What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Gift Giving

By the time all the commotion settled, it was late at night. The driver drove Shu Qiong and the butler back to the old manor. Outside the window was a quiet nightscape of deep darkness; the interior of the car was much emptier than before, lending a sense of peace and harmony compared to the earlier crowding.

They were silent throughout the journey. Shu Qiong had no intention of striking up a conversation with the butler. Although she was curious why someone who had followed Shu Mufeng for years would defect to Shu Xuanmin, it ultimately had little to do with her.

Shu Qiong was not a meddlesome person; she had a clear understanding of her own position. If her cousin felt she needed to know, she would tell her. If her cousin didn’t want to tell her or if the answer was inconsequential, asking would be useless anyway. In short, she was getting sleepy.

The levitating car moved steadily. At some point, the soundproof partition was thoughtfully lowered. The atmosphere was so comfortable that Shu Qiong drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

When she opened her eyes again, they had arrived at the Shu residence. The driver respectfully woke her up. Shu Qiong rubbed her eyes, a bit groggy from the nap. Looking at the unfamiliar Shu manor, she felt a trace of hesitation. Given the situation, Yan Xiangyu must have gone back long ago…

Her wristband had long since run out of power and shut down, which explained why the entire return journey had been so quiet. Shu Qiong rubbed her temples and asked casually, “What time is it?”

The driver replied, “It’s a quarter past two in the morning.”

Shu Qiong hopped out of the car, pulling the ill-fitting coat tightly around her as she walked inside. At this time of year, having survived the lingering heat of late summer, the temperature dropped significantly at night.

The main hall on the first floor was no longer a mess from the abruptly ended banquet. Having been cleaned by the servants, it showed no sign of anything unusual. At this hour, the household staff had also gone to rest; only a nanny robot was charging in the corner, its display glowing with a faint, eerie green light.

Before going upstairs, Shu Qiong left an instruction: “In half an hour, send a light meal to my room. Plenty of protein and vegetables. Oh, and a glass of milk.”

The nanny robot was awakened, automatically exiting standby mode. A smiley face appeared on its head-mounted screen: “Understood!” With that, it rumbled off toward the kitchen.

Shu Qiong was so tired she didn’t even want to climb a mere three flights of stairs, so she went straight to the elevator. The entire house was quiet. Shu Qiong lightened her footsteps as she opened her bedroom door, turned on the light, and began to change. She hung up the coat, thinking she would have someone iron it before returning it to Yan Xiangyu.

Despite her rising sleepiness, she still needed to bathe. Shu Qiong took a quick shower and removed her makeup. Only then, feeling light and refreshed, did she change into a nightgown and step out of the bathroom.

During her wash, her wristband had finished charging. Shu Qiong sat at the edge of the bed and grabbed it. As soon as she opened the light screen, a string of unread messages plastered themselves across her vision. In just one night, the red notifications had hit 99+.

A significant portion were messages of concern from Aunt Jin and Aunt Fang. Shu Qiong sent back a quick update to let them know she was safe. Then there was Jin Yan, who had bombarded her with messages expressing her shock as a bystander—mostly useless information. Shu Qiong sent back a meme of someone holding a puppy’s snout shut. Surprisingly, Jin Yan wasn’t asleep yet and replied instantly.

Jin Yan: Daughter, you home? How did things go?

Shu Qiong: I’m back. Looking at my cousin, her plan seems to have gone quite smoothly.

Jin Yan: [Thumbs up] Our day spent running around the day before yesterday wasn’t wasted.

Shu Qiong raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. As expected, Jin Yan immediately sent a voice call request.

Shu Qiong accepted. Jin Yan’s voice came through on the other end: “Didn’t you tell Yan Xiangyu before that your cousin had a former fiancé? The second son of the Wang family.”

Shu Qiong stopped drying her hair. “The Beta brother was your doing?” She had assumed all three Wang family members were brought in by Shu Xuanmin.

Music played in the background on Jin Yan’s end—a distinct electronic rhythm, likely from a late-night gaming session. “Yeah, the few of us analyzed it and thought bringing this guy to the banquet might give you an assist or something, given the scandal between him and your cousin. I didn’t expect your cousin to be even more ruthless and bring Old CEO Wang and his eldest son along too.” At this point, she laughed. “The thing about the eldest Wang brother ‘running away with a baby’ was kept very quiet; we didn’t know beforehand, otherwise we would have stuck our oars in there too.”

Shu Qiong hummed in response. “My cousin showed strong control over the situation tonight. Right now, Shu Mufeng just came out of the ICU. He’s got half a life left, but it’s hard to say how many years he has. If he insists on giving the industry to that donkey Shu Xuanhe, he’s essentially leading the Shu Group into a pit with his eyes open. The other shareholders might not agree.”

