After Breaking Up with the Stoic CEO - Chapter 28
Chapter 28: President Li Is Actually In A Relationship?
Huo Jing’s email arrived faster than expected, setting up a meeting for next Monday to discuss the signing of the contract.
Before that, Lu Wu spent some time determining the framework and theme for the customized work.
During the day, while Li Jin was at the office, Lu Wu would find a small pavilion by the road to sit in.
Breathing in the fresh air and facing her computer, the story line took shape over several afternoons, and the characters became nearly fully realized.
Lu Wu only had one work to her name, but she was fortunate enough to have developed her own writing style, and her efficiency was quite impressive.
At this rate, the first draft of the text should be ready to submit to the staff at the Li Corporation within three months.
After modifying the last word of the chapter, Lu Wu looked up to stretch her neck.
The sun was slowly shifting toward the west, casting a pale orange-red hue over half the sky.
She glanced at her watch: 17:45. It was about time to head back.
She would make a vegetable salad, eat, and then sit on the terrace to read or curl up on the sofa to watch television, all while looking forward to Li Jin coming home.
Since the night they had slept in the same bed, Lu Wu had assumed that Li Jin consented to them sleeping together.
She treated this as a top priority, diligently bathing every night, spraying on a light, pleasant perfume, and grooming herself so that it would be impossible for anyone to find fault with her.
Once Li Jin rested, she would sneak into the covers and gently wrap her arms around her, helping her fend off the chill from the air conditioning.
She was, for all intents and purposes, a dedicated human heating pad.
Although Li Jin remained cold and distant during the day, Lu Wu could feel that the other woman’s attitude toward her had undergone some subtle changes.
Counting the days, her period was over, and the menstrual cramps should be better by now.
She just wondered, would Li Jin still be willing to…
Lu Wu was lost in thought.
Ring, ring.
A sudden ringtone interrupted her train of thought.
Caller ID: ‘Qin Xu’.
Ever since the gathering at the KTV last time, Qin Xu had been elusive, disappearing without a trace for a long time.
Sometimes she wouldn’t return a text for days; when asked why, she would only say that there was no signal where she was.
It was surprising to get a call from her today.
She answered, but before she could speak, the person on the other end spoke up impatiently.
“Little Lu Wu~ Guess where I am?”
Lu Wu backed up her computer files while clamping the phone between her ear and shoulder: “A bar?”
“Wrong guess,” Qin Xu laughed mysteriously. “I’m in Country M, just stepped out of the airport.”
When she first met Qin Xu, Lu Wu and she had planned a trip together.
It was then that she learned about the other woman’s psychological trauma regarding airplanes.
Qin Xu had been young when she first flew.
They happened to run into turbulence; the entire journey was bumpy, first with the rollercoaster-like sensation of weightlessness and anxiety, followed by persistent ringing and sharp pain in her ears.
The flight attendants were busy making emergency preparations, and little Qin Xu had sat in first class, pale as a sheet, waiting until the plane landed smoothly before she dared to cry once someone showed concern.
Because of this, Qin Xu had even turned down her family’s arrangements for her to study abroad.
And yet, this was the same person who just said she had landed in Country M.
Lu Wu was a bit confused and raised her hand to look at her phone screen; it was indeed Qin Xu.
“What are you doing in Country M?”
Qin Xu’s mood changed as quickly as it started, and her tone turned melancholy without warning.
“That’s a long story.”
Lu Wu was used to this: “I have some time for now, tell me.”
Qin Xu was dissatisfied with Lu Wu having ‘some’ time.
“You writers, besides refining your character and searching for inspiration, what else could you possibly be busy with?”
Li Jin hadn’t been working overtime or holding meetings much these past two days, and she usually arrived home around eight o’clock.
Lu Wu estimated the time, packed her computer back into her bag, and prepared to walk to the nearby grocery store.
Qin Xu still didn’t know about the relationship between her and Li Jin.
Lu Wu vaguely explained: “I’m staying at someone else’s place lately, so it’s a bit inconvenient.”
Qin Xu wasn’t suspicious and asked offhandedly: “Staying with someone? Who? Do I know them?”
Lu Wu: “Not very well.”
Qin Xu didn’t press further, shifting instead to talking about her own affairs.
“Do you remember Sister Xiao Yan? We met at the KTV last time.”
“I remember.”
Of course, Lu Wu remembered Li Yan.
Not only because she was Qin Xu’s ‘crush,’ but also because she was Li Jin’s older sister.
As sisters, Li Yan and Li Jin had vastly different personalities.
However, even now, Lu Wu still didn’t understand the reason behind it.
Qin Xu was chattering away on the other end, talking about her tragic unrequited love.
“I was struggling for a long time about whether she liked me, but then I realized it was all a misunderstanding.”
“Sister Xiao Yan just treats me like a little sister; she doesn’t have any improper thoughts.”
“It’s a good thing I didn’t confess, so we can still be good friends who talk about everything.”
After venting her frustrations, Lu Wu arrived at the grocery store and picked up a head of lettuce.
