She Seems to Struggle with Having a Wife - Chapter 18

I thought the matter of the WeChat Moments had passed, but the next day, when Qin Mu woke up and opened her eyes, she saw Wei Qing’an propping her head up with one hand, gazing at her with a gentle smile.

Qin Mu had never seen Wei Qing’an smile at her like that before. Instinctively thinking she was still dreaming, she turned and snuggled closer, burying her face in the crook of Wei Qing’an’s neck, her arm draped over Wei Qing’an’s back, holding her tightly.

Wei Qing’an, caught in the embrace, froze for a moment before calling her name, “Qin Mu?”

“Hmm?” Qin Mu’s body stiffened instantly.

She opened her eyes wide in Wei Qing’an’s arms, slowly lifted her head, and met Wei Qing’an’s gaze. So, this wasn’t a dream.

Qin Mu tensed up, released her hold, and asked with feigned calm, “What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”

Wei Qing’an, just awake, looked especially gentle. The ends of her hair brushed against Qin Mu’s chest, her eyes seemed to hold countless stories, and her soft lips parted as she said, “Can you set your WeChat Moments to be visible for only three days, or maybe a month?”

Qin Mu asked, “Is it because of Teacher Yan?”

“Yes.”

Wei Qing’an admitted without hesitation.

Qin Mu nodded, “Alright, I understand.”

So, was Wei Qing’an still jealous from last night?

“Thank you.” Only then did Wei Qing’an get up.

Before getting out of bed, Qin Mu set her Moments to be visible for only three days and also deleted the photo of the flowers she had posted that matched the one Gao Jingchen shared.

During breakfast, Wei Qing’an received a message from Yan Huan: So stingy, making your little sister set her Moments to three-day visibility.

Wei Qing’an: Of course, I want to keep my wife all to myself.

Wei Qing’an: By the way, about Qin Mu and me, don’t tell Xiao Chenzi yet. We’re still in our secret marriage phase.

Yan Huan sounded a bit annoyed: Got it, got it.

After breakfast, Qin Mu, as usual, drove Wei Qing’an to the museum. She stopped at the entrance and waved goodbye just like always. Qin Mu, too, watched the figure in the rearview mirror slowly fade into the distance.

As the car pulled away from the museum, Qin Mu had no idea that this would be the last time she would see Wei Qing’an for the next week.

When she arrived at the company and stepped into her office, Zhang Fan approached her and said, “President Qin, President Gao wants you to go with him to meet Yan Huan at eleven. He said it’s to discuss the collaboration.”

“Alright, I understand.”

Qin Mu walked toward her office, with Zhang Fan following closely.

“President Qin, if even President Gao can’t secure Yan Huan’s cooperation, who will we turn to next?”

Surely, they couldn’t go back to Ling Xi, right?

No, absolutely not. That woman is difficult to work with.

Qin Mu swiped her card and pushed the door open. “President Gao will definitely secure the deal. If he doesn’t, the boss won’t continue with this project.”

“What? That extreme?”

If they can’t secure the collaboration, the entire project will be scrapped? Then the efforts of the colleagues from several departments over the past two weeks would have been in vain.

Qin Mu understood what she meant, but this wasn’t an exaggeration, it was the final decision based on the actual situation.

The overall style of this project targets the younger demographic, which is why they’re seeking collaboration with young, single, and well-regarded artists. Currently, the artists in the country who meet these criteria include Yan Huan, Ling Xi, and other excellent but married artists.

So, at the moment, the most suitable candidates are Yan Huan and Ling Xi. If neither of them agrees to collaborate, given the boss’s working style, the project will undoubtedly be restructured.

After all, they’re still in the planning phase. Nothing has been finalized yet only the designer has been confirmed.

Qin Mu sat down and turned on her computer, opening the notes she had made about Yan Huan the previous night in WeChat’s File Transfer Assistant.

Zhang Fan routinely made coffee for her.

The freshly brewed coffee was rich and aromatic.

At eleven o’clock, Qin Mu and Gao Jingchen drove to Yan Huan’s apartment to visit her, bringing along fruits and gifts.

They chose this time because Yan Huan had just returned from abroad and was still adjusting to the time difference after more than ten hours of travel. She was likely just waking up and still groggy.

Gao Jingchen rang the doorbell first. When there was no response, he called her directly. After three consecutive calls, she finally picked up and immediately yelled without hesitation, “Are you insane? Calling at this hour? I’m still sleeping! Do you even know what manners are?”

Qin Mu, who overheard from the side: …

All he could say was, Teacher Yan really had a powerful voice.

Gao Jingchen didn’t mind. “I brought your favorite hot pot. Hurry up, get dressed and come out. Let’s eat hot pot.”

Hot pot? He brought it?

Qin Mu looked down in surprise at the fruit basket in his hand.

Were they going to the supermarket to buy ingredients now?

“No!” Yan Huan refused outright. “I’m sleeping! Come back tonight. I’m hanging up.”

Gao Jingchen started playing the emotional card. “Come on, look, President Qin and I are already at your doorstep, and we’ve got everything ready. It’s mealtime now, perfect for hot pot.”

Gao Jingchen was spouting nonsense with a straight face.

“President Qin? Qin Mu?” Yan Huan asked over the phone.

“Yeah, why?”

The next second, beep the automatic door opened.

A commotion could be heard from inside, along with Yan Huan’s voice drifting out, “Come in. We’ll eat at noon.”

Then, click the call ended.

Gao Jingchen was a bit baffled, but at least the door was open.

“Let’s go.”

Qin Mu followed. “Mm.”

As they pushed the door open and entered, the front yard of the apartment was a small garden with a rectangular black plastic-wood table placed on the green lawn. On either side were two chairs matching the table, and above the table and chairs was a camping-style double-layered white sunshade umbrella.

