Fated Love With the Billionaire
Chapter 59 Awakening

Chapter 59: Chapter 59 Awakening

Chen Ningxi was not a conservative person, and going to a nightclub wasn’t something inappropriate. Besides, they had been to a nightclub together before.

She went to the booth to find Cheng Qiaobei and sat down casually. Cheng Qiaobei introduced formally,

"Chen Ningxi, my girlfriend. This is Liang Lei, her best friend and also my climbing club mate... And he is my buddy, Lin Hanrui, visiting here for a few days from the paragliding club."

Lin Hanrui greeted, "Hello, everyone."

Hearing about extreme sports, Liang Lei got enthusiastic.

"Do you also do paragliding?"

The word "also" brought them closer together. In Lin Hanrui’s circle, there were hardly any girls who did paragliding, so naturally, he wanted to chat about it.

Seeing the two of them engaged in conversation, Chen Ningxi couldn’t get a word in and noticed a glass in front of Cheng Qiaobei. "Did you drink?"

Her thought was that it explained why he suddenly kissed her earlier. Cheng Qiaobei didn’t think much of it, "No, it’s water. I still have to drive back later."

Obviously, he didn’t catch Chen Ningxi’s drift.

"...Oh."

Just as the glass touched his lips, Cheng Qiaobei looked at her again, belatedly understanding the implication in her words.

Although they were all adults, kissing should be a genuine display of affection when feelings ran high, not an impulsive act born of jealousy. It was disrespectful to the girl otherwise.

Cheng Qiaobei apologized to her, "I’m sorry."

His apology left Chen Ningxi with no way to respond. Was she supposed to say it was okay?

Chen Ningxi was a bit upset and ignored him.

Cheng Qiaobei noticed Chen Ningxi’s displeasure and leaned closer to whisper in her ear, "Did you think I was tipsy when I went up on stage?"

"!" Chen Ningxi’s ears burned, her hand clenched under the table, and her heart rate suddenly accelerated.

She didn’t answer, but Cheng Qiaobei knew what was on her mind.

"I don’t oppose or restrict you from clubbing, but when I saw it just now, I felt a little uneasy. I went up there not against you, but against him, I was too impulsive... You still have friends here, I didn’t consider your feelings. Don’t be mad at me, it won’t happen again."

He softened his voice to calm her, surprising Chen Ningxi.

In such situations, someone else would have expressed some displeasure even if they didn’t criticize outright. But Cheng Qiaobei apologized on his own.

Chen Ningxi gazed at him intently, her tranquil eyes stirred in the dim setting, realizing he truly respected her. It wasn’t just lip service, but genuine respect and trust from the heart.

Under the hazy lights, she smiled serenely at him. Cheng Qiaobei, never having been looked at with such focused attention before, felt flustered.

"What’s up?" Cheng Qiaobei asked in return.

Chen Ningxi shook her head, "Nothing."

She recalled that when she was with Guo Heming, her attire was criticized as being unstable, her loyalty questioned for chatting a bit more with male colleagues, and even talking to his parents required her to lower her demeanor. During her time with Guo Heming, she felt extremely inferior, even doubting herself.

Looking back now, someone who truly liked you wouldn’t use your lifestyle against you. In other words, Guo Heming wanted to mentally suppress her, in essence, to PUA her.

These realizations dawned on Chen Ningxi only after they broke up.

So, girls must understand one thing, always be ready to walk away. When someone crosses your "Bottom Line," does something intolerable, or says things that hurt your self-esteem or purposely undermines your confidence, you must decisively end the relationship and walk away, not giving anyone a chance to hurt you.

Considering Chen Ningxi and Liang Lei had plans to play the next day, Cheng Qiaobei suggested it was time to go back and rest.

He took Lin Hanrui to get the car, leaving Chen Ningxi and Liang Lei waiting at the entrance.

Once they were some distance away, Cheng Qiaobei said to Lin Hanrui, "Liang Lei is Ningxi’s best friend. You better not make a move on her."

"What are you talking about? I don’t understand." Lin Hanrui feigned ignorance.

Cheng Qiaobei opened the driver’s side door and said, "I saw you add Liang Lei on WeChat, don’t think I didn’t."

"I," Lin Hanrui was at a loss for words, "... What’s wrong with adding her? She does extreme sports too. Can’t we hang out together?"

Cheng Qiaobei started the car, wearing a stern expression, "You can hang out with anyone, just not Liang Lei."

Lin Hanrui was puzzled, "Why? Whatever happens between me and Liang Lei won’t affect you guys."

Cheng Qiaobei drove out of the parking lot towards the nightclub entrance, where the car’s headlights illuminated the two waiting.

"Liang Lei is Ningxi’s best friend. If you two have a falling out, do you think it won’t affect my relationship with Ningxi?"

Lin Hanrui pursed his lips, saying nothing.

Once the car was parked, and the door was open, Cheng Qiaobei shot a deep look at Lin Hanrui, who sniffed, turning his head towards the window.

Liang Lei was cheerful and outgoing, easily mingling with people. Whenever Lin Hanrui got carried away in conversation, Cheng Qiaobei’s glance would subtly remind him.

Back at the hotel, before parting, Liang Lei reminded Lin Hanrui not to forget to take her to the paragliding base the next day.

Lin Hanrui gladly agreed, his grin almost reaching his ears, but the next second, upon seeing Cheng Qiaobei’s cold, silent gaze, his smile faltered. Cheng Qiaobei’s look clearly meant for him not to agree.

However, Lin Hanrui didn’t want to disappoint Liang Lei’s passion for extreme sports. After all, this was Chu’an, the country’s largest and most top-notch paragliding base. Missing it would be a real pity.

Lin Hanrui agreed under pressure.

Once the elevator door closed, Cheng Qiaobei slowly asked him, "Did you not catch my hint?"

Lin Hanrui chuckled, "I got it. How could I not? But couldn’t you see Liang Lei genuinely wanted to go play? Look at it differently, if I make Liang Lei happy, wouldn’t it enhance the relationship between you and Ningxi?"

Cheng Qiaobei raised an eyebrow, "Ningxi is how you call her."

"...Uh, then what should I call her?" Lin Hanrui asked back, "Calling her ’hey’ is disrespectful, calling her ’beauty’ is too frivolous, using her full name makes me sound like an elder, saying ’Cheng Qiaobei’s girlfriend’ is too long. Calling her ’Ningxi’ feels just right, friendly, and warm."

Cheng Qiaobei gave him a faint glance, "You can hang out with Liang Lei but absolutely cannot cross the line of friendship."

"Damn," Lin Hanrui was surprised, raising an eyebrow, "Is that up to me? Don’t you know that when girls hang out with me, they’re always the ones making moves on me?"

Cheng Qiaobei gritted his teeth, "You dare!"

With that, he turned around and walked away.

"Hey, Cheng Qiaobei, why are you leaving?" Lin Hanrui wisely headed towards another elevator.

Returning to the room, the two were exhausted from the day’s activities. After taking a shower, Chen Ningxi planned to rest when she saw a WeChat message from Cheng Qiaobei, asking how she was feeling.

Chen Ningxi replied, saying she was fine, no fever, and asked if he still had a night shift.

north: No, what plans do you have for tomorrow?

Just as Chen Ningxi was about to respond, she heard Liang Lei on the phone, seemingly planning to wake up early and head to the paragliding club the next morning.

Chen Ningxi replied, "No plans."