Qin Ziqi thought self-deprecatingly that since Lu Chenghua was such a scumbag, her own thoughts probably made her a scumbag woman too. In any case, this relationship was over, and she no longer had to be troubled by it.
She opened her suitcase, took out a stack of documents, walked out of the house, and went across the hall. After entering the password, she went inside. It was a small one-bedroom apartment.
Qin Ziqi had bought it two years ago. All the equipment inside was for conducting her experiments, and the bedroom served as her study. Lu Chenghua knew nothing about this apartment. The things inside could all be considered confidential, so Qin Ziqi was very careful.
She put the documents in the study, then returned to the apartment across the hall. After taking a shower, she went to bed.
The next day, she arrived at the hospital, officially ended her leave, changed her clothes, and was just about to make her rounds when Qin Yu walked toward her.
Qin Ziqi and Qin Yu had both grown up in the orphanage. The director at the time was surnamed Qin, so all the children from their generation had taken Qin as their surname. Qin Ziqi was an outstanding student who had made her way from a prestigious school to a top medical university, earning master’s degrees in two fields.
Now, she was both a surgeon and a researcher at a pharmaceutical company, where she also served as a department manager. Qin Yu, on the other hand, had never been good at studying. After barely graduating from a technical secondary school, she used her attractive appearance to become a sales associate at a luxury-goods counter.
Lu Chenghua was a supervisor in the pharmaceutical company’s sales department. The two had met at the company, and Lu Chenghua had then pursued Qin Ziqi relentlessly for more than a year before she finally agreed to date him.
Qin Yu loved designer brands and dressing herself up. Whenever she found herself short of money, she would often turn to Qin Ziqi for help. As orphans who had grown up together, Qin Ziqi was financially comfortable, so she had never minded helping her out.
But now…
“Ziqi, are you really going to cancel your engagement with Chenghua?” Qin Yu spoke in an aggrieved tone, though her eyes gleamed with triumph. “It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, you two would still be fine.”
Qin Ziqi had no time to waste on her. “It is your fault. If you wanted to sleep with a man, you could have found someone else. Since you chose Lu Chenghua, you should have known that from now on, neither of you has anything to do with me.”
The two were more than two meters apart. Qin Ziqi stood at the doorway of the office, and there was no one else in the corridor. Qin Yu thought the office was empty and failed to notice the department director sitting against the wall just outside.
“Ziqi, don’t be so petty. I never intended to steal Chenghua from you. I actually wanted to end things with him too, but Chenghua is just so attached to me.”
“Your skin is really thick. You don’t need to come here and brag to me. I don’t care.” Qin Ziqi cut her off. “Whether you two are attached or not has nothing to do with me anymore. Remember to remind Lu Chenghua to move his things out today. I’m going to have a cleaner come to the house tomorrow. There’s a disgusting smell all over the place now, and I don’t like it.”
“Qin Ziqi, let me tell you something. If you weren’t good at making money, do you think Chenghua or the Lu family would like you? What man doesn’t like a gentle and affectionate woman? You wouldn’t even let Chenghua kiss you. Why should he remain faithful to you?”
Seeing that no one was around, Qin Yu no longer bothered pretending.
“You’re so old-fashioned. You’re completely boring.”
Qin Ziqi gave her a faint smile. “Thanks for your evaluation. I have work to do. You can leave. I wish you two a lifetime together. Be happy.”
Qin Yu had originally come to confirm Qin Ziqi’s attitude. She wanted to be with Lu Chenghua, but she also knew that the Lu family was not well-off. The reason Lu Chenghua would rather live in the second bedroom than buy a place of his own was because he did not want to purchase a house—the Lu family simply could not afford it.
Qin Yu also did not want to lose Qin Ziqi as her personal ATM. Whenever she cried about being short of money, Qin Ziqi would transfer money to her. Once they completely fell out, she would have nothing left.
But now, Qin Ziqi clearly intended to cut ties with her.
Qin Yu was furious. At this moment, even her affection for Lu Chenghua began to decline.
What a useless man. He couldn’t even coax a woman.
Qin Yu walked away in her high heels, the sharp clicking of her footsteps echoing down the corridor.
Only then did the department director come out of the office.
“Sorry, Xiao Qin. I originally came to see you about something, but I ended up overhearing your argument.”
“It’s fine, Director. It’s just that my fiancé cheated on me with a friend, and I caught them in the act. I’ve ended things with him now.” Qin Ziqi shrugged. A man was not as important as her work.
The director had seen Lu Chenghua several times before and had always felt that the man was rather calculating. But other people’s romantic affairs were not something an outsider should interfere in. Hearing Qin Ziqi say this now, he assumed the young woman was merely putting on a brave face.
“How about this, Xiao Qin? There aren’t any particularly important surgeries or patients recently. I’ll give you a week off. Go out and clear your head.”
“Director, there’s no need. I’m fine,” Qin Ziqi refused.
The director waved his hand. “Go. Come back after you’ve had some time to clear your head, and then we’ll focus on work.”
Qin Ziqi was quite surprised. She never expected that a scumbag could actually have this kind of benefit.
However, she did not leave immediately. She first went to the wards and made rounds on all the patients she had been responsible for before her business trip. After handing over her duties to her colleagues, she finally went to the personnel department to apply for leave.
Sitting in the car on her way home, Qin Ziqi scrolled through her phone.
Where should she go to have some fun?
She had a week. She did not want to travel too far, so perhaps she could just explore the areas around Shanghai.
Rent a car and go on a road trip. She could go wherever she wanted.
That settled it.
“Master, don’t go back to XX Residential Community yet. Go to XX Car Rental first. The address is No. 327, XX Road.”
“Okay. Please change the destination on your phone.”
Qin Ziqi acted quickly. She picked out an SUV, paid the deposit and a week’s rental fee, and drove straight home to pack her luggage.
This unexpected vacation was too good to waste. It just so happened that she had not had time to travel for the past two years. After all, she was only thirty years old. It wasn’t as if she was too old to walk around and have fun.
When Qin Ziqi returned home, she saw that the door to the second bedroom was wide open. All of Lu Chenghua’s belongings had already disappeared.
Excellent. That was another piece of good news.
She would wait until she returned from her vacation before calling the cleaner.
She packed a few sets of clothes and some toiletries, then drove the rental car toward another city.
Her first stop was Wuxi.
Qin Ziqi had wanted to see the cherry blossoms in Wuxi for a long time. It was currently the blooming season, so if she didn’t go now, when would she?
After seeing the cherry blossoms in Wuxi, she would go to Hangzhou for a stroll, then Suzhou. Qin Ziqi loved Suzhou-style gardens—exquisite and meticulously designed. Finally, she would head to Zhoushan for some fresh seafood before returning home.
It would be the perfect vacation.
Qin Ziqi turned on the car radio and tuned it to a music station. An unfamiliar song came through the speakers.
Qin Ziqi curled her lips.
She was practically disconnected from society now. She had never even heard of these songs.
It seemed that from now on, she couldn’t focus solely on work. If Linda invited her out for drinks again, perhaps she should join them more often. Even if she didn’t drink alcohol, she could order a beverage and socialize a little. It would be good to fit in with the group.
She switched the radio to a channel that played nostalgic music.
Thankfully, there were still songs she knew.
She quietly hummed along.
There weren’t many cars on the expressway, and Qin Ziqi’s speed gradually increased.