Chapter 658: Episode 071: Mu Cidian’s Gifted Down Jacket (Second Update)

“Despite his influence, you think I can’t do him a favor and sign the contract with you?” Lina asked Xin Zaozao.

Xin Zaozao puts down her water glass.

She didn’t respond, her voice trembling slightly.

“After I signed the contract with you, the company sent me back to headquarters. I thought about taking Mu Cidian with me. Regardless of whether he could become my bed partner, he was a talent. But he refused. He clearly told me that he would not be with anyone other than you. So I assumed you two eventually ended up together.” Lina said, unable to resist scrutinizing Xin Zaozao, “but now you’re telling me that the kid isn’t Mu Cidian’s?”

Xin Zaozao chose to remain silent.

Her silence was tacit acknowledgment that the child wasn’t Mu Cidian’s.

“So did you break up with Mu Cidian?” Lina asked.

She wasn’t the type to obsess over love.

If she really was, she wouldn’t be out messing around like this.

“Mm,” Xin Zaozao acknowledged.

“Since you’ve broken up, maybe I’ll try to see him again,” Lina suddenly perked up, “From my understanding of men, someone like Mu Cidian is at least a seven out of ten.”

Xin Zaozao chuckled, “I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed again.”

“You’re still in contact with him, aren’t you?” Lina asked.

“No, he’s married.”

“What?!” Lina was even more surprised, “Who did he marry?”

“A woman you don’t know.”

“How could he get married? He loves you so much, how could he marry another woman? What the hell happened between you two while I was away?” Lina was totally puzzled.

“In a relationship, men and women love each other. Once that bond is broken, they break up. It’s a normal occurrence. Nothing strange,” responded Xin Zaozao.

She clearly didn’t want to elaborate much.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Lina stared at Xin Zaozao.

Just then, the waiter brought out their food.

Xin Zaozao urged Lina to eat.

Lina seemed unable to reconcile the state of Xin Zaozao and Mu Cidian’s relationship.

She asked again, “Is Mu Cidian really married?”

“Yes.”

“Did he choose to get married because you hurt him?”

“No.”

“That has to be it,” Lina insisted.

Xin Zaozao didn’t want to argue anymore.

Lina said, “I don’t know why, I don’t know if your relationship was good or not, I don’t know what exactly happened between you two, but I feel a bit sorry for Mu Cidian. Did you ever like him?”

Xin Zaozao didn’t respond.

“You must have,” Lina insisted. “A man like Mu Cidian, restrained yet caring, isn’t he the epitome of icy hot? Doesn’t this type of man attract young women? Xin Zaozao must have liked him.”

“Do you think I liked him?” Xin Zaozao countered.

She really didn’t want to continue this conversation.

“I don’t know if you liked him or not, but I think that Mu Cidian must have felt that you never liked him.”

Xin Zaozao’s eyes swiveled slightly.

“Otherwise, he wouldn’t have married another woman.”

“A lot of unexpected things can happen in this world. It’s not about love or lack thereof. Sometimes it’s simply impossible to be together,” Xin Zaozao muttered, “It’s just like that, so there’s no need to obsess over whether or not feelings were involved.”

“If you told him you liked him, the outcome would’ve been different.”

“No, it wouldn’t.”

“Do you have the courage to try?” Lina was intrigued.

“No,” Xin Zaozao refused, “The thing I hate most is being the other woman.”

Although Wan Quan wasn’t technically the other woman.

But to her, they were third parties in their families.

What she despised most in life was a man’s betrayal.

If her parents had just stayed together peacefully…none of this would’ve happened.

The one thing she couldn’t accept in life was disrupting someone else’s family.

She always felt that such actions would result in karma.

The end of her father and Wan Quan was their retribution!

Seeing Xin Zaozao’s serious expression, Lina softened her tone, “Never mind, it’s just a pity. After all, the temperature of your relationship is known only to the both of you.”

