What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Stirring the Pot

The levitating car was parked outside, and Shu Qiong darted inside with a burst of speed. Before the door closed, she saw Zhang Mingzhi standing outside, her face etched with worry.

Shu Qiong waved her off. “Grandmother, you should stay home and rest!”

Zhang Mingzhi rushed over to grab her hand and pressed a small tube of topical ointment into it. “Xiao Qiong! The skin on your hand is broken!”

“Huh?” Shu Qiong looked down closely and indeed saw a tiny bloodstain less than a centimeter long on the back of her hand—likely a stray scratch from a glass shard earlier. If she had been any slower, the tiny cut would have already scabbed over.

“…Thanks, Grandmother. I’ll apply it right away,” she said solemnly as she took the ointment.

Zhang Mingzhi visibly relaxed and offered a smile. “Your Aunt and I won’t go to the hospital then. We’ll wait for you all at home.”

As the door slowly slid shut, Shu Qiong waved again through the window before turning to find a seat.

After the frantic scramble, she realized the car was packed. Aside from the two patients—the “old” and the “pregnant”—there was Old CEO Wang, the younger Wang brother, Shu Xuanhe, Shu Xuanmin, Xiao Chen, the butler… and Shu Qiong herself.

A whole crowd squeezed into one levitating car. Though the capacity was large, looking at this lineup made everyone feel a sudden shortness of breath.

The last two rows of seats had been flattened to serve as beds for the elder Wang son and Shu Mufeng. The former was drenched in cold sweat, clutching his abdomen. Catching sight of Shu Mufeng’s wrinkled old face, he felt a wave of nausea and disgust. Turning his head away, he saw Shu Xuanhe.

Shu Xuanhe, having been set up by his younger sister, was now standing beside the elder Wang son, wearing an expression of “appropriate” concern. “Don’t be afraid, Xiao Yue. I’m here.” He flashed a confident smile.

Xiao Yue was the type who responded to soft words rather than force; this move usually worked every time. The elder Wang son’s face was pale, his lips trembling. Shu Xuanhe leaned in to listen, only to receive a stinging slap across the face.

“Get lost! You scum!” the elder Wang son cursed, staring him down.

The strength wasn’t great, but Shu Xuanhe was stunned nonetheless. He instinctively stepped back, bumping into Shu Mufeng’s calf. Shu Mufeng’s lips also trembled as his fingers twitched. Shu Xuanhe looked at the grandfather who had always doted on him most and leaned down to hear his instructions.

SLAP!

A loud sound echoed through the car again, delivered with strength that didn’t seem to belong to a sick old man. Shu Mufeng struggled to wheeze out a sound like a broken bellows: “Get… away! You unfilial grandson!”

“…”

Shu Qiong was dying of laughter, biting her lip to keep from making a sound. The members of the Shu family lowered their heads with varying expressions.

Old CEO Wang couldn’t help but jab: “Poor family discipline.”

Shu Mufeng, knowing he was in the wrong, felt the blood rush to his head. His face cycled through colors, but he said nothing.

Shu Qiong, never one to miss a chance to stir the pot, piped up: “Uncle Wang, you can’t really put it that way. In our Shu family, it’s only one cousin who’s involved. But your Wang family…” Her eyes meaningfully swept over the two Wang brothers. The implication was clear to everyone.

Old CEO Wang had fathered these children late in life and cherished them deeply. Now both were entangled. While Shu Xuanhe was the primary offender, strictly speaking… the Wang brothers weren’t exactly “normal” either.

It would have been better if she hadn’t spoken; the moment she did, CEO Wang grew even angrier. His “precious gold” children were supposed to be excellent sprouts—how did they both grow crooked after touching Shu Xuanhe?

Needless to say, his displaced anger intensified. He stood up from his seat, strode over, and delivered yet another slap to Shu Xuanhe.

His face stinging with burning pain, Shu Xuanhe clutched his cheeks, which were beginning to swell on both sides. He looked at everyone in the car with disbelief. He finally realized a cold truth: he was completely isolated.

