“Hiss!”
“Miss Jiang really said that?”
Xuan Zhi tried her best to hold back her laughter, her eyes full of schadenfreude. She’d said it all along someone like Jiang Wangshu, who looked so gentle and indifferent to worldly desires, was the hardest to win over. After all, there were too many things binding her. Shen Dai had only just passed away, and Shen Qing wanted to step into her place? How could that possibly work!
She understood this point all too well.
Still, she rather admired Shen Qing’s audacity. How dare she hook up with her sister-in-law the moment she got back? The old nickname “little lunatic” was well deserved after all.
Having teased her enough, Xuan Zhi turned to advising her: “Keep your distance for a while. Aren’t you afraid of Madam Shen cleaning house? If you’re found out, nothing good will come of it.”
“Heh…”
Shen Xiaqing had never had a pleasant expression for her. There was nothing to be afraid of, but she couldn’t ignore Jiang Wangshu’s feelings.
Shen Qing agreed verbally: “I know.”
Ever since Jiang Wangshu had said those words, so eager to cut ties, Shen Qing hadn’t seen her again. She’d heard she was called home by the Jiang family, and right up until Shen Qing set off to return and sort out company matters, she hadn’t laid eyes on Jiang Wangshu once.
She’s avoiding me, isn’t she.
Shen Qing lowered her eyes, curling the corner of her lips in self-mockery, an air of desolation hanging about her. Xuan Zhi couldn’t stand seeing her like this, lovelorn and lost. Happily too lazy to deal with the child herself, she casually placed the child’s hand in Shen Qing’s, snatched the suitcase from Shen Qing’s grip, and strode off toward the car waiting to pick them up.
Though Shen Qing had more or less watched the little girl grow up and acknowledged her as a little angel, she was still rather afraid of the small creature especially now, with their eyes meeting, she instantly tensed up.
“God mama, hold me.”
The little girl’s voice was sweet as syrup, sounding quite well-behaved, but Shen Qing had no experience handling this and immediately found herself at a loss. “You… I… I’ll carry you to your mama, okay?”
Xuan Zhi had been blessed with a stunning face, alluring to the extreme. High heels and pencil skirts seemed practically welded to her body even today, when she had to bring so much luggage back to the country along with a child, she was dressed the same as ever. Shen Qing strongly suspected she had planned all along to dump the child on her the moment they landed, so she could sashay along unencumbered.
Watching Xuan Zhi’s receding figure, Shen Qing scooped up the child and hurried after her.
A tall, cold-faced beauty carrying a beaming, laughing child, chasing after a woman who was a knockout even from behind, two beauties in the same frame inevitably drew repeated glances from passersby.
At the car, Xuan Zhi waited with an expression of pure anticipation as Shen Qing buckled Xuan Xiaoyu into the car seat. The little girl hardly ever fussed in daily life truly a little angel in Xuan Zhi’s heart but the moment she touched a car seat, her little-devil nature revealed itself without a doubt, clawing and flailing to escape. Every time, it took a spanking from Xuan Zhi before she would wipe her tears in secret and sit obediently, which gave Xuan Zhi no end of headaches.
But this time, to her surprise, that “godmama” hadn’t been called in vain. Xuan Xiaoyu was astonishingly quiet under Shen Qing’s hands, and even after the car had already left the airport, Xuan Zhi still hadn’t quite processed it.
“Hey, why does this kid listen to you so well?” Xuan Zhi poked Shen Qing in the waist, leaning close, her eyes curving into a smile. “Qing, why don’t the two of us just spend our lives together? You can stop obsessing over the eldest Miss Jiang.”
“Look at me, I’m this pretty, with a great figure. You wouldn’t lose out by having me as your partner. Our little Xiaoyu darling can call you godmother, and she adores you. Either way, it’s all ‘Mom’, one step straight to the finish, isn’t it?”
“Get lost.”
The more she talked, the more ridiculous it got. Shen Qing straightened Xuan Zhi’s affected posture, refusing to engage with her.
“Ah, what a cold-hearted woman.” Xuan Zhi pulled a small plush toy out of her bag and tucked it into the child’s hand. “In return for helping me hold my little Xiaoyu darling, I’ll give you a few tips.”
“Hah… you, of all people.”
Shen Qing didn’t believe a word of it.
Xuan Zhi rolled her eyes without any grace, then said seriously, “Sure, I haven’t been back in the country for a while, but I know this circle far better than you do.”
“Since you know how awkward Jiang Wangshu’s position in the Jiang family is, and you know what the Jiangs are like, you should understand that they’ll inevitably keep leeching off your Shen family. Once you start working at Shen Corporation, in their eyes, you’ll be quite the prize.”
Xuan Zhi sighed and continued, “Honestly, you shouldn’t have rushed. As long as you want it, what’s yours will be yours.”
Seeing Shen Qing frown, Xuan Zhi hurried to explain, “Don’t blame me for speaking harshly, it’s the Jiang family whose behavior is beyond the pale. Can you blame me for seeing it that way?”
Her words always had basis.
“First your sister, then you. The Jiangs’ abacus will surely click away loudly. After all, you two have over a decade of history. Even if Jiang Wangshu is unwilling, with a bit of proper ‘training,’ they’ll make her willing. Then they’ll package Jiang Wangshu up and deliver her to you, and the Jiang family can go on sheltering under the great tree of your Shen family. Everyone’s happy.”
Listening to Xuan Zhi’s unsavory speculation, Shen Qing’s brow furrowed deeper. “Enough… don’t say these things in front of a child. Aren’t you afraid of corrupting her?”
