Chapter 39

Though Xu Chun had been turned down flat by Qin Yao, she didn’t feel particularly embarrassed. She had already planned to give up on her little act of opportunism and sit back quietly for a while, but then her eyes shifted, catching sight of Jiang Zhaolie... After a moment’s thought, it was as if something had suddenly clicked; she hit upon a brilliant idea.

The instant Jiang Zhaolie felt Xu Chun’s gaze land on her, a bad feeling stirred in her gut. Sure enough, a second later, she saw the other woman’s face take on a faintly disappointed, crestfallen look. In a voice as tiny as a mosquito’s buzz, docile and heartbreaking, Xu Chun said, “All right.”

She fell quiet all at once. Qin Yao and Secretary Zhao both cast her concerned glances, but Xu Chun seemed oblivious, her face slightly lowered, thick lashes sweeping down together and trembling faintly.

She looked unsettled, and wronged.

Guilt stabbed through Secretary Zhao, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Her first thought was instinctive: given everything that had happened between Xu Chun and Jiang Zhaolie before, it was only natural that sitting beside Jiang Zhaolie would make Xu Chun uncomfortable and ill at ease. And she, who prided herself on being clever and perceptive, had just forgotten such an important factor.

What she was doing now was as good as standing by while heartlessly shoving the poor woman straight into a fire pit.

Secretary Zhao couldn’t help glancing at Qin Yao. “President Qin, how about...” She hesitated. “You and Miss Xu switch seats?”

Qin Yao withdrew her gaze from Xu Chun and fixed the audacious Secretary Zhao with a flat stare—so you don’t want your job anymore? I see, young as you are, and already eager for a lesson from society.

Secretary Zhao realized she had just dared to direct her own boss on Xu Chun’s behalf. Her face stiffened, and she silently turned her attention back to driving. Miss Xu, it’s not that I don’t want to help you—it’s just that... I’m a nobody. There’s nothing I can do.

Xu Chun appreciated Secretary Zhao’s goodwill and spoke up in time. “Sister Zhao, it’s all right.” She smiled faintly, the smile she forced noticeably strained. “It’s just sitting with Zhaolie for a bit. I don’t mind.”

That was a blatant, thinly veiled jab. She hadn’t said a single bad word about Jiang Zhaolie, yet every syllable and every pause carried accusation and distaste. Jiang Zhaolie’s eyes bored into Xu Chun, twisting right and wrong, spouting nonsense! Mom wouldn’t be so easily blinded by Xu Chun’s little tricks!

Who was her mom? After all these years, what storms and schemes hadn’t she weathered?

Such a clumsy little trick... Before the thought had even fully formed, Jiang Zhaolie heard Qin Yao call her name, slow and unhurried. “Zhaolie.” Her voice was calm. “Come sit here.”

Jiang Zhaolie’s face fell instantly. “?” Mom actually fell for Xu Chun’s innocent-little-victim act?

Though Jiang Zhaolie didn’t want to believe it and wanted even less to trade seats with Qin Yao—Qin Yao had already unbuckled her seatbelt, pushed the door open, and stepped out, waiting quietly for her. Jiang Zhaolie had no choice but to gather her laptop and move to the front passenger seat. Before she left, she gave Xu Chun two long, deep looks. I didn’t think you actually had it in you.

Under that stare, Xu Chun kept up her forlorn, wounded expression, the picture of desolation.

Her brows drew together slightly. Without a word or extra gesture, she already gave off a tender, pity-inspiring air—never mind the way she deliberately hunched her shoulders and curled into herself, making her seem utterly helpless and pitiable.

Qin Yao soon climbed in. As she drew near, a faint, cool fragrance, like snow-covered pines, drifted through the air and lingered at the tip of Xu Chun’s nose, refusing to fade.

The scent was sweet, a weave of crisp coldness and mature sophistication. Almost no one could resist that kind of temptation. Xu Chun couldn’t help stealing another glance at Qin Yao, her heart stirring under the pull of the fragrance.

