After Trying To Pursue The Cold, Elegant Beauty. I Ended Up Being Flirted With Instead - Chapter 54

“You just realized she’s family now?”

The mention of Qiao Yu struck a raw nerve in Wen Zhu’s heart, like a familiar sting of fear creeping up her spine.

That name was practically the nightmare of her entire adolescence.

Wen Zhu would never forget the look in Qiao Yu’s eyes when she was a child living in the Pei family home.

It was a sharp, scathing scrutiny, as if Qiao Yu wanted to see right through her, then meticulously strip away her flesh and blood, weighing it to see if it was enough to repay the Pei family’s kindness.

Only when she grew older did she slowly understand.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t good enough, or well-behaved enough.

Even if she had lived in the Pei house as a flawless fairy, Qiao Yu still wouldn’t have liked her.

The person Qiao Yu disliked was simply her.

The thought made Wen Zhu feel a sudden sense of ridicule.

She had already left; why bother offering kindness where it wasn’t wanted?

Her finger paused on the screen, then she sent back two decisive words.

【No time.】

Without even an “I’m sorry.”

After sending it, Wen Zhu flipped her phone face down on the nightstand, deciding that out of sight was out of mind.

She pulled the duvet over herself, wrapping up in the soft bedding.

A good night’s sleep was more important than anything.

Meanwhile, in the brightly lit mansion of the Pei family.

Qiao Yu stared at the reply, so brief it was almost rude, and was so angry she nearly crushed the bone china teacup in her hand.

“Look! Just look!” she shouted, throwing the phone onto the expensive cashmere sofa, raging at Aunt Zhang beside her. “She actually dared to refuse me! Wen Zhu’s really gotten bold!”

Aunt Zhang had worked for the Pei family for half her life. She was one of the people who had been to Wen Zhu’s room and knew exactly what kind of life Wen Zhu had led in the Pei household.

Two days ago, when Pei Xiubai returned in a fit of fury, she questioned all the servants in the house and found her.

Seeing her young mistress looking so distressed, Aunt Zhang couldn’t bear it and told her everything about how Qiao Yu had treated Wen Zhu in private when Pei Xiubai was away.

She still remembered that day: after hearing the story, her mistress sat alone in the empty living room from dusk till dawn.

Aunt Zhang sighed deeply to herself.

But faced with the furious Qiao Yu, as a servant, she could only offer comforting words.

“Please calm down, Madam. Maybe Miss Wen truly has an urgent matter?”

“How about… you proactively go and see Miss Wen? It would show that you are more sincere.”

These words seemed to hit a nerve with Qiao Yu, and her voice instantly rose.

“Why should I?! I have to go to her? What is Wen Zhu to deserve me proactively going to her?”

Aunt Zhang felt a deep sense of powerlessness watching Qiao Yu’s unyielding attitude.

This Madam was far too stubborn.

She could only caution, “If you don’t go, I’m afraid the young mistress will be angry with you again when she returns.”

The mention of Pei Xiubai instantly froze the anger on Qiao Yu’s face, replaced by a complex, stifling sense of frustration and distress.

Since Pei Xiubai returned from Anshi a few days ago, she had argued violently with her, like a person gone mad.

“Why did you treat Qingqing like that? You forced her away! You never treated her like family!”

Her daughter’s accusations were heartbreakingly desperate, and Qiao Yu, feeling both angry and resentful, couldn’t help but retort, “You just realized she’s family now? Why didn’t you marry her earlier?!”

She hadn’t expected those very words to completely ignite Pei Xiubai’s rage.

Pei Xiubai forced her to apologize to Wen Zhu.

To apologize to a nanny’s daughter!

It was practically a slap in the face!

Qiao Yu refused on the spot.

And then, her daughter, who was always so cool and proud, said something to her with red eyes and a tone of near-threat that she would never forget for the rest of her life.

“If you don’t go, I’ll have Mother freeze all your cards!”

Qiao Yu nearly fainted from anger, luckily Aunt Zhang caught her in time.

Pei Xiubai just stared at her, her eyes filled with resentment.

