Watching Lin Qianwei walk away, Bai Ying still felt a bit uneasy.
Ji Yunxiao didn’t care about Bai Ying, so she hadn’t noticed how haggard Bai Ying looked, let alone that all of this was Lin Qianwei’s doing.
Right now, Bai Ying looked at the boy beside her, still worried.
“Do you think Lin Qianwei will finally leave me alone this time?”
The boy didn’t know what to say, so he just opened his arms and hugged her.
Bai Ying couldn’t help but sigh.
She said tiredly, “I really didn’t expect Lin Qianwei to go this far to mess with me.”
The boy sighed along with her.
“I didn’t expect you’d dare to try and steal Lin’s man right in front of her, either.
That woman’s ruthless—she’s famous for it.
She even sent her own dad to jail without mercy.
Why would you mess with her?”
Bai Ying couldn’t explain.
She’d been seduced by Ji Yunxiao’s looks, and with the wrong information, she thought Lin Qianwei didn’t care about Ji Yunxiao at all.
In the end, she got what she deserved.
Thinking about all the trouble at work and in life lately, Bai Ying couldn’t help but feel a lingering fear.
“I’ll never dare to covet a big shot’s woman again,” Bai Ying said sincerely.
……
When Lin Qianwei left, her face didn’t look good, but no one knew she was just troubled by that moonstone anklet.
How did Ji Yunxiao know about it? How did she even find out? Was it Qiao Xi who told her?
Lin Qianwei wanted to call Qiao Xi to ask, but just as she was about to dial, she changed her mind.
Qiao Xi answered the phone, confused.
“What’s up, Weiwei?”
Lin Qianwei looked out the car window, her tone casual.
“Come by my office.”
Qiao Xi asked, “What for?”
“To pick up a bag,” Lin Qianwei said calmly.
“I promised to give you a few.”
“I’ll be right there!”
As soon as Qiao Xi heard that, she quickly got ready and came over, all excited.
After getting the bag, Lin Qianwei didn’t let Qiao Xi leave.
Instead, she told the secretary to go out and locked the door herself.
Qiao Xi had a vague feeling that something was off.
Hugging the bag, she asked carefully, “What’s going on, Boss Lin?”
Leaning against her desk, Lin Qianwei picked up her coffee cup and interrogated her slowly, “How did Ji Yunxiao know I lost that moonstone anklet? Was it you who told her?”
“No! Of course not! Absolutely not!” Qiao Xi denied it three times in a row.
“How could I have told her? I’d never say something like that to Ji Yunxiao.”
“She even knows I hurt my wrist that day because I went down to look for the anklet,” Lin Qianwei said with a straight face.
“I haven’t told anyone else about that except you.”
Qiao Xi said anxiously, “Isn’t it possible Ji Yunxiao just guessed?”
Lin Qianwei frowned.
“Guessed?”
Qiao Xi nodded hard, speaking sincerely.
“Yeah, maybe she just figured it out herself.”
Lin Qianwei narrowed her eyes at her.
“Then tell me, how exactly did Ji Yunxiao figure it out on her own?”
“She probably went through your stuff while you were sleeping, found the anklet, noticed the details were different from the one she gave you, and then remembered your weird behavior that night, so she guessed it,” Qiao Xi blurted out, trying to prove her innocence.
Lin Qianwei watched her expression and let out a cold laugh.
Qiao Xi started to panic.
She grabbed Lin Qianwei’s arm and said, “Weiwei, you have to believe me, that’s really all there is to it.”
“I believe you,” Lin Qianwei said lightly.
But before Qiao Xi could breathe a sigh of relief, Lin Qianwei continued, “But how do you know all those details? You even know Ji Yunxiao went through my stuff while I was sleeping.
How come?”
Qiao Xi instantly felt guilty.
“I… I just guessed…”
Lin Qianwei didn’t buy it at all.
“Then let me guess too,” Lin Qianwei said, her face unreadable as she calmly laid it out.
“Maybe the first part is like you said—Ji Yunxiao noticed something was off with the anklet and started to suspect, but she couldn’t be sure, so she went to ask you, right?”
Qiao Xi couldn’t lie to her, so she had to admit it.
“Yeah, I… I…”
Qiao Xi wanted to explain that she hadn’t told Ji Yunxiao directly, just accidentally let it slip, but that wasn’t what Lin Qianwei cared about.
