Sweet Wife Arrives: Mr. CEO, Please Pamper Me-Chapter 564: V437: Women still need to be led astray... (2000)
Paused for a moment, Qiu Zhixuan had said she was busy today and went out, but ended up going nowhere.
The next day, still a couple of families came to tentatively inquire about matchmaking, and she sent them away as well.
When Monday came around, it was time to go to work.
March 2019, the morning weather in Beijing was uncommonly nice.
The sky was clear and cloudless.
Qiu Zhixuan changed into her professional attire and walked out of the courtyard with her bag.
Holding her car keys and just about to start the car, she heard a honk at the alley entrance.
Turning around, she saw it was Bai Qifan’s car. She slightly lowered her brows and continued to open her car door to get in.
But before she could get in, Bai Qifan honked long and loud.
In the quiet morning alley, such a sound was quite loud.
Qiu Zhixuan paused for a moment but eventually locked her car door in resignation and walked over.
Getting in the car, she had just sat in the passenger seat.
Bai Qifan handed over a cup of soy milk and two perfectly packaged deep-fried dough sticks.
"Eat up, I bought these for you this morning on Qianmen Street, enjoy while it’s hot."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Zhixuan’s eyelashes trembled, feeling somewhat touched for a moment, though not to the extent Bai Qifan had hoped.
Not acting coy, she took it, inserted the straw into the soy milk, and took a small sip.
Then she said, "Is it necessary? Didn’t we already make things clear that day?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Bai Qifan, driving, curved his lips, "Sure, we cleared things up, but you didn’t say we couldn’t be friends or buddies, right?"
Facing Gu Zixuan’s slightly astonished gaze, Bai Qifan’s smile grew wider, "Don’t worry, I’m not that insensitive. I’ve known since childhood that a forced melon isn’t sweet, but I still like you now. If you ask me to do nothing and regret it when you marry someone else in the future, I can’t do that. Let’s take it one day at a time. If I’m good to you, just accept it, if I’m not, don’t hold back on feeling disappointed. Ultimately, whether it works out or not, it only counts if it’s mutual between the two of us. If you’re not willing now, that’s fine, maybe I’ll be the one who can’t wait after a while."
In that instant, the carefree and easy-going Bai Qifan brought a smile to Gu Zixuan’s face.
Thinking back two years ago, after Bai Qifan sought her out several times, he rashly told her he got divorced because he liked her. At that time, she wondered if Bai Qifan was crazy.
But within days, Bai Qifan’s ex-wife came to find her, with a joyful look in her eyes, saying, "Hey, even Bai Qifan, that scum, fell into a pit. Good, good, good, you give him a hard time for me, but not too hard. He’s okay, if you really like him, be a bit nicer, at least let him feel some warmth from a woman," which left her stunned for days.
A few days later, Bai Qifan’s parents visited her in person. After carefully assessing her, they nodded repeatedly, and asked, "You’re a good girl, isn’t your grandfather Gu Qing? My father was mentored by him. Don’t worry, the matter in Rong City was due to my niece’s immaturity. If you’re truly willing to marry into our family, we’ll have Zhou Xiao apologize to you."
Truly refreshing her worldviews.
Later, over these two years of refining, Bai Qifan introduced her to some people in the Beijing circles.
She then learned that most of the men here are somewhat chauvinistic, while the women are collectively feminist, resulting in Beijing men and women often unable to see eye to eye, believing each other’s temperaments are a human flaw. It’s like their mothers forgot to put them back in the oven for a character redo, really hindering human civilization’s progress.
As for the others, those who get along mostly became buddies, for what could be more worthwhile than finding a like-minded person amidst the endless sea of people, to support and take pride in each other? So, slinging their arms around shoulders and binge drinking was never an issue.
And so... She, who used to believe that "pure friendship between men and women would eventually develop into an inseparable love drama," overturned her original impression after understanding Beijingers’ straightforwardness.
Now, seeing Bai Qifan, who had confessed his feelings but now talks about being bros, she couldn’t help but smile.
After a pause, she nodded, took another sip of soy milk, and said, "Alright, bros it is."
At her words, Bai Qifan was momentarily stunned.
In truth, he didn’t want to hear this sentence from Qiu Zhixuan’s mouth.
But seeing how she, over these past two years, had gradually become optimistic and cheerful, seemingly radiating some more charming traits that were different from her original gentle and elegant allure. As if the fusion of softness and strength forged by fate was beautifully complete, truly moving, he found it wasn’t too bad after all.
So he didn’t mind it.
Throughout the drive, he took Qiu Zhixuan to her workplace in the Haidian District.
Once they arrived, checking the time on his wristwatch, he said, "It’s just right, I have a busy day in Haidian District. You go to work; I won’t bother you at noon. In the afternoon, I’ll pick you up and we’ll have dinner together. I’ll take you to a bar and bring you home at night."
For the first part, Qiu Zhixuan had no objections, but about the last suggestion, she couldn’t help but frown slightly, "A bar?"
Seeing her expression, Bai Qifan chuckled, "Socializing, you have to engage a little bit here and there. The men around you used to protect you too well, making you somewhat like a fairy not in touch with reality. I’ll show you different activities, and whether or not you want to step into this circle in the future is your own choice, but you should at least know about it."
Pausing and seeing Qiu Zhixuan pressing her lips without speaking,
Bai Qifan smiled again and said, "Zhi Xuan, the world is vast and there’s still much excitement. If you really intend to stay single all your life, you should find ways to relieve pressure or try living differently, right? Don’t worry, I won’t disrupt your desire for a peaceful life. It’s just that the educational environment you were in was too limited. Rong City’s bunch of old fogies controls everything with old generational standards. It’s unnecessary. Even if a socialite should be gentle and elegant, she should also have a new era socialite’s way of living. Try it with an open mind, perhaps you’ll like it."
Having said that, Bai Qifan smiled and winked at Qiu Zhixuan, leaned in to pull the car door shut, and drove off.
Standing there, Qiu Zhixuan remained at the doorway, quietly reflecting on Bai Qifan’s words.
Thoughtful, pondering.
For a moment, even if not entirely in agreement, she considered what he said about finding ways to relieve pressure if intending to remain single. Thinking again of Feng Chengjin...
A bar? Then a bar it is...
Qiu Zhixuan thought it over, picked up her bag, and turned to walk into the office.
