Free Web NovelChapter 212: Chapter 212: Coldness
Seeing Su Qing’s hands were full, Yan Dongjun hurried forward and said, "Where are you headed? I can give you a ride."
"That’s alright," Su Qing said with a smile. "This looks like a lot, but it’s not heavy. I can get back on my own."
"Let me give you a ride. As it happens, I’ll be passing by your hotel today, so it’s on my way," Yan Dongjun said with a smile. "We’re friends; you don’t have to be so formal."
Su Qing smiled at his words. "Alright then. Thank you, Brother Yan."
"It’s no trouble at all."
Yan Dongjun smiled as he took the bags from Su Qing, and the two of them walked toward a Jeep parked nearby.
Not far away, an old woman was staring in Su Qing’s direction, a look of stunned surprise in her eyes. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
"Mom, what’s wrong?" Seeing the old woman spacing out, Shang Yuqi asked from beside her.
"It’s nothing, it’s just..." ’It’s like I saw a younger version of myself.’
The speaker was Shang Yuqi’s mother-in-law—Li Huan’s grandmother, Mrs. Li. It was Shang Yuqi’s day off, and since Mrs. Li wanted to go for a walk, the two of them had come to the department store.
"Huh?" Shang Yuqi didn’t quite understand.
"It’s nothing. Come on, let’s go inside." Mrs. Li glanced one more time in Su Qing’s direction, but Su Qing had already gotten into the Jeep. Unable to see her anymore, Mrs. Li simply decided her old eyes must be playing tricks on her and put the thought aside. With that, the two of them entered the department store.
After entering the department store, Li Yuan was just coming out of her office when she ran into Mrs. Li and Shang Yuqi. Li Yuan hurried forward with a smile and said, "Mom, you came to the department store today."
She then greeted Shang Yuqi with a smile.
When Mrs. Li saw Li Yuan, her expression turned cool. "I just came to look around with your sister-in-law. Don’t worry about me. Go back to your work." free𝑤ebnovel.com
"I can show you around," Li Yuan quickly offered with a smile.
"That’s not necessary. You’re on the clock; you shouldn’t be dealing with personal matters," Mrs. Li said, shaking her head. "Go on and do your work."
"Mom..." Li Yuan felt a surge of grievance. ’In front of all my subordinates, Mom is showing me no respect at all. It’s like she’s dragging my face through the mud. What kind of mother embarrasses her own daughter in public like this?’
Mrs. Li’s brow furrowed.
From the side, Shang Yuqi quickly interjected, "Little Yuan, you should get back to your work. Mom just doesn’t want to hold you up."
"Alright then. Mom, Sister-in-law, you two take your time." Shang Yuqi had given Li Yuan an out, and she quickly took it. "I’ll get back to my work then."
Mrs. Li gave a cool nod.
Li Yuan pressed her lips together, offered an awkward smile, and nodded at Shang Yuqi before hurrying back to her office.
After Li Yuan left, Shang Yuqi said softly to her mother-in-law, "Mom, Little Yuan was just trying to be nice."
’Shang Yuqi just couldn’t understand it. Her mother-in-law treated her two daughters-in-law better than her own daughter—the complete opposite of how it was in most families. And Mrs. Li wasn’t just distant with Li Yuan; she was indifferent to Li Yuan’s children as well.’
’It wasn’t that Mrs. Li had no affection for her grandchildren. The old woman doted on the children from our side of the family and from Second Uncle’s, especially my own daughter, Li Huan.’
"Work hours are for working, not for personal matters," Mrs. Li said coolly.
Shang Yuqi sighed to herself but said nothing more. She simply followed Mrs. Li as they slowly wandered through the department store.
Back in her office, the more Li Yuan thought about it, the more resentful she became. After a moment, she closed her office door and made a phone call.
"Little Yuan." It was Li Aiguo on the other end of the line.
Li Yuan hissed angrily in a low voice, "Brother, you promised me over the New Year that you were going to handle that matter. It’s been almost two months. What’s going on?"
Just the thought of Su Qing made Li Yuan uneasy. She was terrified that Su Qing might one day run into a member of the Li family, and if they were to notice something amiss, it would be a disaster.
"I want to get it done quickly too," Li Aiguo said, equally frustrated. He had already figured out a foolproof plan, but it required him to make a trip to the Northeast himself. As luck would have it, though, he had broken his leg over the New Year. The saying goes that it takes a hundred days to recover from a serious injury, and his leg was nowhere near healed, so a trip to the Northeast was out of the question. "You know my leg still isn’t fully healed."
Li Yuan frowned. "It’s still not healed?"
"You know perfectly well it was a serious break." Li Aiguo was irritated by her tone, feeling she was being disrespectful. But then he remembered he stood to gain from helping her, so he quickly added, "Little Yuan, don’t worry. As soon as my leg is healed, I’ll go to the Northeast and handle it. I promise, it won’t cause any problems for you."
"Fine. Just focus on getting better," Li Yuan said, her lips tightening. "And remember: no loose ends this time."
"Don’t worry. I guarantee it."
After hanging up, Li Yuan leaned back in her chair and took a deep, frustrated breath. She grabbed the glass of water on her desk and took a large gulp, only to choke on it. Furious, she slammed the glass back down on the desk with a loud THUD. Water sloshed out, splashing all over her hand.
"So frustrating!" Li Yuan muttered, quickly pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her hand. Still fuming, she tossed the handkerchief onto the desk.
Meanwhile, outside the department store, Su Qing climbed into the Jeep and discovered another man was already sitting inside.
He looked to be about Yan Dongjun’s age. He gave Su Qing a friendly nod, then shot Yan Dongjun a private, teasing glance.
Yan Dongjun instantly understood his friend. With a grin, he lightly punched his friend’s shoulder and said to Su Qing, "Let me introduce you. This is my good friend, Song Jifei."
Then he introduced Su Qing to Song Jifei. "This is Su Qing, a friend of Beize’s younger sister. She’s in Beijing on business. We all had dinner together yesterday."
Song Jifei smiled at Su Qing. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Su."
Su Qing smiled and returned the pleasantry.
Something occurred to Yan Dongjun. "Oh, by the way, Su Qing," he said, "I’m going to be out of town for a few days. If you need help with anything while I’m gone, you can call this number."
As he spoke, Yan Dongjun handed Su Qing a slip of paper with a phone number on it.
Su Qing didn’t think she’d need any help, but she appreciated the kind offer. She took the slip of paper and asked casually, "Are you two heading out of town?"
