Chapter 501: Maybe She Was Mistaken

“Let’s not talk about them. Why don’t we go out and have dinner?”

While Su Qingsang was speaking, she took out her phone, called Huo Jinyao, and asked him if he had finished his work. If he was available, they could have dinner together.

Unfortunately, Huo Jinyao was attending a business dinner tonight. Su Qingsang hung up the phone and smiled at s.h.i.+ Mengwan. “Sorry, tonight will only be us. Huo Jinyao has been very busy recently, and it seems that there’s a lot of work at the company. But don’t worry, I will let him take you to have a fancy lunch tomorrow.”

s.h.i.+ Mengwan held Su Qingsang’s arm. “What? Are you afraid I am not happy? It’s great that Huo Jinyao is absent. Without him, we can have a conversation between just us girls.”

Su Qingsang told Ms. Yu that she didn’t need to cook for tonight, and then took s.h.i.+ Mengwan to a restaurant near her home.

“One of Huo Jinyao’s friends owns the business. The dishes here are special and have unique names.”

Though it was only the two of them, when Su Qingsang showed her golden card, they were immediately led by the waiter to the VIP room upstairs.

“Great, Mrs. Huo.” s.h.i.+ Mengwan stepped backward, looking at Su Qingsang. “Do you realize that you have started behaving like a rich lady after you married Huo Jinyao?”

“What nonsense! I’m not always like this.”

Su Qingsang rarely came to such places, and almost every time she came, she was with Huo Jinyao. Huo Jinyao’s friends were pretty generous. Wan Xianyang’s family owned this restaurant, and her card was a present from him.

They were taken upstairs. After discussing with s.h.i.+ Mengwan, Su Qingsang ordered some of the restaurant’s specialties.

While they were waiting for the dishes, they talked to each other and kept each other updated on their lives.

Su Qingsang didn’t have much to say. Her life was just s.h.i.+fting between being in the hospital and home.

Since things were unpleasant between her and Liu Tongjia, Su Qingsang had only gone back to the Huo Mansion twice after Old Master Huo told her to come.

He Xuanyao was there every time. However, since Old Master Huo was there also, she viewed He Xuanyao’s purpose there as to keep Old Master Huo company. She didn’t usually stay there long after she had dinner.

During dinner, Liu Tongjia kept praising He Xuanyao for her thoughtfulness and her good manners. He Xuanyao not only visited her from time to time but also went out shopping with her.

Last time, He Xuanyao had also come with Liu Tongjia to the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and helped to contribute.

The Women’s Chamber of Commerce in Rong City was founded by the wives from old and wealthy families in the business circle. Their usual duties were to engage in charity and contribute to public service.

On the one hand, they helped others, but on the other hand, they looked at it as an avenue to advertise their husbands’ companies.

“Xuanyao is very competent. She has helped a lot in her family’s company. Whoever marries her in the future will have a good and supportive wife.

Even if Old Master Huo was present, Liu Tongjia didn’t mind speaking highly of He Xuanyao.

Everyone else could see Liu Tongjia’s concealed meanings. She was dissatisfied with Su Qingsang.

But Su Qingsang pretended not to acknowledge it. She continued to live with Huo Jinyao as if everything was perfectly fine.

For the second time, Liu Tongjia complimented He Xuanyao and expressed regret that such a good girl hadn’t married a Huo Family member. Huo Jinyao looked at Huo Yifan and his brother, who were both there.

“Yup, mom. There’s a saying that says do not let one’s own fertile water flow into others’ fields. Since you think so highly of Ms. He, why not let Yifan or Yiyang be with her? In that case, Ms. He can be considered as marrying a Huo Family member.”

Those simple words immediately changed Liu Tongjia’s, Huo Yifan’s, and Huo Yiyang’s facial expressions.

The person He Xuanyao liked was Huo Jinyao. However, he not only didn’t appreciate her affection but he also pushed her towards Huo Yifan and Huo Yiyang.

Did it mean that although Huo Jinyao was out of He Xuanyao’s league, she was suitable for Huo Yifan?

Liu Tongjia was even angrier at her son for refusing to respect her. She was going to lose her temper, and He Xuanyao couldn’t stay there anymore.

Even if He Xuanyao had a thick skin, she couldn’t bear being kicked around like a ball.

He Xuanyao left even before she had finished her dinner.

After she left, no matter how much discontent Liu Tongjia and Huo Yifan harbored, they didn’t let it show.

Since that incident, Su Qingsang felt her world quietening down again. At least for the past few days, Liu Tongjia hadn’t called to ask them to have dinner at the Huo Mansion.

Su Qingsang felt that she and Huo Jinyao could handle this by themselves, so she didn’t find it necessary to tell s.h.i.+ Mengwan.

“I am pretty good. How about you?” Su Qingsang noticed the slight dark shadows under s.h.i.+ Mengwan’s eyes.

“I am not at Lin City now to watch over you, so please don’t overwork yourself. You run a studio on your own, so it’s okay for you to have fewer appointments. Your health matters more than your job.”

“I don’t overwork. It’s just that after I joined the design compet.i.tion, I had two more orders come in. Don’t worry. I’ll relax after finis.h.i.+ng up these orders.”

s.h.i.+ Mengwan partially lowered her head. Afraid of being caught in a lie, she drank water to conceal it.

Su Qingsang had been friends with her for many years. If s.h.i.+ Mengwan behaved a little bit differently, Su Qingsang could notice it immediately.

“Mengwan, why don’t you come and work in Rong City?” Su Qingsang proposed seriously. “Look, your work is your studio. You can work anywhere. If you come to Rong City, we can be together again. What do you think?”