She interjected at the right moment: “So you plan to give up? Is this trip to Country M just to take your mind off things?”
Qin Xu immediately denied it: “Of course not.”
“Sister Xiao Yan is preparing to join a wildlife aid program in Africa, and they are short one volunteer. I happened to meet the requirements, so I came over for an interview.”
She had never heard of Qin Xu being interested in wildlife before, and furthermore, a completely natural, harmless environment often signified danger and hardship.
Lu Wu was surprised by her impulsiveness and worried that she wouldn’t adapt: “I hear conditions in Africa aren’t very good. You’re just leaving like that?”
“Just like that!”
As if trying to cheer herself up, Qin Xu’s tone became excited again.
“I plan to start as a friend, and once I understand her well enough, I’ll make my next move.”
Lu Wu asked: “Aren’t you worried that after all this effort, Sister Xiao Yan will still remain indifferent?”
At this, Qin Xu sighed and went silent for a while, only speaking up again after a long pause.
“Following Sister Xiao Yan to Liang City, the more I saw, the more I felt my attraction to her growing.”
“I love watching her talk to those cute little girls; she always squats down, never worried about her dress getting stained with mud.”
“She always smiles and is incredibly gentle. Her car is always filled with sanitary products she bought for girls in poverty-stricken areas.”
“Throughout the trip, we encountered several girls who couldn’t attend school due to family reasons, and she helped find them schools and provided anonymous financial aid to each one.”
“In short, she is really, truly wonderful.”
Qin Xu said a lot, as if Li Yan’s virtues were endless, and finally concluded with one sentence.
“Lu Wu, you’ve never loved someone; you don’t understand.”
Lu Wu could sense that Qin Xu’s attitude toward love was very serious; after all, just a few descriptions were enough to make others feel favorably toward a person they had barely met.
But for her to say that she didn’t understand what it felt like to love someone…
Lu Wu disagreed.
If it were just about the feeling of liking someone.
She always thought of that lonely, thin figure leaning on the terrace drinking alone.
She also always recalled the red-rimmed eyes and the lips dampened by moisture under the light that night.
Qin Xu liked Li Yan because she was kind, gentle to everyone, and free, like a butterfly flying in the mountains, unconstrained.
Lu Wu’s feelings for Li Jin were more barbaric, direct, and unreasonable.
She liked Li Jin. She liked her sexy maturity, and the vulnerability hidden beneath her strength, which no one else saw, made her even more unable to pull away.
Lu Wu suddenly wanted to share this feeling with someone, and Qin Xu, currently on the phone, seemed like a good choice.
She asked: “Li Jin was there that night at the KTV, do you remember?”
Qin Xu had already poured her heart out, so she felt a lot lighter.
“What a stupid question, of course I remember. I even told you about her illustrious history that day.”
Lu Wu prepared to confess: “Actually, I…”
Qin Xu didn’t let Lu Wu finish. She suddenly remembered some gossip she had overheard while waiting at the airport and couldn’t wait to share it.
“Wait, let me tell you, I heard a secret about President Li. It’s explosive, you better not tell anyone else.”
Lu Wu’s throat felt itchy, and when she heard the words “President Li,” the words she had been about to say vanished.
A secret?
Was it about Li Jin herself, or about Li Xinrui’s background?
She pressed Qin Xu on the other end, her voice tighter than she had realized: “About Li Jin? What secret?”
Qin Xu felt a hint of strangeness: “It’s President Li’s secret, why are you so nervous?”
Lu Wu couldn’t pretend to be indifferent, standing on the side of the road clutching her bag of groceries.
“…Just curious, tell me.”
Qin Xu felt something was wrong, but couldn’t quite grasp the point, so she decided to let it go and share the gossip first.
“The secret is—President Li is actually in a relationship!”
Lu Wu froze for a moment, and almost instinctively followed up.
“Who is the other person?”
Qin Xu pondered, giving her own guess.
“I’m not too sure about that, but that’s President Li. With her excellent conditions and the backing of the Li family, the other person must be someone well-known in their circles.”
Li Jin was in a relationship.
And she, who shared the same bed, hadn’t sensed a thing.
Lu Wu’s fingertips tensed, slowly curling into a fist: “How did you find out about this?”
Qin Xu didn’t notice Lu Wu’s abnormality, immersed in the joy of gossip: “I heard it when I was helping send Sister Xiao Yan abroad with President Li; I heard them talking while I was standing to the side.”
Li Jin… said it herself?
Lu Wu stood steadily on the ground, but the scene before her eyes was spinning.
Those ambiguous responses, the silent tenderness—they all seemed to suddenly turn into something illusory and unclear.
Her mind went blank.
Qin Xu continued: “The most explosive part isn’t even this, guess what it is?”
Lu Wu didn’t make a sound.
Qin Xu didn’t feel ignored and cheered for herself.
“The most explosive part is that President Li’s partner is a tough cookie. A while ago, she actually bit the corner of her mouth. Those young lovers and their little games, tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Lu Wu stood rooted to the spot, her mind unable to process this.
“What… did you just say?”
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