What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 62

Chapter 62: The Shu Family

A distressed Shu Qiong turned off her light screen and stared blankly at the scenery rushing past the car window. The driver glanced at her a few more times but chose not to invite trouble.

It wasn’t until the levitating car entered a sprawling, open district that Shu Qiong’s field of vision suddenly widened. Although this area had been developed early, it was surprisingly devoid of skyscrapers; instead, there was an abundance of greenery. However, it was clear that professional teams regularly pruned and maintained the vegetation, as every leaf and petal radiated the refined aura of money.

The car slowed to a halt in front of a grand, retro-style villa. The driver glanced at the rearview mirror and said reluctantly, “We’re here.”

Shu Qiong surveyed the scene—both familiar and strange. Classical, beautiful, and grand, it looked almost like a small-scale manor. Beyond the main gate, one could see fountain sculptures and pleasing clusters of flowers on either side. The exterior walls were a pale, warm tone that dazzled in the sunlight. If she remembered correctly, there was an even larger garden behind the house, along with an outdoor pool and a flat lawn for horseback riding.

—Her cousin, Shu Xuanhe, was extremely fond of equestrianism.

The rich certainly knew how to enjoy themselves.

Shu Qiong waited expressionlessly for the car door to slide upward automatically and stepped out. She walked toward the front hall with her back straight, instantly seeing a face wearing a warm smile.

“Grandmother, you were waiting for me downstairs alone?” Shu Qiong jogged over, a smile involuntarily appearing on her face.

Zhang Mingzhi was a classic example of a well-maintained noblewoman. Her makeup was elegant, and the jade accents on her arms and neck complemented her eyes, which remained bright despite her age. She opened her arms and scrutinized her long-lost granddaughter from head to toe before saying heart-wrenchingly, “Xiao Qiong… you’ve grown so thin.”

Shu Qiong spun in a circle and rolled up her sleeves to show her grandmother her arm. “Grandmother, I was training a while back. I have less fat now and more muscle.”

Zhang Mingzhi laughed and touched Shu Qiong’s face. “It must have been hard. Your mother was the same back then—covered in bruises but still too proud to show it…”

She loved her daughter and granddaughter more the more she looked at them; in her eyes, they were the best.

As the two were sharing intimate words, a set of footsteps sounded from the stairs. A voice aged with years preceded the person: “Hmph, what’s a little hardship? That rebellious girl chose it herself! She deserves it!”

Shu Qiong turned and saw Shu Mufeng walking slowly down the stairs, followed by three people, male and female. One middle-aged woman with fine lines on her face supported the old man. “Dad, be careful not to walk too fast and trip.”

Shu Mufeng snorted coldly. He seemed to want to proudly wave away his eldest daughter Shu Wen’s supporting hand, but hindered by his poor health, he could only express his dissatisfaction like an ailing tiger.

Shu Qiong treated his words like wind passing her ears. Her voice was so dry it lacked any inflection: “Ho, Grandfather.”

She had learned this cold, indifferent expression from Yan Xiangyu. However, the student had surpassed the master; the way she called him “Grandfather” was incredibly disrespectful—cavalier and prickly, sounding almost like she was calling him a “stinking old man.”

Shu Mufeng was so angry he turned to leave, but his steps were weak and he couldn’t move quickly. A sudden turn almost caused him to fall, frightening Shu Wen into grabbing his arm.

Shu Qiong watched thoughtfully. This old man looked like he was losing his touch; could he be ill? It made sense—if his health hadn’t taken a turn for the worse, he wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to call all his children back to serve as “filial” bedside attendants. Usually, he didn’t show much affection or concern for his descendants.

Maintaining his airs, Shu Mufeng refused to show his weakness in front of the younger generation. He pushed away Shu Wen’s hand and stubbornly gripped the mahogany railing as he went back upstairs. A moment later, a heavy thud echoed as the study door on the second floor was slammed shut.

Shu Qiong withdrew her gaze, bored. Go ahead, indulge in your impotent rage. Was that enough to upset him? She had only used thirty percent of her power.

