Bringing the Nation’s Husband Home

Chapter 575: The Things She Didn’t Know?6?

The assistant studied Qiao Anhao. When she finished reading, he chucked down another mouthful of beer. “Miss Qiao, finished reading? Of the forty eight lines, all of them were about you.”

Qiao Anhao’s hands clenched into fists. Staring straight at him, she asked in a low voice, “Where is he?”

A tear dropped down her face, splashing onto the phone screen.

Lu Jinnian’s assistant acted as though she hadn’t said anything. “He made me swear not to tell you anything.”

Another tear formed instantly, but she continued to stare intently at him. “Where’s Lu Jinnian? Where did he go?”

His assistant continued to ignore her. “Honestly, I’ve been with Mr. Lu for so many years and I have never disobeyed him before. I obediently followed his every command, but this time, I can’t take it any longer. Even if he is to blame me afterwards, I still want to tell you some things.”

Qiao Anhao suppressed her tears, shouting, “I’m asking you where is Lu Jinnian? Lu Jinnian! Where is he?”

Qiao Anhao shouted out those three sentences before stopping. Due to her loud voice, she garnered the attention of the passers-by, but since they were seated quite far from the others, no one could hear what she had been saying.

“I don’t know! I wanted to ask you where did he go!” the mild mannered assistant snarled, his eyes turning red. Grabbing onto the beer on the table, he chucked another large mouthful, stopping only when half the cup was gone. Slouching onto the chair, he shut his eyes for a while.When he reopened them, he was visibly calmer. He first apologized to Qiao Anhao, then said standing up, “I’ll bring you somewhere first.”

Qiao Anhao nodded. She stood up and followed behind him.

The assistant led her to the top floor of “Lijing Pavillion”, the room at the very end. He swiped the card to open the door before signaling for Qiao Anhao to enter.

She walked in with Lu Jinnian’s assistant trailing behind her. He pointed to the balcony, signaling for her to go over there.

It was currently night time, and since there weren’t any lights switched on, the balcony was in pitch darkness. Qiao Anhao scanned the surroundings, but all she could see was the stars and the lights from the forbidden palace.

After about five seconds, the balcony suddenly lit up – colorful neon lights flickered continuously from all directions. From them, she could vaguely see a European style dinning table and walked over to it. There was a heart-shaped design made from candles on it, and the inside was filled with Chinese Bellflowers that had already withered.

The candles had been burnt and were left with only half the stick.

The poles around the balcony were decorated with beautiful flowers that had also withered.

Where was this?

Qiao Anhao looked around curiously. Just when she was about to ask what this place was, she caught sight of the lights in front of her.

Chapter 576: The Things She Didn’t Know (7)

All of a sudden, all that was left from the ever-glowing multicolored lights were the warm yellows that read, “Qiao Qiao, can I chase you?”

Startled, Qiao Anhao noticed the other flashing multicolored lights on the wall had also stopped. With one glance, she noticed that the pink lights read, “Qiao Qiao, I’ve loved you for thirteen years”. The blue lights read, “Qiao Qiao, will you be my girlfriend?”, and the largest backdrop was covered in one really long line of white lights, “I am only happy when I’m with you. Qiao Qiao, will you accept my love? If you don’t, I’ll still love you.”

For a long time, Qiao Anhao’s eyes darted back and forth between all four lines of lights. Much later she said, “This…”

“This is what Mr. Lu had especially prepared for you that night of Chinese Valentine’s day.” The assistant didn’t wait for Qiao Anhao to finish asking. He then paused for a a bit and added, “He planned to confess to you that night, here.”

Qiao Anhao remembered how Lu Jinnian had reminded her for days that they had a dinner date together on Valentine’s day. At the time, they weren’t official, but they did things only people in a relationship would do. In her heart, she had been secretly upset about that. Who would have known, he’d actually prepared all this so long ago.

“He was preparing this for a very long time.” The assistant lifted his head and observed the terrace. He then pointed at the withered flowers and said, “He even planned for someone to send you fresh flowers, especially the Bellflowers. He said they were your favorite., and so asked someone to prepare one of each color.”

With those words, Qiao Anhao remembered when Lu Jinnian had come home one night and pointed at a set for a confession scene for a new movie. At the time, he had carefully looked at each item and rashly asked her if she liked them. Sometimes she would nod, and other times, she’d shake her head. She told him that though she didn’t like some things, if the movie was trying to be romantic, then they would be all right. It was that night that she had told him that she liked Chinese Bellflowers.

“That night of Valentine’s day, he sent you many messages to apologize, and said that he’d wait for you right here. And he waited the whole night. When it reached three in the morning, it started to rain heavily, and I told him to get indoors. No matter what, he refused to go inside. He said he told you that he’d wait for you right there.

“You didn’t come, so he didn’t go back. He just sat on that chair, like a statue.” The assistant lifted his hand and pointed at the chair on the right. “That night, he called you so many times and sent you so many messages. In all the years I’ve known Mr. Lu, I’ve never seen him beg anyone, besides you. Time and time again, you were his only exception.

“Sixteen hours. For someone so proud, to wait sixteen whole hours for you… In the end, you still didn’t come.” When the assistant said this, his tone clearly became accusatory. “To me, those sixteen hours were the most grueling. I don’t know how Lu Jinnian could withstand them.

“As long as it was about you, then perhaps even if he had to endure heart-wrenching pain, he’d be more than willing to do so and even treasure the moment.” The assistant let out a light sigh, and continued in a calm voice, “When he could no longer wait for you, he went to find you.

“He went to look for classmates you were close with, and told each and every one of them that they must contact him if they saw you.”

Chapter 577: The Things She Didn’t Know (8)

“Perhaps, he really didn’t want to lose you, so eventually, he went to find your sister, Miss Da Qiao.”

When Qiao Anhao heard this, her mouth opened. Qiao Anxia knew that she was unconscious in the hospital at the time, so if Lu Jinnian went to look for her, then he should have known about that. Why would he be mad at her then?

Before suspicion nestled in Qiao Anhao’s mind, the assistant spoke up again. “Miss Da Qiao didn’t tell Mr. Lu anything, so he waited outside the Qiao family doors for three days and nights.”

Qiao Anxia didn’t tell Ju Linnian where she was. If she had, would she be able to find him now?

A trace of bewilderment crossed Qiao Anhao’s eyes, which later became disbelief. In the end, it turned to pain.

“Miss Qiao, the moment you saw me, you asked where he was. Well, actually, I really don’t know where he is. I’ve looked for the whole day.” There was hint of disappointment and sadness in the assistant’s voice. “I thought that he would be somewhere, waiting for you. From what I understand about Mr. Lu, he’s loved you for so many years now, he’d never give up in the last minute… So right now, I’ve no clue why he would suddenly stop waiting…

“The other day, he called me in the morning to ask me to help him divert the negative news. At the time, he only thought about you… But then, this morning when I woke up, I received this email. I tried to call him but nobody picked up.”

Qiao Anhao furrowed her brows,catching the meaning behind the assistant’s words. “He diverted the scandal?”

“Yeah…” The assistant sighed lightly again. “Did you really think that someone leaked the scandal about Mr. Lu being an illegitimate child? Mr. Lu has worked the entertainment industry for many years and no one ever dared to leak any gossip about him. So how would anyone come out and leak his background?”

After hearing this, it was like Qiao Anhao had vaguely understood something, and her hand subconsciously gripped tightly onto her sleeve.

She didn’t want to listen anymore, but the assistant spoke with a neutral tone, thrusting the blood-drenched truth in front of her. “It was Mr. Lu who personally leaked the information. In the entertainment industry, when bad news gets out, you either call public relations to handle it or cover it up with another person’s scandal to divert the public’s attention.

“At the time, the public was pointing their fingers at you and saying that you’d taken drugs. There were already quite a few people who started gossiping about you, and the situation was only going to get worse. Worse comes to worst, it would affect your personal life, while as to work in the entertainment industry, you have to have a mental endurance here.

“But Mr. Lu just didn’t have the heart to let the power of the internet affect you this way. Nor did he want it to affect your career as an actress, and so he chose to divert the audience’s attention on himself to lessen the damage on your reputation.

“In truth, Mr. Lu knew full well that if he gave the news outlet information about himself, then it’d be the same as showing other people his flaws and weaknesses. He knew that other negative news about him would leak out after, but he still did it to protect you. He used himself to redirected the internet’s devastating power away from you.” As the assistant said this, he smiled, and then asked in a particularly flat tone, “He’s so stupid, isn’t he?”

Chapter 578: The Things She Didn’t Know (9)

Qiao Anhao’s entire body trembled at the assistant’s gentle question. She took two steps back and leaned back up against the marble table.

At that moment, she realized that there was only agony left in her heart.

It was a bone-piercing, heart-wrenching type of pain.

She never knew just how well that man treated her, yet this was not the first time she had felt this moved. This morning, when she broke the porcelain doll at her apartment to find the letter he wrote for her, she felt just as worked up.

She thought that he loved her, he really loved her…

But she only just realized… that she had understood only one thousandth fraction of the love he held for her.

The man she loved, had loved her so so very much…

Qiao Anhao’s tears fell uncontrollably.

The assistant paused for quite some time before he choosing to continue. “Yet, he’s just that foolish… At the time, I clearly tried to persuade him to consider emergency public relation counter measures, but do you know what he said to me? He said he couldn’t wait one second.

“Back then, he’d waited for you for so long, his voice was unusually exhausted, and he added that I shouldn’t worry. In any case, he had been ignored and spurned ever since he was young. He was long used to it, but you weren’t the same. You were the only beautiful thing in his life, and he couldn’t allow for anyone to tarnish that.”

Ultimately, Qiao Anhao couldn’t help but start to sob with laughter.

“He always used his own methods to protect you and never hesitated to hurt himself.” The assistant felt a tinge of heat beneath his eyes, and quietly took a breath, then continued to say, “He’s really foolish, right? But you have no idea, there were times where he was being even more foolish than this.”

The assistant closed his eyes, and said flatly, “Did you really think that Mr. Lu bought Xu Enterprise to get revenge against the Xu family’s injustices?”

