My Weekend Lover Turned Out To Be My Boss - Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Villain A · “Duplicity”

Guan Shuyun was taken aback by my indifferent attitude. She looked at me with disbelief, as if seeing a stranger and a scoundrel rolled into one. Crossing her arms, she waited for me to say more, but I simply picked up my spoon and continued eating my porridge in silence, completely unmoved.

She reverted to her usual biting sarcasm, mocking me: “So this is what you look like when you turn wicked.”

I smiled and countered, “Turn wicked? What do you mean?”

“Every time Lan Feiyi came to find you, I was calculating in my head, wondering when you would slip up. But every time, you managed to drive her away in a rage and then chatted and laughed as if nothing had happened. I kept pretending to believe you, even acting extra intimate with you, yet you never took the bait. Until this moment. Congratulations—I finally believe you.”

Hearing this, I pretended to be puzzled, pouting and shaking my head. “So, are you saying all the kindness you showed me before was fake? Just to watch me fail? And now, you finally trust me completely—is that it?”

“Yes. Right now, you actually look like one of us. It’s quite a surprise; your attitude is like that of an unpardonable villain.”

I pulled out a tissue to wipe my mouth, squinting as I thanked her. “Thanks. I’ll take that as a compliment. It’s time for work; I have to go.”

“You still dare to commute alone? With things blown up like this, aren’t you afraid someone will come looking for trouble?”

I turned back and looked at her indifferently. “You think Lan Feiyi will come for me? That’s not her style.”

Guan Shuyun looked thoughtful, then shook her head. “Given her temperament, she naturally won’t come knocking. Instead, you should watch out for those ‘friends’ of yours. After you and Lan Feiyi split, those people all sided with her. That’s called ‘fawning over the powerful,’ understand?”

With that, Guan Shuyun stood up and walked over to me, arranging things: “So, for the time being, you’d better stay close to me. At least I can filter out some of the trouble for you.”

‘Holy crap, how do two women even xxoo?’ ‘Will they get AIDS? Just thinking about it is terrifying!’ ‘That kid is so pitiful, losing her father so young and living in a gay household. Won’t her personality be warped?’ ‘Upstairs is right! And when the kid grows up and realizes she’s from IVF, what will she think!’ ‘If I were that kid, I’d absolutely hate a mother like that.’ ‘The child is innocent, okay?’

Looking at Guan Shuyun’s hypocritical smile, those horrific, violent comments swirled in my mind. Every word was a heavy blow, punching my heart over and over again. I could only pretend to be unbothered, mechanically raising a smile to respond to her: “Sure, I’ll do whatever you say.”

…

As soon as I walked into the Guan Corporation lobby, people began pointing and whispering. Having been mentally prepared, I ignored these details. Then, my phone rang. Seeing Soso calling, I stepped aside and told Guan Shuyun, “I’ll take this call. You go up first.”

She glanced at my phone, a trace of a smile appearing on her lips as she waved her hand. “Go ahead. You’ll be busy today.”

I turned and walked to the open space outside the building before answering: “Hello.”

“You Feifan! I’m not going to beat around the bush. I’m just asking you—what is the meaning of that audio clip going viral online?”

“I just told the plain truth.”

“Did you really have to make such a mess just because you broke up with Phoebe? Even if she did some things wrong and shouldn’t have kept secrets from you, there was no need to expose her and the child so nakedly to the media! Do you know how hurtful those comments are?”

“Shou Xuelin! Don’t use that tone to preach to me. You’d better stay out of this.”

“Heh, now that you have a Guan backing you up, your wings have grown strong… You Feifan, you’re really something.”

“If you called just to scold me, I’ll give you one minute. Scold all you want, and when you’re satisfied, hang up. Go ahead.”

Soso fell silent on the other end. No matter what happened, she was always the first person to come find me. She was my best friend; that year I caused her miscarriage, she never even blamed me. Now, I was pushing her away with such coldness. Finally, she spoke slowly in a tone of profound disappointment:

“People change in the end, it’s just a matter of whether they change for better or worse. Your actions have hurt so many people. Can you look Phoebe in the eye? Have you considered the child? Although I still see you as a friend, let’s leave it at this. Take care of yourself.”

I lit a cigarette and leaned against the wall. People entering and leaving the Guan building in groups of twos and threes cast strange looks my way. The second person to call was my father. Since he left to go traveling, I hadn’t been in touch with him. He would occasionally go to the Lan family’s ancestral home to see Qingfan and spend weekends with us; our relationship was better than before, but we lived our separate lives indifferently.

Today was truly a day for everyone to jump on the bandwagon. “Dad.”

I expected him to scold me, but his voice was unexpectedly calm. “You are all adults. Whatever conflict you have, why can’t you resolve it properly instead of making such a scene? You’ve put Xiao Yi in the newspapers and dragged yourself down with her. Can Xiao Yi’s reputation handle this kind of scrutiny?”

“Dad, we’ve already broken up.”

“I don’t care what your relationship is now, but we in the You family don’t do backstabbing! She treated you well; for you to do this to her now, you’re the one in the wrong.”

“This is between her and me. Don’t meddle.”

“What kind of attitude is that?”

I clenched my teeth but responded calmly, “That’s all. I have other things to do. Take care of yourself, and don’t go to the Lan house alone anymore…”

“You say I shouldn’t go, so I won’t? I’m going regardless! I only recognize Qingfan as my granddaughter, and you can’t stop me!”

