You Should’ve Said Earlier that you’re Such a Little Flirt! - Chapter 47

Xu Qingqiong’s footsteps faltered slightly. Her beautiful eyebrows knitted together before quickly smoothing out; her face remained calm, but her heart was instantly on high alert.

Although she had only met Lin Shuhai a few times, she had never had a good impression of him.

She wondered why Lin Shuhai would suddenly show up at the art gallery today. With the situation at Ses being so dire, shouldn’t he be at the company?

The thought flashed through her mind, but she betrayed no emotion on the surface.

Reasonably speaking, she should express some concern regarding the Ses situation. However, considering how hard Lin Konglu had worked—waking up early every day, attending endless meetings, and working overtime—she actually felt it wasn’t worth it for Lin Konglu.

Moreover, she had a faint intuition that Lin Shuhai did not treat Lin Konglu like a loving elder would; instead, he treated her like a convenient tool.

Therefore, even knowing that Lin Shuhai was technically her elder, she had no desire to pay him much attention.

Her expression was far from warm. She gave a slight nod and spoke in a flat, polite tone. “Uncle,” she acknowledged him, turning to leave immediately after.

To her surprise, Lin Shuhai looked at her—an assistant standing by his side—and crossed his legs. He called out to stop her, “Qingqiong, don’t be in such a hurry to leave.”

Xu Qingqiong restrained herself, stopped, and said with measured politeness, “I’m sorry, Uncle, but I have work to handle here.”

Lin Shuhai gave a generous laugh. “Work can be handled at any time. A few minutes’ delay won’t cause any trouble. Besides, there wasn’t really anything to do anyway.”

His posture was casual, and he made a downward pressing motion with his palm. “Sit down. Let’s chat.” He appeared quite amiable, but his words carried a hidden edge of forcefulness.

Feeling uncomfortable, Xu Qingqiong furrowed her brow. She suddenly realized something and glanced outside. “So, there’s nothing wrong with the exhibition, right?”

“Did you send someone to get me?”

No wonder she had received such an urgent phone call. The caller wasn’t even a colleague responsible for this exhibition, but rather an intern she barely knew and rarely interacted with.

She had been in such a rush earlier that she had overlooked these inconsistencies.

Seeing that she had finally caught on, Lin Shuhai waved his hand as if he had done nothing at all. He smiled slightly and said, “I just wanted to find you.”

Xu Qingqiong turned toward him, pursing her lips. Her heart skipped a beat. “Is something the matter?”

Lin Shuhai replied, “Don’t be so defensive. I am your elder. Do you really think I’m some kind of villain?”

Xu Qingqiong remained silent, but the look in her eyes clearly asked: Aren’t you?

“Only in a child’s world is everything black and white, divided into ‘good’ and ‘bad’.” Seeing her expression, Lin Shuhai pressed his fingers together and couldn’t help but sneer. “Following your logic, do you think Lin Konglu is a purely ‘good’ person?”

Xu Qingqiong originally didn’t want to say much, but hearing him mention Lin Konglu, she couldn’t help but retort, “Then according to your way of thinking, are you supposed to be a ‘good’ person?”

Lin Shuhai didn’t react; there was no shame or anger at being contradicted. Instead, he looked her up and down. His gaze was unsettling—he wasn’t looking at her as a person, but rather as if evaluating a piece of valuable cargo. He suddenly spoke: “If I were Lin Konglu, I would probably choose you, too.”

Xu Qingqiong frowned, not quite understanding his meaning.

Facing her confused gaze, Lin Shuhai wore a half-smile. “Good, high-quality genes; simple, kind, naive, unsuspecting… the perfect partner.”

These words didn’t sound like a compliment. Instead, they were laced with thick malice and slander, momentarily leaving Xu Qingqiong dazed.

She forced herself to suppress that sense of discomfort.

Following his lead, Xu Qingqiong asked, “What do you mean by that?”

