The Down and Out CEO’s Pursuit of Her Wife [GL] - Chapter 10

By evening, An Ruoning didn’t even know how she had managed to stumble back home. After “dropping off” Mu Shan, her mind had gone completely blank. Aside from simmering with rage, she was so frustrated that she started feeling chest tightness and a headache halfway through the drive. It was lucky that the suburban roads were wide with very few cars and pedestrians, otherwise, An Ruoning might have lost her life on the asphalt.

Then again, An Ruoning wasn’t particularly afraid of dying. She hadn’t cared much about living five years ago, and the feeling remained the same now. It was only because she now carried responsibilities and goals that she no longer actively sought an end.

As usual, Duo Yi opened the door the moment she heard the elevator reach their floor. This time, she was even wearing a full face of makeup and ten centimeter stilettos. However, after holding her “lady-like” pose for quite some time, Mu Shan never appeared. Duo Yi followed An Ruoning into the house dejectedly and plopped down on the sofa, her face full of disappointment. “Baby, why didn’t Sister Mu Shan come?”

Having only just sunk into the sofa to relax for two seconds, hearing Mu Shan’s name again made An Ruoning feel extremely uncomfortable.

Duo Yi, relentless, continued to twist the knife. “Baby, is Sister Mu Shan still coming today?”

“She’s not coming, and she won’t be coming ever again,” An Ruoning’s voice came out low and strained. After speaking, she headed toward the bathroom, desperate for some peace and quiet.

Before she could close the door, Duo Yi chased her inside. An Ruoning was forced to pretend to fix her hair in the mirror to look like she was busy freshening up and had no time to talk.

Duo Yi was too immersed in the shock and disappointment of potentially never seeing Mu Shan again to notice An Ruoning’s mood. She kept pestering her with questions. “Why isn’t she coming? Are we not welcoming enough? No, it’s not that I wasn’t welcoming, after you left this morning, Sister Mu Shan and I had a great chat, and we even exchanged phone numbers.” Duo Yi rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and blamed An Ruoning. “Hmph, you must have offended Sister Mu Shan, didn’t you?”

A loud thwack echoed as An Ruoning slammed both hands heavily onto the bathroom tiles. Her head hung low, and she let out a long breath through her nose. “Duo Yi, can you please stop mentioning her? Whatever you want to do with her is your business, you don’t need to tell me. Since you have her number now, you don’t need to go through me to contact her anyway, right?”

Duo Yi squinted and pursed her lips in thought, her eyebrows slanting as she eyed An Ruoning suspiciously. “Ooh, baby, something is wrong. Very wrong. You and Sister Mu Shan aren’t just ‘ordinary friends,’ are you? Quick! Confess! Did you date, or did you sleep together???”

An Ruoning pressed her lips tight and turned her head away, refusing to answer.

Duo Yi exclaimed, “Silence is a confession! Oh my god, how can this be! I would absolutely never touch a sister’s ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend!”

After passionately declaring her principles, Duo Yi bit the tip of her thumb, glancing at An Ruoning’s reaction every now and then. “Well… then again… a ‘top-tier’ beauty like Sister Mu Shan… She doesn’t really count toward that rule. Good things should be shared between sisters, right?”

An Ruoning straightened up and waved Duo Yi off, wanting to return to her bedroom for some quiet.

Duo Yi grabbed An Ruoning’s hand and twirled her skirt, acting spoiled. “Baby, I didn’t mean I was going to steal Sister Mu Shan from you. If you’re still interested in her, I’ll definitely back off, no hesitation.”

An Ruoning replied listlessly, “There is no ‘us’ anymore.”

Duo Yi asked, “Are you sure? Lifelong happiness isn’t a joke!”

An Ruoning said, “I’m sure.”

Duo Yi chirped, “Then don’t get mad if I pursue Sister Mu Shan~”

“I’m not mad, what do I have to be mad about…” An Ruoning swallowed the rest of the sentence. What right do I even have to be mad?

Duo Yi was overjoyed at her regained opportunity. Seeing An Ruoning standing there looking so disheveled and miserable, she couldn’t stand it. Getting a bright idea, she dragged An Ruoning back to the mirror.

In front of the mirror, An Ruoning still kept her head down. Duo Yi grabbed her cheeks with both hands and forced her head up. “Take a good look at yourself!”

