Rebirth Must Be Happy

Xie Wanqing finally caught up with Chen Xingzhu's train of thought, but after hearing this sentence, she was confused again, not understanding why she said that she was the most innocent one.

At this moment, she had no time to think further. She patted Chen Xingzhu's head, feeling a bit like she was holding a little darling, but the little one was fragrant and soft, making her even more comfortable...

Chen Xingzhu was quite good at controlling her emotions and quickly managed to calm down. She was the type of person who was afraid of the cold but not the heat, but the afternoon sun was scorching, and the rough, unfinished reinforced concrete walls around her were like an oven. Xie Wanqing was already sweating.

"It's a bit hot, let's go downstairs first."

Chen Xingzhu sniffed, then forced a smile, stood up first, and then pulled Xie Wanqing up as well, saying, "I really don't blame my sister, I don't blame Zhizhi, and I don't even blame him..."

Perhaps realizing how absurd her words were, she hesitated for a moment and said with a touch of self-deprecation, "Maybe I am indeed too pessimistic. I think these things are all natural and will happen sooner or later, so there's nothing to be angry about."

Xie Wanqing really didn't know what to say. She wiped away the tears on her face, then took Chen Xingzhu's arm and went downstairs to the car to turn on the air conditioning.

With the whooshing sound of the wind blowing, the temperature inside the car quickly dropped, and Xie Wanqing finally felt much more relaxed. On the contrary, she was afraid of the heat and had just been sweating profusely inside the house, but she hadn't noticed it at the time.

As the ambient temperature cooled down, her previously muddled mind cleared up considerably. After thinking for a moment, she turned to look at Chen Xingzhu, hesitant to speak.

She still didn't understand what Chen Xingzhu was trying to say.

“I want to tell my sister that if there is only one person, it might cause problems if you keep leaving him unsatisfied. But if there are two people, you can keep him busy and keep him receiving positive feedback.”

Chen Xingzhu had just finished crying, and her eyes were still slightly red, but she had calmed down. "It's like that 'stupid bird' game. If he keeps getting higher and higher scores every time he plays, he'll never be satisfied. But if he gets a high score this time and a low score next time, that's normal in this game. You have to keep focusing on playing. If you play seriously, you'll get a high score; if you don't play seriously, you'll get a low score. It's always a positive feedback loop..."

Xie Wanqing finally vaguely guessed what she meant, but she still found it hard to believe. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Didn't he say that 'The Early Bird Catches the Crow' was a negative feedback mechanism?"

"..."

Looking at Sister Xie's gentle yet earnest expression, Chen Xingzhu was momentarily speechless.

She calmed herself down and became happy again. They chatted for half the afternoon in the car. During that time, both of their phones rang several times, but they only glanced at them and didn't reply or even look at them carefully.

"strangeness!"

In the capital, Xu Jinhuan was still busy, but he didn't forget Chen Xingzhu and Xie Wanqing. He would send them messages whenever he had time to ask how they were doing.

Strangely, Chen Xingzhu disappeared after arriving at the destination, and Xie Wanqing also disappeared after picking up Chen Xingzhu.

Fortunately, the two replied again later, saying they were having lunch together, which reassured him that something had happened to them.

But why aren't they replying to any messages?
He even made a phone call, but the call was hung up on. He did receive a brief but vague reply.

"I've bought the house. I was just chatting with Sister Wanqing."

It wasn't until late afternoon that Chen Xingzhu replied to the message, saying, "I didn't check my phone."

"Have you been talking for so long?"

Xu Jinhuan became even more worried, fearing that the two of them would eventually stop talking and leave him out of the conversation.

Although he had been consciously guiding them to interact more, he never expected things to go wrong so quickly!

He instinctively wanted to ask what they talked about, but then felt too guilty and held back.

"Yeah, just chatting."

Chen Xingzhu's reply seemed perfectly normal: "We're heading back now. Sister Wanqing is driving and can't reply to messages, so she asked me to let you know."

"Yeah, it's okay."

Xu Jinhuan suspected that her words might be a veiled attack on him, so he chatted with her for a few more minutes but found nothing unusual. He then concluded that he was probably just being paranoid.

Otherwise, if something were to happen, why would she still be chatting with me like this?
It's good enough if they don't block me.

He calmed himself down and went to work first. After get off work, he saw that Chen Xingzhu and Xie Wanqing had sent messages in the group, so he made a video call to Chen Xingzhu first.

The girl looked like she had just taken a shower; her hair was still wet. She asked from her room upstairs, "What's wrong?"

"I miss you."

Xu Jinhuan smiled and said, "You disappeared as soon as you got back to Suicheng. I was worried that something had happened to you and your sister."

"No, we were just chatting. We haven't seen each other in a long time."

