Chapter 61: What a Coincidence

Jiang Xiaoyue had been sitting and sipping her coffee when she turned her head and saw the private room door suddenly open.

A woman wearing sunglasses emerged, her lips pressed tightly together.

After noticing Jiang Xiaoyue’s gaze, the woman nodded at her, then strode out with purposeful steps.

Moments later, Jiang Chen followed, her expression far from pleasant.

Jiang Xiaoyue stood up, walked over to her daughter, and gently pulled her into a hug.

“What’s wrong? Did things not go well?”

Who else could that person be but Ma Lijun?

“Mom, should I have stayed out of other people’s family affairs? I thought most mother-daughter relationships were like ours.”

Jiang Chen’s tone was dejected. 

With just a few words, Jiang Xiaoyue pieced together the situation and patted her daughter’s back.

“Family affairs or not, you’d only be wrong if Zhou Qingying expressed unhappiness about it. And aren’t close mother-daughter relationships like ours pretty rare?”

“Mm…” 

Jiang Chen buried her face in her mom’s embrace.

“Shall we head home now?”

“Oh, wait a second. I should call Yingying.”

No matter what, her actions this time had been impulsive. 

If Zhou Qingying felt upset about it, that would be understandable.

“Sure, then Mom will sit a bit longer.”

Jiang Xiaoyue pointed at the half-eaten cake on her table, its frosting peeling off in places, and ruffled her daughter’s hair.

“I’ll just wait a little then~”

Jiang Chen returned to the private room to make the call while Jiang Xiaoyue shook her head.

Her daughter’s feelings were more sensitive than most. 

She worried Jiang Chen might spiral into overthinking.

She’d have to comfort her more once they got home.

Jiang Chen dialed the WeChat call. After a few rings, a lazy voice answered.

It sounded like Zhou Qingying hadn’t gotten out of bed yet.

“Yingying.”

“Chenchen? I thought it was Chen Ting coming to bug me.”

The room was pitch black. Zhou Qingying sat up, her hair a tangled mess.

The air conditioner had been running all night; her throat was parched. 

She glanced at the glass on her nightstand— not a drop of water left.

“Why are you up so late?” Jiang Chen mentally organized her words, trying to figure out how to bring up the matter.

“It’s the holidays, after all…”

Zhou Qingying had suffered from insomnia the night before. 

She’d had a dream about her childhood— watching her mom get into a car and drive away without looking back, no matter how much she cried or pleaded.

All she could see was her mom getting farther and farther away.

She’d drifted in and out of uneasy half-sleep until the early hours, finally falling into a heavy slumber.

“Mm… There’s something I want to tell you.”

Jiang Chen recounted her meeting with Ma Lijun, explaining everything in detail without holding anything back.

“I see…”

Contrary to what she’d expected, Zhou Qingying’s voice sounded extremely calm.

There was no anger, no hysterics— just like she’d finished listening to an ordinary story.

This…

“I was a bit surprised myself.”

Her tone carried a hint of self-mockery, yet Jiang Chen detected an undercurrent of certainty.

“Chenchen, I’m really tired.”

“Yingying?”

The call ended. 

Jiang Chen’s heart raced faster and faster. She practically leaned on the wall as she walked out.

“Little Chen?” 

Jiang Xiaoyue had been keeping an eye on the private room. 

Seeing her daughter looking so devastated, she shot up from her chair. 

The wooden seat toppled over with a loud crash.

“Student Jiang?” 

Secretary Fang heard the commotion and hurried out from the nearby lounge.

She quickly stepped forward and helped support Jiang Chen’s other arm.

“Deep breaths…” 

Secretary Fang guided her.

Jiang Chen’s complexion gradually improved.

“Sit down first and exhale slowly.”

The buzzing in Jiang Chen’s head faded, and her pupils began to focus.

“I’m okay now.”

But as soon as her heartbeat steadied, overwhelming worry flooded in.

“I need to get to Yingying’s place right away!” Her voice trembled.

Secretary Fang sensed the urgency and rushed outside to start the car.

