Chapter 48: Tentative and Dedicated Love

  "No" Ledi took a deep breath and quickly stopped crying, explaining with slightly calmer emotions: "Duan Gege, I just miss my sister.

  I'm afraid I want to keep for my sister the love you have for her," she said finally, summoning up the courage to speak her mind.

  As soon as Le Xin was mentioned, Duan Ruiqi's chest suddenly contracted, with a slight tearing pain, and asked with difficulty: "Why do you have such an idea?"

  Letti's eyes looked at Duan Ruiqi with a hint of sadness and said: "Because you don't love sister like you used to, and I think you'll soon find another woman to replace sister in your heart forever."

  Duan Ruiqi was seen through by Leti, and his heart couldn't help but feel a little empty. But thinking of An Qier, his heart surged with firm emotions. He calmly faced Leti and decided to honestly tell her his true thoughts.

  "Le Ti, what you said is right but my love for Le Xin will never change, she will always be in my heart. However, I have really fallen in love with a woman now, I think you already know that, otherwise, you wouldn't say this."

  When Le Di heard Duan Rui Qi's frank words, her heart suddenly tightened, feeling a little sad for Le Xin, but more so for herself, wondering why she had guarded herself for so many years, yet couldn't compare to An Qi Er, whom she had only known for a few months.

  Le Di was furious at Duan Rui Qi's heartless confession, but she refused to give up and continued to pretend to be sad, saying: "Duan brother, I'm sorry, it's my fault for being too selfish, hoping that you would only love my sister for the rest of your life, so I couldn't bear the thought of you being with another woman."

  "Le Di" Duan Rui Qi gently pressed Le Ti's hand, "I understand your feelings, if it were me, I might have reacted more intensely. But when love comes, it really is irresistible. Please forgive my selfishness, but please don't doubt my love for Le Xin. She was the woman I loved most in this lifetime, and I will continue to love her through An Qi Er. I cherish this love. I think that if Le Xin's spirit is still with us, she would also support me in doing so."

  "But I absolutely do not support you doing this, you can only belong to me" Luti secretly seethed in her heart, and forced herself to think rationally for Duan Rui Qi's sake. "Duan brother, since you've found the emotions you were searching for, I should also congratulate you on behalf of my sister. Please forgive my selfishness and narrow-mindedness earlier, thinking of calling you back to take care of you. But now I understand that would make you very unhappy, and my sister wouldn't forgive me either. So, I choose to congratulate you."

  "Letti, thank you for your understanding and forgiveness" Duan Ruiqi happily hugged Letti.

  "But I have another request, and I hope you will definitely agree to it," Lettie said with a sly smile.

  "What's your request? As long as you're happy, I'll definitely grant it" Duan Ruiqi unconsciously transferred her guilt towards Yue Xin to Ledi, and treated her with more love.

  "I hope you can give me another title" Ledi's mouth curved into an arc, only now realizing that this method was better than being Secretary Zhou. "I hope you can send me to regularly check on An Qi'er's company"

  "Letty, what's going on? An Qi'er's work ability can't be watered down at all."

  Le Di understood Duanyi Qi's decisive tone and quickly expressed her own doubts - "I'm doing all this for you"

  "For me?" Duan Ruiqi found it somewhat amusing and laughed jokingly: "Le Di, are you still worried that An Qi'er will embezzle the funds submitted to headquarters?"

  Le Di continued to say, "An Qi'er's work ability is indeed great. Just from the several cooperation plans she proposed, I truly appreciate her talent. But do you know about her past? How did she step by step reach her current position? And why did Wu Dong not hire many other talented people but instead hired her? Have you considered these things, Duan Gege?"

  Duan Ruiqi was pointed out by Leti to be somewhat suspicious, especially regarding An Qi'er's past and how she had managed to rise to a high-ranking position equivalent to that of a general manager at such a young age. How did she manage to do all this? This couldn't help but raise his suspicions about her.

  Le Di saw the hesitation in Duan Rui Qi's eyes, and she took advantage of it to launch another attack. "Brother Duan, I'm not intentionally trying to tarnish her personal image. As a woman without a high social status or a good family background, and without your guidance and support like I have, how did an ordinary woman like her achieve what she has today? Have you ever thought about that?"

  "Le Ti, you want to investigate her personally." Duan Rui Qi's heart was turbulent at this moment, and she felt that Le Ti's words were not unreasonable.

  "Alright, Duan Gege, I think you should understand what I mean. I'm just going to test the waters for you regarding An Qi'er. Moreover, I sincerely hope that this An Qi'er is a woman of good character and integrity. You have to know that with your current wealth and status, it's impossible for there not to be women who want to get close to you for personal gain. Although An Qi'er bears some resemblance to my sister in terms of appearance, it doesn't mean she has the same character as my sister."

  Le Di seemed to be discussing An Qi'er with some sarcasm, but Duan Ruiqi didn't have the heart to care about these things. He just looked at Le Di with admiration and said, "I didn't expect that you would also notice this, not bad, you are the most suitable candidate for investigation."

