She Seems to Struggle with Having a Wife - Chapter 25

Qin Mu received Wei Qing’an’s message at eleven in the evening, just after she had finished washing up and was about to lie down to sleep.

Wei Qing’an: Sorry, Qin Mu. I was busy all day and just got back to the hotel and saw my phone. I intentionally let Xiao Chenzi know, since we’re already married, he would have found out eventually anyway. Last night was just to give him a heads-up.

Intentionally let Gao Jingchen know?

Qin Mu looked at the message, her hands slowing as she pulled up the covers.

Then Wei Qing’an sent another message: Did you feel wronged?

After sending that, Wei Qing’an quickly lowered her head to take a few bites of her burger. Aside from the boxed meal she had on the high-speed train in the morning, she hadn’t had a single snack all day and was now starving, eating without any regard for appearances.

Besides, she didn’t have to wear high heels at work, and today, attending the conference, she wasn’t quite used to it. After standing all day, her heels were rubbed raw and her toes were a bit swollen. So after eating, she planned to soak in the bathtub.

Buzz! Qin Mu replied.

Wei Qing’an took two more bites, chewing as she quickly looked down at Qin Mu’s response: No, but he was very angry.

Wei Qing’an set down her burger and typed with both hands: It’s fine. After I get back, I’ll talk to Xiao Chenzi myself. You don’t need to discuss this with him. When his temper flares, he can get stubborn, and if he says something hurtful, I’d feel guilty.

As she typed the last part about feeling guilty, her thumb paused. She reread it silently. The beginning was fine, but when she got to that part, it felt a bit ambiguous. So she pressed the delete key, erased the last sentence, and changed it to: I would feel guilty.

When Qin Mu received the message and opened it, she thought she had misread the last line. Unexpectedly, her words came across much warmer than she did in person. Regarding the matter of Gao Jingchen, Qin Mu would follow Wei Qing’an’s lead and wait for her to handle it after she returned.

A while passed after the message was sent, and Wei Qing’an still hadn’t received a reply. She glanced at the time, it was already half past eleven. She wondered if Qin Mu had fallen asleep and hadn’t seen the message.

Staring at the chat box, Wei Qing’an hesitated for a moment before sending another message: Qin Mu, are you asleep?

This time, Qin Mu replied quickly: Not yet.

Wei Qing’an felt a bit displeased: Then why didn’t you reply to me?

Qin Mu pressed the volume and power buttons to take a screenshot and sent the screen content to Wei Qing’an: I was reading your news.

The Cultural Relics Appreciation Conference had opened today. Wei Qing’an wasn’t originally on the guest list she had been invited last minute by Gao Jingchen’s grandmother, Kang Fanghui so her trip had been rather sudden.

In the officially released news photos, standing among a group of senior figures in the cultural relics field, Wei Qing’an and Ling Xi stood side by side on the far left, looking serious and proper. Dressed in a black blazer, a silk blue shirt, and high heels, Qin Mu rarely saw Wei Qing’an dressed like this.

Wei Qing’an usually spent most of her time in white shirts, casual pants, and ever-present sneakers. In the summer, when she went out, she sometimes even wore flip-flops. The most formal she ever got was when she was in her study, seriously reading legal texts or practicing calligraphy.

So now, seeing her like this, there was a touch of mature sensuality about her.

It was as if she were meeting a brand-new Wei Qing’an.

Wei Qing’an received the photo Qin Mu sent, zoomed in to take a look, then exited and typed: Are you interested?

Qin Mu turned over: Not interested.

Qin Mu: I’m looking at you.

Wei Qing’an, who was drinking cola, choked abruptly. Since when had Qin Mu become so straightforward? Cough, cough.

Qin Mu didn’t overthink the words she had sent. She scrolled up through the chat history and saw only her own messages about lunch and dinner. Concerned, she asked, “Were you too busy to eat today?”

Only upon receiving the message did Wei Qing’an remember she had been too hungry when the takeout arrived and forgot to take a photo for Qin Mu. So she quickly snapped a picture of the burger and chicken wrap she had just finished.

