Oops, I’m the Scumbag Ex in Her Storyline - Chapter 50

Song Xizi had been acting rather oddly lately, but Xin Yan didn’t pay much attention. After all, there were hundreds of employees in the development department and dozens of project teams. Of the three people Song Xizi had poached, only one was a team leader Xin Yan vaguely remembered. The other two—Xin Yan was hearing their names for the first time.

She and Song Xizi had been sparring for years. Faced with such a blatant provocation, Xin Yan only sneered and told Assistant An to head straight to HR and grab whoever looked promising. Whoever they recruited would be sent directly to Song Xizi’s company. Song wanted to dig at her cornerstone? Fine, she’d dig back.

Of course, Xin Yan wasn’t nearly as reckless as Song. So when An Zhiyuan asked her how much she planned to offer, she paused two seconds before replying,

“Salary stays the same as ours. As for commission, raise it slightly.”

An Zhiyuan silently noted her choice of words.

Slightly. Just a bit. In other words, President Xin had no intention of bleeding money for this.

He kept his mouth shut and agreed without comment.

But before the people they’d picked could even be dispatched, another bombshell dropped on Xin Yan’s desk.

This time, she really lost her temper.

Inside the office, Xin Yan stood behind her desk. Facing her was a row of four people, all staring at the floor, silent.

Xin Yan slapped the now-worthless planning book hard against the desk.

“Who was it—who pounded their chest last month and swore there was no way we’d lose the bid?!”

One of the four unlucky scapegoats timidly raised a hand, face twisted in misery. His voice was barely louder than his hand movement.

“L-Last month there really wasn’t any problem. The Storage Center Director even said it was just a formality…”

Had he stayed quiet, it might’ve been better. But his excuse only enraged Xin Yan further.

“Then how the hell did Song Xizi end up buying it?!”

The second scapegoat wiped his face, a little braver than the first. He had at least gathered some intel before coming.

“After President Song heard we were bidding on that land for the new factory, she moved quickly. And then… the land was hers.”

Xin Yan: “……”

She stared at them in disbelief.

“Not a whisper reached you? Not a single precaution taken?!”

The third scapegoat spoke up, just as aggrieved.

“President Song was too fast, and besides, she offered a higher price.”

The fourth nodded solemnly, adding bluntly,

“You told us to push the price down. Even if we’d followed procedures properly, we still would’ve lost to her.”

Xin Yan slowly turned her head toward him.

He blinked back innocently, still clueless. The others quietly shuffled a step away from him. Then another step.

Just as Xin Yan was about to jab her finger at his nose and deliver a fiery lecture, Bei Lanlan walked in and handed her a glass of water.

Interrupted, Xin Yan accepted the cup, glaring once more at the man who had infuriated her. But this time reason caught up with her. She thought of his importance to the company, of the revenue he brought in each year, and forced herself to swallow the fire.

After a long breath, she waved them away.

“Go.”

Three of them fled as if pardoned, brimming with gratitude. The fourth merely nodded calmly and strolled out like nothing had happened.

The office fell into suffocating silence. Xin Yan glared at the remaining papers, then tossed the untouched cup aside and sank into her chair, seething.

She shook the battered planning book at Lanlan, the pages nearly falling apart.

“In five years, this would’ve been the Eastern Development Zone. Two kilometers west—highway entrance. To the east—seaport. The central lots are already eaten up by developers. If occupancy rises, this’ll become a community of fifty thousand, with every facility installed. And our factory, sitting right there—never again would we worry about recruitment.”

Lanlan only blinked, sensing she hadn’t finished.

Indeed, Xin Yan hurled the plan aside, choking with frustration.

“I already secured the architect! Nationally famous! Won awards I can’t even pronounce! They’d started the blueprints! This was supposed to be my first smart factory. If it succeeded, I’d finally shut those opposing shareholders up. And Song Xizi—she did this just to spite me!”

Lanlan arched a brow.

“Good land is coveted by everyone. Maybe it wasn’t aimed at you.”

Xin Yan gave her a look that screamed, Are you really that naïve?

“Didn’t you hear me? That’ll be a huge residential community. Factories won’t be allowed—except mine, because it’s smart, clean, noiseless. Now think about what Song produces.”

Maybe Song never intended to build a factory. Maybe a shopping mall, maybe a hotel.

Lanlan thought this but didn’t say it. Instead, she sighed.

“What’s done is done. We’ll just pick another site. Don’t waste your energy being angry.”

Xin Yan slammed the desk.

“Why should I swallow it?! You know what she’s like—give her an inch and she’ll take a mile! If I let this go, next time she’ll snatch it right in front of me!”

Lanlan frowned.

“True… and since she’s succeeded this time, she’s probably just waiting to flaunt it. Maybe even parade it in front of people you both know.”

Just imagining that scene made Xin Yan’s face darken. Song Xizi was exactly that type—like a peacock wherever she went, dazzling, never an ounce of humility. The last thing Xin Yan wanted was to be reduced to her joke.

Clenching her fist, she said,

“Any event she attends, I’m not going.”

Lanlan immediately asked,

“And if she comes to you?”

“Won’t see her.”

“And if Assistant An persuades you?”

Xin Yan sneered,

“If he dares, I’ll book him a one-way ticket for a world cruise around Somalia.”

Lanlan: “……”

She spared a moment’s pity for poor An Zhiyuan, then tossed the thought aside, smiling faintly as she returned to her desk. Xin Yan looked up, caught her tall, elegant posture as she sat, then bent back to her work.