Jiang Xiaoyue hurriedly grabbed her bag, phone in hand, and followed Jiang Chen out of the café.

Once in the car, Jiang Chen gave an address and immediately called Chen Ting.

“You need to go check on Yingying right now!”

Chen Ting was still groggy, but hearing Jiang Chen’s agitated tone, she didn’t care that she was still in pajamas. 

She snatched her keycard and headed downstairs.

She still had Zhou Qingying’s spare keycard— perfect timing.

Chen Ting dashed out of the elevator, swiped the card, and entered. 

The house was eerily quiet. Uncle Zhou was at work, so Yingying should be in her room.

Chen Ting raced upstairs and pushed open the door at the end of the hallway.

The room felt freezing, like the inside of a freezer. Chen Ting shivered.

“Yingying?! Yingying!”

“Mm…” A weak voice emerged from under the covers.

Chen Ting leaped onto the bed and yanked the blanket off.

Zhou Qingying, curled up in her nightgown, reached out gropingly when the cold hit her, searching for her blanket.

In her haze, she spotted a figure standing on the bed.

She squinted for a moment—

“Aaaaaah!!!”

Chen Ting felt like her ears were about to burst.

The next second, a pillow came flying at her.

Jiang Chen’s call came through again. 

Chen Ting tossed the blanket back over, and Zhou Qingying was already mostly awake.

“Hello?”

The call connected, but there was dead silence on the other end. 

Jiang Chen’s heart sank to the bottom.

Chen Ting’s voice broke through.

“Chenchen, I don’t know what happened… but Yingying was just sleeping.”

She kept it brief.

“Sleeping?”

“Yeah… her eye bags are practically dragging on the floor.”

Jiang Chen frowned. 

Then she heard Secretary Fang in the driver’s seat say, “Student Jiang, is it okay if I park here?”

“Mm, sorry about that, Secretary Fang… just pull over on the side of the road. It’s fine now.”

“Ah… oh, sure.”

Secretary Fang was surprised for only a second before slipping back into professional driver mode.

The SUV pulled smoothly to the curb. Jiang Chen and Jiang Xiaoyue got out.

Secretary Fang exited from the other side as well.

Jiang Chen was about to suggest waiting for Chen Ting to come down and let them in when she saw Secretary Fang pull a keycard from her bag.

“This is…?”

“Well, actually, I’m an owner here.”

Seeing the mother and daughter’s astonished expressions, a wave of pride surged in Secretary Fang’s chest.

Wasn’t this exactly why she’d worked so hard to pay off her mortgage?

So that when people asked, she could casually say, “I’m an owner in this building.”

“Secretary Fang, what a coincidence.”

“Ah, President Wang, good afternoon.”

She turned around, still wearing her triumphant smile. 

But President Wang was looking at her with an ambiguous expression.

“Uh… President Wang, uh.”

“Auntie, Jiang Jiang, good afternoon.”

Only after watching Wang Ziyue walk past did Secretary Fang realize how frivolous her behavior might have seemed in President Wang’s eyes.

Thinking further, would that frivolous display affect President Wang’s image in front of the person she cared about?

Oh no, she needed to fix this quickly.

“Ah, Mrs. Jiang, Student Jiang, this way please.”

Wang Ziyue glanced back at her again and shook her head helplessly.

“Auntie, this really is a chance encounter today.”

Auntie? 

Secretary Fang’s briefly frozen brain kicked into overdrive.

After staring at President Wang for a long moment, it suddenly clicked.

How could it be… how could it, how—

All the subtle clues suddenly made sense. 

Starting from buying those shoes, Secretary Fang realized she might have uncovered too many secrets.

President Wang… surely wouldn’t mind, right?

Wang Ziyue paid no attention to Secretary Fang’s odd behavior. 

She was speaking with Jiang Xiaoyue now, though her focus remained on Jiang Chen.

“This place was developed by the group years ago. I happened to be inspecting nearby.”

It wasn’t entirely coincidental— at the very least, Wang Ziyue had only approached after spotting her own car.