Chapter 69: Zhao Sijie's Surprise

Living alone in such a large villa really does feel lonely. Sitting on the sofa in the living room, a cigarette between his fingers, his thoughts drifted to the events of the past two days.

“Sijie is a good girl, you must treat her well!” Every word Lin Yuqing had said kept replaying in his mind, yet why was her tone so angry and resentful? Was she sad, or was she furious? Perhaps she felt he had taken advantage of her best friend. Indeed, in such a muddled situation, he had stolen Zhao Sijie’s first night—ah…

“What’s left between Zhao Sijie and me now?” “If I really end up with Zhao Sijie, does that mean there’s no hope for Lin Yuqing and me?” At that thought, his heart ached as if slashed by a knife. Was it really over just like that?

Well, she had already chosen Li Hao—what did he count for now?

That night, Xia Yu remained on the sofa, unable to sleep. The ashtray overflowed with cigarette butts.

In the end, he made his decision.

For a man like him, responsibility outweighed affection. Since things with Zhao Sijie had gone this far and there was no turning back, he must take responsibility and treat her well.

As for Lin Yuqing, perhaps they were fated to be good friends, like siblings. That was fine, too...

Though he felt some regret, he would bury his affection for her deep in his heart.

When he finally sorted out his thoughts, dawn had already broken. He got up, went upstairs, showered, and went to sleep.

...

Meanwhile, Lin Yuqing was busy at work, not wanting any idle moments. Whenever she paused, thoughts of Xia Yu and Zhao Sijie would surface, leaving her restless.

Fortunately, she had returned to the Lin Group, now fully in charge of the major Sky Garden project, with endless work at hand.

The office door sounded. She called out for them to come in.

When she saw it was Lin Yuxin entering, she was taken aback.

“Busy, Yuqing?” Lin Yuxin said with a smile, her demeanor much more subdued than before.

“Mm. Is there something you need?”

Lin Yuqing found it hard to smile at her. Though she had returned to the Lin family, it didn’t mean the old wounds had healed.

“Yuqing, I know you’re busy now.” Lin Yuxin took the initiative, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “I don’t have any good projects on hand at the moment, so I thought I could spare some time to help you.”

“So if you need anything from me, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“And by the way, when did you agree to be with Li Hao? Why didn’t you tell me? After all, I’m your matchmaker, right? When do you plan to hold the wedding banquet?”

Lin Yuqing replied irritably, “What does it have to do with you? You should worry about yourself.”

“You just focus on your pregnancy, don’t let anything go wrong and blame me for it—I can’t afford that.”

Lin Yuxin hadn’t expected her smiling face to be met with such cold rejection.

Already feeling resentful, all her grievances surged forth.

Ever since Lin Yuqing had helped the Lin family through its crisis, many in the family had begun to support her.

Moreover, last time, Lin Yuxin had been at fault; she had caused the crisis herself, and a lot of people still harbored resentment towards her, though they dared not speak out since she had married into the Liang family.

Now, the Lin family had no decent projects except the Sky Garden, and everyone’s attention was focused on it. Normally, Lin Yuxin was the one calling the shots in the company, but now she saw everyone flocking around Lin Yuqing, and she felt like an outsider, idly watching from the sidelines—how could she be comfortable with that?

“Yuqing, are you serious? Are you trying to sideline me?”

“Do you think by doing this, you can control the Lin family?!”

She glared at Lin Yuqing, furious.

Lin Yuqing replied, “I don’t want everything like you. I just want to do this project well, because I promised President Xiao.”

“Heh, no wonder you’re so confident—you’ve latched onto President Xiao, haven’t you?”

“Lin Yuqing, since you’re so ungrateful, we’ll see how things turn out.”

With that, she left, slamming the door behind her.

Already frustrated, Lin Yuqing now felt even more miserable after that confrontation. She buried her face in her hands, struggling to calm herself.

...

By evening, Xia Yu awoke to find several missed calls on his phone, all from Zhao Sijie.

“Hello, Sijie, sorry—I only just saw your calls.”

He quickly dialed back.

“It’s all right, I knew you were busy. Are you off work now?”

“Yeah…” Xia Yu smiled wryly. “Just got off. The boss had a lot going on today, so I spent the whole day with him.”

“That’s good, I’m off work too. Where are you? I’ll come find you—I’ve prepared a surprise for you,” she said sweetly.

“Let me come to you instead. I have the boss’s car. Where are you?”

“All right, I’m waiting for you at People’s Square.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

Xia Yu nodded—People’s Square again.

He tidied up, and since he’d been thinking of eating out, he drove off.

The sports car on the road was indeed striking, a beautiful sight, and incredibly fast. Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at the square right on time.

As he walked in, he spotted Zhao Sijie from afar: black straight-leg trousers, a ponytail.

Though she wasn’t as stunning as Lin Yuqing, she had her own unique charm, a pleasing face, and a remarkable figure—her shapely hips clearly destined for motherhood—an outstanding beauty who drew lingering glances from passersby.

She carried two shopping bags in her hand. When she saw Xia Yu, she smiled with happiness and walked over.

“Yu, you got here so fast—don’t you dare speed,” she scolded playfully, her eyes filled with tender affection, truly a woman fallen in love.

For a traditional girl like her, once she decided on a man, she would devote herself to him for life, wanting to give him the best of herself.

“I didn’t want you to wait too long,” Xia Yu smiled. “What’s this surprise you mentioned?”

“Here, look—I picked these clothes for you after work,” she said, handing over the bags.

He took them and saw two suits inside. Glancing at the price tags, he was startled—twelve thousand for the pair.

That amount was nothing to him, but for Zhao Sijie, who had just found a job, it must have been half a year’s worth of scrimping and saving.

“Sijie, you can’t buy such expensive clothes for me—take them back and return them.”

“Oh, what are you doing?” Zhao Sijie pouted. “I picked these with care—exchange only, no returns.”

“You’re a driver now, at least. A good horse needs a good saddle—you should dress the part. Otherwise, people will think you’re still washing dishes in a restaurant. Trust me, you’ll look great in these.”

Faced with her loving gaze, Xia Yu couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes, feeling guilty...