As Qin Yao settled into her seat, Xu Chun realized belatedly—so this woman responded to softness, not force. Turning her head so that only her profile faced Qin Yao, she couldn’t suppress the subtle curve at the corner of her lips. That made things much easier. She was an expert at playing the fragile little flower.

All thanks to Yu Sui’an’s earnest, vivid performances and lessons over the past few days.

Qin Yao dug out the medical kit and handed Xu Chun a box of pills. “Take one.”

Xu Chun’s smile froze. Why did she suddenly feel like she’d picked up a rock only to drop it on her own foot, like she’d tried to be clever and only made things worse? For a long moment she didn’t take it. Qin Yao raised an eyebrow, eyes narrowing slightly. Seeing that, Xu Chun thought fast. “There’s no hot water in the car. I can’t take it.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Qin Yao picked up her own thermos and handed it to Xu Chun. “My cup. It’s brand new, the water’s still hot. Make do.”

Xu Chun’s mouth twitched. “...”

Whatever. Close your eyes, open them, and this life would be over. It was just one pill; it shouldn’t do her much harm. So, hands trembling, she accepted Qin Yao’s single act of goodwill, steeled herself, and, throwing caution to the wind, swallowed the painkiller in front of Qin Yao as if it were poison.

Afterward, Xu Chun felt as if a fishbone were stuck in her throat, but she frantically talked herself around: Sister Qin must have meant well. She was clearly worried about me, afraid I’d be uncomfortable! She even switched seats with Jiang Zhaolie just for me. What does that mean? It means, all things considered, Qin Yao already has feelings for me!

At that thought, Xu Chun’s heart instantly felt much better.

She weakly returned the thermos to Qin Yao. “Thank you.”

Qin Yao didn’t take it. “Keep it. You might need it later.”

Xu Chun blinked. “...?” For a moment, she couldn’t tell whether Qin Yao was genuinely concerned or hinting at something. But she deliberately ignored the latter possibility, clutched the thermos with a deeply moved expression, and gazed up at Qin Yao. “Sister, you’re so good to me.”

Jiang Zhaolie watched, her brow twitching, her mood complicated. The rhythm of her work and her calm state of mind had been disrupted by the person in the back seat; she couldn’t get into the zone no matter what, so she closed her laptop and stared blankly out the window. This didn’t make sense. Since when had Mom become so caring and considerate?

When she was a child, she’d caught colds and fevers countless times. Mom would voice a couple of sentences of concern over the phone, then tell the family’s auntie to keep an eye on her. She’d never fed Xu Chun medicine herself like this.

She had to admit it: in this moment, Jiang Zhaolie genuinely envied Xu Chun.

All her own efforts couldn’t earn her Qin Yao’s attention, yet Xu Chun had gotten everything with one effortless feigned illness, without even trying.

The car fell quiet again, but the quiet didn’t last long before Xu Chun’s phone rang. It was Director Guo, asking cautiously, “Little Xu, why did your livestream cut off? Did something happen?”

Only then did Xu Chun remember the livestream she had personally killed. She gave a sheepish laugh and, shameless as ever, explained, “Must be bad signal in the underground garage. Don’t worry, I’ll reconnect right away.”

Director Guo’s eyelid twitched. I believe you—like hell I do. The signal was fine in the parking lot the whole time; the moment you get in the car, it acts up? If you didn’t do it, I, Guo, will twist my own head off and kick it around like a ball. But Director Guo didn’t call her out. “Then try reconnecting first.”

After a few perfunctory words, Xu Chun ended the call, then leaned over and turned the livestream phone back on. Faced with a screen flooded with question marks, she didn’t bat an eye. “Sorry, the signal was bad just now, so the livestream disconnected on its own.”

Jiang Zhaolie snapped back to attention and watched her in the rearview mirror. Utterly shameless.