  "Duan Gege, you must believe me that I have no ill intentions towards An Qi'er. I sincerely hope that you can find someone who is truly worthy of your love. After all, this is what my sister and I both wish for." Le Ti spoke while tears fell from her eyes again, but this time they were tears of relief.

  "Le Di" Duan Ruiqi held Le Di's hand and gently kissed the back of her hand, saying emotionally: "Thank you"

  "Little Xi Zi, what are you thinking about sitting here all alone?" Guo Zhenzhen pinched her voice and sat down beside Qiao Jiaxi in the style of a community aunt.

  "Really? It's you! Just in time. Let's go to the banana boat place across the street together. It's no fun going in alone." Qiao Jiaxi suggested, pointing at the cold drink store across the street.

  "Great, I love eating banana boats!" Guo Zhēnzhēn happily walked alongside Qiao Jiāxǐ, who was actually 1.73 meters tall, while Guo Zhēnzhēn was almost the same height. Standing together, the slender and tall Qiao Jiāxǐ stood out even more.

  Qiao Jiaxi savored a small mouthful of chocolate, but his mind was still preoccupied with design worries. To Guo Zhēnzhēn's eyes, he looked like Lin Daiyu from Dream of the Red Chamber, evoking her sympathy.

  Guo Zhenzhen asked worriedly: "Xiao Xizi, what's wrong with you? Is there something on your mind that's not going smoothly? Tell me about it and maybe I can help you."

  Qiao Jiaxi stared at Guo Zhēnzhēn and thought that although he was a hairstylist, he also understood female beauty relatively well. So he poured out his frustrations about design to him.

  "So, you're worried that you'll design a white dress that's dull and monotonous," Guo Zhēnzhēn said, hitting the nail on the head of Qiao Jiāxǐ's difficulties.

  Qiao Jiaxi sighed, and suddenly lost his appetite. "I've never been fond of the color white since I was a kid, it's weird to say but I just don't have any feelings towards it. My mom is a surgeon, and every day I see her wearing that white coat, my dad always says she doesn't look beautiful, not like a woman, so he divorced her and married another woman who knows how to dress up."

  "I feel that you have both fear and hatred for the color white, so you always thought you didn't like wearing white clothes." Guo Zhēnzhēn was very happy to know about Qiao Jiāxǐ's family matters, it seemed that Qiao Jiāxǐ also had some feelings for her.

  Qiao Jiaxi couldn't help but nod in agreement, "So, I really don't feel any aesthetic appeal to white."

  Guo Zhenzhen thought for a moment, as if she had thought of something, and asked in a hurry: "Is your main customer group this year locked on career women?"

  "Yes" Qiao Jiaxi said, but as soon as she thought of her mother's white work uniform, a flash of inspiration struck her mind, and she immediately thought: "Since it's for career women, I'll design a series of white work uniforms."

  "Hmm, this proposal is good but it can't be too conventional, or it would end up being a work uniform. It should showcase the elegance and poise of women." Guo Zhēnzhēn furrowed her brow in thought again, saying: "Have you noticed An Qi'er's dressing style? Eighty percent of her clothes are mostly white-based, and they all look effortless and elegant on her."

  "Generally white-based, but with some embellishments on details, such as on the sleeves or the width of the skirt, it's best to have long pants for the lower body, which can effectively block out sunlight and achieve a breathable and refreshing comfort. After all, the most important thing is to feel comfortable when wearing clothes." Qiao Jiaxi suddenly had a surge of inspiration, excitedly grasping Guo Zhenzhen's hand, "Zhenzhen, thank you so much! If it wasn't for your reminder, I really wouldn't have understood the underlying principle. Thank you! If this work passes, I'll definitely treat you to a big meal!"

  "Hehe, when the time comes, I'll invite you, just to celebrate your success" Guo Zhenzhen glanced at her own right hand being tightly held by Qiao Jiaxi, and she felt so happy that she wanted to go forward and kiss Qiao Jiaxi, but he understood that Qiao Jiaxi's emotions were more reserved, and couldn't be rushed.

  "Really?" Liu Lianhua led An Jinbei to run over excitedly, took a look at Qiao Jiaxi opposite her, and curiously asked: "Who is this?" In her heart, she really hoped not to hear the three words from her girlfriend.

  "I am his friend, I'm called Qiao Jia Xi" Qiao Jia Xi stretched out his hand in a big and generous manner.

  "Hello, I'm his best female friend." Liu Lianhua deliberately prolonged the word "female", making her sound quite humorous.

  "Haha, you guys eat slowly, I have to hurry back, really, thank you for your suggestion, bye!" Qiao Jiaxi left decisively, not giving Guo Zhēnzhēn a chance to send her off.

  An Jinbei also loudly called the waiter to order a few cold drinks that were both special and expensive, and nudged Liu Lianhua beside him. "Please have some self-respect, don't stare at people like you're staring at delicious food. You saw it too, he likes to gnaw on that thin bone, the harder the better."

  ；

  ；

  【