Chapter 1052 - 1017: Carry It Through to the End

Zhao Xiaohui sighed. "Chunliang, you’re overthinking it. I didn’t come back for anyone. Whether it’s Sheng Chaohui or Chen Jianxin, neither of them is worth me doing anything."

Xu Chunliang looked at Zhao Xiaohui. From her quickened heartbeat he could tell she was lying; when people lie, they always have a lot of subtle tells.

Zhao Xiaohui picked up her teacup and took a sip to cover her unease. "Sheng Chaohui gave me quite a lot of money. I’ve already achieved financial freedom, but I’m not happy at all. I don’t know how I’m supposed to face my child in the future. I want to do something, make money by relying on my own abilities. I want to get rid of being anyone’s appendage. I want to be an independent me. Do you understand?"

Xu Chunliang took a sip of tea and said, "I understand." What he understood was that he couldn’t stop Zhao Xiaohui; Zhao Xiaohui was not someone who cared too much about some "independent woman" persona.

"You really understand?"

"I really understand."

The two of them laughed at the same time. Zhao Xiaohui laughed until she was almost in tears. It took her a lot of effort to stop laughing, then she looked into Xu Chunliang’s eyes and said very seriously, "I didn’t lie to you. In this world, there is only one person worth me doing anything for."

Xu Chunliang picked up his teacup and took a sip, because he knew very clearly that the person Zhao Xiaohui was talking about was him.

Zhao Xiaohui said, "Don’t be scared, okay? I don’t have any improper thoughts about you."

Xu Chunliang smiled. "There’s one thing I don’t get. The child is so little—are you really willing to leave?"

Zhao Xiaohui said, "What’s there to be unwilling about? He’s got the surname Sheng anyway, and the Sheng Family will take care of him." She shook her head. "Don’t talk about me. Right, what’s going on with you and Su Qing?"

Xu Chunliang said, "What do you mean what’s going on?"

Zhao Xiaohui said, "Don’t play dumb with me. I can see perfectly well how Su Qing treats you. In the past you had Mei Ru Xue by your side, and now the two of you have already broken up. Su Qing, in terms of looks or character, is one in a million. In our circle, there are very few girls who keep themselves this clean, and what’s even rarer is that she’s so deeply in love with you."

Xu Chunliang said, "You came all this way back just to matchmake the two of us?"

Zhao Xiaohui said, "Do the two of you need me to play matchmaker? When your eyes meet, your gazes are practically turning into strings of melted cheese."

Xu Chunliang felt her choice of metaphor was quite fitting and laughed. "Looks like my cultivation is still not deep enough."

Zhao Xiaohui said, "Your cultivation is deep enough. Su Qing doesn’t have your kind of strong mental fortitude. Really, treat her a bit better."

While they were talking, Su Qing came over. Xu Chunliang’s face was full of surprise. He hadn’t asked Su Qing out, and there was no way Su Qing just happened to come here by coincidence.

Zhao Xiaohui whispered, "I asked her to come an hour later. You just say you just got here. I still have to go to the TV station in a bit. I’m finding a beauty to keep you company."

Xu Chunliang sighed inwardly. Women really did have a lot of little schemes.

Zhao Xiaohui waved at Su Qing. "Su Qing, what took you so long? We’re already here."

Su Qing said, "Sister Xiaohui, I’m not late." Her gaze flicked to Xu Chunliang, and in an instant her pretty face flushed red, mainly because last night’s incident was just too embarrassing. If it hadn’t been for those two cops, the two of them had probably already cooked the rice into a finished meal by now.

Su Qing realized even her brain had gone a bit off. It seemed she shouldn’t be blaming the police. It was clearly Xu Chunliang who’d set her up. After tossing and turning the whole night, she’d finally figured it out. It was all Xu Chunliang’s scheme. He’d spilled that cup of tea on his crotch on purpose. Why didn’t it scald him to death.

Acting as if nothing had happened, Xu Chunliang poured a cup of tea for Su Qing and smiled. "Did the interview go smoothly?"

Once they started talking about work, Su Qing became much more at ease. "What they discovered in the Hidden Dragon Mountain tunnel is a Han Dynasty quarry. Actually, that possibility was already taken into account in the initial design. The design institute has already made adjustments. It won’t affect the progress of the tunnel project. I heard them say that in the future they’ll incorporate the quarry into the Dongzhou Museum and build an underground exhibition hall for visitors."

Zhao Xiaohui said, "Even though I haven’t been away from Dongzhou for long, the changes here really are big. When I left, Dongzhou Culture and Tourism was still focusing on the Weishan Lake national-level tourist resort area. Now it’s become all about creating Dongzhou’s historical context. As the saying goes, ’A new emperor, a new court.’ Once the Party secretary changes, all the policies and directions change too."

Xu Chunliang smiled. "Sister Xiaohui, it looks like you really don’t understand Dongzhou Culture and Tourism’s situation at all. The policies haven’t changed much. It’s just walking on two legs: they’re building the historical context, and they’re also continuing to develop the national-level tourist resort area."

Zhao Xiaohui said, "Actually, the area around Weishan Lake really is great. I’m not that interested in this historical context of Dongzhou. I’ve seen their planning proposal. It’s basically all reconstruction on the original sites. Imitation ancient architecture is imitation ancient architecture; the difference from real historical relics is just too big."

Xu Chunliang said, "You can’t put it that way. Leave today’s imitation ancient buildings there for three to five hundred years and they’ll be historical relics too."

Su Qing said, "Today’s imitation ancient buildings are all reinforced concrete. It’d be tough for them to last even a hundred or two hundred years."

