Water and Fire~Chapter 111.2: It's His Fault

 

Chapter 111.2: It's His Fault

That day, before work ended, Chu Qianmiao was walking downstairs when she happened to run into Du Xiaofeng. He was holding an antique jar and waved it at her. "President Chu, I have a jar of fine wine here, twenty years old. Would you like to try it together?" he said. "You should also call your assistant, your colleagues, Tang Jie, and Wang Jun. Otherwise, it wouldn't be appropriate for us to drink alone."

Chu Qianmiao smiled.

What a frank and forthright elder brother.

Twenty-year-old wine, worth a try.

She invited Hou Lin, Lu Zhong'er, and Wang Sian, as well as Tang Jie and Wang Jun.

After arriving at the restaurant and the dishes were served, Du Xiaofeng opened the jar of wine. The rich aroma of wine immediately filled the room.

Everyone, enjoying the twenty-year-old wine, felt that this evening's meal was truly worthwhile.

After two glasses of wine, Du Xiaofeng said generously, "Well, I wasn't actually just passing by your CEO Chu today. I was specifically waiting there to get some information about her previous investment. You guys did a fantastic job helping me resolve it, preventing a rift between me and Lao Liu. So, I brought this jar of fine wine I've stored for twenty years, just to express my gratitude."

As he drank and expressed his gratitude, his whole body exuded a carefree energy.

Chu Qianmiao smiled and quickly said, "Mr. Du, you're too polite. Resolving investment flaws is our agency's job. We're gathered here tonight simply to enjoy fine wine. Please don't make this a thank-you meal; that would be cliché."

Du Xiaofeng laughed heartily. "I just love listening to Ms. Chu talk. It's a good idea. It's settled. If you don't want to make this meal worthwhile, we'll just drink."

Du Xiaofeng was forthright and generous, and Chu Qianmiao was unpretentious. Over a glass of twenty-year-old fine wine, the two of them became close friends, enjoying a lively conversation.

While she and Du Xiaofeng were chatting, Lu Zhonger's phone rang.

Lu Zhonger answered the video call Qin Qianyu had sent him.

After the call connected, Qin Qianyu, with a mixture of joy and sorrow, told Lu Zhonger, "Old Lu, look, we're having hot pot again!"

He switched the camera, allowing Lu Zhonger to see not only the hot pot but also the Maotai on the table.

The camera cut back to Qin Qianyu's resigned expression. "Six bottles and up again!"

Lu Zhonger looked as if he'd escaped death. "Luckily, Wang Sian and I are with Qian Miao."

After a pause, he asked Qin Qianyu in a trembling voice, "This hot pot, this Moutai, this combination that's about to make me vomit tonight, wasn't it another suggestion from President Ren?"

"Yeah," Qin Qianyu nodded bitterly, leaning closer to the screen and whispering, "I feel like our leader is always...

When he was happy, he'd serve a hot pot and Maotai set meal. But when he was unhappy, he wouldn't say why; he wouldn't even admit it. "Alas," he sighed. "Forget it. For our leader, I'm willing to throw up my guts, just to make him happy."

Lu Zhonger reassured him, saying, "Boss Qin, you'll get used to it."

Qin Qianyu saw him drinking and eating through the screen and asked, "Are you guys having dinner too? How many people are there? What's for dinner? Where's Qian Miao? Quick, cut, show me Qian Miao. I miss her so much."

Lu Zhonger switched the camera, focusing on Chu Qianmiao.

A figure approached Qin Qianyu, and he quickly called out, "Boss Ren," about to turn off the video.

Ren Yan said, "Don't move." After a pause, he casually said, "That's perfect. I want to see how Chu Qianmiao is doing on the project and whether she can handle it on her own." "

Even on the other side, Hou Lin, sitting next to Chu Qianmiao, had grown bolder after drinking.

The more she looked at Du Xiaofeng through her drunken eyes, the more she found him truly charming. So, she blurted out the question that had been lingering in her mind, "Mr. Du, you're such a charming, walking hormone, why aren't you married?"

Chu Qianmiao turned and patted her.

Du Xiaofeng smiled proudly, "It's okay. Ask any questions you have. I'm not afraid of them." He looked at Hou Lin and answered, "I'm not getting married because I haven't met someone I'd be willing to marry." "

Hou Lin, under the influence of alcohol, asked again, "Are you the legendary non-marriageist? Oh, what a shame!"

Du Xiaofeng frowned and asked, "Why is non-marriage a shame?"

Hou Lin flinched at his frown. Unable to answer, she turned to Chu Qianmiao for help.

Chu Qianmiao smiled at her like an older sister and said, "There's nothing to be ashamed of being non-marriageist. Regardless of gender, if you have the ability to live a good life, without burdening others or letting others become a burden, that's the ideal state of life. In fact, marriage or not is just a formality. Substantial things like love and responsibility are far more important than the formality of a marriage certificate. "

She lifted her glass and took a sip, moistening her throat. The aroma of alcohol rose, and her eyes brightened as if washed, a rosy blush coating her cheeks. Unaware that someone was watching her radiant eyes and rosy face through their phone, she felt a wave of emotion.

Under the influence of alcohol, she sighed, "Come to think of it, over the years, I've seen and heard of many marriages that were initially as strong as gold, only to fall apart and become incredibly ugly. Those who fell apart also became ugly and twisted because of such a relationship, no longer resembling themselves. It's quite terrifying." She smiled faintly at Hou Lin, a smile that had a certain otherworldliness, reminiscent of someone from the past. It was just that no one could immediately guess who that person was.