Lin Qianwei threw the bag at her, losing her temper for once.
“So you really have been talking to Ji Yunxiao behind my back!”
“It’s not like we talk that much!” Qiao Xi put the bag Lin Qianwei threw onto the sofa, then walked over and nudged her shoulder, whispering, “Are you really mad?”
Lin Qianwei said coldly, “No.”
She trusted that there was nothing inappropriate between Ji Yunxiao and Qiao Xi, but she still had to vent.
Qiao Xi looked at her friend’s beautiful face.
Even though her eyes were still cold, this wasn’t how she looked when she was truly angry.
Qiao Xi breathed a sigh of relief and bumped her shoulder, coaxing her, “Don’t be mad.
Most of what Ji Yunxiao and I talk about is you, anyway.”
Lin Qianwei looked up at her through her long lashes.
“Really?”
“It’s really true.” As she spoke, Qiao Xi even took out her phone to prove it.
Lin Qianwei crossed her arms and turned away.
“I’m not looking.”
Qiao Xi sighed.
“Come on, I’m begging you, just take a look, okay?”
Lin Qianwei pinched her phone between two fingers, lifted her chin, and said, “Since you’re begging, I’ll do you the favor and take a look.”
Qiao Xi shook her head with a smile.
“Now do you believe there’s nothing going on between me and Ji Yunxiao?” Qiao Xi spread her hands.
Lin Qianwei nodded.
Qiao Xi sighed, “Why are you getting more and more jealous these days?”
Lin Qianwei’s ears turned a little red, but she didn’t argue.
She just asked, “Why isn’t there any chat record about the moonstone anklet? Didn’t she message you about it?”
“Well…” Qiao Xi hesitated.
Lin Qianwei pressed, “Well what?”
Qiao Xi said, “Ji Yunxiao asked me in person.”
Lin Qianwei said, “Alright then.”
Seeing that Lin Qianwei didn’t ask any more, Qiao Xi quietly let out a breath.
She could tell Lin Qianwei everything else, but she could never say that the morning Lin Qianwei came to talk to her, Ji Yunxiao was upstairs and heard the whole thing.
She was afraid Lin Qianwei would feel awkward.
Luckily, Lin Qianwei changed the subject.
“Just now, Ji Yunxiao went to see Bai Ying.”
Qiao Xi’s eyes widened.
Lin Qianwei added, “I arranged it.”
She couldn’t stand another woman flirting with Ji Yunxiao in front of her.
Even though she’d already claimed her territory on the spot, the more she thought about it, the angrier she got, so she went to give Bai Ying a hard time.
“Later, Bai Ying apologized to me, admitted she was wrong, and asked what she could do to get my forgiveness,” Lin Qianwei said calmly.
“I just said, unless she never liked Ji Yunxiao.”
The fact that Bai Ying liked Ji Yunxiao was obvious, so Lin Qianwei’s words made it clear she wasn’t going to let her off.
Qiao Xi asked, “And then?”
Lin Qianwei said, “Then a few days later, Bai Ying made up a story for me.”
Bai Ying said she really never liked Ji Yunxiao.
In fact, she had a boyfriend, and what she did back then was just to provoke Lin Qianwei, to make Lin Qianwei realize her own feelings and treat Ji Yunxiao well.
It was purely an act of gratitude.
Qiao Xi burst out laughing.
“That’s so ridiculous.”
Lin Qianwei knew it was ridiculous too.
She’d looked into Bai Ying and knew all about her relationship status.
That so-called boyfriend was just a junior Bai Ying pulled in at the last minute to act.
“But I actually think her explanation is kind of interesting.
Let her go say it again in front of Ji Yunxiao.” Lin Qianwei said unhurriedly, “When Bai Ying met Ji Yunxiao today, I was in the next room.”
Qiao Xi suddenly understood.
“You overheard the anklet thing then?” Lin Qianwei: “Yeah.”
It was Ji Yunxiao who accidentally let it slip.
Qiao Xi almost laughed out loud.
These two wives are just too funny.
Not long ago, Ji Yunxiao pulled a whole eavesdropping stunt, and today Lin Qianwei just copied her and eavesdropped right back.
They’re… pretty well matched, honestly.
Lin Qianwei frowned and asked Qiao Xi, “What are you laughing at?” Qiao Xi waved her hand.