“Nope,” s.h.i.+ Mengwan said without thinking. “I have clients in Lin City. I don’t want to leave them.”

“You don’t need to leave them. You can take Lin City as your headquarters and open a branch store here. And you don’t need to worry about your business. With Huo Jinyao’s help, your studio will thrive by all accounts.”

Su Qingsang believed that Huo Jinyao would be willing to help.

“No, thank you. I don’t want to rely on Huo Jinyao. Besides, although Lin City is not my hometown, it’s near my home. It’s convenient for me to visit my parents if I live there. If I come and live in Rong City, it will be difficult for me to visit my parents.”

s.h.i.+ Mengwan’s parents lived in a city not far away from Lin City. There was no airport in the city where her parents lived, so s.h.i.+ Mengwan visited them by public transportation like trains or buses. Sometimes, she drove too.

If s.h.i.+ Mengwan lived in Rong City, it would be inconvenient for her to visit her parents.

“It’s all right if you don’t want to come. But you have to promise me to take good care of yourself.”

“No worries, I will.” s.h.i.+ Mengwan didn’t tell her the real reason for being in a bad place. It was because of Zhan Haoze, not because she was burning the midnight oil and designing.

Listening to her words, Su Qingsang realized that she was not convinced. She recalled how s.h.i.+ Mengwan used to stay up late designing and drawing when Su Qingsang had been in Lin City.

When Su Qingsang lived in Lin City, she had kept an eye on her. Now she was very concerned.

She suddenly had a proposal.

“Since you are here, how about I ask Huo Jinyao to take you to see his childhood friends? They are all very nice, and all of them are very successful. Maybe you can pick one of them?”

Su Qingsang wanted to think highly of Zhan Haoze, the guy they had met before. s.h.i.+ Mengwan had told her, when they were children, that he was like her big brother.

However, Zhan Haoze was engaged now. Su Qingsang would feel bad for s.h.i.+ Mengwan if she still wanted to wait for him for the rest of her life.

s.h.i.+ Mengwan was the girl with the perfect everything. Despite her ordinary family background, she now had her own studio which was running well with a good reputation.

If s.h.i.+ Mengwan decided to spend her whole life waiting for him, it would be tragic.

“I don’t know,” said s.h.i.+ Mengwan, unwilling to be set up. “I don’t intend to marry now.”

“Who is asking you to get married? I want you to have a boyfriend. It’s okay to be in love and enjoy it, right? Even if later, you find that you two don’t match, you can just break up with him.”

Su Qingsang would not have said these words to any other person. However, year after year, watching s.h.i.+ Mengwan waiting for someone who had forgotten her a long time ago, Su Qingsang believed that she deserved someone better.

“All right, you don’t need to worry about me. You should enjoy your time with Huo Jinyao.”

Su Qingsang didn’t continue since s.h.i.+ Mengwan didn’t want to talk about it. Now, Su Qingsang and Huo Jinyao had a great relations.h.i.+p, and they were deeply in love. Naturally, she would only wish for her best friend to have the same happiness.

Just as s.h.i.+ Mengwan was wondering how to change the topic, the phone rang. She took her phone and looked at it.

Staring at the name “Foe” on the screen, she looked uncomfortable.

“I am gonna take this.”

s.h.i.+ Mengwan walked outside with her phone in her hand. She didn’t know why Zhan Haoze was calling her.

She squeezed the side of her phone, turning down the volume of the ringtone. She couldn’t decide whether or not to answer the call even after she walked out of the room.

If she picked the call, what was she going to say?

Just as she was struggling to make a decision, the phone stopped ringing. It was unexpected but also not a surprise to her.

Leaning on the wall, with the phone still squeezed in her hand, she froze, lost in thought.

When she was about to come back to the room, her phone rang again. She thought it was Zhan Haoze, so she picked up without looking at the screen.

It turned out to be a call from the studio. s.h.i.+ Mengwan was disappointed. She had answered the phone, but the call was immediately cut. Thus, she just stood there staring at the phone screen.

She sighed deeply. In the end, she didn’t return the call.

Walking back to the room, she saw a woman coming out of the elevator and entering one of the VIP rooms.

Why did her back look like Su Peizhen?

s.h.i.+ Mengwan blinked. That woman had entered the door before she could see her clearly.

s.h.i.+ Mengwan had mild myopia. She was uncertain if what she had seen was a mistake or not.

Taking another look at the door, she saw another man entering the room. s.h.i.+ Mengwan observed for a while and chose to believe that she was mistaken.

Wasn’t Su Peizhen supposed to be in Lin City right now? How could she appear in Rong City?

Besides, what was she going to do in Rong City? Shaking her head, s.h.i.+ Mengwan didn’t think about it further.

If it was Su Qingsang who had seen her back, she would have surely figured out that the person seated three rooms apart from them, was, in fact, Su Peizhen.

…

Huo Mansion.

Sitting on the couch in her room, Liu Tongjia looked at Huo Mingguang, who was reading. She was obviously dissatisfied with him. “What do you mean? You are the current president of Tianyu Group. Is it hard for you to arrange for someone to work in the company?”

“Tongjia,” said Huo Mingguang as he put aside his book. “I am not saying it’s hard for me to offer a job, but you are asking me to arrange for the person to work side by the side with Huo Jinyao. Huo Jinyao chooses his own staff to work for him. Even if I make the arrangement, he may not agree.”

“You can make the arrangement and see if he will use that person or not. Anyway, having an educational background from a prestigious university and working experience at an international corporation, how is it not sufficient to be his secretary?”