After Breaking Up With The Wealthy Heiress - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

At 10:00 PM, the shopping mall was winding down. Aside from the bustling restaurants on the fifth floor, most shops had closed their doors and dimmed their lights. The beauty brand promotion booth in the center of the first floor had been orderly dismantled, leaving the area empty and silent.

Fang Yu went into the restroom and changed out of her uniform and high heels in a stall. T-shirt, jeans, and white sneakers were far more comfortable.

When she came out, Mengmeng was removing her makeup at the sinks. Seeing her, Mengmeng smiled at her reflection in the mirror. “Xiao Yu, it’s finally ten o’clock.”

“Mm.” Fang Yu nodded, turned on the faucet, and cupped water to wash her hands first.

The restrooms in this mall were quite high-end considerably larger than her entire rented room and without any unpleasant odor. The marble vanity reflected a clear image of her.

Fang Yu removed her makeup meticulously. She had learned the technique from Tan Yunshu, though she couldn’t afford the expensive cleansing balms and face washes Tan Yunshu used. Instead, she used high-quality, cost-effective alternatives.

Soon, she wiped the water from her face. Her eyelashes and the hair at her forehead were still damp, making her eyes look moist under the bright lights.

Mengmeng thoughtfully handed her a face towel. “Here, wipe your face.”

“Thanks,” Fang Yu said as she took it.

“No big deal.”

As Fang Yu dried her face, she pursed her lips, looked at Mengmeng, and asked, “When do you have time, Mengmeng? I’d like to treat you to a meal.”

Mengmeng had helped her, and she wanted to return the favor. She didn’t like being in anyone’s debt.

“Is tomorrow night okay?” Mengmeng tied her hair into a ponytail. “I won’t be polite about it.”

Fang Yu nodded seriously. “Good.”

This brand processed payments quickly. The part-time wages would be settled by tomorrow afternoon, making her finances a bit more flexible. Treating Mengmeng to a meal wouldn’t be a problem.

The two returned their uniforms to the warehouse. On their way out, they bumped into the other part-timers. The girl who had tried to steal Fang Yu’s sales raised her voice: “Oh, some people just look pure on the surface. Who knows how wild they are in private?” She even stopped Fang Yu, asking with a fake smile, “Xiao Yu, what do you think? Isn’t that how it goes?”

Mengmeng pushed her shoulder and frowned. “Keep your mouth clean.”

“I didn’t say who I was talking about. Why are you so quick to take it personally?” The girl didn’t seem angry, but her eyes were fixed venomously on Fang Yu.

However, the expected annoyance didn’t come. Fang Yu simply nodded peacefully. “It’s true that some people play quite ‘wildly,’ but… I suppose some people don’t even get the chance to, even if they wanted to?”

Her voice was soft, but the words hit hard.

Mengmeng hooked her arm around Fang Yu’s shoulder and led her away, laughing loudly. “Xiao Yu! Some people are just jealous of your sales performance! They’re just sour!”

Since she was significantly taller than Fang Yu, the gesture was effortless.

Once they were a bit further away from the group and out the main doors, Fang Yu quietly brushed Mengmeng’s arm off her shoulder. She wasn’t used to such physical proximity; moreover, she was exhausted, and the added weight made her shoulder feel heavier.

“There’s no point in arguing with them. We won’t see them again anyway,” Mengmeng shared her philosophy. “The best of the thirty-six stratagems is to retreat.”

“Mm.”

There was a subway entrance right outside that led directly under the mall, only fifty meters from where they exited. The subway would stop running at 11:00 PM. The entrance lights were still on, and people were emerging with tired faces it was hard to tell if they were exhausted from fun or from work.

Fang Yu had taken the subway back with Mengmeng the previous two nights. But now, seeing the black sedan parked by the road and Tan Yunshu leaning against it, her brain stalled for a second. She had thought that after seeing Tan Yunshu in the afternoon, they wouldn’t meet again today.

Under the streetlight, Tan Yunshu had changed her clothes. She was now wearing a common shirt and casual pants. The night breeze created ripples in the air. Her long hair swayed slightly as she stood with her arms crossed, staring directly at Fang Yu without a smile, her expression stern.

Fang Yu gripped her phone and turned to Mengmeng. “Mengmeng, let me know in advance what you want to eat. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” she paused. “I’m not taking the subway back tonight.”

“Then how are you getting back?” Mengmeng asked.

“A friend is picking me up.”

“Then I’ll wait with you—”

“No need,” Fang Yu declined without going into detail.

“Alright,” Mengmeng said. “Shall we message each other once we’re home?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Mengmeng didn’t hesitate further and walked toward the subway. Her time was indeed running out. As she reached the escalator, she turned her head. Guided by the headlights of passing cars, she saw Fang Yu walk up to the side of the black sedan.

In the next second, the woman by the car wrapped her arm around Fang Yu’s waist and looked toward the subway entrance. From that distance, Mengmeng couldn’t see the woman’s face clearly, but she could feel an intense sense of pressure. She didn’t look further and quickly descended the escalator.