I stared at the darkened screen in a daze; in the end, even my own father hung up on me. Before anyone else could call, I quickly dialed Yu Xiao. She picked up almost instantly: “Hey, newsmaker! You’re on the headlines~”

“I don’t have time for your nonsense.”

“Then what are you looking for me for? I’m currently scrolling through Weibo. I swear, these keyboard warriors have increasingly poisonous tongues. Aren’t they afraid of divine retribution?”

“Let’s talk business. I need to tail someone.”

Hearing my request, Yu Xiao’s interest was immediately piqued. “Oho, you’re making a big move?”

“Does the news today count as a big move?”

“Wait, that’s not right. Your spear is pointed straight at President Lan, but shouldn’t your enemies be Guan Shuyun and Qiao Xin?”

“Don’t worry about that; I have my own plan. Quickly find someone reliable to tail Qiao Xin. I need to know her every move immediately. Also, find a good day to invite our old prison cellmates out for a meal.”

Yu Xiao clicked her tongue over the phone, teasingly saying, “There are only a few of us in the group. The fraudster went straight, the white-collar criminal started a small company, and the rest is just you and me. Tell me, what’s the point of this dinner?”

I stared at Qiao Xin as she stepped out of a car on the roadside not far away. Following her was Li Shuhua, who had a man with her. I spoke slowly: “It has a purpose, naturally. Only when the net is cast wide enough can you catch enough fish. I’m hanging up.”

“Fine, I’ll arrange someone for you as soon as possible and have him contact you directly.”

I toyed with my phone as I walked toward Qiao Xin. She spotted me immediately, still wearing that haughty expression: “Little assistant, what are you doing here? Aren’t you afraid of being pointed at? You’re the woman of the hour today~”

I ignored her teasing and tilted my head to look at Li Shuhua. Despite the heavy layers of rouge and powder she wore, she couldn’t hide the deep furrows carved by time on her face. This walking old witch was truly ugly!

“Auntie Li, how many years has it been since we last met?”

Perhaps remembering that I had once stepped in to help her, Li Shuhua was relatively polite to me. “Little You, your move to expose Lan Feiyi was truly brilliant! It’s so satisfying! I’ve always said, if you want to destabilize Lan Feiyi, you have to strike from the inside out. Sure enough, Little You played a major role!”

From those few sentences alone, I understood: Li Shuhua was fully aware of Guan Shuyun and Qiao Xin’s plans. Most likely, the entire intertwined conspiracy was a method she devised to fight Phoebe. If that was the case, the relationship between Li Shuhua and Qiao Xin also made me extremely curious.

I dutifully supported the old witch’s arm and said, “It’s cold outside. Please, come in.”

Presumably, my act of exposing Phoebe had made them believe my hatred for her was deep and irreversible. Consequently, Li Shuhua was all smiles with me, and Qiao Xin’s attitude was better than usual. I knew very well that they were all paranoid—one worse than the other. They might very well be performing for me. I needed to be cautious while also beating them at their own game.

Following them into the elevator, I felt puzzled by the man standing in the corner. I nudged Qiao Xin’s arm and asked gossipingly, “Who’s this?”

Li Shuhua overheard my question and laughed so hard her jewelry rattled. “I’m afraid you only know Feijun, but you haven’t met my eldest son, Feichun. Say hello.”

I spoke with deliberate sarcasm, “Eldest son? I seem to have some vague memory. At that Lan family annual meeting years ago, Auntie Li, you were there, and I was present too. That was when Qiao An’s proposal was rejected by Lan Feiyi…”

“Hello, my name is Lan Feichun.”

I turned to look at the man. Unlike Feijun’s elegance, Lan Feichun carried a sinister air; even his smile made one uncomfortable. This actually matched Guan and Qiao quite well. I responded politely, “Hello, I’m You Feifan.”

After some pleasantries, the elevator arrived. Our group walked into Guan Shuyun’s office. She had already prepared hot tea. We chatted while sipping tea; I couldn’t get a word in, so I just listened quietly. They were likely still guarded against me, as they avoided the main point of their discussion. Fortunately, my phone rang again, ending the awkwardness.

“Go ahead and take that,” Qiao Xin said, taking the chance to send me away. I glanced at her and walked toward the reception room, closing the door and leaning against it. The ringing had stopped. Checking the missed call, it was from Su Wei. I immediately dialed back.

“Hello!”

“Feifan.”

The usually gentle Su Wei’s voice was very cold this time. I adjusted my emotions and kept it brief: “Did Feijun take Qingfan away?”

“Yes. Last night, we took the child away behind Phoebe’s back. Not far—just playing around Guangzhou for a few days. You don’t need to worry about the child. Right now, Feijun is calling Phoebe to explain. Tell me, why did you do this? Give me a reason so I can understand you.”

“There’s nothing to explain. I know exactly what I did and said. I won’t run from the issue, nor do I need to find reasons to excuse myself. I want Lan Feiyi to taste what it feels like to be spat upon and hurt. The path I’ve walked, she must walk it too. Only then will she know how much I suffered before. If you want to blame someone, blame her for living a life that was too comfortable.”

“How could you turn into this? How can you say such heartless words?”

“Why is everyone’s tone when accusing me the same old disappointment? It must be because I was too weak before, making the current me impossible for you to accept. I understand. Long live understanding. People change—it’s a tale as old as time. Thank Feijun for me, for believing me and taking Qingfan away.”

“At least you still have a bit of a conscience.”

“Su Wei, my conscience is only about as big as Qingfan now. There’s almost nothing left.”

Hanging up the phone, I let out a sigh. Feijun successfully taking the child away was the best news of the day. My anxiety eased slightly.

…