"After seeing so many marriages like that, you start to take marriage lightly. "Chu Qianmiao said.

Du Xiaofeng raised his glass and clinked it with hers. "Ms. Chu, what you said hits the nail on the head. Come on, have a drink."

Hou Lin pressed on, asking Du Xiaofeng, "But Mr. Du, if you own such a large business and don't get married, you won't have any children to inherit your wealth. Who will pass on your vast fortune?"

Du Xiaofeng tutted and shook his head. "You're so much younger than me, yet your thinking is eight times more corrupt than mine."

Du Xiaofeng glanced at Chu Qianmiao and said, "I'd like to hear Ms. Chu's answer to this question."

Chu Qianmiao took the question confidently. "It's simple. I strive for myself, not for anyone else. I don't strive to leave what I've achieved for others to inherit, but to realize my own value. If I never want to get married and have children, I'll donate everything I've achieved before I die to help those in need. If that helps, then that's another process of realizing value. I think I'll be eligible to go straight to heaven someday."

Du Xiaofeng stared at Chu Qianmiao with sparkling eyes, shaking his head and sighing, "Every word you said hits home. It's so satisfying."

Hou Lin, beside her, gave Chu Qianmiao a twinkle in the eye. "Wow, Boss, you're so handsome! I think I love you even more."

She asked Chu Qianmiao, "Boss, if you have a boyfriend in the future and he tells you to stop working and stay home to do housework and take care of the children, and he'll support you, would you agree?"

Chu Qianmiao raised an eyebrow. "Your boyfriend said that," Hou Lin confirmed. "If you want to work, he's stifling your independence. But if you don't want to work and prefer to be supported by him, then both of you are happy. Everyone has their own aspirations."

Hou Lin asked, "Boss, what if it were you?"

"I," Chu Qianmiao said without hesitation. "Of course I'd work. I wouldn't rely on anyone else for support."

"Not even your closest lover."

"Of course." Chu Qianmiao was in a particularly good mood tonight, having been soothed by the twenty-year-old wine. She patiently answered Hou Lin's questions one by one, "If you believe me, then you shouldn't go home and let your boyfriend support you. You still have to rely on yourself. Even the most in love couples will quarrel, fight, betray, and even break up. But your own abilities, your own career, your own achievements, these will never betray you." "

On the other end of the video, Qin Qianyu couldn't help but sigh, "Oh my god, how come Qian Miao's thinking is so independent and avant-garde? Doesn't she trust men anymore? Has she been through some kind of trauma?"

Beside him, Ren Yan watched and listened expressionlessly throughout, even seeming a bit nonchalant. No one could tell his true emotions. But his hands, resting on his knees under the table, were clenched into fists.

After dinner, Chu Qianmiao called Ren Yan, but the call went unanswered.

When she finished washing up and was getting ready for bed, she received a call back from Ren Yan.

His voice sounded a little hoarse, the kind that comes from alcohol.

In his hoarse voice, he suddenly asked, "Qian Miao, if I asked you to marry me, would you agree?"

Chu Qianmiao was stunned.

After a moment, she asked Ren Yan, "Senior, have you been drinking? Why are you suddenly talking about this? This is so unlike you." "

Ren Yan didn't answer her question. He continued in a low, husky voice, "Are you so independent because you can't completely trust me?"

Chu Qianmiao was silent for a moment. She didn't want to give Ren Yan a perfunctory answer, so she decided to answer honestly.

"Senior, do you remember what you said to me when you rejected me? I actually think it makes a lot of sense."

"Tell me, when I was struggling in the middle of the night between wanting to eat a piece of cake and not wanting to, did I ultimately choose to eat it? When I woke up in the morning and the alarm went off, did I lie to myself that I'd be up in five minutes, but by the time I finally got up, fifteen minutes had already passed?"

"You said we all make excuses for ourselves. Without excuses, we're all responsible for ourselves, but without excuses, we're also deceiving ourselves. "

"Senior," Chu Qianmiao said, her voice hoarse for some reason. "I still can't resist the midnight craving for cake. I'll still turn off the alarm and tell myself I'll be in bed in five minutes, but it's already fifteen minutes later when I finally get up."

"I guess I'm still a self-deceitful person. I sometimes even deceive myself. I don't trust myself completely. If I told you right now that I trust you completely, would you believe me?"

She looked up at the stars outside the window, twinkling like eyes.

"Senior, isn't it great for us to be in a relationship like this, maintaining our independence? I thought that was what you wanted."

On the other end of the line, Ren Yan was silent for a long moment. When he spoke again, he said, "Yeah, it's okay. Qianmiao, go to bed early. Good night." "

After hanging up, Ren Yan tossed his phone onto the bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed, bent over, and covered his face with his hands.

At that moment, his heart ached. He had never felt so miserable before.

It turned out that all the words he had said were etched into her very bones. It turned out that he had used those words as a reason to reject her, and it had caused her so much pain. The wound was invisible, and she might not even be aware of it. But the wound remained deep in her heart, and she would never trust or trust anything easily again.

It was his fault, it was his fault.

The author has something to say to Ren Yan: You keep clamoring to torture me, and now you're torturing me. qaq