The assistant stood in his spot for a long time without moving, before he finally blinked and opened his mouth to say, “The only reason why he did it was because of you.”

Qiao Anhao stopped crying for a moment and looked up in disbelief. With a face full of tears, she glanced at the assistant and asked, “Me?”

“Yes, that’s right. Because of you.” The assistant enunciated every word and spoke with conviction, as though he was conflicted about something deep down inside. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and put the truth out there. “Miss Qiao, the recording pen is in Mr. Lu’s possession, so I have no evidence. But it doesn’t matter if you don’t believe me, I still have to tell you, because I can’t see Mr. Lu make himself suffer like that. You don’t even know how much I regret listening to Mr. Lu, helping him keep his secret.”

The assistant seemed to really be annoyed, judging from how he started to rattle on in a single breath. “Miss Qiao, Mr. Lu told me that you know you had an abortion and that he personally signed for the operation, am I right?”

Qiao Anhao gave a light nod.

“Miss Qiao, did you know? Someone sabotaged your pregnancy and caused you to miscarry your child.”

Qiao Anhao’s eyes suddenly shot wide open and her expression instantly changed. “Lu Jinnian told me that my baby was lost due to overworking myself during filming, so the baby died in my stomach…”

The assistant didn’t wait for Qiao Anhao to finish speaking. He opened his mouth to hit the nail on the head, asking her, “If he had told you that your child was killed by Han Ruchu, would you have believed him?”

Chapter 579: The Things She Didn’t Know (10)

…your child was killed by Han Ruchu, would you have believed him?

Qiao Anhao was left dumbfounded by the information. She stared at the assistant with eyes full of shock and hysteria.

The assistant didn’t say a word. In that instant, the terrace became very silent, the night breeze alone making a sound, brushing faintly by the two people.

After about three minutes went by, the assistant finally revealed the truth, explaining everything without any pauses in his speech. “That night, when Mr. Lu called me, you were unconscious and had lost quite a lot of blood. Eventually, the doctor confirmed that you suffered a miscarriage.

“The situation was urgent at the time, and they needed Mr. Lu’s signature to proceed with the operation. After he signed, the doctor told Mr. Lu that the sleeping pills you had taken contained large amounts of sedatives, which caused the fetus to die.

“As for how did Mr. Lu connect the sleeping pills to the swallow’s nest that Han Ruchu gave you, I’m not so sure… but when you were discharged and resting at home, he called me to Mian Xiu Garden. There, he gave me a bottle of swallow’s nest and told me to go get it tested. The tests came out positive for large amounts of sedatives.”

With the assistant’s words, Qiao Anhao’s mind instantly thought back to the day she had vomited like crazy on her visit in the Xu family estate. She even told Han Ruchu that she must’ve caught a stomach bug. On her way back to the set, Han Ruchu gave her two boxes of swallow’s nest. Auntie was standing next to her at the time, and had added that her mother-in-law was really treating her well.

Sometimes, the person in the situation is blindsided. Han Ruchu watched her grow up and had always taken good care of her, as though she were really her half daughter, which was why she completely trusted her. Even if the situation was a little fishy, she never overly suspect anything because she really trusted Han Ruchu.

But now, she realized that the vomiting had stopped only after she ate the swallow’s nest. Back then, she hadn’t taken any medicine, and she thought that her body had recovered on it’s own. At the time, she was especially tired, but not just her, Zhao Meng too! Zhao Meng was always a night owl, but during that time, she’d sleep particularly early. It was so bad that she even dozed during the day on set.

The more Qiao Anhao thought about it, the faster her heart raced.

It was no wonder that she had used to rack her brain over how she had felt nothing while having an abortion. She even asked herself how on earth was Lu Jinnian able to have her undertake an operation without her waking up the whole time.

Now that she thought about it, if there were sleeping pills in the swallow’s nest, then she’d fall into deep asleep right after taking them… If too much of them was consumed, then the person in deep sleep would fall into an unconscious state…

Qiao Anhao’s brows shifted, then she suddenly started muttering to herself. “That’s right… right… then… everything would make sense… so that’s what happened… that’s it!”

So her baby didn’t die from natural causes! Someone murdered her baby!

And that person was the woman who had always treated her like family… the woman who showed her love and care – Aunt Xu!

Qiao Anhao suddenly pressed her hand against her chest. When she went to visit Han Ruchu to ask why Lu Jinnian would ever acquire Xu Enterprise, she did consider that he might have had his own reasons. Yet she had never imagined that a tremendous secret about herself would be the reason behind it all!

So in truth, the only reason why Lu Jinnian took over the Xu Enterprise and sabotaged Han Ruchu’s several billion investment, was actually for her and their baby?

Chapter 580: The Things She Didn’t Know (11)

Yet the day when Qiao Anhao had found out Lu Jinnian had acquired Xu Enterprise, she had even complained to him about it… It was no wonder he was so mad that day. At the time, she chased him for half a day hoping to explain herself, but he wouldn’t listen.

She was so distressed, thinking that it was just a harmless thing to say, so why did he have to be so merciless. It was not until now that she finally understood how she actually had made him feel incredibly wronged… Having loved him for so many years , she had actually hit him the hardest!

Panic instantly flashed across Qiao Anhao’s eyes, and tears silently fell down her face once more. She asked in a mumble, “Why didn’t he tell me? Why didn’t he tell me earlier?”

The final syllable of Qiao Anhao’s question dropped from between her teeth with a sobbing crack in her voice.

“At first, he didn’t want you to feel the pain of losing a child, but who would of thought that the baby’s killer not only didn’t cover up the situation, she tried to save the Qiao and Xu family ties after her son woke up by telling you an edited version.”

Qiao Anhao suddenly remembered that she had received an anonymous letter with Lu Jinnian’s signature on the abortion papers on her birthday. It was the same day Xu Jiamu woke up.

“Since he didn’t think that you and him had a shot together, he chose to keep it a secret.” In that instant, the assistant’s voice became a little gentler. “What’s more, even if he was targeting Han Ruchu, he was going to use his own ways to treat Xu Jiamu well. You don’t even know… He never actually wanted to keep Xu Enterprise from the very start, he always planned to slowly transfer it to Mr. Xu… He just wanted Han Ruchu to taste how it felt to be left with nothing…”

The assistant’s words were clearly not trying to blame Qiao Anhao, but she still lowered her head in regret. She bit hard into the corner of her lips, as she couldn’t say anything to explain herself. All she could do was try her best to hold it in, but every now and then, she would let out a quiet sob.

“Also, Miss Qiao, did you know? He was about to tell you everything that night on Valentine’s day. At the time, he even thought about how upset you’d be, so he considered ways to cheer you up…”

In the end, Qiao Anhao couldn’t take the assistant’s words anymore and slowly slumped to the ground, sobbing out loud.

The assistant stopped talking. The night breeze swept the terrace, but all that could be heard were the never-ending echoes of Qiao Anhao’s cries. She sounded like she was in anguish.

In the midst of her cries, you could hear the repeated faint sound of words “Sorry… sorry…”.

—

Four months later.

“Cut—” With the director’s words, Qiao Anhao and Chen Yang, who were originally staring at each other with different emotions, instantly brought themselves back to reality.

“Good work. Today’s shoot was great. Everybody can go eat, then go get some rest. Tomorrow afternoon will be the last scene, then that’ll be the end of the filming for ‘Heavenly Sword’,” the director said in the raised microphone raised, smiling wide. “The entire crew has tickets booked to return to Beijing tomorrow afternoon at five. Thankfully we managed to finish shooting before the lunar new year, so everyone can go home for their family reunion dinner.”

Chapter 581: The Things She Didn’t Know (12)

“Director! What about the celebration dinner!? Will you treat us back in Beijing?” cried a minor female actress.

“Yes! Yes! Yes, it’ll be on me” the director repeated himself a couple times. The hyped up people on the set laughed and cheered. Quite a few of them even cried, “Thank you director!”

As it was a historical movie, Qiao Anhao’s make up was a little complicated and the steps to remove it were troublesome. After she finished with taking it all off, there were only a few members of the crew left on set.

When she came out of the make up room, two people were collecting the rubbish from the floor. When they saw her, the two of them kindly greeted her, “Hello Miss Qiao!”

Qiao Anhao gave them a gentle smile, and replied with a “Hey”, then walked back to where she and Zhao Meng were staying.

The filming location was Jiangxi. As usual, they were staying in a constructed temporary house. Yesterday, her period had come, and so her body was already a little weak. Today, she filmed for the whole day, which left her completely exhausted.

As soon as she went back to the house, she immediately laid down on the metal frame bed. It was deep in the winter period, and so the weather was incredibly cold. The house didn’t have heating, which made it colder even than the outside. Qiao Anhao used two layers of duvet to force herself to warm up, but nothing seemed to be able to warm her feet. In the end, all she could do was withstand the icy cold.

The thought of when she was previously on her period involuntarily popped into her mind. It was the middle of the night, and she had ran out of Mian Xiu Garden to buy sanitary towels when she coincidentally bumped into Lu Jinnian. Because he was worried she might be in danger, he accompanied her by walking quite a distance to the shop. That night, he even left a hand warmer and ginger in front of her door.

The rims of Qiao Anhao’s eyes couldn’t help but heat up, and she instinctively hid her head in the covers.

Four months had passed in the blink of an eye. In these four months, she spent all her time looking for him, but the world was so big and the seas were so vast, if someone wanted to hide from another, it was easy.

Zhao Meng wanted to originally ask what Qiao Anhao wanted her to bring over to eat that evening, but she knew that if she asked, there wouldn’t be a reply for ages. She then walked over to the beside, as though she had a feeling about something, and ripped away the covers.

As she expected, she saw Qiao Anhao with slightly red eyes and couldn’t help but let out a gentle sigh. She reached her hand out and helped her wipe the tears away. “Thinking about Mr. Lu again?”

Qiao Anhao lowered her eyelids and didn’t say a thing, two crystal balls of tears hanging from her long eyelashes.

“Did you call Mr. Lu’s assistant today?”