Jin Yan absentmindedly chatted for a few more sentences, seemingly busy with a co-op game. Finally, she remembered something to add: “By the way, you—”

Just then, Shu Qiong heard a few knocks on her door. Guessing it was the nanny robot with her food, she stood up to hang up. “Alright, don’t stay up too late. Bye.”

On the other end, Jin Yan was so angry at a teammate’s suicidal play that she slammed the table. She only then remembered she had something important to say, but her ear was met with silence. Looking at the communication interface, the other person had already hung up. “Forget it, my task is done,” she muttered, refocusing her energy on turning the tide in her game.

Outside the door, the knocker stopped politely after three taps.

Having showered and talked for a bit, Shu Qiong was much more awake. She continued scrolling through messages while walking toward the door. Yan Xiangyu had only sent one message several hours ago: “Tell me when you get home,” with no further texts. Shu Qiong began typing “I’m home” with one hand while pulling the door open with the other.

With a soft click, the latch released.

The one delivering the meal wasn’t a robot, but a person of similar height to her—a woman. Shu Qiong couldn’t help but freeze. The unlit hallway was pitch black, and the upper half of the person’s face was blurred into a suggestive darkness, revealing only a sharp jawline and a straight nose.

Shu Qiong blinked. Was this an illusion?

Seeing her stand still for so long, the visitor let out a light laugh. Holding the tray in one hand, she used the other to lightly tap the already open door frame. “Miss, the food you ordered,” the person prompted slowly. “Shall I bring it in for you?”

Shu Qiong’s toes paused for a beat before she stepped aside to let the person into the room.

Yan Xiangyu maintained an air of calm, serious professionalism as she stepped forward into the bright light of the room. Only then did Shu Qiong realize she was wearing a banquet waiter’s uniform. The black vest, white shirt, suit trousers, and bowtie—an outfit that looked like a standard servant’s—possessed a singular charm on her.

However, this “waiter” seemed a bit dishonest at the moment. As she passed by the dazed Miss Shu, she very deliberately brushed her calf against the other’s.

“…” Shu Qiong snapped back to reality, closed the door, and locked it, following this person who had somehow decided to play at cosplay.

“Miss, isn’t this a bit inappropriate?” Yan Xiangyu placed the exquisite tray of food on the small coffee table and turned back to watch the other locking the door. “I only came to deliver food. Why have you locked me in your room?”

Shu Qiong’s lip twitched. Looking at this “drama queen” possessed by her role, she gave a helpless smile and stepped closer. Striking a deliberately debauched pose, she rested an arm on Yan Xiangyu’s shoulder. “No one will come to save you even if you scream yourself hoarse! Tonight, you shall accompany this lady…”

Before she could finish, the “pitiful” waiter in front of her flipped the script, pinning Shu Qiong down onto the sofa. Caught off guard, Shu Qiong had her chin tilted up and her arms pinned back. She felt Yan Xiangyu’s knee pressing between her thighs.

…This waiter was incredibly bold. Not only did she commit insubordination, but she also firmly restrained the trash-talking Miss Shu. Shu Qiong couldn’t help but look down at this compromising position. She heard the person in front of her say, “Then there’s no choice. I’ll just have to stay and accompany Miss Shu.”

Shu Qiong was silent for a moment, her gaze sincere. “Let’s be reasonable. This doesn’t look like I’m forcing you; it looks like you’re forcing me.”

“Is that so? It’s all the same anyway.” Yan Xiangyu held the pose for a while, lightly biting Shu Qiong’s lower lip before slowly letting go. “It’s a tie.”

It took Shu Qiong a long time to realize that this “tie” referred to the hurried bite she had given the other before leaving for the hospital. She pushed the other away righteously. “It was just a kiss! How petty!”

Yan Xiangyu sat down obediently beside her. “It wasn’t enough. I’m making up for it.”

Shu Qiong touched her lower lip and glanced at her several times. That’s enough to satisfy you? You’re far too easy to coax.

Yan Xiangyu helped set out the utensils and tested the temperature of the milk with the back of her hand. It was a bit hot. “Eat first. By the time you’re finished, the temperature will be just right.”

Shu Qiong unashamedly enjoyed the service, feeling quite smug. Yan Xiangyu was indeed an excellent waiter—it would be even better if she didn’t fidget with things while her “employer” was eating. Shu Qiong couldn’t help but notice the other person stealthily twirling a strand of her half-dry hair, but she didn’t dodge. After finishing her food, she asked, “Why did you stay? And I haven’t asked—where did those clothes come from?”

