To My Dear Mr. Huo

Su Peizhen alighted from the other side of the car.

She did not see Su Qingsang, but as she noticed Qiu Yanbo staring into the distance motionlessly, she turned her attention in the direction he was looking at, which was towards the entrance of the restaurant.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing,” Qiu Yanbo looked away. “What made you want to dine at ChaoWen Courtyard today?”

“I heard that they’ve just changed their chef, and the new chef is the descendant of a cook from the royal kitchen in the past.”

Su Peizhen linked her arm with Qiu Yanbo’s. Qiu Yanbo observed the gentle manner with which she did that and did not retract his arm.

The pair entered ChaoWen Courtyard. The restaurant consisted of private dining spaces, hence upon entering there was no way of knowing who the diners were unless one went to the lengths of finding out their identities ahead of time.

“Oh, right, I heard that the company you work for is in the midst of negotiating a massive partnership deal. How is that coming along?”

“It’s in the final stages.” At that moment, Qiu Yanbo thought of Huo Jinyao and recalled what he had seen at the entrance of the restaurant. It made him frown slightly.

Su Peizhen did not see his frown. Upon entering, they made their way to the private dining room they had reserved in a habitual manner, as they were regular customers of the restaurant. They settled into their private dining space.

After ordering their dishes, they continued to converse about more work-related matters. The Qiu and Li families had always been business partners. In recent years, both enterprises had grown their businesses substantially.

After Su Peizhen finished talking about work-related matters, she suddenly changed the topic.

“Yanbo, my mother had instructed me to ask you about when we will be holding our wedding.”

Qiu Yanbo paused in his act of pouring her tea. He looked up at Su Peizhen, a smile tugging slightly at his lips.

“What’s the matter? Are you starting to be impatient about getting married too?”

“Shouldn’t I be?” Su Peizhen’s gorgeous face was tinged with indignation. “We’ve been engaged for such a long time. Don’t you want to get married already?”

“A wedding is just a formality.” Qiu Yanbo retracted his hand and poured himself some tea.

He lifted his cup and took a sip. There was an unreadable expression on his face. “Our current relationship seems indistinguishable from being married.”

“Of course there is a difference,” Su Peizhen spoke up in a petulant manner. “Even Su Qingsang has gotten married and I’m older than her.”

“Only a few days older,” Qiu Yanbo lowered his eyes as he thought of how Su Qingsang was smiling brightly when she was with Huo Jinyao. His throat tightened at the thought. “Moreover, you have never liked being compared to her. Why bring her up now?”

“Yes, I dislike being compared to her.” In her heart, she believed Su Qingsang was not fit to be mentioned in the same context as her. However...”I just feel a little bad about it.”

By previously telling Li Qianxue about Su Yuxin’s incident, she had harbored the intention of instigating Li Qianxue to deal with Su Qingsang.

Little did she expect that Huo Jinyao would come to Su Qingsang’s rescue. I wonder if that Huo Jinyao is a dimwit or an abnormal person. How on earth did Su Qingsang bewitch him till she had gotten him completely wrapped around her finger?

When her plan had failed, Li Qianxue reminded her that as long as Su Qingsang did not pose a threat to the Su Family, she should not bother herself with her.

Since Li Qianxue had made her stand clear, Su Peizhen naturally would not compete with an illegitimate daughter.

“What’s the matter?” Qiu Yanbo spoke up nonchalantly. “Does her marriage infuriate you too?”

“That’s right, it infuriates me.” Su Peizhen did not mind showing her petulant and petty side to Qiu Yanbo.

“The man she had married, well, you should know what kind of person he is. I really don’t quite understand why the people from Rong City’s Huo Family would allow their eldest son to marry an illegitimate daughter. What kind of alliance is that for their family?”

It was not that Qiu Yanbo had never heard Su Peizhen use such a derogatory tone while talking about Su Qingsang, but this was the first time that it irked him.

“Su Qingsang has her good points too.”

At least from his observation of her all along, he felt that Su Qingsang possessed some qualities that the daughters of privileged families did not.

“Are you defending her?”