Beijing-Hong Kong Rosemary

Chapter 61 Withdrawal Reactions
After sending the message, Shen Guining waited for two hours but did not receive a reply.

Left with no other choice, she made the phone call.

The notification sounded for half a minute.

Shen Guining held her phone nervously.

Just as it was about to automatically disconnect, the call finally connected.

“Mr. Qu…” she said softly, “Did you see the WeChat message I sent?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

After a long pause, a deep, resonant voice came through the receiver: "Have you made up your mind?"

"Mm." Shen Guining felt deeply guilty and apologized again, "I'm really sorry, thank you for taking care of me during this time."

"it is good."

"Then, can I take Ruby with me?"

“Okay,” he said.

Shen Guining breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could say "thank you," the call had already ended.

She stared at her phone screen, lost in thought for a moment.

She should be happy to be able to take Ruby with her, but a lingering sense of loss still weighs on her mind.

She tried to ignore it.
-
I've lived in the apartment for over three months, and I have a ton of odds and ends that I can't bear to throw away.

Two suitcases and three storage boxes were packed up.

Shen Guining moved the storage boxes in two separate trips, paying a delivery person to deliver them.

The living room and the second bedroom were restored to their original state, leaving as few traces as possible of her presence.

Before leaving, she stood there and looked around, fragmented memories flashing through her mind.

Reluctantly, Shen Guining put the leash on Ruby and said, "Let's go, Ruby."

The little guy followed her obediently.

It took me several days to adjust to the new house; I'm still not used to it.

Indeed, it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

Her commute to and from get off work has doubled compared to before. The streetlights in the neighborhood are dim, and she's a little scared to walk alone on that road too late at night.

Especially on rainy or snowy days, there is standing water on the road, and you can easily get wet if you are not careful.

She was new to the area and accidentally stepped into a puddle, getting two pairs of shoes wet.

The small house, measuring just over forty square meters, greatly limited Ruby's range of movement.

Shen Guining could only take it out to play whenever she had a spare moment.

With the outside temperature below zero, her delicate body couldn't withstand it. She caught a cold, coughed for several days, and lost her voice.

On Friday night, she sent Xia Xi a WeChat message: "[I'm sorry, Xi Xi, I have a cold and am not feeling well, so I can't teach you to dance this week.]"

Xia Xi replied with a voice message: "It's okay, Sister Ning. You should get some rest."

After careful consideration, Shen Guining pressed the voice button again: "The dance troupe has been quite busy lately, with most performances scheduled for weekends. Xixi, would you like to consider finding a new teacher to teach you?"

Xia Xi refused without even thinking, "I don't want to, I just like you teaching me."

Shen Guining felt somewhat helpless.

If she continues to teach Xia Xi to dance at the Qu family's house, she will inevitably run into Mr. Qu.

Given our current relationship, it would be very awkward to meet again.

Hearing Xia Xi sigh several times, the maid couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong, Miss?"

"Sister Ning is sick and can't come to my class." Xia Xi lay bored on the sofa. When she got up, she caught sight of a familiar figure standing at the escalator. "Uncle, you're back."

Qu Yanci held the documents in his hand, gave a faint "hmm" in his voice, and stepped upstairs.

Xia Xi watched his retreating figure and murmured to herself, "Is Uncle in a bad mood lately?"
-
There will be a performance on Christmas Eve.

Afterwards, a group of people gathered in the dressing room, chatting and laughing.

Lou Jingshu just got a boyfriend, and now she's sending ninety-nine red roses backstage, which amuses her colleagues.

"Ninety-nine flowers, how thoughtful!"

"First love is great, they know how to be romantic."

"That's right, it's more fun to date when you're young."

Lou Jingshu said shyly, "Don't you guys think it's a bit old-fashioned? Gui Ning always receives such beautiful flowers." At this point, a colleague asked, "Hey, yeah, Gui Ning, why didn't your flowers arrive today?"

Shen Guining froze as she removed her headdress.

There won't be any more.

A colleague speculated, "Could they have already caught up?"

Shen Guining smiled nonchalantly and denied it, "No one is pursuing me, don't make wild guesses."

I left work at nine o'clock.

The Didi car hasn't arrived yet.

Shen Guining stood by the roadside and waited.

The temperature dropped even lower at night, and the cold wind penetrated her body, making her shiver and sneeze twice.

Five minutes later, the white Audi stopped in front of her.

Shen Guining opened the car door and was about to get in when a black Maybach caught her eye out of the corner of her eye. The license plate looked familiar.

The rear of the car gradually faded from view.

She must be seeing things; how could Mr. Qu's car be here?

Just consider it a minor incident.

I arrived at the residential area at 9:40.

It was cold, and few people went out at night. One section of the road was pitch black, and the wind howled in his ears, which made him feel a chill down his spine. Shen Guining turned on his phone's flashlight and quickened his pace.

When I got home and saw Ruby, my panic subsided.

She fed the little one some food first, and then went to the bathroom to take a bath.

My cold isn't fully gone yet, and my head feels dizzy and throbbing.

After showering and drying her hair, Shen Guining nestled on the sofa for a while, letting her thoughts wander.

She wondered what Mr. Qu was doing at that moment.

Did he eat an apple today, Christmas Eve?

I keep thinking about him lately, and I wonder when this withdrawal will end.

Despite repeatedly telling myself not to get emotional, how could I possibly remain unmoved in the face of a man like Qu Yanci?

Mr. Qu was really good to her. He helped her out of her predicaments, appeared in time when she was bullied, and remembered that she was allergic to nuts, so he specially brought her butterfly cookies from Hong Kong Island...

Putting all that aside, he is a very charismatic person, mature, steady, and strong, capable and decisive, almost perfect in every way.

The thought that one day all his affections would be given to another girl made Shen Guining feel a tightness in his chest.
-
The troupe did not have a holiday for New Year's Day, as they had scheduled several performances. The holiday was changed to January 10th to 13th, a four-day break.

During a break from rehearsals, Shen Guining overheard her colleagues discussing how they would celebrate the New Year and where they would go on holiday.

Everyone has their own plans.

"Gui Ning, what about you?" Lou Jingshu asked.

Shen Guining hesitated for a moment, "I haven't decided yet."

It doesn't matter how a person lives.

Lou Jingshu leaned closer and said, "Are you still feeling better from your cold? You still look a bit tired."

Shen Guining rubbed her lower abdomen. "It's my period, I'm not feeling well."

"I have some heat packs and brown sugar water, do you want some?"

"I've prepared everything, thank you."

"Then take good care of yourself. Menstrual cramps are really awful." Lou Jingshu knew this all too well.

"Ah."

Rehearsal ended early today.

Shen Guining changed her clothes and left. As soon as she got downstairs, a strange man came up to chat her up.

The other party was the general manager of a middle-class company, who asked her for her contact information.

Shen Guining politely declined, saying, "Sorry, it's not convenient."

The other party didn't give up. "Ms. Shen, our two families have a business relationship. Wouldn't it be good to make friends?"

"I don't understand company affairs, and I never get involved."

"It's okay, we can talk about other things too."