“Mother is often away. Before she left, she clearly instructed you to take good care of Qingqing, but this is how you treated her.” Pei Xiubai’s voice was non-negotiable. “You must apologize to Qingqing. You owe her this.”

After saying that, Pei Xiubai turned and left, and hasn’t given her a kind look since!

This was the wonderful daughter she had raised, only caring about outsiders!

Qiao Yu didn’t think she had done anything wrong. What had she said incorrectly?

Wen Zhu was naturally an ungrateful wretch who couldn’t be tamed, and now wasn’t she just inciting her daughter to defy her?

But when she thought of her bank cards, her fresh manicure dug hard into her palm.

Even if Wen Zhu didn’t want to see her, she had no choice but to go!

The next day, Wen Zhu woke up at seven.

She checked the time, intending to lie in a little longer, but then Zhiyun’s face flashed through her mind.

Li Zhiyun didn’t seem to like hotel breakfasts.

She thought for a moment, then got up, cooked a pot of quinoa porridge for herself, and went downstairs to buy some steamed mini-buns and soy milk for the others, taking everything to the hotel.

The hotel wasn’t far from where she lived, just two streets away. Wen Zhu walked there, treating it as her morning fasted cardio.

As soon as she arrived at the hotel, she saw Zang Ying and Li Zhiyun standing together in the hallway.

She walked over and greeted them with a smile: “Good morning.”

Li Zhiyun turned around, and Wen Zhu was shocked by the faint blue circles under her eyes.

Concern immediately flared up, and she looked at Zang Ying: “What’s wrong? Why didn’t Miss Li sleep well?”

Zang Ying gave Li Zhiyun a complex glance and sighed: “The soundproofing in this hotel is poor. The room next door was a bit noisy last night, and she was kept awake all night.”

Huh?

Wen Zhu was a little shocked. How could such an expensive hotel have such poor soundproofing?

She handed the breakfast to Zang Ying. “Which room is it? I’ll go talk to them. If that doesn’t work, I’ll complain at the front desk and get Miss Li a new room.”

“Don’t!” Zang Ying quickly stopped her. “I asked the front desk. They said they couldn’t reach the person next door for now, and they don’t have any empty rooms.”

“Oh, what should we do? The competition is the day after tomorrow. I think… Wen Zhu, why don’t you let Zhiyun stay at your place for a couple of days?”

Hearing this, Wen Zhu looked at Li Zhiyun.

Li Zhiyun was also looking at her, her voice a little hoarse: “Can I?”

Li Zhiyun’s skin was very pale, and precisely because of this, the faint dark circles on such a beautiful face were especially noticeable.

Her whole demeanor suggested a fragile exhaustion.

Wen Zhu instantly forgot everything else; she was deeply distressed.

How could she possibly refuse?

She nodded almost immediately: “Okay, then please bear with me tonight and come home with me.”

After saying that, she added with a slight embarrassment.

“But my room is a bit small, and the bed is also a bit small…”

Wen Zhu thought to herself that she would just have to clean up the spare folding bed in the corner for herself to sleep on when they got home.

Li Zhiyun was a guest, and her injury wasn’t completely healed, so naturally, she should sleep in her main bed.

But when the words reached others’ ears, they took on a different, ambiguous meaning.

When Li Zhiyun heard Wen Zhu talk about her bed, something in her always clear eyes lit up, almost imperceptibly.

Zang Ying, next to them, stared at Li Zhiyun in astonishment.

She actually succeeded!

Since the show had reached this point, as the wingman, she had to play her remaining part.

Zang Ying immediately adopted an expression of extreme gratitude, gripping Wen Zhu’s hand, “Xiao zhu, thank you so much! You are simply a savior to our Zhiyun!”

With that, she shoved the breakfast Wen Zhu had brought into her arms and pushed the two of them towards the elevator, “Hurry back, hurry back. Let Zhiyun catch up on some sleep.”

Watching the elevator doors close, Zang Ying finally turned and went back to her own room next door.

Miao Miao, a club member sharing her room, had just woken up. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up in bed, looking stunned: “Sister Zang? Why are you up so early? I think I just heard Sister Zhiyun’s voice.”

