Song Xi froze for a moment, a flurry of questions flashing through her mind.
When did Zhang Qi get a fiancée? If he had a fiancée, why would her grandmother still want them to get married? If this were true, would it mean she would finally be free?
Her expression shifted dramatically in a matter of seconds, a truly captivating display.
Ge Baitao watched with keen interest from the side, until Song Xi finally spoke.
"Miss Ge, don't worry, I'll leave Zhang Qi immediately!"
Ge Baitao blinked, surprised by her attitude.
"Don't you like him?"
Song Xi realized she had been a bit too obviously pleased. She lowered her eyes and began to act, "I'm self-aware. Miss Ge and Zhang Qi are a perfect match. I'm willing to step aside."
Her magnanimity completely disrupted Ge Baitao's plan.
"I'm not playing anymore! You surrender so quickly. Following the cliché drama trope, I should have threatened you with money, and you would have vehemently refused. You're not playing by the rules at all!"
Now it was Song Xi's turn to be bewildered.
"You... what do you mean?"
"I don't like Zhang Qi at all," Ge Baitao said. "We did have a childhood engagement, but it's long been void. I was lying to you, just to see your reaction."
Song Xi stared, feeling a sense of betrayal.
But Ge Baitao misinterpreted her expression and exclaimed, "You don't actually still like Zhang Qi, do you? You don't seem like a lovesick fool. He's practically choked you to death, you should be running away from a man like that. Are you under some kind of spell?"
Song Xi was momentarily speechless.
But Ge Baitao seemed even angrier, unleashing a torrent of Zhang Qi's dark history.
"Let me tell you, Zhang Qi has been a scoundrel since he was a child. He used his family's wealth and power for all sorts of evil deeds! In high school, he took a fancy to a girl and drove her to the brink of suicide. His uncle eventually smoothed things over, reportedly... by breaking one of his fingers."
Song Xi was shocked. Recalling Zhang Qi's scene of begging for mercy just moments ago, she suddenly understood.
"So, you must never be soft-hearted! Besides, with Lou Yuming on your side, what are you afraid of? That guy who came looking for you last time, what was his name..."
"Shen Heping?"
"Yes!"
Ge Baitao slapped her thigh. "It seems you don't know yet, but that guy owes a lot of money. I suspect he approached Lou Yuming to cover his debts. But Lou Yuming is incredibly powerful; not just the Zhang family, but no one in the entire circle dares to cross him. I heard he later handed Shen Heping over to loan sharks. He's probably never coming back."
No wonder Lou Yuming had said he returned to where he belonged. So, it was... loan sharks.
"But this is the first time I've seen Lou Yuming like this. He's never intervened when Zhang Qi's previous girlfriends had trouble. You're the first."
She looked at Song Xi meaningfully. Song Xi straightened her back nervously, thinking she had been discovered. But Ge Baitao, thinking she was clever, concluded.
"It seems beauty is important after all! Even a great king of hell like Lou Yuming can't help but feel protective of a beautiful woman! I'm so envious..."
Song Xi gave an awkward, forced smile, unsure of how to respond.
"Let's add each other on WeChat. You can reach out to me if you need anything in the future. I'm happy to help a beautiful woman."
She was frank and endearing. Whether her words were sincere or not, Song Xi found herself quite fond of her.
"Oh, right! You must teach me how to do makeup in the future!"
Song Xi nodded. After Ge Baitao left, she called Lou Yuming. She had intended to subtly inquire about Ge Baitao's character, but the words felt awkward, so she changed the subject to Shen Heping. Yet, asking about him felt like betraying Ge Baitao.
She agonized over it until a soft cough from the phone startled her into blurting out, "I miss you!"
Lou Yuming raised an eyebrow and put down his pen. "Out of money?"
How could he think that of her!
"How much do you need?"
"Twenty thousand? Or fifty thousand?"
"It's been transferred."
Song Xi was so dazed by the money that she no longer cared about her original question.
"Song Xi."
The man's deep voice sounded in her ear.
Song Xi grinned broadly. "I'm here, I'm here! Uncle Lou, I love you!"
Lou Yuming let out a scoff. "Such a sweet mouth, have you gotten into trouble for me again recently?"
"Of course not! I'm in the hospital every day, being exceptionally good."
"Really? Then how do you know the Ge family child?"
Song Xi felt a chill run down her spine. Did he have a surveillance device on her? How could he know about this!
"I... she came to see me. She said she was the one who called the hospital that day."
Lou Yuming sounded surprised.
With the conversation having reached this point, Song Xi casually asked, "What's she like? She didn't seem to like Zhang Qi much?"
Lou Yuming said nonchalantly, "She indeed dislikes him. Zhang Qi played a prank on her by shaving her head when they were children, and later broke up her first boyfriend when they grew up."
"..."
This wasn't just dislike; it was a deep-seated hatred!
Lou Yuming asked, "Why the sudden interest?"
Song Xi gave a silly chuckle. "Just asking casually. I want to make more friends."
Just then, Yao Yifan walked into the office holding documents.
Lou Yuming said, "Handle this yourself, but don't get too close to the Ge family," and hung up.
Song Xi held her phone, looking at the flowers Ge Baitao had given her. One thing she had said was very true: someone as crazy as Zhang Qi needed to be kept far away.
So, she opened WeChat, found Zhang Qi's avatar, tapped her finger back and forth on the screen a few times, and finally decisively hit send.
— Zhang Qi, let's break up.