After Breaking Up with the Stoic CEO - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Indeed, A Reward Is In Order

“What are you looking at?”

Hearing Huo Jing’s voice, Qu Wan came back to her senses and withdrew her gaze. “Nothing, just saw an acquaintance.”

Qu Wan rarely paid attention to passersby. Since she called the person an “acquaintance” rather than a “friend,” the subtext was that they had barely met.

“Then I must get to know them.” Huo Jing followed Qu Wan’s gaze with interest, spotting a swaying figure at the end of the hallway—not an unfamiliar one. “I saw her in the Feiyan office during the day.”

Qu Wan sipped her drink and spoke in a gentle, warm tone: “That is Lu Wu.”

Huo Jing raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Lu Wu? How do you know her?”

Qu Wan explained simply, “We had a brief encounter when I went to LA Point with Xiao Ruan.”

Huo Jing gave an “oh,” her eyes filling with a trace of sympathy as she looked toward the girl again. “She must have been torn apart by your fans that she’s ended up at a bar to drown her sorrows. But there’s no helping it. At such a young age, why learn anything else when you can learn to leech off others’ fame? She even dragged us into being scolded.”

Qu Wan didn’t reply. After a moment of silence, she lowered her head to unlock her phone screen.

Home Screen — Weibo — New Post.

Just as a new friend came over, and Huo Jing was about to go greet them, her peripheral vision caught the fluid, continuous movement of Qu Wan’s hands on her phone, and she was stunned.

“What are you doing?”

Qu Wan didn’t look up. “Clarifying.”

Huo Jing was startled and hurriedly snatched the phone away. “I’m telling you, Teacher He Qing, please stay calm! She’s the one who bundled us into the promotion; you never consumed a single bit of that traffic from start to finish. What is there to clarify?”

Qu Wan pursed her lips. “She wouldn’t do something like that.”

Huo Jing attempted to state the facts to bring her back to reality. “But the fact is that Feiyan posted on Weibo, and when we reached out, the other side played dead for days.”

Qu Wan frowned slightly. “I know.”

“Even if she is innocent, we have already done everything that could be expected of us. You know…”

“Everything that could be expected” applied not just to Qu Wan, the author known as He Qing, but also to Liucheng officially. From the moment the situation worsened, they had issued announcements on all social media platforms urging fans to maintain decorum and interact kindly, and they had reached out through various channels to big influencers to guide the fans in a healthy direction. However, in reality, Lu Wu also had a significant following, and the escalation of the conflict between the two sides made the impact of any human intervention quite limited. Furthermore, many of those fueling the escalation weren’t true fans, but rival companies hiring trolls to muddy the waters, which led to the current state of affairs.

As Huo Jing continued to talk, Qu Wan’s gaze drifted back to the end of the hallway. Lu Wu was floating in the crowd when she was suddenly pushed by someone. She almost fell, and a gasp rose from the people around her.

Seeing that she wasn’t listening, Huo Jing threw her hands up in surrender. “I’m going to go meet some friends. Stay here and try not to overthink things, okay?”

“Mhm.”

Huo Jing breathed a sigh of relief and walked a distance away. When she looked back, Qu Wan had already set down her glass and stood up.

Huo Jing: “…”

“Are you hurt?”

The person in front of her shouted loudly. With the chaotic music blasting, it was even more uncomfortable to listen to. Lu Wu waved her hand, steadied herself, and continued walking forward on her own.

Someone blocked her path in front of the restroom. “Hey, beauty, are you alone? Want to hang out with us?”

It was a man, looking to be in his thirties, hair slicked back with greasy gel, dressed in a sharp suit—a “successful person” persona. As he spoke, he inadvertently flaunted the vintage mechanical watch on his wrist. Just then, a wave of hot air blew past, and the overwhelming scent of a thick, low-quality cigar flooded the space. Lu Wu couldn’t help it; she turned and headed for a trash can.

Ugh—

The man’s expression shifted, fluctuating between dark and light. He put on a hypocritical smile and leaned in, trying to put a hand on her waist. “You’re still in college, right? Anyone can tell you don’t know how to drink. Come on, let me take you home.”

“Excuse me, she’s already with someone.”

Qu Wan walked over, her tone as gentle as ever, though her hand moved to firmly separate the man from Lu Wu. Seeing another graceful, elegant beauty, the man’s eyes lit up. “Are you her friend? Perfect, let’s all get to know each other.”

Qu Wan smiled, unhurried. “If you don’t leave now, I’m calling security.”

The hallway by the sinks was relatively empty and open, and everything occurring was under the gaze of surveillance cameras. The man looked back and saw a female bartender in a black suit nearby watching them, holding a walkie-talkie and seemingly calling for someone. He felt a bit intimidated, muttered a low curse, and turned to walk away.

“I heard Sister Xiaoyan is back, why haven’t I seen her?”

“Setting up an exhibition; she’s not in C-City.”

Huo Jing sounded regretful. “I was really looking forward to it. I thought I’d finally get to see her again.”

Li Jin didn’t even lift her eyelids. “Then I’ll be heading back.”

If it were in the past, that sentence would likely have been said casually. Today, however… Liu Yuhuan was sitting right across from her.

Huo Jing’s eyes widened, and she rushed into crisis management mode: “How can that be? Actually, I’ve been missing you too!”