Wei Qing’an: Just finished eating. I had a burger. I was too hungry when I got it, so I didn’t send you a picture.

Qin Mu: Okay, then rest early after eating.

Qin Mu: Goodnight.

Wei Qing’an had wanted to chat a bit longer, but since Qin Mu had said goodnight, she didn’t push to keep the conversation going.

Wei Qing’an: Goodnight.

Qin Mu put down her phone after receiving the message, tilted her head, and fell asleep.

When she wasn’t suffering from insomnia, she usually fell asleep instantly.

The next day, after having breakfast and heading to work, Qin Mu stopped by a fruit supermarket and bought some fruit to bring to the studio.

Last night, Yan Huan, Yang Shengjie, and another colleague had pulled an all-nighter and were now eating breakfast bought by Li Jiashan. Their bare-faced dark circles were especially noticeable.

“Ahh, I’m so sleepy,” Yan Huan mumbled through a mouthful of soup dumplings, letting out a yawn that brought tears to the corners of her eyes.

That all-nighter had really taken its toll, they were utterly exhausted.

She truly missed her vacation days abroad.

While complaining inwardly, Yan Huan continued eating. Beside her, Yang Shengjie was yawning just as much.

Seeing the tears in their eyes, Qin Mu frowned, turned around, and brought a tissue box over, placing it in front of them.

Yan Huan, squinting, pulled out a tissue and wiped her tears. In a weary voice, she said, “Thank you, Boss Qin. Could you also wash an apple for me, peel it, cut it up, and bring it over?”

“Sure.” Qin Mu took an apple, a pear, and some strawberries from the fruit basket, along with a plate, and went to wash them.

Li Jiashan, who was tidying the messy table, walked over and reached out, saying, “Let me do it, Boss Qin.”

“It’s fine, I’ll handle it.” Qin Mu sidestepped him.

Li Jiashan hummed in acknowledgment and withdrew his hand awkwardly.

This scene happened to unfold right in front of Yan Huan. She choked slightly and pretended she hadn’t seen it.

Qin Mu finished cutting the fruit, arranged it on a plate, and brought it out, placing it on the table. She had thoughtfully added toothpicks to the apple slices and washed each strawberry thoroughly, removing all the green stems.

“Wow, Boss Qin is so considerate,” Yang Shengjie praised, already reaching for a strawberry and popping it into his mouth.

Qin Mu smiled faintly.

After finishing her last sip of congee, Yan Huan rested for a moment before starting on the fruit. She had a bad habit, she could skip meals, but she had to eat some fruit every day, no matter the type, or she’d feel off all day.

After breakfast, Yan Huan and Yang Shengjie napped in the studio’s break room to recharge for the afternoon’s work.

Qin Mu and Li Jiashan quietly left the office.

As the two walked toward the office area, Qin Mu said to him, “Teacher Yan is only at the initial shaping stage right now. Let the porcelain factory arrange for someone to take over the work on the other project so we can ensure neither side is delayed. The client can’t wait too long.”

“Alright, I understand.”

After giving instructions, Qin Mu returned to her office.

Yan Huan slept in the studio until noon. It was only when the cafeteria delivered lunch, and Li Jiashan went to knock on the doors of Yan Huan and Yang Shengjie’s break rooms to get them to eat, that she finally woke up.

Lunch was once again a generous spread of four dishes and a soup. Even though they had eaten in the morning and hadn’t done much work, they were still hungry by then.

Yan Huan picked up a pair of disposable chopsticks and started eating while scrolling through the trending topics on Weibo. As she scrolled down the entertainment list, two familiar names suddenly flashed before her eyes. Thinking she must have misread, she scrolled back up.

#Wei Qing’an & Ling Xi

It really was their names.

Yan Huan let out a disbelieving laugh, but in the next second, her expression darkened as she tapped into the trending topic.

#Wei Qing’an Ling Xi##Cultural Relics Appreciation Conference# Wei Qing’an & Ling Xi @Ling Xi Ya appeared together again for work. The two were once prominent figures at Jing University and frequently attended events together. After rumors of discord surfaced, they reunited for work after a year apart. Fans exclaimed, “Finally, we’ve waited for you!”

