Jiaxi, still somewhat dazed by the alcohol, refused, "No need. You've also had quite a bit to drink. If we get caught, it'll still be drunk driving."
"Alright, alright, let me help you call a designated driver. Where is your car parked?" The woman helped Jiaxi outside the bar.
Jiaxi pointed to the sports car parked by the roadside, "My car is over there. Please call a designated driver for me quickly. Here's some money for you. I admit I can't hold my liquor as well as you, and I lost to you." As he spoke, he took out a wad of cash from his wallet.
The woman pushed it back into his wallet, saying, "It's fate that we could meet and get drunk together. What kind of person do you think I am?" She then called a designated driver and saw him into his car.
After seeing Hong Jiaxi off, the woman returned to the bar in a good mood. She asked the manager for her drink commission and planned to go home early.
"Lili, you're quite lucky today. You drank so much good liquor and still managed to get a high commission," the manager chuckled. "I saw that fat sheep just gave you quite a bit of tip, and you didn't even take it. Are you out of your mind?"
Fang Lingli, with her phoenix eyes, rolled them upwards and said disdainfully, "This little bit of drinking is nothing. I'm not stupid. I'm playing the long game to catch a big fish."
The manager on duty thought she was being fanciful, a bar hostess wanting to hook up with such a rich man. He said with amusement, "When he sobers up, he'll be lucky if he even remembers who you are."
Fang Lingli snorted, no longer wanting to engage with the manager. Anyway, she had easily met her performance target for the night and was ready to take her money and leave.
...
Mengyao returned home to find it quiet and deserted, with no sign of her parents.
She asked a maid and learned that her father hadn't returned yet, and her mother had said she felt unwell and had gone back to her room to rest after just a bowl of soup.
Mengyao had no appetite for a proper dinner. Since she didn't need to hide anything, she went straight to her room, hugged her pillow, and cried her heart out, bidding farewell to her feelings for that person alone in her heart.
The next morning, as soon as she woke up, she received an apology text message from Hong Jiaxi.
"Good morning. I was wrong yesterday. I shouldn't have been so pushy. I should have given you time to forget that person. Don't be angry anymore, please forgive me?"
Mengyao stared at the message, lost in thought. She recalled that she had also spoken to Jiaxi without any restraint yesterday.
Jiaxi might have misguided her about Song Jiaping having dinner with her sister, but he had always been consistent towards her, treating her exceptionally well.
She shouldn't have taken the person in front of her for granted and always thought about someone she shouldn't.
Song Jiaping had always been like a wanderer, his feelings for her unpredictable, someone she wanted to grasp but could never hold onto.
She needed to make a clean break with Song Jiaping and would no longer be sad and cry for this man. She needed to pull herself together and start a new life.
Mengyao replied to Jiaxi's message, "I'm not angry. I also said things I shouldn't have yesterday."
"I'm glad you're not angry with me. Are you going to work today?" Hong Jiaxi replied instantly.
"Yes, I have to go to work."
"I'll pick you up and take you somewhere nice for breakfast." Hong Jiaxi added a smiley face after this message.
Mengyao replied with an "Okay" and decided to start anew with Hong Jiaxi properly, completely forgetting Song Jiaping.
Hong Jiaxi's car was parked not far from the Huangfu family's mansion. Seeing Mengyao's reply, he felt a sense of relief.
He hadn't expected Mengyao to be so easily appeased this time.
When he woke up this morning, he couldn't remember how he got home last night. All he remembered was getting drunk at a bar, and someone helped him call a designated driver.
When his family asked, he just said he had too much to drink while discussing business with clients.
Hong Jiaxi secretly vowed in his heart that he would not give up on Mengyao. No matter what, he would win her back and marry her.
At that time, he would return all the grievances he had suffered and the dignity that had been trampled upon!
...
That sudden phone call had disturbed Wu Xiufang's peace of mind.
She wanted to dismiss the caller as a fraud and ignore it.
But she couldn't do it at all. For the past two days, she had been tormented, as if a hundred claws were scratching her heart. If Zhu Qin and her son were truly alive, why hadn't they come forward to expose her after all these years?
More than twenty years ago, she had lied to Zhu Qin, saying she would take her to a contact who could help her husband get acquitted.
She drove with Zhu Qin and her son, with Zhu Qin and her son sitting in the back seat.
Wu Xiufang deliberately locked the rear doors and, gritting her teeth, took the risk of crashing into the guardrail of the bridge, driving the car into the river.
Because she was prepared, she opened the door by the driver's seat and escaped successfully, while Zhu Qin and her son sank to the bottom of the river with the car.
The rear doors couldn't be opened, so they were definitely doomed.
After the incident, she hired a professional salvage company. They searched for seven days along the spot where the car had plunged into the river, but they couldn't even find the car.
At that time, the professionals analyzed that the river current was immense, making it difficult to determine the location of the car and people, or that the car and people might have been washed into the mud and sand at the bottom of the river.
In any case, it was impossible to find the wreckage of the car or the people inside.
She had thought it was foolproof then, but now someone was telling her that Zhu Qin and her son were still alive, which made her unable to eat or sleep.
In the morning, after having breakfast with Huangfu Sisong, she sent him out and then called the person she had sent to investigate in the countryside.
"How is it? Did you find anything?"
The other party said, "I asked the villagers who still knew Zhu Qin. They all said they hadn't seen Zhu Qin for many years. The villagers rumored that she had gone mad and disappeared with her child, while others said she had drowned herself with her child. No one knows their whereabouts."
Wu Xiufang's clenched heart relaxed slightly. She asked, "Old Shi, do you think they might not have drowned back then? Zhu Qin took her child and went into hiding under a false name, and now they're back for revenge?"
"There's a possibility, but the chance is very small," the other party judged. "I think it's more likely an insider we overlooked who wants to extort money. If that person contacts you again, try to keep them stable, agree to all their conditions, and meet them to see who they are."
"Okay, I understand." Wu Xiufang also felt that she couldn't be affected or bothered by this matter anymore. If that person truly had evidence, they would likely contact her again.
The other party said, "Don't worry, with me here, I can help you resolve any troublesome matter."
Wu Xiufang hummed and hung up. Yes, what was she afraid of?
She had weathered so many storms before, so why should she be afraid of someone who suddenly appeared to scare her?
Thinking this way, her mood calmed down considerably. She changed her clothes, got dressed up, and prepared to attend a charity event organized by the wealthy wives.
Because of Shaohua's matter, as the president of the charity foundation, she hadn't appeared in public for two months, and it was time for her to get out and be active.
Carrying a delicate handbag, she was about to leave when a maid handed her a package, saying, "Madam, your package."
Wu Xiufang took the package, assuming it was some document.
She found it strange, as she didn't remember anyone saying they would send her any documents. Could it be the application form for Jiaxi's mother to join the charity foundation?
But shouldn't it have been sent directly to the foundation? Why was it sent to her?