After getting off the plane, he must have gone home to change into business attire—a pair of black trousers and a white shirt. There was no trace of fatigue from the long flight on his face.
He was shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with the host of the cocktail party.
When she couldn’t see him, her longing was faint.
But now that he was in front of her, that longing became vivid and profound.
Fu Jichen didn’t linger long with them. He made no effort to hide his position in this relationship. “I’m going to find our Ms. Yu, the lawyer. It’s been a few days since I last saw her—I’m afraid she won’t recognize me anymore. Let me make myself familiar again.”
Everyone laughed, aware of his rocky romantic journey.
Previously, they had only seen Yu Qing in leaked videos online—always from the side and wearing work clothes—so they couldn’t imagine how stunning she was.
Now, having seen her in person, even with light makeup, she lived up to her name.
In public, Yu Qing gave Fu Jichen plenty of face.
She stepped forward and embraced him. “Why are you back tonight?”
Fu Jichen: “The flight tickets were discounted—it saved a lot of money.”
Yu Qing: “...”
Looking into his eyes, her lips involuntarily curved upward. “I thought you couldn’t wait to come back because you missed me.”
Fu Jichen, ignoring everyone around them, pulled her waist close. “If you don’t miss me, who else has any temper left?”
Yu Qing chuckled. Only when she was with him did she feel like her true self, full of spirit.
Surrounded by his familiar scent, her drowsiness faded significantly.
For her, tonight’s Beijing was perfect.
Li Yanzhuo stood beside them, even less noticeable than the air. He coughed twice.
Only then did Fu Jichen release Yu Qing. Even though Li Yanzhuo was Yu Qing’s cousin, he still expressed gratitude. “Thank you for keeping her company today.”
Li Yanzhuo: “We’re family—no need to be so formal.”
He added honestly, “I just got here too.”
As he spoke, he didn’t forget to throw another jab at Yu Jingze. “Yu Qing came with Yu Jingze, but he disappeared all night doing who-knows-what, and she nearly fell asleep.”
Yu Qing: “...”
Fu Jichen scanned the banquet hall. The crowd was dense—he couldn’t spot Yu Jingze.
Li Yanzhuo glanced at his watch and said to Fu Jichen, “Now that you’re here, I can rest easy. I have something to attend to at the office. Let’s catch up another time.”
They shook hands again, and Li Yanzhuo hurriedly left.
It was past midnight, and the cocktail party was just beginning to pick up.
Leng Wenning seemed uninterested. The drink in her hand barely diminished, and her mood appeared lackluster.
Her friend asked her, “Do you regret it?”
Leng Wenning withdrew her peripheral gaze from Ji Qingyuan. “Regret what?”
“What do you think?”
Leng Wenning swirled the glass in her hand. She had asked herself whether she regretted breaking up with Ji Qingyuan or felt sorry for not seeking him out and losing him completely.
Sometimes, she did regret it.
But most of the time, she rationally knew that even if time rewound four years, she still wouldn’t actively ask him to reconcile.
Because once she set aside her pride to salvage the relationship, she would become worthless in his eyes.
She could approach him for money or business, or even beg for his help.
But never for love.
“Anyway, I won’t become like Zhou Siyuan—pathetically vain and delusional. Look at her, always competing with Yu Jingxin. If her family background isn’t enough, she drags Yu Jingze into the mix. If she were from a family like mine, she’d be unbearable.”
Leng Wenning stood up. “Let’s go. Before heading home, let’s poke fun at her one more time.”
Her friend: “...”
Zhou Siyuan was alone again, drinking leisurely.
Yu Jingze had helped her deflect a few drinks, then busied himself finding the banquet hall manager to arrange for the restaurant to prepare mangosteen juice for Yu Qing, saying she didn’t like other juices.
Spoiled indeed.
Juices others could drink were deemed undrinkable by her. She needed special treatment to highlight her uniqueness.
Yu Jingxin was the same—extremely picky. This dish she wouldn’t eat, that food she wouldn’t touch.
Both treated themselves like delicate flowers.
“Where’s your brother?” Leng Wenning approached, feigning a smile. “I was planning to ask him something. I thought he was with you.”
Zhou Siyuan’s lips twitched. “I was chatting with friends earlier. He stood aside because it was inconvenient. I’m not sure where he is now.”
Though she spoke calmly, inwardly she sneered. Not only was Leng Wenning blind, but she might as well have no eyes. Couldn’t she see there was no one next to her? No wonder Ji Qingyuan avoided being with her.
A narrow-minded woman like her—no man would want her.
Leng Wenning pretended to look around and glanced toward Yu Qing’s direction. “Oh, I see Yu Jingze. They’re together as a family—I won’t disturb them. I’ll find him another time.”
Then she feigned a sigh. “Blood is thicker than water after all. Even with Fu Jichen standing right there, he still doesn’t trust her. He insists on keeping his sister under his watchful eye. Just like my brother, treating me like a three-year-old.”
Zhou Siyuan swallowed her anger, refusing to lose the upper hand.
She tried to keep her tone calm. “Mm, my brother treats his other two sisters with the same patience as he does me. Earlier, he even went to check on Yu Jingxin, worried she might not adapt to her first cocktail party. But Ji Qingyuan, being petty, even got jealous of his own brother. He didn’t want Yu Jingze nearby, finding him annoying, so he went to find Yu Qing instead.”
