After Being Targeted by the Gloomy and Obsessive Movie Queen - Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Engagement – Witnessing the Joyful Engagement of Yu Shujin and Shen Lu.

Yu Shujin stopped handling documents and looked into Xu Yinyu’s eyes, asking her normally.

“It was handled through normal negotiation and reconciliation.”

Xu Yinyu looked at her with a cold expression. “Negotiation and reconciliation? Did they mention any other conditions?”

Yu Shujin gave a cold glance. “Of course they did, but their conditions were within my tolerance, nothing for you to worry about.”

“I am still very worried. After all, the Shen family uses vicious tactics and sees you as a piece of desirable meat. I’m afraid you might be kidnapped one day, and I’d be powerless to rescue you.” Xu Yinyu’s words sounded sincere and moving.

Yet, Yu Shujin did not see a trace of worry in Xu Yinyu’s eyes.

They were full of probing, full of sarcasm.

“I don’t need you to rescue me,” Yu Shujin’s tone was light and seductive. She grabbed Xu Yinyu’s hand and pressed it against her own face.

“If that day ever comes, just come down and join me.”

Xu Yinyu pulled her hand back and coldly commented with two words: “Sickening.”

“Why are you so nitpicky?” Yu Shujin pulled her close. “Let’s go, Uncle Li.”

She then smoothly lowered the partition screen. “It seems the art exhibition made you very happy. I heard from Fengyu that you even met your idol.”

“How does it feel to see your long-loved idol in person?”

Yu Shujin seemed to have rehearsed it, switching to a machine-gun mode of questioning, firing one question after another at Xu Yinyu.

Xu Yinyu realized Yu Shujin was trying to get something back from her in a different way.

“Very happy, very excited. It felt like fulfilling a beautiful dream from my youth.”

“Then that means you can still be happy following the itinerary I planned for you, right?” Yu Shujin tried to drag the conversation back to the morning’s topic, trying to prove she was right.

Xu Yinyu frowned but didn’t protest further.

After clarifying the inequality between herself and Yu Shujin.

Any words declaring equality were just empty talk in front of the other person.

“I want to go to Teacher Maline’s second art exhibition,” Xu Yinyu proposed her need opportunistically.

Yu Shujin paused, looking at Xu Yinyu with obvious surprise. “Sure.”

In Yu Shujin’s mind, Xu Yinyu proactively spending her own money was equivalent to actively standing on tiptoe to kiss her.

Doesn’t that roughly translate to loving her?

Yu Shujin delighted in this for a while, but then suddenly remembered Xu Yinyu had to go to work tomorrow. Her mood instantly dropped, and she asked nonchalantly, “Do you still want to go to work tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Xu Yinyu nodded. “Our team is taking on a very large production tomorrow. I believe we can get a lot of bonuses after we get through this busy period.”

“Bonuses?” Yu Shujin’s eyes darted around. Listening to Xu Yinyu’s cheerful voice, and remembering Xu Yinyu’s earlier words about compensation, she was actually quite concerned. “What will you want to do once you have the money?”

Xu Yinyu hesitated. “Uh, I’ll probably save it.”

Yu Shujin was clearly dissatisfied with this answer and felt insecure. She even wished that Xu Yinyu’s yet-to-be-acquired bonus would simply vanish.

“My birthday seems to be in two weeks,” Yu Shujin said, simultaneously watching Xu Yinyu’s expression.

“I really want to receive a gift from the person I love.”

Yu Shujin placed her documents into her file bag, her voice loud, seemingly afraid Xu Yinyu wouldn’t hear.

Xu Yinyu’s smile froze on her face. She silently turned towards the car window, leaning on the soft leather seat to look at the scenery.

Yu Shujin leaned on Xu Yinyu’s shoulder and whispered in her ear, “It’s the Tuesday of the week after next.”

Xu Yinyu’s lips tightened, her tone sounding cold and heartless. “No money.”

Yu Shujin was very disappointed and complained into her ear, “A miserly Scrooge who won’t spare a single hair.”

Xu Yinyu’s eyes curved, and her mouth turned up, a smile she couldn’t suppress.

After returning, Xu Yinyu and Yu Shujin saw even less of each other.

The two seemed to have entered the busy, ceaseless spinning of a top. Other than the intimate moments clinging to each other at night, there was essentially no interaction.

Although Xu Yinyu remained isolated from the team’s social gatherings, her solid skills still made her a core member of the team, and Yang Qingyu’s attitude towards her softened noticeably.

She became increasingly familiar and adapted to the company environment.

As a result, the two busiest weeks flew by in a flash.

Even though Xu Yinyu’s body was at its breaking point, her spirit was extremely excited and stimulated.

She yearned for the hard work of herself and the team to be recognized by the client.

Xu Yinyu pushed herself, finally thrilled when she heard Group Leader Yang give them the “OK.”

Yang Qingyu held up her phone and announced loudly, “All available members must come to the hot spring restaurant for a celebratory dinner tonight!”

Hearing this, Xu Yinyu quietly packed her small bag, knowing she wasn’t a welcome guest.

But unexpectedly, as she was about to leave, Yang Qingyu specifically came to her side. “Xiao Xu, is there an urgent matter at home? If not, come join us for dinner. Everyone hasn’t relaxed in a long time. Will you come?”

Xu Yinyu was flattered and nodded. She followed Group Leader Yang, briefly informed Uncle Li, and got into Yang Qingyu’s car.