He looked to the left. Shu Xuanmin no longer wore her usual timid expression. Since things had reached this point, there was no need to act. Meeting her cold gaze, Shu Xuanhe actually recoiled slightly and was the first to look away.

He looked to the right. Shu Qiong, the cousin he had barely met, didn’t avoid his gaze. She looked back with great interest. “Hi, Cousin,” she greeted casually.

Shu Xuanhe ground his molars. “You… all of you… very well.”

Shu Qiong nodded. “I think I’m doing quite well. Sister, what do you think?” In front of everyone, she leaned closer to Shu Xuanmin, her intention to “cling to a powerful thigh” blatantly obvious. “Sister, why is there a red mark on your hand?”

Shu Xuanmin looked down at the back of her right hand. Earlier, when she tried to help the elder Wang son, she had been swiped away. It didn’t hurt, and she couldn’t see any redness or swelling. Compared to Shu Xuanhe’s face, her hand was pristine.

“Sister, let me apply the medicine!” Shu Qiong volunteered, pulling out the ointment Grandmother had given her. “Such jade-like hands—it would break my heart if even a tiny scar remained!”

Shu Xuanmin didn’t refuse, letting Shu Qiong pull her hand over to examine a “wound” that didn’t exist.

Xiao Chen wasn’t happy. She unbuckled her seatbelt, darted over, and snatched Shu Xuanmin’s hand away. “It’s better if I do this kind of thing!” She cast a wary glance at Shu Qiong. “Give me the ointment.”

Shu Qiong didn’t take offense. She tossed the medicine to Xiao Chen and reached into her own pocket with her other hand. Xiao Chen, remembering an unpleasant memory, immediately grew vigilant. Previously, this person had pulled a switchblade out of her pocket just like that and turned violent in an instant.

However, Shu Qiong only pulled out a handkerchief. As she tugged a corner out, everyone saw a faint red stain.

“You should have said it was a handkerchief. Give it here,” Xiao Chen said, reaching for it.

Shu Qiong dodged, stuffing the handkerchief back into her pocket. “It’s dirty, never mind.”

Xiao Chen felt the stickiness of the ointment on her fingers. “I’m just wiping my hands, I don’t care.”

Shu Qiong looked back with a smile, saying nothing, just staring. Xiao Chen eventually gave up and found a tissue box near the butler’s seat to clean her hands.

The Wang family members watched the interaction between Shu Qiong and Shu Xuanmin with complicated gazes, sensing a deeper dynamic. Old CEO Wang, in particular, resented not just Shu Xuanhe, but also Shu Qiong for stirring the pot earlier. He snorted coldly. “One arrogant fool, one wolf in sheep’s clothing, and one sycophant clinging to power. The Shu family is truly interesting, one after another.”

Shu Qiong acted as if she hadn’t heard. “Sister, we left the banquet in such a hurry. Are you hungry?” She pulled a few small snack packs from her pocket—delicately packaged crispy pastries—and offered one to Shu Xuanmin.

“Thank you,” Shu Xuanmin accepted.

Shu Qiong waved dismissively and settled into her seat to eat. The rustling and crunching sounds were crisp and sweet. Everyone else on the car hadn’t had a chance to eat, only having had some drinks. The sound was almost more than they could bear. However, they were all people of status and wouldn’t lose their composure over it.

Xiao Chen, who considered herself somewhat familiar with her, gave a thumbs-up and whispered, “You really have thick skin.”

Shu Qiong took it as a compliment. Why shouldn’t she eat the food her dear Yan-classmate had thoughtfully prepared?

Xiao Chen fidgeted before finally showing her true colors: “Give me some.” She had been running around all night under Minmin’s orders—playing escort, bodyguard, and coordinator. She was exhausted.

For her sister’s sake, Shu Qiong shared a large piece of pastry. Xiao Chen took one look and looked disgusted. “Do you have any taste? Pistachio flavor isn’t as good as walnut.”