Since Shen Qing didn’t want to hear it, Xuan Zhi shut up. No one was ever allowed to harbor ill thoughts of Jiang Wangshu in her presence.
The Xuan family’s car arrived at the Shen residence. Shen Qing got out and crossed paths with the car driven by the family chauffeur. As Xuan Zhi rolled down the window, showing just her eyes to say goodbye, she saw a woman in an kingfisher-blue qipao stepping out of the Shen family’s car. From her back alone, Xuan Zhi could discern three virtues: a graceful figure, fair skin, and a gentle air. She suited the Chinese-style architecture the Shens had specially built perfectly like someone stepping out of one of those antique paintings in their collection.
Watching Shen Qing chase after her like a dog catching the scent of a meaty bone, Xuan Zhi could hardly fail to guess who the woman was. Her expression darkened, and she slowly rolled up the window.
Walking along the pebble path before the door, Shen Qing fell into step beside Jiang Wangshu and made small talk: “Just back from the Jiang family?”
“Mm.”
“Does my dear wife not want to talk to me? You’re so quiet.”
Jiang Wangshu stopped in her tracks and looked into Shen Qing’s pure, earnest eyes. She wanted to say no, but she truly didn’t know how to face Shen Qing. Not because of what happened that night, but because she’d learned that the Jiang family had, shamelessly, set their sights on Shen Qing once again.
Just that morning, Jiang Wangshu had decided she would no longer maintain the pointless facade of filial affection with her mother, Jiang Shan. She knew Jiang Shan must have some scheme in sending people to bring her home, yet she refused to say what it was. Jiang Wangshu’s last shred of patience had been worn away.
She called for the Shen family driver to pick her up, but just as she reached the door, she was stopped. The housekeeper awkwardly asked her to go to Jiang Shan’s study. Jiang Shan was always like this using the weak to force her compliance. Forcing her way out wouldn’t have been difficult, but Jiang Wangshu knew that if she simply left, the housekeeper’s only fate would be dismissal.
This housekeeper had worked in the Jiang household for many years and was the only person who had shown Jiang Wangshu any kindness when she first arrived at the Jiang family. The housekeeper had no one to rely on; if she lost her job with the Jiangs, where would she go in her old age? So Jiang Wangshu would not refuse her request.
The moment she entered the study, Jiang Shan got straight to the point: “The Jiang family needs the Shen family’s financial support. All you need to do is bind the interests of the Jiang and Shen families more tightly together.”
“While Shen Dai was around, the Shens already helped the Jiangs a great deal.”
“Not enough.” Jiang Shan lifted her thin eyelids, veins visible beneath the skin, and sized up Jiang Wangshu’s pitiable face with a sharp gaze. “Whether now or in the future, the Jiang family cannot do without the Shen family as a useful partner.”
Being appraised like merchandise made her skin crawl, and Jiang Wangshu’s tone lost its gentleness. “Mrs. Jiang, one shouldn’t be too greedy.”
“Greedy? I’ve never hidden my greed. Who in Haicheng’s high society doesn’t say that I, Jiang Shan, am nothing but a bloodsucking leech? But so what? As long as I can live a life of wealth and luxury, what does a bad reputation matter? It’s you, on the other hand.”
Jiang Shan slowly curled her lips into an utterly mocking smile. “Don’t forget, your grandmother is still staying in the Jiang family’s hospital. If your relationship with Shen Qing turns sour, the Jiang family’s downfall will do you no good at all.”
Having made her point, Jiang Shan said nothing more.
Jiang Wangshu was trembling all over. The moment Jiang Shan mentioned her grandmother, she could see her lying on the hospital bed wearing an oxygen mask. She was at someone else’s mercy, with no choice but to be manipulated.
Out of guilt, Jiang Wangshu softened her tone. “I need to change and go to work at the hospital. I’ve already taken too many days off, if I take any more, my supervisor will have objections.”
“Let me drive you, jiejie.” Shen Qing’s expression was calm, but the excitement in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Jiang Wangshu frowned at her words but ultimately didn’t correct how she was addressed.
“No need. There’s a driver.” With that, Jiang Wangshu went upstairs.
When she came back down, the driver was nowhere to be seen only Shen Qing sat on the sofa, staring intently toward the staircase.
“Third Aunt just called the driver away said she needed to go to the beauty salon, and he won’t be back for a while. Let me drive you. You don’t want to be late.”
Absurd.
How could things be so conveniently timed?
Jiang Wangshu raised her wrist to check her watch. Considering how slowly Shen Qing drove, she really would be late, so she had no choice but to agree.
She hadn’t sat in Shen Qing’s passenger seat in years, and she felt a moment of disorientation when she first got in so much so that it was only when she suddenly caught the woody scent of Shen Qing’s perfume as she leaned close that she came back to her senses.
Shen Qing flipped down the collar of her purple silk blouse, and only then did Jiang Wangshu realize that in her rush, she hadn’t fixed her clothing properly.
“Thank you.”
Shen Qing’s lips curved into a smile. “No need to thank me. Jiejie, you’re wearing bitter orange perfume today. I love it.”
A bloodhound, sniffing everywhere.
But before Jiang Wangshu could say it, Shen Qing’s phone rang.
She hadn’t meant to pry into Shen Qing’s privacy, but the name on the screen leapt into her eyes.
Xuan Zhi.
Jiang Wangshu knew that name.
The eldest daughter of the Xuan family, working as a model abroad.
Jiang Wangshu also knew that this eldest daughter of the Xuan family had a pair of captivating fox eyes.
The caller’s tone was urgent, and the enclosed space gathered the voice from the other end of the line completely.
One utterance of “Qing, dear” made Jiang Wangshu’s heart tremble.