Chapter 68

Yu Tu was busier than he had ever been before. The colleagues at the institute were long accustomed to "white plus black" and "six plus one" overtime mode, but it was still a bit shocking to see him like this, completely immersing himself into work.

Coming out from the laboratory, Da Meng could not hold himself back and advised him, "Take it easy, don't be like Lao Guan and end up in the hospital."

He still did not know about the real condition of Guan Zai's illness.

Yu Tu said, "It is okay, I know my limit."

Of course he would not treat his own body carelessly. After returning to the research institute, his life actually became even more disciplined than before. In the past, he would from time to time skip sleep and meals together with Guan Zai, but now he would eat and rest in a timely manner, and also exercise and work out.

He would arrange his schedule densely, leaving no gaps, and then carry it out rigorously.

"Speaking of which, you probably didn't rest much during your more than several dozen days of vacation?" Da Meng asked.

"What?"

"After coming back, it's like you acquired divine aid. One, two, three, four, five, solving the points that you were stuck on before. Lao Yu, you are so motivated. Is it because you want to take advantage of Lao Guan's time in the hospital to usurp the throne?"

"Get lost!" Yu Tu answered him with these two words.

After Da Meng really did leave, he stood in the same place for a long time, laughing mockingly at himself.

On a certain Saturday afternoon in the middle of the month, Yu Tu received a phone call from Zhai Liang.

"Xia Qing has come to Shanghai. She said that she wants to make up for last meal and is inviting everyone to have a meal. She asked me to call you. Today and tomorrow are both okay."

Yu Tu declined immediately, "I don't have time."

"That's okay, I'm only asking. It is actually good that you don't go. You can avoid having Qu Ming, that jerk, from being an arsehole." Zhai Liang readily hung up the phone. However, at a little past ten o'clock at night when Yu Tu was about to get off work, Zhai Liang called again.

Yu Tu picked up the phone, but it was Xia Qing's voice that actually came through. She seemed to be a little drunk and unexpectedly asked, "Yu Tu, Miss Qiao… Who is Miss Qiao?"

Miss Qiao…

He hadn't thought about Miss Qiao for a while, but there were so many people who liked to mention her. He always saw the senior high school group and university group having active discussions.

He clearly didn't want to hear her name, but when they mentioned her, his heart seemed to welcome such discussions. Perhaps it was because only in this moment was he able to release those suppressed emotions.

Yu Tu lifted his hand and turned off the lights in the office. In the darkness, he held the phone and calmly said, "Of course it is Jing Jing."

Yu Tu did not expect to receive a message from Xia Qing the next day. At that time, he was about to enter the conference room for a meeting.

"Zhai Liang said that you are working overtime. Do you have time to have a cup of tea?"

He glanced at the message and then indifferently locked his phone into the signal shielding cabinet. When the meeting ended, it was already past 8 o'clock at night. He took back his mobile phone. There were two more messages in WeChat.

"I am waiting for you at the cafe next to your work unit."

The other message was a location. It was sent at 6:50 pm.

Xia Qing was wearing a light cashmere coat and sitting in the cafe. From top to bottom, she was meticulously dressed, and she looked out of place in the relatively simple cafe.

However, finding a cafe in this vicinity was already not easy to do.

She came here probably because she was so obsessed, it was like she was possessed by a ghost.

But even if it meant she was possessed by a ghost, she still absolutely had to see Yu Tu at this very moment. Otherwise, her heart that had been burning since she saw that video would never calm.

She had been unable to believe it.

She had previously heard Qu Ming mentioned "Miss Qiao", that Miss Qiao who had drunk Domaine de la Romanee-Conti with Yu Tu. She had wondered before if it was Qiao Jing Jing, but how could that be possible?

How could Yu Tu be mixing together with Qiao Jing Jing? He had never liked her.

Regarding Qiao Jing Jing, Xia Qing has always had some subtle feelings about her. In her junior high school era, she had been a true "girl loved by the gods," being the smartest and most beautiful. However, in senior high school, there had actually been a girl in the class who was more beautiful than her, and was also popular. It was very difficult for Xia Qing not to harbor some thoughts. But fortunately, her grades left that girl far behind. And fortunately, that girl's love confession to the boy she also liked had not been successful.

