Luring Her to Take the Bait - Chapter 11

“So, what did you say? Did you agree?”

Si Wenyu sat with her legs crossed, her high heel dangling from her toe. She was peeling melon seeds with her fingertips, her cat-like eyes narrowing with a mischievous glint. She leaned in slightly and let out a soft exclamation. “Don’t give me that cold face. I know you too well. You must be overjoyed inside—stop pretending.”

“Wen, stop it,” Bo Qingyu chuckled, covering her mouth. “The more you talk, the more she…” She looked toward the woman sitting at the office desk with a beaming smile, grabbed a handful of melon seeds, and started peeling them too.

Fu Su shot them a chilly, impatient look, her fingertip tapping the desk. “Coming into my office first thing in the morning to eat melon seeds—are you both that idle today?”

“The point isn’t the melon seeds,” Si Wenyu said, tossing a shell into the trash and resting her chin on her hand. “Serein and I are concerned about your relationship status. First, tell us why you were so late today. I saw you getting out of a car downstairs. Be honest—did the Little Princess drop you off?”

She stared intently at Fu Su, looking as if she wouldn’t leave until she got an answer. Bo Qingyu winked suggestively. “Did you two stay together last night?”

Fu Su simply turned her office chair away, ignoring them entirely as she began organizing folders.

“Hey, Fu Su!” Si Wenyu raised her voice. “Avoidance again? What’s there to organize on that desk? Speak up!”

She almost threw a melon seed shell at Fu Su’s head.

“You’ve already guessed it, so why ask?”

The chair swiveled back halfway. Fu Su raised an eyebrow nonchalantly, then looked down, her left hand reaching for her right cuff to fiddle with a golden flower-shaped cufflink.

“Wait, those clothes…” Bo Qingyu noticed something off. She narrowed her eyes, scanned Fu Su’s outfit, and let out a light laugh, her eyes full of interest. “I’ve never seen you wear a grey-green suit before.”

Fu Su’s lips thinned into a cool line. “Last night I went…” She paused, pressing her lips together. “I went home with Pei Wenjin and stayed over.”

“These are her clothes. I didn’t have time to go back and change.”

“She said she wants to live with me.” Fu Su deliberately stopped there, looking up at the two of them. Si Wenyu stared at her expectantly, looking anxious for the rest. Fu Su let out a small smirk before finishing the sentence:

“I agreed.”

Si Wenyu wore an expression that clearly said, ‘I knew it, I knew you were that kind of person.’ She exhaled and stood up, patting her clothes to smooth out the wrinkles, preparing to leave. However, Fu Su’s next sentence made it impossible for her to move.

“I plan to buy a house with her.”

Having said that, Fu Su stood up calmly and walked to the window to operate the coffee machine, intending to grind herself an Americano. The sunlight hit her face, casting faint blue shadows of her lashes onto her eyelids, revealing a hint of fatigue.

“Why do you need to buy another house?”

Confused, Si Wenyu turned back toward Fu Su, leaning one hand on the refreshment counter. “I know you’re not short on money, but what’s the point of buying another one?”

The steam rose toward Fu Su’s eyelashes, and the aroma of coffee grew rich. Her thin lips moved slightly. “As a marital home.”

“Stop right there. I don’t believe it.”

Si Wenyu took a deep breath, ran a hand through her hair in frustration, and looked at Fu Su with a complex gaze. “If anyone else said that, I’d believe them. But coming from you? I don’t.”

“I know you. While it’s reasonable for others to buy a new house as a marital home, it’s not reasonable for you.”

“The Little Princess is someone you’ve loved for ten years. You’d want nothing more than for her to enter your territory, to become your possession, never to leave again.”

When Fu Su slowly looked over, her face seemed even paler than before, like someone with unhealthy anemia. Her voice was very soft; Si Wenyu could sense a slight tremor in her breath.

“You know what? Pei Wenjin is a variable… one I can’t grasp.”

As soon as those words were uttered, both Si Wenyu and Bo Qingyu were stunned.

From the moment they met Fu Su until now, they had always seen a confident, powerful woman. Those determined, deep eyes had never wavered.

Only twice had Fu Su hesitated.

The first time was when Bo Qingyu suggested a blind date and pretended to be Fu Su’s date.

And the second time was right now. They were actually seeing bitterness and fear in those eyes.

Bitterness they could understand, but fear???

“Is she really Fu Su?” Si Wenyu’s eyes widened, and she pointed at her while asking Bo Qingyu uncertainly. The latter nodded slowly.

“You don’t have a fever, do you?” Si Wenyu reached out to touch her forehead, but Fu Su tilted her head away, picking up her coffee and leaving. “I’m going. The morning meeting is about to start.”

The crack in her voice from a moment ago was gone.

After the Meeting

Following the morning meeting, Fu Su’s team immediately held a video conference with a Hong Kong law firm regarding the strategy for a derivative lawsuit involving a shareholder of an H-share listed company.

