CHAPTER 12: CHAPTER 11: BAD MOOD

As they approached the hotel, the sky was completely dark, with a smoky blue night sky adorned by sparse stars and a beautiful crescent moon.

Zhou Huaiyi glanced at the hotel sign on her right, stepped off the curb intending to cross the pedestrian lane, when she noticed a Passat coming slowly from the left.

Her gaze paused, and she instinctively pulled back her steps, planning to let the car pass first.

Unexpectedly, the Passat stopped neatly outside the sidewalk.

The car’s headlights brightly illuminated the pedestrian lane in front of her, giving her the right of way.

The streetlights were dim, coupled with the glaring brightness of the headlights, Zhou Huaiyi couldn’t make out the driver’s appearance. She quickly crossed the street while bowing to express her gratitude, and without looking back, entered the hotel entrance.

Xiang Qichen inside the car watched Zhou Huaiyi’s figure as she went inside, inexplicably in a good mood, he grinned and then drove towards the hotel parking lot.

,

Standing in front of the hotel room door, Zhou Huaiyi held the room card, and with a "beep," unlocked the door but didn’t push it open.

She tightened her grip on the door handle, and the next second, she clenched her teeth and slammed the door shut again. She took out her phone and dialed Kang Xuan as she walked briskly towards the terrace without a word.

Kang Xuan was practicing piano at home when Zhou Huaiyi’s call came in. The loud piano sound stopped abruptly. She raised a finger and pressed the green button, only to hear the muffled voice from the other end, followed by a burst of crying.

Kang Xuan held the phone, completely bewildered.

"???" Kang Xuan asked in a daze, jumping up from the piano bench, "Zhou Huaiyi, what’s wrong with you?"

"Old Kang..." Zhou Huaiyi sobbed uncontrollably, unable to control her emotions for a moment, "I’m... I’m so wronged, boohoo..."

This was the first thing Xiang Qichen heard from the terrace when he exited the elevator.

Sensing something, he walked over to the glass door of the terrace and saw the trembling back of Zhou Huaiyi sobbing.

To be fair, Zhou Huaiyi wasn’t the type to be overly dramatic, but Zhang Yuan’s comment this morning about "shady intern" really infuriated her. Even after calming down and realizing it wasn’t worth arguing with someone so unsophisticated, it still affected her mood all day.

Later, she received a call from Mr. Zhou, whose voice was full of concern and love. For a moment, she felt especially wronged, but she didn’t want to worry her father with complaints, so she called Kang Xuan instead.

Kang Xuan listened silently to her tale of woe, then slapped the piano surface in anger, and said, "What did that vain woman say? Is she stupid? I always see posts on Weibo about her acting arrogant. I’ve had enough of her, and she dares to call you shady! Just wait! I’ll teach her a lesson tomorrow!"

Zhou Huaiyi wiped her tears, stifled a sob, and replied earnestly, "So are you coming on your flight tomorrow?"

"..." Kang Xuan paused, clicked her tongue, "You still have the mood to joke with me right now?"

"I’m not kidding. There are no direct flights from Wuxun to H City. You need to fly to W City, then fly to S City, and then drive to H City."

Kang Xuan: ".....I can’t afford such a hassle with my budget."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Huaiyi couldn’t help but laugh through her tears, and scoffed, "Then what kind of lesson can you teach?"

Kang Xuan retorted, "I’ll use a fake account to teach her a lesson!"

Zhou Huaiyi snorted and sniffed back her nose, "Actually, today wasn’t entirely wasted."

"Women are really damn fickle..." Kang Xuan murmured, and then asked, "What did you gain?"

Zhou Huaiyi began to feel smug, her nasal congestion laced with a hint of pride: "I had another close encounter with my Qi Chen... To be precise, my Qi Chen..." Zhou Huaiyi pretended to tuck her chin in coyly, "came to my rescue."

Kang Xuan: ".....Zhou Huaiyi, your greasy tone seriously disgusts me."

Zhou Huaiyi: "...But he probably did it to repay the favor of my medicated patch."

"As a fellow die-hard fan of Xiang Qichen, be grateful I’m not near you right now, or I’d poke you blind!" Kang Xuan’s words were sharp, "If you’re feeling better, stop bothering your ’father’ from practicing the piano, Zhou Huaiyi."

Zhou Huaiyi’s bad mood had come quickly and left even faster, and now she felt quite cheerful, grinning and replying, "Then you practice the piano, ’son’, I’m going to go spy on my Qi Chen."

Kang Xuan gritted her teeth, "...You can roll away in style!"

So, when Zhou Huaiyi ended the call, tears still in her eyes, and turned around with a smile to see Xiang Qichen standing at the terrace door, not knowing how long he’d been there, it was almost like—

┬─┬ノ(゜-゜ノ)

What did she just say?

"Had a close encounter with my Qi Chen..."

"To be precise, my Qi Chen came to my rescue."

"I’m going to go spy on my Qi Chen..."

My Qi Chen QAQ

Zhou Huaiyi: "......"