Fated Love With the Billionaire
Chapter 43 Waiting for Information

Chapter 43: Chapter 43 Waiting for Information

Hearing the door close, Ye Yujun leaned back into her chair, her gaze fixed on the doorway as she asked, "Did Cheng leave?"

"...Ah, yes, he left."

Chen Ningxi’s heart hadn’t yet calmed from its excitement. Hearing her mother’s voice, she was afraid her flustered state would be detected, so she changed her shoes and headed straight to the bedroom.

Ye Yujun was sending a message to Chen Weichuan. She glanced at her daughter’s back and then continued typing, speaking quietly with her head turned away, hoping Chen Ningxi wouldn’t hear, "I think that Cheng is really nice to Ning Xi..."

Chen Ningxi closed the door, not in the mood to listen to her mother’s report to her dad. She fell onto the bed, staring at the ceiling with Cheng Qiaobei on her mind.

Her phone rang, and Chen Ningxi picked it up to see a voice message from Cheng Qiaobei.

"What’s up now?"

She clicked to listen and heard Cheng Qiaobei say, "I’m on the highway."

"..." She thought it was something more important.

But Chen Ningxi still replied.

Chen Ningxi: Got it, drive safely, don’t check your phone.

When Cheng Qiaobei reached the hotel, before even getting out of the car, he sent her another message. Chen Ningxi listened again:

north: I’ve arrived at the hotel.

Chen Ningxi made a face, isn’t there anything else to say? I left, I arrived, isn’t this kind of boring?

"Ning Xi."

"Hey."

Chen Ningxi saw Ye Yujun putting on her coat, getting ready to leave, "Are you going back?"

"Your dad said he’s bringing a friend over for dinner tonight. I’m going to buy some groceries and get ready."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ningxi said, "I’ll go with you, wait for me."

She grabbed the car keys and followed her out, in such a hurry that she didn’t realize she had left her phone on the bed.

As Chen Ningxi drove out of the garage, she said, "Let’s go to the nearby supermarket, their produce is quite fresh."

Ye Yujun replied, "That supermarket won’t do, the seafood isn’t as fresh as at the Western Market, let’s go there."

It was only upon arrival that she realized she’d forgotten her phone, leaving Chen Ningxi feeling a little uneasy.

Ye Yujun bought a pile of groceries, filling up the trunk, while Chen Ningxi carried bags in both hands, saying while walking, "Mom, are you grocery shopping or stocking up goods? If I don’t restrain you, you’ll buy out the entire market."

"If you carry a few things, you sure talk a lot. The produce is fresh, so I bought more, otherwise I couldn’t carry it all by myself."

Chen Ningxi laughed, "Mom, you really are my mom."

The elevator doors opened, and Chen Ningxi carried the groceries as she followed Ye Yujun inside. Her shoulders slumped from the weight of the bags, and once inside, she helped with sorting vegetables and cleaning fish, busy for over an hour before leaving her mom’s place.

At that time, in the hotel.

Wei Lai followed behind Cheng Qiaobei on floor after floor of inspections, noticing him glancing at his phone again.

"Manager Cheng."

Cheng Qiaobei’s mind was preoccupied with Chen Ningxi not replying on WeChat, his brows furrowed, radiating an unapproachable air.

"Manager Cheng." Wei Lai called him again.

"...What?"

Cheng Qiaobei turned his cold face side-eyed. If Wei Lai hadn’t worked with him for years, he might have been scared off.

"What is it?"

Wei Lai said, "We’ve already done three walkthroughs tonight."

Cheng Qiaobei only then realized, "...Is that so?" Then he added, "Is that not okay? We should be diligent in our work, especially with a new store opening, it requires more attention than usual."

Even he found himself unable to keep on with such remarks.

"If you’re tired, you can go rest first."

Cheng Qiaobei continued walking, while Wei Lai followed along, saying, "Counting just now, you’ve checked your phone thirty-two times tonight. I mean, if you have something, you can head back. I can manage the rounds alone."

