The next morning, the moment Fu Qingzhi opened her eyes, the person sprawled across her was already burrowing against her, her face buried in the crook of Fu Qingzhi’s neck.
She really had some nerve.
Not only had she crossed over to her side of the bed, but she was openly lying on top of her.
Fu Qingzhi wasn’t in the habit of sleeping in. She gently pushed Shui Ruyue back under the blanket before getting up.
Shui Ruyue showed no signs of waking.
She hugged the quilt tightly, rubbing her cheek against it.
Like a kitten guarding its favorite food.
Fu Qingzhi’s gaze lingered on her for a moment before she looked away.
After eating a few bites of breakfast, she headed out.
Just as she reached the front door, she noticed two missed calls on her phone.
They were from her mother.
Fu Qingzhi took a slow breath. First thing in the morning, she had no desire to ruin her mood.
When the calls went unanswered, Lu Lu immediately sent two long messages.
In short, they boiled down to one thing:
Get Shui Ruyue out of the house immediately.
Don’t break Zhao Ruru’s heart.
Without a second thought, Fu Qingzhi deleted the messages.
Ever since she was little, her mother had been obsessively controlling.
She wanted every detail of Fu Qingzhi’s life to follow the path she had planned for her. If anything went against her wishes, she would become almost hysterical.
The driver in the front seat noticed his boss’s foul mood and didn’t dare make a sound.
Fu Qingzhi might be an elegant, breathtaking beauty on the surface, but no one in the business world dared provoke her.
One slight frown from her, and another business partner might disappear from the industry altogether.
Her phone vibrated again.
This time, it wasn’t Lu Lu.
It was Jin Meimei, sending over the financial reports for one of the company’s subsidiaries.
Fu Qingzhi skimmed through the documents, not overlooking a single detail.
Then her finger stopped.
She had reached Shui Ruyue’s company.
Jin Meimei: President Fu, the Shui family intends to cooperate with us. We were originally negotiating with Shui Ruyue’s company, but then another representative named Shui Neng suddenly appeared.
Ordinarily, something this trivial would never have reached Fu Qingzhi’s desk.
But because it involved Shui Ruyue—the woman who, despite lacking any real standing, had stubbornly attached herself to President Fu—Jin Meimei wasn’t sure how to handle it.
Fu Qingzhi replied:
You don’t need to report matters like this to me in the future.
Our company’s principle has always been to let ability speak for itself.
After sending the message, her finger paused.
She looked over Shui Neng’s information again.
Not long afterward, Jin Meimei received another message.
As for people who steal business halfway through negotiations by resorting to underhanded tactics…
Our company doesn’t welcome them either.
Reading it, Jin Meimei smiled knowingly.
Normally, Fu Qingzhi was a woman who wasted no words.
A few simple instructions from her could shake the entire business world.
If she truly didn’t care about Shui Ruyue…
Why would she go out of her way to add that second reminder?
…
Shui Ruyue slept until she woke naturally.
When she finally opened her eyes, it was already noon.
Why hadn’t anyone woken her?
She was about to miss her lunch meeting with Jin Meimei from the partner company!
Sisi had worked hard to arrange that meeting for her.
If she missed it, her little company would be finished.
She hurriedly freshened up without even having time to eat breakfast.
Wanting to look professional, Shui Ruyue deliberately chose a business-style dress.
Unfortunately, the original owner’s wardrobe was filled with flashy outfits and countless pairs of black stockings.
After searching for ages, she finally found something relatively appropriate.
Even then, the lace around the neckline barely concealed her generous curves.
Although she’d blocked Jiang Yan, anonymous messages still found their way to her phone from time to time.
Come home within three days and apologize.
You must also make the cooperation between the Shui and Fu families happen.
Otherwise, we’ll freeze your bank card.
She didn’t even have to guess who had sent them.
Rolling her eyes, Shui Ruyue finally understood why the original owner had been so thoroughly controlled by her family.
From emotional manipulation to outright threats…
They had used every trick imaginable.
