My Gorgeous Wife Relies on Her Beauty to Commit Crimes - Chapter 1.3

But her fingers only brushed empty air over Xie Jing’s palm, sending a faint tickling sensation that made Xie Jing’s eyes curve in amusement.

Before Shen Jin could retrieve it, Xie Jing withdrew her hand, curling her fingers into a fist and dropping it to her side. In one fluid motion, she stepped in front of Shen Jin, blocking her path.

Leaning in slightly, Xie Jing asked, “Auntie, do you not like me?”

Her bright eyes curved slightly as she spoke, her tone carrying a hint of lighthearted vexation, as if she were merely asking casually with no intention of offending Shen Jin.

“No, I don’t dislike you.” Shen Jin’s right hand withdrew empty, resting on the crook of her left arm. Raven-black hair cascaded down her back, and her slightly pointed chin lifted with an indescribable air of distance and arrogance. Her dark eyes regarded Xie Jing calmly, like a superior scrutinizing an employee who had made a mistake, unconsciously exuding an authority that made one’s heart tighten.

Xie Jing chuckled softly. “I thought it was because I wasn’t likable enough that Auntie ignored me.”

The remark surprised Shen Jin. She had assumed Xie Jing was the clingy type timid, weak, only capable of latching onto the strong. Yet here she was, unexpectedly direct, contrary to her delicate appearance.

Shen Jin raised a brow, her gaze settling on Xie Jing’s face soft features, rounded eyes, gentle brows, hair draped over her shoulders. When she smiled, her expression softened like a soothing, unobtrusive moonlight, naturally endearing. Too soft, perhaps, harmonious to a fault, the kind that looked easy to bully. After a long pause, Shen Jin lowered her eyes. “You’re quite likable.”

Xie Jing raised a hand to touch her cheek. Shen Jin asked, “Are you giving my lighter back?”

An odd tranquility lingered between them, devoid of the wariness a mother might feel upon seeing her son bring home a questionable woman. Xie Jing couldn’t quite grasp Shen Jin’s thoughts. She extended her palm and handed over the lighter.

Shen Jin took it, nodded at her, and left.

Xie Jing watched Shen Jin’s retreating figure, finding it all rather strange.

Shen Jin should have been a highly guarded person, yet their conversation had been entirely free of conflict. Could she really want Xie Jing to marry Shen Tuo? Then why had she thwarted his previous attempts at marriage?

Xie Jing unconsciously bit her lip.

Could it be… Shen Jin actually fancied her?

She looked ahead, her expression darkening, almond eyes narrowing. Heavy footsteps sounded behind her Shen Tuo had finally caught up. He cursed under his breath. “Xie Jing, you’ve got some nerve flipping on me so fast! Who the hell did you say you were marrying just now? What’s this about ‘meeting someone you like again’? You’re eyeing the pot while eating from the bowl, how shameless can you get?”

Xie Jing found it amusing. She flicked the hair draped over her shoulder, its faint fragrance wafting to Shen Tuo, slightly diffusing his anger. Turning to face him, she jabbed a finger hard against his chest, enunciating each word. “When we came back together, we agreed, I’d help you fool your mom, but I still have a choice. We each do our own thing. Shen Tuo, you’re no saint either, so don’t play innocent with me! While you were with me, you had plenty of flings on the side.”

Shen Tuo recoiled slightly, startled by her intensity, and forced a laugh. “I cut ties with them ages ago. Didn’t I delete all their contacts right in front of you?”

Xie Jing scoffed, her temperament far tougher than her delicate looks suggested. “You know damn well whether you really deleted them or not.”

Shen Tuo scratched his nose guiltily.

Xie Jing dropped her hand and crossed her arms, fixing him with a cold stare as she made her demand. “I’m staying on the second floor. Arrange it.”

Shen Tuo softened his tone. “Fine, whatever you say, Your Highness.”

He instructed the butler to arrange for Xie Jing’s luggage to be moved to the second-floor room. Xie Jing stood nearby watching as the room was prepared. When it was ready, Shen Tuo followed behind her to enter, but Xie Jing didn’t wait for him. She slammed the door shut with a bang, nearly hitting Shen Tuo’s nose.

Shen Tuo stood dumbfounded in front of the door before snapping back to reality and pounding on it. “Damn it! After all my effort! Is this how you treat me, Xie Jing?!”

There was no response from inside. Shen Tuo pressed his ear against the door, but the soundproofing was too good, he couldn’t hear a thing. With no other choice, he turned and walked away.

How did he ever fall for Xie Jing’s personality in the first place? He even thought there was a serene beauty about her, what a joke. She was so fiery he couldn’t even get close to her.

Being with Xie Jing was the most innocent relationship he’d ever had just holding hands, not even a single kiss.

Shen Tuo shook his head as he descended the stairs and soon disappeared from the house.

From upstairs, Xie Jing watched Shen Tuo drive off. She didn’t need to guess where he was going undoubtedly to meet his rowdy friends. She opened her suitcase, took out her laptop, and accessed an encrypted file containing detailed information about the Shen Corporation.

Xie Jing skimmed through it quickly, confirming Shen Jin and Shen Tuo’s shares in the company before finally exhaling in relief. She closed the file and shut her laptop.

The Shen Corporation had started as a mere garment factory, built from the ground up by Shen Jin’s parents. Over time, it had grown into one of Zhuoyang City’s top clothing brands, now publicly traded and expanding globally. The company boasted high-end couture, ready-to-wear lines, and a series of affordable luxury brands, dominating the domestic fashion industry. Essentially, the annual fashion trends in the country were dictated by the Shen family.

Xie Jing bit her lip. Taking down such a behemoth would be an unimaginable challenge.

She exhaled deeply and typed into her phone: I met Shen Jin. She agreed to let me marry Shen Tuo.

Her phone screen flashed with a reply: She won’t agree. She’s just trying to placate Shen Tuo. Luo Hong is back in the country.

Luo Hong was Shen Tuo’s obsessive pursuer. Back in Europe, Shen Tuo had gotten together with Xie Jing just to shake her off. But Luo Hong had an ace up her sleeve, she went straight to her parents. The Luo family, the Shen Corporation’s most crucial fabric supplier, held the company’s lifeline in their grip. Shen Jin had agreed to an engagement between the two, which was why Shen Tuo had rushed Xie Jing back to the country to prove his “true love.” But Xie Jing’s target wasn’t Shen Tuo.

The real power in the Shen Corporation lay with Shen Jin, who had long since come out publicly and played a significant role in pushing for the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Conventional methods wouldn’t work on Shen Jin, so Xie Jing had to take an unconventional approach.

As Xie Jing was lost in thought, a knock came at the door. “Is Shen Tuo here?” It was Shen Jin.

Instinctively, Xie Jing pressed a hand over her laptop before smoothing her hair and opening the door. Her starry eyes shimmered with a hazy glow as she gazed softly at Shen Jin. “He’s not here,” she said, shaking her head.

Shen Jin glanced past her into the room. Xie Jing swung the door wide open, proving she wasn’t lying.

The pale, sharp-featured woman frowned. “I got a distress text on my phone,” Shen Jin said. “Thought it might be Shen Tuo playing a joke. Do you know where the Desperado Bar is?”

Xie Jing froze for a moment before nodding.

“Take me there,” Shen Jin said. “Shen Tuo’s in danger.”

On the road, the driver familiar with Zhuoyang City quickly located the place after Xie Jing gave the directions.

The Desperado Bar was a private club, and the map showed it in the middle of nowhere.

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