Chapter 091: An Unexpected Phone Call

Chapter 91: An Unexpected Call

"Chu Fei, you really should have come with me to the company yesterday and seen Wang Zhenhua's wretched face. I laughed so hard I nearly died," Ximen Lu said with a coquettish smile, eating breakfast with exaggerated refinement.

"Is that so? How funny was it?" Chu Fei asked offhandedly, though inwardly he felt a twinge of frustration. Ximen Lu had talked about it as soon as she got back yesterday.

Yesterday afternoon, two guests had come to the company: Niu Huahua, the very same woman they had run into at the karaoke bar, with the obsequious Wang Zhenhua trailing beside her.

Niu Huahua still had a faint swelling and redness on her face, the mark left by the slap Jiang Xue had given her. But Wang Zhenhua looked even worse. To put it plainly, his face was bruised and swollen, a pitiful, almost grotesque sight. He was nothing like the handsome young man he usually pretended to be.

The moment he saw Ximen Lu, Niu Huahua became unnaturally warm and enthusiastic, almost to the point of being creepy. Before Ximen Lu could even ask what was going on, Niu Huahua snapped at Wang Zhenhua as though calling a dog over, then kicked him hard enough to make him stagger. To everyone's shock, she even ordered him to kneel.

Every time Ximen Lu thought of that scene, she felt like laughing. Wang Zhenhua, who had always been so arrogant, had actually knelt in front of her then and there, like a good-for-nothing grandson, not daring to say a word. With that bruised and battered face of his, he looked downright pathetic.

After that, Niu Huahua said nothing else. She simply apologized to Ximen Lu again and again, speaking for a full five minutes straight, then barked at Wang Zhenhua to leave with her while forcing a smile. It turned out they had specially made the trip to Feilu just to apologize to Ximen Lu.

In Ximen Lu's words, it had been absurdly satisfying.

"Serves him right. He used to act so high and mighty, and now he finally got his retribution," Ximen Lu said through a mouthful of fried egg, her expression positively triumphant.

Then she looked at Chu Fei again. "Chu Fei, I’m guessing Wang Zhenhua’s bruised face was definitely the work of that Niu Huahua. What do you think?"

"I didn't see it with my own eyes. How would I know?" Chu Fei said helplessly. He was beginning to realize how frightening women became when they gossiped. One little thing could occupy them all evening, and the next morning they would still be at it. When would it ever end?

"Tch. No fun at all."

Chu Fei's lack of enthusiasm made Ximen Lu lose the urge to keep talking. She felt rather frustrated. Something so satisfying had been stripped of all its charm by Chu Fei's indifferent attitude. Yesterday when she came back, he had been the same way, barely paying her any attention, looking as if his mind were elsewhere. He had hardly spoken to her at all.

She couldn't help wondering whether that bastard had spent every day drowning himself in wine and women until he had worn himself out before his time.

What Ximen Lu didn't know was that Chu Fei's listlessness yesterday had been because he had exhausted far too much energy on Class Monitor Xu, and afterward had been startled by the subject of Xu Shiqi.

"Hey, are you going to work with me today?" Ximen Lu asked after finishing breakfast.

"No." Chu Fei shook his head without the slightest hesitation. He felt like laughing inwardly. Ximen Lu really had a way with words. Yesterday it had been "striving," and today it had become "working hard." But he truly had no interest.

"Hmph." Ximen Lu snorted. "So what are you doing today? Corrupting underage girls, or tormenting decent women?" Her tone was sour and odd, naturally bringing to mind the sight she had seen yesterday morning of Chu Fei getting into a sports car with a big-chested girl...

"Is that really how low I rank in your mind? Can't I go out and save lives and help the wounded, or at least help an old lady cross the street?" Chu Fei said, speechless.

"You..." Ximen Lu curled her lip. Apparently unwilling to bother with him any longer, she grabbed her little handbag, walked out with light, catlike steps, and closed the door behind her.

The room was left with only Chu Fei.

After washing the dishes, Chu Fei returned to the bedroom, intending to sleep a little longer. Matters between men and women were indeed exhausting. He had gone wild with Class Monitor Xu yesterday and ended up at it four times. Even with his physique, Chu Fei felt sore and weak around the waist. If Ximen Lu had not made so much noise in the morning and woken him up, he could easily have slept until noon.

By noon, Chu Fei got out of bed, washed up briefly, and left the house. Standing in the sunlight, he suddenly realized he had nowhere in particular to go. In the past, he would have headed straight to a bar without the slightest hesitation to pass the time. But ever since Qi Hong left, he had developed a strange aversion to places like that.

After some hesitation, Chu Fei went to the small building where Chen Xiaoman lived.

"Chu Fei?"

The door opened a crack, and Chen Xiaoman poked her head out. The moment she saw him, her face lit up with delight. She quickly opened the door wider. "Perfect timing. We were just about to eat hot pot. Come in."

She was very warm about it.

Chu Fei, however, did not move. He had noticed there were other people in the room: two girls and one boy, all about Chen Xiaoman's age. One of the girls, with big bright eyes, came over smiling and asked, "Xiaoman, who is this? Is he your new boyfriend?"

"No, of course not. Don't talk nonsense." Chen Xiaoman's face instantly turned red. She hurriedly explained to Chu Fei, "Chu Fei, don't misunderstand. This is my classmate Li Xin. She just says whatever comes to mind."

Chu Fei certainly wasn't offended. He smiled faintly. "Go ahead and entertain your friends. I won't come in."

