“I’m not in the same circle as dogs.”
Xie Zhiyu had always been straightforward, quick-tempered, and sharp-tongued. When faced with someone she despised, she went all out, tossing politeness aside.
Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Su Qian played the good guy and stepped in. “Alright, alright, we can just sit in the back, it’s the same.”
Only then did Su Qian’s friends reluctantly pick up their trays and leave.
Meng Qingqing blinked in confusion. “You two know Su Qian?”
Xie Zhiyu took a sip of soup and said sarcastically, “Know her? We’ve been stabbed in the back by her.”
Meng Qingqing’s pupils dilated in shock. “Damn, where did she get you? Let me see.”
Xie Zhiyu gave her a deadpan look. “Told you you’re dense and you won’t believe it. It was a magic attack.”
“She acts all sweet and gentle on the surface—obedient, considerate, and understanding—but the moment you let your guard down, she slips a knife right between your ribs.”
Xie Zhiyu deliberately raised her voice, and Su Qian naturally heard it. She turned around with a faint look of innocence in her eyes. “Xiaoyu, do you have to talk like that?”
Although Meng Qingqing didn’t know Su Qian personally, her impression of her came from that so-called ambiguous childhood friend of He Zongye’s.
The moment that pretentious, simpering voice came out, the malatang Meng Qingqing had just eaten started churning in her stomach.
No wonder the good-tempered Shen Jinyao and Xie Zhiyu, who never hit dogs, were so fed up with her.
Xie Zhiyu laughed, her brows raised in provocation. “What’s wrong with how I talk? I’ve always talked like this. You don’t like it? Then leave. Don’t come around and get in the way.”
Su Qian’s face turned ugly for a split second. She gripped her chopsticks tightly, then finally turned around and lowered her head with a look of grievance.
The picture of someone who’d been wronged.
Xie Zhiyu hated seeing her put on that act more than anything. She clicked her tongue in disdain.
Shen Jinyao said, “Xiaoyu, ignore her. Eating properly is what matters.”
Meng Qingqing nodded. “Exactly, exactly. Don’t waste the food.” She stared longingly at Xie Zhiyu’s barbecue rice bowl.
She’d been agonizing over whether to get the barbecue rice bowl or the malatang just moments ago, and in the end, the malatang had won out over the barbecue rice bowl.
Xie Zhiyu could see she was practically drooling. She squinted and grinned lecherously. “Want some? Call me ‘big sis’ and I’ll give you a bite.”
Meng Qingqing: “…”
“Bold of you. Don’t even think about it.”
Shen Jinyao took advantage of the chaos and scooped up a spoonful. “Mmm, so good.”
Meng Qingqing scooped up a spoonful too, and once she got her taste, she was thoroughly satisfied.
From behind them came more noise.
“Qianqian, that bracelet of yours is so pretty! Is this the birthday gift from Young Master He you mentioned?”
Su Qian curved her lips and said with feigned shyness, “Mm, he specially took me to the boutique to buy it.”
Another girl let out an envious sound. “Wow, so thoughtful. That bracelet isn’t cheap, is it?”
Su Qian: “It’s alright, just around two hundred thousand or so.”
Xie Zhiyu hadn’t wanted to listen, but hearing that faint, deliberate show-off—”just around two hundred thousand or so”—she couldn’t help but find it funny.
Seemed like He Zongye didn’t treat her all that well, then. That bracelet wasn’t even worth as much as one of his sports car’s wheels.
Su Qian’s friends all came from small, modest families—mostly nouveau riche and illegitimate daughters of some household. These people were vain and loved to compare. Only around them could Su Qian get that sense of superiority.
After all, the established families in the capital’s inner circle wouldn’t give a second glance to an illegitimate daughter like her.
If she’d just stayed quiet and minded her own business, it would’ve been fine—who didn’t have a bastard son or daughter in their family?
But Su Qian was ambitious. She spent all her time scheming and playing dirty tricks, so naturally no one in the capital’s inner circle wanted anything to do with her.
