“Pfft, who could I possibly tell?” Zhou Shi muttered, trying his best to digest this bizarre piece of information.
From a personal standpoint, he genuinely hoped Su Xingque would treat Shen Zhu well. When he had burst into the office earlier and witnessed that intimate moment, his delight had far outweighed his surprise.
Yet only five minutes later, Su Xingque could look him dead in the eye and declare with a straight face that he was merely utilizing Shen Zhu.
Su Xingque is absolutely heartless, Zhou Shi concluded.
“Didn’t you leak the news about my marriage last time too?” Su Xingque brought up the old grievance, casually reaching for his phone.
Zhou Shi rubbed his nose sheepishly. “Wasn’t that just an accident? I only whispered a bit of gossip to Ren Lei. Who knew he’d go ahead and blab it to the whole world?”
Reminded of this, Su Xingque warned, “Stay away from Ren Lei from now on.”
“Why?” Zhou Shi wasn’t as shrewd as the other heirs in their circle who had taken over their family empires. He had made it this far partly due to his family’s massive wealth, and partly because of his sheer loyalty to his friends.
“Just do as I say. Don’t ask so many questions.”
Su Xingque knew that even if he explained the business politics, Zhou Shi wouldn’t understand. He chose to leave it at that, unlocking his phone.
The moment the screen lit up, Bai Que’s friend request jumped straight into his line of sight.
Su Xingque gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.
What does he want now?
“Hey, hey! Big brother, are you even listening to me?” Zhou Shi had been babbling for a while, but seeing no reaction from Su Xingque, he stood up, leaned over the desk, and waved a hand right in front of his face.
Because they were so close, Zhou Shi’s gaze fell directly onto Su Xingque’s screen. He froze for a second before instantly letting out a curse.
“He still has the nerve to reach out to you?”
Su Xingque caught the subtext immediately. “How did you know he was going to contact me?”
“You really weren’t listening to me, were you? Didn’t I just tell you Bai Que is back in S-City?”
Zhou Shi dropped his playful demeanor and sat up straight. “A few days ago, I was out hanging with Old Qin, and I heard Bai Que broke up with his boyfriend. It was a pretty messy split, and since he couldn’t survive over there anymore, he came crawling back here.”
At this point, Zhou Shi’s expression shifted. The question swirled on the tip of his tongue before he finally couldn’t hold it in any longer:
“Look, big brother, the reason you refuse to settle down and treat my little sister-in-law properly, it isn’t because you’re still waiting for that toxic piece of work, is it?”
“He really isn’t worth it, brother! Have you forgotten how badly he tortured you back then?”
“Stop talking nonsense.” Su Xingque felt a headache coming on from Zhou Shi’s badgering. Agitated, he chose to simply ignore the friend request.
He didn’t accept it, nor did he decline it. He just let it sit there, leaving it to eventually expire on its own.
“Are you done here?” Su Xingque suddenly felt a strong urge to see Shen Zhu.
Realizing he had accidentally poked at Su Xingque’s old scars, Zhou Shi tactfully took his cue to leave. He was dying to share this juicy gossip with someone, but under the heavy threat of Su Xingque’s warning, he could only take a screenshot of the official encyclopedia entry on “emotional-soothing capabilities” and post it to his WeChat Moments instead.
Just as Zhou Shi left, a new face from the finance department knocked and entered. Su Xingque had no choice but to halt his plans of leaving early to listen to this unfamiliar female employee report on the financial losses incurred by their recently stalled projects.
The office seemed exceptionally bustling today. Su Xingque narrowed his eyes; his years of corporate experience gave him a nagging suspicion that there was some underlying connection to all of this.
The woman in front of him was highly unfamiliar. She claimed to be a new hire in the finance department, yet her words and poise didn’t carry the slightest hint of a nervous workplace rookie.
Su Xingque shot Wilson a quick message, instructing him to pull up her personnel file.
Her name was Miao Jia. She was a master’s graduate from a top-tier domestic university who had entered through the regular recruitment channels. Because of her outstanding talent, the HR department had promised her a promotion to assistant finance manager within a year.
In other words, given her current entry-level position, she had absolutely no authority to enter his private office alone.
As Su Xingque listened to her concise briefing and flipped to the last page of the report, he had to admit that her capabilities were indeed flawless.
But her motives seemed entirely compromised.
“Where is your department manager?” he probed deliberately.
Miao Jia remained perfectly composed, showing none of the instinctual fear most rookies felt when facing the big boss. “The manager isn’t feeling well today. Since I’m interning under her, I offered to deliver this on her behalf.”
As she spoke, her eyes repeatedly flicked toward the phone resting face-down beside Su Xingque’s hand.
“You may leave,” Su Xingque said, thoroughly displeased by her obvious attempt to pry.
Miao Jia’s expression didn’t falter. She looked as though she wanted to say more, but ultimately chose to leave in silence.
She didn’t return to her department immediately. Instead, she ducked into a quiet corner of the hallway corridor and began typing rapidly on her phone.
【Miaomiao: Queque, don’t worry. The person Su Xingque recently married wasn’t even in his office. I’m guessing things aren’t going well between them at all.】
【Miaomiao: You need to have more confidence. Su Xingque definitely still has feelings for you. If you just wiggle your little finger, he’ll throw everything at your feet again.】
The reply from the other side came slowly:
【Q: Really? But someone else has already taken my place.】
【Q: Brother Xingque probably doesn’t need me anymore, does he?】
Unable to bear seeing her dear friend suffer such a grievance, Miao Jia shot back without a second thought:
【Miaomiao: Don’t talk like that. That homewrecker clearly stole what was yours.】
【Miaomiao: How could he ever compare to you? Just wait until I find an opportunity to trip him up and run him out of there.】
Miao Jia then remembered something crucial:
【Miaomiao: Did your friend request go through yet?】
This time, Bai Que replied almost instantly: 【No.】
“How difficult,” Miao Jia muttered, stomping her high heels. Taking a deep breath, she headed back down to her workstation.
The moment Su Xingque stepped out of the building, he sent Shen Zhu a WeChat message asking for his location and offering to pick him up.
Shen Zhu replied instantly, stating he was at the café directly across the street.
Just as Su Xingque received the text, Shen Zhu had already skipped out of the shop. Darting across the road, he proactively looped his arm through Su Xingque’s.
As a fake who had usurped the throne, he had to keep himself highly disciplined. Not only did he need to mimic Bai Que to perfection, but he also had to boldly advance their relationship. Only then could he secure a massive exit fund before Su Xingque and his ex rekindled their old flame.
How on earth can I make Su Xingque fall harder for me?
Shen Zhu stared blankly out the window as the car drove off.
Suddenly, a tip from the “relationship guide” he had read earlier that day flashed in his mind:
“A fleeting, delicate kiss; the hazy allure of playing hard to get.”
Playing hard to get seemed highly impractical at this point. Shen Zhu shifted his posture, resting his chin on his hand as he stared at Su Xingque.
Since their marriage, he had done nothing but throw direct, shameless pitches.
What if I just kiss him?
Anyway, they were both technically single in the real sense—who was afraid of whom?
If he kissed Su Xingque and managed to make the corporate tyrant blush, he might even score some extra “hush money” out of it.
The car happened to glide to a halt at a red light. Shen Zhu scooted his hips closer, his fingers stepping along the seat like a tiny person, creeping slowly toward Su Xingque.