My Teacher Passed Away, and I Became Her Stand-in - Chapter 5

Drizzling rain fluttered outside the window, while inside it was dim and the humidity was just right. With a gentle warm breeze, nesting in the sofa in this kind of weather was exceptionally comfortable.

Jin Kaiyu used to love days like this, and today was no exception. Perhaps because she had handled some major matters weighing on her heart, she felt even more relaxed.

After sitting for a while, a deep drowsiness washed over her. Her eyelids began to fight, and she gradually lost all sense of time.

It wasn’t until a vibration came from beside her leg that she turned her head groggily. Her cheek felt a bit itchy, and she instinctively brushed her hand out. Upon realizing what she had grabbed, Jin Kaiyu snapped her eyes open.

Her nose was filled with a gentle fragrance. What met her eyes was a clear, magnified face wearing a slight smile; she was almost leaning against Qu Qiushuang’s shoulder.

Qu Qiushuang’s voice held a hint of a smile: “Awake?”

She then lazily glanced at Jin Kaiyu’s hand: “How much longer are you going to clutch my hair?”

Jin Kaiyu’s heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly released her palm and moved to the side, but the silky sensation remained at her nerve endings, and her fingertips almost seemed to catch a lingering scent of the hair.

She was always half a beat slow after waking up, but right now, she seemed to have crashed for even longer, only successfully rebooting after a good while.

Just as she was about to speak, her phone rang again. She cast a helpless, apologetic look at Qu Qiushuang and answered the call.

It was her assistant calling to inform her that the legal department had finished their review and was waiting for her to make a decision.

Jin Kaiyu hung up, sensing that this could not be delayed.

However, Qu Qiushuang truly left her feeling uneasy. Jin Kaiyu looked hesitant.

Earlier, Jin Kaiyu hadn’t intentionally lowered her voice during the call, so Qu Qiushuang had heard everything clearly.

Leaning halfway against the sofa, Qu Qiushuang saw the hesitation between the girl’s brows. She stared blankly for a moment, her fingertips slowly and gently stroking the surface of the sofa, before finally speaking after a long silence: “Go on and get busy, don’t mind me.”

Jin Kaiyu wasn’t usually an indecisive person, but for some reason, moments of hesitation and inability to decide felt particularly frequent today.

She gave a gentle nod: “Alright. If you feel unwell, please tell me immediately.”

Qu Qiushuang nodded slightly.

Jin Kaiyu turned and went into the walk-in closet, taking off the overcoat that belonged to Zhao Choucheng and changing into a black casual suit jacket.

It was strange—the overcoat didn’t look brand new, but the sleeve tag hadn’t been cut off. Jin Kaiyu picked it up, gave it a shake, and then carefully placed it in the wardrobe.

Once she was ready, she returned to the living room. Qu Qiushuang was still sitting quietly on the sofa, looking like a jade-white statue.

That suppressed worry rose in Jin Kaiyu again. How could a person just sit there without doing anything, looking at nothing, and not even sleeping?

Jin Kaiyu walked over, squatted beside her, and looked up at her: “How about you come with me?”

Qu Qiushuang lowered her eyes to meet hers, catching a glimpse of her own reflection in those pupils. She couldn’t help but laugh: “Alright now, really, don’t worry about me.”

Jin Kaiyu had no choice but to quirk her lips helplessly: “Fine. To the left is the media room, to the right is my collection room. If you’re bored, you can take a look. The housekeeper has tidied the bedrooms and changed the bedding; remember to go rest if you’re tired. When I come back tonight, we’ll have dinner together.”

The car drove all the way to the foot of the Jin Corporation building.

Today was Tuesday, a weekday afternoon. There weren’t many people downstairs at the Jin building, and the lobby was quite empty.

She came here rarely, but Jin Kanyan, out of risk management considerations, frequently emphasized that if anything happened to her, Jin Kaiyu had to be able to step up immediately.

Jin Kaiyu was very annoyed by this rhetoric—who speaks about themselves that way, constantly making such morbid presuppositions?

Business people like them were very particular about omens. The Jin Corporation started in real estate; every time they developed a new plot of land, they would spend a fortune hiring a feng shui master to calculate everything down to the smallest detail. There had long been dissatisfaction within the group regarding this budget expenditure, but Jin Kanyan insisted it was a necessary formality.

Yet when it came to herself, she started speaking ‘ill-omened’ words.