Xu Chunliang said, "You two are tough. I’m not going to spar with you."

Zhao Xiaohui said, "I’ve still got things to do. I have to make a trip to the TV station. You two keep talking."

Xu Chunliang said in mock sincerity, "Don’t go. I was just about to invite you to dinner tonight."

Zhao Xiaohui laughed. "I’m not in the habit of being a third wheel." She winked at Su Qing, picked up her handbag, and left.

Su Qing stood up to see her off, but Zhao Xiaohui pressed her back down into her seat.

Xu Chunliang said, "Sister Xiaohui, think a bit more about what I said to you."

Zhao Xiaohui didn’t look back and just waved her hand.

After she left, Su Qing asked quietly, "What were you two talking about?"

Xu Chunliang smiled. "You."

Seeing his mischievous grin, Su Qing lifted her foot and stepped on the top of his foot. "You bad guy, setting me up."

Xu Chunliang said, "Easy, easy, that hurts."

Su Qing lifted her foot and handed him the paper bag next to her. Inside were the clothes Xu Chunliang had taken off at her place last night; she’d already washed and dried them.

Xu Chunliang said, "Thanks."

Su Qing said, "I really can’t handle this, Xu Chunliang, how can you have so many dirty ideas."

Xu Chunliang said, "I drank too much yesterday. Haven’t you heard that alcohol makes people lose control?"

Su Qing’s cheeks were flushed. She took a sip of tea and said, "Drink less from now on."

"Okay!" Xu Chunliang acted like an obedient little boy who always listened.

Su Qing said, "Are you okay?"

Xu Chunliang said, "Can’t really say I’m fine."

Su Qing said, "What’s wrong?"

Xu Chunliang said, "It got bigger. Heat expands, cold contracts. If you don’t believe me, feel it."

Su Qing scrunched her nose in embarrassment. "You’re impossible. This is a public place, you really have no shame."

Xu Chunliang noticed her eyelids were a bit puffy and said softly, "Didn’t sleep well last night?"

Su Qing nodded.

Xu Chunliang said, "Me neither."

Su Qing looked at Xu Chunliang and, in her mind, pictured this guy stark naked, climbing down from the twenty?third floor. She couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

Xu Chunliang said, "What’s so funny?"

Su Qing said, "I was really scared last night you’d slip and regret it forever."

Xu Chunliang said, "Su Qing, don’t you think this whole thing is a bit strange? Like someone’s secretly watching your every move."

Su Qing actually also felt something was off. When Xu Chunliang said it, she got even more scared; her pretty face turned pale. "No way. I had the curtains pulled tight."

Xu Chunliang said, "I’ll come to your place another day and check it carefully, see if someone installed a bug or something in your house."

"No way, right?" Su Qing’s expression was full of panic. After what Xu Chunliang said, she didn’t even dare go home.

Xu Chunliang said, "You don’t have to be scared. I figure whoever filed the report doesn’t mean you any harm—they’re probably targeting me."

Su Qing’s long dark lashes lowered; she knew what Xu Chunliang was getting at.

The reason Xu Chunliang said all this in front of Su Qing was to watch her reaction. Her reaction further confirmed his suspicion: nine times out of ten, the person who called the police last night was Su Tianyu.

It proved that although Old Su had vanished, he’d always been silently watching over and protecting his daughter.

Xu Chunliang sighed inwardly, thinking he’d probably been seen from head to toe by Su Tianyu last night. The more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he felt—whipping out the "weapon," attempted assault, the scene back then was cringe to the max.

Xu Chunliang said, "I’m thinking of buying an apartment."

Su Qing said, "Don’t you already have a villa?"

Xu Chunliang said, "I figure I should have some private space of my own."

Su Qing knew exactly what he was plotting. She lowered her voice and said, "No need to waste money like that. Besides, Dongzhou real estate doesn’t have much room to appreciate. Having one villa is already enough for you."

Xu Chunliang said, "Or I could just buy in Nanjiang."

Su Qing spat, "You’re awful."

Xu Chunliang said, "I don’t mean anything else, just investment. You work over there, you know the situation better. Help me see which area has the most potential to go up in value."

Su Qing said, "How am I supposed to know what kind of place you like?"

"Whatever you like, I’ll like."

Su Qing felt a sweet warmth in her heart.

They finished afternoon tea and then had dinner together. Xu Chunliang offered to walk Su Qing back. Su Qing told him she wasn’t going home tonight; she was staying at Flower Hall on the Pedestrian Street, just a couple of steps away.

Xu Chunliang said that no matter how close it was, he still had to see her off, and accompanied Su Qing to the hotel. The hotel was first?class in both location and environment.

After entering the hotel, the two of them suddenly fell silent. Xu Chunliang didn’t say he was leaving, and Su Qing didn’t tell him to stop there. They just walked side by side like that, all the way to Su Qing’s room.

Su Qing said, "This is me."

Xu Chunliang nodded, still not looking like he was about to go.

Su Qing bit her cherry lips, mustered her courage, and said, "Want to come in for a cup of coffee?"

"Sure." Xu Chunliang couldn’t have asked for more. After missing his chance last night, there was no way he could miss it again tonight. He had to finish what he hadn’t managed to do yesterday.

Su Qing opened the door. Xu Chunliang followed her in, and as soon as the door closed, he pulled Su Qing into his arms. Su Qing let out a soft sound and didn’t resist. She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, hearing her own heart pounding.

They both knew what was about to happen next, and they were both looking forward to that moment.