Chapter 59: Absolutely Not, Absolutely Not – Are You Angry?
Dong Ling realized she hadn’t seen Xuan Du for a long time, so much so that she almost didn’t recognize her at first glance.
Xuan Du was dressed plainly, in an oversized white T-shirt and shorts, her slightly long white hair tied back, she wasn’t wearing any makeup, her expression haggard and gloomy.
Dong Ling was used to seeing an invincible look on her face, and seeing her like this, scenes from many years ago involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
“Why are you here?”
Xuan Du said with a sullen face: “To find some peace.”
She looked at Dong Ling, as if waiting for her to open the door.
This behavior hadn’t changed, Dong Ling thought, still the same as always.
“Are we close?”
Dong Ling’s fingers held the room card in her pocket, she wasn’t planning to take it out.
Xuan Du’s face crumpled: “Are you still angry at me?”
“Were we ever close?” Dong Ling feigned surprise, then said indifferently, “Perhaps when you genuinely feel remorse and sincerely apologize, I might forgive you, but we can never go back to how we were.”
Not caring didn’t mean it didn’t happen, Xuan Du would never understand this.
“Oh.” Xuan Du responded dryly, then looked at Dong Ling and said softly, “Let’s go inside, I traveled a long way to get here.”
Dong Ling’s lips twitched, truly selectively understanding what people said.
Dong Ling opened the door and went to remove her makeup without offering the guest from afar even a glass of water.
Xuan Du didn’t mind and poured herself a glass of water, sitting down on the sofa.
Dong Ling slowly removed her makeup and applied skincare products, Xuan Du sat beside her, silent.
She didn’t even look at her phone, just staring blankly into space, just like she said at the beginning, as if she was just here to find some peace.
This wasn’t like Xuan Du.
After turning over a new leaf, Xuan Du seemed determined to be the center of attention wherever she went, to wash away the humiliation of her past life, not like this, like a lifeless doll.
Dong Ling washed off her face mask, wiped her face, and sat down opposite Xuan Du with a glass of warm water.
“Tell me, what did He Diesheng do this time to make you run all the way here to hide?”
“Who’s hiding from her? I’m not afraid of her.”
Xuan Du instinctively retorted, then, feeling irritated, she picked up the glass of water on the table and drank it all in one gulp, then started staring blankly into space again.
Seeing her distracted look, Dong Ling took out her phone and sent a message to Chen Shang Shang to inquire about the situation.
[Dong Ling]: Sister, has anything happened in Beihai recently? Do you know if there’s been any conflict between Xuan Du and He Diesheng?
Judging from Xuan Du’s appearance, He Diesheng must have gained the upper hand, otherwise she wouldn’t have run away dejectedly.
In fact, even without seeing Xuan Du’s behavior, Dong Ling knew that in their conflict, Xuan Du was most likely the loser.
She couldn’t win against He Diesheng, He Diesheng was smarter than her, more capable of enduring humiliation and hardship.
Chen Shang Shang: I haven’t been paying attention, I’ll ask around for you.
Chen Shang Shang: I’m relaxing elsewhere recently, I haven’t been back to Beihai.
[Dong Ling]: How are you and Qianxi lately?
[Dong Ling]: I saw a post about you two having dinner together a few days ago, are you guys okay now?
Chen Shang Shang: We didn’t have dinner together.
Dong Ling was puzzled, she went to check her friends’ posts, and found that they hadn’t posted any pictures together, just separate check-in pictures at the same restaurant, one after the other, even the dishes on their tables were almost identical, so Dong Ling thought they had dinner together.
Chen Shang Shang: I’ve asked around, I should have a reply soon.
Chen Shang Shang: Tell me first, what’s this about us having dinner together?
Dong Ling sent Chen Shang Shang a screenshot of Tang Qianxi’s post, and a moment later, three periods came back.
Chen Shang Shang: Speechless, she even blocked me from seeing that post, secretly following me and afraid I’ll find out?
Dong Ling sensed something unusual from Chen Shang Shang’s words, she originally thought that even if her good friends had a falling out, they would quickly make up, after all, there couldn’t be any betrayal or financial disputes between them, and there was no business competition either, their families weren’t even in the same industry.
But judging from the current situation, it seemed to be getting more and more serious?
[Dong Ling]: What exactly happened between you two?
Chen Shang Shang: It’s hard to explain, nothing really happened, it’s just that we have some disagreements.
Dong Ling frowned, disagreements were more difficult to resolve than material problems, especially disagreements in values, because both sides could be right, like mismatched gears, stuck together.
Therefore, there were different types of friends, some you could discuss certain topics with, and some you couldn’t.
There were no two completely identical souls in the world, one of the reasons Dong Ling had good relationships with many people was because she knew how to avoid conflict.
Chen Shang Shang: Don’t worry about us, we’ll tell you when we’ve sorted it out.
It wasn’t that Chen Shang Shang didn’t trust Dong Ling, it was precisely because Dong Ling was someone they both knew that she didn’t want to involve her.
Chen Shang Shang: Someone replied, I’ll forward it to you.
Seeing Chen Shang Shang’s evasiveness, Dong Ling sighed lightly.