Below the caption was a video of the two at the conference. Ling Xi was holding onto Wei Qing’an’s arm, one dressed in a chic black blazer, the other in an elegant cheongsam both smiling radiantly in front of the media cameras.

“Hmph,” Yan Huan sneered coldly.

She opened the comments section.

Moonlight Little White: I was in the same year as them. They were so sweet back in university!

Che Shui Doesn’t Like: Ahhhh! Are my CP getting back together?! Ahhhh!

Stars Don’t Forget: Seriously, they made it to trending? My CP is so niche, their fan group only has 100 people.

Love My Seniors: Don’t know them, but they look really good together.

Ill Intent: Only a few hundred likes? If you’re buying your way onto trending, at least buy some likes and comments too. Desperate much?

After reading a few comments, Yan Huan grew irritated and stopped scrolling. She slammed her phone down on the table with a sharp clatter, startling both Yang Shengjie and Li Jiashan. They were about to ask what was wrong, but seeing her murderous expression, they swallowed their words.

“Ling Xi, you’ve really got some nerve. You’ll buy any kind of trending topic, won’t you? Aren’t you afraid of choking on it?”

Yan Huan muttered to herself, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared resentfully out the floor-to-ceiling window at the yellowing leaves on the branches.

Earlier that morning, a client had suddenly called, requesting a meeting to discuss collaboration. Qin Mu arranged her tasks and headed out with Zhang Fan for the field visit. By the time they finished, it was already afternoon, so they didn’t return to the company and instead found a restaurant by the roadside to eat.

Qin Mu ordered Hunan beef noodles, while Zhang Fan had Hunan beef rice noodles both spicy and fragrant. However, the portions were huge, and Qin Mu was full halfway through. Not wanting to waste food, she forced herself to finish almost all of it.

With just one last bite left, Qin Mu couldn’t eat any more. She set down her chopsticks, pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth, her face flushed and warm from the heat.

Zhang Fan had a great appetite. After finishing a whole bowl, she felt she could still eat a roujiamo, but considering her steadily increasing weight, she reluctantly left the restaurant.

The two stepped out of the small eatery, and Qin Mu stood resting beside a maple tree with one hand on her hip, her brows tightly furrowed.

Zhang Fan, following behind, was still thinking about the roujiamo she hadn’t gotten to eat. Seeing Qin Mu’s uncomfortable expression, her face immediately turned serious with concern. “President Qin, what’s wrong? Is this place not clean? Did you eat something that upset your stomach?”

“No,” Qin Mu waved her hand, head lowered. “I just ate too much and my stomach feels a bit full. I’m fine.”

Zhang Fan’s eyelids drooped with disappointment right then and there.

Such a small portion, and President Qin actually felt full? No wonder she has such a great figure, it all makes sense now. Wuwu!

After resting for a while, Qin Mu patted Zhang Fan’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go, we’re heading back to the company.”

“Okay,” Zhang Fan followed, still wearing a pouty expression.

When they returned to the company, Qin Mu took some documents to the legal department to have them draft a contract. They might need to sign it with a client tomorrow, so it had to be prepared today.

While Qin Mu was speaking with her colleagues in the legal department, her phone in her bag buzzed. Thinking it might be the client, she took it out and was slightly taken aback when she saw the caller ID. She said to her colleagues, “I need to take this call. You can start drafting it first.”

“Sure, President Qin.”

Her colleagues returned to their desks and began typing.

Qin Mu answered the phone and walked to a secluded area outside. “Hello.”

“Are you busy?”

The voice on the other end sounded hollow, with noticeable echoes, as if coming from a place like a stairwell.

Qin Mu replied softly, “Not really, what’s up?”

Hearing Qin Mu’s calm tone, Wei Qing’an was both surprised and couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed.

The words of explanation were on the tip of her tongue, but Qin Mu’s excessive composure made her feel that an explanation might be somewhat unnecessary.

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