I Am Her Secret Beauty - Chapter 82

After snapping at Mu Xi with irritation and sensing her dull silence on the other end, Nan Lian impatiently hung up the phone.

Mu Xi ought to forgive her harsh attitude.

This morning’s efforts, after all, were also for her sake.

As the successor of Nan Zhiya, Nan Lian had never experienced such prolonged rejection outside. Ever since she stormed into the S.Life headquarters building, she had been made to wait in the reception room, unable to even step into Wu Quan’s office, let alone speak to her in person.

Over an hour of waiting had drained Nan Lian of all her patience. Just as she was about to erupt in anger, Wu Quan finally appeared before her, calm and unhurried, looking completely unruffled, nothing like the “busy” state her secretary had described.

Even in her fury, Nan Lian quickly realized that this might very well be one of Wu Quan’s tactics.

She was well aware of the negative impact emotions could have, Wu Quan intended to let her wait like a trapped beast until she was driven to desperation, only to then assert superiority with a calm and rational demeanor.

So, Nan Lian forced herself to calm down, though she couldn’t quite return to the complete composure she had before arriving.

From the moment she saw Wu Quan’s face, the images of Su Wen, Bai Ran, and even Mu Xi pressed down on her like a curse. She had already become part of this chain of events, unable to stand apart from it.

“I had a surgery scheduled this morning and couldn’t receive Miss Nan right away. My apologies,” Wu Quan said with a smile, extending a hand still clad in plastic gloves. “If there’s any way I can assist you, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll hold nothing back.”

Her attitude was polite, but coming from this woman, it felt utterly detestable.

Nan Lian didn’t bother with pleasantries, nor did she reach out to shake Wu Quan’s hand. Instead, she remained seated firmly on the sofa, glaring coldly. “Then, President Wu, you must be honest with me. The project you’re conducting seems rather peculiar, doesn’t it? I wonder if there’s any possibility of harm to the volunteers or the staff?”

“Miss Nan,” Wu Quan withdrew her hand, showing no trace of displeasure, her expression growing even more serious. “I have long vowed to dedicate my life, my everything, to medicine. However, I have no right to demand the same level of commitment from others.”

Nan Lian stared at her without a word.

“This is a solemn declaration. If you’re asking, my answer is that we will ensure the safety and well-being of every volunteer who willingly participates in our projects.”

In Nan Lian’s limited interactions with Wu Quan, it was rare to see her so sincere and courteous.

More often than not, this medical genius was arrogant and condescending, to the point of being disrespectful even in front of her own sister.

She had found her lifelong ideal and was willing to sacrifice everything for it, allowing her to look down upon others from the heights of her ambition.

And that made her dangerous to “others.”

Firmly convinced that she fell into the category of “others,” Nan Lian found it difficult to show Wu Quan any kindness and couldn’t bring herself to trust those polished, official statements:

“In that case, I must trouble President Wu to prove herself.”

Nan Lian was still thoroughly annoyed, for Wu Quan had taken far too long to arrive. In the over an hour she had been waiting, if Wu Quan truly were an irredeemable villain, she could have erased ten thousand pieces of evidence and fabricated twenty thousand more.

Ultimately, this confrontation had lost all meaning. No matter how hostile her attitude, she was merely playing along in Wu Quan’s little charade.

She wanted Wu Quan to hastily brush her off so she could leave this place and pursue other avenues to investigate further evidence.

But for some inexplicable reason, Wu Quan was acting entirely out of character today, not only feigning righteousness but also indulging in a theatrical performance, even taking the initiative to suggest:

“How about I pay a visit to your residence this afternoon?”

Nan Lian instantly furrowed her brows. “What do you mean?”

“Although I don’t understand why the young lady holds such misunderstandings about us, in order to maintain a good cooperative relationship, I believe it’s necessary to visit you and President Nan in person to clarify matters face to face.” Wu Quan spoke unhurriedly.

“…?”

Nan Lian had no idea what kind of poison Wu Quan was brewing in her gourd.

Her immediate reaction was that Wu Quan was definitely up to no good.

Still, Nan Lian wasn’t afraid of her, nor did she have any reason to refuse such an offer.

Wu Quan valued her projects greatly and was willing to humble herself to make a personal visit and offer explanations, all to ensure no one interfered… It wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

Noting Nan Lian’s inscrutable expression, Wu Quan smiled again and presented another argument Nan Lian couldn’t refuse: “The young lady must be aware that Mu Xi, the Nan family’s former butler, was once one of our volunteers, correct?”

“She is no longer the Nan family’s butler.”

Nan Lian retorted coldly, “But what are you implying?”

“In times of disaster, our first concern is always for those close to us, regardless of our relationship with them,” Wu Quan said. “Using someone familiar to both of you to prove my innocence would be more convincing, wouldn’t it?”

“…”

Nan Lian stared into her eyes.

Reassuringly, those eyes remained cold and sinister, starkly at odds with the benevolent words she spoke.

This woman should have been the type Nan Lian admired, ruthless in achieving her goals, indifferent to worldly opinions, and never entangled in so-called worldly matters.

Wu Quan spoke up again to remind her: “What do you think?”

“Fine.” Nan Lian smiled as well.

…

Wu Quan mentioned needing to make some preparations and would head to the Nan residence in the afternoon. She then left the reception room first, leaving Nan Lian, who hadn’t even eaten lunch, sitting alone.

