Chapter 97

Chapter 97

After finally shaking off Huang Yuanrui’s harassment for good, Zhang Qiong’s life at last went from storm clouds to clear skies.

She had no idea what methods Li Shihao had used to produce such miraculous results.

A week passed. She did not leave City A, and Huang Yuanrui never contacted or threatened her again.

The second week began, and Huang Yuanrui was still silent.

Not only was Huang Yuanrui silent, Qin Song had not shown up at the company for several days either.

That weekend, Zhang Qiong opened her chat with Huang Yuanrui again. Their last message was still Huang Yuanrui questioning her about how she had brought up the breakup with Qin Song.

Zhang Qiong’s thoughts suddenly veered in a strange direction-could Li Shihao have… killed her? Otherwise, how could he make a paranoid lunatic like Huang Yuanrui let her off so easily?

She quickly dismissed the bizarre thought and picked up her phone.

She tapped into Huang Yuanrui’s Moments, only to see a single horizontal line.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Qiong returned to the chat and tapped “Transfer.” She did not see the masked name ending in “rui.”

So Huang Yuanrui had already deleted her.

Zhang Qiong let out a long breath, rubbed her face, and brewed herself a pot of rose tea.

She recalled what Li Shihao had said last time. He had not said, “I’ll provide for you,” nor had he said, “I want to date you.” He had said he wanted her to “follow” him.

The word “follow” was subtle.

It was unlike “provide for,” which always carried a certain ambiguous undertone between a man and a woman.

People often said someone had “followed the right person.” It was a phrase without any inherent gendered meaning, as if two independent individuals were involved, and the stronger party was sheltering the weaker one behind them.

Zhang Qiong knew very well that if Li Shihao had been driving a Wuling Hongguang and said those words to her, she would have burst out laughing… No, if that had been the case, she would never have given him the chance to speak to her in the first place.

But he had been driving a boxy Land Rover. Paired with those words, it was worth savoring over and over for a very long time.

Power and status were aphrodisiacs. So was wealth.

She did not know what kind of business Li Shihao was in, but she could vaguely sense that he was most likely connected to the underworld.

But she did not care about that. Only a man like that could truly protect her.

She began to imagine what Li Shihao’s other two women were like. Perhaps they were girls in their early twenties, with faces so tender they seemed to drip water if pinched. Or perhaps they were charming young wives, every movement brimming with flirtatious allure.

Zhang Qiong felt a sourness in her chest, as if she were jealous.

She opened a search engine and typed in “Li Shihao,” hoping to see his name appear on some web pages. That would prove even more that he was a man of considerable influence.

After searching for a long time, she found plenty of people with the same name, but none of them matched this Li Shihao.

Then Zhang Qiong wondered why Li Shihao had divorced in the first place, and what had made him decide never to marry again.

It had been a long time since she had truly been in contact with Li Shihao. Over the past few weeks, she had only occasionally sent him messages.

Aside from reporting her progress and telling him that Huang Yuanrui had not harassed her again, Zhang Qiong had only asked him a few times, “Have you eaten?” and “Are you busy today?” Li Shihao always replied with a brief, “Mm.”

Zhang Qiong did not dare say more. She was afraid that if she did, he would find her annoying, and she was also afraid he would go back on his word.

She was not sure whether his feelings for her had been born from a knightly urge to rescue a woman in distress or from a momentary impulse, but Li Shihao’s taciturn manner only made him seem even more attractive to her.

After hesitating for a long while, she finally tried sending Li Shihao a message.

“Are you there?”

Li Shihao: “What’s wrong?”

Zhang Qiong: “Huang Yuanrui has completely stopped bothering me.”

Li Shihao: “I know.”

Zhang Qiong: “Thank you.”

Li Shihao: “It’s what I should do.”

Zhang Qiong: “Have you been busy lately?”

Li Shihao: “Busy, but what I’m busy with is almost over.”

Zhang Qiong: “Then when can I treat you to a meal?”

After typing that sentence, Zhang Qiong suddenly realized she was being rather cautious now-or rather, rather humble.

According to what Li Shihao had said last time, “follow me,” the two of them could be considered to have established a romantic relationship by now. It should have been perfectly normal for her to ask him out to eat.

So why, when she wanted to have a meal with him, did she have to say, “I’ll treat you”?

Thinking positively, it was because he had done her a huge favor. Whether the other party was family, a friend, or a lover, it was only right to express gratitude. This was simply her knowing how to behave properly.

Thinking negatively, it was precisely his cold, near-total silence during this period that had unconsciously placed her in the lower position in their relationship.

Li Shihao replied: “No need for a meal. As long as the matter is resolved.”

Zhang Qiong’s heart went cold.

He made it sound as if there had only ever been one party asking the other to handle something-and the sort where the two sides’ status was worlds apart.

Zhang Qiong: “Aren’t we seeing each other now? Isn’t eating together normal?”

Li Shihao: “I only wanted to help you. Now that I’ve helped you, my task is complete. From now on, let’s each live our own lives.”

Zhang Qiong stared at the line of text, completely stunned. His words left her with no idea how to respond.

If she said, “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” she could not bring herself to say it. After all, he had been the one who had taken the initiative to say he wanted to protect her, and she had truly developed feelings for him.

But if she wanted to curse him as a scumbag, he had already said it himself: “I only wanted to help you, and I did help you.”

Logically speaking, he owed her nothing.

Zhang Qiong felt a breath trapped in her chest and took a large gulp of rose tea.

The water entered through her mouth and spilled out through her eyes.

She replied: “Do you mean we should be strangers from now on?”

Li Shihao: “Yes. I wish you all the best.”

Zhang Qiong stared at the screen for a while, deleted the entire chat history, and tossed her phone aside.

She knew very well that she had been dumped.