Cheng Qiaobei paused, "...I have a client, I’m waiting for their message."

Wei Lai said, "We’ve worked together for years, I know you well."

Cheng Qiaobei seemed as if Wei Lai had seen through him, evasively saying, "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

He walked off in another direction, leaving Wei Lai staring at his back, puzzled, "Could he be heartbroken?"

Chen Ningxi returned home, her first move was to reach for her phone. Cheng Qiaobei had sent three more messages and called twice, with the most recent missed call half an hour ago.

First voice message: I’m going into a meeting.

Second: Meeting’s finished.

Third: Are you busy?

Chen Ningxi thought about replying on WeChat, but... she chose to call back instead.

Cheng Qiaobei went to the bar alone, thinking of having a drink but then remembered there were many hotel guests lately, so he poured himself a glass of ice water instead.

The phone rang, he assumed it was Wei Lai calling, but seeing the number on the screen, Cheng Qiaobei quickly put down the glass to pick up the phone.

Cheng Qiaobei listened carefully to the voice on the other end, "Hello?"

Chen Ningxi said, "I went grocery shopping with my mom, left my phone at home, I saw your messages."

Cheng Qiaobei suddenly brightened up, "Oh."

"You called me twice too, what’s up?"

Since she didn’t reply on WeChat, he called her to ask what she meant.

Cheng Qiaobei picked up the glass on the table and took a sip, "I heard from Auntie that you like seafood, we got a batch of king crabs in the kitchen. I had them reserve one for me to deliver to you tomorrow."

"King crab? That’s quite expensive, don’t send it to me, I can’t finish a whole one either." Chen Ningxi was genuinely surprised by him.

Cheng Qiaobei said, "They’ve already set it aside, I’ll deliver it to you tomorrow when I head back to Danjiang."

"There’s really no need, it’s too expensive, I can’t accept it," Chen Ningxi repeatedly refused, "And it’s from the hotel, you’re not supposed to take it yourself, right?"

Cheng Qiaobei chuckled, "Don’t worry, I paid for it."

Chen Ningxi: "It’s not about who paid, it’s really too expensive. Please don’t bring it to me."

Cheng Qiaobei said, "I can’t even buy you a bite to eat?"

"This isn’t just a bite, a single king crab at today’s market price, not fresh ones, cost fifteen hundred at least. Fresh ones are even double that. No, no, you really shouldn’t bring it."

Cheng Qiaobei didn’t listen and, while agreeing verbally, had already decided to head back to Danjiang early the next morning.

His return wasn’t just about bringing crab, it was mainly to see Chen Ningxi.

Cheng Qiaobei changed the subject, "What time do you usually go to work?"

Chen Ningxi said, "I usually leave at eight, just in time to reach the office."

"Oh."

Cheng Qiaobei calculated, he’d have to leave an hour and a half early, meaning he’d need to set off from Zhoushan by 6:30.

Chen Ningxi said, "Don’t bring it to me."

"Alright, I got it," Cheng Qiaobei replied, then asked, "What time do you go to bed?"

She used to sleep early and had a regular lifestyle, going to bed around ten. Lately, she’s been working on a wind energy report, possibly until midnight.

"Around midnight."

"You sure can stay up."

"Not really, I usually sleep early, around ten, just busy with a project lately. If I complete this project smoothly, it would significantly boost my upcoming promotional prospects."

Cheng Qiaobei asked, "Can you tell me what the project is?"

"It’s not public yet, still confidential, so I can’t say."

Actually, it involved potential relocation issues, and if the information leaked, local residents might take some unadvised measures to upgrade assets.

While she didn’t spell it out, Cheng Qiaobei immediately understood and didn’t ask further.

"What time do you usually sleep?" Chen Ningxi asked.

Cheng Qiaobei replied, "I’ve been having insomnia lately, might be really late."

"Managing the new hotel, too much pressure?" Chen Ningxi asked.

Cheng Qiaobei responded, "The hotel isn’t stressful, it’s you that’s been giving me headaches."

Chen Ningxi, "..."