Transmigrating Into the Beautiful CEO’s Doomed Substitute - Chapter 97

“I understand what you mean now. Then… I won’t bother you anymore. Rest early.”

Shen Zhibing pulled her hand out of Qi Zheng’s grip, walked quickly to the sofa, tidied her bag, and wanted to escape.

Qi Zheng followed her slowly. Even without turning back, Shen Zhibing could feel the gaze that was different from anyone else’s.

Shen Zhibing suddenly threw her bag back and turned to Qi Zheng, saying, “Could you dance with me one more time?”

Shen Zhibing thought that having one last dance with her in Qi Zheng’s small apartment would be a beautiful ending.

Qi Zheng’s hands, which were tucked in her trouser pockets, moved a few times, but she didn’t speak.

Shen Zhibing smiled bitterly: “You won’t accept the gift, you don’t want to hear what I have to say, and now, you won’t even grant my last request?”

Perhaps the previous conversation had enlightened her, and Shen Zhibing adjusted to the confusion and panic after being repeatedly rejected by Qi Zheng. At this moment, apart from sadness, there was indeed no element of humbleness.

Qi Zheng tried hard to hide the lingering affection in her eyes. They were too close; the other person might see it with a careless glance.

“I’m afraid that if I dance with you, I won’t be able to let go.”

Shen Zhibing knew this was not a turning point but rather her sincere words. People who give up on the game are often so genuine in revealing their hand because not caring about winning or losing also means not wanting to linger any longer.

Beyond the sorrow, there was only desolation in her heart. Perhaps it was at this moment that Shen Zhibing understood what the theories referred to as heartbreaking pain, or perhaps the difficulty of breathing caused simply by loss.

She did have an indescribable pain, but she hadn’t expected it to be so intense.

“Then I’m leaving. Study well. If you need any help, you can tell me.”

Qi Zheng nodded, still following her at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

Shen Zhibing suddenly remembered something: “If you encounter an emergency and don’t have time to notify me, you can go to Boss Zhuang.”

Qi Zheng was momentarily stunned. Thinking of Zhuang Muqing, she guessed that Shen Zhibing had called in a favor.

“Thank you, General Manager Shen.”

The more she considered everything so thoroughly, the more Qi Zheng felt her powerlessness. She understood Shen Zhibing’s good intentions, but she didn’t want the distance between her and General Manager Shen to always be this far.

She didn’t want their connection to be close only when they were in bed.

Seeing that she had no other instructions, and knowing it was the last moment, Shen Zhibing looked at Qi Zheng’s slightly bowed head, with her soft hair falling down, stirring many emotions.

Probably wanting to leave a memory for herself, Shen Zhibing took two steps forward, cupped Qi Zheng’s face with both hands, and before Qi Zheng could clearly see her, she placed a kiss on her lips.

A brief but profound kiss, then quickly released.

She quickly glanced at Qi Zheng, wanting to memorize this face completely, and then softly instructed: “Take care.”

Shen Zhibing opened the door and walked directly to the elevator. She didn’t turn around again until she entered the elevator. She declined Qi Zheng’s kind offer to walk her downstairs; she wanted to leave alone.

Until the elevator door slowly closed, all Qi Zheng saw was the straight back of General Manager Shen.

The slight tremor did not affect her elegance and beauty. Qi Zheng returned to the window and watched Shen Zhibing walk out of the building and towards the sedan that had been waiting for her.

Shen Zhibing opened the car door, and just before getting in, she suddenly turned and looked up. Qi Zheng didn’t know if she saw her, but she still couldn’t help but open her mouth and quietly say, goodbye.

Goodbye, not as in never seeing again, but hoping that when they meet again, they will be different.

Shen Zhibing flew back to Haicheng the next afternoon. She had already compressed a week’s worth of work, and next week she could not relax again. She sent a message to Qi Zheng to say goodbye when she left.

Qi Zheng didn’t go to see her off. She sat in a burger shop behind the business school all afternoon.

When Li Yunshan found her, she saw half a cold burger left on Qi Zheng’s table.

“You spent the whole afternoon here and only ate this much?”

Qi Zheng got up to buy two hot drinks and a fresh batch of fries.

“Just suddenly felt like sitting here, not necessarily because I was hungry.”

Li Yunshan noticed that Qi Zheng’s mood seemed off yesterday, thinking she was tired, but then felt it wasn’t quite right, so she called her today.

Seeing her here, it was indeed not quite right.

“Is it because Ah Moon didn’t tell you about the party in advance yesterday and that made you unhappy?”

Qi Zheng shook her head: “She meant well; how could I be unhappy?”

She had simply gained a more direct sense of the gap between herself and many others.

It didn’t matter what gap she had with anyone else, but the gap with Shen Zhibing was the greatest. That was the person she wanted to hold hands with and stand beside; she wanted to love her as an equal.

Her thoughts returned to last night. Since Shen Zhibing left, Qi Zheng was very tired but couldn’t sleep well. She dreamt all night long, a whole night filled with moments she spent with General Manager Shen: wrenching pain, knowing smiles, and subtle sweetness, as well as the helpless melancholy after waking up.

Seeing her listless appearance, Li Yunshan didn’t press for details, intuitively knowing that something had happened last night to cause Qi Zheng to be like this.

**

Lin Muyun sprained her ankle while playing ball last week, so she let Lian Ao go to tonight’s business banquet alone. Unlike other wealthy wives who always cling to their husbands, she essentially gave Lian Ao free rein.

