"Mm." Qingmian snapped out of her thoughts and responded indifferently.
Chen Yu'an reached out his hand and naturally picked up a piece of fish and put it into Qingmian's bowl.
"Eat more. You're still young. You don't need to learn to diet."
On the day she returned to the imperial capital, Chen Yu'an noticed that the girl in front of him had lost a lot of weight.
He knew that Qingmian wasn't the kind of person who would give up delicious food for the sake of dieting. The only explanation for her weight loss was that she had had a tough time in the years without him.
He had entrusted someone to look after her during those three years abroad. Why had she lost so much weight?
A flicker of doubt flashed across Chen Yu'an's eyes.
Qingmian stared at the piece of fish in her bowl. After a moment of hesitation, she looked up at the man sitting opposite her.
She opened her mouth, about to tell him about her part - time job, when Chen Yu'an's phone on the table suddenly rang.
He glanced at the caller ID, answered the call, and turned on the speakerphone.
Tan Si's hesitant voice came from the phone.
"Sir... Miss An said she won't take her medicine if you're not here..."
Hearing this, Chen Yu'an showed no excessive emotion on his face. His voice was cold. "If she doesn't want to take it, then don't force her. Is there anything else?"
On the other end of the phone, Tan Si looked at the nurse beside him awkwardly. "Sir, it'd be better if you could come here now... Mayor An is also here..."
Tan Si was being very tactful. If he didn't go, the approval process might be postponed. He had no choice but to go.
Chen Yu'an frowned slightly. "Got it. I'll be there right away."
After hanging up the phone, Chen Yu'an put down his chopsticks and bowls, and instructed Qingmian, "I'm going out. Eat more."
Qingmian nodded. "Mm."
Chen Yu'an reached out his hand across the dining table. Just as his hand was about to touch Qingmian's head, she instinctively leaned aside. Chen Yu'an was slightly stunned and silently withdrew his hand. With a smile on his lips, he looked at Qingmian and said, "Eat some fruit later and go to bed early. Don't wait for me."
Then he gave an instruction to Uncle Wang behind Qingmian.
"Uncle Wang, remember to prepare some fruit for Erbao after she finishes her meal."
"Okay, sir."
Qingmian used to have fruit half an hour after her meal. This had been her lifestyle for many years.
After going abroad, all these habits disappeared overnight.
It was then that she realized that nothing was permanent.
Not long after, the sound of a car starting came from outside the house. Soon the sound grew fainter and fainter, and it wasn't long before it disappeared into the night.
Qingmian looked at the piece of fish in her bowl, put down her chopsticks, and walked towards the bedroom on the second floor.
Just as she came out of the bathroom, Wen Xi's call came in.
She answered the call. Before she could say a word, Wen Xi started ranting on the other end.
"What were you doing? Why didn't you reply to my WeChat messages for so long?"
"I was taking a shower just now. I didn't look at my phone."
"Did that old geezer Chen leave you alone at home again and go to the hospital by himself?"
"How do you know?"
"I knew it! No wonder An Ya is so smug. She managed to steal him away from you!"
The word "steal" isn't used like that... Qingmian was deeply helpless about Lu Wenxi's misuse of words.
"Look at the WeChat message I sent you."
"Okay, wait a sec."
Qingmian opened WeChat and saw another screenshot of a Moments post that Lu Wenxi had sent.
She tapped on the photo, and An Ya's Moments post came into view. This time, the pictures were of two candies and several pills.
The caption read:
[Taking medicine is so bitter. Fortunately, there are Mr. Chen's loving candies~]
Qingmian: ...
"See it? See it?" Lu Wenxi asked her excitedly.
"Yeah, I saw it. He was called away by Tan Si while we were having dinner."
Lu Wenxi rolled her eyes. "I wonder if An Ya saved his life or something. Why is he so obedient? He goes there right away when called."
"She had an accident in Qingyuan, and she's his fiancée. No matter from which aspect, he should go."
Qingmian didn't even notice that her tone was overly cold when she said this, as if she was talking about two strangers who had nothing to do with her.
Lu Wenxi was a bit worried about her abnormality. "Mianbao, are you... okay?"
You know, Qingmian had never been rational when it came to anything related to Chen Yu'an. With An Ya's blatant provocation, in the past, Qingmian might have rushed to the hospital to confront her.
But now, not only was she lying comfortably in bed, but she was also calmly analyzing Chen Yu'an's actions. Lu Wenxi couldn't help but worry.
Qingmian was confused. She didn't understand why Lu Wenxi would suddenly ask such a question. She reached out and picked a strawberry from the plate on the bedside table and stuffed it into her mouth. "I'm fine."
"Then you..." Why are you so calm...
Lu Wenxi didn't voice the rest of the sentence. As long as she was okay, that was fine.
She waved her hand and changed the subject. "How's your part - time job going?"
"I've found one. I'll start work tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?! Tomorrow is the weekend. Where are you going to work? What kind of part - time job is it that you have to work on the weekend? It's so exploitative."
Lu Wenxi felt sorry for her again.
"The milk tea shop opposite the school." Qingmian seemed indifferent. For her, there was no difference between the weekend and weekdays. She needed to earn money quickly and move out.
"Oh~ That's okay." Lu Wenxi felt relieved. She used to go to that milk tea shop opposite the school a lot when she was studying. The shop owner was also a girl.
The location was safe, and the job was simple. It wouldn't make Qingmian too tired.
President Lu silently developed a bit more affection for this milk tea shop in her heart.
"Wenxi, could you push An Ya's WeChat to me?" Qingmian said.
"Sure... What?!" Lu Wenxi only realized what Qingmian was saying after she had agreed.
"You really want to add her?"
"Yeah, push it to me."
"Aren't you afraid that she'll frame you again?" Lu Wenxi hadn't forgotten that Qingmian had been sent abroad by Chen Yu'an because she had fallen into An Ya's trap.
Qingmian said, "What's there to be afraid of? One won't fall at the same place twice, right?"
When the news of An Ya and Chen Yu'an's engagement first came out, Qingmian had locked herself in the room for a whole day. It took Chen Yu'an a long time to coax her into accepting An Ya.
The incident happened the day after An Ya added Qingmian's contact information. The outside world said that it was Qingmian who had sent the message to lead her into that alley.
The outside world said that she was vicious, shameless, coveting her own brother and framing her own sister - in - law. They said she would never have a good life.
Lu Wenxi knew what kind of person Qingmian was. She would never frame anyone for her own self - interest.
At that time, countless unpleasant words had been thrown at Qingmian, but she herself didn't know. She had been sent away by Chen Yu'an and was high up in the sky at that moment.
Lu Wenxi hung up the phone. Soon, Qingmian received the business card that she had pushed.
She clicked to add as a friend.
Soon, the other party approved the application and sent a message.
[Who are you?]
Qingmian's WeChat account was newly registered, and even the avatar was the default one.
It was expected that An Ya didn't know. Her fingers tapped quickly on the screen, and soon she typed a few words.
[I'm Chen Qingmian.]