After Being Marked By A Love Rival - Chapter 63

Xie Rong originally intended to hang up the phone immediately, because she didn’t want to talk to Qi Musi at the moment. She wasn’t sure what to do, or how to interact with her.

However, Xie Rong paused before hanging up because she recalled that previously Qi Musi had only pestered her on QQ and had never called before. Now that she was calling, could it be that she genuinely had something to say?

With that thought, Xie Rong answered the call.

“Xiao Rong.” The female voice coming through the phone was slightly distorted, accompanied by a bit of laughter. Xie Rong unconsciously pursed her lips but didn’t respond immediately, waiting for Qi Musi to speak.

Qi Musi knew that the phone being answered without being hung up meant Xie Rong was willing to listen to her, so she didn’t deliberately ask again to confirm Xie Rong’s presence. She simply said softly, “I’m going back to A City.”

Xie Rong was stunned, not expecting her to leave so quickly.

Xie Rong subconsciously wanted to blurt out a question but quickly realized that doing so might seem a bit… inappropriate.

It was perfectly normal for Qi Musi to return to A City. Why was she so anxious to ask?

Xie Rong lowered her eyes, consciously trying to suppress her emotions. But before she could suppress them for two seconds, she couldn’t help but ask, “Going back so soon?”

Qi Musi chose not to tease her at this moment but answered the question honestly.

After all, she was genuinely afraid of unintentionally provoking Xie Rong into hanging up the phone.

“Yes, because my dad wants me to go back and take over a portion of the work for practice.”

Xie Rong was suddenly enlightened; this must be the matter Qi Musi had mentioned earlier.

So, she said, “Okay, then hurry back.”

Qi Musi chuckled, unable to resist asking, “Are you in such a hurry to send me away?”

Xie Rong frowned slightly, ignoring the teasing in her words. She said, “What else? This is an excellent opportunity for competition; of course, I have to urge you to seize it.”

Although some time had passed since Qi Musi discussed her family affairs, Xie Rong still remembered it clearly.

In her view, if Qi Musi’s younger brother could stoop to the despicable act of drugging his older sister, what else was he incapable of? If the Qi family later fell into his hands, there was no telling how he might torment Qi Musi.

Therefore, Xie Rong didn’t want her to lose this opportunity, nor did she want to see Qi Musi fail.

Qi Musi sensed Xie Rong’s genuine concern, a sincere smile spread across her face, and she couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

“Xiao Rong, I’m very happy that you care about me.”

The side of Xie Rong’s ear felt as if it had gone numb. She tightened her grip on her phone and then retorted, “Who cares about you? I just purely find your younger brother disgusting.”

Despite saying this, it was undoubtedly a case of saying one thing but meaning another.

Qi Musi didn’t expose her but accepted Xie Rong’s concern.

“Alright, don’t worry, I’ll definitely work hard.”

Xie Rong “Mmm” in acknowledgment, and then there was nothing more to say.

Qi Musi said softly, “After I get to the company, I’ll probably get very busy. I won’t have the chance to talk to you like this then. The next time we meet will be at school…”

Xie Rong paused, a little unsure why Qi Musi was saying this, but she instinctively comforted her, “It’s fine, you just focus on your work.”

Qi Musi: …

She couldn’t help but laugh lightly.

She wasn’t worried that Xie Rong would misunderstand her for not contacting her due to busyness what she was afraid of was how much she would miss Xie Rong during such a long period without close contact.

It seemed Xie Rong still hadn’t grasped her meaning.

However, Qi Musi didn’t mind. If Xie Rong didn’t understand, she could tell her. She said to Xie Rong on the phone, “I’m just worried that being away from you for so long, I will miss you terribly.”

Xie Rong was momentarily stunned. Before she could react, her earlobes flushed crimson.

“I…” She suddenly became a little speechless. She didn’t know how to respond. Should she comfort Qi Musi, or scold her for being so flirtatious?

Xie Rong was torn for a moment.

Fortunately, Qi Musi didn’t intend to make things difficult for her.

“I’m leaving this afternoon. Would you mind coming to see me off?”

This was easy to agree to, so Xie Rong immediately accepted.

Qi Musi smiled, her eyes curving, “Okay, see you this afternoon.”

“See you this afternoon.”

In the afternoon, Xie Rong went straight to the hotel to find Qi Musi.

When she arrived, the other party was packing her luggage and was almost finished.

Xie Rong looked around and asked, “Is there anything you need help with?”

Qi Musi replied, “No, I’ve already prepared almost everything.”

So Xie Rong could only say, “Oh,” and waited for her to finish packing.

Since waiting in this situation felt a little awkward, Xie Rong asked, “After you go to the company, will your younger brother try to cause you trouble?”

“Qi Muyan?” Qi Musi said, “Probably. After all, this is a threat to him. Zhong Ling won’t agree either, so there will definitely be a commotion.”

It took Xie Rong a couple of seconds to realize that Zhong Ling was Qi Musi’s stepmother.

She frowned, “Then you…”

Qi Musi looked up and smiled at Xie Rong, her eyes filled with tenderness, “Don’t worry, I can handle it.”

