My ex-girlfriend's best friends are getting restless right after the breakup.

Chapter 52 The Girlfriends' Circle is in Chaos

The feeling of being offended and robbed was so intense that Zhou Lingyan almost lost her composure.

After calming down, she comforted herself, "Why am I in such a hurry?"

Didn't I only pick him up to spite Xu Yueqing?

I should be happy that my "tool" (a term for someone who has been used for favoritism) has found a better place; it means I had good judgment and my investment was successful...

Why do I feel so choked up inside?

Zhou Lingyan recalled the days Chen Bo had lived here. This man had become more eloquent and shameless. When they were acting on the balcony, his hand was on her leg, burning hot, and the feeling of her buttocks hitting him made her heart skip a beat...

"This is unbelievable... Xu Yueqing used to treat him like trash, but now she treats him like a treasure. Bei Weiwei has had a crush on him for three years, and she treats him like a treasure too. Could it be... that he really has something special about him that I haven't discovered, something that's so 'treasured'?"

Zhou Lingyan scratched her carefully styled long hair in frustration. She refused to think too deeply about what this "special" thing was, but the anxiety of "my thing might really be a treasure, but before I can figure out what's so good about it, someone else has taken it away, box and all" lingered.

"Original? A sense of ceremony? Is Chen Bo being such a gentleman to Bei Weiwei?"

Zhou Lingyan recalled Xu Yueqing leaning against the wall, and a strange, sour feeling welled up inside her.

"He's so... Hmph! Why is he 'cautious' with Bei Weiwei? Just because Bei Weiwei is a lovestruck, innocent girl who's had a crush on him for three years? What about me? Haven't I treated him well? I gave him a big house, top-of-the-line amenities, and even personally drove him to pick him up..."

The more Zhou Lingyan thought about it, the angrier she became, and the more she felt cheated.

Haicheng.

After finally getting through the meeting, Bei Weiwei returned to her office and was about to send Chen Bo a message to ask what he was doing when her phone started vibrating incessantly.

Caller ID: Zhou Lingyan.

Bei Weiwei's heart skipped a beat, and she had a bad feeling.

She answered the phone: "Hey, Lingyan? Aren't you supposed to be in Jiangcheng doing promotional work? How come you have time..."

"Bei Weiwei!" Zhou Lingyan's voice was urgent and angry; even through the receiver, one could imagine her furious state. "Did you manage to win Chen Bo's heart?!"

Bei Weiwei was taken aback: "How did you know?"

"That big-mouthed Zhao Lulu told me!" Zhou Lingyan gritted her teeth. "I was only gone for one day! Just one day! And you took advantage of my absence?! Bei Weiwei, you're something else!"

Bei Weiwei frowned, her tone turning cold: "Lingyan, Chen Bo is single now. What's wrong with me pursuing him? Besides, we're mutually attracted. How does that constitute taking advantage of someone's vulnerability?"

"Mutual affection?!" Zhou Lingyan's voice suddenly rose. "He's someone I picked up! He's mine! Did you even get my permission before pursuing him?!"

Bei Weiwei laughed at her illogical arguments: "Zhou Lingyan, Chen Bo is a person, not an object! He's not a cat or dog you picked up that needs your permission to be with someone else! Besides, didn't you bring him in to spite Yueqing? Now that you've achieved your goal, why do you care who he's with?"

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Lingyan was clearly speechless for several seconds.

Bei Weiwei pressed her advantage: "Lingyan, admit it, you like Chen Bo too, right? Otherwise, why are you reacting so strongly?"

"I..." Zhou Lingyan's voice suddenly weakened, but quickly hardened again, "What business is it of yours whether I like him or not! Anyway, you're not allowed to steal my man! Chen Bo lives in my house, eats my food, uses my things, so he's mine!"

"Zhou Lingyan, are you even being reasonable?!" Bei Weiwei snapped. "Chen Bo is only staying at your place temporarily; he's not selling himself to you! Besides, I'm his girlfriend now. You'd better be more polite to him in the future!"

"Girlfriend?" Zhou Lingyan sneered. "Fine, Bei Weiwei, you wait. I'll call Chen Bo right now and see if he listens to you or me!"

"Go ahead and hit me!" Bei Weiwei retorted without backing down. "If Chen Bo really listens to you, I'm quitting right now!"

"Okay! You said it!"

The phone was abruptly hung up.

Bei Weiwei gripped her phone, her chest heaving violently, her hands trembling with anger.

She hadn't expected Zhou Lingyan to react so strongly, and she certainly hadn't expected her to be so unreasonable.

Over here, Zhou Lingyan's chest heaved violently, and her fingers trembled slightly.

She immediately found Chen Bo's number and dialed it; he answered it shortly afterward.

"Spirit Flame?" Chen Bo's voice came from behind a seemingly empty space.

"Chen Bo!" Zhou Lingyan cut to the chase, her tone commanding yet tinged with a hint of grievance. "I forbid you from being with Bei Weiwei! Do you hear me? I forbid it!"

Chen Bo paused for a moment, then asked calmly, "Why not?"

"Because...because you're mine!" Zhou Lingyan blurted out, then paused for a moment before regaining her composure. "I took you in! I let you live here and use my things, you're still living in my house! You're not allowed to date anyone else without my permission! Especially Bei Weiwei!"

Chen Bo sighed on the other end of the phone, his voice filled with helplessness and displeasure: "Zhou Lingyan, Bei Weiwei is just your best friend, not your sister or younger sister, much less your daughter. Why should she need your permission? I am a person with my own feelings and choices."

"You..." Zhou Lingyan was speechless for a moment, not expecting Chen Bo to refute her so directly.

"Also," Chen Bo continued, his calm tone making Zhou Lingyan uneasy, "if you feel that my staying here gives you the right to interfere in my personal life, then I can move out. Thank you for taking me in during this time; you can calculate the accommodation fee, and I will pay you."

Moving out?! Zhou Lingyan's heart sank.

This is not the result she wanted at all!

She just wanted to stop him from being with Bei Weiwei, not to drive him away!

"Chen Bo, you..." she said anxiously, her tone softening with a hint of panic, "I don't want you to move out! What I mean is... is..."

"Whatever you mean," Chen Bo interrupted her, "Weiwei and I are together; it's a decision we both made. If you can't accept it, and even want me to leave because of it, I respect your decision. But I won't give up my right to choose a girlfriend just because of where I live."

Chen Bo said, "I have something to do, I'll hang up now. Calm down and think about it."

The call was disconnected, and a busy tone came through.

Zhou Lingyan stood there, holding her phone, her mind blank, the words "I can move out" and Chen Bo's calm, distant tone echoing in her ears.

A tremendous sense of loss and panic gripped her.

Is he really going to move out for Bei Weiwei?

How could he... how dare he treat her like this?

The assistant cautiously approached to remind her, "Sister Lingyan, it's time."

Zhou Lingyan snapped back to reality, looked at her pale face and red eyes in the mirror, and bit her lip hard.

No!

She can't just give up like that!

Zhou Lingyan wanted to see who could outdo whom!

She quickly tidied her expression and hairstyle, and walked towards the event venue in her high heels.

In my mind, however, I was already quickly calculating: I had to change my flight to the earliest one to go back, I had to get back immediately!