Falling After Marriage - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: A Scent of Catching Someone Red-Handed

The atmosphere in the small private dining room was slightly awkward.

Cheng Sangluo rested her hands on the stool, rocking the stool legs back and forth.

She felt she shouldn’t discuss such depressing topics in this setting, so she pretended to be relaxed and said, “It doesn’t matter, I’ve already been fired, so I’ll order another dish of stir-fried squid to commemorate it.”

Shu Guan finished sanitizing the bowl and chopsticks in her hand, naturally placing the set in front of Cheng Sangluo, and asked, “What are your plans next?”

Cheng Sangluo answered without thinking: “Go out and try my luck. Maybe I’ll have a new job tomorrow.”

“You’re quite optimistic.”

“Let’s not talk about unhappy things. I’m so hungry. When is the food coming?” Cheng Sangluo was truly hungry. The only thing she had consumed all day was a bottle of mineral water from Shu Guan.

Shu Guan clasped her hands together, resting her chin lightly on the back of her hands. Looking at her hungry expression, her bright eyes slightly curved: “You mentioning it makes me hungry too.”

Before long, a waiter walked in with a full platter of steamed oysters.

Cheng Sangluo was eager to tap her bowl with her chopsticks. Her naturally sharp eyes were bright, now completely focused on the plump, large oysters.

Shu Guan didn’t start eating but picked the biggest oyster and placed it on Cheng Sangluo’s plate. “Glutton, go ahead and eat.”

“You eat, don’t worry about me.” Seeing that she hadn’t started, Cheng Sangluo asked innocently, “Didn’t you say you were hungry? Why aren’t you eating?”

Shu Guan smiled mischievously, playing coy: “I’m waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

“Waiting for that dish you mentioned. The fish, after frying, where the bones are all crispy, tasting particularly flavorful, perfect for pairing with alcohol.” Shu Guan repeated Cheng Sangluo’s words from the breakwater.

She hid a bit of seriousness in her plain narration, hinting at a subtle, hard-to-detect interest.

Cheng Sangluo gave two dry laughs: “Haha, did I describe it that vividly?”

“So I wanted to try it.”

The atmosphere returned to a comfortable harmony, but Shu Guan preferred not to talk during meals, so the only sounds left in the small private room were the clinking of tableware.

Shu Guan had a small appetite, taking only two or three bites of each dish before stopping.

Most of the time, she quietly watched Cheng Sangluo eat, a gentle smile unconsciously playing on her lips.

Cheng Sangluo was sucking on the crab, feeling completely uncomfortable under her gaze. She held the crab claw in her mouth and asked foolishly, “Why are you staring at me and smiling? Are you laughing at my bad table manners?”

“No.” Shu Guan picked up her teacup for a small sip, then countered, “Has no one ever complimented you on how infectious your eating is?”

“Infectious?” Cheng Sangluo raised her eyebrows unevenly, thinking, and mumbled: “Well, you haven’t seen field operations in the military. Meals were devoured in just a few minutes, with a group of people vacuuming food at an alarming speed.”

“I certainly haven’t witnessed that, but today I have witnessed that one can bury one’s head in the bowl while eating.” Shu Guan laughed at Cheng Sangluo’s manner of eating, describing it vividly. “Like what? Hmm… puppies eat like that.”

Hearing the word puppy, Cheng Sangluo smacked her lips: “Can I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Do I look a lot like a puppy?”

“Yes, like a big black wolfhound.”

“Aiyee.” Cheng Sangluo didn’t like that assessment.

She pondered that Shu Guan and Lin Jin were actually the same kind of people, but they viewed people and dogs differently. The former cloaked her view in a gentle facade, while the latter didn’t even pretend.

Cheng Sangluo picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth. “I’m full. Are you done eating?”

“Yes.” Shu Guan leaned back in her chair. Not wanting the meal to end abruptly, she suggested, “Let’s sit and rest for a bit. We can chat.”

“What do you want to chat about?”

“About you.”

“Me?” Cheng Sangluo was surprised. “I’m quite ordinary. There’s nothing much to talk about, right?”

Shu Guan gently rubbed the rim of the teacup with her fingertip, as if thinking for a moment before asking curiously: “I’m quite curious about your relationship with President Lin. It’s a bit presumptuous to ask, and you don’t have to answer.”