At the same time, she felt herself being watched. She looked up alertly, meeting the gaze of a young woman standing behind her aunt, Shu Wen. The young woman’s eyes were indeed fixed on her, concealing a hint of scrutiny and curiosity.

Shu Qiong was not a stranger to this face, as they had just met via video call not long ago. But meeting in person was different from meeting through a screen; Shu Qiong realized her cousin was quite the actor. If she hadn’t already suspected and exposed the other’s tricks, she wouldn’t have been able to tell that she was a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Shu Xuanmin was a Beta woman of medium height. Her face was sixty percent similar to her mother’s, Shu Wen; she could be described as serene and beautiful. Wearing a beige dress with a nice drape and her long brown curls flowing softly to her back, she didn’t look aggressive at all. When her eyes met Shu Qiong’s, she only gave a slight nod as a greeting before returning to her submissive posture, silently acting as a beautiful ornament behind her mother.

However, a man in his thirties standing a bit further away continued to look at Shu Qiong with undisguised interest. “Is this… Cousin Shu Qiong?” Shu Xuanhe likely looked quite like a younger Shu Mufeng, which was why Shu Qiong found him unpleasant the moment he smiled.

Shu Qiong casually called him “Cousin.” His posture remained lazy. Flashy, arrogant, and blunt. He perfectly fit the image of a rich playboy who had been pampered since childhood, lacking nothing and caring about nothing—radiating unreliability from head to toe.

Shu Qiong mentally labeled Shu Xuanhe. If he wasn’t faking it, then truly… she reaffirmed the correctness of siding with Shu Xuanmin.

Before Shu Qiong had more time to observe her “family members,” a middle-aged man dressed as a butler stepped out and called the siblings, Shu Xuanhe and Shu Xuanmin, upstairs, saying Shu Mufeng wanted to speak with them.

As the two young people went up, the butler cast a deep look at Shu Qiong, nodded politely but not subserviently, and approached. “Miss Qiong, your room has been prepared. Would you like to go see it?”

Before Shu Qiong could answer, Grandmother Zhang Mingzhi spoke first. She waved the butler away. “You’re not needed here anymore. We’ll accompany Xiao Qiong.”

“Very well, Madam.” The butler naturally wouldn’t refuse the mistress’s command and left the front hall.

Shu Wen had no objections either; she submissively accompanied her mother and niece in pleasantries. Shu Qiong responded to each, while mentally noting her aunt’s every word and action. She was curious: since her cousin Shu Xuanmin was “black on the inside,” what about Aunt Shu Wen? After mulling over the probability of inherited personality traits, Shu Qiong still couldn’t reach a conclusion.

Aunt Shu Wen was the picture of a kind lady, born with the look of a literal “silly-sweet” heroine, naturally carrying an aura of goodness and an approachability buff. Whether it was true or false, no flaws could be seen. By the time they reached the bedroom door, Shu Qiong finally gave up her suspicions.

“Xiao Qiong, do you remember this room? It’s the one you stayed in as a child.” Zhang Mingzhi smiled as she pushed the door open. “The furnishings haven’t changed; I didn’t let the servants move anything.”

Shu Qiong nodded and walked in with a sense of novelty, lightly touching the wallpaper with small, light-colored flowers. She still remembered that she had chosen this wallpaper herself as a child. Back then, her mother had just chosen to retire due to a leg injury; overwhelmed, she had entrusted little Shu Qiong to her grandmother’s care for a period.

When Shu Qiong first arrived at the Shu estate, she was always crying or sulking. So, her grandmother took her and slowly redecorated the room according to her wishes. The bedding, curtains, carpet, wallpaper, and even the desk and ceiling lamps were hand-picked by her grandmother and herself. Shu Qiong had treated it like a game; she no longer rejected the place, instead feeling a subtle sense of accomplishment, viewing the room as her exclusive territory. Grandmother could enter; others could not.

Listening to Zhang Mingzhi talk about the old days, Shu Qiong thought it was funny—did she have such a strong sense of territory and privacy even as a child?

Shu Wen also laughed. “I remember too. Once, Xiao Qiong was sleeping in, and I joked at the door that I was coming in. Xiao Qiong snapped her eyes open and jumped out of bed to stop me… that trick worked every time, better than an alarm clock.”

