The Devil President's Delicate Wife (GL) - Chapter 7

Lin Yueshu could go to such lengths for Lin Yushu, which only showed that she no longer saw anyone else besides Lin Yushu. For others, trying to enter Lin Yueshu’s heart was harder than fishing for a needle in the ocean.

Murong Qing gazed at Lin Yueshu’s slender figure, watching this frail person bear burdens far beyond her capacity. Her heart ached painfully, unsure of what to do. She knew she had to leave now and think about how to handle her relationship with Lin Yueshu.

Murong Qing disliked leaving problems unresolved. Whenever an issue arose, she would find a way to address it. She stood up, walked to the door, pulled it open with her right hand, and without turning back, said, “I have something to attend to, so I won’t be joining you for dinner. Don’t come back too late tonight.” With that, she closed the door and left Fengtian.

Lin Yueshu knew her relationship with Murong Qing was beginning to change. She, too, was trying to prevent it from developing in the direction she feared.

That evening, after dinner, Lin Yueshu returned home at ten o’clock and found Murong Qing sitting alone on the living room sofa, reading. Recalling that Murong Qing had come back alone in the afternoon, Lin Yueshu wondered if she had eaten. She asked, “Miss, have you had dinner yet?”

Murong Qing glanced at her with a hint of melancholy and replied, “No.”

Without another word, Lin Yueshu headed straight to the kitchen.

Murong Qing set down her book, walked to the kitchen doorway, crossed her arms, and leaned against the frame, quietly watching Lin Yueshu work inside. At that moment, Lin Yueshu seemed like a devoted wife cooking for her husband. Every movement was so practiced, so graceful; it didn’t feel like cooking but rather a performance.

Noticing Murong Qing lingering there, Lin Yueshu said, “Miss, why don’t you go sit for a while? It’ll be ready soon. There’s oil smoke here, it might bother you.”

“It’s fine. I just enjoy watching you cook,” Murong Qing replied with a smile, scratching her nose.

Lin Yueshu looked at her but didn’t respond, thinking to herself: Enjoy? You never said you liked it before. Why say it now? It almost feels like we’re on good terms.

Once the meal was ready, Lin Yueshu brought it to the dining table and prepared to return to her room. Seeing her about to leave, Murong Qing quickly said, “Sit down and eat with me.”

Murong Qing had spent the day reflecting deeply. She wanted to define her relationship with Lin Yueshu. She could no longer tolerate this ambiguous state between them. She knew that without clarity, Lin Yueshu would always keep her at arm’s length.

Lin Yueshu sat across from Murong Qing in silence. After a few bites, Murong Qing suddenly spoke up: “Yueshu, let’s be together.” It had taken all her courage to say this. It was her first time confessing to someone, and her heart was in turmoil, afraid Lin Yueshu might reject her.

Lin Yueshu froze, stunned by Murong Qing’s sudden confession. It was too abrupt. She had never imagined Murong Qing would one day develop feelings for her, much less confess them. She didn’t know how to respond.

She didn’t love Murong Qing, but she also couldn’t reject her outright. She knew Murong Qing too well. Once she wanted something, she would stop at nothing to get it.

Seeing Lin Yueshu standing there speechless, Murong Qing grew anxious. She had mustered all her courage to confess, yet Lin Yueshu remained silent. She set down her chopsticks, frowned, and demanded, “Well? Are you going to answer me or not?”

“You are the young lady, and I am the servant. That will always be the nature of our relationship.” These were the first words Lin Yueshu thought of.

Murong Qing understood this as an indirect rejection. Young lady, servant Lin Yueshu would only ever define their relationship in such terms. Murong Qing was furious. She stood up abruptly, throwing her chopsticks aside, and angrily said to Lin Yueshu, “Can’t you phrase it differently? Why must you always emphasize the master-servant dynamic between us?” Clenching her fists, she slammed one hard onto the table. “I don’t want to hear those words again. Just listen to what I said earlier. Whether you agree or not, you have no choice.” With that, she stormed upstairs.

Lin Yueshu got up to pick up the chopsticks. She had expected this outcome, yet she still held onto a sliver of hope that things might change.

Holding the chopsticks, she gazed in the direction Murong Qing had gone and laughed bitterly to herself: How could I ever love you? You are so resolute. When you love someone, you give them everything, but when you stop loving them, you discard them like trash. And I am someone who values emotions deeply. The love you demand, I cannot give; the love I seek, you cannot provide.

The next morning, after preparing breakfast, Lin Yueshu went upstairs to call Murong Qing down to eat. She knocked lightly on the door and said, “Young lady, it’s time for breakfast.” She knocked a few more times, but there was no response.

Reluctantly, she opened the door, only to find it wouldn’t budge past halfway. Peering through the narrow gap, Lin Yueshu was stunned. The room looked as though it had been ransacked. Clothes were strewn everywhere, along with shoes and blankets scattered in disarray.

Through the gap, Lin Yueshu moved aside the clothes and shoes blocking the door and stepped inside. She picked up the garments and shoes from the floor and placed them on the bed.

Suddenly, something on the bed shifted. Startled, Lin Yueshu grabbed a shoe to defend herself. Then, a beautiful face emerged from the tangled mess of clothes and blankets.

