The Villain Has A Yuri Halo [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 17

Li Ju’s question made Zhao Zhang bury his face in his hands in despair. It was over, completely over. This young miss had a terrible temper. Gao Sheng rarely brought up other women in front of Li Ju, precisely because he worried she would get the wrong idea. If it had been any other woman, he could have made an excuse, but Tang Qingqing was different. Her identity was too unique. Even if Tang Qingqing and Gao Sheng had no relationship, Li Ju still wouldn’t see her in a good light. What’s more, Gao Sheng had a hidden agenda with her, so this scene was a little terrifying.

Zhao Zhang had found out from a friend that Tang Qingqing was the adopted daughter of the Li family, and he couldn’t have been more envious. No matter which woman Gao Sheng got, it would bring him nothing but benefits.

Yet, at this moment, Zhao Zhang felt that this blessing was better left to his good friend, Gao Sheng. He was perfectly content to just be a spectator.

He secretly sized up Li Ju. Her cold, beautiful face was indeed stunning, but the murderous look in her eyes made Zhao Zhang swallow hard.

“Zhao Zhang, where’s Gao Sheng?”

Li Ju’s icy gaze landed on him. He didn’t dare to lie, his mouth more honest than his brain. “After Mr. Gao met with Ms. Tang, he got a call and left. He said there was a problem at the school.”

It wasn’t that he was a coward; it was just that Li Ju had walked in with an aura of pure malice, ready to kill anyone who stood in her way. She wasn’t this intimidating before, but Tang Qingqing’s presence had fueled her fire, and this blazing fury was about to blow the roof off the building.

Li Ju scoffed. “A problem at the school? What a useless bum. He can mess up a done deal? The only thing he has going for him is his face!”

Tang Qingqing, who was doing a masterful job of feigning innocence, gave a gentle smile. She didn’t say a word, just looked at Li Ju, appearing sweet and docile. The low ponytail tied to the side of her shoulder added a touch of cuteness, and her every move was graceful.

“And you! What are you smiling at? Wipe that smirk off your face.”

“Don’t think you can get out of explaining just because you’re smiling like a samoyed.”

Tang Qingqing said in a soft voice, “It was an accident. Without that accident, I wouldn’t have come here. Why are you so angry, Xiao Ju? Are you mad that I snuck out and didn’t go to work?”

Li Ju put one hand on her hip and poked Tang Qingqing’s forehead, making her wobble back and forth like a roly-poly doll. “You let it slip, didn’t you? You even skipped work. You came here just to see Gao Sheng, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t skip work to see Mr. Gao. That’s very important, and I must clarify!” Tang Qingqing rubbed the spot where she was poked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the dumbfounded Zhao Zhang, and a flicker of disgust crossed her face.

She had always known Tang Qingqing was sensitive. When she saw Zhao Zhang today, his attitude had completely changed. He was excessively eager and flattering, not because of her looks, but because he had found out about her family background.

Superficial people deserved to be disliked.

She didn’t need to overthink his sudden change. She had seen too many people like him.

Li Ju sneered. “If you didn’t come to see Gao Sheng, why are you sitting on his office sofa? And that smile I saw when I opened the door—would you have smiled like that if it had been Gao Sheng?”

“Xiao Ju, I’m supposed to be a ‘cold beauty.’ Why would I smile at a stranger?” Tang Qingqing retorted, feeling wronged. She was the most famous cold beauty at the art academy. Didn’t that prove how perfectly she played her role?

“Then why did you smile so nicely?” The moment Li Ju opened the door, she was greeted with that smile. Normally, she would just dismiss it—it was just a smile, and she saw it every day. But the situation was different now. This was Gao Sheng’s company, and the only person Tang Qingqing could have been smiling at in that office was him. By extension, that meant there was a good chance Tang Qingqing would smile at Gao Sheng. Why should he get the same treatment as her? This made Li Ju furious!

Tang Qingqing looked up at her and then quickly lowered her gaze, saying softly, “I saw you, Xiao Ju. If I don’t smile at you, who should I smile at? Not everyone is Xiao Ju. I don’t have the energy to care about other people.”

Li Ju loved it when people went along with her, especially when they highlighted her unique status. That was the only thing that made this young miss feel good.

She clicked her tongue and suddenly wondered why Tang Qingqing was starting to seem a little more appealing.

As if giving a reward, she patted Tang Qingqing’s head and said reluctantly, “Fine, fine. Don’t say that in front of other people. It’ll make me look petty, and I’m not the type of person who’s so overbearing that I won’t let you smile at others.”

Zhao Zhang, who was standing nearby, couldn’t help but rub his eyes. Was this really the same Li Ju who had burst into the company to “assassinate” Gao Sheng? And he suspected that the “don’t bother me” ice queen Tang Qingqing had been replaced. How else could he be seeing such a starkly different side of Tang Qingqing?

Zhao Zhang gave a resentful look to the employees who were peeking in to watch the drama, glaring at them. Then, he said with gritted teeth, “You two, should I close the door for you? I’ll go call Gao Sheng right now.”

Li Ju gave him a disdainful look, her red lips parting to say, “Get lost.”

Zhao Zhang’s rigid posture instantly slumped. “No problem! I’ll go tell Gao Sheng to get his butt back here immediately.”