Staying home and chatting on the phone with American friends was clearly more interesting than going to that boring and hypocritical banquet, mainly because she knew beforehand that Shen Zhibing wouldn’t be there, so there would be no drama to watch.

“Amy, what is the background of that Ah Moon you mentioned?”

“Why is your memory getting so bad? Didn’t you like buying collectibles for a while? You bought several of her sculptures before returning to China; they are still at my house.”

Lin Muyun remembered such an incident, but she had only bought them to follow the trend. She didn’t have much talent for art appreciation. At that time, Ah Moon was just beginning to emerge as a new artist in the Eastern US, so of course, she wouldn’t miss the opportunity.

Buying a few pieces from a new artist might yield a huge profit someday.

The return to China was rushed, and these collections were not her true love. It would be easier to sell them in the US in the future, so she simply left them with her friend.

As time passed, she really didn’t remember.

“She’s a Chinese American who grew up in the US. Her Chinese name is Zhuang Muqing. Her family elders should be in business, but the industry isn’t too large.”

Boss Zhuang had deliberately kept a low profile, and many assets were held through proxies. She had probably seen too much hardship when she was young and knew the danger of being too high-profile.

Coupled with the fact that none of the younger generation in the Zhuang family was willing to go into business, the family seemed even more obscure.

Lin Muyun listened to this name, which was somewhat similar to her own, and mused with interest: “You just said Qi Zheng and Zhuang Muqing are close?”

“Not too close, but they interact more frequently compared to others.”

Lin Muyun smiled knowingly. Going to the US, she even chose a friend with a name similar to mine.

Qi Zheng, you will eventually return to my side.

Qi Zheng did not accept Lin Muyun’s kindness back then, naturally she would not accept help from Lin Muyun’s so-called American friends. But this did not mean Lin Muyun didn’t pay attention to Qi Zheng. Even though she was in Haicheng, she paid more attention to matters in the US than before.

“Oh? So, Shen Zhibing went to the US this weekend? Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?”

“Sister, even though I haven’t been back to China for a long time, Shen Zhibing’s photos appear frequently in financial news, okay?”

She was so stunning, so outstanding; who wouldn’t recognize her?

When Lian Ao returned with a scent of alcohol, Lin Muyun had just hung up the phone. Her ankle injury wasn’t serious, but she definitely couldn’t maintain her composure at a banquet. She walked over slowly, checking Lian Ao’s condition.

“Drinking so much? Are you particularly happy or particularly unhappy tonight?”

Lian Ao threw the suit jacket draped over his arm onto the nearby sofa, slumped down, feeling somewhat agitated, and ignored her.

“Shen Zhibing didn’t go tonight. Are you very disappointed? I told you she wouldn’t go, but you wouldn’t believe me.”

Lian Ao was annoyed enough tonight, having to constantly explain why his wife didn’t attend. After all, they hadn’t been married long, and an absence on such an occasion suggested either marital discord or pregnancy.

Neither of which Lian Ao wanted to admit.

He waited for a long time and still didn’t see Shen Zhibing, finally believing what Lin Muyun had said before he left the house.

However, when he returned home, Lin Muyun told him another piece of news that made him even more agitated.

“She went to the US?”

“And she didn’t go to New York; she went specifically to F City.”

Lian Ao’s face darkened. Lin Muyun poured him a glass of water.

“I really didn’t expect her to become so proactive now. Was she like this when you were together before? Dropping work and traveling a long distance just to see you?”

Lian Ao frowned, not wanting to talk.

Shen Zhibing’s proactiveness towards him mostly happened during their student years. After graduation and returning to China, although their relationship continued, work gradually surpassed him in importance to Shen Zhibing.

“You can’t blame her. Qi Zheng has something others don’t, especially attractive.”

Lin Muyun talked to herself, drawing Lian Ao’s attention.

“Being lonely for too long, taking the initiative once is nothing strange. I just wonder if you still find a woman who lowers herself like that desirable.”

Hearing Lin Muyun talk about Shen Zhibing this way made Lian Ao a little displeased. But he was now more jealous of Qi Zheng. He never thought Shen Zhibing would be serious about such a person.

And this serious.

“Stop saying such baseless things in the future. If others hear it, they’ll think our Lian family plays dirty tricks to slander opponents when we can’t beat them in the business world.”

Seeing that provoking him had little effect, Lin Muyun stopped talking.

Lian Ao got up, ready to go back to his room. Lin Muyun suddenly called him: “Your grandfather sent someone to deliver a message again this week.”

“What did he say?”

“The same old things. On the surface, he’s concerned about my ankle injury, but then he circles back to the topic of children.”

They had found an excuse to move out after marriage, living not far from the Lian family mansion, but they hadn’t completely escaped the control of the elders of both families.

“I will go and explain this matter.”

“Don’t just talk. We agreed before marriage: the matter of children is off-limits.”

“Don’t worry, I never intended to have children with you.”

Lin Muyun scoffed, as if she was desperate to have children for him.

“It’s best if you remember that clearly. Anyway, most of the pressure for not having children falls on the woman. I don’t want to bear this unwarranted pressure for you, so you better resolve it quickly.”

Lian Ao had gradually seen through Lin Muyun’s coldness. He truly did not want to live under the same roof with such a person.

Old Master Lian’s health had continued to deteriorate recently. The doctor said he would most likely pass away this year.

By then, he would be able to get rid of Lin Muyun. This was the countdown in Lian Ao’s heart.