Only after getting in did she notice an unfamiliar woman in the car.

Xu Qingyu was sitting in the back seat, staring intently at Xu Yinyu, slightly tilting her head.

“Hello, Teacher Xiao Xu, we meet again.” Xu Qingyu was wearing a high-necked beige sweater and black tight jeans today, making her face look docile and non-aggressive.

Xu Yinyu sat down, her heart full of questions, but she politely greeted the woman on the surface. “Hello, who are you?”

“You don’t recognize me? We met at the wrap party last time. I’m Xu Qingyu.” Xu Qingyu didn’t seem annoyed that the other party had no memory of her, even explaining patiently.

Group Leader Yang, who was driving, twitched her mouth.

“Sorry, I seem to have forgotten,” Xu Yinyu said awkwardly.

“It’s fine. When we get to the private room, just buy Teacher Xiao Xu a drink,” Xu Qingyu said, sounding serious.

The smile on Xu Yinyu’s lips slowly faded.

Yang Qingyu sensed the atmosphere in the car was wrong and quickly adjusted her demeanor. “Miss Xu is joking. This deal succeeded thanks to you. How can we let Xiao Xu buy you a drink? I must be the one to toast you first, Boss Xu.”

Xu Qingyu looked at Xu Yinyu’s stern facial lines, her previously calm emotions stirring into waves.

“Alright, Miss Yang. Just don’t raise the white flag and surrender to me later,” Xu Qingyu said, crossing her arms and leaning on the soft leather seat.

The three arrived at the destination after only a brief chat.

Xu Yinyu twisted the car door open. Just as her feet firmly landed on the ground, her wrist was grabbed.

“Teacher Xiao Xu, let’s walk in together,” Xu Qingyu’s eyes were full of mischief.

Xu Yinyu didn’t want to cause trouble. She just looked down and remained silent, planning to wait until the other party lost interest before pulling her hand away.

Yang Qingyu pretended not to notice anything and led the two into the private room.

As Xu Yinyu entered, the lively room immediately fell silent.

Group Leader Yang smiled and introduced Xu Qingyu to the team.

Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to Xu Qingyu, allowing Xu Yinyu to break free.

She sat casually on the soft sofa in the room and picked up a piece of dessert, putting it in her mouth.

Someone turned on the large-screen TV, which was playing Yu Shujin’s latest original song.

“Shujin’s new song is as good as ever.”

A less-than-pleasant voice sounded above Xu Yinyu’s head.

Xu Qingyu sat directly next to Xu Yinyu. “But the Yu family is having a hard time recently. They’re being pressed hard by the Shen family, and even their core technology has been taken.”

Xu Yinyu’s body stiffened.

She slowly asked, “How do you know?”

“Of course I know a bit more than outsiders. After all, the Yu family and the Xu family cooperate in the biotechnology sector. I’m very puzzled that Yu Shujin would hand over her newly developed biotechnology just like that.” Xu Qingyu pinched Xu Yinyu’s hand. “What do you think she was thinking?”

Xu Yinyu’s face was ashen white.

“Losing the new biotech research will cause both the Yu and Xu families to fall behind in the new round of innovation,” Xu Qingyu’s voice was extremely low, just loud enough for Xu Yinyu to hear.

“Xu Yinyu, how long do you plan to drag Yu Shujin down?”

Xu Yinyu violently pushed Xu Qingyu away. “No one can interfere with any choice she makes, and I certainly can’t influence her.”

Xu Qingyu gave a cold laugh. “You truly won’t shed a tear until you see the coffin.”

She pulled out an invitation card. The edges of the gold-stamped champagne-colored envelope were pressed with fine gold lines, and dark red wax was embedded with the interwoven characters “Yu” and “Shen.”

When Xu Qingyu tore it open, the paper made a crisp sound. Xu Yinyu’s eyes were fixed on it.

Xu Yinyu’s heart was deeply torn by the sight of this exquisite card. Her whole being fell into a windless world, unable to hear any external sound, only the rush of blood flowing through her body.

She used to reassure herself that Yu Shujin liked her, that Yu Shujin cared about her, and the only reason she was restraining herself was fear of being unable to stand on her own or live well.

But the engagement invitation card before her revealed her self-deception in its entirety.

What love?

It was nothing more than a false mirage.

The most laughable part was that she genuinely believed it every single moment.

Believing the lie that a person who had done everything to hurt her still loved her.

Xu Yinyu’s eyes were bloodshot. She gasped, trying to calm her breathing, hearing nothing outside but the gurgling sound of her own blood flow.

Xu Yinyu wasn’t sure how she returned to Yu Shujin’s villa.

She recalled the panic she felt the first time Yu Shujin abducted her into the villa, and it felt distant.

She also found her current self ridiculous; she couldn’t hesitate anymore.

She walked into the villa, meeting Yu Shujin’s furious eyes.

In that instant, Xu Yinyu recalled Shen Nianbai’s fists.

She thought, if she had died in that kidnapping.

Then Yu Shujin would have been a lover she would never meet again in life or death.

If Yu Shujin had been more sentimental, they might have become a beautiful story.

She would have gained a little beauty in Yu Shujin’s heart.

However, she survived, rescued at a colossal cost she couldn’t afford, becoming the reason for the Yu and Xu families’ decline.

And then she saw this engagement invitation card that she couldn’t accept.

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