You’re on your own, buddy. This problem is all yours.

With the office door closed, Li Ju felt more at ease. She sat casually on the arm of the sofa, saying with a sarcastic tone, “Tang Qingqing, I’m not interrupting you two, am I?”

Tang Qingqing’s lips curved upward. She smiled and asked, “How could you be interrupting? I don’t quite understand what you mean, Xiao Ju.”

She was probing, feeling that Li Ju was keeping a secret from her.

Li Ju ran her hand through her long hair, letting the strands brush against her face, a mocking smile on her lips. “You don’t understand? I thought you knew that Gao Sheng is the ‘poor boy’ my dad was talking about, and you came to cause him trouble.”

She wasn’t pretending anymore; she was revealing everything. The time hadn’t been right to reveal Gao Sheng’s name before, but now, Li Ju felt a scent of death in the air. She was about to go offline.

She blinked, hiding the emotions in her eyes.

Li Ju hooked Tang Qingqing’s chin with her finger, making eye contact. “I invested in Gao Sheng’s company and kept it afloat. And I don’t know what got into me, but I fell for his looks. Don’t you think it’s fun for me to have a boy toy?”

Tang Qingqing pursed her lips. She had known all along that Li Ju had the power to kill with her words. She had spoken those words so lightly, as if Gao Sheng were just a plaything for her, but Tang Qingqing knew best how pure Li Ju was about her feelings all these years. Li Ju had never been in a relationship. Even if Gao Sheng was an insignificant boy toy, it was still Li Ju’s first romance, and that made it special.

Did Tang Qingqing care about this?

Of course, she did. If she didn’t, she would be a heartless monster.

Tang Qingqing suddenly regretted it. She shouldn’t have been so kind to Li Ju. Why did she stop Tang Ping? Wouldn’t it have been better to just let Tang Ping humiliate Gao Sheng?

It was clear that Li Ju had completely charmed her, to the point that she couldn’t even bring herself to think of revenge.

She smiled, her cold eyes softening.

“That’s so fascinating. I never thought your taste would be so terrible, Xiao Ju.”

Tang Qingqing said with a hint of pity, “You’ll probably get tired of that face soon.”

She was being strong on the outside, but inside she was bitter.

She didn’t even have the courage to ask Li Ju out loud. She could be Li Ju’s pet dog; she could be Li Ju’s family. But she would never be her lover.

This was the reality she had accepted, a truth she had come to understand back in school. Why was she still feeling so resentful now?

Li Ju sensed the mockery but was unbothered. “Getting tired of it is a problem for the future. I’m not in a hurry, so why are you?”

“By the way, you still haven’t told me why you came to the company to see Gao Sheng.”

Tang Qingqing’s lips turned into a faint smile. “To turn down his invitation to be a brand spokesperson.”

This was a lie. She was there to threaten Gao Sheng. Her identity as a wealthy adopted daughter could help her get the answer she wanted. She didn’t have the heart to make Li Ju sad, which was why she was willing to persuade Tang Ping to leave. But now that she was here, she might as well take Gao Sheng down a notch. Without the school deal, Gao Sheng would probably have to behave for a while.

She had never been a good person.

Li Ju frowned and asked, “Did Gao Sheng tell you about this? Do you two have a private relationship?”

Tang Qingqing smiled, pleased. “Of course we do.”

“You were hiding this from me!”

Suddenly, Tang Qingqing leaned in, staring intently at Li Ju. She was all too familiar with the feeling of jealousy, and she saw this old friend in Li Ju’s eyes at this very moment.

“Xiao Ju, are you jealous that I met with him, or are you jealous that he met with me?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t understand a single word! Me, jealous of you? Are you kidding? I can just call Gao Sheng, and he’ll come scrambling to see me.”

Tang Qingqing nodded knowingly. “I see. So you’re jealous of him then. Jealous that he secretly met with me many times, jealous that he has a private relationship with me, jealous that we’re so close.”

Li Ju’s heartbeat went out of rhythm. She seemed to be realizing that something was not quite right.

Her eyes felt scorched when she looked at Tang Qingqing. Li Ju quickly turned her head away, completely rejecting this indescribable, strange feeling.

“Forget it, I’m not talking to you anymore.”

“I’m leaving. I’ll make Gao Sheng come scrambling to see me tomorrow.”

Tang Qingqing appeared to have won the round, but in reality, she had lost completely. Her pettiness and aggressiveness showed that she had lost her composure.

“Then I’ll leave too. I don’t want you to have any reservations because I was alone with Mr. Gao.”

Li Ju spun around, gritting her teeth. “Tang! Qing! Qing!”

“I’m here.”

Li Ju shot her a furious look and stormed away.

After she left, Tang Qingqing’s forced smile disappeared. She watched Li Ju’s back and chose to walk in the opposite direction.

They went their separate ways, the setting sun from the window stretching their two silhouettes long on the ground.

As Tang Qingqing stood on the side of the road waiting for a car, she heard someone calling her name.

“Ms. Tang, I’m so glad I chased you down. I heard what Zhao Zhang said on the phone. He said Ms. Li bullied you, is that right? How awful! I should have stayed to protect you if I had known Ms. Li was coming!”

Tang Qingqing looked at him sideways. “Protect me? In what capacity?”

“As Li Ju’s boy toy?”

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