"My face was dirty so I came back to clean up in the bathroom here, so..." Cao Ya gave a vague explanation while still astonished at seeing a top-notch celebrity here.
Chu Xinyue was paying attention to the details. Seeing the redness in the corners of Cao Ya's eyes indicating she had been crying, she immediately voiced her worries upon remembering past incidents: "Ya, tell the truth. Did that man chase after you again?"
At these words, the three other researchers on the scene looked worriedly at Cao Ya.
The two men among them furrowed their brows, seemingly recalling an unpleasant past.
Hearing Chu Xinyue's question, a shudder ran through Cao Ya. "Xinyue, you..."
[Yuk! I am going to puke after seeing the dirty things.]
Only Qin Zhao, who could hear Ji Fei's thoughts, was baffled by this sudden outlandish phrase.
As soon as Cao Ya started speaking, Chu Xinyue and the other three showed disapproval on their faces.
The two other men didn't dare to say a word. After all, they were once suspected and beaten up. They wouldn't risk speaking out to avoid further trouble.
The only female companion voiced her concerns. "Ya, did he run after you and play out another exaggerated drama? You can't be fooled again. You can't be softhearted towards this kind of man."
"But..." Cao Ya mumbled, "We have many years of feelings for each other. It's really hard to let go. Maybe he will really change this time. His expression was different than before."
With a frown, Chu Xinyue replied. "Ya, you should know that he has violent tendencies and is troubled by a deep suspicion. At first, he treated others arbitrariously, but he might lash out at you later. If you really want to give up the chance to go abroad for him, then really..."
Before Chu Xinyue could finish, her hand was suddenly held down by Ji Fei, interrupting her.
Chu Xinyue was taken aback. Before she could look at Ji Fei, she could feel the strong discontent from Cao Ya's intense gaze.
"Xinyue, why do you have to speak of Zhi like that, wishing for me to regard him as a devil? I'm the one who's known him since childhood. I understand him more than anyone. It's really not good for you to say this."
Cao Ya targeted Xinyue even though two people tried to convince her. Qin Zhao instantly put his guard up, he didn't need to hear Ji Fei’s thoughts.
"What are you saying? Xinyue has good intentions. If you disagree with her views, you should still show basic courtesy.”
Qin Zhao's family were all defensive, especially now, considering how precious they were of Chu Xinyue.
Whoever dared to be disrespectful wouldn't be shown any consideration by Qin Zhao.
It was quite frightening how someone who was just speaking politely a moment ago had suddenly turned hostile.
Especially for Cao Ya, who didn't know Qin Zhao, she was so frightened she started to tremble, staring at Qin Zhao in astonishment.
“No, I had no ill intentions.”
“But neither did Xinyue!”
Cao Ya’s face flashed with an expression of confusion and distress. Her silence almost seemed to say: Who knows?
“You... Why are you defending her? You don't even know the whole story." Cao Ya even sounded aggrieved.
But her words left an ill feeling.
Qin Zhao really wanted to retort 'I’d rather stand for her than you! What’s the big deal?'
“I can do as I wish. You, this person…”
“Qin Zhao!”
Just as Qin Zhao was about to retort, he was interrupted by Chu Xinyue. Even though her tone was somewhat stern, something changed when she called him by his full name, from Mr. Qin to Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao felt like his bones were melting, he felt a wave of electricity pass through his body. He so wanted Chu Xinyue to call out his name again; it had been a while since last she did.
Qin Zhao looked at her eagerly, his face expressing, "if you call me, I'll listen; I'm a good boy."
This made Ji Fei, who was sitting in the middle, feel a sudden chill run down her spine, causing her to retract her neck a little.
Chu Xinyue only shouted in desperation — after all, it wasn't good for outsiders like Qin Zhao to chide Cao Ya, a member of their team.
"Ya, our team is about to go overseas soon. I hope you'll think carefully about your own affairs." Chu Xinyue has given her advice countless times already and was beginning to feel tired. If it wasn't for the potential hazard Cao Ya might pose, and the pitiful, woeful crying each time, Chu Xinyue wouldn't have bothered to meddle so much.
Now that she's being complained at, enough was enough.
Cao Ya blinked rapidly, but her gaze towards Chu Xinyue was still filled with suspicion, even though Chu Xinyue was about to go abroad.
"Forget it, let's not talk about my personal issues. I'm sorry if I've caused any unhappiness among all of you." said Cao Ya quietly.