“I’m just bummed I can’t properly enjoy our time together.”

“It’s only a week. Don’t worry, I know Jin City well. Plus, I have two young guys to keep me company. I won’t be lonely.”

Xin Zaozao smiled.

She had dinner with Lina.

After dinner, Lina had originally planned to go clubbing with Xin. Now, she had to go alone.

Xin Zaozao, with a look of regret on her face, chose to go home for her health and prenatal education.

As soon as she got home.

There was a knock at the door.

Xin Zaozao looked outside and opened it, “Building management uncle?”

“Yes, Miss Xin, you remember me?” The building manager smiled.

Of course, she remembered.

He was the one who endlessly praised Mu Cidian after eating his rice balls last time.

She asked, “What can I do for you today?”

“Oh, it’s like this. Your boyfriend asked me to give this to you.” The building manager held out a few large bags of clothes, “He said they’re yours, he insisted that I deliver them to you.”

“What are these?” Xin Zaozao was astonished.

The building manager put them down and opened the bags, “Clothes.”

At this moment, Xin Zaozao could clearly see that they were all down jackets.

By her estimation, there were three.

She said, “You must have made a mistake…these aren’t mine…”

“Miss Xin, I know you two are at odds, but you know I’ve taken your boyfriend’s rice balls. It’s said that one who takes the gifts should do the giver’s bidding. Could you please not put me in a difficult position?”

“These really aren’t mine.”

“If you don’t need them, could you call your boyfriend to come pick them up? That way, I would have done my part.”

Xin Zaozao didn’t want to put the building manager in an awkward position.

She thought that Mu Cidian, being such a shrewd person, might have purposely given the rice balls as a bribe to the building manager. Then, he might have staged that entire touching love drama himself.

She finally said, “Give them to me. Sorry for the trouble.”

“No trouble at all. If you need anything, Miss Xin, don’t hesitate to ask anytime. The building management team is at your service 24/7.”

Xin Zaozao gave a small smile in gratitude.

The property manager left.

Xin Zaozao, carrying the clothes, returned home.

The three large items of clothing looked heavy, but in reality, they were not.

She placed them in the entrance hall without even opening them.

She returned to the couch, quickly drafted a text message, “Mu Cidian, I don’t want these clothes. You don’t need to compensate me just because your wife bought the clothes I wanted. I’m not that petty.”

After sending the message, she waited for a while.

Just as she thought Mu Cidian wouldn’t respond and was about to heat up some milk, a message alert sounded. “The clothes cost 68,000, plus a 2,000 convenience fee. You can pay me 70,000 directly into the following account under the name of Mu Cidian.”

Xin Zaozao looked at Mu Cidian’s message.

She observed his shamelessness which he made look so natural.

She bit her lip, opened her banking app, input Mu Cidian’s account information, and transferred 70,000 yuan.

The moment Mu Cidian saw the bank message notification, he chuckled.

At this moment, Lei Qian, wearing the clothes she just bought today, watched as Mu Cidian unusually chuckled at his phone.

“What are you so happy about?” Lei Qian asked.

Mu Cidian’s eyes moved slightly, then he quickly hid his smile and looked up nonchalantly at Lei Qian, who was wearing her newly purchased down jacket.

“Does it look good?” Lei Qian twirled in front of him.

“Not bad.”

“I also think it looks great. But it’s such an expensive piece of clothing; I’m afraid to get it dirty,” Lei Qian said with a touch of heartache.

“Clothes are purchased for wearing. If they get dirty, they get dirty.” Mu Cidian stood up from the couch, “Go to bed early, goodnight.”

“Cidian…” Lei Qian suddenly grabbed his arm.

Mu Cidian turned to look at her.

“How far have we… progressed in our relationship?” Lei Qian looked up at him, her face full of shyness.

Her intention was quite clear at this point.

Obviously, she wanted them to take the next step in their relationship.