Leng Wenning had never met anyone as shameless as Zhou Siyuan—claiming Yu Jingze treated her the same as his other two sisters. She mentally sneered ‘heh heh.’
Smiling faintly, she continued her attack. “Your insight is sharp. Boss Ji really is petty. Back then, he even got jealous of my brother.”
Zhou Siyuan: “...”
She smiled silently.
In the middle of the night, Leng Wenning began daydreaming.
After stomping on each other’s toes,
Leng Wenning drained the last sip from her glass. “Are you staying longer? I’m heading back—I have an appointment tomorrow.”
Zhou Siyuan followed with equal hypocrisy. “Mm, I’ll leave soon too. I’ve been busy with the acquisition case lately—lots of trivial matters.”
________________________________________
Yu Qing stayed until the cocktail party was nearly over. After Yu Jingxin and Ji Qingyuan left, she finally departed.
During that time, she had taken a nap leaning against Fu Jichen.
On the way home, she was brimming with energy.
“Boss Fu, was this trip fruitful?”
Fu Jichen nodded. “My talk with Chairman Pang went quite well.” He handed her the gift Pang Linbin entrusted him to deliver. “It’s from Auntie Li.”
Yu Qing was utterly surprised. As far as she could remember, her mother had never given her a proper gift—only money.
Carefully opening the document folder, she found a hardcover notebook inside.
It was old.
Flipping it open, the smell of aged paper hit her nose.
On the inside cover was a sticky note:
[Just borrowing this to you. Return it to me in nine months—it’s my personal property. —Li Bing]
Yu Qing opened the main page to read its contents. It was her mother’s pregnancy journal, starting from the day she discovered she was pregnant.
It recorded daily pregnancy symptoms, her mood that day, and some random musings.
[Shao Hong and I were so excited we hardly slept all night. I feel like I haven’t grown up yet, and now I’m going to be a mother—it’s magical. I asked Shao Hong if he wanted a daughter or a son, and he said he hoped for a little princess. I hope for a little princess too. My little girl will surely be a beauty, clever and mischievous, just like me, haha. If it’s a girl, we’ll name her Yu Qing.]
Yu Qing closed the notebook and placed it back in the folder.
Fu Jichen: “Why aren’t you reading anymore?”
“I’ll save it to read a little each day.” Yu Qing recalled her impression of her mother’s personality when she was young and couldn’t imagine the liveliness presented in the notebook.
Once upon a time, she and her mother were the most important people in each other’s lives. Now, her mother had Uncle Pang, and she had Fu Jichen and the little fishling. Each of them was living the life they wanted.
It wasn’t bad at all.
Yu Qing decided, “Starting tomorrow, I’ll also keep a pregnancy journal. When I’m old, I’ll pull it out to reminisce—it should be fun.”
She couldn’t help but feel wistful. “My mood seems to be pretty consistent.”
Fu Jichen chimed in, “Mm. Tomorrow, I’ll write—I’m sleepy. The day after, I’ll write—I’m very sleepy. The day after that, I’m still sleepy.”
Yu Qing: “...”
Fu Jichen chuckled and pulled her into his arms. “You don’t need to write—I’ll record everything for you.”
Yu Qing wrapped her arms around his waist, looking forward to the day, many years later, when they might sit together and reminisce about their younger days.
Leaning against Fu Jichen, that wave of drowsiness gradually crept back over her.
By the end of May, Yu Qing’s pregnancy symptoms finally eased, and her sleep schedule returned to normal. During the day, she wasn’t as sleepy as before.
The concert was in preparation.
She also received a call from Zou Lexiao, saying she had returned to the country and was handling her onboarding procedures. Once she finished this busy period, she’d find time to go shopping with her.
________________________________________
As June approached, Yu Shaohong sent a message in the family chat group. To make up for the childhood regrets of Yu Qing and Yu Jingxin, he announced he would give them gifts for Children’s Day and asked what they wanted.
Yu Qing and Yu Jingxin replied instantly:
[Money.]
[A check.]
Yu Qing: [Dad, if you’re giving cash, make sure it’s enough to count until my hands go numb. Take this opportunity to make up for all my childhood regrets at once—avoid leaving any cracks that might cause me further harm.]
Yu Jingxin: [Dad, if you’re giving me a check, write the largest possible number. The bigger the number, the greater my chance of being healed.]
Yu Shaohong: [I’ll definitely fulfill your wishes. Starting tomorrow, I’ll start dieting and saving money.]
Yu Qing burst out laughing. [Dad, should I send you my bank account number now?]
Yu Jingze @Yu Shaohong: [Dad, messages like this should be sent privately in the future. With such large amounts involved, neither Ji Qingyuan nor Fu Jichen can afford to give gifts. Anything smaller would be embarrassing. Before they see the group message, quickly recall it. Messages like this aren’t conducive to family unity.]
Yu Shaohong: [It’s probably too late—they might’ve already seen it. Why do you keep deceiving yourselves?]
He sent another message. [Too late to recall—it’s timed out.]
Yu Jingze: [Then dissolve the group and create a new one. That way, the message will no longer exist, and I’ll pretend I never saw it.]
“...”
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