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Autumn Wind has a love-hate relationship with her "good friend." She lies in bed as if she were dead, always feeling a sting in her heart. The last time she was tormented by her "good friend," Qiu Mowen stood right in front of her.
Perhaps he is watching her now.
The phone beside her pillow buzzed softly. Autumn Wind weakly picked it up, and Qiu Hai's deep voice came through, saying, "It's me."
Her heart skipped a beat, the sensation of a passionate kiss lingering around her body. Her throat trembled, but she could only manage a single word: "Mm!"
Qiu Hai cleared his throat, noticing Autumn Wind's unusual response. "Did you not come to the office today?"
"Mm!"
Another one-word reply? Qiu Hai frowned. "What's wrong? Are you afraid to see me?" His tone was teasing, laced with provocation. "Do you think I would eat you?"
Autumn Wind bit her lower lip, unable to respond. A cramp gripped her abdomen, and she instinctively curled up.
On the other end of the line, Qiu Hai sat at his desk with his feet propped up on it. One hand held the phone while the other fiddled with the necklace that Autumn Wind had left in his car. The pendant clinked against the desk, producing a clear sound.
This sound reached Autumn Wind's ears and naturally reminded her of that necklace. Cautiously, she asked, "What was that sound just now?"
"You can hear that? This necklace must mean something important to you!" Qiu Hai lifted the necklace high, the light blue gemstone pendant swaying before him. "This necklace is quite valuable!"
His tone was strange, tinged with jealousy and sounding somewhat sarcastic.
"It has nothing to do with you!" The pain caused Autumn Wind's body to curl up tightly. Her hand weakened and dropped the phone onto the pillow, almost gritting her teeth as she spoke.
Noticing the change in Autumn Wind's tone, Qiu Hai assumed it was because he had taken her necklace and felt angry. "Can I have it as a gift?"
"No!" Autumn Wind replied tersely; the pain made it difficult for her to think too much.
Qiu Hai clenched the necklace in his hand and was about to say something when the office door swung open. Liu Jian walked in with his hands in his pockets and an expressionless face. Seeing Qiu Hai on the phone, he said nothing and directly sat down on the sofa.
Qiu Hai quickly tucked the necklace into his pocket and put away his smile. "I'll return it to you the next time we meet!" He hung up the phone swiftly.
Next time we meet? What does that mean? Does he want to repeat what happened last night? Autumn Wind curled up in bed, wondering if Qiu Hai was hinting at something.
The change in Qiu Hai's expression did not escape Liu Jian's notice. Qiu Hai's transition from playful to serious made Liu Jian find it quite amusing. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's up? Do you have a new girlfriend?"
Liu Jian's words elicited a bitter smile from Qiu Hai. If Liu Jian knew that the person on the other end of the line was Autumn Wind, he probably wouldn't have said that!
"What's wrong? Do you think I'm talking to a woman?" Qiu Hai let his hand drop and lightly patted his pocket. After confirming the necklace was inside, he looked up at Liu Jian.
Liu Jian nodded seriously, "It's rare to see you smile like that. You should bring her over to meet me!"
Liu Jian's words left Qiu Hai frozen in place. He leaned on the chair, taking a moment to regain his composure. "What brings you here? Is something going on?"
Liu Jian clicked his tongue, looking somewhat conflicted. He rummaged through his pocket for a while before finally pulling out an invitation and gently placing it on the table in front of the sofa. "This is Sister Shali's birthday invitation!" The light blue invitation was the same color as the one he had for his own engagement, which naturally stirred up Liu Jian's feelings of sadness.
"Birthday invitation?" Qiu Hai suddenly remembered that next Monday was indeed Qiu Ruolan's birthday. He squinted, confusion flickering in his eyes. "What? Did you come all this way just for this?" To Qiu Hai, this seemed a bit excessive.
"Of course not! It's because Autumn Wind didn't come to the office today, and some shareholders have been pressuring me," Liu Jian stammered, his gaze still fixed on the light blue invitation.
"Shareholders are pressuring you? Is it Jolie?" Qiu Hai let out a cold laugh.
Liu Jian didn't answer, but his eyes confirmed Qiu Hai's suspicion. "Alright, I understand. You're the general manager; you can handle daily affairs of the company. However, if you want to let your personal feelings influence your decisions a bit, as long as it doesn't affect our shareholders' interests, I won't say anything!" Qiu Hai spread his hands to show his stance.
"Got it! I understand!" Liu Jian nodded. "Well then, I should head back!" He stood up and walked to the door but turned back again. "There's something I need to ask, but I'm not sure if I should..."
Qiu Hai raised an eyebrow and casually waved his arms. "Go ahead!"
"You..." Liu Jian frowned, looking somewhat pained but still spoke up. "Your attitude towards Jolie since you returned is completely different from before."
Liu Jian shot a glance at Autumn Wind while maintaining a cheerful expression. "What's wrong? I don't feel anything!"
"There is, it's quite different. You're very cold towards her. The way you present yourself now is very much like your good friend—Qiu Mowen!" Liu Jian's tone was sincere, and despite the words coming from his own mouth, he couldn't help but be startled when "Qiu Mowen" slipped out.
"Qiu Mowen? Why do you think we're so alike?" Qiu Hai shrugged, trying too hard and appearing quite awkward.