Clearly, the audience wasn’t so easy to fool either. Questions poured in: 【That’s not right. I remember Jiang Zhaolie was sitting in the back row. How did a little livestream interruption turn into President Qin sitting next to you? In those two minutes the stream was down, did something happen that we weren’t allowed to see?】

【Is there footage that we esteemed vvvip members can’t watch? Sister Xu, you’re being awfully distant with us.】

【The signal did a great job. Don’t ever do it again.】

Though the audience was skeptical of Xu Chun’s explanation, her utterly deadpan expression was too convincing, and the signal didn’t act up again afterward, so everyone let it go. Still, they kept a mental note. They casually opened their screen recordings, just waiting for the next time something went wrong so they could pull out the replay and strip it down to its underwear.

They refused to believe the signal had become a sentient spirit that picked its own moment to go offline.

After chatting with the barrage for a while, drowsiness swept over Xu Chun like a tide. She glanced at the pill box beside her—almost forgot, no matter what medicine it was, the moment it entered her stomach she always got sleepy. There was still some distance to the airport, so after propping her phone back in place, Xu Chun leaned against the car window and fell asleep.

By the time someone woke her, she had that disoriented feeling of not knowing what year it was.

She struggled to open her heavy eyelids and found Secretary Zhao and Jiang Zhaolie in the front seats staring at her with complicated expressions, while Qin Yao had already gotten out and was on the phone nearby. Xu Chun instinctively wanted to ask a question or two, but just then Qin Yao hung up and turned around. “Let’s go.”

Secretary Zhao and Jiang Zhaolie sprang into action, checking in, hauling luggage. Only after boarding the plane did Xu Chun, shameless as ever, deliberately pick the seat beside Qin Yao and sit down, thoroughly satisfied.

She had originally planned to use the two-plus hours of flight to build some proper rapport with Qin Yao, but before she knew it she had drifted off again. By the time she was woken, got off the plane, switched vehicles, and arrived at the hotel, she and Qin Yao had already been separated. Forget talking. She couldn’t even catch a glimpse of the other woman.

Xu Chun secretly lamented the lost opportunity and grew suspicious. Qin Yao couldn’t have secretly swapped the painkiller for a sleeping pill, could she?

Just as she was speculating, Secretary Zhao walked over and rapped her knuckles lightly on Xu Chun’s ajar door. “Miss Xu, please get ready. Tonight you’ll be accompanying President Qin to a banquet.”

She stepped back half a pace to reveal five evening gowns Qin Yao had prepared. “See which one you like.”

Xu Chun’s gaze followed her words to the dresses. Secretary Zhao continued, “When you’ve changed, just say the word and the stylist will come in to do your makeup.” She added briefly, “We have a target client at tonight’s banquet, so we’ve prepared things a bit more elaborately.”

More than elaborate—these were far more luxurious than the clothes the company usually prepared for her. She could wear these and marry into a noble house in fine style.

“Did President Qin really prepare these for me?” Xu Chun leaned in, and after Secretary Zhao’s affirmative reply, her brows relaxed into a beaming smile, overjoyed. Secretary Zhao kept her eyes down, pretending she hadn’t heard anything, and had the clothes sent into Xu Chun’s room before leaving.

Since Qin Yao had a target tonight, Xu Chun didn’t need to be too flashy. She chose a white fishtail gown, exquisitely tailored, every measurement matching her body’s data precisely. Xu Chun wondered for a moment—where had Qin Yao gotten her measurements? Then she reflected that it wasn’t so strange for major luxury brands to have her sizes on file.

Pushing the thought aside, Xu Chun called the stylist in.

Qin Yao was currently with Jiang Zhaolie. Tonight’s target client was, in a manner of speaking, an old acquaintance, Zheng Yanran’s mother, Zheng Jinchan. Back then, Zheng Jinchan had been widowed while pregnant, so she gave her daughter her own surname. Though her in-laws disapproved, Zheng Jinchan didn’t care what they thought.

Her marriage to her late husband had been a business arrangement from the start; there was hardly any affection. And since her in-laws favored sons over daughters and had no respect for women whatsoever, Zheng Jinchan had long disliked living with such a family. When her husband died, she immediately left while pregnant and cut all ties with her in-laws, devoting herself entirely to her career.