Lin Shuhai simply said, “Why don’t you take a look at this?”

He gestured, and the assistant standing aside immediately stepped forward, placing a laptop in front of her.

On the screen was a surveillance video.

There were only two people in the frame: Lin Konglu and Lin Shuhai.

The setting was an office. It was a high-angle shot from above, looking like footage from a security camera.

In the video, Lin Konglu had no expression; her demeanor was very cold.

Xu Qingqiong felt a chill in her heart. This image instantly pulled her back to when the two of them first met; Lin Konglu had looked just like this.

But here, her expression seemed even calmer, more indifferent… it was a side of her Xu Qingqiong had never seen. She looked like a block of ice that could never be melted, cold to the extreme.

Before she could react, the assistant pressed the play button. The video began to run, and sound followed…

The two people in the frame were discussing some topic.

Lin Shuhai, sitting on the sofa, asked, “Are you sure?”

Lin Konglu stood opposite him, her voice flat. “Of course.”

Lin Shuhai looked at her with a commanding air. After scanning her for a moment, he said, “Fine. I don’t care who you choose. You already know my requirements.”

Lin Konglu nodded. “I know.”

At this point, under Lin Shuhai’s signal, the assistant paused the video.

“I’m sorry,” Lin Shuhai said, shooting a look of feigned dissatisfaction at the assistant. “My assistant lacks discernment and acted on his own initiative.”

He turned to Xu Qingqiong and smiled. “Whether you want to watch the rest of the video depends on what you want…”

Xu Qingqiong didn’t know exactly what Lin Shuhai was up to, but she could sense his intentions were not good; in fact, they were filled with blatant malice.

Moreover, from the moment she entered the room, he had been trying to pique her interest.

She knew she shouldn’t watch any further. If she did, she would fall into his trap. Lin Shuhai’s goal was precisely to make her watch this video.

But… she was also intensely curious about what Lin Konglu would say.

Her finger hovered over the pause button. After a few seconds of hesitation, she chose to keep watching.

The video continued.

Lin Shuhai’s voice came through again, sounding somewhat incredulous. He gave a snorting laugh and said, “I really didn’t expect my only daughter to be a lesbian…”

“However, I am very open-minded. Artificial womb technology abroad is quite advanced these days. As long as you can successfully provide me with a grandson,” Lin Shuhai looked at her with an indifferent tone, “you can do whatever else you want.”

Lin Konglu said softly, “I know.”

Lin Shuhai asked, as if in passing, “Why her? You like this type?”

Lin Konglu’s expression didn’t change at all. “No, she just happens to be the most suitable candidate.”

“It’s not a matter of liking or disliking. Even if it were someone else, it would be the same. If it wasn’t Xu Qingqiong, it would be Zhang Qingqiong… I don’t care who she is.”

Lin Shuhai’s inquisitive expression retracted, and a smile finally touched his face, satisfied with her answer. “As expected of my daughter.”

The video ended.

Xu Qingqiong stared at the screen, her expression stunned and her face pale. It took her a long time to regain her senses.

This video dialogue was brief but highlighted the key points.

It essentially stated a cold fact: Lin Konglu was indifferent toward the marriage. She didn’t care who her partner was; she was simply doing it to meet Lin Shuhai’s requirements.

Lin Shuhai sat with his legs crossed and hands folded, looking at her with an expression that suggested everything was under his control.

Lin Konglu didn’t deserve a personal visit from him—she was just a junior, and being petty wasn’t worth his time—but he hated the feeling of losing control.

Since Lin Konglu was heartless enough to do what she did, he would give his only daughter a “gift.”

Since Lin Konglu cared so much… he would destroy whatever it was she cared about.

He folded his hands, waiting leisurely for Xu Qingqiong’s reaction.

Before coming, he had predicted how Xu Qingqiong would react. Would she break down? Cry? Regardless of which one it was, he was looking forward to seeing it.

He smiled slightly. “Now that you’ve seen it, any thoughts?”

