Divorcee O Finds Me Irresistible - Chapter 24

Fu Shuang’s workplace was only two or three kilometers from Xu Qing’s office. After dropping her off and returning to work, Xu Qing was only fifteen minutes late. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a problem, but she happened to run into Director Li from the neighboring office, who had come to see her.

“Oh, just arriving now?” The woman drawled sarcastically, her eyes darting up and down behind her gold-rimmed glasses as she sniffed disdainfully. “I knocked on your door twice this morning, and no one was here. Young people these days really don’t take work seriously. How can you expect to get promoted acting like this?”

Normally, Xu Qing would have panicked at such remarks. But after weathering recent turmoil, she had gained a new perspective on her work and no longer took her superior’s words to heart. Instead, she calmly set down her bag and helmet, poured herself a glass of water, and prepared to start her day.

“We young people don’t wake up as early as you do, Director Li,” Xu Qing said with a harmless smile, taking a sip of water. “Besides, we live quite far away. It’s already a feat to make it to the office by nine. Did you need something from me? Or perhaps you were looking for one of my colleagues? They might be arriving a bit later.”

Director Li’s shrewd eyes darted behind her gold-rimmed glasses. “Is your department always like this, or is it just today?”

“I’ve only been here for two months, so I’m not really sure,” Xu Qing said casually, setting down her water glass. “Why? Are they cracking down on attendance lately?”

“Just getting a feel for things. Write me a tardiness apology this afternoon,” the woman said, adjusting her glasses and pointing at Xu Qing. “And there’s one more thing—it concerns your personal conduct.”

Xu Qing raised an eyebrow, listening attentively.

“Your family wants you to call them. How long are you going to keep this up? What kind of behavior is this?”

“That’s it?” Xu Qing asked.

“What more do you want? What kind of child refuses to call their family? How old are you? Is it really worth holding a grudge over something so trivial?” As she spoke, her glasses slipped further down her nose, her stern eyes piercing Xu Qing with an oppressive gaze.

“Did Madam Min ask you to talk to me?”

“Madam Min? She’s your mother! Can’t you even call her ‘Mom’?” The woman nearly rolled her eyes.

“Then tell her that since this is a family matter, she should keep outsiders out of it. Making such a fuss about something so trivial and airing our dirty laundry to the whole office—I’m not afraid of losing face, but I wonder if she is?” Xu Qing said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

Director Li’s face flushed crimson, then paled to a deathly white. “You’re courting disaster!” she spat, nearly slamming into the door as she turned. In a fit of rage, she added, “You heartless wretch!”

“Goodbye,” Xu Qing replied coolly. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

Xiao Zhao, a junior staff member delivering documents in the corridor, witnessed the entire scene and clapped a hand over his mouth in shock.

While their government jobs were secure from layoffs, colleagues typically maintained a veneer of civility. Who would dare openly defy a superior?

After Director Li stormed off, Xiao Zhao approached Xu Qing with a curious grin. “Hey, what exactly did you say to make the boss so furious?”

“She insisted on meddling in my family affairs,” Xu Qing retorted. “She deserved the dressing-down.”

“Impressive! You really have connections to dare challenge a superior,” Xiao Zhao said, his eyes wide with admiration. Recalling recent office gossip, he couldn’t resist asking the person involved, “Oh, by the way, has there been any progress on that broken engagement of yours?”

Xu Qing had almost forgotten about it. “Things have been quiet lately. It’s probably blown over.”

Xiao Zhao clicked his tongue in disappointment. “I saw in the news that Boss Fu recently bought a yacht. He’s probably preparing for his remarriage. You almost became his son-in-law, don’t you feel even a little regret?”

“Ah, what’s there to regret?” Xu Qing asked.

“Missing out on a hundred million!” Xiao Zhao winked. “Don’t tell me your family is even richer than his?”

Xu Qing chuckled dryly, thinking, If the Xu Family were that wealthy, how corrupt would my parents have to be? She shrugged. “Do I look like a millionaire to you?”

“True, you don’t even splurge on a decent handbag,” Xiao Zhao teased with a grin. “But that Xiao Deng in your office? Her new Hermès bag was a gift from the deputy director. Keep it under your hat, okay?”

Xu Qing fell silent.

After the gossipy Xiao Zhao left, Xu Qing reopened the job search website and submitted a few more applications.

She refused to rot in this dead-end job, living under her parents’ constant surveillance for the rest of her life.

During a break, Xu Qing opened her messaging app and checked Fu Shuang’s social media feed.

Fu Shuang rarely posted, mostly sharing landscape photos with the occasional selfie. Xu Qing secretly saved one of her selfies, only to discover in her photo album that she had already saved it three days prior. This unconscious repetition further confirmed what she already suspected.

Before Fu Shuang, Xu Qing had never experienced a real romance.

During high school, a couple of girls in her class had a crush on Xu Qing. Madam Min, having somehow caught wind of this, intervened before the girls could act, confronting them in a bizarre move that left them utterly bewildered. Afterward, they avoided Xu Qing like the plague.

In college, several Omega students confessed their feelings to Xu Qing, but they were all effeminate boys who were completely not her type. She couldn’t imagine living with a weepy Omega boy. Abroad, she found herself unable to adapt to the foreigners’ unrestrained lifestyle, and naturally became the pitiful loner who remained single from beginning to end.

If you surveyed all Alphas, it’s likely that over 50% had their first love before the age of 18. For Xu Qing, who had never even been in a relationship by her age, this was truly rare.

This fluttering feeling was both unfamiliar and exhilarating, so stimulating that she would wake up in the middle of the night, smiling.