At first, the in-laws still hoped the child in her belly might be a boy and kept pestering her, endlessly guilt-tripping her, trying to snatch the child away. But after several months of finding Zheng Jinchan impervious to both soft and hard tactics, the family grew furious, so angry they wished they could tie her up and drag her home on the spot.

Unfortunately for them, Zheng Jinchan was no pushover. She kept four or five bodyguards with her twenty-four hours a day, leaving the family helpless. In the end they had no choice but to abandon the idea of kidnapping her and instead tried reasoning with her, appealing to sentiment, attempting to use their dead son to reawaken Zheng Jinchan’s conscience.

But before that method could take effect, Zheng Jinchan gave premature birth to Zheng Yanran. When the family learned she’d had a daughter, their hope of continuing the family line dashed. They instantly changed their tune and cut ties with Zheng Jinchan, making it clear in word and deed that they didn’t recognize this daughter-in-law or granddaughter, lest the two come demanding child support.

The affair caused a huge uproar back then; there was hardly anyone who didn’t know about it.

Most people at the time expected Zheng Jinchan to fall apart, wallow in self-pity, and never recover. But Zheng Jinchan was unaffected. Not only did she raise her daughter through bitter hardship, she also built her career into something thriving and glorious. Now everyone who met her addressed her respectfully as ‘President Zheng.’

Zheng Jinchan’s story was that of a powerful female lead, but what made Xu Chun care about her wasn’t just those surface reasons. It was that Zheng Jinchan had played a crucial role in Jiang Zhaolie bringing Qin Yao down.

One could say that if Zheng Jinchan hadn’t ultimately been persuaded by Jiang Zhaolie and stood on her side, lending her a small bit of help, Qin Yao wouldn’t have fallen so fast, without even a bit of time to prepare or recover. Xu Chun rubbed the soft fabric of the evening gown between her fingertips, and her eyes shifted—

If she could help Qin Yao win Zheng Jinchan over and eliminate one hidden danger, wouldn’t Qin Yao owe her proper thanks?

She narrowed her eyes. The more she thought about it, the more she felt this was a good way to win Qin Yao over.

Once her styling was done, Xu Chun stepped out and happened to run into Jiang Zhaolie. She approached the other woman first and asked, “What time does Zheng Jinchan appear tonight?”

Though Jiang Zhaolie wondered how she knew Zheng Jinchan was tonight’s target, she figured Qin Yao must have told her, so she didn’t think much of it. “Estimated to arrive in about half an hour.” Then she glanced over the radiantly beautiful woman. “There’s nothing you need to do tonight. Just stay quietly by our side.”

It wasn’t that she had any objection to Xu Chun. She simply felt Xu Chun didn’t understand the professional jargon of the company’s business, and a careless interjection could backfire, leaving Zheng Jinchan with a bad impression.

Xu Chun caught the subtext and immediately shot her a sidelong look. “You mean for me to be a mute, a pretty little vase?”

Jiang Zhaolie didn’t answer, but her meaning was clear. Xu Chun wanted to snap back, but then, as if struck by some thought, the expression on her gorgeous face, poised on the verge of a retort, shifted, and she turned docile. “All right.”

She agreed easily, but Jiang Zhaolie didn’t dare let her guard down for an instant; she stuck to Xu Chun like glue as they went downstairs and into the banquet hall.

Xu Chun was a bit shorter than Jiang Zhaolie, but a female star’s elegant bearing and poised, relaxed grace made her stand out like a crane among chickens. From the moment she appeared, the gazes of most of the men in the hall settled on her and clung there, unmoving.

Today Xu Chun was dazzling beyond compare; her long gown swayed with her movements, revealing glimpses of fair skin that were beautiful and arresting. The woman was undeniably lovely, breathtakingly so, leaving people with no mind for business. Their eyes and thoughts filled only with the desire to have her.

But then they noticed Jiang Zhaolie, whom they hadn’t seen before, and most of them let the thought drop.

