The Devious, Seductive Older Woman Has Been Plotting to Get Me for a Long Time - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Are We in a Secret Relationship?

The IV treatment finished close to ten o’clock, well past the time she could make it back to campus before the dorms locked. As soon as they stepped out of the hospital, the person beside her immediately took her hand. Xiang Shuxing tried to pull away, but the grip was firm yet gentle, holding her tight without causing any pain.

Looking sideways, Chu Yingqiu’s face was expressionless, perhaps still displeased about her purposeful deception. Xiang Shuxing lowered her eyes and stopped struggling, letting her lead the way. The cold wind howled, and she couldn’t help but bundle herself tighter in her coat. The hand holding hers was warm and soft, the only source of heat in the desolate night.

Xiang Shuxing leaned in slightly, observing the woman’s expression. “Are you still angry?”

Chu Yingqiu said coolly, “You’re the one who doesn’t cherish your own health. Why would I be angry?”

“I thought taking medicine would be enough; it’s not like I came to the hospital on purpose.” Xiang Shuxing slid into the passenger seat quite naturally. Seeing Chu Yingqiu’s expression grow even more indifferent, she added, “I promise you, from now on, if I get sick, I’ll go to the hospital immediately. And I definitely won’t bother you again or make you run around like this, okay?”

At this, Chu Yingqiu’s expression didn’t improve in the slightest. She frowned and interrupted, “Wrong.” She turned her gaze to look Xiang Shuxing directly in the eyes. “From now on, if anything happens, you contact me first.”

Xiang Shuxing froze, unable to speak. If she contacted Chu Yingqiu first every time something happened, would she rush over to her side regardless of the cost, just like she did today? It seemed that was the implication, but she wasn’t sure. She tried to sound casual. “What about your company? And I don’t want to trouble you all the time.”

To her surprise, Chu Yingqiu chuckled softly. “Is this the first time you’ve troubled me?”

From the scandals involving Mingchen and being called in by teachers, to being cared for while drunk—Xiang Shuxing counted in her head, and it was true, it wasn’t the first time. Seeing what she was thinking, Chu Yingqiu continued, “It’s already happened more than once, a few more times won’t change anything.”

Since the person beside her had already said as much, Xiang Shuxing agreed, “Okay, I promise. If I need help, I’ll contact you first.”

Chu Yingqiu nodded slightly.

The car drove smoothly. The scenery outside blurred past, the towering skyscrapers and neon lights occasionally casting flickers of light into the cabin. Taking advantage of the shifting light, Xiang Shuxing stole a glance at Chu Yingqiu. The light played across her face, making her features look hazy and incredibly beautiful. She stared silently, and before she knew it, she had shifted her posture, leaning more toward Chu Yingqiu’s side.

Chu Yingqiu naturally noticed, but she said nothing, merely curling her lips imperceptibly without stopping her. The night felt like ink, flowing slowly between them. Neither spoke for a while. Eventually, Xiang Shuxing realized she had been staring for too long; she stiffened, turned her head away, and leaned back against the seat. As the night deepened, the elegant, faint fragrance inside the car made her feel sleepy.

Some time later, she felt someone tapping her awake through a haze of drowsiness. “What is it?”

Chu Yingqiu reminded her, “Fu Jin sent you a message.”

She took a brief look. Indeed, there were several unread messages asking how she was feeling. Her eyelids were heavy with sleep, so she handed her phone to the person beside her. “I’m so sleepy. Can you reply for me?”

She had handed over her phone so defenselessly. Chu Yingqiu raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you want me to reply?”

Xiang Shuxing gave a groggy “Mmm.” Watching the girl drift back to sleep, Chu Yingqiu sighed helplessly, took the phone, and replied to the messages for her.

After the IV treatment and another night’s rest, Xiang Shuxing’s spirits were much better the next day. When she opened her phone, she found even more unread messages than the day before. Xiang Shuxing frowned and tapped them open.

Fu Jin had sent several messages last night checking on her, and the replies she had sent back were short, cold things like “Mmm” and “Better.” Having been friends for years, Fu Jin could tell instantly that this wasn’t her style.

“Ah Shu, are you the one replying to me? Your tone doesn’t sound like you at all.” Followed by a confused cat sticker.

“It wouldn’t be Chu Yingqiu, would it? Are you with President Chu?”

Xiang Shuxing closed her eyes, made up a few excuses, and then scurried downstairs, phone in hand, to confront Chu Yingqiu: “What is the meaning of this?”

Chu Yingqiu glanced at the screen calmly. “You told me to help you reply yesterday. What’s wrong?”

“You should have used the way I usually talk! Responding so coldly, won’t Fu Jin guess that I’m with you?”

Chu Yingqiu wasn’t happy about that. She paused mid-pour of her coffee and asked, “So what if she guesses we’re together?”

“Are we in some kind of secret relationship that can’t see the light of day?”