Chen Xingzhu smiled faintly, "Are you off work?"

"Okay, I'm going to have dinner now, and then I'll go back to work overtime."

"So busy?"

"Work hard, we can't let Mr. Chen's investment go to waste, right?"

"I didn't realize that~"

After chatting for a while, Xu Jinhuan noticed nothing unusual and felt relieved. He hung up the phone and then chatted with Xie Wanqing while eating.

"I was just chatting with Xingzhu, and she actually bought a house in Xiangyun Yayuan, right next to yours..."

Xie Wanqing lacked Chen Xingzhu's composure and acting skills, and seemed slightly uneasy, so she changed the subject, "You knew beforehand? You didn't even tell me..."

Xu Jinhuan did notice that Xie Wanqing was acting strangely. Hearing her say that, he thought she was jealous because of this, so he said, "She insisted that I keep it a secret, so I couldn't say anything. Besides, we're coming to the capital soon, so I won't have a chance to tell you, sister... Are you unhappy, sister?"

"No."

Xie Wanqing shook her head and said, "So, Xingzhu plans to live next door to you from now on?"

Xu Jinhuan laughed and said, "She might not even live there; maybe she bought it as an investment."

"No, she's already planning to renovate."

Xie Wanqing said, "We talked a lot today."

"Are you renovating?"

"Yeah, and there are others too, quite a lot..."

Xie Wanqing lied and found that she was getting better and better at it, so she continued, "And about the professional stuff... she seems to prefer more people."

"After all, Renmin University is still better, and it's also very strong in economics and management."

"Um……"

After chatting for a few minutes and hanging up the phone, the smile on Xu Jinhuan's face vanished instantly.

Something is wrong!
Something is very wrong!
Although Chen Xingzhu's behavior was normal, Xie Wanqing's behavior was a bit off, and she was clearly consciously hiding something.

Did those two have a huge chat?

Xu Jinhuan pondered for a moment and quickly made a decision: Go home as soon as possible!
For him now, achieving greater success in his career has not changed his life as much.

In comparison, Chen Xingzhu and Xie Wanqing are far more important!

Xu Jinhuan made a quick decision: after finishing his meal, he changed his train ticket and set off on the morning of July 1st.

In the following days, he consciously interacted more with the two women, and soon discovered that something was amiss:

On the day Chen Xingzhu returned, Xie Wanqing could tell that something was wrong, but two days later, she seemed to be quite normal, almost no different from before.

On the contrary, Chen Xingzhu behaved slightly differently, and her replies to messages were not as proactive or enthusiastic.

'Did I guess wrong earlier?' Even as he boarded the high-speed train home, Xu Jinhuan was still pondering and analyzing the situation. 'Sister Xie is rather slow-witted and not very bright; she probably didn't notice anything amiss. Was she really unhappy that day because of Xingzhu buying a house?'

The little girl's behavior seemed more like she had noticed something was wrong. She subtly probed and managed to get information out of Xie Wanqing.
'No matter what, we have to face it eventually...'

Xu Jinhuan sighed inwardly and began to summarize contingency plans for the little girl's possible reactions.

The principle can be summed up in one sentence:

I can lose face, but I absolutely cannot let go of my person!!

No matter how resolute she seems today, we must not let go, and we must not let her feel that "you have really given up on me."

For a woman, nothing, nothing, nothing is more important than this.

As long as this bottom line and principle are not crossed, there is always room for negotiation on other matters...

"Brother, we've arrived!"

Today is Sunday. Song Zhiyu, Chen Xingzhu, and Xie Wanqing all came to Pengcheng. Xu Jinhuan had only been gone a short while when she saw Song Zhiyu send a message in the group chat: "We're going to have some fun first. Let us know when you're almost there, otherwise we'll be late and you'll have to wait for us at the station."

"Okay, go have fun."

Xu Jinhuan typed back, "At worst, I'll take the bus to find you guys. Have fun without worry."

"Uh-huh!"

The three of them went off to play, and for the next two hours, they basically ignored him, except for occasionally posting a photo to show off.

First impressions are very important!

After finally arriving at the high-speed rail station, Xu Jinhuan had been staring at the outside of the station for a long time, trying to catch Chen Xingzhu and Xie Wanqing's first reaction when they saw him.

This is crucial, as it can greatly help him verify his guesses.

However, Xu Jinhuan didn't see the three of them until she reached the turnstile. It wasn't until she walked out of the station and waved away many taxi and accommodation solicitors that she saw the three of them walking over from the parking lot, chatting and laughing.

Chen Xingzhu walked on the far left, wearing light blue jeans and a white short-sleeved T-shirt. She was tall, beautiful, and had long legs, with a cool and refined demeanor.

