At night, a girl in a dress staggered along the walkway in Wanxi Residential Area.
At a company meeting that day, the manager had singled her out for praise. After work, Li Mengqing had gone out to celebrate with a few close friends.
She hadn't planned on drinking, but it was hard to turn down their warm invitations. She was in a good mood, too, and ended up having a few too many. It was already ten thirty when she got back to the residential area.
When she got home, she ignored her parents and stumbled over to her bed.
"Look at her, dear. How did she get so drunk? What if a young woman like her gets drunk outside?" Li Mengqing's Mother said worriedly.
Her father went to take a look at her room, helped her take off her shoes, then closed the door.
"It's fine. She told me she was drinking with a few of her girlfriends. There weren't any guys."
"That doesn't make it okay! Those girls were all dead drunk. What kind of behavior is that?" Her mother fretted. "I'm going to get some hot water and wipe her face."
Her father shook his head and smiled wryly. "You keep such a tight leash on her. She's twenty-two, and she doesn't even have a boyfriend. Old Cao's kid is already getting ready to marry."
Her mother complained, "You're always nagging. Our daughter has so much going for her. How could she not find a boyfriend? She just hasn't met someone she likes."
"Then that's great. Have a good talk with her. Tell her I can't wait any longer, and she should hurry up and bring a son-in-law home for her dad to meet." Her father teased her, holding a newspaper.
Two hours later, Li Mengqing groggily sat up. She realized she was lying in her own bed at home. She reached out and felt her forehead; it was slightly warm.
She had a mild fever, and her temperature was rising. Feeling hot, she kicked off the blanket. She looked at her red, flushed face in the mirror on her vanity, patted her warm cheeks, and murmured, "Li Mengqing, you finally did it. Let's see if they still dare look down on you."
On a whim, she pulled out her phone and called Shen Qiong.
It was past midnight. Shen Qiong was just about to go to bed when he noticed an incoming call.
In the dim room, the phone was the only light. Shen Qiong glanced at the screen, thinking he must have misread it. He checked again. Damn, he hadn't! Why was this girl calling him so late? Was she going to ask about tomorrow's fortune?
Thinking it didn't matter either way, Shen Qiong answered.
"Listen, I finally did it! At the meeting today, Old Witch looked at me with nothing but envy, jealousy, and resentment. It was hilarious."
Shen Qiong realized he hadn't even had a chance to speak before she launched into a nonstop monologue.
"And Sister Qian, who's two years older than me—she's always using little tricks to dump the work she doesn't like on me. I bet her face turned black when she found out!" Li Mengqing giggled. Her voice was lovely, which was a treat for Shen Qiong.
"Yeah, and Sister Li in our department—she always makes me go get her coffee. Does she think I work for her? We're equals, okay? Equals..."
Shen Qiong listened with a wry smile. So she was drunk and had called someone to complain!
"Chen Jun is so annoying, too. He's always clinging to me. I've hinted so many times that I'm not interested. If you're not liked, then you're not liked! Why are men nowadays so persistent? Don't they know how annoying it is?"
Shen Qiong was speechless. If she wasn't interested, she should just say so. What was the point of hinting? What if he didn't get the hint?
Li Mengqing flopped onto the bed and hugged a pillow, pouting as she complained, "At least Xue'er is good to me. But her boyfriend looks at me so strangely! He doesn't seem like a good person, but I don't know how to tell her."
Shen Qiong felt a cold sweat break out. He immediately imagined a man with his arm around his girlfriend, staring intently at Li Mengqing.
He quickly shook his head, telling himself to calm down. It had nothing to do with him anyway.
She bit her lip and said with a hint of annoyance, "I don't want to fall in love this early. Men these days are all womanizers. Hmph! Once I have money, I'll have my pick of pretty young guys."
Shen Qiong broke out in a cold sweat. So this girl was into that kind of thing!
"Honestly, I really don't get how guys can fall for one girl after another. They swear they love you today, then next week they're holding another girl's hand." Her voice grew sad.
So this girl had been hurt before, too! Shen Qiong chuckled to himself.
"Hmm... What else? I guess there hasn't been much to be happy about lately, apart from my proposal being accepted and meeting that silly guy. Why is he so silly? I never thought he was this shy before!"
Shen Qiong froze. Had the girl met someone she liked?
Li Mengqing's voice grew softer and softer until Shen Qiong could no longer make out what she was saying.
Shen Qiong yawned and checked the time. It was already past one. He said softly, "Good night."
Li Mengqing, who had been about to fall asleep, suddenly woke up. Her head had been swimming, and she hadn't heard the other person's voice through the phone at all. At first, she'd thought she was talking to herself. That "good night" startled her awake.
She checked her phone. The call was still connected, and it had been going for over an hour. Oh my god!
She hurriedly hung up. Her face was burning with embarrassment. What had she just said? At the end, she'd seemed to say he was silly.
At the thought, Li Mengqing pressed the pillow over her burning face. It was mortifying! Why had she called him? And why had she said so much!!!
How could this happen? How could this happen!!! He didn't know, right? He didn't know that the "silly guy" I mentioned at the end was him, right?
Shen Qiong had no idea the girl he'd just spoken to was on the verge of a breakdown. He hadn't expected to hear such a lovely voice just before bed. It had been soft, and the person on the other end was a pretty girl, too. He didn't know who she'd called silly at the end, but it was probably someone she liked!
Shen Qiong shook his head at himself. "Don't think about it. Just focus on making money! Who'd want to be with you when you're this broke?"
The next morning, the first rays of sunlight shone through the window.
Shen Qiong climbed out of bed with a wry smile. This was crazy. He'd been unable to sleep ever since he'd finished talking to that girl last night.
"Damn it, Shen Qiong, don't tell me you've actually fallen for her?" he said self-mockingly as he splashed cold water on his face.
He pulled out his phone and saw that it was already past eight. Just as he was about to put it down and eat breakfast, he noticed that a new WeChat message had popped up.
Congratulations! Your Reputation Value has exceeded 500. Once your popularity reaches 1,000, a new type of information will be unlocked.
Shen Qiong froze. What an unexpected surprise!
What could be more exciting than waking up to a surprise like this?
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