Water and Fire~Chapter 53.2: A Fresh Start

 

Chapter 53.2: A Fresh Start

The next day, he took a taxi to Jialeyuan. But Chu Qianmiao didn't go.

When it was time to get to work, she emailed him the first draft of her documents.

He knew where she was with the documents yesterday. This morning, she had a first draft; she must have pulled a long night.

For the next two days, he didn't go to Jialeyuan again. But when he called Qin Qianyu to check on the situation at the scene, he couldn't help but ask if Lawyer Chu had been there.

Qin Qianyu said no, saying she had asked Zhang Teng for leave.

It suddenly dawned on him that, despite his close training and dedication, she was actually Zhang Teng's subordinate, and whether she attended the due diligence investigation or not was not his responsibility. He told Qin Qianyu, "Notify all agencies to arrive at Jialeyuan next Monday to prepare for the coaching and acceptance."

Chu Qianmiao was listless for several days. During the day, she went to the law firm, burying herself in writing documents. She didn't even bother to scold Qiao Zhixin when he flirted with her. At night, she returned home numb, unresponsive even to Miaomiao's cute flirting.

Gu Miaoyu asked her what was wrong, but she wouldn't say anything.

Gu Miaoyu was deeply worried. In the middle of the night, she lay outside Chu Qianmiao's room, watching her stare at a photo of Ren Yan on her computer for a long time, then delete it, then restore it, then delete it again, then restore it again. Finally, she deleted it completely.

She knew then that Ren Yan was Chu Qianmiao's problem.

She avoided Chu Qianmiao and called Ren Yan.

She said to him, "Mr. Ren, this call may be a bit abrupt, but there's something I really want to discuss with you."

Ren Yan patiently told her, "Go ahead." "

Gu Miaoyu then said, "Mr. Ren, I'm going to be frank with you. Regardless of your past with your ex-girlfriend, and whether you two can ever get back together, please don't hurt her, Sanqianshui. That day, you went to the airport to pick up your ex-girlfriend while you were having dinner. Although our Shuishui didn't say anything, she felt bad too. And I want to say this: If you like our Shuishui, please be clear about your kindness to her. But if you can't give her clear happiness, then I hope you won't mess with her again. Regardless of your choice between your ex-girlfriend and Shuishui, I implore you to be clear and not ambiguous. That way, the girl always gets hurt."

Gu Miaoyu concluded by repeating, "I'm sorry I got a bit carried away in my excitement. Let me summarize briefly. Mr. Ren, please don't keep Qianmiao hanging. You're making our Shuishui feel so bad. I'm sorry I'm being abrupt, but even if it's abrupt, I have to say this to you."

She heard Ren Yan sigh softly on the other end of the line. He said, "I understand." After a pause, he added, "You're the second person to tell me this."

Gu Miaoyu was startled, and instinctively asked, "Who was the first person?"

Ren Yan didn't answer her. After a brief silence, he said, "I didn't keep her hanging. I clearly rejected her."

Gu Miaoyu was a little dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry, I was indeed abrupt," she said. "Please pretend I never called."

Before hanging up, Gu Miaoyu heard Ren Yan ask, "Is she upset?"

She replied decisively, "This has nothing to do with you anymore, Mr. Ren. Goodbye." "

Gu Miaoyu put down the phone without saying anything.

The next day happened to be the weekend, so she went downstairs and bought two cases of beer. She took Chu Qianmiao home and said, "Come on, let's drink for two days and two nights, then get some sleep, and then you can get yourself together. If you keep being this lethargic, I'll f*cking laugh at you for being useless."

Chu Qianmiao laughed and said, "Okay, okay, but we'll just get drunk for a day and a night. When we wake up, we have to find a place to live. I don't want to live here anymore."

Gu Miaoyu agreed, and it was settled. They swished open the tabs of their cans and began to drink.

Over their beers, Chu Qianmiao told Gu Miaoyu about her relationship with Ren Yan.

"The day I met him again on the project was my birthday, and he ordered me a bowl of longevity noodles with an egg. Okay, this is the last time I'll talk about this. After this drink, I'll put it behind me tomorrow and forget about it." "

"That time at dinner with the Hanhai Home Textiles people, a lot of people came over and tried to get me to drink. He moved me to sit next to him, and he blocked all the shots aimed my way. Tonight is the last time I'll think about this, and tomorrow I'll forget it."

