The Down and Out CEO’s Pursuit of Her Wife [GL] - Chapter 13

Jian Qing had chosen a restaurant with a distinct ethnic flair. The floors, windows, and walls were all decorated with bamboo, and the main hall featured a shimmering golden Buddha statue flanked by two golden peacocks with their tails fanned out.

A waitress wearing a pink vest and a matching wrap-skirt led Mu Shan to a private room Jian Qing had reserved. The lighting inside was dim, and on the wall facing the door hung a dark blue totem that looked like a cross between a serpent and a dragon.

Mu Shan dismissed the waitress and sat facing the door, waiting for Jian Qing and An Ruoning. Mu Shan hated being late, but she despised being early even more. Yet, here she was, doing the very thing she hated, arriving more than half an hour ahead of schedule.

She had done this out of a sheer, desperate need to see An Ruoning, to reclaim her from the likes of Jian Qing, Ye Zhefeng, or whoever else might be lingering around.

That urgency intensified the moment she stepped into the restaurant, and especially this room. If there weren’t a battle to be fought, Mu Shan wouldn’t have stayed a second longer, the atmosphere felt entirely incompatible with her, leaving her feeling restless even while sitting still.

This Jian Qing really knows how to pick a place, Mu Shan thought bitterly as she sipped lukewarm lemon water, the malice in her eyes never fading.

The first sound from outside was Jian Qing’s voice, which others usually found quite pleasant, sweet enough to hook a man’s soul and soft enough to tether a woman’s heart. When Mu Shan looked up, the two had already entered the room arm in arm.

An Ruoning wore a light blue short-sleeved shirt and black denim shorts. Jian Qing wore a light blue short-sleeved shirt and black denim jeans. Great, Mu Shan thought, her face darkening, they’re even wearing couple’s outfits.

Mu Shan glared at Ruoning and slid over one seat, leaving an empty space beside her. “Come sit here.”

Ruoning deliberately ignored her, standing frozen by the table.

Jian Qing proved to be the more decisive one. She set several bags of various sizes onto the seat Mu Shan had vacated and pulled Ruoning down to sit with her on the opposite side. “There’s quite a lot of stuff, I hope you don’t mind us using the seat for the bags, President Mu?”

Mu Shan didn’t even look at her, refusing to engage with such performative politeness. Her entire focus was on Ruoning. Stared down, Ruoning grew flustered, her gaze darting around the table as she searched for some decoration to distract herself.

“What would you like to eat?” Jian Qing asked sweetly, placing a thick menu in front of Ruoning. She leaned in close, helping her flip through the pages.

Ruoning placed her hand on the menu as well. They were shoulder to shoulder, hand to hand, as if no one else were in the room.

Before they could reach the second page, Mu Shan slammed her hand down on the menu and pushed it toward Jian Qing. She stared directly at Ruoning while addressing the lawyer. “Since Lawyer Jian chose the restaurant, Lawyer Jian should do the ordering.”

Jian Qing gave a helpless smile. “Fine, I’ll take charge of the meal then. Whether it’s good or not, please bear with me. President Mu, do you have any dietary restrictions?”

“Just order what you like,” Ruoning cut in quickly, casting what looked like a glare at Mu Shan. She then leaned back, crossing her arms and staring at the totem on the wall, clearly trying to mentally check out of this awkward power struggle.

Jian Qing pressed the service bell, and soon a stout but commanding middle-aged woman entered. She went straight to Jian Qing. “It’s been ages since you were here!”

Jian Qing smiled. “Oh, the boss lady herself is serving us?”

“You bet!” The boss lady scanned the room. She gave Mu Shan a polite nod, but when her eyes landed on Ruoning, she flashed a meaningful grin. She winked at Jian Qing. “Your girlfriend?”

Jian Qing threw a flirtatious look at Ruoning before nodding to the woman.

The boss lady lit up, looking at Ruoning as if she were a prospective daughter-in-law. “A special guest! I’ll have the kitchen bring out a jug of our homemade rice wine. You must try some, little sister.”

“Thank you,” Ruoning said quietly.

Jian Qing handed the menu back. “I’ll let you decide the dishes today. Just keep the flavors light, she can’t handle things too spicy.”

“Look at you, so protective. Alright, have some more water, the food will be out soon.”

Jian Qing and Ruoning both nodded with smiles as they saw the woman out.

Turning back, Jian Qing saw that Mu Shan’s emotions were written all over her face. There was no longer any point in being indirect, this was clearly a tug-of-war. “President Mu, did you invite us to dinner today to discuss something specific?”

The moment Mu Shan looked up, her frustration had vanished, replaced by total indifference. “Lawyer Jian, I have some private matters to discuss with An Ruoning. I’d appreciate it if you could excuse yourself for a moment.”

“That’s hardly appropriate, President Mu,” Jian Qing refused immediately.

Ruoning added, “I have some things I need to make clear to her as well.”

“…Alright then.” Jian Qing always granted Ruoning’s requests. Before leaving, she gave Mu Shan a stern, warning look. “President Mu, I will step out, but I ask that you maintain your sense of propriety.”

Mu Shan didn’t say a word. The moment Jian Qing left, she moved into her seat, sitting right next to Ruoning.

Ruoning immediately moved away. “I’ve told you many times, you and I have nothing to do with each other anymore. Please stop looking for me, and definitely stop harassing the people around me!”

Mu Shan let out a cold laugh. She rested her right hand directly on Ruoning’s smooth leg. The skin was soft and supple, and perhaps due to the air conditioning, it felt refreshingly cool to the touch.