Qiao Anhao shut her eyes and gave a gentle nod. “Yeah.”

“Mr. Lu still hasn’t contacted him?” As Zhao Meng asked this question, she saw the expression on Qiao Anhao’s face and knew the answer. After a long sigh, she said, “Say… it’s already been four months now. Where do you think Mr. Lu is?”

Qiao Anhao didn’t say a word.

The house was silent. After a while, Zhao Meng opened her mouth to ask, “Qiao Qiao, if you can’t find Mr. Lu in your whole life, what will you do? Don’t tell me you’ll continue on like this, looking for him?!”

“Uh huh,” replied Qiao Anhao in a very soft voice, but with hints of determination and persistence. “I’ll continue the search. If it takes one day, then I’ll look for a day, and if takes my whole lifetime, then so be it. No matter what, this time, I won’t give up.”

Zhao Meng looked at Qiao Anhao with only pain in her heart. She wanted to say something to comfort her, but every time, her words seemed overly saddening.

Chapter 582: The Things She Didn’t Know (13)

Eventually, Zhao Meng could only gently cover Qiao Anhao with the duvets. “I’ll go get you some dinner. Get some rest.”

Qiao Anhao responded with a quiet grunt.

With Zhao Meng out, the room was terrifyingly silent. Qiao Anhao could hear the faint sound of her own breathing. She laid there for a long time before slowly curling her body into itself. Then, with her head buried under the covers, she quietly called out, “Lu Jinnian.”

Her response was a silent room.

A single tear seeped out from Qiao Anhao’s eyes, but the corner of her lips was still gently curved up.

You, who I love the most… I’ll continue to work hard to find you.

Perhaps, I’ll never be able to see you in my life, but looking for you is the only thing that keeps us connected.

And so, I’ll never give up.

Perhaps, we really will meet one day, and we may already have white hair and no teeth.

But, that’s all right. I still want to find you.

You took regret and despair away with you, and left me with the courage and endurance to wait.

–

When Zhao Meng returned, Qiao Anhao had already fallen asleep. She didn’t wake her up and put her dinner in the thermal container.

The temporary rooms that had been built for the set were far from a hotel. They didn’t even have television. Zhao Meng always liked to sleep late and sit in bed browsing websites on her own, but eventually, she’d get bored, then turn off the lights and fall asleep.

In the middle of the night, whilst Qiao Anhao was asleep, she suddenly felt someone move her duvet. She assumed it was Zhao Meng, so she kept her eyes shut and murmured, “Stop messing around”.

Then she reached her arm out and slapped the hand that moved her duvet. The hand felt extremely thick and the knuckles were big. It was completely different from Zhao Meng’s delicate and soft small hands. In that instant, Qiao Anhao’s eyes suddenly shot wide open and she was completely awake.

The room was pitch-black, but with the faint moonlight from the windows, she could see a figure next to her bed. Because it was dim, she couldn’t clearly make out the person’s face, but she could definitely tell it was a man.

Qiao Anhao’s body quivered, and she quickly sat up in her bed. “Who are you?”

That man didn’t think that she would suddenly wake up. His hand, which was searching by her pillow for something, suddenly paused. He then reached his arm out in a panic, covering her mouth with a palm, and pushed her whole body back under the covers.

Qiao Anhao only just about made in time to let out a short shriek, before it turned into a weak whining sound.

The man had covered her mouth with an enormous amount of strength. He pressed so hard on her nose that she couldn’t breathe. With a will to cry for help, she reached her hand out to grab his arm, and with all her might, she pinched him hard.

When Qiao Anhao pinched with great force, the man groaned in pain and slightly loosened his hand on her mouth for a moment. She immediately tried to call Zhao Meng, who was dead asleep next to them, but in the end, she could only cry a single word, “Zhao” before the man ruthlessly pressed his hand against her face. He then pulled the pillow from under her head in a swoop and savagely pressed it hard on top of her face.

The pillow was exceptionally soft, and so under the man’s forceful press, Qiao Anhao was completely smothered until she couldn’t breathe. Her hands stretched out in a struggle, when suddenly, she heard a muffled sound. Then, the pressure from her face disappeared.

Chapter 583: The Things She Didn’t Know (14)

The man who had tried to take Qiao Anhao’s life suddenly dropped to the bed and onto her leg, causing her to wince in pain. She let out a muffled grunt in pain, and suddenly snapped back to reality. As she pulled the pillow off from her face, she saw a dark figure rush to the door, pull it open, and run out in a flash.

Zhao Meng, who was asleep on the other side of the room, was woken up. She abruptly sat up and groggily cried out, “Qiao Qiao”. Then, she conveniently swiped the phone by her ear and shined it over at Qiao Anhao’s bed. There, she saw a man with blood lightly dripping from the back of his head, dyeing the duvet a flashy red.

Zhao Meng’s eyes shot wide open, as she was left shocked from the scene before her. She hesitated for about three seconds before she screamed at the top of her lungs, “Ah—”

Qiao Anhao wasn’t actually frightened by the thief coming into her room in the middle of the night, trying to steal her things, and almost killing her, but she was so terrified by Zhao Meng’s piercing scream that her whole body shivered. She then stared at the door and back at Zhao Meng, crying out, “Why are you screaming!”

Zhao Meng didn’t hear what Qiao Anhao said in the slightest, as she jumped out of bed and forcefully stamped her feet. With all her might, she continued to yell, “Help! Heeeelp!”

The filming location was situated in a deserted area of natural landscapes. During the day, it was very peaceful and so they lived in temporary rooms which weren’t soundproof. In the dead of the night, Zhao Meng’s scream instantly woke up the entire crew. The crashing sounds of doors opening and closing were heard, then someone pushed open Qiao Anhao and Zhao Meng’s room. The entire crew rushed in.

“What happened?”

“What in the hell happened?”

With everyone’s questions, the lights in the room turned on.

Everyone was looking at the scene at Qiao Anhao’s bed.

Chen Yang was the first to rush over. He looked at Qiao Anhao a little worried. “What happened? Are you all right?”

Also quite worried, the director asked, “Xiao Qiao, what in the hell happened?”

“I’m all right.” Qiao Anhao, who still had a lingering fear, let out a sigh of relief. She first pulled a hint of a smile to her face, then pointed at the man who had fainted, and reassured everyone with her words.

“While I was sleeping, he reached around my pillow for something and woke me up. Then, something came over him and he grabbed my pillow and tried to smother me with it. In the end, someone came in and struck him down…”

Qiao Anhao paused for a moment, then added, “He couldn’t have been struck to death, could he?”

Chen Yang, who was most composed, reached his arm out and checked the stranger’s breathing and examined his head. “It’s nothing major… the wound is shallow and his breathing is normal. I suspect that he fainted momentarily from the force.”

Zhao Meng, who had already calmed down, then asked a little afraid, “Who is he? Why did he secretly come into someone’s room in the middle of the night?”

“He doesn’t look like someone from the crew,” replied someone.

“From what he’s wearing, he should be one of the nearby villagers.”

“It’s almost new years. So many people want a little extra money around this time. He’s most probably here to steal something.”

“All right, let’s not stay here making up theories and quickly call call the police” said the director, interrupting the speculations.

Chapter 584: The Things She Didn’t Know (15)

Since the location was remote, the police arrived only an hour after they were called.

The person who had sneaked into the room had already woken up, and when the police took him away, they casually picked the wooden stick used to hit the crook over the head. Of course, they also took Qiao Anhao with them for her testimony, accompanied by Chen Yang and Zhao Meng.

As everyone had assumed, the person was indeed from a nearby village. Because of his gambling debts, he owed quite a bit of money. With the New Year’s drawing closer, he was being chased by loan sharks. Unable to go back home, he often wandered the scenic area. He inadvertently stumbled onto the crew whilst they were filming, and a thieving urge came over him.

As to the identity of the figure who had knocked out the thief, Qiao Anhao wasn’t sure. All she could do was describe what she saw.

However, even if they didn’t know who had hit the thief, the man was in the wrong first, and so in the eyes of the law, it was self-defense. Furthermore, if it weren’t for that person’s sudden appearance, someone might’ve lost their life. And so, after her testimony was taken, the police escorted them back to the set and searched the surrounding filming area for the hero Qiao Anhao had described.

Perhaps that person had already left, since the police searched for a while but couldn’t find anyone. In the end, they gave up and left.

The huge commotion that had started in the middle of the night was over at four in the morning. Chen Yang and Zhao Meng were unbelievably sleepy, and so everyone went back to their rooms to get some sleep.

There was a large stretch of blood over Qiao Anhao’s bed, which made her slightly want to gag, and so she squeezed onto Zhao Meng’s bed with her. From the sound of her breathing, she could tell Zhao Meng was already fast asleep, but she wasn’t the slightest bit sleepy. With furrowed brows, her eyes stared straight at the door of the room.

Just who had appeared in the nick of time and knocked the crook out cold?

At the time, she had just escaped death, and she hadn’t quite recovered from the shock, and so her concentration wasn’t very good. She only saw a tall, slender figure. Then, in the blink of an eye, it had disappeared out the door.

She didn’t know if it was because she missed Lu Jinnian, the image of the fleeting figure seemed similar to the memory of the shape of his body.

–

Qiao Anhao continued to let her imagination run wild until six o’clock, before she closed her eyes. After she had only slept for two hours, Zhao Meng woke her up.

From then, she was busy with getting her make up done, rehearsals, and filming.

As this was the final scene of “Heavenly Sword”, everyone was extremely on edge. Throughout the filming, Qiao Anhao’s performance was good, but perhaps it was because of the incident last night, all she could think about was the dark figure which had bolted off. It seemed like she was a little distracted, for she made an outtake.

Thankfully, everyone knew about what happened last night, so they didn’t give her the cold-shoulder for wasting their time. In fact, they went up front and gave her a few words of encouragement.

After filming finished, everyone went back to their rooms to pack their things and get ready to head back to Beijing.

Qiao Anhao wanted to chuck the blood-stained duvet out. When Zhao Meng rolled it up, something fell out and onto the floor with a “Pa!”.