Shu Qiong: “Don’t eat it then, give it back.”

Xiao Chen immediately took a bite. “I already ate it. It has my spit on it now.”

Shu Qiong was impressed and gave her a thumbs-up in return.

Just then, the driver—who had been entirely overlooked—spoke up. “Miss Min, we’ve arrived at the hospital.”

Everyone realized the driver was actually one of the security guards from the banquet entrance. Seeing who the driver was addressing, everyone turned their eyes toward Shu Xuanmin.

Shu Qiong wasn’t surprised. Even if someone told her the butler was Shu Xuanmin’s person, she wouldn’t…

The Shu Butler: “Miss Min, the hospital has already been contacted in advance according to your instructions.”

“…”

Okay, that was still a little surprising. Shu Qiong glanced at the slumped Shu Xuanhe and felt a bit emotional. How could he compete? How could he possibly compete? Born from the same mother, yet such a vast difference.

Shu Xuanmin scanned the shocked Shu Mufeng with a smile. “Grandfather, I have arranged everything. If you are tired, you can close your eyes and sleep for a while with peace of mind.”

Shu Qiong felt that the last words, “sleep for a while,” were so airy they almost didn’t exist. Given the context, it sounded more like an invitation to close his eyes for good.

Shu Mufeng’s eyes widened even further. He wheezed a few times, clutching his heart, unable to speak. The butler efficiently stuffed a few more pills into his mouth. Shu Mufeng felt more and more like he couldn’t get a full breath.

Old CEO Wang, watching the “harmonious and loving” interaction of the Shu family, felt strangely comforted. Didn’t you see Shu Mufeng was about to die of anger? Compared to him, his own two sons were just a bit rebellious and naive. Having experienced a beating from society, there might still be hope for them…

The medical team here was very efficient. The elder Wang son and Shu Mufeng were sent to their respective examination rooms. The Shu juniors waited outside, with Shu Xuanhe sitting distinctly apart from the others.

After an unknown amount of time, the door to Shu Mufeng’s operating room opened. Shu Xuanhe was the first to stand up and walk toward the doctor. Passing Shu Xuanmin and Shu Qiong, he intended to flash a triumphant smile, but since the slaps on his face hadn’t been treated, his lips twitched and pulled at the swollen flesh, making the “smile” look quite hideous.

“Don’t think you’ve won for sure,” he hissed, restraining the urge to gasp in pain. “It’s not over yet.”

Shu Xuanmin raised an eyebrow slightly, as if listening to a dog barking, not bothering to acknowledge the verbal provocation.

Seeing her sister so composed, Shu Qiong took up her duty as the “muscle” and stood her ground. “Cousin, your precious ‘sweetie’ is in the delivery room about to give birth. Aren’t you, the soon-to-be father, going to accompany them? Alas, it’s hard to be both filial and a good partner.”

She had picked up that string of nauseating nicknames from the chat logs the elder Wang son had exposed.

Shu Xuanhe cast a murderous look. “None of your business.”

Shu Qiong rubbed her nose innocently. “If you don’t go, and they find out, will they come looking for you again to ‘assert their presence’? Cousin, Wang No. 1 and Wang No. 2 seem to love you quite a bit—they even cast aside their dignity to rage for their ‘blue-blooded’ beauty! Eh, Wang No. 2 aside, if Wang No. 1 knows you’re so cold and heartless, will they be so sad they suffer a difficult labor? Wow, that would be two lives lost! Cousin, surely you wouldn’t even care for your own flesh and blood…”

Shu Xuanhe snapped, failing to control his volume: “Shut up!”

The doctor, who was about to speak to the family, flinched and looked at him with suspicion. With this temper… could he be a “medical harasser”?

Shu Qiong took the opportunity to run to the doctor, clutching the doctor’s hand with deep sincerity. “Doctor! My grandfather, he… is he okay?” She spoke as if he had already passed away. She even wiped a dry corner of her eye.