Most of the original owner’s clothes had been bought by Jiang Yan.
This morning, another package had even arrived—filled with even more revealing outfits.
As a result, Shui Ruyue barely had anything suitable to wear to a business meeting.
They really had treated the original owner as nothing more than a tool.
In the end, she picked the most professional-looking outfit she could find.
A fitted blazer paired with a short skirt.
A subtle strip of lace peeked out beneath the hem, while black stockings accentuated the original owner’s long, slender legs.
Well…
She wasn’t dressing up for Fu Qingzhi.
Surely that wouldn’t count as having ulterior motives.
Seeing she only had thirty minutes left, and after Lili had already called several times to hurry her along, Shui Ruyue finally headed out.
Only to be stopped by one of the housekeepers.
“Young Madam, President Fu instructed us that you must finish breakfast before leaving.”
Fu Qingzhi…
Shui Ruyue froze.
Thinking back to all the rules Fu Qingzhi had imposed on her—especially the one forbidding her from going out whenever she pleased—she couldn’t help wondering…
Was she trying to keep her home by making her eat breakfast?
Looking at the steaming meal on the table, Shui Ruyue hurriedly drank a glass of milk and stuffed a soup dumpling into her mouth.
The crab roe soup dumplings were surprisingly delicious.
But she was in no mood to enjoy them.
She ate a few quick bites and headed for the door.
“President Fu said you have to finish everything before you leave.”
The housekeeper stepped in front of her again.
First, they hadn’t woken her up.
Now they were preventing her from leaving.
Did Fu Qingzhi really distrust her that much when it came to doing business with the Shui family?
No matter how Shui Ruyue planned for her future, she was still officially a member of the Shui family.
The subsidiary she managed technically belonged to them as well.
From Fu Qingzhi’s perspective, being wary of her was perfectly understandable.
“But I’m the Young Madam.”
“You should listen to me.”
Pulling rank, Shui Ruyue spoke with as much authority as she could muster.
While the housekeeper hesitated, caught between obeying her and obeying Fu Qingzhi…
Shui Ruyue made her escape.
On the way there, she urged the driver to hurry while taking a moment to send Fu Qingzhi a message.
I’ve gone out. You already agreed to this, so don’t have other people keep an eye on me from now on.
After sending it, she waited for quite a while.
No reply came.
When she finally arrived, Lili was already anxiously waiting outside the restaurant.
The moment she spotted Shui Ruyue, she rushed over.
“President Shui! Nothing happened on the way here, did it?”
Looking at the young woman’s worried face, Shui Ruyue smiled reassuringly.
She even spun around once before flashing Lili a bright grin.
“See? I’m perfectly fine.”
Only then did Lili relax enough to lead her inside.
Jin Meimei had already been waiting for five minutes.
On the way in, Lili couldn’t help rehearsing everything with Shui Ruyue once more—what to say to Jin Meimei, how to behave, and how to conduct herself.
This was Shui Ruyue’s first business dinner.
Nothing could go wrong.
Shui Ruyue found the practice session unbearably embarrassing.
She spoke in a tiny voice, worried that passersby might overhear and think she was some cringey eccentric.
She was a total coward, okay?
Without realizing it, she moved closer and closer to Lili until the two of them were almost pressed together.
At that very moment, Fu Qingzhi happened to be leaving the elevator after finishing a business engagement at the same restaurant.
Standing in front of the elevator doors, she fixed her gaze on Shui Ruyue.
The intensity of her stare was enough to burn a hole straight through her.
Shui Ruyue had finally managed to calm her nerves.
The instant she felt the icy chill crawling up her back, she looked up—
—and found her wife staring directly at her.
She’d snuck out for a business meeting…
Only to be caught red-handed.
“Come here.”
Fu Qingzhi’s voice rang out suddenly.
Shui Ruyue didn’t want to give up this business opportunity.
She hesitated.
Then she saw Fu Qingzhi extend her hand.
Her voice turned even colder.
“Come here.”