The entertainment world had no shortage of beauties. Though there was only one Xu Chun, it wasn’t worth offending the Jiang family over a female star. Everyone present was shrewd; after weighing the interests, the pressure on Xu Chun abruptly eased.

Xu Chun didn’t care about anyone else’s gaze. She led Jiang Zhaolie straight to a corner and began eating and drinking with abandon. Jiang Zhaolie frowned, words hovering on her lips, and finally settled on a tactful: “Didn’t you just eat?”

“I did.” Xu Chun elegantly speared a piece of pastry with her fork, and her shimmering eyes slowly turned to Jiang Zhaolie with a radiant smile. “But to prepare for the hard battle ahead, it never hurts to eat a little more.”

The hard battle ahead? Jiang Zhaolie studied her. “What hard battle could you possibly have?”

Hadn’t she been told to just play the pretty vase?

Xu Chun thought Jiang Zhaolie really was asking for it. She had already decided to let her off, yet she insisted on coming over to make herself miserable. So Xu Chun smiled faintly, eyes full of coquettish charm. “Why, of course to put on a good performance as your stepmother, so your real mother will dote on me a little more.”

“Who knows—if I do well tonight, the two of us might just make it a done deal.”

As if.

Jiang Zhaolie looked at her with an indescribable expression, silently resolving that tonight she absolutely had to keep a close eye on her. Rumor had it that Zheng Jinchan was especially rigid and unapproachable, even more so than Qin Yao. Qin Yao might look hard to get along with, but she was cold on the surface and warm inside, with a sharp tongue and a soft heart. Zheng Jinchan was different.

That one was truly ruthless.

Coldly decisive and impartial at the company; outside, no matter whether you were a boss or a top student, as long as you did something that didn’t sit right with her, she’d cut you down with a look without batting an eye.

Jiang Zhaolie even worried that a fragile-hearted person like Xu Chun would get a few cold looks from Zheng Jinchan and go back to her room tonight to secretly cry.

While they waited for Zheng Jinchan, Qin Yao didn’t appear at all. Xu Chun asked casually, and Jiang Zhaolie said she was in a meeting next door. Hearing that, Xu Chun couldn’t help feeling a pang of heartache. She’d just gotten off the plane without even resting, and already she was back at work. Work was important, but so was her health.

Jiang Zhaolie didn’t want to look at Xu Chun’s expression, which grated on her, for fear she’d lose control of her thoughts. She turned her head away and just happened to see Zheng Jinchan arriving. “She’s here.”

Xu Chun perked up immediately. “Come on, let’s go over.”

Jiang Zhaolie was about to call after her when Xu Chun stopped in her tracks and stared at her ominously. “On second thought, stay here. Don’t follow me. I’m going over to catch up with Sister Zheng. If you come with me, it’ll change the whole flavor of the conversation.”

With that, Xu Chun raised a finger and pointed at Jiang Zhaolie’s feet. “If you dare follow me, just wait—I’ll go tattle to Sister Qin later.”

Jiang Zhaolie: “...” She watched helplessly as Xu Chun walked toward Zheng Jinchan, who was in a formal suit with an especially imposing air, anxiety churning in her gut. After a moment’s thought, Jiang Zhaolie turned on her heel and immediately went to find Qin Yao.

With Mom there, Xu Chun probably wouldn’t dare go too far.

Zheng Jinchan spotted the lovely, graceful white figure approaching from a distance. Though she didn’t think the other woman was deliberately coming to find her, those alluring, magnetic eyes were fixed straight on her. It was hard not to read into it. So Zheng Jinchan simply stopped and waited quietly for the other woman to halt before her and state her purpose.

But the other woman walked right past her, a faint fragrance drifting through the air, as if she didn’t know her at all, and instead struck up a conversation with a pot-bellied middle-aged man behind her.

Zheng Jinchan’s brow knit. She didn’t think her perception was off.

Besides... that man was plain-looking, with a weak presence and nothing remarkable about him. At most he was putting on a bold front or borrowing someone else’s influence to strut around, specifically to fool a pretty young girl like this into bed.