Zhao Meng instinctively turned her head and glanced over to see a pack of cigarettes. She lifted her foot and mentioned it to Qiao Anhao, who was at the side, folding the clothes. “The crook must have left this last night, right?”

At Zhao Meng’s words, Qiao Anhao glanced over. Suddenly, her eyes stopped there for awhile. She put the clothes in her hands down, walked over, and bent down to pick up the pack of cigarettes.

Chapter 585: The Things She Didn’t Know (16)

Nanjin95 Supreme.

Qiao Anhao didn’t smoke, nor did she like others smoking, and so she had never paid attention to cigarette brands.

When she and Lu Jinnian were together, he rarely smoked in front of her, but when she tried to find him a few times, she did catch him in the act. Actually, back then, Lu Jinnian was always quick to put out his cigarettes. He would open a window to air it out, or take her somewhere else to talk, but she managed to take note of the brand on his pack of cigarettes: Nanjin95 Supreme.

It was too much of a coincidence…

In the early hours, Qiao Anhao tossed and turned in bed. Whilst she was unable to fall asleep, the hunch she had had came rushing back to her mind. With this and her intuition, she suddenly was very certain that last night… at the most crucial moment, the person who had appeared and knocked out the crook was Lu Jinnian!

She stared at the pack of cigarettes, and her chest instantly began to heave. She subconsciously let the name slip out in a mumbled cry, “Lu Jinnian…”

Zhao Meng, who had shoved the duvet into the bin, couldn’t help but furrow her brows when she heard Qiao Anhao call his name.

For the past few months on set, she had often suddenly called his name in a daze like that.

A bitterness crept into Zhao Meng’s heart as she turned her head, wanting to comfort her friend. But then, Qiao Anhao turned her head to also look directly at her with a beaming look of surprise on her face. As she held up the pack of cigarettes Zhao Meng had accidentally dropped on the floor, she said, “Zhao Meng, Lu Jinnian, Lu Jinnian!”

When Zhao Meng heard this, she felt heartbroken. Qiao Qiao must be possessed… How could Mr. Lu transform into a pack of cigarettes?

“Zhao Meng, it was him last night! It was Lu Jinnian last night!” As Qiao Anhao spoke, tears started to fall, but at the same time, she wore a dazzlingly bright smile on her face. She looked as though she had encountered something amazing.

With tear pearls falling down her face, she rushed over and enthusiastically hugged Zhao Meng. She cried and laughed as she said incoherently, “Zhao Meng, Lu Jinnian was by my side. The person who came to save me last night was Lu Jinnian! He was by my side!”

When Qiao Anhao had finished speaking, she removed her hands that hugged Zhao Meng’s neck, and grabbed her arm with a child-like excitement. She endlessly rocked it around and said, “Zhao Meng, I’m telling you! Lu Jinnian always smoked this brand of cigarettes! It must be him, there’s no way I’m wrong!”

With that, Qiao Anhao tightly hugged Zhao Meng a gain. Her tears fell down like a strings of pearls cut off, pearl by pearl. “Sure enough, he still cares about me! I knew it! He loves me so much, how could he bear to leave me on my own?

“Zhao Meng, I’m so happy! I’ve waited for him for so long. I finally met him…

“But he doesn’t want to see me. He was clearly hiding from me last night! Or else why would he run out in a panic after saving me!

“Zhao Meng, help me think! How can I trick him into coming out!”

As though Qiao Anhao had suddenly thought of a serious matter, she pulled her arms away from Zhao Meng and stared at the pack of cigarettes. She tilted her head, an insuppressible smile in the corner of her lips. Then, she eagerly chattered on, “What do you think about me pretending to be sick? But if it’s not serious, what do I do if he doesn’t come out? That’s no good…”

Qiao Anhao shook her head, then suddenly an idea flashed in her mind. She turned her head, and with glistening eyes, she stared at Zhao Meng. “How about we plan a car accident?”

Chapter 586: The Things She Didn’t Know (17)

“Zhao Meng, I’ve decided! Crash your car into mine, but you have to act convincingly. Lu Jinnian will definitely run out to save me, and then, I can grab him and never let go…”

With a single pack of cigarettes, how could she be sure that Mr. Lu had been the one there?

Zhao Meng looked at how enthusiastic Qiao Anhao was, and didn’t say a word in the end, because she couldn’t bare to trigger her. Even though these days she didn’t look any different from before, filming and having meals as she was supposed to, Zhao Meng knew something was off. After being friends with her for so many years, she could tell that Qiao Anhao was unhappy every single day. So much so that she would wake up in the middle of the night and hear her secretly crying in bed on her own.

–

No matter what Zhao Meng thought, Qiao Anhao was certain that Lu Jinnian had been there last night. She was certain that this pack of cigarettes belonged to him.

She had finally found a clue after four whole months of looking for him. She felt like the weight of a mountain had disappeared from her chest and her breathing became a lot smoother.

After she packed her suitcase, she carefully placed the treasured pack of cigarettes into her bag.

On her flight back to Beijing, Qiao Anhao didn’t know just how many times she pulled out the pack of cigarettes and stared at it.

–

The day after Qiao Anhao returned to Beijing, she received a call from Qiao Anxia.

Qiao Anhao consistently told herself not to blame her sister for not telling Lu Jinnian about her being in the hospital when he was looking for her. She knew that, if Qiao Anxia realized that Lu Jinnian liked her, then she definitely would feel uncomfortable about it.

But understanding was one thing. She still wandered if her sister had told Lu Jinnian that she was in the hospital in the first place, would the end result have been the same or would it have been different now?

She really didn’t resent Qiao Anxia, but she still felt devastated from the bottom of her heart. And so, every time her sister called her, she would always hesitate for a long time. When she finally composed herself, she picked up the call.

“Qiao Qiao, what took you so long to pick up the phone?” The sound of Qiao Anxia’s voice was crystal clear as always.

Qiao Anhao quickly came up with an excuse. “I was just in the shower.”

“It’s twelve in the afternoon. Did you just get up? You haven’t had lunch yet, have you?”

Qiao Anhao replied with a single “Uh huh”, then said ,”Sis, did you call me for something?”

“Can’t I call you if it’s nothing serious?” asked Qiao Anxia in return. She then continued with a cheerful smile, “Qiao Qiao, I’m calling to remind you that tomorrow night is Aunt Xu’s birthday. Don’t forget to come over.”

When Qiao Anhao heard this, her eyes instantly became cold, for she remembered that it was Han Ruchu who had killed her baby.

Qiao Anxia waited on the phone for a while, but didn’t hear anything from the other side. “Qiao Qiao?”

Qiao Anhao snapped back to her senses. “Got it.”

Perhaps it was the overly cold tone in Qiao Anhao’s voice, but Qiao Anxia felt an indescribable sense of unease creep into her heart. In that instant, she remembered the image of Lu Jinnian waiting three whole days and nights at the doors of the Qiao family estate for Qiao Anhao.

When she first woke up, Lu Jinnian had already went missing. Qiao Anxia knew perfectly well that Qiao Anhao didn’t know that Lu Jinnian had asked her for her whereabouts. Yet whenever she faced Qiao Anhao, she could hear a flatness in her tone of voice, which made her feel randomly guilty.

Chapter 587: The Things She Didn’t Know?18?

Qiao Anxia tightened the grip on her phone. After hesitating slightly, she asked, “Qiao Qiao, are you in a bad mood?”

Qiao Anhao seemed slightly puzzled. “No.”

“Oh.” After ensuring that there wasn’t anything weird in her tone, she dismissed her suspicions. She said with a smile, “That’s good, I have a meeting soon, talk to you in a bit.”

“Right, Sis, goodbye.”

“Goodbye.” When Qiao Anxia said that, her fingers trembled slightly, and she said , “Qiao Qiao.”

“Yea?”

Qiao Anxia wanted to be honest, but somehow, she couldn’t seem to do it. After a long moment of hesitation, she swallowed her words. In a chirpy voice, she reminded as though nothing had happened, “Qiao Qiao, tomorrow 8 pm. Don’t forget!”

–

After Lu Jinnian had left, Qiao Anhao used the payment she got from “Alluring Times” to buy an apartment in the city center. Even though it wasn’t big, it was sufficient.

In the past four months, she had visited her aunt and uncle at the Qiao family several times but had never step foot into the Xu family house.

Even though Lu Jinnian had control over the Xu Enterprise, the Xu family and Qiao family would still gather together for meals, even though Han Ruchu no longer had control over the enterprise. Every time they gathered, they would invite Qiao Anhao, but she never once turned up, dismissing them with an abundance of random reasons.

But on Han Ruchu’s birthday, she went.

The Xu family now was no longer as powerful as before, so Han Ruchu’s birthday party was no longer as grand.

It was just a simple dinner with both the Qiao and Xu families.

Qiao Anhao arrived the last. When she reached the house, all the dishes were already served.

When the Xu family housekeeper saw her, she immediately shouted into the house, “Mrs. Xu, Miss Xiao Qiao is here.”

Han Ruchu quickly walked over to the entrance. When she saw Qiao Anhao, she had on the same warm smile as before. “Qiao Qiao, you’re finally here! Everyone has been waiting.”

Qiao Anhao stared at her for about two seconds before passing her gift over, smiling sweetly. ” Auntie Xu, happy birthday.”

“You’re too kind, even getting me a gift.” Han Ruchu looked pleasantly surprised at the gift. After giving it another look, she passed it to the housekeeper. Turning to Qiao Anhao, she led her into the house.

Everyone had gathered and the meal was set.

The housekeeper had even opened two bottles of red wine, pouring everyone a glass.

They chatted as they had their meal, the mood and atmosphere warm and cosy. Qiao Anhao didn’t say or eat much.

Once the dinner was over, the housekeeper reentered the dinning room with a cake.

After lighting the candles, Qiao Anxia began singing a birthday song. Han Ruchu blew the candles and accepted everyone’s greetings before cutting the cake. Just then, Qiao Anhao who had been silent all this while spoke up.

“Auntie Xu, do you still have the swallow nests you gave me previously? I have a sudden craving.”

