My Gorgeous Wife Relies on Her Beauty to Commit Crimes - Chapter 9

At noon, Shen Jin didn’t go back. Her secretary had ordered lunch for her, and her phone lay beside the meal box. After taking a few bites, she stared at her phone for a while.

Xie Jing’s foot hadn’t healed yet, but today she was still following Shen Tuo around.

Shen Jin lowered her head, set down her chopsticks, and picked up her phone to check, no new messages.

She put the phone down again and continued eating.

After finishing lunch and resting briefly, the afternoon arrived. Shen Jin resumed her work, buried in endless tasks. She no longer had time to pay attention to her phone.

Ge Xinqing had finalized the venue, it was set in the desert near the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang.

When the photos came in, Shen Jin glanced at them. They were beautiful.

With the venue secured, Ge Xinqing visibly relaxed. During the afternoon video conference, she had a smile on her face.

“The locals are very welcoming of our arrival, but they also emphasized that we must leave no trash behind and protect the environment. I was thinking of making this an environmental protection theme, which could also help expand our brand’s influence online.”

Shen Jin remained silent. Some in the meeting agreed, while others opposed particularly the finance department, who argued that this year’s brand promotion budget was already maxed out. Ge Xinqing argued back fiercely, but Shen Jin didn’t intervene, letting them debate first.

Her gaze drifted absently, landing on her phone again.

She resisted for a moment but ultimately couldn’t hold back. She unlocked her phone and saw a new message from the assistant she had sent to assist Shen Tuo at the branch office:

“Boss, the young master has arrived and is currently familiarizing himself with the company environment and employees.”

The assistant had attached a photo as proof that Shen Tuo was at the company. Amid the bustling crowd in the background, Shen Jin spotted Xie Jing.

So reckless.

Even with an injured foot, she was still running around.

Shen Jin instinctively zoomed in on Xie Jing in the photo.

“Boss, what do you think?” someone suddenly asked in the meeting. Shen Jin froze, then flipped her phone face-down and said, “Finance, prepare a budget and put it on my desk. We’ll discuss this again once the budget is ready.”

With that, the matter was tabled.

The meeting moved on to several other projects. By the time it ended, Shen Jin felt exhausted. She took a sip of tea to rest, swiveled her chair around, and gazed out the window.

From the thirtieth floor, the riverside scenery stretched out before her.

Shen Jin sat high above, overlooking the world below, a position countless people spent their lives striving for.

For her, it was just a role she had been forced into.

But by now, she had grown used to it.

She set down her teacup as the company’s end-of-day chime sounded. Her secretary came in to refresh her tea, and Shen Jin smiled. “It’s time to leave. Head home early.”

The secretary smiled back, refilled Shen Jin’s cup with hot tea, and then left.

Shen Jin cradled the cup on her lap, admiring the view outside, when her phone suddenly rang. Seeing the six eights at the end of the caller ID didn’t surprise her in the least.

Shen Tuo must have left after lunch. During the day, the company was busy, and Old Guan wasn’t the type to be inconsiderate, he would definitely wait until after work hours to call her.

Shen Jin answered the call.

“Hello, Old Guan,” she said respectfully.

Old Guan chuckled on the other end. “Shen Jin, Shen Tuo brought his little girlfriend to see me today. That girl seems quite sweet.”

“Mhm,” Shen Jin acknowledged.

“Shen Tuo said he already introduced her to you? You approved of them getting married?” Old Guan continued, still sounding amused.

Shen Jin tightened her grip on the cup with one hand and replied softly, “Old Guan, you know how Shen Tuo is, he’s used to running wild. If I don’t play along, he might just take off again.”

“I’ve already settled it with the Luo family. Shen Tuo will go to propose at the end of the month. I’ll definitely have that girl dealt with by then, it won’t delay the alliance between our families.”

“Dealt with?” Old Guan chuckled. “We’re not gangsters.”

“Just pay her off to leave,” Old Guan said lightly. “Like we’ve done before. After all, isn’t that what everyone around Shen Tuo is after?”

Shen Jin paused before replying, “Alright.”

Old Guan hung up. Shen Jin stared at her darkened phone screen before setting it down.

She didn’t think Xie Jing’s appearance was necessarily about money, but what Xie Jing truly wanted Shen Jin hadn’t figured that out yet.

Alone in her office, surrounded by the bright lights of the skyscraper, Shen Jin stood up. Tonight, she felt like having a drink. She dialed her friend Lan Yiqing, who’d been busy with a photography exhibition in Zhuoyang City.

Lan Yiqing sounded surprised when she answered. “What’s up? Need a heart-to-heart with your wise older sister? Did that cheap son of yours cause trouble again?”

Shen Jin laughed. “Just wanted to grab a drink with you.”

“Perfect timing. I could use one too.” Lan Yiqing exhaled wearily. “You wouldn’t believe how many photos were submitted for this exhibition. Just sorting them took two whole days, and we haven’t even started judging yet.”

As Shen Jin walked, listening, Lan Yiqing heard her footsteps. “Never mind, we’ll talk over drinks. Meet at the usual place.”

Since drinking and driving didn’t mix, Shen Jin had her driver drop them off at the bar and circle the area until pickup time. Inside, Lan Yiqing was already at the counter as the pretty bartender poured her a drink.

Lan Yiqing loved beer, downing it in one go felt refreshing, and it was harder to get drunk. Spotting Shen Jin, she waved and ordered another pitcher.

The bartender smiled, releasing foam from the tap before setting two glasses on the counter.

Lan Yiqing grabbed hers, draining it in one gulp like water before venting to Shen Jin.

“I regret this. I should’ve hidden in some remote area instead. Being a judge is torture, I’ve lost so much hair these past few days.”

Shen Jin patted her shoulder comfortingly, silently sipping her drink.

“How about you, Boss Shen?” Lan Yiqing teased.

Shen Jin set her glass down without a word. That was her nature, no matter how bitter things got, she kept it bottled inside.

Lan Yiqing sighed, studying Shen Jin’s face propped on her hand. “This isn’t healthy, Boss Shen.”

“If you hate or like something, you have to say it out loud.”

“Without words, even a god wouldn’t know what’s in your heart.”

Shen Jin lowered her gaze. Her lean fingers gripped the beer glass, veins faintly visible, forming an incomplete half-circle.

“I want to leave Shen Corporation.”

“Ah…” Lan Yiqing wasn’t surprised. Though Shen Jin was the nominal boss, a puppet master still pulled the strings behind the scenes, she was just a highly paid employee.

“I support you.” Lan Yiqing clinked glasses with her.

Mischievously, she added, “Though I’ve wanted you to break free from the Shen family for ages. What finally made you decide?”

Shen Jin thought of the petal pressed between the book’s pages. She lifted her glass and took a swig.

“Nothing much. Just felt Shen Tuo’s grown up now. It’s time I stepped aside.”

“Really?” Lan Yiqing drained her glass, even tilting it upside down to shake out the last drops. She handed the empty glass to the bartender for a refill before turning to Shen Jin. “I never expected the renowned fashion mogul Shen Jin to be such a saint.”

Shen Jin remained silent.

Really? She asked herself the same question.

After drinking two more sips in quiet contemplation, her phone suddenly rang.

Lan Yiqing eyed her curiously: “Getting calls even after work hours?”

Shen Jin gestured for her to wait as she checked the unfamiliar number. After a brief hesitation, she answered.

“Hello, this is Shen Jin speaking.”

Xie Jing’s tearful voice came through the line: “Sister, can you come get me? Shen Tuo abandoned me here!”

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