Chapter 101: Continue

Chapter 101: Continued

Their time together passed too quickly, and before they knew it, Sunday had arrived.

Xiao Wang accompanied Zhou Zuofei to the airport, where the two bid each other a reluctant farewell. After another flight, Zhou Zuofei returned to her apartment.

The moment she stepped inside, she eagerly dropped her travel bag and scooped up Director, smothering the cat with kisses.

"Baby, I missed you like crazy!"

The heartwarming reunion lasted no more than five minutes before Director struggled to break free. Still, Zhou Zuofei was satisfied—normally, Director would bolt in under three minutes.

Carrying her travel bag into the bedroom, she had no desire to unpack and instead crawled into bed.

She had expected to be grumpy when returning to work on Monday, but to her surprise, she felt surprisingly at ease.

Everything was just as it had always been—the same workstation, the same colleagues. The only difference was her mindset.

Her life now included Xiao Wang, and she knew how deeply she loved him, just as she was certain he felt the same.

This belief pushed her to make seemingly reckless decisions while also giving her greater confidence and patience in facing life’s challenges.

After all, they’d be together again soon.

Zhou Zuofei carried this thought with her throughout the week, going about her usual routine—work, home, rest.

Afraid she’d be lonely, Du Yu even dragged her to a meetup over the weekend.

As it turned out, Zhou Zuofei still detested loud, packed places—a fact that even love couldn’t change.

So she had no intention of joining any after-party activities. After waving Du Yu off, she headed straight home.

On the way back, she kept texting Xiao Wang about her day.

[*I always thought I had a pretty young mindset—I can still keep up with online trends. But after going out with Du Yu today, I realized… wow, I’m definitely not 17 or 18 anymore. I’m totally drained by their energy…*]

[*That’s not true. You’ve got tons of energy.*]

[*Only next to you, huh? You’re older than me, so of course I seem energetic.*]

[*So you’re saying I lack energy?*]

[*Who needs energy when you’re this charming? Mwah!*]

Still texting, Zhou Zuofei arrived home, only to find Director nowhere to be seen. Baffled, she called,

"Director? Director?"

After changing her shoes, she walked into the living room and turned to see the bedroom door half-open—with Xiao Wang sitting on the bed, watching her.

At the same time, Director sauntered out from the bedroom, circling around her before rubbing against her legs hello.

Zhou Zuofei gaped at Xiao Wang. "When did you get back?"

How had she not noticed any signs?

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Zhou Zuofei exclaimed, rushing excitedly into the bedroom.

If she had known Xiao Wang was back, why would she even have gone to that gathering earlier?

"Because I only got the notice last minute today. When I left, I wasn’t sure which flight I could get, so I didn’t tell you."

Originally, their group had planned to return together the next day, but Xiao Wang thought seeing Zhou Zuofei a few hours earlier would be worth it, so he booked an earlier flight.

He wasn’t trying to hide it—it was just that Zhou Zuofei had an event that evening, so he didn’t mention it.

Zhou Zuofei brushed all that aside. She quickly took off her coat and rushed into Xiao Wang’s arms. "Ugh, you’re the worst! You didn’t even tell me!"

"So, you really think I’m not energetic enough?"

"That’s not even something we need to consider," Zhou Zuofei said without hesitation. "Too much energy would be exhausting. You’re just right like this!"

Hearing this, Xiao Wang couldn’t help but smile. Zhou Zuofei never hesitated to praise or express her affection for him.

And he was willing to rush back overnight just for a single compliment.

A few days later, the holiday came around, and Ling Yu and Cen Huan’s wedding took place as scheduled.

Zhou Zuofei had thought Xiao Wang came back early for the wedding, but instead, he asked her out—and she happily accepted.

That was fine by her too. Today was a day for everyone—the main couple’s story continued, and she was living her own life.

But she’d underestimated how unpredictable fate could be.

Not long after she and Xiao Wang left the house, he received a phone call.

As soon as Zhou Zuofei saw Xiao Wang check the caller ID and pull over, she knew the call was important.

She waited quietly until he hung up before asking with concern, "What’s wrong? They’re not making you work overtime, are they?"

"Nah, not that," Xiao Wang said, his expression unreadable. "It’s President Ling. He asked me to deliver a document to the wedding venue."

"Huh?" Zhou Zuofei blinked in surprise, but after remembering it was Ling Yu, she found it understandable.

Given how things were going, Ling Yu was still a workaholic obsessed with his job. It wasn’t strange for him to think about work even during his wedding.

"Then go drop it off. Do you have the file with you, or is it at the office?"

"It’s with me."

"Then go ahead." Zhou Zuofei shrugged. "The sooner you go, the sooner it’s done."

Seeing how understanding she was, Xiao Wang felt even guiltier. Their rare date was ruined by work.

He reached out and took Zhou Zuofei’s hand, only for her to comfort him instead. "Money doesn’t grow on trees. Gotta deal with it."

Xiao Wang burst out laughing. What would he do without Zhou Zuofei?

The wedding took place at the Ling family’s ancestral estate. Xiao Wang parked the car in the courtyard and told Zhou Zuofei to wait inside while he took the document into the mansion, which was as grand as a castle.

Zhou Zuofei took out her phone to snap a photo of the mansion to send to Du Yu and give her a glimpse of the high life. Just as she was adjusting the angle, a young guy came bolting out of the house, dressed for the wedding.

He scanned the entrance before quickly heading toward the exit.

That’s when he ran right into Zhou Zuofei, who squinted and recognized him.

Seriously? Him again?