“Nothing.”
Lin Qianwei pressed her lips together.
“Do you think what I did was wrong?” “You’re so pretty, whatever you do is right,” Qiao Xi hugged her and said, “It’s fine, but I am a little curious, why did you do it?” “I just wanted to see, after I ignored her for a few days, how she’d act toward her old admirer.” Lin Qianwei lowered her head.
“But I didn’t expect her to say something like that.”
Qiao Xi: “Did she say something to apologize to you?” Lin Qianwei shook her head, the corners of her lips curving into a faint smile.
“She said something that moved me.”
“And even though she knew I lost the anklet, she didn’t hold it against me, and she’s still so good to me.” After saying this, Lin Qianwei looked at Qiao Xi and asked, “So I’m wondering, did I do something wrong?” Qiao Xi: “Wrong about what?” Actually, after asking Qiao Xi, Lin Qianwei already had the answer in her heart.
She said, “I shouldn’t have tested my own wife.
That kind of thing is too childish and can easily cause cracks.
I need to find a chance to be honest with her about what I did today.”
Lin Qianwei looked at her own fair ankle, remembering how Ji Yunxiao had put the gift on her that day, and said softly, “And… I need to explain clearly about losing that moonstone anklet too.”
While Lin Qianwei was talking to Qiao Xi, the secretary came to knock on the door, saying Ji Yunxiao had sent a bouquet of flowers.
Lin Qianwei took the exquisitely wrapped pink tulips, looked at the secretary, and asked with a frown, “Where is she?” The secretary said, “She’s still waiting downstairs.”
Lin Qianwei instinctively wanted to go over, but after taking two steps, she came back.
She stood in front of the mirror, looked at herself holding the flowers, and frowned.
She took out her phone and replied to Ji Yunxiao: [I got the flowers.] Ji Yunxiao asked: [What about you?] Lin Qianwei bit her pretty lips, suppressed a smile, and typed: [Me… see you tonight.] Qiao Xi saw Lin Qianwei’s barely hidden happiness and teased, “Your wife’s here, aren’t you going to see her?”
“No.” Lin Qianwei straightened her collar in the mirror, complaining very seriously, “I’m not pretty enough right now.”
And she still hadn’t figured out how to talk to Ji Yunxiao.
Qiao Xi: “…”
That bouquet of pink tulips was already beautiful, but Lin Qianwei was clearly even more stunning than the flowers.
She was so gorgeous, already so pretty—how could she not be pretty enough? Qiao Xi was speechless.
Half an hour later, Ji Yunxiao called, and this time Lin Qianwei didn’t hang up.
She answered.
Lin Qianwei’s voice was reserved and restrained.
“Hello.”
On the other end, Ji Yunxiao was still gentle as ever.
“Do you like the tulips I sent you?”
Lin Qianwei’s gaze fell on the pink petals, and she gave what was, for her, a high compliment.
“They’re okay.”
Ji Yunxiao understood what she meant and laughed.
“’Okay’ means you like them, right?” Lin Qianwei didn’t deny it.
She was still too shy to say she liked them, even if it was just about the tulips.
So Lin Qianwei changed the subject and asked Ji Yunxiao, “Do these flowers mean anything?” Ji Yunxiao: “You mean the flower language?” Lin Qianwei: “Yeah.”
Ji Yunxiao drew out her words a little.
“To be honest, I’m not really sure.”
Lin Qianwei frowned slightly.
“Then why did you buy them?” “I bought them because they reminded me of you.” Ji Yunxiao answered.
Lin Qianwei: “Reminded you of me?” What did she have in common with tulips? Ji Yunxiao’s voice was pleasant as she told her, “Elegant and refined, yet vibrant and alluring—doesn’t that sound like you?” Lin Qianwei’s cheeks flushed at her words, and she pressed her lips together, saying coldly, “I have things to do, I’m hanging up.”
Ji Yunxiao: “Okay, see you tonight.”
Lin Qianwei opened her phone and saw Ji Yunxiao’s message: [Actually, I know the meaning of pink tulips.] [It’s eternal love.] [That’s why I gave them to you.]
Lin Qianwei put down her phone, asked the secretary to bring a clean, elegant vase, then unwrapped the pink tulips and carefully arranged them in the vase herself.