Han Ruchu and the housekeeper froze momentarily.

Qiao Anhao kept an innocent smile on her face as she added, “Auntie Xu, where did you get that swallow’s nest? They’re known to be good for health, but the one’s I bought afterwards didn’t seem to have the same calming effect as the ones you gave me.”

Chapter 588: The Things She Didn’t Know?19?

Qiao Anhao deliberately emphasized on the word “calming”, while her gaze remained focused on Han Ruchu’s face. She could distinctly spot the shock that flitted through her eyes and a hint of anxiousness.

Madam Qiao was aware that Han Ruchu had sent Qiao Anhao the swallow’s nest. When she heard Qiao Anhao asking for food, she said indulgently, “Ruchu, you have spoiled her! She’s starting to treat the Xu family as her own home, even demanding for food now!”

“My mother loves her for that.” Xu Jiamu smiled before turning to face his mother. “Right, mum?”

Han Ruchu’s late response attracted everyone’s attention. The housekeeper behind her regained her senses instantly, silently nudging Han Ruchu’s elbow. In a low voice, she whispered, “Mrs. Xu, don’t just eat the cake, little master asked you something. She’ll think that you are treating her as an outsider.”

Han Ruchu snapped out of her daze, hurriedly lowering her lashes to conceal her anxiety. Her red lips curled into a smile. “What rubbish, I’ve always wanted Qiao Qiao as my daughter.”

Calmly, she turned to her housekeeper. “Auntie Yun, I remember we still have some swallow’s nest at home, heat it up and bring some over.”

“Yes, Madam Xu.” With a turn, the housekeeper headed into the kitchen.

Qiao Anhao took in the entire exchange, a quiet smile etched on her face. Internally, she smirked.

The swallow’s nest was heated in an instant, and it was the same as the one given to Qiao Anhao previously.

When the housekeeper placed the swallow’s nest in front of Qiao Anhao, the latter’s gaze turned bright and sharp as though agitated. Her grip loosened slightly, and the chopsticks in her hand fell to the floor with a small thud.

“Qiao Qiao what’s wrong? Too touched by the swallow’s nest?” Qiao Anxia smiled cheekily as she teased.

Xu Jiamu bent to pick up the chopsticks, passing them to the housekeeper before getting a new pair for Qiao Anhao.

Qiao Anhao lifted her head, her eyes clear of the fleeting emotion. Pouting, as though unhappy from Qiao Anxia’s tease, she reached over to grab Xu Jiamu’s chopsticks. She replied to him in a tender and sweet voice, “Thank you, brother Jiamu.”

But the instant she lowered her head, her eyes frosted over, and she tightened her grip on the chopsticks.

The men at the table didn’t seem interested in the swallow’s nest, so they didn’t touch it. Mrs. Qiao took two bites before turning to praise Han Ruchu. ” This is really nice, I can see why Qiao Qiao misses it.”

Han Ruchu smiled. “Auntie Yun brewed this personally, the bird nests were also specially picked, they’re natural and healthy.”

Qiao Anxia said, “Picking bird nests is indeed a skill! Many people have been selling inferior goods which not only do not aid the body but may also cause cancer!”

Ever since the swallow’s nest was served, Qiao Anhao had been silent, but at this moment, she added causally, “It may even kill.”

Chapter 589: The Things She Didn’t Know(20)

Once she finished speaking, Qiao Anhao raised her eyes and glared at Han Ruchu.

Han Ruchu’s expression was clearly tense, as though she understood the meaning behind those words. The grip on her spoon tightened.

Qiao Anhao ignored Han Ruchu’s strange behavior and pretended to look confused. She continued to act cute by saying, “That’s odd. Whenever I ate Aunt Xu’s swallow’s nest, I’d immediately became sleepy. This time, how come I’m still so awake after eating it?”

Qiao Anxia, who was completely oblivious to what was behind the swallow’s nest situation, couldn’t help but reach her hand out and smack Qiao Anhao on the head. “Qiao Qiao, what the hell are you saying? Swallow’s nest is just to relieve your body and mind. It’s not like they’re sleeping pills!”

Qiao Anhao pouted, all upset, then raised her hand and rubbed her own head. “Sis, I’ve told you so many times now. Stop always hitting my head…”

With that, Qiao Anhao turned her head again, then looked over at Xu Jiamu all pitiful and complained, “Brother Jiamu, Anxia hit me again…”

“Come, I’ll rub it.” Xu Jiamu reached his hand out with a conniving expression on his face, then stroked the area where Qiao Anxia had just smacked Qiao Anhao.

Qiao Anhao turned her head and proudly smiled at her sister. She looked as though she was innocent and said, “I really didn’t lie just now. The swallow’s nest Aunt Xu gave me worked better than sleeping pills!”

As Qiao Anhao said this, the crisp sound of chinaware crashing to the ground was heard in the house.

Qiao Anhao, Xu Jiamu, and Qiao Anxia, who were all messing about just now, turned their attention towards the source of the noise.

The bowl in Han Ruchu’s hands had fallen to the ground by accident, spilling the swallow’s nest onto her skirt.

“Madame, how could you be so clumsy?” said the housekeeper who hastily started to pull out tissues to help Han Ruchu wipe it off.

Han Ruchu’s complexion didn’t look too well. It was as thought she was a tad annoyed. She pushed the housekeeper’s arm away, stood up, and said in a composed voice, “I’ll go upstairs to get changed first. Wait here for a moment.”

–

When Han Ruchu changed her clothes and made her way back downstairs, Xu Wanli and father Qiao had already left for the study room to play chess. The others in the meantime were sitting in a circle on the sofa of the living room.

There was a steaming pot of tea on the marble coffee table that let out spirals of hot steam.

Qiao Anxia was on the phone with Chen Yang. Every now and then, she’d let out a laugh and occasionally complain to him in a tender way, “You’re so annoying!”

Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu were watching an old movie on the television. Han Ruchu only sneaked a glance, but she saw that it was a woman in red. Her face was dainty and her personality stood out among the crowd. Han Ruchu rarely paid attention to things in the entertainment industry, but she knew that in these past few years, the popular queen of movies was an actress called Song Xiangsi.

Han Ruchu sat down next to mother Qiao, who didn’t look at all interested in the movie, so they both started to gossip about what they had heard over Mahjong recently.

When Han Ruchu came downstairs, Qiao Anhao noticed her but pretended to be immersed in watching the television. She waited for Han Ruchu and mother Qiao’s gossip to be over before she suddenly said, “Lu Jinnian’s acting skills are truly impeccable.”

Everyone present knew that Lu Jinnian was Xu family’s illegitimate son, who later acquired the Xu Enterprise. Qiao Anhao’s one sentence turned the atmosphere in the entire room instantly awkward.

Chapter 590: Long Time No See, My Love (1)

Mother Qiao looked over at Han Ruchu’s expression and smiled in embarrassment. She cleared her throat as a reminder for Qiao Anhao to avoid the taboo topic.

Qiao Anhao knew in her heart exactly what her aunt was suggesting, but she pretended to be ignorant. She turned her head and said in a natural tone, “I’ve filmed with Lu Jinnian. Because of his superb acting skills, he gave a me a lot of pressure. His mother was a celebrity, so I guess his skills were probably passed on from her…”

“Qiao Qiao!”

She couldn’t mention Lu Jinnian, let alone his mother. Mother Qiao saw Han Ruchu’s face gradually grow cold, and couldn’t help but open her mouth to stop Qiao Anhao.

Qiao Anhao stared at mother Qiao innocently and waited for a while before looking as though she had suddenly realized something. “I forgot, Lu Jinnian’s mother and Uncle Xu used to have…”

As she said that, Qiao Anhao suddenly stopped there and raised her hand to cover her mouth. Pretending to have spoken out of turn, she said, “Sorry, Aunt Xu, I didn’t mean to.”

At that moment, the expression on Han Ruchu’s face looked like it had already reached its limit.

Mother Qiao hurriedly turned her head and tried to calm Han Ruchu in a pleasant voice. “Ruchu, ever since Qiao Qiao was young, she always spoke before thinking. Don’t take it to heart.”

The biggest thorn in Han Ruchu’s heart was Lu Jinnian and his mother. At that very moment, on her birthday, for Qiao Anhao to actually bring up the fact that her husband betrayed her, it practically killed her mood in an instant. She was unbelievably annoyed inside, but with the Qiao family background behind Qiao Anhao, she couldn’t get mad.

All she could do was force herself to smile, pretend to be generous, and act as though she didn’t mind at all. “Why would I? I know Qiao Qiao didn’t mean it. How could I be angry at her…”

When mother Qiao heard what Han Ruchu said, she immediately turned her head and told Qiao Anhao, “Qiao Qiao, quickly apologize to Aunt X…”

Qiao Anhao knew what mother Qiao wanted to say, but she didn’t wait for her aunt to finish. She got up and beat her to it by saying, “I have to use the bathroom.”

Then, she didn’t wait for anyone to react before making her way to the bathroom.

Mother Qiao, who only spoke half her sentence, could only smile at Han Ruchu and say, “I’m so sorry. I’ll have to discipline her when we get back!”

“It’s nothing.”

As she heard Han Ruchu’s words, Qiao Anhao shut the bathroom doors. She leaned back against the wooden door and stood there for a while, then walked over to the sink. She stared at herself in the mirror with bone-piercing, cold eyes.

If it weren’t for Han Ruchu’s birthday, she definitely wouldn’t have taken a single step through the Xu family doors.

The only reason she came today was to make Han Ruchu suffer.

Didn’t she say “Happy birthday”?

Qiao Anhao gripped hard onto the cold sink and forcefully pursed the corner of her lips.

With knowledge of who killed her baby looming over her, how could she pretend that nothing had happened? Seeing her, did it really make her birthday happy?

–

When Qiao Anhao came out of the bathroom, the atmosphere in the living room had gone back to normal. There was a different channel on the TV and Qiao Anxia had hung up on her call.

Mother Qiao had probably felt apologetic for Qiao Anhao’s indiscretion earlier, so she said some things that Han Ruchu liked to hear. Qiao Anxia was hugging a pillow and every now and then, she would add in a few words.

