The woman in red, who had just been speaking in a cutting, sarcastic tone, looked a little guilty. What could be more embarrassing than being caught gossiping behind someone’s back and confronted on the spot?
She quickly changed her expression, flashing a warm smile like they were the best of friends. “Shuangxu, it’s been ages! You’ve been away so long—we’ve all missed you.”
Shuangxu’s features were soft and clear, but her gaze was cool as she looked at them. “If you missed me so much, why didn’t you message me? Did you not have my number?”
The other woman tried to cover her embarrassment. “I thought you’d changed it.”
“If you’d messaged me, you’d know I hadn’t.” Shuangxu fixed her with a cold stare, making no move to let her off the hook. “You hadn’t finished what you were saying. Why’d you stop?”
The woman in red looked sheepish. “I only heard it from other people…”
Before she could finish, Shuangxu stepped closer and slapped her across the face.
Smack—
The sound was crisp and loud.
The woman hadn’t expected Shuangxu to hit her. She cried out and clapped a hand to her cheek, then hurriedly apologized. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run my mouth. I’ll never listen to gossip again! Miss Song, please don’t be angry…”
Shuangxu turned to the woman in blue. Her face had gone deathly pale. Trembling, she said, “I didn’t say anything. That was all her.”
Shuangxu said coldly, “Even a comedy routine needs someone to play the straight man. You were backing her up with plenty of enthusiasm just now. And now you want to wash your hands of it?”
She raised her hand again, and both women flinched in unison.
Shuangxu picked up a two-tier cream cake from the table beside them and set it down in front of the pair.
“Today is my brother’s birthday. I don’t want to spoil his mood. Otherwise, one slap wouldn’t be enough. If you can’t control your mouths, stuff them.”
Her voice was level, but her presence was cold and intimidating. “You can leave once you’ve finished this cake.”
Then Shuangxu walked straight between them.
The two women stared stiffly at the enormous cake, not daring to breathe too loudly.
Shuangxu had only taken a few steps when she suddenly met someone’s gaze.
She looked up. A man was leaning against the railing of the wooden staircase.
He Tingzhou looked as though he’d just woken up. The buttons on his gray silk shirt were undone in a careless sprawl, and his sharply defined face wore a drowsy, languid expression that only made his wickedly charming air more pronounced.
His eyes were full of amusement. From the looks of it, he’d watched the whole spectacle.
Shuangxu paused.
“That was terrifying,” He Tingzhou said, clearly enjoying the show. “You’re not going to kill me to keep me quiet, are you?”
Shuangxu didn’t think she’d been wrong to hit the woman. If anything, she hadn’t hit her hard enough.
Still, it wasn’t good to be seen doing it. It made her look like a bully throwing her weight around, as if Shen Yu hadn’t raised her properly.
“I was only inviting them to have some cake.”
With both hands in his trouser pockets, He Tingzhou sauntered down the stairs.
“Do people in your family always have to eat a slap to whet their appetites before cake?”
He was truly tall. As he passed her, his shadow fell heavily over her.
Shuangxu thought for a moment, then turned and called after him.
“Brother Tingzhou.”
He Tingzhou turned sideways and raised an eyebrow, inviting her to continue.
Feixue was now trapped in an impossible position, forced there by Chenxing.
If they partnered with Yundun, they’d be giving away all their hard work for nothing and end up bankrupt, with not even their underwear left.
But if they refused, they’d be handing the opportunity to Chenxing for nothing, and all their hard work would still come to naught.
Feixue was built from the ground up by Shu Yang, so it naturally couldn’t match an established company with deep pockets like Chenxing Technology. Shu Yang had poured nearly everything she had into developing the liquid-hydrogen drone.
Either way, they’d be giving it away for nothing, and whoever got it, Feixue was facing bankruptcy.
Since she’d run into He Tingzhou, Shuangxu had to try one more time.
“I know Chenxing’s offer is very low, but a low price doesn’t necessarily make it a good deal. Feixue can promise to give Yundun priority access to the results of our future technical development. In the long run, a partnership with Feixue would be more valuable to Yundun.”
“My Senior Sister is really in a difficult position right now. This partnership means a lot to her. Could you give her a chance?”
He Tingzhou dipped his head slightly, affecting the chivalrous courtesy of a tall man speaking to someone short. He asked, leisurely, “And if I say no?”
