From Runaway Bride to Global Queen

Chapter 52: Chapter 52 Naturally Stupid

Old Mr. Lu’s birthday was at the end of May, and as one of the most prominent families in Capital City, Old Mr. Lu’s birthday feast was naturally not to be taken lightly.

Although Old Mr. Lu himself did not wish to make it ostentatious.

Qiao Yi had been sick for over ten days, and Old Mr. Lu severely scolded Yanchuan, blaming him for not taking good care of Qiao Yi and letting her be sick for so long.

Even though Qiao Yi herself explained that it had nothing to do with Yanchuan, Old Mr. Lu still stubbornly blamed Yanchuan for Qiao Yi’s illness.

Qiao Yi and Yanchuan both knew why she was sick this time, but neither of them had brought up the matter.

After taking the last dose of medicine, Qiao Yi felt like she had finally come back to life.

Anyone would be overwhelmed by eating so much bitter medicine every day, especially since Old Mr. Lu, in an attempt to speed up her recovery, forced her to drink various strange medicinal dishes daily.

This stuff is simply not fit for human consumption. Yanchuan endured it twice but couldn’t anymore; whenever he saw the medicinal dishes, he would hide until Qiao Yi finished eating and then come back.

Qiao Yi felt she was soaked through with the smell of medicine. She took a quick hot shower with relief and wrapped herself in a bath towel, then sat on the sofa playing with her phone.

Suddenly, the room door was pushed open. Qiao Yi was startled and sat up straight, but when she saw the person entering was Qiao Xin, she lazily slumped back down.

“If it’s urgent, speak quickly; if it’s not, then leave quickly.”

“Qiao Yi! I’m your sister! Do you have even a shred of respect for me!”

Qiao Xin was choked by Qiao Yi’s words even before she spoke, pointing at Qiao Yi and yelling fiercely.

Qiao Yi nonchalantly cleared her ears, and after Qiao Xin had finished yelling, she disdainfully rolled her eyes.

“Qiao Xin, please, go look in a mirror and see what you look like right now. It’s simply laughable. And here you are talking to me about sisterly bonds. Do you want a heartfelt hug right now? Doesn’t that make you feel disgusted when you say such things?”

Qiao Yi tossed her phone aside, and even though she remained seated, her gaze made Qiao Xin shiver.

When had Qiao Yi become so inscrutable to her!

“Speak up, why are you here? I’m busy!”

Qiao Yi was really impatient to talk to Qiao Xin; this woman was beyond help, driven almost mad by a man.

Qiao Xin didn’t want to talk either, but for the sake of Old Mr. Lu’s upcoming birthday feast, she had to come to Qiao Yi.

“Give me a copy of the guest list for Grandfather’s birthday feast.”

“No.”

Qiao Yi was puzzled as to why Qiao Xin was interested in these matters; back at the Qiao Family home, Zhao Wenjing had several times wanted her to help with banquets, but she had always dismissively declined.

“Qiao Yi! Don’t go too far!”

Qiao Xin’s face turned livid as she gnashed her teeth, glaring at Qiao Yi.

“What can you do if I bully you? Now get out of my room immediately, or else don’t blame me for being rude!”

Qiao Yi clenched her fist and suddenly stared coldly at Qiao Xin, the chill in her eyes making Qiao Xin involuntarily retreat several steps.

Shaken and humiliated by Qiao Yi, Qiao Xin surged forward to hit her.

Qiao Yi sidestepped and stretched out a leg, kicking Qiao Xin in the shin and sending her sprawling on the couch, unable to get up for quite some time.

“Qiao Xin, don’t assume I don’t know what you’re up to. Go tell Lu Ming that he’s got no place meddling in Old Mr. Lu’s birthday feast!”

Qiao Yi recalled how Qiao Xin had been lingering around Old Mr. Lu these past few days and considering Lu Ming’s frequent visits to the old house, it was clear what they were plotting.

Qiao Xin’s face stiffened with outrage, staring at Qiao Yi in disbelief, having no idea why she would know that it was Lu Ming who wanted the list for the banquet.

“Qiao Xin, do you know what I admire most about you?”

Qiao Yi squatted in front of Qiao Xin, presenting a full view of Spring scenery to a woman full of envy.

Qiao Xin turned away, refusing to look at Qiao Yi, feeling frightened and intimidated by her demeanor, wishing to escape far away.

“What I admire most about you is how naturally you play the fool. Lu Ming himself didn’t dare to ask for the banquet list, but you stepped in for him. Let me guess why? Could it be for a chance to interact with Lu Yanchuan? That would impress me even more!”

Embarrassed and furious, Qiao Xin suddenly pushed Qiao Yi’s shoulders, stumbled up from the sofa, and limped out.

“Boring.”

Qiao Yi dusted off her hands, which weren’t actually dusty, and leisurely moved to the bed, quickly falling asleep under the covers.

When Lu Yanchuan came back, he saw Qiao Yi sound asleep.

A towel wrapped around, leaving her slender white legs exposed outside, and her round pinkish toes occasionally twitched.

Sick for these days, Qiao Yi’s body was severely weakened, always feeling extremely sleepy.

Hearing the sound of the door opening and footsteps, Qiao Yi mumbled under the covers and struggled to get up from the bed after a while.

“Why are you back so early today?”

“I came back to pick you up.”

Qiao Yi sat up, looking up at Lu Yanchuan.

“Pick me up, and take me where?”

“To the groundbreaking ceremony for the Tian City Old Port District project.”

This was a major event, and Qiao Yi quickly changed clothes, excitedly dragging Lu Yanchuan out.

“Why are they starting the construction so early? They’ve only had this project for about ten days, are they in such a rush, is the proposal even ready?”

Qiao Yi was just asking; the earlier the project started, the better it was for both the Qiao Family and the Lu Family, as dragging it longer would mean more resources wasted eventually.

As the two walked out, passing downstairs, Old Mr. Lu was deeply engaged in a game with his old friends. Hearing Lu Yanchuan and Qiao Yi leave, he merely responded with a few sound.

“They plan to demolish the port first while addressing the demolition issues in the old district.”

By tackling both tasks simultaneously, they could save at least half a month in construction time, but this also means much larger initial investments.

Qiao Yi was speechless; from Longjia and Tengxin’s perspective, they were seeking speed to save construction period, but from Qiao Yi’s view, they were just rushing towards their doom.

“Like this, won’t it be just a couple of months before you and dad can make your move?”

“There’s no rush.”

Lu Yanchuan was confident, and seeing him like this, Qiao Yi chose not to say more.

The banquet was held at the same hotel where Qiao Yi had her wedding, bringing back unpleasant memories every time she was there, casting a shadow over her.

Can’t dwell on it; overthinking would just upset her.

Qiao Yi followed Lu Yanchuan into the venue without looking sideways, and amid a crowd of compliments, they met the Shi brothers.

Perhaps it was the lively spirit of happy occasions, the Shi brothers looked even healthier than on the day they signed the contract, and they came up laughing to greet Lu Yanchuan and Qiao Yi.