Chapter 1412: Chapter 1412: The Desperate and Resentful Woman (2)

Ye Qilan’s words left Su Hongxing absolutely speechless.

What followed was her enduring another half-hour of Ye Qilan’s incessant rambling.

When the call finally ended, Su Hongxing exhaled a long sigh of relief. She had to admit, Ye Qilan’s ability to nag was improving by the day—he was like a human chatterbox.

She suspected that because he had to maintain a cool persona in public and no one dared speak to him, he saved all his words for her.

As the end of the workday approached, Su Hongxing knew Ye Qilan wouldn’t come to pick her up. After all, they were in the midst of a “quarrel,” and the whole world thought Ye Qilan was having an affair with Du Qingyu.

Even if he wanted to put on a show, it had to be convincing, and Ye Qilan wouldn’t likely show up to pick her up from work.

What caught her interest, though, was Qiao Qiao. Before it was even time to clock out, Qiao Qiao was already scrambling to gather her things, clearly worried about Ye Shiqing showing up unexpectedly.

“Xiaoqiao, stop rushing. If I’m not mistaken, Ye Shiqing is already outside waiting for you,” Su Hongxing calmly teased.

“Impossible, it’s not even 4:30 yet,” Qiao Qiao said, obviously not buying into Su Hongxing’s claim.

Su Hongxing didn’t bother to elaborate. The phrase “won’t give up until they reach the Yellow River” was practically tailor-made for the beautiful Qiao Qiao.

Qiao Qiao hurried out of the office building, glancing around nervously. Not spotting any sign of Ye Shiqing, she quickly felt at ease.

As expected, Su Hongxing had just been trying to rattle her. She almost believed it for a second.

The subway station wasn’t far off, so Qiao Qiao picked up her pace, heading toward it. That was until a black sedan pulled up beside her. The driver rolled down the window and leaned out, looking at her. “Get in.”

Qiao Qiao’s eyes widened in shock. Damn it, how did Ye Shiqing pop up out of nowhere?

As Qiao Qiao stood frozen, Ye Shiqing got out of the car and forcibly pulled her inside.

“Take me back to Qingmu Garden, thanks.” Unable to resist Ye Shiqing’s strength, Qiao Qiao decided to just treat him like her chauffeur.

“I’ve already told you—we’re going on a date tonight. Once we’ve had dinner and watched a movie, I’ll naturally take you back.” Ye Shiqing gave Qiao Qiao a sidelong glance, his tone calm yet unyielding.

Frustrated, Qiao Qiao shot back, “I don’t want to have dinner with you, and I definitely don’t want to watch a movie with you. I’m a married woman. Can you stop pressuring me like this?”

“Xiaoqiao, I’m not young anymore. Just take pity on me and give me a chance, will you? You don’t have feelings for that third brother of mine. As soon as he returns, you’ll end your marriage with him. Before that happens, why don’t we warm up…”

“Whatever happens in the future, we can talk about it then. For now, I can’t do things with you like a couple would. Don’t you think it’s weird to go to the movies with a married woman? What would people say if they saw us?” Qiao Qiao cut him off firmly.

Warm up, my ass. Since when could feelings be “warmed up”? What utter nonsense.

“At the end of the day, you still care about what others think. I just like you and want to be with you. For you, I’d even give up my position—can’t you give me a little something in return? Or… do you not like me at all?” Ye Shiqing’s intense gaze burned right into Qiao Qiao.

He trusted his intuition—Qiao Qiao felt something for him, too. It was just that societal rules and legal boundaries held her back, keeping her from daring to step closer to him.

Qiao Qiao met Ye Shiqing’s eyes and said, enunciating each word clearly, “You’re right. I don’t like you. Feelings are a mutual thing. I think you’ve idealized everything. Just because you’re interested in me, what makes you think I’d automatically like you back?”

Ye Shiqing hadn’t expected the usually gentle Qiao Qiao to say something so blunt. His expression darkened. “I didn’t hear you clearly just now. Say that again?!”