Zhang Feng, an intern lawyer, looked up at the woman sitting at the head of the table, her eyes flickering.

Compared to Fu Su’s usual rigorous black, white, and gray, the grey-green suit gave off a low-key and peaceful vibe. Her meticulously pinned-up hair had, for once, a few strands hanging down over her forehead.

Zhang Feng thought to herself that she might go and ask Fu Su for some advice before the end of the day. As their supervising lawyer, Zhang Feng had never actually approached her privately.

On the “battlefield” of the meeting, Fu Su was calm and rational. Her eyes were full of confidence and professionalism, and her fingertips moved over the keyboard with ease. Zhang Feng secretly used her phone to record snippets of Fu Su formulating strategies for the cross-border operation—it was her most impressive side.

Fu Su’s eyes were dark, appearing bright and sharp under the dim light of the projector. “The client accepts contingency fees—15% of the settlement. However, we’ll cap the initial costs at 500,000 and take on the ‘dirty work’ of evidence collection ourselves.”

Attorney Chen was stunned for a moment, then smiled. “You mainland lawyers really are…” She shook her head. “Fine, but we’ll need an additional 10% during the cross-border execution phase.”

Fu Su nodded serenely.

Just as the three-hour meeting was nearing its end, Attorney Chen suddenly said, “Lawyer Fu, those cufflinks you’re wearing are nice. Quite tasteful.”

The woman’s light, laughing voice echoed through the spacious meeting room, and the tense, serious atmosphere vanished instantly.

Fu Su sensed several gazes falling upon her. She instinctively raised her hand to touch the cool golden flower before letting go, showing no sign of caring that others had seen it. Her voice was cold and expressionless. “You flatter me, Attorney Chen.”

Perhaps because the meeting was over, everyone relaxed, including Attorney Chen, who began to tease her long-time partner. “This is the first time I’ve seen you wear jewelry. Gold and grey-green don’t seem like your style—both flashy and understated at the same time.”

“Could it be… that there’s a situation?”

This woman seemed to enjoy stirring the pot, her soft voice reaching the ears of everyone present. Fu Su’s icy gaze swept over Attorney Chen like a blade. The other woman just gave a mischievous wink and quickly exited the meeting, leaving a final instruction: “Send me the revised complaint within 48 hours.”

The meeting ended. Fu Su closed her laptop, ignoring the curious looks of the crowd as she organized the work methodically. She looked at the intern: “Zhang Feng, you’re responsible for monitoring the Hong Kong court filing system. Refresh it every hour and report any critical information to me.”

Zhang Feng: “Yes, Lawyer Fu.”

As everyone left the room, Zhang Feng had just packed her laptop when a shadow fell beside her. A faint scent of citrus brushed past her nose, and there was a knock on the table.

“Delete the video.”

Fu Su’s eyes were darker than before. “If today’s meeting content is accidentally leaked, you won’t be able to bear the consequences.”

“Lawyer Fu, I didn’t intend to leak it…” Zhang Feng panicked, standing up abruptly to defend herself.

Fu Su took a step back to create distance, looking at the young girl with cold eyes. “Firm regulations: meeting content must only be recorded in writing by the relevant personnel in official files. No other form of retention is allowed.”

Zhang Feng’s large eyes were filled with panic as she immediately unlocked her phone. “I… I’m sorry, Lawyer Fu. I’ll delete it right now.”

“Recite the firm’s regulations from memory, and then the Civil Code.”

“Yes, okay.”

Fu Su had no interest in prying into others’ privacy, but as she was about to leave, she paused. She turned back toward the thin young girl and said softly, “Videos are not allowed, but you can take photos. However, you cannot take them secretly, nor can you capture any case-sensitive privacy.”

With that, she walked out of the meeting room without looking back. Zhang Feng held her laptop, gazing at the slender, grey-green silhouette. She looked down at the “Recently Deleted” folder in her album. The woman in the video was beautiful, confident, and captivating in her mastery of the situation.

She cleared the “Recently Deleted” folder, then ran across the lobby with her laptop and knocked on the glass door of Fu Su’s office. As soon as Fu Su said “Come in,” she pushed the door open and held up her phone. “Lawyer Fu, you said I could take photos.”

Seeing her circling around taking photos, Fu Su’s expression darkened despite her tolerance. “Do you still remember the task I assigned you?”

Zhang Feng froze, immediately standing straight and hiding the phone behind her back. “I remember, Lawyer Fu. I’m going to check the system right now.”

She ran off with her phone, terrified that Fu Su would make her delete the photos.

Fu Su lifted her thin eyelids to glance at the departing girl, then suddenly smiled. A tenderness softened her eyes as she fingered the small golden flower.

She missed Pei Wenjin.

The Afternoon Plan

In the afternoon, Fu Su returned to the firm from a state-owned enterprise, carrying her case files. She stood by the refreshment counter, her hip leaning lazily against the edge of the table. While making tea, she checked the messages from Pei Wenjin. The morning had been sunny, but the sky was now darkening, and a fine wind was blowing in. The weather forecast predicted rain around 7:00 PM.