The more Shu Qiong heard, the more she felt she had a different kind of domineering air as a child. Shu Wen stood at the door teasingly, one foot half-raised. “Xiao Qiong, can your aunt come in now?”

Shu Qiong, looking embarrassed, pulled both her grandmother and aunt into the room. “Please, come in.”

The interior had been meticulously cleaned. It was a small suite layout, complete with a bathroom, balcony, and walk-in closet. The curtains were drawn back, and the large floor-to-ceiling windows provided excellent lighting; standing in the room, one could see all the scenery below. Near the window sat a slightly small children’s lounge chair. Shu Qiong squinted, imagining the cozy times spent lying there after washing her hair, basking in the sun, and listening to her grandmother tell stories.

Suddenly, she caught sight of a figure walking out below. Judging by the clothes, it was Shu Xuanhe. Shu Qiong had excellent eyesight and could clearly capture his movements and expressions, silently following him with her gaze. Shu Xuanhe seemed to be on a phone call; his expression shifted from initial impatience to gravity and then to rage. Once finished, he hung up indignantly and snapped off a handful of expensive flowers that the gardener had just brought out from the greenhouse. He crushed the double-petaled blossoms as if venting his anger, the bright red juice staining his hands as if they were covered in blood.

“Xiao Qiong, what are you looking at?” Zhang Mingzhi’s voice brought Shu Qiong’s attention back. “I’ve already had the measurements taken to replace that with a larger lounge chair… Oh, the desk and chair are too low here too. We’ll replace them with a taller set. What do you think?”

Shu Qiong smiled faintly. “Grandmother’s word is final.” She didn’t mention that she wouldn’t stay at the Shu estate for long, not wanting to dampen the old lady’s enthusiasm.

After this distraction, when she looked back down, Shu Xuanhe was gone, leaving only a few scattered, broken petals behind.

A knock sounded at the door. Shu Xuanmin was standing outside looking at Shu Qiong. “Grandfather wants you in the study.”

Shu Qiong raised an eyebrow, said “Okay,” and prepared to head out. Zhang Mingzhi gripped her forearm worriedly. “Your grandfather… he’s getting old and muddled, and he speaks quite harshly. Don’t take it to heart.”

Shu Qiong smiled reassuringly. “I know.”

She followed Shu Xuanmin toward the stairs, the two standing side-by-side. Once they reached the hallway and saw no one was around, Shu Qiong whispered, “Have you thought it over? If you don’t take the olive branch I’m offering, you’ll regret it.”

When the two were alone, Shu Xuanmin’s aura shifted. Though she was the same person with the same soft-contoured face, her presence suddenly towered, radiating the unmistakable air of a superior. Shu Xuanmin glanced at her, crossing her arms. “Since you were the one to issue the invitation for cooperation, naturally, you must be the first to show sincerity.”

Shu Qiong looked at her cousin, who was half a head shorter than her, and nodded. “You’re right.”

She had an intuition that the reason Shu Xuanhe was flying into a rage earlier was related to Shu Xuanmin. Along with that came another hunch: Shu Xuanmin seemed to have already launched a series of plans against Shu Xuanhe and had seen results. Despite only spending a short time with the siblings, Shu Qiong had no doubt: even without her involvement, the final winner of this invisible competition would be Shu Xuanmin.

Therefore, Shu Qiong had to place a larger stake on the scales to prove her value; otherwise, she wouldn’t even be allowed into the game.

“What’s the name of the driver you sent?” Just as they were reaching the second-floor study, Shu Qiong suddenly remembered and asked out of the blue.

The topic shift was too fast. Shu Xuanmin frowned slightly but answered, “Xiao Chen. She’s been with me for several years. What about her?”

Shu Qiong shook her head with her hands behind her back, starting to “sabotage” the other: “Her work attitude is poor. She was slacking off while driving.”

After speaking, before Shu Xuanmin could react, Shu Qiong took a step forward and reached the study door. She didn’t knock; she very rudely pushed the door to Shu Mufeng’s study open directly and then slammed it shut with a bang, carrying her rebellious persona to the very end.