But despite her annoyance, every time she returned to Haishi, no matter how tight her schedule, she would always carve out a day to ‘clock in’ at the group and show her face, letting Jin Kanyan’s assistant brief her on the group’s operations. Although it was mainly for show, at least she made enough of an appearance.

The receptionist was startled the moment she saw her; although there was a massive handprint on her face, that face was definitely the right one.

Those with quick hands had already sent photos to the group chat. The corporate gossip group immediately erupted in discussion.

“Little Boss Jin is here! Did you guys see? That handprint on her face! Man, I feel like there’s gossip!”

“Let me use my imagination—it couldn’t be that she slept with me last night and got slapped by my girlfriend afterward, right?”

“Wake up, person above. First of all, where would you get a girlfriend? Second, she was clearly in my bed last night.”

As Jin Kaiyu went upstairs, several executives were standing at the elevator to greet her. In the offices, everyone was sitting upright and still; aside from the sounds of business talk and keyboards, it was as quiet as a mouse, but their eyes kept drifting toward her face.

Jin Kaiyu felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at. She turned her face away and cleared her throat. The keyboard-clackers immediately withdrew their gazes, their fingers flying over the keys as they pretended to work hard, while the group chat messages refreshed at light speed.

“I beg you guys to stop looking, can we stop gossiping? The kid is embarrassed.”

“Wait, something’s definitely up. Look at her hand—the bandage is tied in a butterfly bow. Which little nurse is trying to send secret signals?”

“Embarrassed Little Jin is so cute. That face is so top-tier; ugh, I can feel the charm of that battle-damaged look, mwah~”

“You guys are such suckers. Even with a face like a pig’s head, you can say it’s good-looking. Haha, isn’t it just because she’s rich?”

“Wait, how did some filth get in here? Is this a guy? @Administrator7”

Jin Kaiyu turned back and waved at the executives: “Everyone, please get back to work. I’m here for personal business today, so I won’t disturb your office hours.”

After dismissing the irrelevant people, Jin Kaiyu headed straight for Jin Kanyan’s office. She didn’t waste time on pleasantries, gesturing for the Legal Director to sit down as soon as she entered.

The sooner she finished, the sooner she could go home for dinner—with someone watching, Qu Qiushuang might eat a bit more!

The Legal Director, surnamed Lu, was a very shrewd-looking lady in a black professional suit. She had thin eyebrows, slightly protruding cheekbones, and wore rimless glasses. Her beauty was very understated.

Lawyer Lu summarized the contract terms Jin Kaiyu had sent her that morning: “Your team previously signed risk control clauses with the employer. Logically speaking, the employer is responsible for compensation, and the amount basically fits the convention. There are eight team members in total; the family of each can receive two million US dollars in compensation.”

Lawyer Lu pushed up her glasses: “We already contacted the employer this morning; they are willing to take responsibility for this.”

Jin Kaiyu pursed her lips and asked: “Is it possible to designate specific beneficiaries?”

Lawyer Lu pondered: “That might be quite difficult. First, it’s hard to designate. Moreover, it easily causes disputes, which is bad for the group’s reputation.”

She had seen the team’s data and understood Little Boss Jin’s question. Aside from someone like her who enjoyed courting danger, very few people from truly wealthy backgrounds were willing to work in this industry.

Those eight victims either had several sisters and only one brother at home, or a father with gambling debts and a mother with a serious illness.

Jin Kaiyu was silent for a moment, then asked: “What if I provide the funds personally? Is that possible?”

Hearing this, Lawyer Lu looked up to examine the young woman. Her eyes were clear and her face held a look of compassion. Despite her superior background, she never put on airs with subordinates, and she even dared to step out without any grooming despite having such a face; she clearly understood the hardships of poor, ordinary people.

Kindness, confidence, and empathy—these were virtues one could see with a single glance.

This was a precious, beautiful flower that could only grow in a greenhouse.

Jin Kanyan had protected her well and taught her well.

Lawyer Lu capped her pen, rarely meddling in others’ business: “I suggest you’d better not. This matter has nothing to do with you. Human greed knows no bounds; you know the background of these families as well as I do. If you truly intervene, be careful of being extorted. Those gamblers have plenty of ways to bleed you dry, and that’s probably not what your colleagues would have wanted to see, right?”