This was where they would eat hot pot.

Gao Jingchen had arranged for a full set of hot pot equipment and a variety of ingredients, even including barbecue. Grilling on such an overcast day was indeed a great idea, though it would have been even better if Wei Qing’an could have joined them.

As the ingredients were placed into the pot, the three of them took their seats.

On the two-meter-long table, dishes took up one and a half meters.

Yan Huan glanced at Qin Mu but asked Gao Jingchen, “Why didn’t you invite Xiao Anzi?”

“Her?” Gao Jingchen mixed the dipping sauce as he spoke. “When have you ever seen her take time off work? She’s the type who spends weekends at the office. Even if we invited her now, she wouldn’t come, so I didn’t bother.”

“True, that workaholic,” Yan Huan agreed.

It seemed everyone tacitly acknowledged her as a workaholic.

Only Qin Mu was thinking that she could drive to Wei Qing’an’s workplace to deliver lunch. They didn’t necessarily have to eat together as long as she ate, it was fine.

The divided hot pot began to simmer slowly, bubbling with steam, while the pork belly sizzled on the charcoal grill, the sprinkled barbecue seasoning and cumin adding a spicy aroma to the meat.

Unnoticed, dark clouds gathered overhead, blocking out the sunlight. A cool breeze picked up, hinting at the possibility of heavy rain.

That person probably didn’t bring an umbrella. I’ll pick her up from the museum tonight so she doesn’t get drenched.

Before they started eating, Yan Huan took a photo and sent it to Wei Qing’an, deliberately capturing Qin Mu’s pale, slender wrist in the frame. She remarked sarcastically, “Eating hot pot with your wife and Xiao Chenzi. Poor someone is still stuck at work.”

Yan Huan hadn’t expected this old-fashioned person to reply, but the moment she sent the message, Wei Qing’an replied instantly! She replied instantly! It was completely unlike her usual habit of taking ages to respond.

Wei Qing’an: “I am a little envious.”

Wei Qing’an, who was eating in the cafeteria, took a photo and sent it to Qin Mu, but she didn’t reply.

Wei Qing’an zoomed in on the photo and noticed Qin Mu’s slender wrist, feeling an inexplicable sense of emptiness and longing.

Yan Huan: “Your wife is so quiet.”

Wei Qing’an took a bite of rice: “Mm.”

Getting only one-word answers, Yan Huan found it boring and stopped chatting with Wei Qing’an, focusing on her meal instead.

“So, how are you considering the collaboration?”

Halfway through the meal, Gao Jingchen asked Yan Huan. The two of them hadn’t come just to eat.

“Where’s the proposal?”

Yan Huan understood what he meant, but she wanted to see their plan and the specifics of the collaboration. She couldn’t just agree outright because they were acquaintances that would be unprofessional.

Qin Mu took the prepared proposal out of her bag. “Here’s the plan. Teacher Yan, you can take a look first.”

“Alright.”

Yan Huan took it, opened it, and skimmed through it briefly.

The content seemed pretty good. For the current market, it was a very innovative project, mainly targeting young people. If the designer could create appealing designs based on this proposal, the overall effect would be even better.

“Who did you hire as the designer?” Yan Huan closed the proposal and placed it behind her.

Qin Mu, as the person in charge, replied, “Yang Shengjie, who has collaborated with you before. We’ve already secured him.”

“You actually managed to get Yang Shengjie?”

Yan Huan was a bit surprised. Yang Shengjie only designed based on his personal interests; otherwise, no amount of money could persuade him to pick up a pen. And the works he did create were among the top-tier in the country.

Gao Jingchen said with great satisfaction, “That’s all thanks to our President Qin. She put in a lot of effort to secure Yang Shengjie. So, if Teacher Yan is interested, let’s meet tomorrow at the office. We won’t leave without seeing you.”

“Alright.” Yan Huan agreed.

After the meal, Gao Jingchen had someone clean up, and the two of them took a car back to the company to continue working.

Once Qin Mu got into the car, she opened her phone and saw three messages from Wei Qing’an.

The first was about her lunch, a cafeteria meal.

Along with a photo of the cafeteria meal, with a well-balanced mix of meat and vegetables.

The third was a text message: “Sudden notice for a business trip. Leaving in an hour. Return date uncertain.”

Qin Mu froze after reading it, her eyes fixed on the two lines of text on her phone screen, unable to look away.

Boom, a low rumble of thunder sounded outside.

The city sank into a stifling restlessness.

Not long after the thunder, raindrops as big as beans began to fall slowly on the car window, blurring the scenery outside.

Qin Mu slowly lowered her hand, her eyes dim.

She felt like a maple leaf beaten down by the rain, run over by one car after another, forced again and again to endure the heartache of separation.

Leaving so suddenly again, so quietly.

Every time Wei Qing’an left, Qin Mu felt as if she had been abandoned, like someone who couldn’t find their way home.

She had thought that over time, she would get used to it.

But this time, the sense of loss seemed even more intense than before, so much so that she felt like crying now.

Was it because she had thought that this time, their relationship had taken a small step forward?

Was it because she had held expectations that the disappointment cut even deeper?

Qin Mu tilted her head back, forcing back tears as she tightly gripped her phone.

After returning home from work in the evening, she finished washing up, turned off the lights, and lay in bed. Staring at the empty space beside her, her heart felt unsettled.

The person who had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow the night before now tossed and turned, unable to find any trace of drowsiness.

Qin Mu remained awake until the early hours of the morning. Eventually, she got out of bed, fetched a can of beer from the fridge, and gulped it down in one go before falling asleep directly on the living room sofa.

In her dream, she saw Wei Qing’an again.

Only this time, Wei Qing’an was kneeling before her.

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