She couldn’t help but smile.
Ji Yunxiao gave her tulips, so she should return the favor.
Plus, she’d lost the moonstone anklet Ji Yunxiao gave her, so she should make it up to her.
Lin Qianwei really didn’t have much experience with gifts.
For a moment, she even thought about just transferring money to Ji Yunxiao.
But last time she did that, Ji Yunxiao wasn’t very happy.
Maybe she thought just sending money wasn’t thoughtful enough? Lin Qianwei thought for a bit, called her personal assistant, and got straight to the point: “Help me think—what kind of gift would a twenty-year-old girl want most?”
The assistant smiled politely.
“President Lin, may I ask what hobbies or interests this twenty-year-old girl has?” Start with her interests? Lin Qianwei suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
She realized she didn’t really know what Ji Yunxiao liked.
Motorcycles? But she didn’t seem that into them.
Cooking? Probably not.
Konghou or fashion design? She was good at those, but Lin Qianwei didn’t feel like she was especially passionate about them.
The only thing Ji Yunxiao seemed to really love, with all her heart, was her.
Lin Qianwei blushed, thinking, I can’t just give myself to her, right?
She steadied herself and told the assistant, “The person I’m giving the gift to is my wife.”
The assistant understood.
“Miss Ji, right?” “Yeah,” Lin Qianwei instructed, “Just make a list for me first, and I’ll pick from it.”
Lin Qianwei sat in the chair, her eyes cool and clear, her voice calm.
“My budget is twenty million.
Handle it as you see fit.”
The assistant was secretly shocked, but didn’t show a hint of surprise, only responded professionally that she would definitely get it done.
There were still a few hours before meeting Ji Yunxiao, but Lin Qianwei was already thinking about what she should wear.
In the end, Lin Qianwei picked a celadon green French silk dress.
The smooth, soft fabric wrapped around her graceful figure, the fresh color seemed made for spring and summer.
Lin Qianwei stepped off the car in a pair of small heels, and in that instant, she caught Ji Yunxiao’s gaze.
Ji Yunxiao couldn’t look away.
His wife looked beautiful as always today.
But today, his wife didn’t have her usual cold and distant air—she seemed ethereal and lively.
Today, his wife even walked over and greeted him first.
“You’re pretty early.”
Ji Yunxiao smiled, lips curving.
“I just got here too.”
“Really?” Lin Qianwei’s voice was cool and clear.
She looked away, not looking at Ji Yunxiao anymore, planning to walk into the villa by herself.
But Ji Yunxiao suddenly spoke.
“Qianwei, wait a second.”
Lin Qianwei paused and turned her head.
Ji Yunxiao’s smile was bright, and she made an elegant inviting gesture.
She reached out her hand to Lin Qianwei.
Lin Qianwei was a little stunned, but Ji Yunxiao gently asked, “Want to hold hands?”
Lin Qianwei pressed her lips together, putting both hands behind her back.
She didn’t look at Ji Yunxiao, her gaze shifting as she asked, “Why do you want to hold hands?”
“Data shows that a loving and harmonious family is better for a child’s development.
We’re about to see Youran, and I want her to see us being sweet together.
It’s good for her physical and mental health.” Ji Yunxiao said it all seriously.
Lin Qianwei hadn’t expected that answer, and for some reason, she felt a little unhappy.
It was like her expectations had fallen flat.
She couldn’t help but think, isn’t this woman usually full of sweet talk? Why won’t she say anything now, and even use Youran as an excuse?
When she was unhappy, it was obvious—even the corners of her eyes drooped.
Ji Yunxiao realized this wasn’t the answer Lin Qianwei wanted to hear, so she decided to be direct.
“Of course, the main reason is something else.”
Lin Qianwei blinked, her thick lashes casting little shadows under the outdoor lights.
She was just too beautiful.
The tear mole at the corner of her eye looked almost bewitching under the moonlight.
Ji Yunxiao’s voice was hoarse as she spoke her true feelings.
“Mainly, I just want to hold your hand.”
Ji Yunxiao’s brows relaxed, her eyes soft as she gazed at her.
“Can I hold your hand?”
Meeting that burning gaze, Lin Qianwei only felt like she was about to catch fire.
But even so, she still reached out her hand.
Slowly, gently, she placed her fingertips in Ji Yunxiao’s palm.