Yan Xiangyu withdrew her hand, gathered the utensils back onto the tray, and placed it outside the room for the robot to collect later. Once finished, she said, “A gift. The clothes were gotten by Jin Yan; she said dressing like this would make it easier to sneak in.”

Shu Qiong remained noncommittal about the latter part of the sentence, her gaze fixed on the perfect waistline outlined by the fitted vest, trying her best to restrain her inner fangirl.

Yan Xiangyu acted as if she hadn’t noticed. Like a magic trick, she produced a small object from behind her waist and placed it in Shu Qiong’s hand. Stung by the cold sensation, Shu Qiong instinctively looked down and realized it was a familiar miniature pistol.

“Hmm?” She examined it for a moment and looked up. “Is this the one Lin Mi gave us back at the base on the planet?”

Yan Xiangyu nodded. “Yes. There’s something inside. You probably didn’t have time to check it carefully back then.” With that, she took the silver-white miniature gun, found a loose protrusion under the grip, and pressed hard. With a click, a… chip interface popped out?

Shu Qiong took it back in surprise, confirming it was indeed a chip interface. “What’s recorded inside?”

Yan Xiangyu pointed to an idle brain-computer in the corner of Shu Qiong’s room. “Can we use that?”

Shu Qiong went over to tinker with it and turned it on. “It hasn’t been used in years, but it should open. Let me check the model… yeah, no problem.”

While waiting for the chip content to load, Yan Xiangyu explained: “When we were coordinating with the second son of the Wang family, we researched a lot of his data. We found that this person actually has frequent contact with the Xin family.”

Shu Qiong watched the loading bar move slowly. “The Wangs and Shus wanted to do business?”

“No,” Yan Xiangyu denied. “He was in contact with the Xin family in a personal capacity. We found that he often goes to a certain winery for vacations, and half of those times coincide with when a certain high-level executive from the Xin family goes on vacation.”

“A winery?” Shu Qiong caught the keyword.

“Yes. And it happens to be the ‘Elk Winery’ under the Shu family name. It’s been managed by Shu Xuanhe for the past few years. Coincidence?” Yan Xiangyu narrowed her eyes, though there was no humor in them. “The second Wang brother was actually at Elk Winery on vacation for wine tasting these past few days, which is why we found him so easily. He was invited by Shu Xuanhe, who said a new wine was being opened for tasting. When he learned Shu Xuanhe did this deliberately to keep him from the banquet while his brother and father were both attending, he was furious. He didn’t even need much convincing from our people; he came straight to the banquet.”

Shu Qiong pointed to the chip interface still loading. “Then this…”

“Following the trail of Elk Winery, we found a very interesting point,” Yan Xiangyu said. “People from the Xin family have been visiting Elk Winery excessively often. And every time they come, Shu Xuanhe is personally present. The guests who come with the Xin family include celebrities from all walks of life, and even retired military officers. The winery has good privacy; according to the staff, every time the Xins arrive, Shu Xuanhe clears the area.”

Shu Qiong hadn’t expected the Xin family’s web to be so vast. “Impressive, impressive.” What purpose did the big shots behind the Xin family have for this? Money? Power?

Having heard this much, everything became clear. She asked Yan Xiangyu, “So you went to find Lin Mi? You got a hint, so you dug out the miniature gun she gave you before?”

She hadn’t paid much attention to the gun at the time, tossing it into her suitcase along with its box. After returning to school, it had just sat in her dormitory storage locker. Yan Xiangyu knew all this.

As for why it was Lin Mi… There were only three people who were related to the Xin family but weren’t implicated in the recent Xin family scandal: the divorced Mrs. Lin, her only daughter Lin Mi, and Xin Xiuyun, who had found a backer and cut ties with the family. Yan Xiangyu and the others weren’t familiar with the first person, and the third person was under too much scrutiny to reveal everything. Only Lin Mi had both the motive and the opportunity to leave evidence behind.

Shu Qiong fell into deep thought, realizing she had been in a cognitive blind spot. If Xin Xiuyun could gather evidence on the Xin family while protecting herself, there was no reason the equally matched Lin Mi couldn’t. It was just that the latter had always appeared as a sweet little sister—completely different from Xin Xiuyun’s obviously intelligent appearance—making it easy for people to let their guard down.

Shu Qiong spent two seconds reflecting on her error of judgment and roughly guessed what would be inside the chip hidden in the miniature gun.

Yan Xiangyu spoke up at the right time: “Xiao Qiong, she’s so calculating.”

Praise on the surface, scorn beneath; the aroma of green tea was thick.

Shu Qiong’s lip twitched. The dark, unsettling atmosphere of undercurrents was instantly ruined.