This three-person friendship, this time, she was lost in the fog, unable to see clearly.
Dong Ling focused on the information Chen Shang Shang had gathered, she had asked several people, and Dong Ling pieced it together.
Nothing major had happened recently, it was just that Xuan Du had become much more low-key in their circle, while Mayor He frequently took He Diesheng to various events, helping her build connections.
Dong Ling thought this was where Xuan Du couldn’t compete with He Diesheng, Xuan Du could perhaps succeed in business, but she could never succeed in politics, He Diesheng was different, she would probably thrive in those murky waters.
“It seems you lost badly.”
Dong Ling put down her phone and took another sip of warm water.
This time, Xuan Du didn’t fly into a rage, she just looked at Dong Ling with a strange expression, a look of confused frustration from realizing her own limitations and lacking the means to overcome them.
“Can I never win against her?”
“You’ve dealt her a heavy blow before, but, you indeed can’t win against her.”
Dong Ling’s answer was very direct. The reason Xuan Du was able to make He Diesheng suffer in the past was because of her mother, or rather, Mayor He.
But if He Diesheng’s value in Mayor He’s heart had far surpassed Xuan Du’s, then Xuan Du had no advantage.
The world of adults wasn’t as simple as that of children, and it would only become more complex. Unless Xuan Du could find a powerful backer, but judging from the fact that she could only come to her for help, that possibility was currently zero.
“She’s so disgusting,” Xuan Du murmured, “Her eyes, her words, like sticky, omnipresent bugs, crawling all over me.”
Dong Ling admitted, Xuan Du’s description made her want to vomit.
“She’s more terrifying than I imagined, how could she be discharged? She’s clearly still a lunatic.”
Dong Ling said bluntly: “You’re not exactly sane either.”
If there had to be a bed reserved for someone from their family in a mental hospital, it would definitely be for Xuan Du.
“Dad is completely on her side now, he told me not to provoke her, but she wants revenge, how can I not retaliate? But every retaliation leads to even worse consequences, but I’m not reconciled, and I can’t think of a solution.”
Xuan Du was very clear about her hatred for He Diesheng, the more He Diesheng pretended, the more irritated she became.
“Dong Ling, for the sake of our past friendship, help me.”
Dong Ling said with a blank expression: “If it weren’t for our past friendship, I would have called He Diesheng and asked her to come pick you up.”
“I won’t help you, but I can give you a suggestion.”
Xuan Du asked eagerly: “A suggestion?”
“Run, run now, or the consequences will be even worse.”
Dong Ling thought it would be a good idea for Xuan Du to go abroad, far, far away, preferably where He Diesheng couldn’t find her.
She didn’t know how strong He Diesheng’s desire for revenge was, so she didn’t know if He Diesheng would chase her abroad, but it was indeed a good option.
But she also knew that Xuan Du wouldn’t accept this suggestion. She counted down three seconds in her mind, and Xuan Du spoke.
“You’re telling me to run away with my tail between my legs? Impossible, I won’t run, my home is here, my mom is here.”
Xuan Du knew He Diesheng also hated her mother, this was an irreconcilable conflict between them.
As expected, Dong Ling wasn’t surprised at all and stood up.
“Then I can’t help you. Have you had enough peace and quiet? It’s getting late, you should leave.”
Dong Ling opened the door and gestured for Xuan Du to leave.
Xuan Du still seemed reluctant to leave, so Dong Ling urged her: “Hurry up, Mingzhi will be back from work soon, do you want to watch us sleep?”
Xuan Du jumped up as if her butt was on fire, leaving a “Shameless!” and stormed off.
Dong Ling smiled mischievously, this trick always worked on Xuan Du.
As she was about to close the door, she saw Song Mingzhi standing there, her smile freezing on her face.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Help, help, help!
This damn familiar feeling of social death, Dong Ling’s toes curled, looking at Song Mingzhi, she hurriedly explained: “Mingzhi, it’s not what you think!”
“She came to see me, I wanted her to leave, she’s homophobic, so I used that to scare her away, it was just a joke, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
She should have closed the door and talked, or sat on the sofa, it would have been the same, then Song Mingzhi wouldn’t have heard, and she wouldn’t be so embarrassed now.
“It’s okay, I’ll go wash up first, I’ll be over later.”
Song Mingzhi didn’t seem to mind at all, and even secretly rejoiced hearing Dong Ling’s words.
She didn’t know why Dong Ling could be so open in front of others, but still hesitant to express herself in front of her.
But she had to leave first, she had been wearing a wig all day, her hair was soaked with sweat, it probably smelled, she didn’t want to stay in front of Dong Ling for too long, to avoid leaving an imperfect impression.
Dong Ling looked at Song Mingzhi’s hurried steps and hesitated to speak.
Was Song Mingzhi angry?
Dong Ling asked anxiously: [Dude, will she think I’m vulgar, using something like us sleeping together to scare someone away?]
021 was shocked: [What’s so vulgar about sleeping together? It’s a great way for our domineering CEOs to develop their relationships, and besides, you’re not really her daughter-in-law.]
Dong Ling: [?]
[Thank you for your comfort, I feel much better now, goodbye.]
Leave a Reply