“Why are you…” Fang Yu was surprised. She wanted to ask why Tan Yunshu was holding her like this in public something that had never happened before. But as the words left her mouth, she couldn’t finish the sentence. Because it didn’t matter.

Even after several days apart, Tan Yunshu still smelled wonderful. However, Tan Yunshu soon let go and opened the passenger door for Fang Yu, her tone somewhat cold. “I’m taking you back.”

The chill in her eyes brought on by seeing a colleague with her arm around Fang Yu’s shoulder had not dissipated. She stared at the spot on Fang Yu’s shoulder where the arm had been, then shifted her gaze upward to Fang Yu’s thick black-rimmed glasses.

Fang Yu hesitated for two seconds before saying, “My mom is home tonight.”

Fang Qin originally had the Labor Day holiday off, but she had chosen to work through it at the Tan household and moved her break to tomorrow. She had arrived home just two hours ago. While Fang Yu was on her break, she had received a message from her mother asking what time she would be back.

“I didn’t say I was going upstairs.”

Tan Yunshu’s mood remained clouded by a thick shadow, and her tone didn’t change.

Fang Yu hummed in response and sat in the passenger seat. Soon, the car pulled out and merged into the main road.

From here to Xinghu Courtyard No. 35, it took over an hour by subway. By car, it was a 20-kilometer drive, which would take about forty-five minutes at this hour. There weren’t many cars on the road. Tan Yunshu was in a gloomy mood, her lips pressed tight as she held the steering wheel, the images she saw today replaying in her mind.

No one spoke. Before they knew it, the GPS voice announced they were two kilometers from the destination. Tan Yunshu’s expression loosened slightly; she stopped being so tense and pulled the car over to the curb.

There were many residential complexes nearby, making the area feel crowded, but she had chosen a spot off the main road that was relatively secluded. The leaves swayed, and the lamp light cast flickering shadows. Almost no pedestrians passed under the trees.

Tan Yunshu turned her head and looked at Fang Yu, who had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. Thinking about how Fang Yu had promised to be “hers” but then lacked any sense of distance with others behind her back, the anger in her eyes deepened.

Fang Yu had no idea what Tan Yunshu was thinking. She had worked from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM for three consecutive days. Even though she was used to this rhythm and intensity, it was still physically taxing. Perhaps because this promotional event had been particularly grueling, her face felt stiff from smiling so much. Tan Yunshu’s car smelled nice, the seats were comfortable, and her strained nerves finally relaxed, leading her to fall asleep naturally.

Tan Yunshu watched her for a while before taking her phone out of her bag. A message from Shen Yingzhi popped up:

Where are you, Miss Tan? I’m going back to the capital tomorrow! Do you still remember?! What kind of plastic sisterhood is this? AHHH!

Tan Yunshu tapped her screen, sent back “I’ll be there in a bit,” and then heard Fang Yu’s phone ring.

Fang Yu woke up instantly and grabbed her phone. It was Fang Qin calling to ask how much longer she’d be; her mother wanted to cook some noodles for her.

“Soon, Mom,” Fang Yu smiled, making her voice sound energetic. “If you’re tired, go to sleep. Don’t worry about me, I can cook them myself.”

“Alright, I’m too tired to stay up anyway. I’m going to sleep.”

The call ended, and Fang Yu breathed a sigh of relief. She checked the time it was 10:40 PM. She looked out the window and realized she was close to home. She didn’t know why Tan Yunshu had parked here.

She wrinkled her nose slightly and turned her head, only to find Tan Yunshu propping her head up, watching her. Under the shadows of the lamps, the bridge of Tan Yunshu’s nose was sharp, her eyelashes thick, and half her face was covered in shadow.

But right now, Tan Yunshu’s beautiful features were clouded with dark emotions. Fang Yu was not unfamiliar with this version of Tan Yunshu. Thinking back, it usually happened because Tan Yunshu witnessed someone else trying to get close to her.

It used to happen more frequently at school; although they were in different colleges, they often met at the same locations. Whenever a male classmate tried to be helpful or attentive, Tan Yunshu would have this exact expression, looking at her with a heavy gaze.

Fang Yu had noticed Tan Yunshu’s off mood when they met earlier that night, but she hadn’t had the energy to dwell on it. Thinking about it now… was it because of that thin man this afternoon?

Fang Yu wasn’t sure, but she knew she had to coax Tan Yunshu now and state her position. She pursed her lips, and with a click, unbuckled her seatbelt. She took off her glasses, leaned over, and kissed the corner of Tan Yunshu’s mouth.

“I am yours, Tan Yunshu,” Fang Yu’s voice echoed in the car.

“Mm.” Tan Yunshu flicked her eyelids up, her attitude still cool.

Fang Yu’s eyes flickered, hesitating whether to go a step further. But Tan Yunshu’s lips parted, and she said:

“You aren’t going back, Fang Yu.”

Tan Yunshu slowly scanned Fang Yu’s face, then gradually curled her lips into a smile before finishing her sentence:

“We’re going to a hotel.”

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