CHAPTER 359: CHAPTER 358: SOMETHING’S UP

Zhao Meimei gritted her teeth and forced the bitter taste welling up in her throat back down. "Oh, really? I didn’t know, my brother didn’t tell me."

Zhang Jiahui sympathetically said, "Your brother’s just too busy, didn’t get a chance to mention it. He’s always running around dealing with business matters, must be really tough. Plus, he’s the type who never shares his problems with others and just keeps everything to himself..." She continued with a gentle, understanding tone.

"He’s too focused on his career. Meimei, does your brother ever talk about personal matters with you?"

Zhao Meimei remained calm, "He talks, yes."

Zhang Jiahui’s eyes lit up with a bit of expectation, "Really? I thought he wouldn’t easily talk about his feelings with anyone. What did he say to you?"

Zhao Meimei cheerfully replied, "Just that he likes me, and things like that..."

Zhang Jiahui laughed, "Isn’t your brother the one who loves you the most? He always talks about you. Even back when you were in elementary school, he kept praising you to me. I always thought you were biological siblings."

Zhao Meimei nodded, "A lot of people say that."

Zhang Jiahui said, "The bond between you two is really enviable."

Zhang Jiahui tucked a stray hair behind her ear and said with a hint of emotion, "Unlike me, I feel like I’ve grown distant from your brother. After being apart for so many years, sometimes when we suddenly meet, I don’t even know what to say, unlike how intimate we used to be back then."

Zhao Meimei felt a pang of bitterness and couldn’t help but ask, "Sister Jiahui, you and my brother were really close back in school, right?"

Zhang Jiahui’s lips curled into a smile, "Yes, we were quite close back then. Your brother was so outgoing and loved playing basketball. Many girls in our class only went to the basketball court to watch him. During that time..."

Before she could finish, the class bell suddenly rang. Zhang Jiahui paused and laughed, "Got so caught up in chatting with you that I lost track of time. I have a class next, so you should head back to your class."

Zhao Meimei left the office, gritted her teeth, and dialed Shi Yang’s number as she walked to the classroom.

The call connected quickly, and Shi Yang’s voice came through, "You’re not in class?"

Zhao Meimei said, "I’m on my way to the classroom, brother. What about you? What are you up to?"

Shi Yang: "The headquarters just got a new batch of infant nutrition products. I think they look pretty good, so I’m planning to stock up. Right now, I’m finalizing the procurement items and quantities with the staff."

Zhao Meimei softly responded, "When are you coming back, brother?"

Shi Yang said, "I can’t set a specific time yet. Probably in the next couple of days."

Zhao Meimei really wanted to ask whether Shi Yang had been in touch with Zhang Jiahui, but she remembered her dad’s words and hesitated, ultimately holding back from asking.

Zhao Meimei said, "Then you get busy. I’m almost at the classroom too."

Shi Yang agreed, "Okay, I was just about to call your Brother Chao."

After hanging up, Shi Yang dialed Qu Chaozong, but the call went unanswered for a long time.

Just as Shi Yang put his phone back in his pocket, it rang. Qu Chaozong was calling back.

"I was just about to pick up, and then you hung up. What’s up? Go ahead."

Shi Yang explained about the ordered infant nutrition products and asked, "By the way, do you have the phone number of the logistics company we used before? Could you read it out for me?"

The line was silent.

Shi Yang paused, "Chaozi?... Did we lose the connection due to bad signal?"

"Huh?" Qu Chaozong seemed to snap back into reality. "What did you just say?"

Shi Yang teased, "What were you thinking about, spacing out like that?"

Qu Chaozong hesitated and said, "Nothing. What did you ask again?"

Shi Yang repeated what he had said earlier, and Qu Chaozong quickly found the logistics phone number and read it out.

After jotting it down, Shi Yang and Qu Chaozong discussed adding more counters to the store.

After hanging up, Qu Chaozong, still holding the phone, began to space out once more.

Ever since he took Zhang Xin home that day, her behavior had been noticeably erratic.

She had promised to visit every day, bringing soup, meals, and warmth. Her words still echoed, yet she was nowhere to be found.

Qu Chaozong had called several times, but Zhang Xin always gave vague and dismissive responses, insisting she was busy but refusing to elaborate on what kept her occupied. This left Qu Chaozong feeling uneasy, his mind racing with all sorts of thoughts—wondering if Zhang Xin was in some kind of trouble or if she was secretly up to something.

After much contemplation, Qu Chaozong decided it was time to have a proper conversation with her.

Qu Chaozong unlocked his phone and dialed Zhang Xin’s number.

The call barely rang twice before it was picked up.

Qu Chaozong hurriedly said, "Do you have time tonight..."

Zhang Xin abruptly cut him off, "Chaozi, I’m a bit busy right now, I’ll talk to you later, I have to go."

Click!

Qu Chaozong stared expressionlessly at the phone that had been decisively hung up, while inside, a little man was raging and smashing things everywhere, shouting: "Busy with what?! You don’t have anything to be busy with! Usually, I get eight hundred check-up calls a day, but now you don’t even have time to say a word!"

Qu Chaozong tossed the phone onto his desk and muttered through gritted teeth, "I’ve had it with this!"

Shi Yang spent another three days at headquarters, finalizing the purchase order for the mother and child store. He managed the whole process personally, from warehousing to logistics distribution, to prevent shipment delays from hindering the new products’ hot selling phase.

After everything was settled, he headed back home with his team.

Upon landing, Shi Yang reported his schedule to Zhao Meimei and then rushed to the company to handle all the pending matters. He worked straight through until the end of the workday, organizing the unfinished tasks to take home, planning to pull an all-nighter to continue working.

Walking side by side with Qu Chaozong, they left the office. Just outside the company gate, Qu Chaozong suddenly said, "You head back, no need to send me."

Shi Yang was surprised, "Where are you going?"

Qu Chaozong’s expression was obscure, "I’m going to see Zhang Xin."

Shi Yang didn’t think much of it, gave him a pat, and smirked mischievously, "Been so busy with work these days, delaying personal life. You’ve been holding back, haven’t you?"

Qu Chaozong laughed and swore, "Get lost, I think you’re the one who misses the honeymoon phase. Stop teasing me!"

They both shared a laugh.

Shi Yang, eager and excited, parted ways with Qu Chaozong and hurried off to the parking lot.

Qu Chaozong’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, weighed down by worries, as he turned to hail a cab by the roadside.