As for Xu Jiamu, he was still watching TV in a daze, as though they were still watching the same movie as before. He looked like he was in a trance, perhaps thinking of someone or something.

Chapter 591: Long Time No See, My Love (2)

Qiao Anhao walked over to the sofa and sat back in her original spot. After hearing them chat away, she pretended as though she had remembered something and turned her head towards Qiao Anxia and said, “Sis, a few days ago whilst filming, one of the female staff on the set told me something really sad.”

“What was it?” Qiao Anxia, who was sending Chen Yang a text at the time, put her phone down and shifted to face Qiao Anhao with a serious look.

Qiao Anhao purposefully spoke a little louder. “Well, she got married and her husband’s mother, her mother-in-law really wanted a son. However, their birth plan was rather strict and their family could only have one child, and they’d be fined for having a second one. On top of all that, their finances weren’t that great. In the end, her first pregnancy turned out to be a baby girl. ”

Qiao Anhao’s story clearly spoke about family and marriage issues, so mother Qiao and Han Ruchu took an interest in it, as parents to children of age.

So, just as Qiao Anhao paused for a moment, mother Qiao anxiously asked, “Qiao Qiao, what happened then?”

“Her husband really loved her, and although he also wanted a son, he didn’t have the heart to abort the baby. Because of that, the two of them decided to have the baby.

“Although the woman’s mother-in-law wasn’t happy about it, she still agreed, but she told them that they must try for a second child, and the second child would have to be a son.

“The two of them felt under immense pressure in Beijing, so they refused the mother-in-law’s suggestion. She cried, argued, and threw a tantrum for quite some time, but eventually, she came to terms with it because of her son’s strong will.

“Because of this whole issue, the mother-in-law didn’t contact them for over half a month. Later, for some reason, the mother-in-law went over to Beijing, claiming to come to take care of the woman.

“As it was her husband’s mother, and she was trying to be nice to her, she couldn’t exactly stand up to her. So she treated her like her own mother.”

“Her and her husband both had to work, and so when they were both very tired, they’d come home to the mother-in-law’s cooking, the chores done by her. For a while, life was great for them.

“After over half a month since the mother-in-law came over, the woman went to the hospital for a check up. The doctor told her that since her last visit, when they detected the baby’s heartbeat, the baby had passed away in the womb!”

Qiao Anhao deliberately emphasized the last few words – “the baby had passed away in the womb!”. So much so that she gritted her teeth, which caused Han Ruchu and housekeeper’s faces to freeze, as they listened carefully at the story.

Mother Qiao shrieked, “Yah!”. With a sympathetic look, she asked, “How did she have a miscarriage out of nowhere?”

“Right? How did she have a miscarriage out of nowhere? That’s what she asked herself. She thought that it was because she’d overworked herself, and she was so heartbroken over that. However, after her operation was over, the doctor told her that they’d did tests on her blood and found traces of sleeping pills.”

“Sleeping pills?!” cried Mother Qiao in shock. “She can’t take sleeping pills when she’s pregnant. What kind of mother was she?!”

“Because she was pregnant, she couldn’t take sleeping pills, but her mother-in-law put them in her food every day!” said Qiao Anhao slowly, in a gentle tone.

Chapter 592: Long Time No See, My Love (3)

“Ah? Her mother-in-law gave her sleeping pills?” mother Qiao shook her head in disbelief. “This mother-in-law is just too vile! To actually be so cruel to kill a perfectly fine life! To kill so relentlessly. Sooner or later she’ll receive her karma!”

Qiao Anxia, who was never interested in such topics, after she heard Qiao Anhao’s story, she felt an indescribable sense of anger. “That mother-in-law is practically a freak! That scumbag!”

Qiao Anhao didn’t say anything else, but stared directly at Han Ruchu. When their eyes met, her lips curved into a smile.

Although mother Qiao and Qiao Anxia were cursing the mother-in-law in the story, in that very moment, Han Ruchu felt like they were cursing her. Perhaps it was because of Qiao Anhao’s smile…

As someone who was always so arrogant, she had never felt this sullen before. She tried her best to stay still on the sofa, but her enraged chest started to clearly heave in anger.

Though Qiao Anhao clearly knew why Han Ruchu was angry, she had no intention of stopping there. She continued to speak in a gentle voice to fan the flames instead. “Aunt Xu, why are you so mad? Don’t you think the mother-in-law is a piece of shit too?”

How could Han Ruchu not hear that Qiao Anhao’s words “piece of shit” were really meant for her? Suddenly, Han Ruchu tightened her grip on the cushion in her hand while staring at Qiao Anhao. The fury in her chest practically made her want to spit out fire, but because mother Qiao was next to her, she forced herself to hold it down. With a ridiculously frigid smile, she said in tense voice, “Yeah.”

“I think so too!” Qiao Anhao smiled sweetly at Han Ruchu for a moment, as though to seriously comfort her. However, in actual fact, her words angered Han Ruchu half to death. “But Aunt Xu, you don’t have to get so mad. Those wretched people who bring it upon themselves, don’t survive. Sooner or later, everyone will turn on them and their family would leave them, and they will die a horrible death!”

Qiao Anhao’s curse was so harsh, yet she spoke so naturally and smoothly, she managed to gain Qiao Anxia and mother Qiao’s support.

Han Ruchu slightly shut her eyes, and worked hard to keep her smile. In order to remain calm, she spoke particularly slowly next. “I don’t feel so well. You all sit for a while, I’ll go upstairs for a moment.”

As she spoke, Han Ruchu stood up.

Mother Qiao, who was completely clueless about the underlying conflicts between Han Ruchu and Qiao Anhao, asked worriedly, “Ruchu, are you alright?”

“It’s nothing. Ever since I fainted from anger, my body hasn’t been quite the same. I’ll get some rest and be fine.” Han Ruchu forced out a smile for mother Qiao.

“Madame, I’ll come with you,” said the housekeeper, as she supported Han Ruchu towards the stairs.

Since Han Ruchu headed upstairs to rest, there was no reason for mother Qiao to be there, and so she got ready to go home. Qiao Anxia remembered that she was busy in the evening and so she was ready to leave with her mother.

But before they left, mother Qiao and Qiao Anxia asked Qiao Anhao if she wanted to go back with them to the family estate. Qiao Anhao glanced over at Xu Jiamu, who sat in a daze in front of the television, then shook her head. She gave a warm smile and said, “I’ll stay for a while.”

The instant the four of them left, the huge living room became cold and lifeless.

Qiao Anhao sat beside Xu Jiamu for a while, then glanced up the stairs. She got up, walked over to the water dispenser, and got herself a cup of water.

Chapter 593: Long Time No See, My Love (4)

Qiao Anhao sat beside Xu Jiamu for a while, then glanced up the stairs. She got up, walked over to the water dispenser, and got herself a cup of water. When she walked back to the sofa, she called, “Brother Jiamu.”

Xu Jiamu didn’t react. His line of sight was so concentrated, his eyes never blinked.

“Brother Jiamu?” Qiao Anhao called his name again while patting his shoulder.

Xu Jiamu abruptly came to his senses. He realized that because he had been staring at Song Xiangsi on the television, he hadn’t a clue what had happened and how long he had blanked out for.

Ever since he left Hengdian studio in a fit of rage, he and her had never gotten in touch. Later on, Xu Enterprise was in trouble, and he was demoted from the Xu family’s young master to a department manager at the company. His status had changed so dramatically, he had never went to go look for her.

And as for her, she hadn’t had any jobs recently, so she stayed in Beijing all this time. She probably knew about his fall, but didn’t bother contacting him to see how he was.

For the past four months, the two of them were in the same city, but never met each other..

Actually, because he was so busy with work, sometimes he’d think about her, but only for a split second. Then he would push the thought in the back of his mind.

Tonight, if it wasn’t for Qiao Anhao’s choice for a movie, he wouldn’t have even realized that he actually… missed her…

Ah crap, he and Song Xiangsi only had a business relationship… so why was he thinking about her?

Xu Jiamu abruptly shook his head, then glanced over at Qiao Anhao. Perhaps because it had been quite some time since he spoke, his voice was a little hoarse. “What’s wrong, Qiao Qiao?”

Qiao Anhao brought a cup of water up to Xu Jiamu’s face. “Just now, Aunt Xu said she wasn’t feeling well, so she went upstairs to get some rest. You’d better bring her a cup of water.”

Xu Jiamu nodded, rubbed his face with his hand, then stood up and headed upstairs with a cup of water.

–

Back in the bedroom, Han Ruchu slammed the door shut behind her. She then reached her arm out in anger and wept the porcelain ornaments off from the shelves, sending them crashing to the ground, shattering to pieces.

“Madam, why are you getting so mad? Take care of your health,” said the housekeeper anxiously.

As though Han Ruchu hadn’t heard the housekeeper’s words at all, she completely ignored her and paced around the bedroom a few times. When she finally stopped, she took a long, deep breath, gritted her teeth and said, “Qiao Anhao, that little bitch, she’s always been so good and obedient. Who would of thought that she was so articulate when cursing others, doing it so well, so indirectly?! How skillful of her!”

“Tonight, she didn’t come to celebrate your birthday… she clearly came to trigger you! From when she asked for the swallow’s nest till the moment she mentioned that bastard while watching TV, and also when she told that story about the mother-in-law…” When she said this, the housekeeper stopped there, and continued with different words. “Madam, I’m afraid she already knows that it was us who killed her baby.”

At this, the housekeeper furrowed her brows. “There’s something fishy about that. Madam, you already got rid of that little bastard. With his personality, he definitely wouldn’t go looking for Miss Qiao, so how would she have found out about what had happened?”

Because of the housekeeper’s words, Han Ruchu suddenly calmed down, but she still wore a furious expression on her face.

After a while, the housekeeper said, “Madam, say… how much do you think Miss Qiao knows about us? Do you think she knows that it was us who pushed her down the stairs?”

