Chapter 082: A Friend Calls Him Honey?

Chapter 082: A Friend Calls Him Honey?

Su Qingying froze. Wu Chen wanted her to say something?

She had listened to him take two calls, but she didn’t know what the people on the other end had said, and nothing Wu Chen said had given away anything of substance. The two syllables “Ah Tai” told her nothing about who it was.

So she didn’t know, and couldn’t guess, who was on the line.

The truth was she hadn’t really been listening. Whatever he’d said on the phone had gone in one ear and slipped straight back out. Anything unrelated to her didn’t matter. All she wanted was to enjoy today properly.

Su Qingying wasn’t the only one caught off guard. On the other end of the line, Li Ruobing froze for a beat as well.

She had heard “come on, say something.”

There was someone with Wu Chen?

“It’s fine. Go ahead.” Seeing her look at him, Wu Chen gave her a smile meant to put her at ease.

“Say what?” Su Qingying asked softly.

Li Ruobing heard it. A woman’s voice.

“Whatever you like. Don’t worry about her finding out who you are,” Wu Chen said.

Su Qingying blinked, glanced at the phone again, then asked him in a low voice, “Honey, who is it? Is it all right?”

She’d kept her voice down, but the phone was right there.

Li Ruobing heard that too.

Honey?!

There wasn’t just a woman with Wu Chen—that woman was calling him honey?!

What she didn’t know was that honey was hardly the whole of it. Over the last four hours Su Qingying had also called him “Master,” “Daddy,” “bad man,” “darling,” and more. When the mood was on her, she truly held nothing back.

“Who? Ask her yourself and you’ll find out. It’s fine,” Wu Chen said, and smiled.

Su Qingying finally took the phone, and cleared her throat.

“Hello?” Every trace of that drowsy softness dropped out of her voice. It came out formal, and very polite.

“Who are you?” Li Ruobing asked, straight to it, her voice ice.

“Who are you?” Su Qingying frowned, threw the question back, and turned to look at Wu Chen.

He gave her the same reassuring smile.

“This is Li Ruobing!” Li Ruobing was blunt.

Su Qingying’s hand jerked; she nearly lost her grip on the phone. She shot upright out of the quilt, eyes wide on Wu Chen. The quilt slid down. She had nothing on underneath, of course. Some blue-purple marks showed, and lines of red ones—some already much faded, some not.

They weren’t serious. There was no chance Wu Chen would truly injure her. Most were the sort that would be gone inside a day.

And the marks were concentrated on her body. Above the collarbone there was almost nothing. He had struck her face earlier, but the redness there had already faded. As long as she put her clothes on, no one would be able to tell what she’d been through.

“Who are you?” Li Ruobing asked again. She had given her own name; Su Qingying had given nothing, and had gone quiet.

“So it’s Miss Li.” Su Qingying drew a deep breath, brought her emotions to heel fast, and answered in a voice that was ordinary and courteous again. “We’ve met before. At a business banquet.”

“Who exactly are you?” Li Ruobing pressed.

“I…” Another deep breath.

Inside she was reeling, wound tight with nerves, but she could hide nerves beautifully.

“I’m Su Qingying,” she said.

She admitted it.

Because she understood. Li Ruobing now knew there was another woman beside her boyfriend, and Su Qingying’s own family was out hunting Wu Chen. One round of digging and Li Ruobing would find her anyway. Denials and invented stories were worthless.

There was a second reason: refusing to admit it would cause more trouble, not less.

If Li Ruobing went off and came storming over with people while her blood was up, there was nothing she wouldn’t do, and Su Qingying could end up in a very bad way.

But if Li Ruobing knew she was Su Qingying, she wouldn’t do that. Because Su Qingying was the daughter of Su Ruiwen of Jinfu Group. Anyone who wanted to lay a hand on her had to think it through first, especially in Donghai.

What Su Qingying couldn’t begin to understand was how Wu Chen dared be this outrageously bold—how he dared let his own girlfriend hear that another woman was with him. He was insane. Did the man not fear death?

Since he had been the one to put her on the phone, she couldn’t make sense of it.

But one thing she could be sure of.

Now that Li Ruobing knew it was her, nothing would happen to her. The one in trouble would be Wu Chen. He was in for enormous trouble. He had dared to cheat on Li Ruobing.

The moment she gave her name, the other end of the line went silent.

Li Ruobing was floored.

Su Qingying, naturally, had no way of knowing that.

“Miss Li? Are you still there?” she asked, when no sound came through.

“You’re Su Qingying?” Li Ruobing said.

“That’s right.”

“Why are you with Wu Chen? What’s your relationship?”

“We’re friends. We’re discussing work.” Su Qingying’s tone was exceptionally level and flat. Perhaps because her nerves had swallowed her, she had forgotten she’d called him “honey” a moment ago. It had come out on its own, and she’d let it slip past her notice.

She still wanted to paper the thing over. If she could get it past Li Ruobing, so much the better.

“Friends?”

“Yes, friends. Is Miss Li not allowing her boyfriend to have friends? Then we won’t meet again.”

“A friend calls him honey?! Who do you think you’re fooling?!”

“Ah… that…” Her nerves broke loose all at once and settled across her face. “Um… Miss Li, you misheard, surely? I never called him that.”

“Never called him that? Just now, didn’t you call him—”

“Miss Li, do you think I’m that kind of woman? Perhaps you’d like to think it over again?”

That sentence actually made Li Ruobing start doubting her own ears.

Because everything about Su Qingying—the impression she had always given people, the public’s judgment of her, every part of what she showed the world—stood flatly against the situation at hand.

But when Li Ruobing thought it through properly, it didn’t add up. How could she have misheard?

“Then perhaps I did mishear.” Li Ruobing brought her feelings under control. “My apologies, Miss Su. I’ve interrupted your business. Please pass the phone back to Wu Chen.”

Su Qingying let out a breath, and handed it over.

“Finished talking?” Wu Chen put the phone to his ear.

“Where are you?” Li Ruobing asked, straight out.

“The old apartment,” he said.

“Don’t leave! Don’t you leave! Beep, beep, beep…”

She hung up on the last word.

Wu Chen held the phone away, looked at it, smiled, and set it down on the cabinet beside him. He could guess exactly why she’d told him not to leave. Li Ruobing was coming straight over. She wanted to see for herself what in the world was going on.

Once she got here, it should be… very interesting.

“You’re not afraid of her knowing?!” Su Qingying finally asked, her face caught between shock and confusion.