Besides, she figured news would come from Song Yue’s side in the next couple of days, and then Zhong Ling wouldn’t be able to focus on her for a while.

Hearing Qi Musi sound so confident, Xie Rong was somewhat relieved, so she nodded and said nothing more.

Soon, Qi Musi finished packing her bags. The car she had called was already waiting downstairs at the hotel. Qi Musi picked up her suitcase and asked, “Shall we go?”

Xie Rong nodded.

She followed Qi Musi to the lobby to check out, and then they walked out together.

After putting the suitcase into the trunk, Qi Musi turned and looked at Xie Rong, “Xiao Rong, won’t you give me a hug before I leave?”

Xie Rong’s eyebrows moved, she pursed her lips, and her expression was still a bit cool.

Normally, according to her personality, she would never agree to Qi Musi’s suggestion, and would even directly reject her. But for some reason, at this moment, she suddenly felt a bit… inexplicably soft-hearted.

This wave of soft-heartedness prompted Xie Rong not to respond coldly, but instead to nod.

A faint light shone in Qi Musi’s eyes, and she stepped forward and hugged Xie Rong.

Although she couldn’t feel anything through the thick layers of clothing, Qi Musi still felt very happy. The smile on her lips deepened, and she then whispered in Xie Rong’s ear, “Thank you, Xiao Rong. I have gained a lot more courage.”

With that, she released Xie Rong.

Qi Musi opened the car door and said, “Xiao Rong, you should go back first. Don’t stand here in the wind.”

Xie Rong finally snapped back from her momentary daze. She pursed her lips, looked at Qi Musi, and then silently nodded, turning to leave.

However, Xie Rong’s eyes still held lingering confusion, and a hint of an inexplicable emotion.

When Qi Musi had held her just now, the “courage” she mentioned did it refer to her returning to the company to fight with her stepmother and brother, or… the courage to pursue her?

Xie Rong, who had never considered this aspect before, suddenly had such a thought. She stopped walking, and lowered her gaze.

The winter break flew by quickly. In the blink of an eye, more than a week had passed, and the Lantern Festival was approaching.

During this time, Xie Rong genuinely felt how busy Qi Musi was, as the other party only had time to send messages during three periods of the day morning, noon, and evening, likely when she had time during meals.

As for phone calls, they were even less likely. Only now did Xie Rong understand why Qi Musi had said those words before she left.

Xie Rong lowered her eyes and looked at the chat history between the two of them during this period. It was indeed very sparse, a stark contrast to when Qi Musi used to pester her.

Xie Rong scrolled up a couple of times and then saw the previous records, lightly pursing her lips.

She didn’t know why. Although for her, the current situation where Qi Musi wasn’t pestering her should have been a relief, Xie Rong’s heart… didn’t quite like this situation.

Even if she didn’t want Qi Musi to continue liking her, it… shouldn’t be like this.

Xie Rong turned off her phone and let out a sigh.

To be honest, she was indeed feeling a bit irritated, but she couldn’t pinpoint why she was frustrated, or rather, she didn’t want to figure it out.

Xie Rong merely rationalized to herself that she felt this way only because Qi Musi used to chat with her constantly, and now that the frequency had dropped, she was just unaccustomed to it.

It wasn’t because of anything else.

Xie Rong repeated this in her mind several times, as if doing so could bring her peace.

Qi Musi’s earlier prediction was correct. After learning that she had been arranged to enter the company, Zhong Ling and Qi Muyan could not sit still. One was secretly probing and occasionally trying to sway opinion through pillow talk.

The other was openly causing a scene, but was quickly suppressed by Qi Rong.

The two of them regarded Qi Musi as a thorn in their side, wishing they could get rid of her immediately. But unfortunately, they didn’t have much power in their hands, so they couldn’t do anything to Qi Musi in the short term.

Therefore, during this period, under Qi Musi’s stimulation, Qi Muyan had been working much harder than usual. Whether he was genuinely doing so or just putting on a performance for Qi Rong was unknown.

But no matter what he did, it had nothing to do with Qi Musi.

After all, the mother and son of the Zhong family had something else more worthy of worry.

The water Qi Muyan had left behind was used by Qi Musi, fighting fire with fire. The exact way Zhong Ling had managed to rise to her position back then was the exact same way Qi Musi was now repaying her.

Now Zhong Ling was in no mood to worry about Qi Musi joining the company. Her primary concern was Song Yue, the new person Qi Rong had taken under his wing.

When Qi Musi returned that day, it was the Lantern Festival. Zhong Ling had been home since the morning, boiling sweet dumplings and cooking, trying to revert to the role of a virtuous wife and win back Qi Rong’s heart.

However, all of this…

Qi Musi lowered her eyes, concealing a mocking smile.

If Qi Rong could be moved by such things, he wouldn’t be Qi Rong.

What were some home cooked meals worth? Could they buy back youth and beauty, or a younger facade?

Moreover, Song Yue had a “gift” to deliver to Zhong Ling and her son.