"He doesn't attend parties. On his birthday, Qin Qianyu and the others wouldn't come out no matter how hard they tried to call him. But then I called him, and he did. I secretly thought that since no one else could get him to do it, I could, and I looked so impressive. But that's nothing. So, I'll forget about it for a while."

"He offended me, and he apologized. They say he never apologizes. Okay, I've forgotten about it."

"I almost fell down the stairs that day, and he rushed over and hugged me, like this, like this. One hand held me, the other pressed the back of my head against his chest. Little Daogu, really, I felt in love right then, but I didn't dare say it. Well, I've forgotten about it too."

"Dong Lan gave him a brooch and told him to keep it for his girlfriend." He left it on the table and refused to remove it, then said to me, "It's pretty, keep it and wear it." You say I'm not stupid, how could I not have wild thoughts? But I've already returned the brooch to him. Well, let's finish this bottle of wine, and from now on, the brooch will fade from my memory."

"My computer broke, and he took me to get it fixed. He also took me to KFC. Oh, what did we do the last time we met? I've forgotten, hahahahaha."

Chu Qianmiao and Gu Miaoyu were both drunk, and the drunk Chu Qianmiao clung to Miaomiao and fell asleep.

A drunken Gu Miaoyu, holding a wine can as a microphone, forcibly plucked Miaomiao from Chu Qianmiao's arms and sang to it for half the night. Miaomiao finally escaped her, hid under the bed, and refused to come out again.

Two drunken, crazy women in the house really frightened it.

The next day, Sunday, Chu Qianmiao revived. She had fulfilled her promise to herself and gracefully moved on from the incident between that person and them.

She and Gu Miaoyu went to an agency that day to look for an apartment. After searching for most of the day, they finally found one that was suitable.

They signed the contract and paid the deposit and rent on the spot.

Back home, they began packing, finally finishing all their belongings by midnight.

Chu Qianmiao found a moving company online that was willing to work late at night and moved overnight.

Lying on her new bed in her new home, Chu Qianmiao couldn't sleep. She picked up an ad and found a TV show to watch. It was a thoroughly romantic drama, with the protagonists cuddling, kissing, and then falling asleep.

She fell asleep while watching it. The night was surprisingly peaceful. After spending most of the day watching a steamy romance drama, she didn't even dream.

The next morning, she woke up and thought, "It works! I've broken the curse of Ren Yan's wet dreams."

She was sitting in bed when she heard Gu Miaoyu knocking on the door.

She got up and opened it, only to see Gu Miaoyu standing there, staring blankly at the doorway.

"Shuishui, happy birthday! Come back early after get off work tonight. I'll make you something delicious."

Chu Qianmiao was startled, then remembered it was another birthday.

She squinted her eyes and nudged Gu Miaoyu's shoulder. "Okay!"

After quickly washing up, she and Gu Miaoyu both rushed to the subway, ready for work. They were caught in the throngs of people during the morning subway rush hour, being squeezed in by others while also squeezing others.

This had been her state every weekday for the past three years since graduating from university. These three years had been incredibly difficult, and she'd occasionally felt sad, like the past few days. But after pulling herself together, she felt a sense of hope for the future.

Arriving at Jialeyuan, she considered herself lucky; Ren Yan was there. Then she thought, yeah, of course he was there; everyone had a meeting today. These past few days had been a blur for her. But that wouldn't happen again.

She figured since everyone else hadn't arrived yet, it would be a good opportunity to return the key to him.

With her usual smile, she called out, "Mr. Ren." She handed him the key and told him she'd found a new apartment. She thanked him deeply for his help and care.

Ren Yan looked at Chu Qianmiao, at her, someone who was both her and not her.

She was polite, but not overly so, as she always was with anyone she met for the first time: polite and courteous, smiling broadly. They weren't distant, but they weren't close either.

She was so receptive and receptive. This was clearly what he wanted. But when he took the key, he felt a sense of emptiness.

They seemed to be back to their first meeting on the Hanhai project. She walked into the hotel's private room and was startled when she saw him. He had greeted her first, but she didn't react; she just stared at him. It was only when Zhang Teng reminded her, "You're sitting across from Mr. Ren Yan, Managing Director of the Investment Banking Department at Litong Securities. Mr. Ren just greeted you."

She finally came to her senses and greeted him. She smiled politely and bowed, saying hello, Mr. Ren.

He still remembered that it was her birthday.

Now she smiled politely again, as if they were strangers meeting for the first time again.

He later remembered that the day she returned the key to him was also her birthday. They always seemed to become strangers getting back together on her birthday.