Bringing the Nation's Husband Home

Qiao Anhao pulled a tissue to wipe her hands before heading to the bedroom with her phone in her hands. She laid on the bed, staring intently at the conversation she had had with Lu Jinnian. As she read every word, her heart started to ache, tears clouding her vision.

Lu Jinnian had treated her coldly in the past, but back then she wasn’t as sad as she was right now.. Didn’t he just miss out on a dinner? Was it necessary to be so upset?

The more she thought about it, the harder the tears streamed down.

-

When the hotel came into view, it was already 2 am. After showering, Lu Jinnian laid down on the bed, the image of Qiao Anhao surfacing in his mind. He couldn’t help reaching for his phone to stare at the messages she had sent and the call that he had missed, his mood declining.

He tossed his phone to the side and shut his eyes, but no matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t able to fall asleep. As he tossed and turned on the wide bed, he ended up reaching for his phone to stare at the two unanswered messages. He fell into a daze, then reached for his cigarettes to light a stick.

-

Lu Jinnian’s assistant’s phone had been out of battery the night before and once he reached the hotel, he fell into deep sleep. The next day, when he was awakened by the hotel staff, he started to wash up while switching on his phone. A few notifications came in, and he clicked onto the screen, seeing a call from Qiao Anhao.

Hurriedly, he returned her call. After a few seconds, her familiar voice came through. ”Hello?”

He spat the foam out before greeting her. ”Miss Qiao, give me a second.”

He quickly rinsed his mouth and wiped his lips, then spoke politely as usual. ”Miss Qiao, you called yesterday night?”

Qiao Anhao slept late the night before and was awakened early in the morning by the phone call. The lack of sleep caused her head to ache, and she hadn’t been able to see who the caller was before picking up. Now that she heard Lu Jinnian’s assistant’s voice, she came to her senses instantly. She straightened up and grabbed her hair.

Just then, the man’s polite inquiry came in, ” Miss Qiao, you called yesterday night?”

”I called Lu Jinnian but he didn’t answer his phone.”

”He could have been on the plane when you called.”

”Plane?” she asked.

”Yes, we flew over to Hong Kong last night for a business deal.” The assistant paused before asking, ”Miss Qiao, you didn’t know?”

”He didn’t mention it.”

When the assistant detected the disappointment in her voice, he hurriedly explained, ”He might not have had the time to mention it since he ended very late last night and directly after work we headed straight for the airport. He was only able to rest at about 3 am, so he could have been too tired.”

He paused for a while before asking, ”Miss Qiao, are you looking for Mr. Lu now? I can go to his room and get him, but I’m not sure if he’s awake.”

After Qiao Anhao heard about the schedule of the previous night and that he had slept only at 3 am, her heart started to ache. Hurriedly, she said, ”It’s okay, let him rest.”