Worried about Qi Xinxin, Su Ran managed to get a night’s sleep by her side after all.
When she woke up early the next morning, Xinxin was already in the bathroom washing up.
Su Ran first contacted an outside legal counsel, asking him to head over to Tianlei in a while.
Just as she hung up, Qi Xinxin came out holding two small bottles of skincare products. “This place is so high-end! The bath towels and toiletries provided are all luxury brands! Ran, was that man from last night really rich?”
Su Ran didn’t hide the truth. “He’s Lu Jingxing.”
Qi Xinxin’s eyes widened to circles, asking in disbelief, “Lu Jingxing! You actually know him?”
Su Ran replied, “Not really. I met him once while looking for investment. But he was kind enough to save us and provide free accommodation.”
Qi Xinxin sat on the bed thoughtfully, staring at the hotel-exclusive lotion in her hand. It was a French brand; these 10 milliliters would cost at least a hundred outside. This was her first time using it. “When you went on business trips before, were the hotels always like this?”
Su Ran laughed and patted Qi Xinxin, carefully guarding her friend’s sensitivity. “It’s my first time, too. Usually, I’m just like you—I wouldn’t even dare to think about it. Anyway, I’m going to wash up first.”
Qi Xinxin asked somewhat awkwardly, “Is that President Lu interested in you? I noticed he’s especially good to you.”
Good? She didn’t dare want this kind of “good.”
“Huangchao is his territory. He was just maintaining order for his own sake. By the way, send a message in the hometown group and tell everyone to watch out for that Boss Zhao.”
Qi Xinxin hurriedly grabbed Su Ran’s sleeve. “You absolutely mustn’t talk about this. Otherwise, I won’t be able to show my face in the hometown group anymore. You know how it is—even if nothing actually happened, girls are always the ones who suffer. All sorts of rumors will fly.”
Su Ran knew Qi Xinxin was traditional and had never even had a boyfriend. She cared deeply about rumors regarding men and women.
She took Xinxin’s hand back and tried to enlighten her. “Boss Zhao is a scammer. If you leave him be, he’ll just bully other girls. You don’t have to involve yourself or name any names. Just say a colleague told you about it after coming back, and that luckily someone helped, so nothing happened.”
Qi Xinxin lowered her head and sobbed aggrievedly. “Ran, I’m sorry. It was my mistake at work; I almost got you hurt. Some fellow villagers said Boss Zhao’s private life wasn’t very clean, but he really is successful in business and has a lot of money. I thought he wouldn’t be like that when it came to work…”
Su Ran put her arm around Xinxin’s shoulder and smiled slightly. “I understand. I don’t blame you. You worked hard yesterday, take today off. I’ll record it as field duty for you.”
Qi Xinxin nodded gently. “Okay.”
As she left, Su Ran glanced at the room number: 8086.
She hadn’t even said thank you to him yet for helping her out with Boss Zhao.
After dropping Qi Xinxin off at the company dormitory, Su Ran headed straight for the office.
When Su Tianlei heard the financing was settled—and for twenty-five million—his nerves, which had been melancholy for days, were instantly invigorated.
Lu Jingxing’s special assistant, Du Heng, arrived on time. Both sides were fully prepared, and the talk went very smoothly. Assistant Du was stern and professional, not mentioning a single thing outside of the cooperation.
Once the contract was signed, Assistant Du immediately had the finance department transfer the first installment.
Tianlei was just a small outfit of fewer than fifty people, including the cleaners, and they only did business with suburban supermarkets. They only had two independent storefronts.
To suddenly have so much money infused, transforming overnight into a medium-sized enterprise, was something Su Tianlei hadn’t even dared to dream of before.
After seeing off Assistant Du, Su Tianlei couldn’t help but sigh. “Xue Yi really does have the right connections.”
Su Ran felt stifled. If not for Xue Yi making a mess of things, the upgrade and renovation might have been nearing completion by now. “Dad, this has nothing to do with Xue Yi. I went to President Lu directly, talked to him three or four times, and finally finalized it yesterday.”
Su Tianlei patted his daughter’s shoulder with relief. “Dad knows you’ve worked hard. It wouldn’t have been possible without you. But if it weren’t for you, Xue Yi wouldn’t have been busy running around for us, finding people and using his connections to get the second-in-command of Gaoshan Capital to come to our company personally.”