“Her and me?” Cheng Sangluo countered, also falling into the question. She couldn’t answer immediately.

She had never considered what exactly her relationship with Lin Jin was. When someone suddenly asked, it prompted the idea of tracing it to its source.

It was a relationship of deep hatred off the bed and perfect harmony on the bed—very complicated and hard to articulate.

After pondering for a moment, Cheng Sangluo finally managed a weak explanation: “Neither too close nor too distant. At most, we know each other. We’re not even friends.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Shu Guan felt like she had received an answer, but the value of the answer was complicated. She continued the conversation herself: “I’ve known her for many years. Since we are both Shi Nian’s friends, we often run into each other, but our relationship is more akin to business rivals. Listening to you, it sounds like you don’t particularly like her.”

“With her temper, nine out of ten people would dislike her.” Cheng Sangluo spoke her honest thoughts. Although she was thoroughly annoyed with the madwoman, she felt it was shameful to speak ill of someone behind their back, so she stopped the discussion: “Forget it, let’s not mention her.”

Shu Guan was naturally not one to waste words.

Like Lin Jin, she was a self-serving businesswoman, so they were fundamentally similar. Even in conversation, she needed to extract beneficial information from the words.

Just now, she gained a lot of useful information from Cheng Sangluo’s words.

For instance, Cheng Sangluo disliked Lin Jin, which allowed her to infer that they did not have a romantic relationship. Furthermore, in the context of her job loss, she understood that Cheng Sangluo’s life was difficult, and Lin Jin hadn’t offered any help.

Delving deeper, she could guess that Cheng Sangluo was very likely a single puppy.

Single, which meant an opportunity.

Shu Guan recalled the scene at the yacht party that day, remembering Lin Jin’s possessiveness toward Cheng Sangluo—a visible display that anyone could recognize. Combining this with the information she received today,

If she hadn’t guessed wrong, Cheng Sangluo was that woman’s weakness.

Interesting, very interesting.

Shu Guan stopped thinking, the smile on her lips remaining gentle.

In reality, she was not inherently gentle and friendly, but merely good at pretense.

“It’s getting late. Let’s go.” Shu Guan checked the time and stood up, picking up her designer bag.

Cheng Sangluo quickly walked to the door, ready to call the waiter for the bill.

Shu Guan called out to her: “No need. I’ve already paid.”

Cheng Sangluo held the door handle, surprised: “When did you pay?”

“With magic~” Shu Guan teased her, walking lightly out. “Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”

“No need, it’s too much trouble.” Cheng Sangluo habitually refused again.

“The buses here run infrequently and stop early, and getting a taxi is also inconvenient. You can’t just walk home, can you?” Shu Guan moved closer to her, reaching out to tug at her shirt hem. “What did I say today? The same thing…”

“Can’t be refused twice.” Cheng Sangluo replied with a smile. “Then I’ll trouble you, Miss Shu.”

Cheng Sangluo always disliked owing anyone anything. Remembering that Shu Guan had paid for dinner, she volunteered to be the driver.

On the way back to the city, she drove with extreme caution, ready for anything.

Shu Guan had been exposed to the sun all afternoon and was feeling heavily fatigued.

She leaned lazily against the window, laughing at Cheng Sangluo’s nervous demeanor: “Should I praise you for being able to drive a sports car so steadily, or laugh at you for being too cautious?”

“Your car is too valuable. My heart is pounding. If there’s even a minor scratch, I couldn’t pay for it even if I gave up my life.”

“That’s an exaggeration.” Shu Guan shifted into a more comfortable posture, rather enjoying how steady the car was being driven. “It’s good. Driving steadily easily makes one sleepy.”

“It’s hard on you to accompany me fishing all afternoon. If you’re sleepy, just take a nap.”

“Why do you think I was accompanying you, and not that you were accompanying me to pass the time? Interactions between people are always mutual.”

Shu Guan’s words were charming and pleasant to hear. Cheng Sangluo felt she had a point and nodded involuntarily.

She didn’t know why, but she always subconsciously compared Shu Guan and Lin Jin. With every comparison, the obsessive madwoman received negative reviews.

Yet, deep down, she felt the two were very similar.

