The Devious, Seductive Older Woman Has Been Plotting to Get Me for a Long Time - Chapter 3

The phone was picked up quickly, and the woman’s calm, cool voice came through. “Hello?”

Xiang Shuxing took a deep breath. “It’s me, Xiang Shuxing.”

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but after she identified herself, the woman’s tone seemed to soften slightly: “Sui Sui, is something the matter?”

“The news regarding Mingchen—have you seen it?”

“I have.”

Xiang Shuxing hadn’t expected her to be aware of everything yet choose to stand idly by. Her voice couldn’t help but carry a hint of anger: “You knew, so why act like you didn’t see it? Mom entrusted you with returning to the country, she must have given you instructions regarding Mingchen, right?”

Mingchen held every ounce of Xiang Yinghua’s hard work. Given her mother’s meticulous nature, she would have definitely laid everything out for Chu Yingqiu.

She gripped the edge of her phone, her knuckles turning white. After a long moment of hearing nothing from the other side, and perhaps sensing her refusal to commit, Xiang Shuxing grew frustrated. “Since President Chu doesn’t agree, I’ll just go find someone else. I don’t believe that besides you, there is no one else who can help Mingchen.”

She emphasized the word “help” with heavy sarcasm.

“Oh?” Chu Yingqiu’s tone held a hint of amusement. “Then tell me, who are you planning to go to?”

That faint, soft laughter felt deeply ambiguous.

Is she looking down on me again? Xiang Shuxing snorted coldly and quickly recited a few names: “Auntie Chen and Auntie Lu from the XX Enterprise. They were my mother’s closest friends; they would never be as cold-blooded as some people, standing by and watching!”

She bit down hard on the words “cold-blooded.”

The line went silent for several seconds. Just as she thought Chu Yingqiu had hung up, a calm voice sounded in her ear: “Let’s meet and talk.”

Following the GPS, Xiang Shuxing arrived at the location sent via text.

It was an antique-style restaurant, solemn and beautiful, with a menu featuring classic Chinese stir-fries. Pushing open the door to the private room, she saw that the woman had clearly been waiting for a while. Her cold, beautiful eyes were currently lightly closed, a look of fatigue on her face.

Hearing the commotion, Chu Yingqiu straightened up, her calm gaze drifting toward her.

“See what you’d like to eat.” She passed the menu over.

So they were going to talk while eating. Xiang Shuxing couldn’t get a read on her intentions, but she wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to take this woman for an expensive meal and vent her frustrations. She pretended to look over the menu and chose the most expensive dishes without a second thought.

“That’s all for me. What about you, President Chu?”

Chu Yingqiu gave the choices a simple scan. “That will do.” After a brief pause, as if remembering something, she instructed the waiter: “Easy on the spice.”

Xiang Shuxing glanced at her when she heard that. Could it be that Chu Yingqiu, like her, can’t handle spicy food well?

The thought lasted only a fleeting moment. Xiang Shuxing didn’t forget the purpose of her visit, cleared her throat, and said, “You said we’d talk when we met. Can we now?”

Chu Yingqiu said nothing. She reached behind her head and let down her neatly pinned hair. Her ink-black locks fell loosely around her shoulders. With a gentle flick of her fingertips, a few stray strands were tucked behind her ear, revealing an alabaster lobe.

Without her stern, sharp professional appearance, the warm yellow light of the private room cast a softness over her features. Xiang Shuxing stared at her movements, momentarily lost in a daze.

She had to admit, Chu Yingqiu’s face was undeniably stunning.

“In what capacity are you going to talk to me? As a casual acquaintance, or…” The woman paused meaningfully, her tone layered with ambiguity, and lifted her eyes to meet hers.

Xiang Shuxing was stunned. “Aren’t you saying that you are my…” She cut herself off just in time, refusing to utter the title.

Chu Yingqiu had anticipated her reaction. “Since you know, have you ever actually acknowledged me as your older sister in your heart?”

Xiang Shuxing picked at her fingernails. Her attitude over the past few days had been too obvious; anyone with eyes could see she was unhappy about Chu Yingqiu moving in. It wouldn’t be easy to lie now.

“I… we haven’t seen each other in so many years. Isn’t it normal that we aren’t familiar with each other?”

Chu Yingqiu pursed her lips, crossed her arms, and leaned back against the chair, offering no comment on her words.

With the person across from her refusing to speak, the atmosphere in the room fell into a deadlock. Xiang Shuxing twisted the corner of her shirt, thinking that for such an upscale restaurant, the service was incredibly slow—she didn’t even have a chance to pretend to eat to ease the tension.

It was strange. She was a total extrovert; at school, she could strike up a conversation with any stranger. But here, with Chu Yingqiu, she felt inexplicably awkward. And she wasn’t wrong—Chu Yingqiu had been abroad for five years and never returned. It was normal not to be close. She had clearly spoken the truth.

Xiang Shuxing looked up again, and seeing that the woman still had no intention of speaking, she snorted heavily.

“You called me here and refuse to talk properly about Mingchen.”

Hearing this, Chu Yingqiu slowly lifted her eyes, just about to say something, when the private room door was gently pushed open and several waiters crowded in with dishes.

The words on the tip of her tongue changed to: “Let’s eat first.”