Su Ran was somewhat helpless. Her father had always been like this; unless Lu Jingxing came to prove it himself, he was convinced the credit belonged to Xue Yi.
Su Tianlei picked up his phone to call Xue Yi to express his gratitude and to ask when they could meet the future in-laws, as the wedding for the two children should be put on the agenda.
Su Ran pressed down on her father’s hand. “Dad, don’t tell Xue Yi about this yet. I want to give him a surprise.”
Su Tianlei put the phone away and smiled kindly. “Alright.”
In the afternoon, Su Ran went home to change clothes.
Just as she was about to set off, an unknown number called. It was Xue Yi’s voice. “Ran, where are you? I’ll pick you up and we can go see President Lu together.”
Su Ran’s voice was flat. “No need. I’m already on my way.”
Xue Yi had never told Su Ran the agreed location, but he wasn’t surprised at all. He acted as if nothing had happened, remaining as attentive and considerate as before. “There will probably be some drinking. Eat something to line your stomach first so you don’t hurt your stomach. If you get there first, order a few dishes President Lu likes and have the kitchen prepare them in advance. We’re hosting a VIP; don’t worry about the money. I’ll settle the bill at the end, you don’t need to worry about it.”
Su Ran replied, “Order them yourself. I don’t know what he likes to eat.”
There was a few seconds of silence on Xue Yi’s end. That word “he” felt inexplicably intimate.
Su Ran’s voice grew colder. “If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”
Afraid she would hang up, Xue Yi spoke faster. “Ran, don’t hang up. My uncle doesn’t know about us fighting. Could you…”
Su Ran interrupted him. “Fighting? Hmph. He should at least know about your cheating.”
Xue Yi immediately denied it. “I didn’t, I really didn’t. That day I was just angry for a moment, so I just went along with what you said. I’ve never done anything to betray you.”
He really wouldn’t admit defeat until faced with the ultimate truth. Su Ran immediately sent a photo to Xue Yi. “Still not admitting it?”
Xue Yi’s face turned pale. He thought Su Ran had just heard some rumors; he didn’t expect that woman to actually send her a photo. How fucking shameless.
“That’s from before. It’s an ex-girlfriend I had a long time ago. We broke up quickly. Because it was short-lived, I didn’t tell my family. How did you get this photo?”
Su Ran said disdainfully, “You should know better than I do who sent it to me.”
Xue Yi continued his sophistry. “She came to beg for a reconciliation, but I didn’t agree. So she’s acting out of jealousy and resentment to destroy our relationship. Ran, you have to believe me. I really love you, otherwise I wouldn’t have been so angry that day. I truly want to live a stable life with you.”
A pack of lies. She had seen the bracelet the girl in the photo was wearing.
She had gone to Xue Yi’s company once to wait for him to finish work. At the time, a girl in their company was wearing the exact same bracelet.
That girl had happily showed off to her colleagues that her boyfriend gave it to her. It was a custom Swarovski piece with her initials on it.
Looking back, that girl knew who she was and had said it specifically for her to hear. Those photos were most likely sent anonymously by her as well.
“Xue Yi, we’ve already broken up. I’m in no mood to tangle with you right now. As long as you stop framing me, I won’t make things difficult for you for the time being.”
Not wanting to hear any more of Xue Yi’s lies, Su Ran hung up immediately without waiting for him to speak and then blocked him.
After intentionally stalling for some time, Su Ran finally set off.
When she reached Nieyuan Manor and knocked before entering the private room, Xue Yi was busy serving tea and water to everyone at the table, his face crinkled with smiles.
Lu Jingxing looked down at the tea in his cup, not moving a single hair.
Seeing Su Ran enter, Xue Yi immediately put down the bone china teapot. “Ran, sit here.”
The seat Xue Yi pulled out was right next to Lu Jingxing.
On the other side sat Du Heng, and below him was a middle-aged man in his forties—Xue Yi’s uncle, Vice President He Lujie.
Between He Lujie and Xue Yi sat a man and a woman in professional attire, likely from sales and PR.
The woman was voluptuous and glamorous, the buttons on her chest nearly popping. Her eyes were alluring as they hooked onto Lu Jingxing at the head of the table. The man, meanwhile, looked quite fair and delicate.
There were no other empty seats at the table, so Su Ran could only walk over slowly. She greeted them politely in order: “President Lu, Assistant Du, President He.”
Then, she quietly sat down next to Lu Jingxing, sandwiched between him and Xue Yi.