"There's no need to explain; you're just not the same as the old Kris!" Liu Jian referred to him by Qiu Hai's name, and then he walked straight out of Qiu Hai's office.
Liu Jian had known Qiu Hai for many years. During their time abroad, Qiu Hai often quarreled with Liu Jian over his lack of consideration for Jolie. At that time, Jolie was like a treasure in Qiu Hai's hands. Whenever Jolie had a dispute with Liu Jian, regardless of who was right or wrong, Qiu Hai would unconditionally stand by Jolie's side.
Perhaps it was Qiu Hai's indulgence without discernment that caused Liu Jian to have a strained relationship with him.
However, this time when Qiu Hai returned to Taipei, he had changed so much that Liu Jian could hardly recognize him. He no longer defended Jolie and was much more organized in his work. The strong aura he exuded instilled an inexplicable trust in Liu Jian.
That kind of trust had only been felt by Liu Jian towards Qiu Mowen throughout his life.
Qiu Hai was momentarily stunned by the name "Qiu Mowen" coming from Liu Jian's mouth and took a while to process it.
He walked over to the sofa and picked up Qiu Ruolan's invitation. When he saw the name "Qiu Hai" on it, he smiled proudly but couldn't help feeling a pang of bitterness.
Some things can only be done under a different identity.
In the evening, Qiu Hai returned home, and Old Cheng came up to report on various situations at home. This habit had formed during Qiu Xianglin's lifetime; daily household matters had to be reported.
While eating dinner, Qiu Hai listened to Old Cheng's report.
"Young Master, we distributed the servants' salaries and bonuses today, totaling six hundred thousand!" Old Cheng still retained the way Qiu Xianglin addressed Qiu Hai during his lifetime. "And today's household expenses totaled twenty-two thousand, which includes ingredients for Amir!"
Amir was a bulldog that Qiu Xianglin had raised during his lifetime. It looked rather silly and had never gotten along well with Qiu Hai, who always chose to ignore her.
"Alright, if there are no important matters, don't report anything else!" During the company meeting, Qiu Hai frowned impatiently. "Is there anything else significant? If not, you can go eat!"
Old Cheng was momentarily taken aback but still spoke up. "That young master, Autumn Mansion borrowed a clay pot from our house today."
Qiu Hai's brows furrowed tightly, looking annoyed. "Do we really need to report such trivial matters?"
"Yes!" Sensing Qiu Hai's impatience, Old Cheng respectfully withdrew.
After finishing his meal, Qiu Hai went straight back to his room. He walked directly to the window and opened it to look into Autumn Wind's room.
Huh? Why is there no light in Autumn Wind's room? He frowned slightly and checked the time; at this hour, Autumn Wind's room should be lit.
A gentle knock came from the door, and the maid's hoarse voice called out, "Young master, your coffee is ready!"
"Come in!" Qiu Hai replied.
A middle-aged woman wearing a purple apron and slightly plump cautiously entered, gently placing the coffee on the table before slowly retreating to the door.
"Wait a moment!" Qiu Hai called out to the maid. "Old Cheng said Autumn Mansion borrowed a clay pot; what is that pot used for?"
The pot? The maid murmured, "Ah, young master, that's the pot we use for making medicine at home! Sister Liu from Autumn Mansion borrowed it because their sister isn't feeling well."
Autumn Wind is sick? Qiu Hai raised his hand to signal the maid to leave.
He took his coffee and walked back to the window, taking a sip before placing the cup on the windowsill. He pulled out his phone and dialed Autumn Wind's number.
The phone rang for quite a while before Autumn Wind finally answered slowly, her voice weak. "Hello, who is this?"
Qiu Hai didn't respond immediately; Autumn Wind's feeble voice struck heavily at his heart, an overwhelming sense of concern surged within him. His voice trembled involuntarily as he asked, "Are you... okay?"
Autumn Wind finally recognized the voice of Qiu Hai, but the choked tone sounded very much like Qiu Mowen. Just thinking about this made tears well up, rolling down Autumn Wind's cheeks and into her neck. However, she was afraid Qiu Hai would hear her crying, so she hurriedly said, "It's nothing!" and quickly hung up the phone.
Autumn Wind buried her head in the blanket, letting the tears flow out in waves.
Suddenly, the room's light was turned on. Yu entered holding a white porcelain bowl. She gently patted Autumn Wind's body wrapped in the blanket and said, "Hey, wake up! I specially went to get you some herbal medicine. Drink a few doses, and you won't feel pain when your friends come over!"
Autumn Wind quickly wiped her tears away and poked her head out from under the blanket.
Yu immediately noticed Autumn Wind's red eyes. "You cried! It wasn't because of pain, was it?" She held the bowl out in front of Autumn Wind. "Just drink it, and you'll be fine!"
Autumn Wind took the bowl and gulped down a big mouthful. "It's so bitter! So bitter!" She pushed the bowl aside.
"Haha, good medicine is bitter! Hurry up and drink it," Yu knelt on the bed, gently supporting Autumn Wind's neck as she brought the bowl back to her.
"I don't want to! It's so awful!" Autumn Wind shouted loudly.
"Haha, just drink it!"
Qiu Hai quietly stood by the window. He saw that Autumn Wind's room had lit up and could vaguely hear the sound of girls laughing. His heart relaxed for a moment as he picked up his coffee cup and took a gentle sip. (To be continued)
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