The atmosphere eased a bit after that. Everyone started to talk about other stuff, veering away from the previous topic.
Only then did Cao Ya dared to ask out of curiosity, "So, Mr. Qin is here to invest? Why would a celebrity think of investing?"
Qin Zhao didn't particularly like this person, but he was ready to offer some high-sounding justification considering Chu Xinyue was here.
However, before he could, Ji Fei, who hadn't uttered a word the whole time, suddenly said, "Oh, that's because he's Chu Xinyue's ex-fiancé."
Her comment instantly made the room eerily silent.
Everyone else had been careful to avoid such phrasing. They were taken aback by Ji Fei's candidness.
Chu Xinyue looked at Ji Fei, stunned.
Qin Zhao frowned.
Firstly, he didn't like the word "ex".
Secondly, what was Ji Fei trying to do, saying things that would obviously upset Chu Xinyue?
He couldn't figure out what Ji Fei was playing at, but decided to use money to keep her calm.
In response to this, he heard Ji Fei mumble gleefully, ["How about that, surprised aren't you? Chu Xinyue's ex-fiancé is Qin Zhao, do you understand what that implies?" ]
Qin Zhao finally realized, Ji Fei was doing this...to target Cao Ya?
"Ex-? Fiancé? Of Chu Xinyue?!" Cao Ya's mouth dropped open in shock. She was completely clueless.
Back when Cao Ya appeared in Chu Xinyue's social circle, Qin Zhao had completely lost contact with Chu Xinyue. Their companions tried not to mention the relationship out of respect, and so by some strange turn of events, Cao Ya was kept in the dark even now.
At this moment, Cao Ya's gaze darted disbelievingly between the two. She instinctively denied it, pointing at Ji Fei and Qin Zhao, "Aren't you two together?"
Qin Zhao immediately wore an expression of revulsion.
Ji Fei truthfully said, "I am Chu Xinyue's would-have-been sister-in-law, his secondary sister-in-law."
Cao Ya's expression became even funnier. Not only was there an ex-fiancé in the picture, but family members also came to see Chu Xinyue.
Were they here to persuade her?
Chu Xinyue uncomfortably said, "We're already unrelated. He happened to be passing by, heard our conversation and wanted to discuss investing in the project."
Qin Zhao looked at Chu Xinyue with a stifled sorrow, not daring to say anything else outright.
But then Ji Fei spoke up again, "Yes, yes, yes, Qin Zhao can't hold on to Xinyue's heart. He's been dumped and is pathetically trying to encounter her coincidentally."
Everyone looked at Ji Fei in shock once again. Even though it was true, she hadn't been so direct about it just now!
Qin Zhao: Eh... Even though he didn't find it disgraceful, what was she up to? It felt like she was deliberately showing off something.
Ji Fei, with a radiant smile and ignoring Cao Ya's increasingly pale face, turned to look at the shell-shocked Chu Xinyue, "Ah, such an excellent female researcher, and so pretty too. I wonder what kind of extraordinary men will be able to catch your eye in the future. Definitely someone more handsome than Qin Zhao, richer than Qin Zhao, more capable than Qin Zhao, and with a better background than him."
Qin Zhao suddenly felt like he's been shot with many arrows.
Hey hey hey? What's going on here?
The trio of researchers couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Xinyue is indeed outstanding. She ignores the many who pursue her."
Upon hearing this, Qin Zhao instantly became nervous.
Chu Xinyue looked at Ji Fei in a mix of helplessness and bewilderment.
But Ji Fei had already turned to look at Cao Ya, whose face was alternating between red and green as if she wanted to disappear into the ground, "So what your ex-boyfriend just said must be wrong. Xinyue didn't even have a thing for my celebrity stepbrother. She wouldn't secretly harbor feelings for him."
This one sentence hit everyone like a bolt from the blue. It stunned everyone so much that they wondered if they had misheard.
"Huh?" The research trio asked in unison.
Who's suspecting who of having a secret crush?
Cao Ya was trembling all over from shame, her eyes filled with tears.
Chu Xinyue looked at Cao Ya in disbelief.
And Qin Zhao's face completely darkened.
["That trashy boyfriend of yours doesn't even deserve to be in the same frame as Xinyue. He still dares to fantasize that Chu Xinyue has feelings for him. You, with your pig head, even nearly believed him and doubted Chu Xinyue’s kindness towards you. Indeed, those with a love brain wouldn't even be eaten by zombies."]