Xiang Shuxing had almost thought she was going to agree. Her heart, which had been hanging in the balance, fell flat once more.

The dishes laid out before her looked and smelled divine. Being quite hungry, Xiang Shuxing didn’t stand on ceremony and picked up the Eight-Treasure Lotus Seed Soup closest to her. She took a small sip; the milky-white broth was rich and mellow, the meat stewed until tender, paired with the sweet, refreshing lotus seeds—it wasn’t the least bit greasy.

Xiang Shuxing’s eyes lit up, and just as she was about to savor it, the woman beside her asked softly: “Do you like it?”

“It’s alright.” She answered that way, but her eyes couldn’t bear to leave the various dishes on the table.

Chu Yingqiu understood perfectly and smiled faintly. “You’re still the same as when you were little.”

Xiang Shuxing paused. They had barely met a few times, yet this woman always acted like she knew her well. It was truly…

Thinking of this, even the most delicious meal became tasteless. Xiang Shuxing grew wary. “Don’t think a single meal can buy me.”

“I have no intention of buying you,” Chu Yingqiu glanced at her. “I only spend my effort on smart people who are beneficial to the company.”

Xiang Shuxing turned her face away and took a deep breath.

I need Chu Yingqiu’s help with the Mingchen situation. I’ll just have to endure it for now. She plastered on a fake smile. “Then, President Chu, what will it take for you to help Mingchen?”

Chu Yingqiu raised her eyes. The girl in front of her had the corners of her lips slightly lifted, barely managing a smile that was far from sincere.

Calling me ‘President Chu’ at every turn, she’s probably cursing me to high heaven in her head, Chu Yingqiu thought.

“Hmm,” Chu Yingqiu feigned deep thought. Under Xiang Shuxing’s expectant gaze, she said languidly, “The Mingchen matter really is quite difficult. I haven’t decided yet.”

Xiang Shuxing glanced at the time—it had been nearly two hours since she entered the room. She had wasted two full hours here with Chu Yingqiu, yet she hadn’t gotten this woman to agree to help.

A nameless fire surged in her heart. She had been pampered by the entire Xiang family since she was a child; when had she ever had to beg anyone like this?

Xiang Shuxing stood up with a sharp thud, the smile on her face vanishing instantly.

“Whether you help or not is just a word from you. If you aren’t willing, just say so. Is there any need to deliberately toy with me?”

After speaking her piece in a fit of rage, Xiang Shuxing grabbed her phone and tissues, preparing to leave immediately.

“The leftovers can be packed for you.”

“Leave them for President Chu to enjoy at her leisure,” Xiang Shuxing said icily. “I’m going to find the aunts who were close to my mother now. They are kind people; at the very least, they won’t deliberately make things difficult for me.”

The person in front of her pushed the door open and left. Her departing figure blurred and vanished. The door wasn’t fully closed, and a draft rushed into the room, causing Chu Yingqiu to pull her coat tighter.

After a long while, she lowered her eyes, concealing the emotions in her depths.

After stepping out, Xiang Shuxing hailed a taxi and rushed toward the company where the two aunts worked. The scenery outside the car window flew by, but she was in no mood to admire it. About five minutes later, towering office buildings appeared before her.

Entering the lobby, perhaps out of respect for old ties, no one made things difficult for her. She saw the two women who had been friends with her mother soon enough.

The middle-aged woman in front of her wore a black suit, solemn and dignified, as if she had just finished a meeting. She smiled kindly when she saw her: “Little Shu, you’re here.”

The woman didn’t seem distant because of the Mingchen scandal. Xiang Shuxing breathed a secret sigh of relief, gathered her courage for a moment, and intended to explain why she had come.

With the Mingchen situation still trending, Li Lan knew what she wanted to say and waved a hand before she could speak, her eyes apologetic. “Are you here about the Mingchen controversy? We can’t help you with this.”

Shocked by the rejection, Xiang Shuxing paused, her heart instantly growing cold. “Auntie Li, you were closest to my mother. You know Mingchen is her life’s work, I…”

Li Lan’s smile faded. “I know that, of course. If it were just ordinary gossip, we would have found a way to suppress it based on our years of friendship with your mother.”

Xiang Shuxing pondered these words. “What do you mean?”

“Little Shu, you are a smart and clever child. We have been very tactful—the Xiang family’s situation is far from as simple as it looks on the surface.”

After a day of running around, the sun was setting when she returned home, as if vibrant silk ribbons were flowing across the horizon, dyeing it in a thin red hue. Under normal circumstances, she would have taken a few photos for social media.

Xiang Shuxing rubbed her temples. When she opened WeChat, she saw that Fu Jin had sent her a flood of messages; she had gotten used to keeping her phone on silent since starting university, so she hadn’t noticed them.

Xiang Shuxing stared at the screen, scrolling through them one by one.

“A-Shu, go look at the trending topics! The heat on the Xiang family scandal has died down!”

“Hey, didn’t you go find President Chu? Was it her?”

Xiang Shuxing froze. She swiped over to the trending page, and sure enough, Mingchen was gone. All the marketing articles and speculative posts had vanished into thin air, as if they had never existed.

Was all this… done by Chu Yingqiu?