Xu Qingqiong’s face was still a bit pale, but she regained her composure. She raised an eyebrow, her expression turning cold. “So? What are you trying to express by showing me this?”

Lin Shuhai said hypocritically, “I don’t mean anything by it. I just suddenly felt that Lin Konglu’s actions were inappropriate. As her father, I have an obligation to correct my daughter’s mistakes, so I took the initiative to come here, feeling you should know these things.”

“The question remains: you treat Lin Konglu as a good person, but what about her? What does she treat you as?”

Xu Qingqiong didn’t speak. She tightened her grip, lifted her eyes to sweep a light glance over him, and countered, “What does any of this have to do with you? What the hell is it to you?”

Lin Shuhai didn’t see the reaction he expected. Sensing something was wrong, the expression on his face froze as he lost his grip on the situation. “I’m doing this for your own good.”

Xu Qingqiong let out a small laugh. “Didn’t you investigate properly before coming here? No matter what Lin Konglu is like, that is a matter between us.”

“On the contrary, it’s you—you are narrow-minded, and despite your age, you have no grace at all. You refuse to admit you’re getting old, and you refuse to admit that Lin Konglu is more capable than you…” Xu Qingqiong’s tone slowed down as she continued, “So, what use are these underhanded tactics? Whatever is happening to Ses will still happen. I’m guessing Ses is about to undergo bankruptcy liquidation. Instead of wasting time here, you’d be better off handing the company over to Lin Konglu; there might still be a slim chance of saving it.”

Lin Shuhai never expected to be lectured by a junior. Stung in his most sensitive spot, he stood up instantly, overwhelmed with shame and rage. He said excitedly, “What are you saying! The trouble with Ses is only temporary. That ungrateful Lin Konglu…”

Xu Qingqiong didn’t want to waste any more words on him. She stood up decisively and called security.

“Shut up and get out.”

Lin Shuhai and Ye Jianguo were essentially no different; they were the same kind of person.

Dealing with people like this didn’t require much talk—you just had to make them stop talking.

Faced with two tall security guards, Lin Shuhai wasn’t shameless enough to push further. With a very ugly expression, he stood up, gave her a cold look, resentfully swallowed his words, and left with his assistant.

Xu Qingqiong waited a moment, her mind feeling somewhat blank. Sitting down on the sofa, she took a deep breath.

She had appeared calm just now, but her heart was far from peaceful.

The video replayed in her mind:

Lin Konglu’s cold expression, her merciless words, her attitude of silent agreement…

The realization finally began to sink in—

So… it seemed Lin Konglu had been lying to her all along.

She had always been inclined to let things take their natural course, whether it was marrying Lin Konglu or everything that followed.

Even though Lin Konglu had clearly been hiding something from the start, she felt that regardless of the reason, she could accept it. This was because when they first decided to marry, it was for mutual benefit, not for love.

She thought she could accept it, but now that she truly knew Lin Konglu’s purpose, she felt terrible.

Was everything Lin Konglu showed her just a facade?

Thinking back now, many suspicious points began to surface.

Lin Konglu seemed to have never told her about her own affairs. She had always felt that Lin Konglu was keeping something from her.

She was suddenly a bit confused, pursing her lips in a lost daze.

This bewilderment came from the subversion of the image she had of Lin Konglu.

The events in that video definitely happened; she could still clearly remember the expression on Lin Konglu’s face and the tone of her voice.

“She just happens to be the most suitable candidate.”

“It’s not a matter of liking or disliking. Even if it were someone else, it would be the same. If it wasn’t Xu Qingqiong, it would be Zhang Qingqiong… I don’t care who she is.”

These sentences echoed in her mind, pounding against her temples with force.

She frowned in distress, her lips pale.

Her phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Lin Konglu. She waited for a few seconds, her gaze pausing on the screen for a moment before she looked away.

The call disconnected automatically after dozens of seconds.

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