Xie Wanqing walked on the far right, wearing a loose white chiffon top and a light purple skirt, looking gentle, beautiful, and alluring.

Song Zhiyu walked in the middle, holding the two of them by the arms. She was wearing a white floral dress, looking pure, innocent, sweet and lovely.

All three were young and beautiful, with very different styles. Whether it was intentional or not, their heights were arranged in descending order, making them look like a row of beautiful and charming signal flares walking by.

'However, signal bars usually have four or even five bars...'

The thought flashed through Xu Jinhuan's mind, but she quickly dismissed it and carefully observed the reactions of the three of them—or rather, Chen Xingzhu and Xie Wanqing. Song Zhiyu, who was in the middle, glanced at them as her gaze swept over, but didn't pay them any mind.

The little girl doesn't care about anything right now...

Chen Xingzhu's gaze was calm and composed, and when they met eyes, there was still a restrained tenderness and joy, and nothing seemed amiss.
Song Zhiyu's gaze was joyful and proud, but when they met... no one noticed and let it pass.

Xie Wanqing's gaze was gentle yet hesitant, as if she felt a little guilty. She looked away after a brief touch, then looked back again, as if trying to conceal her feelings.

'As expected, something really happened...'

Xu Jinhuan no longer harbored any illusions and prepared himself for a brutal ordeal.

'What kind of "scumbag" is a man who hasn't been through a hellish situation?'

Xu Jinhuan chuckled inwardly, but remained outwardly calm. He waved to them and called out, "You've come just in time!"

"We just went to buy you some delicious food."

Song Zhiyu chuckled and said sweetly, "Brother, guess what delicious treats we bought for you?"

"Then how do I know?"

Xu Jinhuan laughed and said, "You came empty-handed. You can't possibly have brought me a pot of stewed chicken and left it in the car waiting for me, can you?"

"Not at all."

Song Zhiyu pouted, and only when he got closer did she smile sweetly with dimples, saying, "We searched for a long time but still didn't know what you wanted to eat, so we decided not to buy you anything..."

"Thank you all."

Xu Jinhuan looked at Chen Xingzhu, then at Xie Wanqing, and laughed, "Neither of you bought me anything?"

Now that he's been exposed, he's not as cautious as before. He's become a little more arrogant and has even started directly calling out "you two" by name.

Song Zhiyu rolled her eyes at him: "Isn't what I meant by 'us'?"

Xie Wanqing said softly, "If you want to eat, we can eat here first and then go."

"sure."

Xu Jinhuan thought for a moment and decided that it would be good to spend some time alone together, so he asked, "What would you like to eat? Chicken stew?"

"I don't want to eat it. I'm tired of eating the same old braised chicken in a clay pot every time."

Song Zhiyu pouted and looked around, "I want to eat fish head tofu..."

"Sure, I know a restaurant that's pretty good."

Xu Jinhuan had often come here in her previous life and knew a few good old restaurants, so she drove them there herself.

Song Zhiyu sat in the passenger seat, chattering away the whole way. Xie Wanqing and Chen Xingzhu would occasionally exchange a few words as well. On the surface, things seemed harmonious, and everyone behaved normally without breaking character.

"Order whatever you like, it's on me."

Upon arriving at the store, Xu Jinhuan requested a private room and waved his hand magnanimously, saying, "I just received a large investment; I'm rich."

Song Zhiyu asked in surprise, "You've received another investment?"

Xie Wanqing couldn't help but ask, "Is it Tencent?"

Xu Jinhuan laughed and said, "No, it was Xingzhu who invested the money."

"嘁~"

The three of them expressed their dislike together, and even Chen Xingzhu rolled her eyes, which eased Xu Jinhuan's heavy mood a little.

Xu Jinhuan had prepared various contingency plans, intending to wait until he returned before slowly seeking opportunities to probe and have in-depth exchanges with Xie Wanqing and Chen Xingzhu separately.

However, Chen Xingzhu did not give him such an opportunity at all.

After sitting down and ordering, Xu Jinhuan drank a beverage, then went to the restroom, washed his hands, and came out to see Chen Xingzhu standing outside.

"Go to the toilet? Go ahead, I've already flushed."

As Xu Jinhuan spoke, he walked over, took her hand, and hugged her, saying with a smile, "Let me hug you for a bit first."

Chen Xingzhu did not resist, but tilted her head back, her clear and bright eyes staring at him without blinking, misty with tears that quickly welled up. She asked him calmly, "Do you only dare to hug me when it's just the two of us?"

Xu Jinhuan's smile and movements froze slightly as he looked down at her.

Two lines of tears slid down her cheeks, but Chen Xingzhu smiled, a smile both poignant and beautiful, as she looked at him and whispered, "Xu Jinhuan, let's break up." (End of Chapter)