Jin Kaiyu was stunned. How could she not know what the lawyer meant? It was just that her conscience was heavy, and besides, it was better for them to come after her than Zhao Choucheng’s family, right?

Thinking of this, she made up her mind: “Then don’t involve yourselves in this further; find another law firm to handle it. I will provide the funds personally and set up a special account. A designated person will collect the money every month. As for the name of the fund? We can credit it to the employer, right?”

Her expression was resolute. Lawyer Lu had said her piece and didn’t bother to persuade her further.

Jin Kaiyu stood up and saw Lawyer Lu to the door: “I’ll have to trouble you to put in more effort on the subsequent matters.”

Lawyer Lu pushed her glasses, putting on an official smile: “Boss Jin is too polite. I’m just earning a salary; just remember to give me a bigger year-end bonus.”

Jin Kaiyu smiled sincerely: “Certainly.”

After seeing off Lawyer Lu, she was preparing to go home when the office video call rang. She saw the caller was Jin Kanyan. She pressed her lips together and switched the video to voice, answering on her mobile.

Jin Kanyan’s voice was a bit cold: “What’s going on? You got hit by Zhao Choucheng’s wife?”

Jin Kaiyu touched the tip of her nose. Who snitched? Jin Kanyan sent her a screenshot of the surveillance footage.

Fine, a tactical error—she forgot the office had cameras.

Jin Kaiyu: “How did you know what I was thinking?”

Her sister was known for holding grudges. Jin Kaiyu cleared her throat and explained: “Mentor’s wife is very good to me; this was done by Teacher’s mother.”

“She is quite old; don’t you go laying a hand on her.”

Jin Kanyan gave a cold snort.

Jin Kaiyu knew she was unhappy and quickly changed the subject: “When are you coming back?”

Jin Kanyan didn’t fall for it. Having raised her sister since she was little, she knew her through and through. she mocked: “Don’t tell me you miss me. Don’t I know what you’re like?”

Jin Kaiyu felt wronged: “The last time we met was three months ago; why wouldn’t I miss you?”

Jin Kanyan: “If you really miss me, then stop running around outside. It’s not certain which of us will be sending the other off first. I used to let you do as you pleased. But you were lucky this time; what about next time? I’m afraid when I die in the future, there won’t be anyone to hold the funeral.”

Jin Kaiyu: “Phooey, phooey, phooey! You’re talking nonsense again.”

Jin Kanyan: “I had a physical exam a few days ago and have two breast nodules. You figure it out.” With that, she hung up the voice call with a “snap.”

Jin Kanyan sent a file: [Physical_Exam_Report.pdf]

Jin Kaiyu clicked it open; several indicators were well above normal values.

She sat in the chair Jin Kanyan usually occupied. Beside her were files her assistant had just brought. Jin Kaiyu leafed through them randomly. This year, besides the local commercial centers in Haishi, the Jin Corporation had added several cultural tourism projects. No wonder her sister was so busy she barely touched the ground.

The two of them could never persuade each other. She couldn’t stop her sister from being a workaholic, and her sister couldn’t stop her love for running off. Fortunately, they respected each other and never interfered.

But she was only able to play around so recklessly because she had her sister to back her up; after all, one shouldn’t be too selfish.

Just then, her phone screen lit up. Qu Qiushuang had sent her a message: “What are we having for dinner?”

The corners of Jin Kaiyu’s mouth curved—it was a very novel feeling.

After the age of ten, Jin Kanyan rarely accompanied her for dinner. Now, having someone discuss dinner plans with her felt quite good.

She typed: “Whatever, as long as you like it.” But as her finger hovered over the send button, she had a second thought. If she asked someone what was for dinner, she definitely wanted an answer; “whatever” people were the hardest to deal with.

So she deleted it and thought carefully, preparing to summarize her choice.

Jin Kanyan’s assistant happened to bring over a document that needed her signature.

She put down her phone, flipped open the file, and quickly scanned through it.

While Jin Kaiyu flipped through the papers, the assistant stood by waiting, bored out of her mind.

She glanced at Jin Kaiyu’s phone; the screen was still on, showing the chat page. Her newly fitted glasses worked too well; it wasn’t that she wanted to look, she couldn’t be blamed.

The assistant glanced carelessly at the content.

Something was unusual.

She stood up straight. She took another peek at the contact name. Her pupils immediately experienced an earthquake.

She slowly held up her chin, which had almost fallen off: “Do you rich people play this wildly?”