Her hair was a mess and her face was haggard. Looking at herself only doubled her frustration, so An Ruoning took one glance and looked away, asking dejectedly, “Duo Yi… what are you trying to do?”

Duo Yi pinched a strand of An Ruoning’s hair and curved it against her face, looking in the mirror. “What do you think of this hair?”

An Ruoning pursed her lips, looking bewildered. She had no idea what Duo Yi was fussing over now. However, she was well aware of her own state and knew she hadn’t put any effort into her appearance lately. She decided to just be blunt. “It’s bad.”

Duo Yi snapped, “Wrong!”

An Ruoning was confused.

“Huh?”

Duo Yi pinched a bit of skin on An Ruoning’s right cheek and continued, “How about this face?”

An Ruoning replied, “Even worse.”

Duo Yi countered, “Wrong, wrong, wrong!”

An Ruoning remained silent.

Duo Yi pointed at An Ruoning’s chest and asked with squinted eyes, “What about this?”

An Ruoning hesitated. “Um… small?”

Duo Yi instantly flared up. She grabbed An Ruoning’s shoulders and shook her twice, shouting at the reflection in the mirror, “Can you please cherish your female body?! If you don’t want it, give it to me!!! Do you have any idea how lucky you are to be born a girl!!! If you were born in a man’s body, you would understand my pain!!!”

Seeing Duo Yi bring up her own past hurts, An Ruoning forgot her own self-pity and focused on comforting her. “But you are a girl. Look how beautiful you are, way prettier than me~”

“Of course I’m beautiful…” Duo Yi muttered under her breath. Then she looked up to continue “scolding” An Ruoning. “You! Don’t waste the wonderful body heaven gave you! Dressing yourself up beautifully is a sign of self-respect, you know! Being unkempt and trashing yourself all day, who are you doing that for?”

An Ruoning looked a bit embarrassed and tried to explain, “The nature of my work is different from yours…”

Duo Yi argued, “That’s discrimination! Do you think only models should dress up, while every other woman has to be disheveled and plain-faced?”

An Ruoning replied, “It’s not that, I’m just busy with work and don’t have time to maintain things…”

Duo Yi turned her back on her. “Talk back one more time and I’ll ignore you, hmph!”

An Ruoning walked around to face her, changing her tone to be more submissive. “Alright, alright. I haven’t been putting my heart into this lately, you’re right. So, why are you telling me all this? Are you going to… teach me how to dress?”

Duo Yi said, “Well, obviously! No friend of mine is allowed to be anything less than exquisite! If I teach you everything I know and you still look like this, I’m not taking you out to play!”

An Ruoning smiled. “Okay, thank you, beautiful Duo Yi. I’ll be a serious student.”

Duo Yi nodded with satisfaction. “That’s more like it. The first step is to change your wardrobe. In a bit, you’re going to buy every item from the links I send you. I’m going to change your entire style, inside and out. You’re too lacking in ‘womanly charm’ right now, how are you going to attract men? You need to be a bit sexier, that ‘half-hidden, half-exposed’ look would suit you best”

An Ruoning remained unmoved. “Why do I need to attract men…”

Duo Yi poked An Ruoning’s head. “You stubborn thing, you don’t have a romantic bone in your body. Whoever dates you is truly unlucky.”

An Ruoning nodded in agreement and said gloomily, “Probably…”

Duo Yi cheered, “Buck up! Here’s the plan: I’ll finish your makeover by this weekend. On the weekend, I’ll take you out to see the world. I’ll have those girls invite a few high-quality, handsome guys. You better show some spirit then; you have to at least snag one or two, otherwise you’re wasting your natural gifts!”

An Ruoning interjected, “This weekend? This weekend won’t work. It’s my rotation off, and I have to take Ye Xiang out to play.”

Duo Yi slapped her own forehead. “Oh, right, Ye Xiang. That little clingy kid. If you hadn’t mentioned him, I would’ve forgotten you’re basically a mother. You don’t even need me to introduce you to men; you’ve already had one. Wait… why do you rarely mention Ye Xiang’s dad? Was it a personality clash? Or a gender clash?”

An Ruoning said, “Stop guessing and go get your beauty sleep.”

Duo Yi nodded to herself. “True. With an ex like Sister Mu Shan, I guess no one else could ever compare anyway!”

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