Being in a different place and hearing the children's lovely voices, no father's heart wouldn't be moved.
Zhan Bei Jue also wanted to see them, but unfortunately, not now.
"Daddy isn't here, Daddy is outside talking with people. Can you give the phone to Mommy?"
Ge'er returned the phone to Jiang Nan Fang.
Zhan Bei Jue told her.
"I should be able to finish work around 5:30 PM. The security measures at this hotel aren't very good. Yesterday, a female guest complained to the front desk that a male guest was ringing her doorbell in the middle of the night to harass her."
"How about this, you book a family-friendly hotel, and we'll stay there tonight. You go ahead, and I'll find you after I finish work."
Is that so.
He was working.
Jiang Nan Fang guessed it.
"Alright then, I'll take them over first."
It wasn't very far from 5:30 PM anyway. By the time they got ready, Zhan Bei Jue would almost be done.
At six o'clock, Zhan Bei Jue, dressed in smart attire, arrived at the family-friendly hotel.
As the door opened, he saw the four lively and adorable little ones, and his heart melted.
He hugged them one by one, then went to kiss Jiang Nan Fang.
"You actually came to check on me? Why the sudden sense of crisis? Did you realize your husband is still quite charming?"
"You're overthinking it." Jiang Nan Fang didn't play along with his vanity.
"I was just bored staying at home, thinking it's been a while since I took the kids out to play. I used this opportunity for a paid trip, and also – to see you."
"So, did I scare you?"
"Is there anything you need to hide? Hurry and hide it before I catch you."
Zhan Bei Jue was hit where it hurt, and his expression was a little unnatural. Fortunately, Jiang Nan Fang couldn't see it while leaning in his arms.
He deliberately changed the subject.
"The negotiations haven't made much progress lately, so I plan to take a break. It's good that you're here, I'll spend time with you."
"We can make a plan later. Bei Cheng has many historical sites, where do you want to start?"
On the way, Rui Rui and Jing Yu had already made a plan.
Hearing their father say that, the two of them took out their tablets to show him.
Zhan Bei Jue looked at it. From transportation to weather, routes to food, everything was considered. The two kids were amazing.
"You two worked hard. Tonight, Dad will play games with you. We'll follow this plan."
Everyone cheered: "Yay!"
Mai Le Di went to the hospital alone to accompany her mother. Fearing that Zhan Bei Jue might have something urgent and couldn't reach her, she kept her phone on.
Sitting alone in the ward, as soon as she opened WeChat, several messages buzzed in.
There were only two contacts on this phone: one was Zhan Bei Jue, and the other was a man she had added a couple of days ago, whose name she didn't know yet.
All the messages were from him.
One every half hour?
And he even came to her house to find her?
Was there something wrong?
Mai Le Di looked at the messages, startled by his overwhelming enthusiasm without any context.
What was he trying to do? Zhan Bei Jue shouldn't have handled things so poorly, right? He hadn't made things clear to the other party?
Out of boredom, with a sense of doubt, she finally replied to Lu Qing Xu.
"Do you need something from me?"
Yesterday, after everyone had eaten and drunk together and made fun of the heartbroken Lu Ming Zhe, Lu Qing Xu felt much better.
Relationships between men and women were all the same; whoever took it seriously would suffer the most.
He had always been calm before, and he wouldn't fall for a stranger again.
Anyway, he was a man, so he wasn't at a disadvantage.
Since the other party didn't appreciate him, there were plenty of others who would.
Just as he was reminding himself to be clear-headed, his phone rang.
Lu Qing Xu had just woken up and was planning to get ready and go out for a meal.
He thought it was a friend messaging him to pick him up. But when he grabbed it to look, it was that woman.
That woman had replied to him!
Although it was just four short words, devoid of any emotion.
But for some reason, the depression that had weighed on his heart all day yesterday suddenly vanished.
Before Lu Qing Xu could even manage his thoughts, his fingers had already typed a reply.
"Are you not at home? Why are you replying now?"
"Mhm, not at home. My phone died yesterday."
"Why did it die? Where are you now?"
From just these few words, Mai Le Di could guess.
The other party was a man with little dating experience.
He easily exposed his most genuine thoughts to the other party without realizing the danger. He wouldn't happen to be a...
Zhan Bei Jue had some foresight, and she found him agreeable.
She smiled, unconsciously feeling a sense of superiority from being doted on.
She had forgotten his "unreasonable" behavior when he couldn't find her.
"I came to Bei Cheng on a business trip temporarily and forgot to bring my charger. What did you mean by giving me a business card?"
The person didn't ignore her. Why couldn't she have been more patient and explained things clearly?
She had pushed that waiter away in a hurry. Now she was embarrassed, wasn't she?
Lu Qing Xu could only lie.
"I sent it by mistake. By the time I realized it, it was too late to recall, so I wanted to explain it to you."
"You never replied, so I thought something had happened, and I went to your house to check."
Not bad, the young man was acceptable.
Her phone vibrated, indicating a new message.
Mai Le Di exited and saw it was from Zhan Bei Jue.
"I have something today, so I won't be returning to the hotel. I won't be coming over for the next couple of days. Please bear with the hospital. Be careful alone at night."
Since she had known him, Zhan Bei Jue had always been elusive, and Mai Le Di was used to it.
He was a stiff and boring person, and she couldn't make any loud noises while living in the same room. It was good that he wasn't coming back; Mai Le Di couldn't be happier.
However, having to stay here for so long, alone, with the nights stretching endlessly...
She replied "ok" to Zhan Bei Jue, then switched back to Lu Qing Xu's chat window.
"If you're free tonight, please come to Bei Cheng. I'll send you the hotel information upon arrival."
"..."
Lu Qing Xu, who had sworn an hour ago to never contact her again, unthinkingly agreed in the next moment.
For some reason, she hadn't said much to this woman, and she hadn't even seen her appearance very clearly.
Yet, she was inexplicably attracted to her.
He felt that she possessed a calm and self-possessed, powerful aura of an older, sophisticated woman that deeply attracted him.
This was unlike the fake, materialistic girls, ordinary innocent girls, or careless young women around him.
The powerful aura that came from her natural confidence made Lu Qing Xu irresistible.
He immediately checked for flights on his phone, booked the soonest one, and then replied to his friends that he wouldn't be dining with them, he had something to attend to outside, and they shouldn't call him.
He rushed to the airport.
He landed around 7 PM.
Mai Le Di sent him the hotel information, and he took a taxi there.
Upon entering the room, she didn't care if he had eaten, if he was hungry, or if he was in the mood.
Mai Le Di grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the room.