She couldn’t fit in, no matter how hard she tried.
Shen Jinyao had been sheltered by her family since she was young. Combined with the fact that all her friends were genuine and sincere, her upbringing had shaped her into someone who always treated others with honesty.
The first time she’d ever been stabbed in the back and hurt was by Su Qian.
The three of them quickly finished their meal, picked up their trays, and left the area—out of sight, out of mind.
From the corner of her eye, Su Qian watched Shen Jinyao’s retreating figure. A slow smile crept up her lips, and deep in her eyes was nothing but smug satisfaction.
Once they were out of the cafeteria, Meng Qingqing couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer.
“So what exactly did this Su Qian do? And is she really head over heels with He Zongye?”
Xie Zhiyu crossed her arms and let out a cold laugh. “Whether she and He Zongye are really head over heels, I don’t know. But she’s not some childhood friend—she gave herself that title. And the things she’s done are absolutely appalling.”
“She’s the illegitimate daughter of the Su family. Her mother slept with the Su family’s head—the current chairman of the Su Corporation—using some underhanded scheme over twenty years ago. She raised Su Qian until she was fifteen, then brought her to the Su family to demand money.”
“Otherwise, she’d spread the word everywhere. The big families care most about face, especially a stubborn old-fashioned clan like the Su family.”
“Old Madam Su was so furious she stormed off on the spot. Aunt Zheng also never expected that her husband had betrayed her over a decade ago—it hit her hard.”
“To cover up the scandal, Su Qian’s mother took the money and just dumped Su Qian at the Su family’s doorstep.”
“Plenty of people in the circle know about it, but publicly they claim she was adopted.”
“In this circle, illegitimate children aren’t welcome. Su Qian is no exception. She played the fragile, innocent act to trick Yaoyao into falling for it.”
“Jinyao never cared about her background and treated her sincerely, yet she secretly badmouthed Jinyao behind her back, treating Jinyao’s kindness as charity. We only found out because a friend tipped us off.”
Meng Qingqing listened, utterly stunned, never imagining such a bizarre story existed.
“Not only is she morally bankrupt, but she also claims to be He Zongye’s childhood sweetheart. Seems like He Zongye really likes her—otherwise, why would he let her spread rumors everywhere?”
Shen Jinyao had always been clear-cut in her grudges and genuinely despised Su Qian. Hearing about the past again still stirred some irritation in her heart.
“Back then, I was too naive. I always thought her background wasn’t her choice, that she was an innocent victim too, so I kept trying to help her fit in.”
“But Su Qian saw through my soft heart and deliberately got close to me. And the reason she got close was to h—”
Shen Jinyao suddenly stopped, the words circling at the tip of her tongue before she continued, “…Anyway, she’s really annoying.”
Meng Qingqing nodded, her face burning with righteous indignation. “What a green tea bitch. She and He Zongye are a perfect match.”
Xie Zhiyu: “May they stay together forever.”
Shen Jinyao nodded along. “Right, right, right. Lock them together for life.”
“Lock who together?”
A lazy voice cut through the air, and Shen Jinyao and Xie Zhiyu were so startled their hairs stood on end.
He Zongye had appeared at some point, hands in his pockets, head tilted, dark eyes fixed directly on Shen Jinyao.
Meng Qingqing: Wow, caught in the act.
She immediately hid behind the two of them, and Xie Zhiyu hid behind Shen Jinyao, the three lining up in a row. Shen Jinyao stood alone at the front, neck stiff, eyes shifty with guilt, not daring to look at him.
He Zongye curved his lips and crooked a finger. “Come here.”
Shen Jinyao’s brows furrowed. “Are you calling a dog?”
He Zongye chuckled. “I’m teasing a cat.”
Shen Jinyao: “…We’re not close.”
With that “not close” thrown out, she bolted. Xie Zhiyu and Meng Qingqing quickly followed, as if fleeing from a ghost.