Zhou Zuofei was baffled when the other guy spotted her and started slowing his pace.

"What are you doing here?"

She leaned out of the car window. "I should be asking you that! Why are you here? I thought you said you weren’t coming."

Xie Ya was just as confused to see Zhou Zuofei, but he had bigger problems right now.

Noticing she was sitting in the front passenger seat with no one in the driver’s seat, he quickly walked around to the back, yanked the door open, and slid inside.

Zhou Zuofei didn’t expect this and turned around immediately. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?"

"Don’t look back! I just need to lay low for a sec."

That got Zhou Zuofei’s attention. "What did you do? You didn’t bail on your family again, did you?"

Before Xie Ya could answer, the gate opened again in the distance, and two men in black suits stepped out, looking around.

Zhou Zuofei recognized one as Xie Huai’s guy, though she couldn’t remember his last name.

In the rearview mirror, she saw Xie Ya lying down—clearly hiding. Now she understood.

But Xiao Wang’s car stuck out like a sore thumb. Soon, the other man noticed it and started walking over.

At the last second, Zhou Zuofei finally remembered the assistant’s surname and shouted, “Assistant Bai!”

The second she said that, everyone froze. Xie Ya nearly stopped breathing. He had no idea what she was up to, but there was nothing he could do now.

Assistant Bai’s expression changed instantly. He signaled the approaching man to retreat and approached alone, stopping a few meters from the front of the car.

They owed Lawyer Lu for this one—it was his suggestion to add a clause requiring that Xie Huai and anyone closely associated with him weren’t allowed to come near her. Otherwise, Xie Ya would’ve been exposed right then.

Assistant Bai greeted her politely. “Miss Zhou.”

Zhou Zuofei got right to it. “Since you’re here, does that mean Mr. Xie is too?”

“Yes. You here for the wedding too, Miss Zhou?”

“I’m outta here soon, so I shouldn’t interfere.”

“Wasn’t trying to imply anything. I just wanted to ask if you saw anyone come out from inside?”

“Sorry, I’ve been on my phone. Didn’t notice anything else.”

“Alright then. No worries. My bad.”

Assistant Bai wasn’t convinced, but he knew better than to push. They were at the Ling residence after all, and their options were limited.

After a brief exchange, he called his colleague and prepared to report back to Xie Huai.

Only after Zhou Zuofei made sure they were gone did she say, “They’re gone.”

Xie Ya slowly sat up from the back seat. The immediate danger had passed, but he still couldn’t relax. He stared at Zhou Zuofei, clearly holding something back.

She broke the silence. “Why are you staring at me like that? Did I just help you again?”

He admitted it was true, but…

He couldn’t hold back any longer. “You knew about Sister Huan’s wedding the whole time, didn’t you?”

Zhou Zuofei replied, "Not that early—just knew before you did."

"Then you—"

Before Xie Ya could finish, Zhou Zuofei cut him off. "Why are you asking *me* this? Is it my responsibility?"

Faced with the question, Xie Ya had no response.

Zhou Zuofei had no obligation to tell him in the first place. He was the one who had let the opportunity slip right before his eyes.

Zhou Zuofei went straight for his weak spot: "You can't blame Cen Huan either. You’ve had her number this whole time, but you overthought things and never acted. Now that she’s getting married, you’re not thinking of causing trouble, are you?"

"But does she really love him? She clearly said before she wouldn’t marry so early, that she didn’t even want to date..."

"Whether she loves him or not has nothing to do with you. That’s between her and her husband now."

And where were you when it mattered?!

Zhou Zuofei held back that last remark, not wanting to provoke Xie Ya and risk him acting impulsively in the heat of the moment.

Xie Ya dropped his head, defeated, unsure of what to do now.

Compared to Ling Yu, he had no advantages. Cen Huan’s clearly better off with him...

Just then, Xiao Wang emerged as well. As soon as he got in the car, he noticed the extra person in the backseat and recognized who it was. He immediately looked at Zhou Zuofei, shooting her a look that said, "This is...?"

Zhou Zuofei waved her hand, signaling they’d talk later. "Let’s go first. Just pull over and let him out somewhere."

Seeing Xie Ya offer no objection, Xiao Wang took the silence as agreement and started the engine.

Once they’d left the Lings’ place, Xiao Wang pulled over at a commercial street intersection and asked, "This work? There’s a bus stop here, and it’s easy to hail a cab."

"Perfect." Zhou Zuofei glanced around, then turned to Xie Ya. "Alright, get going. We’ve got a date, and you’d be a third wheel."

Xie Ya was depressed but got the hint. He opened the car door and stepped out, pausing to thank her before leaving. "Thanks... I owe you one."

"I wasn’t helping you. I was helping Xie Lan," Zhou Zuofei said bluntly. "I won’t even get started on your eldest brother, but you at least somewhat act like an older sibling. Otherwise, Qiaoqiao would be screwed in the Xie family."

"The Xie family..." Xie Ya started to say more, but seeing Xiao Wang and Zhou Zuofei together, he changed his mind.

Whatever. No use messing with other people’s lives.

"I’m leaving. I’ll make it up to you later."

"Yeah, get outta here."

Xie Ya turned and walked away, striding off confidently, quickly disappearing into the crowd.

"Alright..." With the matter finally settled, Zhou Zuofei let out a long sigh of relief. At least she’d managed to avert some soap opera shit, she thought.

She turned to Xiao Wang and said, "Date time!"

Perhaps the lead couple’s story was only just beginning, but their own story was just as juicy.

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