“Of course not,” Xiang Shuxing denied urgently, though she lowered her voice a moment later. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”

Chu Yingqiu crossed her arms, observing her. Perhaps because she had rushed down to confront her, the girl’s pajamas were slipping off her shoulder, revealing a large patch of snow-white skin. A tiny, curled cowlick stood up on her head, making her look inexplicably cute. Chu Yingqiu looked away and said coolly, “Go change your clothes first.”

Xiang Shuxing looked down, realized, and immediately turned back toward her room, grumbling: “Why didn’t you remind me sooner?”

Watching her clumsy, lively figure, Chu Yingqiu’s lips curled up ever so slightly.

Back in her room, Xiang Shuxing scrambled to find appropriate clothes. Thinking back to the scene, a strange heat flooded her cheeks, and even after she had dressed and stood before the mirror, it hadn’t fully faded. She pressed her palms to her face to cool down.

It wasn’t the first time she’d felt this way while around Chu Yingqiu. What on earth is going on?

Standing still for a moment, her reflection returned to normal. She calmed her mind and walked back downstairs. Just as before, Chu Yingqiu had set out two breakfasts and was waiting. Two breakfasts, but hers was milk, while a coffee sat by Chu Yingqiu’s hand. Xiang Shuxing remembered the morning before, when it was the same, and couldn’t help but ask, “Do you not like milk?”

Chu Yingqiu said plainly, “I don’t dislike it.”

“Oh.” Xiang Shuxing sipped her milk, feeling it was strange, but didn’t ask further.

Watching the woman read work messages, she pulled out her own phone. She browsed through notifications for a while out of boredom, but when she tried to clear them, she noticed a small red dot on the notification bar that wouldn’t go away. She didn’t remember it ever being there before. She looked at it with suspicion, but no matter what she tried, it wouldn’t disappear.

“Strange. Why is there a little red dot on my phone that I can’t clear?” She was talking to herself, but the person across from her spoke up: “Don’t play with your phone while eating.”

Xiang Shuxing was distracted and retorted, “You’re looking at your phone too.”

Chu Yingqiu put her phone away upon hearing this and gestured for her to do the same. She had no choice but to comply reluctantly. They finished breakfast in silence. Chu Yingqiu reminded her to take her medicine before heading to the office, leaving her home to rest.

Every medicine, when to take it, and the dosage—Chu Yingqiu had marked it all down for her. Looking at the elegant handwriting on the pillbox, Xiang Shuxing went silent for a few seconds. Does Chu Yingqiu think I’m an idiot? I’m not a child who can’t read instructions.

After taking her medicine, she returned to her room to fiddle with the mysterious red dot. After half a day of tinkering, the dot remained, and none of the search results offered a solution. However, she noticed that the extra dot didn’t seem to affect her phone usage at all. After a while, she gave up in frustration. Whatever. Since it doesn’t affect my daily use, I’ll just pretend I don’t see it.

Bored, she was wandering around the house when she received a call from Fu Jin.

“Ah Shu, do you still feel bad?”

Xiang Shuxing: “Much better. I went to the hospital for an IV last night and just took my medicine.”

Fu Jin sighed with relief. “That’s good. By the way, the person with you last night was President Chu, right?”

“Mmm. It was her.” Xiang Shuxing stammered for a second before simply admitting it.

“I never would have guessed. Chu Yingqiu actually cares about you quite a bit. You have to know, Yingxing’s headquarters isn’t in Luancheng. She ran all the way to Luancheng in the middle of the night just for you.”

“Is that so…” Xiang Shuxing lowered her eyes, offering a simple non-committal reply before quickly changing the subject.

At the end of the call, Fu Jin told her she might be going abroad for a while, so they wouldn’t be seeing each other for some time. Xiang Shuxing understood; the Fu family had assets overseas, and Fu Jin was starting to take over the family business, so inspections abroad were expected.

After hanging up, Xiang Shuxing couldn’t help but dwell on Fu Jin’s words. Chu Yingqiu cares about me? She recalled the woman’s gentle, meticulous actions—maybe she was right.

Feeling an indescribable emotion, Xiang Shuxing lowered her eyes. When she first learned her mother had entrusted her to Chu Yingqiu, she assumed Chu Yingqiu must have been extremely reluctant to take on such a hot potato. After all, she had been stubborn and unruly since childhood; only her mother could handle her. Added to that, the woman’s cold attitude when they first met had seemed to confirm that.

She never expected that later on… Xiang Shuxing looked at the medicine box, her fingertips gently brushing over the writing left on it.

But they hadn’t seen each other for years; logically, there shouldn’t be any lingering affection between them. Why was Chu Yingqiu doing all this? Was it just because of her mother’s request? Was it just a sense of responsibility?

She couldn’t figure it out, and for the moment, she didn’t want to think about it.

At the same time, sitting inside her car, Chu Yingqiu took out her phone. On the screen was a small red dot, sitting perfectly securely within the perimeter of their home.