The Liu, Huo, and Li families had always been close, and the younger generation had been “tied together” since birth. Huo Jing was close to Li Jin, and naturally, she knew Liu Yuhuan as well. But inviting Liu Yuhuan over tonight hadn’t been Huo Jing’s intention. Anyone who knew a little bit of their history knew that Liu Yuhuan and Li Jin had once been very close, but after their falling out that year, they almost never appeared together. As an insider, Huo Jing would never intentionally stir that pot. However, Liu Yuhuan had heard from somewhere that Huo Jing’s bar was doing a soft opening and had shown up uninvited.

“My bar is in a great location. Would you consider buying a stake?”

“And my publishing house has great prospects, too.”

“He Qing, did you know? The most popular author on the entire internet—every one of her IP adaptations for TV becomes a smash hit. Why don’t you invest, too? Enter the entertainment industry and earn some pocket money?”

Li Jin didn’t speak, but Liu Yuhuan was very supportive. “Hua Group is considering investing in new entertainment industries lately. I’ve always heard that Liucheng is the industry benchmark. Why don’t we talk about it another day?”

Huo Jing couldn’t stop her tongue: “Sounds great, sounds great.”

Li Jin: “I’m going to the restroom to touch up my makeup.”

Huo Jing: “…”

After vomiting, Lu Wu felt a bit better. When she lifted her head, the woman in front of her handed her a tissue. She looked somewhat familiar, but Lu Wu couldn’t place her.

Lu Wu took the tissue and mumbled, “…Thank you.”

Seeing the blank look in her eyes, Qu Wan understood. “We met at La Point, do you remember?”

The tissue carried a faint, refreshing mint scent that helped wake her up. Fragments of blurry memory finally coalesced. Lu Wu asked hesitantly: “…Qu Wan?”

Qu Wan didn’t mind that she hadn’t recognized her immediately, smiling as she teased, “It seems we are quite fated.”

Lu Wu’s consciousness returned. Feeling a bit awkward, she thought for a moment and sincerely thanked her again. “Thank you for helping me earlier.”

Qu Wan shook her head. “I would have done the same for anyone else.”

Her attitude was candid, naturally giving people a good impression. Lu Wu smiled and followed her lead. “Then I’ll treat you to a drink next time, as thanks for the tissue.”

“Okay.” Qu Wan agreed, then asked, “Does that mean we are friends now?”

Lu Wu didn’t think much of it: “Of course.” Her definition of a friend was broad, and kindness was certainly a qualifying requirement.

Qu Wan took out her phone, suggesting gently, “Should we exchange contact information?”

“We can make plans to hang out together.”

Lu Wu replied readily, “Sure.”

Ding—

Scanning complete. You are now friends, start chatting!

Qu Wan stared at her phone screen, ultimately adding no note to the contact.

“Let’s hang out when you have time. I’ll be going now.”

Qu Wan flipped her phone screen off and asked with concern, “Are you sure you’re okay on your own?”

The drunkenness was still there, but the “churning stomach” feeling was gone, and Lu Wu felt much better. Her tone was relaxed: “It’s fine, I came with friends.”

Qu Wan wanted to say something else, but at that moment, a voice called out: “Lu Wu, why have you been gone so long?”

Lu Wu turned to look—it was Tan Hangxue. There were red and green paper strips stuck to her face; she had probably lost a game.

Lu Wu replied: “Coming right now.” She nodded at Qu Wan: “Goodbye.”

Qu Wan wanted to say more but only whispered: “Goodbye.”

Returning from the restroom, Tan Hangxue took a phone call, her expression looking unpleasant throughout. Lu Wu followed behind her, feeling idle, and flipped through her phone. The chat history with Li Jin was still stuck from several days ago.

Location: Rongjiang.

This was the first time Lu Wu had ever liked someone, so naturally, she couldn’t suppress the longing in her heart and often found herself thinking of Li Jin. At first, she thought of the kiss that day; later, she thought of the out-of-control, hazy look in Li Jin’s eyes that night. She occasionally wanted to message her, but every time she finished editing a message and attaching a photo, she would lose her nerve halfway through. After all, Li Jin was very busy. For such a mature and composed person, being too clingy or lacking a sense of boundaries was a “deduction of points.” Lu Wu didn’t want to have her license revoked before she even got on the road.

But today was different. They had just had such an intimate exchange that morning. And besides—people who are drunk are entitled to the power of being spoiled.

“What are you doing?” [Little cat peeking.jpg]

Sent.

The response from the other side came faster than she expected.

“Something up?”

She tapped the keyboard, typing out a sentence that felt a bit too clingy even to her:

“Nothing. Just missing you a little.”

The “typing…” indicator on the other end disappeared. After a long while:

“.”

“Go to sleep early.”

Lu Wu could practically imagine Li Jin’s expression. She pursed her lips and smiled, keeping it restrained.

“Okay.” [Little cat sleeping.jpg]

Ding—

Seeing Li Jin’s phone light up with another notification, Huo Jing couldn’t help but be curious.

“Still reporting work to you this late?”

“Your employees at Li Corporation are just too dedicated. I have to say, you really ought to give them a reward.”

Watching Lu Wu return to the booth amidst the laughter, seeing her tilt her head back to drink several more glasses of liquid handed to her, Li Jin withdrew her gaze and laughed softly.

“Indeed. A reward is in order.”

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