Rebirth Begins with Rejecting my Childhood Friend-Chapter 382 - Li Haimei’s Text Message.
After winning that round, Xu Xiuwen felt quite pleased.
He gave a faint smile, then suddenly took a step back and turned to walk out of the room.
He certainly didn’t intend to sleep with Li Haimei, despite her considerable female allure.
He wasn’t driven by lust.
In his view, Li Haimei wouldn’t agree to his terms.
She wasn’t an ordinary housewife.
“Stop!”
Just as Xu Xiuwen reached the door, Li Haimei’s cold voice came from behind.
He paused and turned to look at her.
Li Haimei’s face was like ice, her gaze frigid as she looked at him.
“Forget it, just go.”
In the end, she seemed to give up, sighing deeply.
Xu Xiuwen, hearing this, gave a faint smile.
He opened the office door and was halfway out when he suddenly stopped, turned around, and said to the woman, “If you change your mind, you can contact me anytime.”
“Get lost!”
In the next moment, the woman picked up a pen from the desk and threw it at him.
Xu Xiuwen reacted quickly, skillfully dodging the pen, and then laughed heartily as he closed the door and left.
After leaving Li Haimei’s company, Xu Xiuwen drove to his own company.
After a quick tour of the company, he went to the supermarket for a bit of extensive shopping, then drove back to Jiangning Garden.
Upon arriving home, Xu Xiuwen received a text message from Xiao Youran.
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She asked if the issue was resolved and when he would be home.
Xu Xiuwen replied, “I won’t be going back to Langya tonight.”
As soon as the message was sent, a call came in immediately.
It was Xiao Youran.
When the call connected, her anxious voice came through the receiver.
“Xiao Xu, why aren’t you coming back?”
Xu Xiuwen gave the pre-prepared excuse, “There’s quite a lot of work at the company, and I can’t finish it all quickly, so I’ll stay here for now.”
“Then I’m going back to Jinling.”
The girl’s voice carried a hint of grievance.
Xu Xiuwen gave a faint smile, “It’s the Dragon Boat Festival tonight, and Uncle will be back, so you should stay home and celebrate the festival with Uncle and Aunt. There’s no need to run around like me.”
“But I don’t want to be apart from you.”
The girl’s voice now had a trace of crying.
“Since when did our Youran become so clingy and tearful? You’re crying over a short separation?” Xu Xiuwen teased with a smile.
Xiao Youran didn’t know why she was on the verge of tears.
She didn’t want to admit she was a crybaby or be seen as weak, so she quickly denied, “I’m not crying, stop saying that.”
“Alright, if you’re not crying, that’s good. Don’t worry, you can rest at home for a few days. We have plenty of time in the future, so a few days don’t matter.”
“No, I’ll come back to Jinling tomorrow.”
“You’ve already taken leave, so why not spend some time with your parents? I have things to do these days, so even if you come to Jinling, I won’t have time to accompany you.”
Xiao Youran fell silent.
“Be good, listen to me. Wait until I’m done with these days and I’ll spend time with you, okay?”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
Although Xiao Youran hated the thought of being apart from Xu Xiuwen, she didn’t want to make things difficult for him.
“Have you had dinner yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Neither have I. After working all afternoon, I’m starving.”
“Then you should go eat something.”
“But I don’t want to hang up. I want to hear your voice a little longer.”
This time, Xiao Youran was the one persuading Xu Xiuwen.
The girl, who had been feeling disappointed, felt much better after hearing Xu Xiuwen’s words.
She proactively advised, “It’s not good for your health to be hungry for too long. You should go eat. You can hear my voice anytime you want.”
“Alright, I’ll do as you say,” Xu Xiuwen replied.
Xiao Youran thought Xu Xiuwen was heeding her advice, and her previous disappointment and sadness disappeared.
She had a fleeting illusion that the Xu Xiuwen who used to listen to her every word in high school had returned.
Even though she knew it wasn’t possible—after all, Xiao Xu was not the same as before—they had both grown up.
Yet, this illusion made her feel nostalgic.
After ending the call with Xiao Youran, Xu Xiuwen sent a text message to Cheng Lu.
“What are you doing?”
Soon, Cheng Lu’s reply came back.
“Just finished class, and I’m about to go to the cafeteria with Shishi.”
“I see. Guess where I am?”
“What are you doing? At home, I guess.”
“Nope, guess again.”
Cheng Lu initially thought Xu Xiuwen was just chatting because he had nothing to do at home.
But upon seeing this text, she vaguely guessed something.
Cheng Lu’s calm expression suddenly turned to excitement.
“Dummy, where are you?”
“Hehe, far away…” Xu Xiuwen didn’t finish his sentence, leaving a cliffhanger.
Given Cheng Lu’s intelligence, she immediately guessed the answer.
“You’re back?”
“Yep.”
“Weren’t you going home?”
“Yeah, but I came back.”
“Why?”
“Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, and I couldn’t bear to have my treasure spend the festival alone, so I came back.”
Seeing the text, Cheng Lu chuckled.
Her momentary smile was like a fairy descending, unforgettable.
The male classmates passing by were all captivated, with a few even bumping into others before snapping back to reality.
An Shishi saw Cheng Lu standing still and then smiling, and felt puzzled.
“Lu Lu, what’s wrong?”
Cheng Lu smiled and said, “He’s back.”
“Xu Xiuwen is back?” An Shishi was also surprised. “Wasn’t he going home with Youran for the festival?”