Recognizing who it was, Lin Yueshu patted her chest and exhaled in relief. She stepped forward, lifting the clothes draped over Murong Qing, and said, “Young lady, it’s time for breakfast.”

Murong Qing rubbed her eyes and squinted at the speaker. Realizing it was Lin Yueshu, she quickly sat up. Her nightgown slipped down to her waist with the movement, revealing far more than intended. Oblivious, Murong Qing simply stared blankly at Lin Yueshu.

Lin Yueshu was mortified by the sight. She didn’t know whether to stay or leave. Turning her head away, she said, “Young lady, please get dressed first.”

Noticing Lin Yueshu’s averted gaze, Murong Qing frowned and looked down at herself. Seeing her exposed upper body and recalling Lin Yueshu’s reaction, a faint, knowing smile curled at the corners of her lips.

Murong Qing got up, adjusted her nightgown, and prepared to wash up. Glancing around the chaotic bedroom, she realized she might have gone too far the previous night.

After being rejected in her confession, she had been seething with anger. She had stormed upstairs and vented by pulling out and throwing all the clothes and shoes from the wardrobe.

As Murong Qing headed to the bathroom, Lin Yueshu began tidying the room. She neatly arranged the shoes back in the wardrobe and set aside the dirty laundry to wash later downstairs.

Half an hour later, the room was tidied up. She went downstairs to sort the clothes, separating those for handwashing from those for machine washing. She felt that Murong Qing was really giving her extra work to do.

After Murong Qing finished washing up, she waited for Lin Yueshu in the living room for quite a while but didn’t see her. She went to look and found Lin Yueshu washing clothes in the bathroom. Seeing so many clothes, she felt a bit guilty. She said to Lin Yueshu, “You could just send those clothes to the dry cleaner. No need to wash them yourself.”

Lin Yueshu looked up at Murong Qing. In the past, she had always washed her clothes like this. Why was she suddenly being so considerate today? “It’s fine, I’m used to it anyway,” Lin Yueshu replied, lowering her head to continue washing.

Hearing Lin Yueshu say she was used to it, Murong Qing realized she had always done this—washed clothes for her. She stared at Lin Yueshu, unsure of what to say.

Murong Qing now felt that she had never really cared about Lin Yueshu before. She began to wonder just how bad her image was in Lin Yueshu’s eyes. Had Lin Yueshu been silently enduring all this time? Or had she never really mattered to Lin Yueshu at all?

Murong Qing pursed her lips and asked Lin Yueshu, “Yueshu, what kind of image did I have in your mind before?” Though she knew she had been terrible, she still hoped to hear Lin Yueshu say it out loud. Maybe that would make her feel better.

Lin Yueshu looked up at Murong Qing in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden question. After a moment, she slowly replied, “A good person.” No extra words, just that simple.

Murong Qing hadn’t expected Lin Yueshu to answer like this. She would have preferred if Lin Yueshu had scolded her harshly, even yelled at her—anything but those four simple words.

Murong Qing understood the meaning behind those words. On the surface, they seemed like praise, but to her, they felt like sarcasm. She had never treated Lin Yueshu well, yet Lin Yueshu called her a good person. Wasn’t that just slapping her own face?

Murong Qing didn’t want to dwell on the topic any longer. She stepped forward and crouched beside Lin Yueshu, helping her place the washed clothes in the basin. “Let’s go eat. I’m hungry,” she said, as if this was the only way she knew how to act coquettishly toward Lin Yueshu.

“Okay,” Lin Yueshu replied simply, putting down the clothes, walking to the sink to wash her hands, and then leaving the bathroom.

The two sat at the dining table in silence. Murong Qing felt the atmosphere was awkward and remembered how she had lost her temper with Lin Yueshu the night before. She put down her chopsticks, looked up, and said, “About last night, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten angry at you.”

Hearing Murong Qing’s apology, Lin Yueshu paused with her food halfway to her mouth. It was truly rare for Murong Qing to apologize. Lin Yueshu was finding it harder and harder to understand her. Ever since she had returned, so many things had happened that she could barely keep up.

Lin Yueshu set down her chopsticks and looked at Murong Qing’s slightly remorseful face. She smiled faintly and said, “Miss, there’s no need to apologize to me. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

Murong Qing wanted to say more, but seeing the smile on Lin Yueshu’s face, she swallowed the words that had already reached her lips.

And so, the two finished their meal without another word, then went their separate ways to work.

Murong Qing sat in the conference room, where someone on the podium was delivering an impassioned speech. But her mind was elsewhere, lost in thought.

After the speech, everyone wanted to hear her opinion, but Murong Qing hadn’t been listening, so of course, she couldn’t offer any. She had someone repeat the entire presentation again. Everyone in the room was stunned. It was the first time the CEO had ever been so distracted during a meeting. They wondered if the sky was about to fall.

Once the meeting ended, rumors about how Murong Qing had behaved during the session began circulating throughout the company, and soon, all sorts of gossip started spreading.

Meanwhile, Lin Yueshu, to avoid Murong Qing, had agreed to Su Fuyin’s request and left to participate in a competition. Just like that, the two of them spent over a month apart. Then, the sudden appearance of a man threw Murong Qing into complete disarray.