Nan Lian wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Instead, she first sent messages to Nan Zhiya and Nan Xi, informing them of Wu Quan’s impending visit. They would know what to do.

After mentally organizing everything she needed to do next, she finally stood up and walked out, encountering her visibly anxious assistant outside the door.

The assistant was eager to prepare lunch for her, fearing that Nan Lian would take out her frustration on her if she didn’t eat well, only to be met with Nan Lian’s reply: “No rush.”

Having waited over an hour in that place and exchanged only a few words with Wu Quan, Nan Lian felt it was hardly worth it.

She paced a few more steps along the corridor until the security personnel began watching her intently, looking as though they were about to approach and shoo her away.

Was every sealed door concealing a laboratory? Or were they administrative offices? If they were on the same floor as the reception room for external visitors, then this level probably held no significant secrets.

Nan Lian’s gaze fell on the elevator directly ahead, and she took a few more steps forward.

Immediately, two security personnel who had been observing her approached, using their tall frames to block the elevator doors. Their attitude remained relatively polite: “Sorry, ma’am, you can’t use our internal elevator.”

“Where is the elevator for visitors?” Nan Lian didn’t get angry either and asked in a similarly courteous tone.

Her assistant followed closely behind, right hand resting on her waist, just above a bulging pocket.

“Sorry.” The security personnel stood firm in front of the elevator doors, heads held high with an unyielding demeanor. “Visitors don’t have permission to use any of the elevators here. Please leave.”

Nan Lian glanced down at the electric batons hanging from their belts, intimidatingly large ones. She wondered if they would emit a faint blue electric glow when powered on and whether they would scorch human skin and flesh upon contact.

She suddenly asked, “If someone escapes from the laboratory, are you responsible for stopping them? With your electric batons?”

The two towering women, standing like a human wall, paused for a moment before replying gruffly, “We don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

After that, no matter what Nan Lian said, they remained silent.

Nan Lian wasn’t entirely averse to dealing with stubborn people, but certainly not in this situation, especially since these two didn’t seem to know much.

She gave up on further provoking the security personnel and left the S.Life building with her assistant, getting into her car.

“Let’s go back to the Nan residence for lunch.”

The assistant reminded her, “President Wu mentioned she would visit this afternoon but didn’t specify the exact time. If you go back for lunch, you might…”

Make Wu Quan wait.

The assistant caught sight of Nan Lian’s sinister, cold smile in the rearview mirror and immediately swallowed the rest of her words.

In truth, Nan Lian probably relished the idea of making Wu Quan wait, having her wait for over an hour or something. Given Nan Lian’s temperament, she would surely make Wu Quan pay it back.

Sensing the mood, the assistant said, “Then I’ll contact the housekeeper to prepare lunch.”

Nan Lian closed her eyes and leaned back in the car seat to rest. Before long, she received a call from Mu Xi.

The assistant, who prioritized reading expressions, keenly noticed Nan Lian curling her lips the moment she saw the caller ID. Yet, she still answered the call.

Very unusual.

Then, Nan Lian began speaking to the person on the other end, threatening them with a terrible attitude.

However, by the time she hung up, her expression had noticeably softened, as if she had drawn vitality from that phone call.

“Xiao Luo.”

The sudden address made the driving assistant instantly straighten her spine. “Yes?”

“Sometimes, you really have to find comfort in people worse off than yourself,” Nan Lian said with her eyes closed, uttering words the assistant couldn’t quite grasp. “Otherwise, life would be too dull and exhausting.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

Even though she had no idea in what way her boss was suffering, the assistant diligently filed the statement away in the mental space she reserved for “boss’s quotes.”

It was a place she had secretly created to learn from successful people, meant for recording the occasional life mottos Nan Lian uttered.

She put this advice into practice quickly by contacting Sean, who had already finished her midday work, and asking her to prepare a separate lunch for Nan Lian.

Sean had no complaints. Upon receiving the message, he immediately arranged for the servants to prepare for Nan Lian and Wu Quan’s reception, one group was responsible for Nan Lian’s lunch, while another attended to Wu Quan’s visit.

Amidst these arrangements, there was another minor task: preparing lunch for her former colleague, Mu Xi.

Mu Xi’s status was naturally incomparable to Nan Lian’s, so preparing her lunch was straightforward, just cook it and deliver it.

Sean took on this task personally.

When the door opened, Sean noticed that Mu Xi looked visibly upset, the kind of expression that made it clear she wouldn’t be able to eat.

Out of courtesy and respect for Nan Xi’s partner, Sean still spoke to her gently, “If anything doesn’t suit your taste, please let me know. I’ll come back in half an hour to collect the dishes.”

“…Thank you,” Mu Xi replied, then called out to Sean just as she was about to leave, “Wait a moment.”

Sean paused patiently, “Is there anything you need?”

“Will you be very busy this afternoon?”

“Yes, I’ll be somewhat busy.”

Hearing this, Mu Xi felt that her earlier thought of trying to inquire further from Sean was indeed absurd.

This wasn’t Xiao Li or Xiao Ji, with whom she had a rapport, this was the new butler, wholly dedicated to serving Nan Zhiya.

“…Then I’ll wash the dishes myself. No need to trouble you to come back for them.”

“That wouldn’t be appropriate,” Sean said with a smile, observing Mu Xi’s disheartened expression and her lack of further words. “I’ll take my leave now. Enjoy your meal.”