Before the meal, her attitude was exceedingly pleasant, but during the meal, she wore a sullen face and remained silent the entire time.
Ah Zhong had no idea what he had done to offend her again.
The two finished their meal in an awkward silence.
Zhou Jinbei, filled with anger, dumped him at the hotel entrance and sped away.
On the road, the more she thought about it, the more displeased she became.
After being away from the company for so long, and still being so friendly with female colleagues, Zhong Jiaming, you really are quite untrustworthy!
To resolve the doubts in her heart and confirm if Ah Zhong had any relationship with that colleague.
Upon returning home, she browsed through various groups and finally found the colleague's contact information and added her.
The colleague was quite surprised to receive her friend request.
Zhou Jinbei chatted with her a few words about work, then thanked her for introducing her to sell luxury goods last time.
"It's been so long since then, and I haven't had a chance to thank you properly. I feel quite bad about it. When do you have some free time? I'd like to treat you to a meal."
The colleague thought Zhou Jinbei was being polite because she felt awkward after encountering her at the dinner party today.
She very considerately said it was alright, and then added.
"Actually, you should be thanking Zhong Jiaming. I was just the intermediary. Seeing that your transaction was successful and your relationship was quite good, I felt relieved."
"As you know, the most feared thing for an intermediary is a failed connection, or causing any misunderstandings in the process."
Zhou Jinbei's mind buzzed as she read the text message.
She read it carefully, again and again.
What did it mean?
Thanking Zhong Jiaming?
She was the intermediary?
Could it be that the luxury goods she sold were bought by Zhong Jiaming!
She jokingly asked the colleague if Zhong Jiaming had already treated her to a meal, which was why she felt awkward accepting a second invitation from her.
The colleague sent a funny emoji, "He treated me to coffee, does that count as a meal?"
"You really don't need to be so polite. We're all colleagues, and we might need your help with things in the future."
Zhou Jinbei's heart began to pound.
Many scenes combined, causing her to tremble uncontrollably.
So, Ah Zhong knew about the difficulties she had encountered before!
To help her overcome the hardship, he had even sold his house, secretly asked a colleague to contact her, and bought used luxury goods that others no longer wanted, all to send her money...
Every time he saw her acting as if she didn't care, but doing things like this behind her back, what did it mean?
Did he still like her?
Did he feel guilty towards her?
Then why was this coward afraid to say anything!
Zhou Jinbei was someone who dared to love and dare to hate. Previously, when she couldn't be sure of Ah Zhong's feelings, she didn't dare to approach him rashly.
But now, with the evidence laid bare before her, she would despise herself if she didn't do something!
Therefore, after hastily saying a few other things to the colleague, she put away her phone, grabbed her car keys, and rushed downstairs.
She sped all the way to the hotel entrance, and as she rushed into the lobby, she called Ah Zhong.
Fortunately, Ah Zhong had already removed her number from the blacklist, and she connected quickly.
Ah Zhong was quite surprised to receive her call.
Not knowing what it was about, he hesitated for a long time before answering.
As soon as he answered, Zhou Jinbei's rapid-fire questions came through.
"Where are you? Which floor? I'm in the hotel lobby, send me your room number, I'm coming up to find you!"
"You're in the hotel lobby? What are you coming to find me for?"
"I don't have time to waste words with you. Before I get angry, either come down to get me, or send me your room number!"
Zhou Jinbei was like an aggressive creditor.
"Zhong Jiaming, I have a very important score to settle with you, hurry up!"
Not knowing what had happened to make her so anxious, Ah Zhong could only hang up and send her the room number.
He waited at the door of his room, and soon, Zhou Jinbei arrived.
Their eyes met, one filled with confusion, the other with ferocity.
It was as if their genders had been swapped.
Without a word, Zhou Jinbei rushed forward, grabbed his shirt, pushed him into the room, and kicked the door shut with her heel.
Then she pinned him against the wall by the entrance.
"Zhong Jiaming, I'm asking you, why did you suddenly sell your house?"
Ah Zhong was bewildered by her series of actions: "What?"
"Was it for me? Knowing I was in trouble and short of money, you didn't dare to give it to me openly, so you sold all my used goods. You sold your house for me?!"
How did she suddenly know everything? Who told her?
A hint of embarrassment flickered across Ah Zhong's face.
After all, he hadn't intended for Zhou Jinbei to know about his actions, nor did he expect any reward in return.
Before he could answer, Zhou Jinbei provided her own answer.
"Do you like me? Have you liked me for a long time? Have you never forgotten me?"
"When I married someone else back then, you left the country out of anger. I angered you away, didn't I?"
As she spoke, she suddenly released his collar, her eyes reddening.
She placed her hands on his chest and began to cry pitifully.
"Why didn't you just say it, Zhong Jiaming? You clearly have so many thoughts in your heart, you clearly like me, why didn't you tell me?"
"Do you know that I actually liked you too? If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have married that person. If you had told me earlier, our child..."
Ah Zhong's body stiffened, and he grabbed her wrist.
"Child? You're talking about that child back then..."
"That's right. I slept with you when you were drunk."
Zhou Jinbei cried rivers of tears, but her answer was forthright.
"I was afraid you wouldn't like me, afraid you would reject me, but I also wanted to leave a sliver of hope for myself in my stagnant marriage, so I became pregnant with your child."
"Zhong Jiaming, do you know how heartbroken I was when the child was lost? How much I longed for your embrace? How much I wished you would tell me, it's okay, the child is gone, but I'm still here for you!"
"But you coward, you didn't dare to say anything. You just did things behind my back that made you feel good about yourself. What would you have done if I never found out?"
That's right. Zhou Jinbei was right.
Ah Zhong admitted that he was insecure, not brave enough, and always hesitated at critical moments.
Even when he was on the verge of discovering the truth, he lacked the courage to ask.
Ever since Zhou Jinbei got married, he had never thought about the rest of his life.
He only knew that his heart was empty, and he had no interest in anything.
Other than filling himself with frantic work, he didn't know what meaning life held.
Zhou Jinbei's sudden appearance today and her words were an immense surprise to him.
"Beibei, I..."
"Don't say anything, don't say anything at all, kiss me."
Zhou Jinbei tiptoed, reached out, grabbed his collar, and pulled his neck down.
"I told you to kiss me, hurry up."