My Weekend Lover Turned Out To Be My Boss - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Freezing Point. “Think About It”

The resentment I had held back from Guan Shuyun was unleashed all at once and directed at Phoebe. Phoebe turned around, glaring at me with anger. The rising and falling of her chest indicated that I had successfully provoked her again. However, the fury eventually morphed into a look of dismissive scorn. Phoebe crossed her arms and retorted sarcastically:

“A person feels a sense of crisis because she knows she doesn’t measure up. What I am to you—do you need to ask me this question? You Feifan, do you realize how irrational you’ve become? You constantly throw tantrums, confining yourself to the same place, thinking the whole world is bullying you.”

“You repeatedly fantasize about things that aren’t there, yet you never proactively ask me for the truth. For the time being, I will have the housekeeper look after Qing Fan. Let’s not contact each other. Come back to me when you’ve figured things out. We both need to calm down.”

This exchange was both frustrating and ridiculous. Phoebe took a step, but I quickly blocked the door. I stared at her, gritting my teeth as I countered, “So, in the end, I’m the one who’s wrong? It’s me creating something out of nothing? You blame me for not asking questions? Is that what you mean? Since you’re here today, let’s just talk this through…”

Phoebe turned around and walked back toward the sofa, calmly tossing her bag onto the coffee table. She sat down and crossed her legs. I had nearly exhausted her patience, but her tone softened considerably: “Fine, what do you want to talk about? Just say it.”

“I admit that I’ve focused all my thoughts and energy on the home these past few years. I thought this was another kind of balance, just as we said: one manages the outside, the other manages the inside. The truth is, over time, our worlds began to disconnect. You have your career, and I have to look after our home. But now, it looks like we aren’t a family at all.”

“When did it become like this? Friends rarely come over anymore. You can count our weekend gatherings on one hand. Even Qing Fan—she is your child, yet you can bear not seeing her for over a month. Do you think I’m the only one who has changed? You won’t say anything unless I ask. You always choose silence, and I’m always guessing. Even after so many years together, with all our tacit understanding, I might not be able to read every look in your eyes. I’ve become your accessory, called when needed and dismissed when not. Our love shouldn’t be like this.”

To this day, I dare not imagine the true extent of Phoebe and Guan Shuyun’s relationship. The facts Jian Yumeng told me and the challenge Guan Shuyun personally issued felt like bitter water that I struggled to swallow. I didn’t want to show distrust, as that would hurt Phoebe and the feelings we had accumulated over many years. But the instances of disloyalty I’d witnessed in recent days were constantly building up. I didn’t want to explode, yet I couldn’t digest it.

“Feifan, I chose to move out because I was too tired. You know how busy the company is, so I didn’t want to come home and continue to deal with the trivialities of daily life with you. What I need is your understanding and support, but what do you do besides argue with me? But please understand, I have never changed my feelings and I will not betray you. Let’s just leave it at that. We both need some time to cool down.”

I sat in a corner of the sofa, feeling lost. A loud slam echoed as Phoebe shut the door behind her and left. I stared blankly at the floor, raising my hand to cover my mouth. We seemed to be growing increasingly weary of our current relationship.

…

“Did my story remind you of an unhappy past?”

Qiu Qi interrupted my thoughts. It turned out she was awake. She propped herself up and used her sleeve to wipe away my tears. I realized I had been crying without noticing. However, this overly intimate action made me instinctively draw back. I sniffed and gave a helpless, awkward laugh: “Everyone has an untold past. I just got emotional hearing your story.”

My response piqued Qiu Qi’s curiosity. She didn’t press me to talk about the difficulties of that period but asked, “Then… what is the woman you love like? I’m truly curious!”

“She…”

The image of Phoebe, possessing excellence in every regard, surfaced in my mind. Yet, I was speechless. I couldn’t formulate magnificent words to describe her fully. I simply pondered, and finally, I concluded hastily but seriously: “She was the scenery on my life’s journey where I most wanted to stop, but she couldn’t become the destination.”

Qiu Qi’s sigh was mixed with various emotions, and in the end, she could only share my regret, murmuring softly, “That’s a pity.”

Changing the subject, I patted my thigh: “So, when are we leaving for Daocheng?”

Qiu Qi propped her head on her arm and asked languidly, “So impatient?”

I rested my chin on my hands, rubbing it, and finally posed my confusion to her: “To be precise, I’m more curious about your purpose for going to the poor, deep mountainous counties in Garze Prefecture?”

Qiu Qi changed to a more comfortable position, interlacing her hands behind her head, and answered without hesitation: “To establish a network with the government, the company accepted a loss-making engineering project thousands of kilometers away. Although I said I was going on a trip, the reality is that I’m going for an on-site inspection to see how bad the situation really is. Forget it, let’s just consider it a generous act of poverty alleviation.”

“That’s unbelievable. You’re being too casual. Don’t you treat money like money?”

Qiu Qi shook her head proudly, saying grandly, “Oh, I lack everything, but I really don’t lack money.”

I poked her head, torn between laughter and tears: “Qiu Wuming (Nameless Qiu), you’ll get hit with an attitude like that!”

Qiu Qi sat up and leaned against the headboard. Her flowing long hair finally gave her a touch of femininity. She tilted her head, looked me over seriously, and then suggested, “We leave for Daocheng tomorrow. If you’re willing, why don’t you become my assistant? You can skip the internship period, your salary won’t be bad, and we can start buying your social insurance (the five insurances and one fund) next month. The work will definitely be easy. Am I sincere enough?”

I looked at her with heavy suspicion, and finally joked, “You’re not going to take me into the deep mountains and sell me to local farmers as a baby-making machine, are you?”

Qiu Qi rolled her eyes and said with extreme disdain, “If sold by weight, you’re not even worth as much as a pig!”

“Fine, I’ll reluctantly agree.”

“By the way, I still don’t know exactly what you do.”

The conversation suddenly turned to my career. Considering my role as a housewife in recent years, I simply glossed over it: “Me? I studied finance, but a lot happened later, so I opened a bar with a friend. Currently, I’m unemployed…”

“Oh, quite free then~ Alright, it’s settled. Follow your big sister from now on, and I guarantee you’ll have the best of everything.”

“Yes, yes, yes. You are my boss now. My livelihood depends on you.”

“Well then, little You, fetch me a bottle of mineral water.”

“Coming right up, General Manager Qiu~”

I scurried to fetch a bottle of water and handed it to Qiu Qi. This woman catches onto things fast!

…