Chapter 594: Long Time No See, My Love (5)

“If the Qiao family found out about this, then the family relations between us would probably be ruined. Currently, the Xu family is far from how it was, there are so many things that we still rely on the Qiao family for…”

“She knows, so what?” Han Ruchu didn’t wait for the housekeeper to speak by interrupting her and saying, “If she had any evidence, then the Qiao family wouldn’t have come to celebrate my birthday! She doesn’t have any evidence, which is why she was beating around the bush to target me! But it’s just so shitty that she made such a nice birthday party go up in smoke like that. Back then, how did we not make her fall to her death from the stairs…”

Han Ruchu hadn’t finished what she had to say when someone abruptly pushed open the door.

The two of them were scared stiff as they turned their heads to see Xu Jiamu at the door with a cup of water in his hands. The expression on his face was drearily tense.

Han Ruchu and the housekeeper looked at one another in terror. Han Ruchu was the first to snap back to reality. She pulled her lip corners slightly upwards into a hint of a smile and said in a soft voice, “Jiamu, why are you here?”

Xu Jiamu didn’t say word, but stood there at the door without moving an inch. His eyes stared right into Han Ruchu’s eyes.

Under his gaze, she felt herself trembling in fear. She stood there on the spot for a long while before striding in front of her son. She reached out and grabbed his hand, which he avoided.

His eyes never once left her face. Her then said in a low voice to suppress the anger in it. “What you both just said… is it true?”

From her son’s words, Han Ruchu figured that he had heard what she and Aunt Yun had just said. Yet she wasn’t sure just how much Xu Jiamu had overheard, so she stretched her arm out. “Jiamu, listen to what mama has to say…”

“I just want to know, was what you two just said true?” Xu Jiamu seemed to be afraid that Qiao Anhao downstairs would hear what was said, so he spoke in a low voice. It was clear he was more terrified than outraged. “Back then, did Qiao Qiao fall from the stairs because of the two of you?”

When Han Ruchu heard those words, she silently let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, he had only heard half of it… “Jiamu, at the time, mama had no choice but to do that.”

“So you’re saying you really did do it?” Xu Jiamu enunciated every word when he asked again. His eyes then turned to the housekeeper at the side who was at a loss for what to do. “And you… the two of you… you’re both really something!”

Xu Jiamu suddenly smashed the cup of water in his hands to the ground. Shattered pieces of glass flew in all directions and water splashed on the ground. Xu Jiamu nodded and chuckled lightly.

That laugh put fear into Han Ruchu, who always loved her son. She instinctively grabbed his arm. “Mama was wrong. Let mama explain, it’s not what you think, son…”

“Did you want for Qiao Qiao to fall to her death for the situation to be like what I think?!” replied Xu Jiamu harshly. He then turned around and walked down the stairs, fuming.

“Jiamu, Jiamu!” Han Ruchu cried in a panic as she followed behind him. Because she had ran after him in a hurry, she accidentally sprained her ankle. Crouching on the ground, she cried in pain.

Chapter 595: Long Time No See, My Love (6)

“Madam!” the housekeeper cred out anxiously. She then rushed over and supported her up.

Han Ruchu struggled to stand, but she still continued to chase her son whilst limping.

The housekeeper called out in agony, as though she was going to cry. “Master, young master!”

Qiao Anhao was downstairs when she saw Xu Jiamu storming downstairs, fuming. She hastily stood up. “Brother Jiamu, what’s wrong?”

Xu Jiamu didn’t say a word, striding out the door.

Qiao Anhao glanced over at Han Ruchu at the bottom of the stairs. She grabbed Xu Jiamu’s arm and said, “Brother Jiamu, Aunt Xu tripped up.”

Xu Jiamu slightly halted, and looked as though he was going to turn his head back to sneak a glance, but eventually, he decided against it. He gently pulled away from Qiao Anhao’s grip, and walked out without saying a word, a dark expression on his face.

“Brother Jiamu!” Qiao Anhao cried his name out in distress, but she had no intention of chasing after him. She waited until he swung close the door before putting away her panicked expression and nonchalantly turning around with a composed face. She stared directly at Han Ruchu.

Some words needn’t be said. The look in the eyes is at times sufficient for the other person to understand what is being meant.

That’s right. Qiao Anhao knew that Han Ruchu would go upstairs, as she couldn’t vent her anger below. Since the housekeeper had followed after, she assumed that they would most probably be talking about her.

Actually, if Han Ruchu hadn’t mentioned that the housekeeper personally made the swallow’s nest over lunch, she wouldn’t have thought the housekeeper had anythign to do with this at all.

Honestly speaking, she wasn’t completely certain that Han Ruchu would talk about it with her housekeeper. She just thought she’d give it a try, so she gave Xu Jiamu the cup of water to see if it might be her lucky day.

The moment the doors were flung open with a great force, she knew that she had gotten lucky.

That split second when Han Ruchu met Qiao Anhao’s gaze, she instantly realized that she had gotten played. She opened her mouth in a rage, wanting to speak, but Qiao Anhao made a “shhhh” gesture with her hands.

She then pointed at the study room, and said in a neutral voice, “Aunt Xu, you son is already mad, do you want for your husband to come down to see you screaming at me and get angry with you too? Don’t forget, my uncle is still in your house…”

Just like that, the words on the tip of Han Ruchu’s tongue flew back, down to her stomach. Her entire face puffed up red out from rage.

The more she was like this, the sweeter Qiao Anhao smiled. She asked in a soft voice, “Aunt Xu, I wonder if you liked your birthday present?”

Han Ruchu was so pissed, her face was slightly contorted. She raised her hand to clutch at her chest and pointed at Qiao Anhao without saying a single word.

Qiao Anhao had fulfilled her objective, so there was no reason to continue on like this with Han Ruchu any longer. She slowly and gracefully picked up her bag, pulled the door open, and calmly left.

When she left the Xu family’s house, she finally let go of the relaxed and pleased look on her face that she had put on for Han Ruchu.

So sorry… She had used Xu Jiamu, who had always treated her so well.

But she had had no other way. She couldn’t do nothing after learning that Han Ruchu h ad killed her baby, and Xu Jiamu was the only person in the world that could trigger Han Ruchu.

Chapter 596: Long Time No See, My Love (7)

In this world, there are no people who are absolutely kindhearted. Those who are kind and naive are only so because no one had pushed them to their limits.

Han Ruchu sabotaged Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian’s relationship, made them miss out on being together time and time again. Perhaps if it weren’t for her, they might already be together.

The pain of losing a child, the break up of two lovers… Qiao Anhao had such deep-rooted hate and desire for revenge, so how could she possibly sit there and do nothing?

Han Ruchu owed her, and now she wanted to get it all back, bit by bit.

No only for her, but for Lu Jinnian, and the child they lost…

At this thought, a sharp light twinkled at the bottom of Qiao Anhao’s eyes, hints of a terrifyingly cold look appearing on her soft and tranquil delicate face.

It has to be known that it wasn’t all just talk, back there in the Xu family’s living room when she cursed out Han Ruchu.

Han Ruchu killed her child, and she wanted her to experience the pain of her son, who she had raised for almost thirty years, walking further and further away from her.

She wanted for everyone to betray her, and her family to leave her. That would be the final ending she prepared for Han Ruchu!

Tonight, was just the start.

–

When “Heavenly Sword” was released, there were five days left until the lunar New Year’s eve. After Han Ruchu’s birthday, the busiest day for Qiao Anhao was twenty eighth of the twelfth lunar month of the lunar calender. In the afternoon, they announced the release of “Heavenly Sword”, and in the evening, she went to its release party.

On the twenty-ninth day, Zhao Meng flew to Hunan with her boyfriend. Qiao Anhao, who hadn’t much to do, personally drove them to the airport.

At the time, it was already closing in to the end of the year, and so the roads of Beijing had only a third of the cars usually there, which resulted in barely any traffic. On her way home, Qiao Anhao received a call from her uncle urging her to come back to the Qiao family estate that night.

Though Qiao Anhao agreed, she only went back to the Qiao family in the afternoon of the thirtieth.

The servants there had already gone home for the New Year’s, and so when Qiao Anhao arrived, Qiao Anxia and mother Qiao were wrapping dumplings.

Just as Qiao Anhao pushed open the door, she hadn’t even taken her shoes off when she heard Qiao Anxia call out, “Qiao Qiao, hurry! Come wrap these dumplings.”

Qiao Anhao gave a quick response, then saw father Qiao standing right at the door, sticking rhyming couplets on the wall. As he was on his own, she didn’t feel right, so she went over to give him a helping hand. Later, she entered the house, washed her hands, and helped them wrap dumplings.

Father Qiao personally cooked the New Year’s dinner. After so many years, the Qiao family still followed the same old rules during New Year’s. The large dining table was filled with rich foods. They couldn’t be without a chicken, duck, and fish, and the main dish was always the three filling dumplings. As father Qiao would say, the meat filling recipe was originally invented by Qiao Anhao and Qiao Anxia’s grandfather. Though it didn’t taste surprisingly spectacular, it had a family-feel to it.

They started to cook the dumplings at seven o’clock, and Qiao Anxia went upstairs to get changed. She dressed herself up very nicely, and ran out the house with just her phone. Then, after about half an hour, just when the dumplings were all cooked, the doorbell rang.

When Qiao Anhao opened the door, there was an extra person behind Qiao Anxia. It was Chen Yang.

Qiao Anxia didn’t wait for Qiao Anhao to ask and said, “Chen Yang’s parents are abroad and can’t make it back, so I invited him to spend New Year’s celebrations at ours.”

In the four months Lu Jinnian hadn’t been around, Qiao Anxia and Chen Yang had went public with their relationship. She had brought him to the Qiao family estate a few times. If one looked back, Chen Yang was the only boyfriend of Qiao Anxia’s that had went past the door of the Qiao family house.

Chapter 597: Long Time No See, My Love (8)

Mother Qiao had always liked Chen Yang. After her daughter came back from their dates, she would even especially go and watch a few of his movies. She liked him so much that every time she played mahjong, she would often recommend her daughter’s boyfriend’s new dramas to her mahjong friends.