Mu Cidian suddenly turned serious, “Lei Qian.”

“Hmm?” She looked especially serious, like a well-behaved student listening attentively.

Mu Cidian swallowed, “Let’s keep things as they are for now.”

Disappointment was evident in Lei Qian’s eyes.

She gave a small laugh.

As she laughed, her eyes reddened slightly.

She said, “Oh, okay.”

Mu Cidian looked at her, pursed his lips as if he felt a little guilty.

Lei Qian said, “It’s okay, I’ve waited for you all these years, so I can wait a little longer. It’s getting late, so I’ll go to my room now.”

“Lei Qian…” Mu Cidian called after her.

Lei Qian’s heart fluttered and she looked at him expectantly.

Mu Cidian said, “If you don’t want to continue waiting, then you can give up.”

“No!” Lei Qian exclaimed excitedly, she said loudly, “I won’t give up, Mu Cidian, I won’t give up! No matter what happens, I won’t give up.”

Mu Cidian looked at her.

Lei Qian’s gaze dropped, and tears slid down her cheeks. “Just being like this is enough for me.”

In the end, Mu Cidian didn’t say anything else.

Lei Qian turned and walked into her room.

Mu Cidian watched Lei Qian’s retreating figure, then slowly returned to his own room.

So it was true…

When you can’t walk away, you really can’t take a single step out!

…

The next day.

There was an urgent knock on Xin Zaozao’s office door.

“Come in.”

As Song Lifei opened the door, he seemed rather excited, “What’s going on that’s causing such a commotion?”

“It’s just Lei Village again, the villagers have started to riot, I’m speechless.” Song Lifei was in a bad mood, he said, “I just asked the police, they said it’s hard for them to handle these types of civil disputes, we need to calm the villagers first, otherwise they can’t guarantee the villagers won’t retaliate against society. They might even damage the current construction progress of the eco-park.”

Xin Zaozao’s brows furrowed.

She was clearly fed up with these ongoing issues.

She made a snap decision, “Let’s go check out Lei Village.”

“I can handle it alone, you should stay here, I was just venting.”

“Enough, until this is resolved, I won’t be at ease. Let’s go.” Xin Zaozao didn’t listen and left the office directly.

Song Lifei hesitated, then decided to follow Xin Zaozao’s decision.

They took a car and hurried to Lei Village.

As before, there were people guarding the entrance to the village, denying them entry.

Song Lifei and Xin Zaozao got out of the car and walked in.

Fearing another flat tyre, the driver elected to stay in the car.

Today, Xin Zaozao was wearing the down jacket that Mu Cidian had purchased for her, albeit with her own money. No doubt, the jacket was warm. Although it wasn’t raining today, the weather was still cold. She felt significantly better with the jacket on.

Song Lifei couldn’t resist teasing her, “How can you bear to wear a down jacket? Didn’t you think these jackets were too bulky?”

“I couldn’t resist the cold.” Xin Zaozao snuggled into her jacket.

“Now that you mention it… I feel even colder.” Song Lifei sneezed.

Xin Zaozao saw Song Lifei shivering in a suit and couldn’t resist a laugh. She teased him, “It’s clear that you lack practical knowledge.”

“I didn’t expect we’d be coming here today.” Song Lifei shot back, then added, “Since when did you start taking such good care of yourself?”

“Since I chose to be alone, shouldn’t I learn to be better to myself?”

As she spoke, there was a hint of self-mockery in her tone.

“Are you really planning to raise the child alone?” Song Lifei asked.

“It’s not a plan, it’s a fact.”

Song Lifei wanted to say something else.

“I think we came here today to solve other problems.”

Song Lifei pursed his lips.

The two of them walked into the village together.

After a short walk, they saw a crowd gathered in front of a small building in the countryside. The whole scene was tumultuous and chaotic.

Xin Zaozao frowned slightly.

Song Lifei murmured next to her, “I think this is Lei Qian’s house.”