“Yes.”
“Then why is he back?”
“Hehe, that dummy said he didn’t want me to spend the festival alone, so he came back to celebrate with me.”
Cheng Lu smiled like a spring breeze, her eyes filled with happiness.
An Shishi felt a pang of envy.
She thought to herself: The treatment of a legitimate girlfriend versus a mistress is indeed different.
But with nowhere to vent her feelings, she forced herself to remain calm and said, “He really is good to you.”
At this point, Cheng Lu received another text message.
“He asked us to hurry over and not eat at the cafeteria.”
“Oh, then you should go ahead. I’ll have dinner by myself.” An Shishi said, then suddenly hesitated.
“We?” An Shishi hesitated.
Cheng Lu said, “Xu Xiuwen asked me to invite you too. He said he made too much food, and we won’t be able to finish it.”
An Shishi, being a smart girl, immediately understood this was Xu Xiuwen’s excuse.
Her previously sour feelings were now eased by a gentle rain.
Her heart felt warm, as if held in a pair of warm hands.
An Shishi pretended, “It’s not good. I wouldn’t want to disturb your little world.”
It’s said that girls in love have their IQs halved, and Cheng Lu was no exception.
She didn’t notice anything unusual.
She graciously said, “It’s alright, I don’t mind. Xu Xiuwen asked me to invite you too.”
“Well... okay then,” An Shishi hesitated for a moment before agreeing.
After Xu Xiuwen sent the final text message to Cheng Lu, he began cooking.
By the time the two women arrived, he had already prepared two home-cooked dishes.
After changing into slippers, the two women headed straight to the living room.
Xu Xiuwen was busy cooking and glanced at the two women outside the kitchen.
He smiled and said, “You’re here. Just sit for a bit; the dishes will be ready soon.”
An Shishi, being perceptive, immediately said, “I’m going to use the restroom.”
She gave the two a chance to be alone.
After An Shishi left, Cheng Lu stepped forward and asked with a light laugh, “Didn’t you say the dishes were ready?”
Xu Xiuwen chuckled, “Don’t you know how people in our country talk? It’s always ‘soon’ when it’s not actually ready yet. Saying it will be ready soon means it’s not done yet.”
Cheng Lu rolled her eyes, “You’re so glib.”
“If you say I’m smooth-talking, I’ll admit it, but if you say I’m glib, I won’t accept that.”
Cheng Lu paused, then quickly understood and gave another teasing roll of her eyes.
Xu Xiuwen worked quickly, stirring the dishes and then covering the pot to let the food simmer.
When he finished, he turned to face Cheng Lu and opened his arms.
Cheng Lu’s heart raced for a moment. Knowing what was coming, she asked, “What do you want to do?”
“Just want a hug,” Xu Xiuwen said, his intention clear.
“Shishi is here.”
“She’s not here now. Even if she were, it wouldn’t matter. We’re a couple.”
Seeing Cheng Lu still hesitating, Xu Xiuwen added, “I missed you.”
Those words completely broke down Cheng Lu’s defenses.
She stopped hesitating and stepped into Xu Xiuwen’s embrace.
The couple held each other tightly in the kitchen.
They only let go when they heard footsteps approaching.
Xu Xiuwen turned around to plate the food.
Cheng Lu turned just in time to see An Shishi coming around the corner.
She wasn’t sure if An Shishi had seen her hugging Xu Xiuwen earlier. She didn’t ask, and An Shishi didn’t mention it.
Xu Xiuwen brought the dishes to the table and said to the girls, “Wait a moment. I’ll make a soup.”
Looking at the three steaming dishes on the table, An Shishi smiled and said, “Chef, with your cooking skills, anyone who marries you would be incredibly lucky.”
Xu Xiuwen laughed heartily.
Cheng Lu also chuckled, “Shishi, don’t flatter him too much, or his ego will be through the roof.”
An Shishi smiled, but only she knew what she was truly thinking.
With Cheng Lu and An Shishi’s company, the three of them spent the Dragon Boat Festival together.
Two days later, on the afternoon of June 2nd, Xu Xiuwen received a puzzling text message.
The puzzling part wasn’t who sent the message, but its content.
“Come to my place tonight from 6 to 9 to collect your clothes.”
The sender was Li Haimei.
Xu Xiuwen had thought that after rejecting Li Haimei last time, he wouldn’t have much contact with her.
Yet, just two days later, Li Haimei sent him this strange message.
There were two oddities.
First, Li Haimei could have had her secretary or someone else deliver his clothes, but she didn’t. Instead, she asked him to come and pick them up.
Second, she set a specific time frame for him to come, from 6 to 9 PM.
Xu Xiuwen initially didn’t understand Li Haimei’s intentions.
It wasn’t until a sudden flash of insight struck him that he started to consider a possibility.
Though he thought he might be overthinking, the more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
To get to the point, he wondered if Li Haimei’s text message meant that she was agreeing to the conditions he proposed that day in her office.
At the time, he had made those conditions casually and hadn’t really expected her to agree.
He also believed that Li Haimei would never agree to such conditions.
But now, it seemed that something had changed in a way he didn’t know about.
If Li Haimei really did agree to his conditions, the thought of that night’s potential wild scenario made Xu Xiuwen swallow hard.
Although Li Haimei was already older and had a daughter, she lived a life of luxury and took good care of herself.
Her skin was smooth and delicate, and her figure was well-maintained, rivaling that of younger women.
