On the way back, Xu Tingyu got in the car and started replying to messages.
The assistant said that a promised guest had something come up at the last minute and couldn't make it, so they needed to find a replacement.
The list of performing guests had already been released. Changing a guest at the last minute would require a lot of things to be changed.
So Xu Tingyu's first reaction was, "What's the reason they can't come? Can't we coordinate? There's still more than a month left."
The assistant directly sent her the message the guest had sent.
After a long explanation, it basically boiled down to the fact that the guest thought the performance wasn't prestigious enough and had a more important job, so they didn't want to come.
Xu Tingyu was a bit unhappy when she read this.
If they thought it wasn't good enough, they shouldn't have agreed in the first place.
Now that they'd agreed and then backed out, weren't they just causing trouble for them?
So she sent a message to her assistant, "If they really refuse to come, follow the contract and demand compensation. Also, start contacting substitutes."
By the time she'd finished dealing with all these things, they were already halfway through the journey.
Qi Shifeng saw that she finally put away her phone but didn't say a word.
The two of them were silent all the way, while Youyou slept soundly.
When they got home, Qi Shifeng handed Youyou to the nanny and then called out to Xu Tingyu, "Come with me."
Xu Tingyu knew he wanted to talk to her.
After all, he definitely wouldn't let the matter of her seeing Shen Yan slide.
Sure enough, here it came.
Xu Tingyu took a deep breath and followed him into the study.
As soon as they entered, Qi Shifeng suddenly turned around, closed the door, put his arm around her waist, and pinned her against the door in one smooth motion.
She'd already braced herself for a storm, but by the time she came to her senses, she was already in his arms.
"You?"
She'd only managed to utter one word when the man lowered his head to look at her.
"Are you on really good terms with him?"
His eyes and tone were full of grievance.
He just trapped her in his arms and didn't make any further moves.
But Xu Tingyu was extremely shocked. She was stunned for a long time before saying, "I've known him since I was a kid."
In other words, they were childhood friends, so of course they were on good terms.
But that wasn't the point. The point was, why did he have such an expression?
Was this still Qi Shifeng? What had gotten into him lately?
"So you really are on good terms, right, Tingyu?"
He asked persistently as if not willing to give up.
The warm and fiery embrace, the low and gentle voice.
He looked down at her with his head tilted. The light fell into his usually cold eyes, and the tiny specks of light floated in his pupils, tugging at her heartstrings.
Xu Tingyu's heart skipped a beat at the sound of her name.
She'd thought he would lose his temper, mock her coldly, and look at her with that cold gaze just like he used to.
When she walked into the study, she'd even prepared herself to fight back.
She wasn't afraid of him anymore, not at all.
However, what she got was his tenderness and grievance.
She stared at him in shock, her body stiff. She didn't know how to deal with this kind of Qi Shifeng.
Perhaps because he didn't get an answer from her, Qi Shifeng suddenly laughed, a hint of self - mockery in his voice.
"Of course. You've known each other for years, and he's been good to you. It's only natural that you're on good terms."
Strangely enough, if someone else had said this, it would probably sound sarcastic and like they were looking for trouble.
But when it came from Qi Shifeng, it sounded like he'd trampled his pride and self - esteem under his feet in his grievance.
It made one feel rather uncomfortable.
Xu Tingyu stared blankly at him, her mind in a complete mess.
She should have hated him, but his appearance left her conflicted.
So she vacillated back and forth and couldn't say a word for a moment. She just stared at him.
The two of them stared at each other for a long time. Gradually, a hint of hurt appeared in Qi Shifeng's dark eyes.
"Is he chasing you? Or, have you been together during the four years you were abroad?"
Xu Tingyu wasn't used to this side of him. Hearing his misunderstanding about her and Shen Yan made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
So she pushed him away. "That's not true. We're just friends. But you're meddling too much, Mr. Qi. Please mind your own business."
They were already divorced, and he really shouldn't be so concerned about his ex - wife's love life.
She remembered that she didn't push him very hard, but this man actually bumped into the nearby shelf.
He let out a muffled groan, and the air grew tense.
"You're attacking me for his sake?"
The look in his eyes as he stared at her was full of disbelief, like a summer storm gathering strength.
Xu Tingyu felt a chill run down her spine. She felt this man was a bit dangerous and turned to leave. "I didn't. I'm leaving."
"You're so heartless. You hurt me, and you don't even want to look at me."
The man's aggrieved voice rang out again. At the same time, he covered his waist as if he'd really been hurt.
Xu Tingyu hadn't thought much of it at first, but now, after hearing what he said, she felt a bit guilty.
She had no choice but to stop. "So what do you want?"
"At least check me out. If I'm injured, help me apply medicine. Do you want me to ask someone else? How am I going to explain that then?"
"If Youyou finds out, he'll be sad too."
Qi Shifeng moved extremely quickly. As he was speaking, he'd already grabbed her hand and placed it on his waist.
She fell into his arms, and the movement was like she was hugging him tightly.
She frowned slightly and pressed a bit harder with her hand. "Why don't you just sit down?"
If he said his back hurt and still pulled her over, wouldn't he get hurt even more if he bumped into something again?
He really didn't know what was important.
This time, the man didn't resist. He obediently sat on the office desk, propping up his long legs. He then lifted the hem of his shirt on his own, revealing his lean abdomen.
Then he turned his head, with his stunningly handsome face, and looked at her seriously.
For some reason, Xu Tingyu blushed and felt her ears burning. She just felt that this man exuded an indescribable sensuality.
She took a deep breath, walked over, didn't touch him, just glanced at his waist, and then quickly said, "You're not injured. I'm leaving."
This man was like a male demon. She was afraid that if she stayed for one more second, she'd be devoured.
But as soon as she finished speaking, she heard the man let out an uncontrollable groan between his teeth. "Ugh, Tingyu, I really hurt."
Hearing that he seemed to be really in pain, Xu Tingyu grew worried and turned around again.
This time, she reached out her hand and lifted the shirt a bit more.
Apart from the muscle lines that made one's blood boil, she still didn't see anything wrong.
But the man pointed to a lower place. "A bit lower. My pants are in the way."
What else could she say? She could only help him undo his belt and pull his pants down a bit.
When she looked, she really saw a large bruise.
Her face changed. She immediately didn't care about anything else. "What's going on? How could you be hurt so badly? I clearly didn't use much force."
After saying that, she felt something was wrong.
Even if it was from the bump just now, it couldn't have turned into a bruise so quickly, could it?
Did he already have an injury?
This man had always been carefully protected. How could he have gotten injured?