Qiao Yimian left home a little late that morning. There was a full-department meeting in the News Department, and everyone was required to arrive ten minutes early.
So when the elevator doors opened, she didn’t even look to see who was inside. She hurriedly squeezed in.
As the elevator slowly ascended, a sarcastic female voice sounded behind her.
“She’s only here temporarily to help out. Does she really think she’s a permanent employee? Talk about overestimating herself.”
Qiao Yimian recognized the voice.
She rolled her eyes inwardly and ignored her.
Seeing that Qiao Yimian was actually ignoring her, Yu Wan felt irritated and provoked her again.
“Of course someone with a rich second-generation heir backing her has every reason to feel confident! She drives a sports car, wears designer brands, and can throw a tantrum whenever she feels like it. Tsk, tsk. I’m honestly jealous.”
After saying that, she deliberately leaned toward the colleague beside her and muttered, “Don’t you think? Why don’t we ever get that kind of luck?”
The colleague knew she was gossiping about someone again, so she merely laughed awkwardly and said nothing.
Yu Wan curled her lips.
The bright metallic walls of the elevator reflected her proud, disdainful expression with crystal clarity.
The elevator soon reached the floor where the News Department was located. As soon as the doors opened, Qiao Yimian walked out first.
After checking in with her fingerprint, she turned around and looked at Yu Wan, who was approaching with elegant steps, and asked bluntly:
“Do you want some good luck?”
Yu Wan didn’t understand why Qiao Yimian had suddenly spoken to her. As far as she could remember, ever since they had reunited at the TV station, Qiao Yimian hadn’t even looked her directly in the eye.
Thinking back carefully, Qiao Yimian hadn’t paid much attention to her during their first three years of college, either…
“What do you mean?” Yu Wan asked suspiciously.
Qiao Yimian smiled.
“I want to help you turn your luck around! Then you can drive sports cars, wear designer clothes, and throw tantrums whenever you want. How about it? Interested?”
As she spoke, she raised an eyebrow at Yu Wan for two seconds before suddenly reaching out toward her.
Yu Wan instinctively dodged, her eyes widening in alarm.
“Hey! I’m warning you! If you dare hit me, I swear you’ll regret it!”
“You really are dramatic…”
Qiao Yimian helplessly pointed toward her hair.
“I was just reminding you that you’ve got a grain of rice stuck in your hair…”
Yu Wan was already wearing blush that morning. Hearing this, she felt embarrassed, angry, and humiliated all at once, making her face turn even redder.
She hurriedly ran her fingers through her hair, not even knowing whether she had managed to remove the grain of rice, then glared furiously at Qiao Yimian.
“Qiao Yimian! Why are you still so annoying?”
Qiao Yimian spread her hands.
“You were the one who started provoking me. You were the one jealous of someone else’s good luck. And you were the one who got rice stuck in your hair because you were eating carelessly. So why are you blaming me now? Oh, I see. Bad luck affects your intelligence and judgment, too…”
Yu Wan’s face flushed red, then turned pale, then red again.
Her embarrassment quickly turned into fury, and the words burst out before she could stop herself.
“Qiao Yimian! Stop acting so self-righteous! You really think you’re lucky? If Shi Yan hadn’t made a bet with someone back then, why would he ever have pursued you?”
The curve of Qiao Yimian’s lips flattened.
“What bet?”
“So you really didn’t know!”
A victorious smile appeared on Yu Wan’s face. She stepped closer to Qiao Yimian and lowered her voice, speaking with a mocking smile.
“Back then, Shi Yan made a bet with one of his friends. He said he could win you over within a month. The stakes were a sports car. In the end, he lost and had to give the other guy a car. But two years later, he won that car back. Pretty impressive, don’t you think?”
Qiao Yimian stood frozen in place.
A cold wind seemed to sweep up from nowhere, rushing from the soles of her feet all the way through her body.
Countless fragments of the past flashed rapidly through her mind.
They had all been happy memories, yet for some reason, they now collided with one another, producing a dull, jarring roar.
She didn’t know whether what Yu Wan said was true.
If it was a lie, it was the kind of lie that couldn’t withstand scrutiny. One little test would expose it.
But if it was true…
Then everything Shi Yan had done for her all these years really was nothing more than a joke.
Yu Wan had already guessed that Qiao Yimian knew nothing about the bet, which was precisely why she had decided to reveal what had happened back then—to knock some of the arrogance out of her.
Seeing that her words had clearly affected Qiao Yimian, Yu Wan became even more pleased with herself.
“You think the man you stole from me really loves you? Give me a break. Heh… You’re not even as lucky as I am. At least he was honest with me. If he didn’t like me, he said he didn’t. That’s still better than you. Everything from beginning to end was a lie. All those years of pursuing you so relentlessly were nothing but a bet to pass the time because he was bored.”
Qiao Yimian pressed her lips together lightly, her emotions churning restlessly.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly smiled.
“Whether he was sincere with me or not isn’t for you to decide.”
After a pause, she asked, “So if he’s really the heartless, faithless man you say he is, why are you still hung up on him? Are you just naturally attracted to trash?”
“When was I ever hung up on him?” Yu Wan stammered, hurriedly defending herself. “Don’t make things up! I stopped liking him a long time ago!”
“Oh? Then why can’t you go a single sentence without bringing up the rich heir?” Qiao Yimian said dismissively. “Anyone who knows you would think you’re only using him to humiliate me. Anyone who didn’t know better might think you’re some lovesick fool who’s gone completely crazy over him.”
Looking at Yu Wan’s resentful expression, Qiao Yimian’s tone became almost affectionate, as though she were comforting a close friend.
“Don’t be shy. Anyway, he and I have already broken up. If you don’t mind, you can go pick him back up. No one’s going to fight you for him. Just make sure you don’t mind that he’s been used.”
Yu Wan finally understood.
Qiao Yimian was openly mocking her for picking up the “trash” Qiao Yimian had thrown away.
She glared furiously, only to see Qiao Yimian lightly tap the fingerprint scanner with one finger.
“Aren’t you going to clock in? You’re going to be late.”
Only then did Yu Wan remember that she hadn’t checked in yet.
She hurriedly pressed her finger onto the scanner.
A beep sounded.
The machine announced that she was late.
Yu Wan: “…”
Qiao Yimian!
You bastard!
Qiao Yimian couldn’t hear Yu Wan’s furious, despairing screams in her heart. After putting her things away, she went with everyone else to the conference room for the meeting.
Although she wasn’t a permanent employee of the TV station, she attended departmental meetings like this one. It allowed her to keep a more comprehensive grasp of developments in the region and made it easier for department leaders to assign work directly.
When Qiao Yimian entered the conference room, she realized that unlike the usual meetings, which were normally attended only by the News Department director, every seat in the leadership section was occupied today.
Even Station Director Kang Junwen was there.
Yu Wan arrived late, still dressed like a flamboyant peacock and looking extremely pleased with herself.
The moment she sat down, Kang Junwen spoke.
“There’s an important matter to announce at today’s meeting. The Governor’s Office has asked our station to send a reporter to accompany the governor to Chucheng tomorrow for an inspection tour. The person has already been selected.”
Yu Wan deliberately straightened her back and raised her chin slightly, sneaking a glance at Qiao Yimian, who was busy taking notes with her head lowered.
Hmph. Putting on an act.
She turned back and looked expectantly at Director Kang, waiting for him to call her name.
But Kang Junwen never looked at her.
Instead, his gaze fell on someone sitting behind her.
Then he announced,
“Reporter Qiao Yimian from the News Center, you’ll be going.”