Heart Flutter

Chapter 118

The moment Ji Yuqing opened the door and saw who was standing there, her expression—and even her body—froze. It was like time itself had stopped. Zhou Qiluo stood in front of her, one hand clutching the handle of her suitcase, hair a mess, looking very much like someone who’d rushed straight over from the airport.

When Ji Yuqing didn’t say anything for a long time, Zhou Qiluo broke the silence. “What? Shocked beyond words?”

Ji Yuqing tensed up, on full alert. Her voice was cold. “What are you doing here?”

“I got divorced,” Zhou Qiluo said, like she was stating the weather—calm, casual, completely devoid of regret.

Ji Yuqing was stunned—not by the news itself, but by how little it seemed to matter to her. She had just walked away from her marriage without hesitation. That man had become nothing more than collateral damage in a relationship that had clearly been broken for a long time.

“What’s wrong? Too shocked to speak?” Zhou Qiluo teased, grinning as she scratched her arms. “There are so many mosquitos out here. Come on, let me in.”

But Ji Yuqing immediately raised her arm, blocking the doorway with sharp, guarded eyes. She didn’t say a word, but her stance said everything: You’re not welcome here.

Zhou Qiluo tilted her head and softened her tone, a trace of pleading in her voice. “Please, let me in. I really have nowhere else to go.”

“There are plenty of hotels in Huadu,” Ji Yuqing replied flatly. “Take your pick.”

“I’m broke. Left all the assets with him in the divorce,” Zhou Qiluo said with a sigh.

But Ji Yuqing didn’t buy that for a second. She’d heard the same line before, back when Zhou Qiluo first pursued her—claiming she had nowhere to go, no money, and needed a place to stay. Ji Yuqing knew the truth: Zhou Qiluo came from money. She was never actually in dire straits.

“You’re not really going to let me sleep on the street, are you?” Zhou Qiluo said, throwing her hands up. “We might not be together anymore, but we can still be friends, right? You wouldn’t shut the door on a friend, would you?”

Ji Yuqing paused, then said, “Wait here. I’ll get you some money.”

She didn’t say it outright, but the message was loud and clear: Don’t want to pay for a hotel? Fine, I’ll pay for you. Just don’t bother me.

But Zhou Qiluo wasn’t about to give up that easily. The moment Ji Yuqing turned her back, she dragged her suitcase in and made herself at home. She wasn’t planning to leave.

Ji Yuqing came out of her room holding a wad of cash, only to find Zhou Qiluo already seated on the sofa. Her face fell.

“Here’s two thousand. That should be enough for a hotel,” she said, dropping the money on the coffee table.

Zhou Qiluo curled her feet up, hugging a pillow to her chest. “No need. This place is fine. Why waste money?”

Ji Yuqing had officially run out of patience. She tossed the money down and stormed back into her room.

From the sofa, Zhou Qiluo craned her neck, trying to see what was going on. Not long after, Ji Yuqing reappeared, now dressed and holding a bag. She walked straight past the living room toward the front door, not even glancing at her.

“Where are you going?” Zhou Qiluo asked, jumping up.

Ji Yuqing didn’t answer. She put on her shoes, grabbed her bag, and slammed the door behind her.

She’d been working nonstop since getting off the plane, all the way into the night. She had no energy left to deal with Zhou Qiluo, not even to argue. She just needed space.

Zhou Qiluo sat in silence, listening as the car engine roared to life outside. She rushed to the door just in time to see Ji Yuqing driving off.

A wave of disappointment hit her, but she wasn’t discouraged. After all, she had hurt Ji Yuqing deeply before. It was only fair to be treated coldly now. But she had let everything go to come here—she wasn’t going to give up. She was here to start over, and this time, she wouldn’t let her down.

She closed the door behind her. The house was large and quiet. The computer in the study was still on, clearly left mid-task. She stepped inside to turn off the monitor and lights and save the half-finished Excel file, when curiosity got the better of her.

She sat down at the desk, moved the mouse, and—almost without thinking—opened Ji Yuqing’s photo album.

To her surprise, there was a folder just for Tang Yan.

There were quite a few photos in it, some from when she was a little girl, even a high school graduation class photo. Most, however, were from the past year—many taken by Ji Yuqing herself, judging by the angles.

Zhou Qiluo was burning with jealousy. Bitter, sour, aching jealousy.

She shut the folder halfway through, unable to look anymore. For a second, she hovered over the “Delete” option—but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

If she really did win Ji Yuqing back, then maybe—just maybe—she’d ask her permission to delete it one day.

She shut down the computer, turned off the lights, and quietly closed the study door.

Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she headed toward Ji Yuqing’s bedroom. The moment she walked in, she was greeted by the faint scent of body wash and shampoo. The lighting was warm and soft. Everything was perfectly arranged: a photo of Ji Yuqing and her mother on the nightstand, neatly folded bedding, a bedspread so smooth it hadn’t a single crease.

She hadn’t changed at all. Still the kind of person who kept everything in meticulous order. Zhou Qiluo herself had been influenced by that over the years.

Then curiosity struck again: which room was Tang Yan staying in?

She headed down the hallway toward the room off the right side of the living room. Of course it was this one.

She turned the doorknob and stepped into a room that looked like it belonged to a teenage girl—pink from floor to ceiling. It was obviously Ji Yuqing’s doing. She must have spent so much time and care decorating this room before the girl arrived.

Zhou Qiluo felt another wave of jealousy crash over her. It made her stomach churn.

She fled to the living room, trying to calm herself. “She’s just a kid,” she kept telling herself. “They’ve only known each other for a year. There’s no way she knows Yuqing like I do. No way she could replace me.”

By the time Ji Yuqing found a hotel room, it was already 2 a.m. She’d driven around to several places, all fully booked—except one near the office, where a few rooms were still available.

The moment she saw the bed, she dropped straight onto it without even turning down the sheets. She was beyond exhausted. Every part of her body ached. She didn’t have the strength to think about anything—not the woman back at her house, not what she was going to do about her.

She was out within seconds.

The night passed quietly.

“AAAAHHHH!”

A loud scream rang out in the morning, waking everyone in the dorm.

“Han Shuang, are you trying to kill someone? What’s with the screaming this early?” Xia Zihan grumbled, half-asleep, and threw a pillow at the neighboring bed.

“Ow! You hit the wrong person!” Lu Wan protested.

Han Shuang lowered her voice a bit as she scrolled through her phone. “The boss’s wife went to Huadu?”

“So what? Big deal. People travel. Her husband’s still running the guesthouse,” Xia Zihan mumbled, turning over in bed.

“I’m telling you, I was right. They definitely had a fight. Why else would she go to Huadu? She probably went back to her parents’.”

Tang Yan didn’t think so. No—she probably went to find Aunt Ji.

She sat up and looked over at Han Shuang. “Can I see your phone?”

Han Shuang blinked. “You didn’t add her on WeChat?”

“Nope,” Tang Yan replied firmly. Not now, and definitely not in the future.

“Here you go,” Han Shuang said, handing it over.

One glance at the post, and Tang Yan recognized it immediately. That was Aunt Ji’s living room. And in the corner of the photo, a bit of a suitcase peeking out.

So she’d brought her things and gone to find Aunt Ji… and maybe… maybe even spent the night there?

Tang Yan quickly handed the phone back like it was scalding hot.

Han Shuang still didn’t get it and grinned. “See? I was right, wasn’t I?”

Tang Yan gave a vague response and then fell silent, sitting at the edge of the bed, her thoughts a whirlwind. She was anxious, and worst of all—completely powerless to do anything about it. She was stuck here, with no idea what was happening back home. She was in the dark while they were in the light.

On her way to work, Pei Wen suddenly received a desperate message from Tang Yan:

What do I do? Aunt Ji’s ex-girlfriend just got divorced and went back to Huadu to find her. I’m freaking out over here.

Pei Wen was driving and couldn’t reply properly, but when she hit a red light, she sent back a short message: Calm down. Hold your ground.

Since Ji Yuqing had stayed at a hotel near the office last night, she walked to work that morning, hands empty. As soon as she saw Pei Wen, she called her into the office.

“I need you to help me with something,” she said, logging into her desktop. “Go to my house and bring back the documents I took home yesterday. Also, grab the latest Excel file on my computer—put it on a USB drive.”

Pei Wen blinked. “Wait, you didn’t sleep at home last night?”

“Stayed at a hotel,” Ji Yuqing replied without looking up.

“What? Why all of a sudden…” Pei Wen hesitated. Was this about what Tang Yan had told her earlier?

Ji Yuqing looked up, paused, then quickly changed the subject. “You know my door code, right?”

“Nope! Definitely not!” Pei Wen waved her hands in panic. Then, squinting suspiciously, she asked, “Is someone at your place right now?”

Of course she noticed. Ji Yuqing laughed dryly, fingers intertwined.

“Well, since you’ve guessed it… if you can get her out of my house, I’ll owe you big time.”

Pei Wen suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. The look in her boss’s eyes gave her goosebumps. “Nope. No way. Not happening. I can’t do that,” she stammered.

Thirty minutes later—

Pei Wen stood outside Ji Yuqing’s house, about to enter the door code.

She took a deep breath, then held it.