Magic City Airport was shrouded in gloomy, overcast skies, as if a storm were about to break. Qin Ziqi dragged her suitcase through the crowds and headed outside.
Her assistant, Linda, hurried a few steps to catch up and fell into step beside her. “Manager Qin, do you want to grab a drink later? Xiao He and the others said they want to celebrate.”
Qin Ziqi shook her head. “No, you guys go ahead. I have to return to the hospital tomorrow and end my leave, so I can’t drink. Have fun. Just give me tomorrow’s work report. I won’t be going to the company.”
“Okay, Manager Qin. See you.” Linda didn’t try to persuade her after hearing her refusal. Besides being the manager of the pharmaceutical company’s R&D department, Manager Qin was also a well-known surgeon at a hospital in Magic City. Under normal circumstances, she simply didn’t drink.
Linda slowed down and waited for the colleagues behind them to catch up. “Manager Qin has to go back to the hospital tomorrow, so she’s not coming with us tonight.”
“Called it.” Xiao He shrugged. He had been working in the company’s R&D department for more than two years. Aside from social events she absolutely had to attend, Manager Qin rarely participated in any other activities.
After walking out of the airport, Qin Ziqi found the taxi she had booked through her phone in advance. She waved at the people behind her.
“Have fun, everyone. I’m heading home first.”
With that, she climbed into the taxi and headed home.
Holding her phone, Qin Ziqi thought about the WeChat message she had received from her fiancé the night before. Lu Chenghua had said that they had been engaged for more than a year and that their families were urging them to get married.
Qin Ziqi frowned slightly. She was somewhat reluctant to discuss the matter. She always felt that the timing wasn’t right. Although she was already thirty this year…
Forget it. She would talk it over with Lu Chenghua when she got home.
Qin Ziqi’s apartment was located near the city center. It was a small three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment with an elevator, measuring around 110 square meters. She had originally lived there alone, but later, Lu Chenghua had found all sorts of excuses to move in. However, he stayed in the second bedroom, and the two of them were still only engaged in name—they had never actually married.
On the way home, Qin Ziqi kept thinking about how to tell Lu Chenghua that there was no need to rush into marriage. What if she managed to convince him, only for his family to disagree?
What a headache.
Regardless, about an hour later, Qin Ziqi arrived downstairs.
She took a deep breath, dragged her suitcase inside, and entered the building.
It was already nearly seven in the evening, so Lu Chenghua should have gotten off work by now.
The elevator stopped at the sixteenth floor. Qin Ziqi stepped out. There were two apartments on each floor, and hers was on the left. She entered the password and unlocked the door.
After changing into her slippers in the entryway, Qin Ziqi stood there motionless.
Her eyes were fixed on a pair of high heels by the door.
They weren’t hers.
She never wore heels that high, and the style was nothing like anything she would choose. They were far too flashy. Most importantly, they weren’t even her size—and they had clearly been worn before.
Her slippers made barely a sound against the floor as Qin Ziqi walked farther inside.
When she reached the sofa, she saw two jackets casually scattered across it—one men’s and one women’s.
Qin Ziqi stopped.
She turned around and sat down on the sofa.
Unfortunately, she had seen both of those jackets before on people she knew.
The apartment was eerily quiet. The door to the second bedroom was closed, and faintly, she could hear the voices of a man and a woman coming from inside.
Qin Ziqi curled the corners of her lips.
It seemed coming home early from her business trip had its advantages. She had actually walked in on them in the middle of an affair.
She couldn’t quite describe how she felt. There was some sadness, but honestly, not much.
Back then, Lu Chenghua had relentlessly pursued her. Rather than truly falling in love with him, she had been moved by his persistence. She had also been influenced by the advice of the people around her and the idea that she was reaching the age when she should settle down.
Qin Ziqi took out her phone again and started dealing with work matters.
They probably wouldn’t be finished anytime soon.
Judging by the sounds coming from the bedroom, they had only just started.
About fifteen minutes later, the bedroom door opened.
“Chenghua, take me home. It’s boring going back alone.”
Qin Ziqi raised an eyebrow.
Sure enough, that was a familiar voice.
“Okay, I’ll take you home. First, go to the living room and put your clothes…” Lu Chenghua’s voice abruptly stopped when he saw the person sitting on the sofa.
His expression instantly turned panicked.
“Z-Ziqi? When did you get back?”
Qin Yu was straightening her dress. Hearing Lu Chenghua’s question, she nervously looked toward the sofa.
“Z-Ziqi… Why did you come back early?”
“Which question should I answer first?” Qin Ziqi asked calmly, without a trace of anger in her voice. “You two had just started when I got home. I came back early because I finished my work ahead of schedule.”
“Ziqi, listen to me.” Lu Chenghua felt increasingly uneasy.
Qin Ziqi wasn’t like Qin Yu, that foolish woman who was easy to deceive. She was extremely difficult to placate, and judging from her tone alone, he knew this wasn’t going to end well.
“Go ahead. I’ll listen. Or I can ask questions, and you answer them.”
Qin Ziqi put down her phone, folded her arms, and looked at the two people standing in front of her.
It was obvious that one of them was desperately thinking of an excuse, while the other was flustered but also secretly pleased.
“When did this start?”
Faced with Qin Ziqi’s indifferent expression, Lu Chenghua’s anger suddenly flared.
Why bother thinking of an excuse?
It was obvious that this woman simply didn’t care.
“Six months ago.”
“Oh.”
Very good. So this had been going on for quite some time—practically since he moved in.
And it had only taken them fifteen minutes.
He wasn’t particularly impressive either.
She wondered if Qin Yu had even enjoyed it.
Qin Yu’s eyes darted around. “Ziqi, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for things to happen between Chenghua and me. It’s just that ever since Chenghua moved in, you wouldn’t let him… be intimate with you. He always felt like you didn’t like him and would often sulk by himself, so I…”
“Oh, thank you for volunteering yourself. You saved me the trouble of testing this man’s abilities myself.”
Qin Ziqi spoke slowly, ignoring the slight discomfort in her heart.
“Judging from what I just heard… hmm. Average at best.”
“Lu Chenghua, move out tomorrow. And remember to tell your parents that we’re calling off the engagement. As for the things your family gave me when we got engaged, I’ll return them to you in a moment.”
This time, Lu Chenghua was genuinely furious.
What did she mean by that?
Did this woman think he was useless?
That he wasn’t good enough?
“Qin Ziqi, you wouldn’t let me touch you! Why can’t I be with someone else? I only made one mistake, and you’re already calling off our engagement?”
“You can touch whoever you want. Once you move out, you’re free to do whatever you like. Besides, she clearly doesn’t mind.”
Qin Ziqi looked at him calmly.
“But you’re dirty now. I don’t want you anymore.”
With that, Qin Ziqi stood up and walked into the master bedroom.
A moment later, she returned carrying a box.
“This is what your family gave me when we got engaged. I haven’t touched any of it. Take it back.”
Lu Chenghua clenched his fists, his eyes fixed fiercely on the box that had just been shoved into his hands.
Then he grabbed his jacket and turned toward Qin Yu.
“Let’s go.”
As he passed Qin Ziqi, he said without looking back, “I’ll come back tomorrow to get my things.”
“Bang!”
The front door opened and then slammed shut.
Qin Ziqi let out a long breath.
She didn’t blame Lu Chenghua, much less hate him.
Perhaps she hadn’t been a good partner either.
But after seeing Lu Chenghua and Qin Yu together, she found herself feeling more relieved than anything else.