Did That Jerk Turn Over a New Leaf Today?

At noon, Gu Wenze returned to his office after finishing his last meeting.

His secretary followed him in and placed the compiled meeting notes on his desk. "President Gu, here's the summary of the meeting we just had."

Without looking up, Gu Wenze asked, "Has she brought lunch over yet?"

The secretary paused, then realized he meant Qiao Hua and answered honestly, "Not yet."

Gu Wenze's brows drew together slightly. He said nothing more and picked up a document to get to work.

Some time later, Gu Wenze finished reading all the documents on his desk. He rubbed his tired brow and glanced up at the clock. It was already past twelve.

Only then did he realize that Qiao Hua hadn't shown up at all today.

Gu Wenze pressed the intercom button. "Has Qiao Hua still not brought lunch?"

The secretary replied hesitantly, "Mr. Gu, reception hasn't reported that Miss Qiao has come to deliver lunch."

Gu Wenze's expression darkened.

By this time, Qiao Hua would usually have brought his lunch long ago, yet today she still hadn't appeared.

Gu Wenze picked up his phone and called Qiao Hua.

"Ring-"

The phone rang for a long time before someone answered. There was a fair amount of background noise on the other end.

Before Qiao Hua could speak, Gu Wenze asked in a low voice, "Why haven't you brought me lunch yet?"

Qiao Hua was baffled. "What lunch?"

Gu Wenze narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Qiao Hua, are you playing dumb on purpose?"

It took Qiao Hua a while to remember that the original owner of her body used to cook lunch herself and deliver it to Gu Wenze every day.

"Oh, I didn't make any today," Qiao Hua said casually. "You don't want to eat my cooking anyway, so from now on, just buy your own lunch."

A vein throbbed at Gu Wenze's temple. He had spent all this time waiting for Qiao Hua, only for her to tell him she hadn't cooked?

"Qiao Hua, what are you making a fuss about now?" Gu Wenze's voice grew even lower. "Or are you still upset that I took Jiang Nan to the hospital yesterday?"

Qiao Hua had no idea why Gu Wenze was inventing so much drama. "President Gu, you're overthinking it. I just couldn't be bothered to cook. It's not like you need me to provide that one meal, right?"

Before Gu Wenze could respond, Qiao Hua said, "All right, Mr. Gu, I have something to take care of. I can't talk right now."

With that, she hung up.

Gu Wenze flung his phone onto the desk in frustration and leaned heavily back in his chair.

Fine, he wouldn't eat it. Did Qiao Hua think he cared that much about a meal from her?

Yet his chest felt tight, as though something were lodged inside it.

Qiao Hua seemed a little different from before.

Just then, the alarm on his desk went off, reminding Gu Wenze that he had promised to accompany Jiang Nan to the hospital for a follow-up appointment.

He composed himself, picked up his jacket, and left the office.

Meanwhile, Qiao Hua put away her phone, took her registration slip from the self-service machine, and headed toward obstetrics and gynecology.

When luck turned against you, even a sip of water could get stuck in your teeth.

Qiao Hua had barely stepped out of the elevator when she ran straight into Jiang Nan.

Jiang Nan paused. "Qiao Hua?"

Qiao Hua stopped in her tracks. Just my luck. Of all places, I had to run into the female lead here.

Keeping her expression composed, Qiao Hua nodded at Jiang Nan and walked past her to leave.

Jiang Nan apparently hadn't expected Qiao Hua to be so calm. She grabbed her arm.

Qiao Hua turned to look at her. "Do you need something?"

Jiang Nan stared into her eyes and suddenly said, "You were the one who stopped Wenze from coming to see me last night, weren't you?"

Qiao Hua looked utterly bewildered. "Are you out of your mind?"

The corners of Jiang Nan's mouth lifted slightly. "Wasn't it you? Wenze said he was coming to see me, but not long afterward, he said he'd been in a car accident. Could there really be such a coincidence?"

Qiao Hua pulled her arm free. "Sweetie, if you want to know whether he really had an accident, I'd suggest asking your precious Wenze. That would be quicker."