Pei Wenjin’s WeChat avatar was a rainbow puppy, and her nickname was “Mao Qiu” (Fur Ball).

Fu Su had noticed when they added each other that she was still using the same account. Pei Wenjin was always straightforward; if she ever changed her account, it would likely only be because she got banned for having too many friends.

Pei Wenjin had sent her many pictures of residential complexes around the CBD, including floor plans. She had also thoughtfully marked the transportation routes and the commuting times for both of them from the residence to their respective companies.

Fu Su sat back at her desk with her tea, scrolling through each image carefully.

Pei Wenjin had already narrowed it down to a few complexes she liked, so Fu Su began picking the one that best suited Pei Wenjin’s aesthetic from the selected floor plans.

A voice message popped up:

“Susu, I’ve called the general managers of each complex to the company. They brought models and blueprints. There are also jewelry designers here. Are you busy today?”

Then another:

“Message me before you get off work. I’ll have the driver pick you up. No rush, finish your work first. I’ll wait for you~”

Fu Su smiled quietly. Pei Wenjin was probably eating something; her tone was a bit softer and stickier than usual. Fu Su put on her Bluetooth earpiece and replayed that voice message several times.

Fu Su sent back one of the images and typed: [This one.]

Pei Wenjin replied instantly: [OKOK]

Fu Su: [I’ll get off around six and drive over.]

Pei Wenjin replied with a voice message: “Okay~” followed by a location pin.

It wasn’t until Fu Su finished her work that she took off her earpiece, slowly placed it back in its case, and packed her bag. As she left, almost the entire firm looked her way. Someone whispered boldly, “Lawyer Fu is leaving so punctually today. Could she have a date?”

The person in question was already gone. Whether she heard them or not, she simply adjusted the golden flower cufflink on her wrist and stepped into the elevator.

The CBD office building and the Pei Group headquarters were only a street apart. After a quick turn, Fu Su was there, though she got stuck in traffic for five minutes.

She used to stand by the floor-to-ceiling windows of her office, looking out at these buildings from a distance. This was her first time looking up at them from the “foot of the mountain.”

The security guard saw her and immediately opened the gate, guiding her to a parking space.

After pointing out the main entrance, the young guard couldn’t help but cast curious, probing glances at her. He looked like a recent college graduate, with the air of a student still clinging to him.

As soon as she entered the lobby, she saw Ye Zhen. The other woman waved and called out in a neutral tone, “Fu Su, over here.”

As expected, Pei Wenjin had arranged everything—the security guard and Ye Zhen.

As they passed the front desk, a young woman in a modern qipao-style top asked gigglingly, “Sister Ye Zhen, who is this cold and elegant sister? You came down to fetch her personally?”

“Someone important to President Pei,” Ye Zhen replied flatly. “Focus on your work. You haven’t clocked out yet.”

“Oh, okay.” Once they were out of earshot, the girl immediately took a photo of Fu Su’s back and shared it in the gossip group—the one without the CEO!

[Image]

[Sisters, look at this!]

[A total beauty! Cold and abstinent type!]

[Sister Ye Zhen said she’s ‘important’ to President Pei. Does this mean our Little President finally has a ‘situation’? She didn’t disappoint!]

[Wow, that back profile is incredible! Why didn’t you get a shot of her face! Complaint.jpg]

[AssistantYe Sister Ye, remember to share the follow-up!] …

Ye Zhen’s phone wouldn’t stop vibrating. she took it out, glanced at it, and muted the group. She turned to look at Fu Su’s calm face as the red numbers in the elevator climbed higher.

“Your back is now famous in our company.”

Fu Su blinked coldly. Ye Zhen continued, “The threshold to President Pei’s office is going to be worn down tomorrow.”

Fu Su shifted her weight, turning slightly toward Ye Zhen, and let out a low “Mm.”

When they stepped out of the elevator, the first thing she saw were two giant Bearbricks standing on either side like greeters, wearing little top hats.

The floor was covered in a highly stylized nylon patchwork carpet. Green plants and potted flowers lined the corners. Looking down the corridor, it seemed endless. The glass walls were covered in various fun, childlike stickers, and bean bag chairs were scattered everywhere. Fu Su even saw a cat napping on one, with a cleaning lady smiling nearby, holding a cat treat.

“President Pei is in the lounge. You can go straight in. I’ll go get the designers.”

The two stopped in front of a coffee-colored door. Ye Zhen knocked three times and pressed the handle. A burst of uninhibited laughter escaped through the crack of the door, growing louder.

Inside, the two people didn’t seem to notice them. They were huddled together, and a giant screen was playing a comedy.

In that moment, Fu Su saw a hand holding a tissue, pressing it against the corner of Pei Wenjin’s mouth. Pei Wenjin was laughing radiantly.