Zang Ying cursed under her breath as she closed the door. “Do you think I wanted to get up this early?!”

Her mind was full of Li Zhiyun’s bloodshot eyes from that morning.

Li Zhiyun had come knocking on her door first thing in the morning, and Zang Ying truly thought the woman was crazy.

She asked Li Zhiyun why she didn’t just use some dark eyeshadow under her eyes to create circles.

Why did she have to actually stay up all night!

In response, Li Zhiyun glanced at her as if she were an idiot and said flatly, “You don’t understand. Qingqing isn’t that foolish.”

Zang Ying had wanted to shout a stream of abuse at the time: Are you not foolish?!

She dropped the breakfast onto the table in annoyance. People in love were indeed all fools.

Wen Zhu’s mood on the way back was far from the lightness she felt going to the hotel.

After all, she hadn’t expected to bring someone back with her when she left.

She couldn’t help but look sideways at Li Zhiyun, who was quietly walking beside her.

Li Zhiyun also turned her head and looked at her.

Her eyelids drooped slightly due to fatigue, which inexplicably reminded Wen Zhu of a cat basking in the sun on a wall.

And the kind of beautiful, untouchable breed that wasn’t very affectionate.

She chuckled at the thought.

Wen Zhu gave her a heads-up: “Um… when we get back, you should take a nap first, and I’ll tidy up the house. I hadn’t finished cleaning before I left for Tongcheng, so the house is still a mess. Please don’t mind it.”

Li Zhiyun nodded gently.

How could she mind?

When they reached the front door, Wen Zhu took out her key and opened it.

Li Zhiyun stepped forward and stood in the doorway, carefully looking over this small home that belonged entirely to Wen Zhu.

Seeing her inspect it so closely, Wen Zhu felt inexplicably embarrassed.

She hadn’t thought much of it on the way, but now she suddenly regretted not trying harder to clean up the house last night.

“Please don’t mind the mess, I’ll clean it up right away,” her face felt hot.

Li Zhiyun shook her head, withdrew her gaze, and looked at her, saying, “I don’t mind.”

“It’s very lovely,” she added. “It feels lived-in.”

Wen Zhu’s face grew even redder.

She led Li Zhiyun to her room door and pushed it open. “You should take a nap first. I’ll call you for lunch later.”

Li Zhiyun remained standing, looking at the large, half-unpacked box in the corner of the room.

“With so many things, it will take you a long time to sort it out alone.”

She looked at Wen Zhu. “I’ll help you clean up.”

What was Li Zhiyun saying?

Wen Zhu stared at her moving lips, their beautiful shape, and was lost in thought for a moment, not clearly hearing what she said.

Her head was buzzing.

Only when Li Zhiyun repeated herself did she snap back to attention.

Help clean up?

“No!” Wen Zhu refused without thinking. “Your hand isn’t completely healed yet. What if you lift something heavy and make it worse?”

Li Zhiyun seemed about to say something else. “I’m fine, my hand is already”

“A hundred days for a broken bone and torn tendon. You need to rest properly.”

Wen Zhu took Li Zhiyun’s wrist directly and led her into her room.

“You stay here and rest well. There aren’t many things; I can take my time sorting them out myself.”

After saying that, she quickly added: “No refusing.”

Li Zhiyun was pressed by her to sit on the edge of the bed.

Wen Zhu was rarely this assertive. Li Zhiyun’s beautiful eyes scanned Wen Zhu’s face, and finally, she nodded obediently.

“Okay.”

Perhaps it was because she was tired and not fully alert, but Wen Zhu felt that today’s Li Zhiyun was particularly soft.

Even her voice had a hint of stickiness, like a feather, gently scratching her heart, quite alluring.

Wen Zhu’s cheeks felt inexplicably hot. She walked out of the room in a daze, quietly closing the door.

Her heart was beating a little fast.

Was her bed too small? Was the pillow too low? Would Li Zhiyun dislike the ugly doll placed on the bedside table…?

Her mind was a jumble of thoughts. She slowed her cleaning movements, afraid that any noise would disturb the person inside.