When the expected resistance didn’t come, Mu Shan grew bolder, her fingers dancing along Ruoning’s inner thigh and slowly sliding upward.

Ruoning suddenly reached up and unbuttoned several buttons on her own shirt, letting the collar fall open. She asked coldly, “Do you want to call a few more people to join us?”

“Heh, you’ve certainly grown some claws.” Mu Shan knew exactly what Ruoning was doing, she was trying to disgust her. This woman had become more stubborn, but the outcome would always be the same. “Fine! Let’s find more people then. When you’re suffering later, just remember that you asked for it.”

With a click, the door opened. Jian Qing stepped in and was horrified by what she saw. If these two were so overcome with passion that they couldn’t wait to finish dinner, she would have accepted it, if Ruoning found happiness, she would offer nothing but blessings. But this was clearly not that. Ruoning’s eyes were vacant, her body limp against the chair like a wooden doll, with no sign of pleasure on her face.

This… could it be…

Jian Qing didn’t dare think further. With a sinking heart, she hurried to the table. “Ruoning?”

Ruoning snapped back to reality and looked at Jian Qing, her eyes flickering as she silently reached up to pull her collar shut. Jian Qing reached across Mu Shan and pulled Ruoning out of the seat.

Ruoning stood before Jian Qing, her face flushing deeper by the second. Suppressing her emotions, Jian Qing buttoned Ruoning’s shirt back up, one by one. When she finished, she whispered, “Are you okay?”

“I’m… I’m fine,” Ruoning answered in a barely audible voice.

There were four glasses of water on the table. Jian Qing stared at one of them, wanting nothing more than to smash it against Mu Shan’s head. But, in the end, violence wasn’t in her nature.

Her rage manifested only as a question. “Mu Shan, what did you do to her?! I don’t care what happened between you two in the past, she is my girlfriend now!”

Mu Shan stood up and walked over to Ruoning’s side, looking at Jian Qing with a sneer. “When exactly did she become your girlfriend?” She pulled Ruoning into her arms. “I should be asking what you did to her!”

Jian Qing pulled Ruoning back, shouting at Mu Shan, “Keep your hands off her! Try acting like a decent human being for once. I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you. You’re really just going to try and steal her?!”

Mu Shan remained unruffled. “She was mine to begin with. You’re the one stealing.”

“Enough!” Ruoning suddenly snapped. Both Mu Shan and Jian Qing turned to her. Ruoning stepped forward, shielding Jian Qing. She glared at Mu Shan with eyes full of resentment. “We ended five years ago. Can you really not accept that fact?!”

Without giving Mu Shan a chance to argue, Ruoning grabbed Jian Qing and bolted from the room. She hesitated for a split second in the lobby, but once Jian Qing told her the bill was already paid, she kept running.

The two of them climbed into Jian Qing’s car, out of breath. As Ruoning buckled her seatbelt, she uttered the three words Jian Qing didn’t want to hear: “I am sorry.”

Jian Qing sighed privately. She didn’t want to argue about apologies anymore. “Ruoning, did Mu Shan bully you just now?”

Ruoning gripped her right hand with her left, her nails digging into the skin. “…I unbuttoned the shirt myself.”

“What?!” Jian Qing blinked in shock. “Why? I… I thought you didn’t want to…”

“I didn’t want to,” Ruoning admitted.

Jian Qing let out a series of heavy sighs. Finally, she swallowed hard and started the car.

“Are you… are you angry?” Ruoning asked.

Jian Qing nodded, still refusing to look at her.

“I’m sorry…”

Jian Qing’s eyes clouded with tears as she watched the road. “I really don’t understand…”

“Understand what?”

“You didn’t want to, so why would you do that? And do you know… do you know how much I cherish you?! If you showed even a hint of hesitation, I would never touch you, even if it meant never touching you for the rest of my life. Why is it that the thing I treat like a treasure, you treat…”

Jian Qing slammed on the brakes, the car screeching to a halt at the curb. She unbuckled her seatbelt, collapsed over the steering wheel, and began to sob uncontrollably. “Compared to her… where do I fall short? Tell me, where am I not good enough?”

Jian Qing had never cried in front of her. Panic-stricken, Ruoning didn’t know what to do other than stroke Jian Qing’s back. “Don’t cry, please don’t cry. You aren’t worse than her, you aren’t worse than anyone. You’re wonderful, you’re better than her in every way.”

Jian Qing turned her head, her eyes brimming with tears. “But the only problem is that I’m not her, right?”

“No, that’s not it! My relationship with her isn’t what you think… anyway, there will be nothing between us, now or in the future.”

“Then what about us?”

“Give me a little more time,” Ruoning whispered. “But honestly, I don’t want you to wait for me anymore. Don’t waste your time on me. If you meet someone you like, be with her. I’m not worth the wait, not at all.”

Jian Qing smiled through her tears, a pained expression. “Fine, whatever you say. But if I never meet anyone else I like, then I can keep waiting, right?”

Ruoning couldn’t give her a promise, nor could she say “thank you” again, because no amount of thanks could repay Jian Qing’s kindness. But staying like this would only hurt Jian Qing in the end. Ruoning told herself over and over: she couldn’t keep dragging this out. She had to handle this once and for all.

Jian Qing wiped her eyes. “I’m being selfish, saying all these pointless things.” She cleared her throat. “Back to my place?”

“No… I have things to do tomorrow. Just drop me at the subway station.”

Another rejection, but it was her choice. Jian Qing swallowed the pain and drove toward the station.

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