Cheng Xiyu discovered Jiang Shu had deceived him. He thought he was in control of the situation, never expecting he was the one being controlled.
She only wanted to sleep with him, but didn’t want him.
“Jiang Shu, it seems… you’ve never once called me by my name…”
Those sparkling stars dancing in her eyes, those tender affectionate gazes, the faint blush on her cheeks in moments of passion – none of them were truly meant for him…
“…Jiang Shu, I’m not complaining, nor am I saying it’s unfair. I just… I’ve realized. Why didn’t you deceive me to the very end?”
His lips were pressed tightly together, corners slightly downturned. His eyes were bloodshot, his throat moving rapidly as he struggled to suppress the surging emotions.
Jiang Shu: “…I’m sorry…”
One year earlier ———— This is a dividing line ————
The June weather was growing warmer. Jiang Shu sat by the window on the bus, holding a document folder in her hand. The bus was stuffy during the morning rush hour as a crowd of people pushed and squeezed their way onboard.
The air was filled with the smell of breakfast – steamed buns, fried dough sticks, mixed with some foot odor, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere.
Jiang Shu slightly furrowed her brows. Just as she was about to reach out to open the window for some fresh air, she was bumped by an elderly woman in the moving crowd.
Amid the noise, an old lady moved beside Jiang Shu. Coincidentally, the driver suddenly braked, causing the old lady’s arm to hit the railing near Jiang Shu. The bracelet on her wrist cracked, showing several fractures.
“Aiyo! My bracelet! You young girl, you’re no good! You saw me coming and didn’t even help me. This won’t do! This bracelet is a family heirloom! Worth over twenty thousand! You have to compensate me!” the old lady said rudely. People around minded their own business, some giving Jiang Shu sympathetic looks while others recorded videos.
“This bracelet is made of White Marble! Now that this girl has damaged it, it’s worthless! Isn’t it only right that I demand compensation?!”
The old lady grabbed Jiang Shu’s arm, looking completely unreasonable. Suddenly noticing something, her eyes lit up. “I see your bracelet is quite nice too. If you don’t have money, you can use this as compensation first,” she said, reaching for it.
Jiang Shu was wearing a white blouse, a string of White Bodhi beads around her wrist complementing her fair, glowing skin. “Your so-called ‘White Marble’ bracelet is questionable – it’s worth at most 200 yuan in the underground market.”
Jiang Shu’s tone was calm, her peach blossom eyes clear and cold. When she blinked, a small red mole on her eyelid became visible, quite striking.
“Don’t talk nonsense! What do you, a young girl, know?! You just don’t want to give me this bracelet! Fine! Compensate me! Twenty thousand! Not a cent less!” The old lady then sat down, cursing while sitting, holding Jiang Shu’s arm to prevent her from leaving, clearly determined to extort her.
“If you want me to compensate you, there’s a jewelry appraisal institute ahead. I’ll pay whatever amount they appraise it at. How about that?”
Hearing this, the old lady appeared somewhat flustered. Stiffening her neck, she said, “Appraise what? I don’t understand these things! Just compensate me quickly! You’re not going anywhere until you pay!”
Everyone on the bus could see this was just an attempt to extort money. Several university students wanted to speak up but were pulled back by their companions. This old lady wasn’t someone to mess with, and nobody wanted to get involved in trouble.
“Don’t be afraid, classmate! I’m an appraiser from the appraisal center ahead. Since this aunt doesn’t want to go to the center, let me examine it for you instead,” a girl who had just boarded the bus said disapprovingly.
“Here’s a professional, ma’am. Why not let her take a look?”
“Yeah, whether it’s real or fake will be obvious at a glance,” other passengers chimed in.
Seeing the situation turning against her and becoming the target of public criticism, the old woman grumbled as she stood up, complaining about her bad luck while getting off the bus.
/Next stop: Baili Jewelry Appraisal Center/ The bus announcement sounded.
“Thank you,” Jiang Shu said to the girl with a smile.
“No need to thank me. This is literally my job. I’m getting off now… Oh, are you getting off too?” Yu Meng was about to exit when she noticed Jiang Shu preparing to disembark as well, feeling somewhat puzzled.
“Today’s actually my first day at work. Pleased to meet you,” Jiang Shu smiled and waved the document folder in her hand, which clearly displayed “Baili Jewelry Employment Form” on the cover.
Bai Shuxi spotted Jiang Shu from a distance walking with a girl who appeared to be a company employee.
“Junior…” He curved his lips into a smile. “Was the journey tiring? I told you to come in the afternoon so you could rest longer in the morning, but you wouldn’t listen…”
“It’s fine, not too tired,” Jiang Shu replied with a slight smile. “I wanted to come early to familiarize myself with the workflow. I don’t want to cause any trouble for you, senior.”
As an outstanding graduate in jewelry studies, finding employment wasn’t particularly difficult for her, but securing a high-paying position was challenging. She felt genuinely grateful to her senior for helping her enter a major company like Baili.
“How could anything about you be trouble? Having you join us is my honor,” he said gently, his gaze resting on Jiang Shu with ambiguous meaning.
“Good morning, Young Master!” Yu Meng greeted from the side, her heart souring. No wonder someone so young could enter Baili – she knew the young master personally.
Bai Shuxi glanced up and nodded at her, the smile still lingering on his face.
The blush that had just faded from Yu Meng’s cheeks slowly returned. Her uncle was a supervisor at Baili. She had first met Bai Shuxi right after graduation, and her youthful infatuation had instantly ignited, eventually persuading her uncle to help her get a job at Baili.
Watching the two conversing happily, Yu Meng felt somewhat uncomfortable and quietly slipped away.
The two continued discussing an upcoming appraisal event while walking toward the office.
Bai Shuxi had his assistant gather several leaders and staff from the appraisal department for a brief introduction.
“Please take good care of me,” Jiang Shu said with a polite smile.
Everyone responded with smiles, though Yu Meng found it hard to smile genuinely, her hands tightening slightly.
“I’d like to treat everyone to a casual dinner tonight so we can all get acquainted. Junior Jiang may be quiet, but she’s an excellent appraiser,” Bai Shuxi said with a smile, his gaze toward Jiang Shu revealing unconcealed tenderness.
Everyone maintained polite smiles, fully understanding that the new employee shared an unusual relationship with the young master. Whether she was truly excellent remained to be seen, but she was clearly someone they couldn’t afford to offend going forward.
Jiang Shu knew Senior Bai meant well – after all, maintaining good relationships with colleagues was important in the workplace – but she still felt somewhat resistant to such dinner gatherings.
Not wanting to make things difficult for her senior, she was about to agree when her phone rang. The screen displayed the caller – A’Cheng.
Noticing this name, Bai Shuxi’s expression darkened slightly, lost in unknown thoughts.
Jiang Shu paused and apologetically said to everyone, “Sorry, there’s something I need to attend to,” then walked aside to answer the call.
Everyone vaguely heard a man’s voice from the other end—a very pleasant-sounding man. “Xiao Shu, still working overtime? I’m back from my business trip.”
Jiang Shu seemed somewhat surprised: “…Weren’t you supposed to return the day after tomorrow?”
There was a brief silence on the other end before he replied after a moment: “The acquisition proposal negotiations went very smoothly, so I came back early.”
Cheng Xiyu: Anyone adding this to collections? If not, I’ll ask again later (tsundere)
Me: Nobody loves you, hmph hmph
Cheng Xiyu: Want to die?