________________________________________

Relocating was troublesome, but they had backup plans, and the four scapegoats were assigned to scout alternatives. As for Xin Yan herself—she was plotting revenge.

Avoiding Song was one thing. Retaliation was another. While her people fought head-on, Xin Yan considered more underhanded tricks.

Like photoshopping Song into some scandalous social media post, hacking her account to “accidentally” post and delete it within seconds…

Hmm. That was a bit low, even for her.

In truth, she could only fantasize. If she actually tried, she’d probably struggle harder than the victim. Still, thinking about it was cathartic.

Later that evening, Xin Yan lounged on a sofa at No Loud Talking Bar. She wasn’t in the mood for alcohol, so she ordered some snacks and asked the bartender for a cup of hot water.

The bartender stared at her, expression dead.

“We don’t have hot water.”

Xin Yan gaped.

“How could you not?”

“…We just don’t.”

The bartender wanted to grab her by the collar and shake her.

What bar in the world served hot water? This wasn’t Mount Liang’s tavern with hot wine and beef!

Xin Yan frowned in disgust.

“Fine. Do you at least have bottled water?”

Humiliated but compliant, the bartender poured her one. Bottled water was for mixing drinks, not selling, so it came free.

Once she sat back down, the bartender finally relaxed. Quirky customers like this only came once in a while. Law of probability said the rest of the night would be normal—

No sooner had the thought formed than the door opened. In came another oddball—Xu Fei.

She glanced around, spotted Xin Yan, waved cheerfully, then skipped to the bar.

“It’s freezing today! Do you have any hot drinks?”

Bartender: “……”

Five minutes later, Xu Fei sat across from Xin Yan with a room-temperature Coke tea. At last, after so many chance encounters, they’d actually planned to meet here.

Xu Fei whispered,

“The bartender seems in a bad mood today. She had no expression when I ordered—kinda scary.”

Xin Yan blinked, oblivious.

“Really? She was fine with me.”

Xu Fei chuckled.

“Maybe something’s bothering her. Anyway, another half-day shift today?”

Xin Yan nodded.

“Tuesday’s always like that.”

Xu Fei’s eyes lit up.

“Then let’s meet here every Tuesday! I just adjusted my schedule too—I’m free from Tuesday afternoon through the evening.”

Xin Yan remembered she hadn’t been this regular before.

“You used to be busy. What changed?”

Back then, Xu Fei always seemed tied up—either with a program or because her “sister” had tasks for her. The sudden free time felt odd.

Xu Fei scratched her head, embarrassed.

“I wasn’t actually busy. I’m just a nobody host with one small program, short work hours. I was busy because of… you know who.”

Xin Yan nodded silently. She’d witnessed it enough times to understand.

“But last Sunday she told me she won’t be running around every day anymore. She’s working on something else now, things are going well. From now on, only Tuesdays, Fridays, and weekends will be packed. On those four days I’ll go to her. The other three, she’ll come to me.”

Xu Fei smiled shyly.

“She even came to pick me up at the TV station yesterday. First time ever. Felt so strange.”

Xin Yan stared at her.

She said “strange,” but her face glowed with happiness. Something felt off—Xin Yan suddenly wondered if she’d misunderstood everything.

“What do you mean, strange?”

Xu Fei blinked.

“I don’t know. My colleagues asked who she was, and when I introduced her, they teased me, gave me winks. Maybe they think she’s prettier, more elegant. Like I got lucky.”

Xu Fei pouted.

“But beauty doesn’t put food on the table. With her awful personality, I’d say she’s the lucky one to have me.”

She took a sip of Coke tea. When she looked up again, Xin Yan’s expression was… blank, as if someone had pulled the plug.

“…What’s wrong with you?” Xu Fei asked.

Xin Yan’s eyes twitched rigidly. After several seconds, she raised a trembling finger at Xu Fei.

“You, you, you—”

“What about me?”

It took her seven or eight seconds to choke out,

“You said she was your sister!”

Xu Fei froze.

“Huh?”

“You’re lying to me! You two are obviously a couple!”

Xu Fei’s eyes widened.

“We are. You knew that, didn’t you?”

“…If I knew, would I be reacting like this?!”

Xu Fei’s jaw dropped. She sat stunned for a moment, then remembered something.

“Wait—this place is a lesbian bar. You knew that, right?”

Xin Yan: “……”

She slowly turned to scan the entire bar. When she turned back, she asked Xu Fei, horrified,

“You mean… all these customers…”

Xu Fei nodded.

“And the bartender?”

Xu Fei nodded again.

…

Xin Yan’s entire world flipped upside down.

She sat frozen, replaying every detail she’d ever noticed. Xu Fei waited patiently, and when she still didn’t recover, she shrugged.

“What’s the big deal? You’re one of us anyway.”

Xin Yan’s head snapped up, instantly defensive.

“I am not!”

Xu Fei tilted her head.

“Really? You sure?”

She ticked points off her fingers.

“You treat your ‘sister’ better than my girlfriend treats me. You talk about her every other sentence. Even if she were your twin sister, you wouldn’t be like this. And why do we get along so well? Because we share the same problem. Mine is dating a younger girlfriend. Yours… is exactly the same. Need me to repeat it?”

Now Xin Yan’s world didn’t just flip. It collapsed.

And Xu Fei wasn’t done.

Leaning closer, she delivered the final blow.

“Also, people are drawn by magnetic fields. You keep saying you love this bar, that it makes you feel safe here. Only regulars feel that way. Look around—what kind of regulars do you see? I’d say your body’s a lot more honest than your mouth.”

Xin Yan: “……”