Fu Shuang’s social media posts were sparse. The earliest one was a cherry blossom photo from six months ago, captioned: “I wish you could stay with me longer.”

Was she mourning the fleeting beauty of the cherry blossoms, or was she clinging to something else?

Xu Qing put the question aside, pulled her wandering thoughts back into focus, and resumed her work.

In the afternoon, she texted Fu Shuang, “What time do you get off work?”

Seven or eight minutes passed before Fu Shuang replied, “I can leave early today—6:30. What about you?”

It was clear she was genuinely busy; she hadn’t been ignoring Xu Qing’s messages on purpose.

Xu Qing: “I’ll wait for you after work. Same place?”

Fu Shuang sent a cat kissing emoji, making Xu Qing feel strangely embarrassed.

She used AI to draft her self-criticism and sent it to Director Li. Director Li was in a meeting, so Xu Qing simply left the document on her desk and closed the door behind her.

Around 6:20 PM, Xu Qing arrived at the office building and saw a message from Fu Shuang: “I’m sorry, Older Sister, I still have something to finish. Why don’t you go home first? I’ll take a taxi later.”

Xu Qing: “No worries, take your time. I’ll wait for you.”

It wasn’t until nearly 7:00 PM that Fu Shuang finally came down from the office building. She spotted Xu Qing and her car immediately and hurried over, magically producing a small cake from behind her back.

“Ding ding ding ding!” Fu Shuang chirped happily. “You’ve been waiting long, haven’t you?”

Xu Qing dismounted from her motorcycle, smiling. “Where did you get the cake?”

“A colleague gave it to me. Want to try it? See if it’s good?” Fu Shuang blinked, carefully watching Xu Qing’s expression.

When Fu Shuang said “a colleague gave it to me,” Xu Qing’s eyes seemed to cloud over, darkening slightly. Her lips parted as if to speak, but before she could, Fu Shuang playfully smeared a dollop of cream on her cheek. Fu Shuang burst into laughter. “I was just teasing you! It’s cake from a colleague’s birthday celebration.”

Xu Qing: “……”

So she was deliberately testing me earlier? How… subtly manipulative.

“I thought someone was trying to woo you,” Xu Qing said, playing along with a cream-smeared face. But before she could finish, Fu Shuang shoved a large bite of cake into her mouth.

Fu Shuang pressed the fork and cake into Xu Qing’s mouth. Xu Qing pulled out the fork, savored the creamy cake, and smiled faintly. “By the way, when’s your birthday?”

“September just ended,” Fu Shuang said, feeding herself a small bite. She leaned forward, plastic fork between her teeth, her smile sweet and captivating. “What’s this? Is Older Sister going to give me a birthday present?”

Xu Qing: “Didn’t your birthday already pass? You’ll have to wait until next year.”

“My birthday was just a few days before we met,” Fu Shuang protested, her voice full of righteous indignation. “Does missing it by a few days mean I can’t get a present? It’s already a huge regret that I didn’t meet Older Sister before my birthday. Missing out on a gift would be a double tragedy! Older Sister!”

Xu Qing was defeated by that bone-meltingly sweet “Older Sister.” She relented with a sigh, “Alright, I’ll celebrate your birthday this weekend. What kind of gift do you want?”

Fu Shuang, having already achieved her initial goal, dug into the cake with her fork, pondering aloud, “What kind of gift… would Older Sister’s kisses be acceptable?”

Xu Qing’s eyelids fluttered slightly as the girl asked with a playful grin, “That shouldn’t be too difficult a request, right?”

Their eyes met, and Xu Qing’s lips curved into a smile as she casually replied, “Mm, it’s indeed not a very difficult request.”

Fu Shuang found Xu Qing’s nonchalant tone utterly captivating, as if they were discussing something trivial.

Fu Shuang felt the warmth of her own breath burn her cheeks. She touched her face with the back of her hand—it was indeed burning hot. As she raised her hand, the plastic cake fork slipped from her grasp. She tensed, her body swaying, and the cake she was holding teetered precariously.

“Ah!”

She reached out with both hands to protect the small cake, but another pair of hands caught her wrists. A sudden warmth pressed against her skin, freezing Fu Shuang in place. She found herself caught in a delicate balance between panicked retreat and an instinctive desire for closeness.

Xu Qing’s hands steadied Fu Shuang’s, securing the triangular slice of cake. The plastic fork Xu Qing had been using earlier remained stuck in the side.

“What should I do? My fork fell…” Fu Shuang murmured, lowering her head and speaking with a hint of affected coyness. “It’s such a shame, I only had one small bite.”

“Yes,” Xu Qing replied, “though I could let you use my fork, I don’t think we’re quite at the point where we can share the same fork yet.”

Fu Shuang frowned, her delicate brows furrowing. Her meticulously made-up face was as beautiful as a porcelain doll. Her slender shoulders slumped slightly as she sighed softly, “You’re right. What should we do?”

“Solving this isn’t too difficult,” Xu Qing said, lowering her head and swallowing nervously. She continued slowly, “If you really want to eat this cake, and if you… happen to find me agreeable, we could try developing our relationship.”

Her words, like a venomous insect, subtly numbed Fu Shuang’s senses. Fu Shuang’s expression was that of a diligent student attentively taking notes in class.

Seeing her nod, Xu Qing straightened up slightly and asked again, her voice serious, “So, Lulu, do you really want to eat this cake?”

The attentive student nodded without hesitation.

Xu Qing took a deep breath and heard herself say, “So, darling, would you like to be my girlfriend?”