Zheng Jinchan couldn’t help staring at Xu Chun for several seconds. The girl was quite pretty, with skin like snow, a waist that could be circled with both hands, and a cascade of glossy black hair that added a touch of languid charm. That palm-sized face was gorgeous yet soft, with a kind of clear-eyed foolishness that made one instinctively want to protect her.

The other woman looked young, too. No wonder she’d been fooled by such an oily man.

Within moments, Zheng Jinchan had formed a preliminary impression of Xu Chun. Seeing her about to leave with the man and become his plaything, Zheng Jinchan finally moved. She strode over to him and said, “Get lost.”

The man had finally found such a delicate, lovely target; how could he give up so easily? He was about to snap back, but then his bean-sized eyes landed on Zheng Jinchan’s highly recognizable face, and even someone as dull as him knew better than to provoke her.

He was hesitating over whether to risk offending Zheng Jinchan for this irresistible beauty when Zheng Jinchan ran out of patience. “If you don’t get lost, I’ll call security and have you thrown out.”

Seeing her temper flare, the man retreated, reluctant and sullen.

Only then did Xu Chun turn her attention to Zheng Jinchan. She pretended to recognize her, then spoke softly. “...President Zheng?”

After driving the man off, Zheng Jinchan heard the sweet way the girl addressed her. She turned back, her tone not improving in the slightest. “At least your eyes still work.”

Xu Chun faltered. “...?” Was that a jab at her?

She swallowed the retort. “Hello, I’m Xu Chun.” She extended a hand, a bright, radiant smile stretching across her face. “Very pleased to meet you.”

Zheng Jinchan glanced at her hand, kept both of her own in her pockets, and didn’t shake. “I know you. My daughter Yanran’s love rival.”

Xu Chun’s expression stiffened. “???” There was no talking to this woman.

She glared at her indignantly, but Zheng Jinchan was unshaken. “You do have some looks. No wonder Jiang Banxia is so thoroughly bewitched by you that she’s been ignoring Yanran all this time.”

Xu Chun didn’t know how to respond to that. In the end she managed to count it as a compliment and smiled sweetly. “Thank you for your affirmation and praise, President Zheng. I’ll keep working hard.”

Zheng Jinchan couldn’t help looking at her a couple more times. When it came to thick skin, truly no one could beat her. But what she cared about more was Xu Chun’s purpose in deliberately drawing her attention. She asked directly, and Xu Chun didn’t hide it either, saying openly, “I want to be friends with you, Sister Zheng.”

“I know you don’t lack friends, Sister Zheng, but if there are similar occasions in the future, bringing me along would do nothing but good.” She raised a hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes glimmering with a tender, affectionate light. “As for me... I don’t want much. I just hope that in the future, if I run into trouble, you’ll do me a small favor in passing.”

“That’s enough.”

The directness won Zheng Jinchan’s favor; what she hated most were people who beat around the bush. Xu Chun’s poised, magnanimous manner only pleased her more.

Though Zheng Jinchan had no need for Xu Chun to accompany her to occasions, thinking of how her daughter pined over Jiang Banxia, losing her appetite and sleep, Zheng Jinchan still nodded in the end. “All right.”

She offered Xu Chun her hand first. “But I remember...” She drew the words out leisurely, then narrowed her eyes. “You seem to have been getting rather close to Qin Yao lately.”

Xu Chun’s smile didn’t waver. “If you need it, Sister, I can get close to you too.”

“Oh?” Zheng Jinchan’s interest was piqued. The sharp edge of her aura faded, and her imposing, striking face took on a hint of a smile. “You’re sure you want to say that in front of Qin Yao?”

Xu Chun: “?”

At first she didn’t react. Then she whipped her head around, and sure enough, there was Qin Yao, dressed all in black, standing beside Jiang Zhaolie. Xu Chun’s heart lurched; she hurried over to Qin Yao. “Sister, it’s not like that, don’t misunderstand!”

Zheng Jinchan stood casually with her hands in her pockets. “What you mean by that is...” She paused, and her tone carried a dangerous edge. “You were lying to me just now?”