So when mother Qiao learned that Chen Yang had come over, she stopped cooking the dumplings and ran out of the kitchen to offer him a seat.

When New Year’s dinner officially started in the Qiao family home, New Year’s Gala just came on the television. Father Qiao went over to turn up the volume.

Even though people only kept saying that the New Year’s Gala got worse year after year, they couldn’t deny that it had become a tradition that made the New Year’s feel special.

In the past, father Qiao would be the only man at the table for New Year’s Eve, and Qiao Anxia would sometimes have a few drinks with him, but today there was Chen Yang. Father Qiao especially brought out a bottle of the good stuff he’d been storing.

Because there was someone to drink with, father Qiao was really happy. Before Chen Yang arrived, he had especially bought a gift. Mother Qiao received an emerald bracelet, which made her so happy that she couldn’t contain herself. Every one at the table ushered Chen Yang to eat more.

Chen Yang really did like Qiao Anxia from the bottom of his heart. When she asked him for a napkin on the table, he handed it to her so slowly that she impatiently rushed him a little too rudely. Chen Yang then hurriedly gave her the napkin to wipe her hands.

Mother Qiao would inevitably say a few words about Qiao Anxia, to which good-natured Chen Yang would just smile and say that it was fine. This made Qiao Anxia blink proudly towards her mother, who would helplessly shake her head.

Perhaps it was because Chen Yang was there, mother and father Qiao were focused on him and Qiao Anxia. Their conversations were all about the two, so Qiao Anhao couldn’t really get a word in, nor was she in the mood to talk. She wore a smile throughout dinner, but occasionally, when Chen Yang and Qiao Anxia did something lovey dovey, a tinge of gloominess would flash across her eyes. She would lower her head and quietly eat the dumplings in her bowl.

After dinner, Chen Yang wanted to help put the dishes away but was turned away by mother Qiao. She ushered Qiao Anxia to take him away.

Seeing the leftovers on the table, Qiao Anhao couldn’t let mother Qiao to tidy up by herself, so she helped clean it up.

She also picked the job to wash the dishes.

Mother Qiao grabbed some fresh fruit from the fridge, cut them up neatly, and carried them out on a tray.

Qiao Anhao placed the washed plates into the tableware sterilization cabinet. When she came out of the kitchen, she coincidentally saw Qiao Anxia grab a toothpick with a piece of apple and put it into Chen Yang’s mouth. Though Chen Yang, who was talking with father Qiao, didn’t turn his head to look at Qiao Anxia, he casually opened his mouth to eat the apple. Then he reached his hand out to hug Qiao Anxia’s shoulder.

When Qiao Anhao saw this, she couldn’t help but lower her eyes, as she remembered how she would sit to one side and watch TV in Ming Zhu Garden while Lu Jinnian was working in the evening. He was afraid she’d get bored, so he would prepare all sorts of snacks and fruit for her.

At the time, she did what she saw now before her eyes. As she ate, she would feed Lu Jinnian every now and again. He and Chen Yang were the same in one way, they didn’t look back. Sometimes, she would mischievously shove nutshells, watermelon seeds, and other things into his mouth. When he bit into them, he would realize something was wrong, then put everything down, turn around, and pounce on her.

“Qiao Qiao? Finished washing the dishes?” asked mother Qiao, while carrying a pot of tea into the living room, when she saw Qiao Anhao at the kitchen door.

Chapter 598: Long Time No See, My Love (9)

Qiao Anhao brought herself back to her senses, and quickly nodded at mother Qiao. Seeing that she was carrying a pot of tea, she reached her arm out. “Serving tea? Let me.”

“That’s all right.” Mother Qiao glanced over at Chen Yang and Qiao Anxia on the sofa, then gave a gleaming smile and said, “Chen Yang and Xia Xia are waiting for you. They said they wanted to go to the courtyard to watch the fireworks.”

Qiao Anxia heard mother Qiao’s words and stood up, forcefully pulling Chen Yang from the sofa. She then said to Qiao Anhao, “Qiao Qiao, let’s go! We’ve waited half a day for you.”

–

When Qiao sisters were little, before grandma and grandpa had passed away, everyone would go back to the family home every year to celebrate the Chinese New Year’s. Back then, Qiao Anhao’s parents were still alive. After New Year’s dinner, her father would take her and Qiao Anxia to the courtyard to watch the fireworks. Her mother would stand to one side with a smile on her face.

As time went by, setting off fireworks became a New Year’s Eve tradition, up until father passed away. Then, uncle would take them to light fireworks.

Tonight, Chen Yang was there. Father Qiao didn’t light the fireworks, but he personally prepared a large box of them in the courtyard.

As he lined up the fireworks, Chen Yang lit one up which set them all off. He then hurriedly ran back to Qiao Anxia’s side. About ten seconds later, the fireworks released one after the other.

In that instant, the skies were lit up with a dazzlingly gorgeous display of fireworks.

When Qiao Anxia saw the breathtaking display, she enthusiastically pointed up for Chen Yang to look up.

Qiao Anhao stood about two meters away from them. She lifted her head and stared at the endless exploding fireworks falling from the skies. The bottom of her eyes started to heat up, and just when the fireworks had come to an end, she brought her head back down to see Qiao Anxia hugging Chen Yang’s neck. Chen Yang had his arms around Qiao Anxia’s waist, and the two of them were making out.

Qiao Anhao stared at the two of them for a moment, then lowered her eyes. Just as she was ready to go back into the house, the phone in her pocket suddenly rang, which shocked Qiao Anxia and Chen Yang, who were kissing.

Qiao Anhao waved her arms at them, then looked over at the incoming call. It was from Zhao Meng, so she walked out of the courtyard to take the call.

“Happy New Year, Qiao Qiao!”

Through the phone, Qiao Anhao heard the sound of firecrackers now and then from Zhao Meng’s side. It really did feel like New Year’s over there. She said in a warm tone of voice, “Happy New Year!”

Zhao Meng could kind of hear a little sorrow in her voice, so she calmed her excitement and cheerfulness to ask worriedly, “Qiao Qiao, what’s wrong? Why can’t I hear you? You seem a little sad…”

Qiao Anhao had been better off had Zhao Meng not asked, for her eyes started to heat up again.

She wasn’t truly unhappy. Just that while everyone in China was celebrating the day, she suddenly really missed him.

“I’m fine.” When Qiao Anhao said these two words, tears started to roll down her face. She leaned back against a lamppost and lowered her head. She shut her eyes and dazed out for a while until she could compose herself. She then raised her hand to wipe her tears away and asked in a lighthearted tone, “You called me?”

“Yeah, I wanted to tell you to check Weibo. You and Mr. Lu have reached the hot search list!”

“What hot search list?”

“Look for yourself and you’ll know!” Zhao Meng said mysteriously.

Then, in the background, Qiao Anhao heard someone call Zhao Meng’s name. Her friend hastily said “Bye bye”, but didn’t forget to remind her to “Check Weibo!” as she hung up the call.

Chapter 599: Long Time No See, My Love (10)

When Qiao Anhao heard the doot-doot-doot sound of the call ending, she furrowed her brows and brought the phone down from her ear. She clicked on Weibo to find that it was just as Zhao Meng had said, the top most searched wasn’t about Chinese new year, but her and Lu Jinnian.

Lu Jinnian has been lying low for four months now. He didn’t have any new projects and he didn’t appear in front of the media. His exposure to the public has been extremely low, and besides filming “Heavenly Sword”, she had no scandals at all, so how exactly did the two of them make the headlines? What on earth had happened?

Qiao Anhao clicked open the most searched topic “Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao” with a heart full of suspicion, and found that the host had posted the words, “This year’s best screen couple goes to the supporting male and female of “Alluring Times”! This is the first time the best screen couple goes to supporting roles rather than the main leads, however this year’s actor happens to be Lu Jinnian once again. As for the actress, it’s no longer the queen of movies, Song Xiangsi, but Huan Ying Entertainment’s new young actress, Qiao Anhao.”

After that line, there was another link. She clicked it to reveal the results of the vote.

Her and Lu Jinnian actually beat Chen Yang and Song Xiangsi in second place by thirty million votes.

So this was what Zhao Meng had wanted her to see.

This was her dream when entering the entertainment industry. Because they couldn’t be a couple in real life, she wanted to be just like Song Xiangsi, and be a fantasy couple on the internet. When other people mentioned her name, they’d think of his name, and when his name was mentioned, they’d think of hers.

But she never imaged that her dream would actually come true with the movie “Alluring Times”. They were even selected as the best screen couple of the year.

Qiao Anhao stared at her phone screen and saw that the voting page had a picture of her and Lu Jinnian kissing in “Alluring Times”. Suddenly, large tears rolled down from her eyes. She tightly grasped her phone and lowered herself to the ground, as she couldn’t hold it in any longer. Crouched up against the lamp post, she sobbed there intermittently.

She used to chase her dream for him, but now that the dream had come true, he wasn’t by her side.

Lu Jinnian, my love. Just where are you?

Do you know… that I really miss you?

–

Qiao Anxia and Cheng Yang went into the house. After waiting for quite some time, Qiao Anhao still wasn’t back in. It wasn’t until mother Qiao asked for her whereabouts that Qiao Anxia got up and went out on her own to look.

When she reached the front door, she heard the sound of sobbing. Her feet suddenly halted, for she recognized the sound of Qiao Anhao’s cries. Her heart firmly tightened up, but she was about to rush over to her sister’s side to ask what was wrong, she heard the mumbled cries of a name.

Although Qiao Anhao was incomprehensible through her tears, Qiao Anxia could still make out some of the words – Lu Jinnian.

Those two words were like a hex, as they instantly made Qiao Anxia remember the dejected, handsome and cold man in the cafe under Qiao Enterprise. As soon as he saw her, he desperately asked where Qiao Qiao was. He then proceeded to wait at the Qiao family doors for three whole days and nights…

It was like someone had locked Qiao Anxia’s pressure points. She stood on the spot, unable to move an inch.

Was Qiao Qiao crying over Lu Jinnian? Which is to say… she liked Lu Jinnian?