My Ex Told Me She’s Still In Love With Me - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: She Was Afraid

Meng Qingwu received no reply from Cheng Zhan and couldn’t help but roll her eyes. That man only ever showed a hint of attentiveness when he needed something from her.

“President Meng, didn’t you say you wanted to check on the office building?” Assistant Zhang asked.

Meng Qingwu snapped back to reality. Right, she had planned on that. Since the renovations started, she hadn’t visited a single time. “Let’s go.”

The building in the High-Tech Zone stood thirty-six stories tall. She hadn’t leased the whole thing, of course—only floors 20 through 25. The rest were still vacant.

However, upon arriving, she was surprised to find Cheng Yi there as well. Her gaze drifted to the woman standing beside Cheng Yi, and she raised an eyebrow, a smile spreading across her face.

“You…” Cheng Yi was also stunned to see Meng Qingwu. Seeing Meng Qingwu’s eyes on her companion, she explained hurriedly, “This is Miss Cui. She’s here to look at the site; she’s planning to lease space here…”

Her voice trailed off. She didn’t even know why she was explaining herself so desperately. Even if she did explain, would Meng Qingwu even care?

Meng Qingwu glanced at her, confused by her anxiety, before stepping forward to give “Miss Cui” a hug. “You’re back in the country? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Cui Lanyu hugged her back with a light laugh. “I wanted to surprise you once everything was settled. Who knew we’d run into each other now?”

Releasing her, Meng Qingwu shook her head with a laugh. “I guess we’re just fated.”

Cheng Yi watched them, caught between surprise that they knew each other and a sudden, uncomfortable tightening in her chest.

“Since you’re back, let’s have dinner later? Consider it a welcome-home meal.”

“Sure, but I need to settle the business details first.”

Both women turned their gaze toward Cheng Yi.

Cheng Yi: “…It’s up to Miss Cui.” Ever since Meng Qingwu’s rebuke, she had stopped being so dismissive of potential tenants.

“Miss Cheng is a straightforward person,” Cui Lanyu smiled. Noticing the familiarity between her and Meng Qingwu, she added, “Would you like to join us, Miss Cheng?”

Cheng Yi didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she looked at Meng Qingwu first.

Meng Qingwu lazily lifted her eyelids. “What are you looking at me for? Don’t you have your own mouth?”

Cheng Yi lowered her gaze and shook her head apologetically. “I’m sorry, I have things to attend to at the university. I won’t be joining you.”

Given Meng Qingwu’s attitude, she likely didn’t want her there anyway. Meng Qingwu watched her retreating back without expression.

“So? An old flame?” Cui Lanyu sensed the strange tension.

“Mhm,” Meng Qingwu replied simply. She didn’t see it as something she needed to deny. Besides, as “scummy” as Cheng Yi might have been, she wasn’t a shameful ex to have.

Cui Lanyu’s eyes widened slightly as if she’d realized something. She looked at Meng Qingwu, hesitating.

“Walk with me. We’ll go eat after,” Meng Qingwu said, ignoring the look.

Cui Lanyu sighed. She couldn’t help but ask, “Back then, was the reason you rejected me because of her?”

“No!” Meng Qingwu answered instantly. “I just didn’t want to deal with feelings.”

Her relationship with Cheng Yi had been sweet to the bone, but in the end, it had frozen her blood and flesh, chilling her to the marrow.

She was afraid. Cheng Yi had made her afraid of “feelings” as a concept.

Cui Lanyu fell silent at the haste of the denial and said nothing more.

…

“So we’ll be in the same building now. I’ll need President Meng to look after me~” Cui Lanyu raised her glass with a playful grin at dinner.

Meng Qingwu rolled her eyes. “Does CEO Cui really need my help?”

“You never know,” Cui Lanyu said slowly.

As they chatted, a voice suddenly broke in. “Qingwu?”

Meng Qingwu looked up to see Jin Le and smiled. “Accompanying a client?”

Jin Le glanced at the woman across from Meng Qingwu and nodded. “Just saw them off. I thought I saw someone who looked like you, so I came to check.”

“Since you’re here, sit down and eat.” Meng Qingwu pulled her into a seat and introduced her to Cui Lanyu. “This is my college roommate and best friend, Jin Le.” Then to Jin Le: “This is a friend I met while studying abroad, Cui Lanyu.”

Jin Le sat down. Because she had been meeting a client, she was in full makeup and a professional suit, radiating a powerful aura. Her red lips curled slightly, and her gaze toward Cui Lanyu was cold.

“So, your name is Cui Lanyu.”

Cui Lanyu: “…” Her expression became unreadable.

“What? You two know each other?” Meng Qingwu asked, confused.

Jin Le sneered. “I don’t know her. But someone who looks exactly like her was the reason a cup of coffee was dumped all over me a few days ago.”

Cui Lanyu: “…” Meng Qingwu: “…”

Meng Qingwu remembered the story Jin Le had posted in their group chat. She’d said she was “unlucky as hell” to get caught in the crossfire of some “fox spirit.”

So… that “fox spirit” was Cui Lanyu?

“What happened?” Meng Qingwu asked.

Cui Lanyu sighed, propping her head up as if too ashamed to face them. “I was confused that day, too. I don’t even know what happened. Some woman suddenly came up and started a scene, calling me a fox spirit and a mistress.”

“And the coffee… how did it end up on Jin Le?”

Cui Lanyu’s gaze drifted. “She was acting crazy; I couldn’t just sit there and take it. I resisted a little bit… and who knew the coffee would splash onto this lady here.”

Jin Le sneered again. Facing the situation, Meng Qingwu rubbed her forehead and poured them both a drink. “How about we drink to forget the grudge?”

Cui Lanyu was the first to pick up her glass. Jin Le looked at the decisive move and, despite her lingering annoyance, saw Meng Qingwu caught in the middle. She downed the drink in one go without even clinking glasses. Cui Lanyu followed suit.

“Good. Since the drinks are done, let’s act like it never happened.” Meng Qingwu gave Jin Le’s leg a reassuring pat under the table—after all, Jin Le was the one who had suffered.

Jin Le huffed but went along with it for Meng Qingwu’s sake.

However, what happened next felt surreal to everyone involved.

Cheng Yi was standing not far away, her gaze fixed precisely on Meng Qingwu’s hand resting on Jin Le’s thigh.

Cheng Yi: “…” Meng Qingwu: “…”

Didn’t she say she was going back to school? Why do I keep running into her!