The doctor patted the girl’s shoulder sympathetically, thinking she was a good child who cared for her elders. He softened his tone. “Don’t worry, he’s stabilized. As family, you need to be careful in the future. Try not to let him get angry; his emotions shouldn’t be too intense…”

Shu Qiong looked devastated at first, then nodded like a woodpecker. “I’ll remember! You’re truly a meticulous and kind angel in white. Thank you for your hard work!”

The doctor offered a slight smile; who doesn’t like a sweet-mouthed girl? She gave a few more instructions regarding the patient’s restrictions and hurried away.

Once the doctor was gone and with Shu Mufeng under anesthesia, Shu Qiong said regretfully to the others: “Alas, he’s actually fine.”

“…” Shu Xuanmin fell silent. In her memory, her younger cousin hadn’t been such a clown; she had been quite introverted. She wondered how she had grown up like this. Come to think of it, no one in the Shu family had this personality. Even Aunt Shu Ci, according to her mother, used to be stony-faced, only becoming eccentric and lively after breaking ties with the family.

Staying here and waiting was out of the question. Shu Xuanhe checked his wristband repeatedly and headed toward the obstetrics department.

Shu Qiong asked Shu Xuanmin and learned that her sister was going back to her own apartment near the hospital to rest. She felt a bit envious. “Sister, you promised to give me that standalone villa. Don’t forget!”

Shu Xuanmin nodded and asked if she wanted to come along.

Shu Qiong thought about it. She didn’t know if Yan Xiangyu had gone back yet and felt uneasy. She felt that the other person had come all this way, and as a half-baked host, she hadn’t treated her well, being too busy watching the drama. The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt staying at the hospital. “I’m going back to the old manor.”

Shu Xuanmin stared at her cousin’s “spaced-out” expression for a long while before suddenly saying: “Xiao Chen said when she went to pick you up from school, a very close female Alpha came out to see you off. So… this coat you’re wearing belongs to her?”

Shu Qiong was stunned. “Huh?”

Shu Xuanmin understood. “She came to the banquet tonight, didn’t she? You’re in a hurry to get back because you guessed she’d be waiting for you?”

Shu Qiong felt strangely guilty, a feeling as sudden as getting caught passing a note in class and having a piece of chalk thrown at her. She let out an “er,” then remembered she was just in a relationship—why the guilt? She straightened her back. “Yes, so what!”

“Alright, I’m not interested in your coming-out declaration.” Shu Xuanmin waved her off. Seeing her still standing there, she asked, “Is there something else?”

Shu Qiong asked: “Sister, you’re definitely taking Xiao Chen home with you, right?”

Hearing this, Xiao Chen was the first to blush. “This, this, this… I’m just going to Sister Minmin’s house to be… to be a bodyguard!”

Shu Qiong had just been speaking casually, but Xiao Chen’s “guilty conscience” reaction piqued her interest. “Oh? Otherwise? What else did you want to do at her house?”

Xiao Chen stammered, “I’m not doing anything else! A straight tree doesn’t fear a slanted shadow!”

Shu Qiong rubbed her chin and circled around her. “My sister is going to her own home. Why does she need a bodyguard?”

“I… I’m actually a cook too!” Xiao Chen puffed out her chest. “My cooking is great; Sister Minmin has praised it before…”

“…Stop.” Seeing Shu Qiong’s expression becoming more and more suggestive, Shu Xuanmin interrupted them. “Speak plainly.”

Shu Qiong, her attempt to fish for information cut short, gave up with regret. “I just wanted to say, can the driver take me back to the Shu manor?”

There was only one car, but considering Shu Xuanmin’s place was close to the hospital, there was a high chance the request would be granted. Shu Xuanmin rubbed her temples and signaled the driver to go with Shu Qiong, her usually stoic face practically screaming the words “Just get out.”

Having gotten what she wanted, Shu Qiong immediately vanished.