"Huh? You're leaving already?" Chen Xiaoman sounded clearly disappointed.

"I just dropped by to see how you were. Now that I know you're fine, I can relax." Chu Fei smiled, habitually reaching out to ruffle her hair before turning to leave.

But as he turned away, a glint flashed through his eyes.

The man inside Chen Xiaoman's room had clearly frozen for a moment when he saw Chu Fei, and then a trace of hostility surfaced in his expression. It vanished quickly, but it did not escape Chu Fei's notice.

That boy was probably one of Chen Xiaoman's suitors.

And the girl who had not come out had lowered her voice to speak to the boy when she saw Chu Fei. Though her voice had been very soft, it still hadn't escaped Chu Fei's hearing.

What she said was, "Don't get discouraged. I definitely support you."

Clearly, she was on the boy's side.

Three classmates, and two of them already bore hostility toward him.

Under those circumstances, Chu Fei naturally had no intention of going in and making a fool of himself. It would only embarrass Chen Xiaoman. Still, seeing her like this, he felt a little relieved. He had been worried that she might never be able to come out of it.

"Xiaoman, who was that guy? Why did he leave just like that without even coming inside?" the big-eyed girl asked curiously as she watched Chu Fei go. The scene of Chu Fei lightly touching Chen Xiaoman's hair had piqued her interest.

"Maybe he still had something to do," Chen Xiaoman said, somewhat disappointed. Still, she quickly recovered and smiled. "Forget about him. Let's eat. I bought a lot of meat and vegetables today."

"True. For you, that iron rooster, to be this generous is really rare," the big-eyed girl said, no longer dwelling on it, and walked into the room first.

"This time it's different. I only found this job thanks to Lili, so today I'm treating her, not you," Chen Xiaoman said as she went inside and closed the door.

"Xiaoman, you're thanking the wrong person this time. The one you should really thank is Zhou Jie. He was the one who fought for this chance for you. I didn't do much at all," said the girl with freckles on her face.

"Really? Zhou Jie helped me? Why didn't you tell me?" Chen Xiaoman froze and looked in surprise at the boy, who had been silent.

"Heh, I wasn't sure at first whether it would work, so I didn't say anything. I was afraid you'd laugh at me," the boy said with a somewhat shy look, though his smile was very gentle.

"Don't listen to him talking nonsense," the freckled girl said with a grin. "Chen Xiaoman, I'll tell you something you probably don't know. Zhou Jie here is actually a hidden rich kid. His whole family works at the Star Moon Group, and his uncle is even a senior executive at headquarters. Yet he always puts on an act and pretends to be an ordinary person."

"My whole family just has ordinary jobs. How could I be some rich young master?" Zhou Jie said, shaking his head. He didn't seem to care for the title at all, yet he also didn't directly deny it. His demeanor remained perfectly natural.

Chen Xiaoman looked at the smiling boy in bewilderment. It was only then that she learned the quiet young man who often mixed with her and the other girls had such an impressive background.

"Enough talking. Let's eat. If we leave the hot pot too long, it'll lose its taste."

Zhou Jie saw Chen Xiaoman's surprise and immediately laughed as he urged them on. His manner was relaxed, infectious. It almost seemed as though he were the host here, while Chen Xiaoman and the other two girls were the guests.

"Right, right, let's eat. I'm starving. Xiaoman is being so generous today, we have to eat until she cries," the freckled girl chimed in at once, obviously taking her cue from Zhou Jie. She played the role of a perfect supporter.

As for Chu Fei, after leaving Chen Xiaoman's home, he could faintly hear laughter and conversation coming from the second floor. He smiled lightly and walked away, wondering where to go next. At that moment, his phone rang.

Taking out the phone, Chu Fei paused. It was an unknown number, and the caller ID showed East Sea.

East Sea?

Whose call was this?

After a moment's hesitation, Chu Fei put the phone to his ear.

"May I ask if this is Chu Fei?" came a cool female voice from the other end.

"Yes. And you are?" Chu Fei raised an eyebrow. The voice was completely unfamiliar.

"I am Chen Yaxin." She introduced herself, and before Chu Fei could speak, she added, "I'm treating you to dinner this evening. You should have time, shouldn't you?" Her tone was forceful, less like a question and more like an order.

Chu Fei frowned. "I don't think I know you. Did you dial the wrong number?"

"No, I was asking for you."

"Sorry, but I don't know you." Chu Fei was about to hang up, thinking it was some kind of prank. He had no memory of any woman named Chen Yaxin.

"I know you're Fu Ziqing's fiancé," the woman on the phone suddenly said.

Chu Fei immediately stopped moving to end the call. In a low voice, he asked, "Who are you, exactly? How do you know about me and Fu Ziqing?"

"You'll know who I am when we meet. Six o'clock this evening, I'll be waiting for you at Old Dong's Farmhouse between Kun City and East Sea. I hope you can make it. Don't let me think less of you."

After saying that, the woman hung up directly, not giving Chu Fei the slightest chance to answer, as though she was certain he would not refuse.

East Sea's waterfront.

On the top-floor corridor of the Qilin Society's headquarters building, a young woman in a pale moon-white business suit gently closed her phone. The corner of her sensual lips curved ever so slightly. She turned and glanced at a door at the far end of the corridor, as if she could see the man inside the room beyond it, working intently.

"Since you're so determined, then I'll fight for my own happiness too. Don't blame me."

The girl murmured silently to herself, then turned and strode quickly toward the elevator.

She needed to make some preparations for the meeting that was about to come.