Jiang Nan blocked Qiao Hua's path. Dropping all pretense, she said coldly, "Qiao Hua, stop pretending. You've felt threatened ever since I came back to the country, haven't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't keep interrupting my time alone with Wenze."

Qiao Hua found that rather funny. "Miss Jiang, am I the one who feels threatened, or are you?"

"If you were that confident, you wouldn't keep resorting to tricks to seduce Gu Wenze."

Jiang Nan's expression turned ugly.

It had only been a few days since they'd last met. How had Qiao Hua become so sharp-tongued?

She used to be an idiot who lashed out physically at the slightest provocation.

"So what?" Deep contempt lurked beneath Jiang Nan's smile. "That proves Wenze cares about me. Otherwise, he wouldn't drop you and come take care of me whenever I called."

Qiao Hua actually agreed with that.

After all, Jiang Nan had always been the one Gu Wenze loved. The original owner of her body had merely been an accident.

Qiao Hua patted Jiang Nan's shoulder. "Then I hope things work out for you two soon, that you stay together forever, and that you get married and have kids as soon as possible."

To Jiang Nan, those words sounded like a provocation. Her nails dug deep into her palms. Dealing with Qiao Hua felt like punching cotton.

Qiao Hua had no desire to keep tangling with Jiang Nan here. It looked like she wouldn't be able to have the abortion today. She didn't want anyone finding out she was pregnant.

But just as she was about to leave, Jiang Nan spotted a familiar figure emerging from the elevator nearby. She immediately rushed to Qiao Hua's side, grabbed her hand, and used it to shove herself hard.

The next second, Jiang Nan fell heavily to the floor.

Before Qiao Hua could figure out what Jiang Nan was playing at, someone slammed into her shoulder. Gu Wenze rushed to Jiang Nan and helped her up, his voice tense with anxious urgency. "Jiang Nan, are you all right?"

Jiang Nan's face was pale, making the redness at the corners of her eyes stand out all the more. "I-I'm fine. Miss Qiao didn't mean to push me. Please don't blame her."

Gu Wenze was just about to lose his temper when he heard Qiao Hua's thoughts.

[So she grabbed my hand and used it to push herself down just to pin it on me.]

[What a fake innocent. She's got more tricks than a magician.]

[I bet Gu Wenze will demand to know why I pushed Jiang Nan, then call me a vicious woman. Maybe he'll get so angry he'll throw me out.]

[That would be fantastic. I can't wait to pack my things and leave. Ideally, Gu Wenze will fling a bank card in my face like they do on TV and say, "You have one day to move out."]

Something seemed to stir in Gu Wenze's chest.

Had Jiang Nan grabbed Qiao Hua's hand and pushed herself?

Gu Wenze looked at Jiang Nan, unreadable emotions flickering in his eyes. "Did Qiao Hua really push you?"

Jiang Nan's expression stiffened for an instant.

Gu Wenze had always believed her without hesitation. This was the first time he had doubted her.

Jiang Nan bit her lip. "Someone pushed me just now, and Miss Qiao was the only person close to me..."

She didn't finish, but everyone present understood what she meant.

Gu Wenze fell silent for a few seconds. "Could you have misunderstood?"

Qiao Hua glanced at Gu Wenze in surprise.

[Did that jerk turn over a new leaf today? He's actually speaking up for me?]

Hearing his words, Jiang Nan dug her fingertips deep into her palms. Why was Gu Wenze reacting differently from what she had imagined?

Jiang Nan forced a strained smile. "Maybe I was mistaken. I'm sure Miss Qiao wouldn't do something like that."

"Let's just say I fell by accident. Please don't argue because of me."

She sounded so aggrieved and accommodating that anyone who heard her would have felt sorry for her.

Sure enough, the faint suspicion lingering in Gu Wenze's heart vanished at once.

Qiao Hua had always picked on Jiang Nan before, so it was only natural for Jiang Nan to have misunderstood in the moment.

Gu Wenze comforted her. "It's all right. This isn't your fault. She's the one who's always behaved so unreasonably."

[You can pin even this on me? Is there something wrong with you two?]

Gu Wenze's brow twitched. He helped Jiang Nan up from the floor, then turned to Qiao Hua and demanded, "What are you doing here?"