Therefore, in college, after her own love confession to Yu Tu had been accepted, the first thing she did had been to tell her senior-high desk-mate, whom she had not kept in contact with for a long time. She knew that desk-mate was talkative and gossipy and would definitely tell everyone in the senior high school class.

At that time, in addition to the happiness of having a longtime wish realized, her happiness had also doubled when thinking of Qiao Jing Jing's failed love confession.

But now a few years later, Yu Tu was nevertheless together with Qiao Jing Jing? They drank together, played games together, and appeared in public together in a high-profile manner…

Xia Qing had trouble sleeping all night.

It could be anyone. But how could it be Qiao Jing Jing?

He had said, "Of course it is Jing Jing" —— Why "of course"? Just because she was a celebrity now?

This was too ridiculous.

As if she could sense something, she turned her head to look out the window. Across the road, Yu Tu was walking towards the cafe. The coat on his body was not high-quality, but having a figure that was a natural clothes hanger, no matter how ordinary the clothes, he would still look tall, straight, and imposing when wearing them.

There were girls in the street turning their heads to look at him, but he behaved as if he did not notice. This probably was a bonus point added on top of her infatuation with him in her youth, that he was a boy liked by so many people…

In fact, in the early years, Xia Qing never regretted breaking up with Yu Tu.

Why would she regret it? He was a man who obviously was able to command a high salary, but for his so-called dream, he tried to make the other party in the relationship take on more family responsibilities. That was too naive and also too selfish.

The high cost of living in major cities would never be discounted because of his dream. They were both from average families of third or fourth-tier cities. If they didn't work hard together, how would they establish themselves in a major city like Beijing and Shanghai?

A house, the future education of their children. Which of these was not a huge expenditure? How could the salary from the research institute support those? Don't tell her it would all depend on her! On what grounds?

After breaking up, she spoke about Yu Tu with her friends on more than one occasion.

The senior high school desk-mate, her university dormitory roommates, her colleagues… She couldn't help but mention him when she was chatting with them —— her ex-boyfriend, explaining her reason for breaking up.

Of course, they supported her. She was also more and more convinced that she had made the right decision.

She did not regret at all.

The only thing that she was dissatisfied about was that when she suggested to break up, he actually agreed right away and did not at all try to persuade her otherwise.

Until one day, she realized that she was going to celebrate her 30th birthday. But that person of her dreams who was as smart and outstanding as Yu Tu and also as successful as her did not appear.

There was no shortage of suitors around. She also had had another romantic relationship. However, those people were either not smart enough or not witty enough. In comparison to Yu Tu, every one of them was mediocre.

Suddenly she felt that, actually, Yu Tu would do. Although he had no money, after making comparisons all around, this shortcoming could be completely compensated for by other merits—was highly educated, had a job that, though low-paying, was respectable, and, furthermore, was a lot more handsome than all her female colleagues' boyfriends or husbands.

Anyway, she was already earning a seven-figure annual salary now. A few years ago, she had not been willing to take on more of the financial burden, but now, it seemed she could accept it. She already has enough financial ability.

During that period, she had been eager to make a move, paying particular attention to the senior high school and college group chats. She even twice deliberately stirred up some topics.

However, when she saw Yu Tu being asked by a fellow classmate to go and repair the purifier, she was a little hesitant.

While hesitating, she heard that Yu Tu was going to go work in investment banking.

It was almost instantly that she decided to change her itinerary and go to Shanghai.

She knew clearly just how popular Yu Tu would be after he stepped out of that closed-up research institute and joined the banking circle.

That meeting had not gone as she had hoped. She had her own reservation and pride, so of course she would not throw herself at him and pester him. But if she let go, was she going to let a stranger, a latecomer, someone who had never sacrificed anything, to reap without having sown anything?

She hesitated and weighed things out.

But all the hesitation and weighing ended completely after she watched the video of Yu Tu and Qiao Jing Jing.