It was an unexplainable similarity. But how could Miss Shu, who was cultured, reasonable, and gentle as water, have anything in common with that cunning and unpredictable madwoman?

Cheng Sangluo racked her brain but couldn’t figure out where this feeling came from.

However, she wasn’t foolish, and she was a person with extremely strong perception. As soon as she felt something was off, she would be watchful.

As the Aston Martin pulled up on the street in front of the alley, the night was thick and dark.

Cheng Sangluo gently patted the sleeping Shu Guan, greeting her: “Miss Shu, wake up. I’m here.”

Shu Guan’s eyes were drowsy, and she softly hummed: “Hmm? We’re here? That was fast.”

She sighed and adjusted her posture. Seeing Cheng Sangluo about to get out of the car, she pushed open her door as well.

She quickly walked around the front of the car, seemingly not wanting to prolong their encounter, and called out urgently: “Wait a moment.”

Cheng Sangluo stood with her hands in her pockets, asking, “Is there anything else, Miss Shu?”

“Take this.” Shu Guan took out the sunscreen from her bag. “You said you were going to try your luck tomorrow, right? The sun is strongest this season, you need to apply sunscreen when you’re running around outside.”

“No, no, that’s too extravagant.” Cheng Sangluo quickly waved her hands, but the sunscreen was still placed in her hand.

“It’s not anything expensive, and I’ve already used it. As long as you don’t mind.” Shu Guan’s reason made it difficult to refuse. She seemed to recall something and instructed: “If you keep having trouble finding suitable work, you can come to me. Bai Mu mentioned your situation to me at the yacht party last time. While I’m not short on staff, having an outstanding Special Forces soldier like you as a bodyguard, I think I would have hit the jackpot.”

Cheng Sangluo raised her hand to rub the back of her neck, feeling shy again from the praise. “Ah, Bai Mu mentioned me?”

“Yes, otherwise, how would I know you were a soldier?” Shu Guan opened the car door, unable to reconcile the difficult feeling of reluctance in her heart. She looked back at Cheng Sangluo, who hadn’t left yet. “You have my number. You can contact me anytime. Don’t worry about bothering me. Your calls are never a bother.”

Cheng Sangluo laughed, amused at how beautifully this woman spoke.

Just as the two were about to say their final goodbyes, a black Bentley parked in the opposite corner revved its engine loudly.

The Bentley’s deep roar cut through the tranquility of the night. It executed a sharp U-turn on the road and stopped steadily right in front of Shu Guan’s car.

The person in the driver’s seat didn’t get out immediately but turned on the blinding high beams. It felt a little like catching someone red-handed, but it was more about resentment, even mixed with deep hatred.

Lin Jin gripped the steering wheel with one hand, her gaze dark and hostile as she stared at the two people outside the car.

Unable to contact Cheng Sangluo, she had become hysterical, searching almost everywhere she could think of, but to no avail.

In the end, she had to resort to the most clumsy method—waiting by the curb—watching from afternoon until deep into the night.

No one knew better than her how tormenting it was to wait for the person you longed to see but couldn’t.

Tonight’s wait felt like a microcosm of all the years she had guarded her memories alone. She had suffered enough of this bitterness, so even a short wait felt agonizing.

But those deeply in love rarely get the desired outcome, and what she witnessed was this scene.

Lin Jin watched all the interactions between the two from across the street. Every moment of their laughter felt like a sharp little knife, stabbing into her eyes over and over.

Cheng Sangluo was hit by the blinding light and instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes, until that familiar figure, silhouetted against the light, walked out of the darkness.

The woman still moved with her characteristic swagger. She was arrogant, disdainful, and overbearing, but her lips lacked her most iconic, hypocritical smile.

Because of the backlighting, Cheng Sangluo couldn’t clearly see Lin Jin’s expression, but the intimidating aura emanating from her carried an undisguised resentment.

Shu Guan was surprised by Lin Jin’s appearance, but also excited that her conjecture had been confirmed. She was even more certain that Cheng Sangluo was Lin Jin’s weakness, making the situation more intriguing.

She leaned against the car door, looking at the gloomy-faced person walking toward her, and offered a friendly smile, “What wind brings President Lin to the old town district?”

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