His eyes were dark. Just moments ago he’d looked half-asleep, but now he stared straight into Shuangxu’s eyes, making her feel like an eagle had fixed its gaze on her.
“I…”
“What, are you going to invite me to eat cake?”
“…”
Shuangxu knew she didn’t count for much with him. With no other option, she brought up Shen Yu again.
“You’re friends with my brother. Could you do me a favor for his sake?”
He Tingzhou straightened, returning to his usual insouciant manner. “If you want to trade on your brother’s name, have him come talk to me.”
Shuangxu pressed her lips together.
She’d originally planned to ask Shen Yu for help today, but now she didn’t want to bother him over this.
The two women’s words still rang in her ears. She didn’t want anyone speaking about Shen Yu in that tone again.
She knew that if she asked, Shen Yu would help her.
She also knew that if Shen Yu stepped in, a single word from him could resolve the problem that had Shu Yang and her trapped.
When she was little, she could take his protection for granted. Now that she was grown, she couldn’t do anything for him. At the very least, she should learn not to rely on him.
During the few seconds she stood silent, He Tingzhou had already turned to leave.
He went straight to a table. Someone came over to greet him, but he ignored them, pulled out a chair, and casually picked one cake from the dazzling assortment. He drew it toward himself and picked up a fork.
Shuangxu opened her mouth, but didn’t get a single syllable out.
The gleaming silver fork had already plunged into her blueberry mousse cake. Young Master He scooped up a bite and leisurely popped it into his mouth, as if he’d had a good sleep and was now ready to eat.
Shuangxu had no choice but to close her mouth again.
She hadn’t shown her face in years, and plenty of people were taking the opportunity to cozy up to her.
Gossiping behind her back and fawning to her face—people in this circle could switch between those faces without missing a beat.
Who cared what her relationship with Shen Yu really was? The important thing was that there was a connection. And if all else failed, she still had a father.
Shen Yu was at the mahjong table. When he caught sight of her, he crooked a finger and had someone add a chair beside him.
Shuangxu was just about to sit when Yue Zifeng reached over and dragged the chair toward himself. “Xiaoshuangxu, sit by me! Every time you sit beside your brother, his luck shoots up. Come give me a buff today.”
“You’re bad enough at this that even Little Nine can’t save you,” Shen Yu said.
Shuangxu watched a couple of rounds. Yue Zifeng had probably been playing mahjong with his feet for the past twenty-odd years. Forget her—even the God of Wealth couldn’t save him.
No wonder he lost money every time. At least he was losing it fair and square.
The screen of Shen Yu’s phone, lying on the table, lit up with a new message. Shuangxu glanced at it, then looked away without reading it closely.
Shen Yu ignored it. A little while later, a call came in.
Only then did he pick up the phone. As he stood, he rested a hand on Shuangxu’s head. “Take over for me.”
Shuangxu took his place and got an excellent hand—one tile away from a ready hand. She had just turned the upside-down chicken tile the right way around when the man across from her asked, “Master Zhou, care for a couple of rounds?”
She looked up and saw He Tingzhou, refreshed from his nap and cake, coming over to take the seat the other man was eagerly offering him.
He glanced at his hand and clicked his tongue in disgust. “What a lousy deal.”
Zuo Zhong, seated to Shuangxu’s left, laughed. “With Little Sister Shuangxu sitting here, how could anyone else have good luck?”
After saying that, he discarded a one-dot tile. Shuangxu was just reaching to draw.
He Tingzhou pulled two tiles from his own hand and threw them down. “Pong.”
Shuangxu withdrew her hand.
Whether He Tingzhou was doing it on purpose or not, he either called a pong himself or fed Yue Zifeng a tile. For three rounds, Shuangxu didn’t get to draw a single tile.
By the fourth round, she finally had a chance to draw.
When luck came, there was no stopping it. She drew the three bamboo she needed to go out and was about to take it back.
“Put it down.” He Tingzhou’s voice came down like a bucket of cold water. “Pong.”
Shuangxu: “…”
“Have you no decency?” Even Yue Zifeng had noticed. “Little Sister Shuangxu was about to win, wasn’t she?”
Shuangxu silently repeated, Twice, “The client is always right.” Shu Yang’s client was her client now.
She forced herself to put the tile back. “I wasn’t going to win.”
He Tingzhou leaned his chair back, balancing it on its rear legs. With one hand on the backrest, he rocked slowly, not even giving her a glance.