One afternoon a month later, the cruise incident seemed to fade from memory quickly.
Jiang Jingnian never came looking for her.
Her scumbag fiancé, Shen Zhuli, had been easy to get rid of thanks to the ambiguous video of him cheating that her older cousin had deliberately posted.
With her head bowed, Shen Zhihui sat in a rattan chair at the design company, poring over her design drafts as she worked on a custom qipao design for a new client.
The design company was neither large nor small. Along with its other custom design work, it had set aside a department devoted specifically to qipao.
Shen Zhihui was the designer in the Qipao Design Department.
Her assistant, Guoguo, came over with a cup of fruit tea. She opened the lid and handed it to her. “Huihui, here’s the fruit tea you wanted.”
Shen Zhihui took it. “Thanks.”
Guoguo rubbed her short hair and sat beside Shen Zhihui. “Huihui, there’s a dinner with people from the design world tonight. Let’s go together.” She patted her forehead. “Don’t worry. I absolutely won’t have to leave halfway through like I did on the cruise last time.”
Even now, Guoguo still felt guilty whenever she thought about what had happened on the cruise.
She had promised to accompany Huihui to meet a big name in the world of haute couture.
But before they could meet the big shot, something came up at home, and Guoguo had to get off the ship early.
She’d left Shen Zhihui there by herself.
Of course, Shen Zhihui hadn’t told her that not long after Guoguo left, she’d been forced to sleep with Jiang Jingnian.
She’d only said that something had happened on the cruise, so she’d gotten off in the middle of the night and gone home.
And as for the connections she’d made… she hadn’t gained a single thing.
She’d even lost her first time.
Just thinking about it made her miserable.
“Another dinner? Can I skip it?” After what had happened with Jiang Jingnian, Shen Zhihui was a little wary.
Guoguo didn’t want her to go either, but this was the Old Witch’s idea.
If Shen Zhihui didn’t bring in more clients and resources, the company wouldn’t have room for her anymore.
“There’s no way around it. It’s the Old Witch’s idea. She wants you to go out and bring in more resources, or she’ll shut down the Qipao Design Department. Oh, and I heard one of the richest big shots in venture capital will be at this dinner. We might even be able to get a major investor! Let’s go meet him… I’ll handle the drinking, so you can just sit there and eat.” Guoguo thumped her chest in assurance. “Huihui, I won’t leave halfway through this time.”
Shen Zhihui frowned, already getting a headache. She was a designer. Why did they insist on making her act as a publicist and bring in resources?
“That’s not the point. I just want to design.”
“I know, but there’s nothing we can do… She thinks you’re pretty and wants to use you to attract investors.” Guoguo said helplessly, hitting the nail on the head. “Huihui, that’s what it’s like working for a boss. You can’t expect everything to go your way.”
Shen Zhihui understood. Feeling helpless, she rubbed her ear. The spot Jiang Jingnian had bitten last time had almost healed.
There were hardly any teeth marks left now.
“I’ll think about it.” She still didn’t really want to go.
Guoguo nodded and sighed. “I know this is putting you in a tough spot… But this time there really is a big shot from venture capital. I heard he’s worth a trillion!”
He was practically as rich as a country.
If someone like that invested in them, their Qipao Design Department could expand.
“A trillion has nothing to do with me.” Shen Zhihui frowned, deeply annoyed. But after thinking it over, she knew she couldn’t really refuse.
Ever since her parents had been suppressed by her Eldest Uncle, she’d had no one to rely on and no backing to support her.
Especially since she’d only just started at the design company. She couldn’t act like a princess and refuse whatever she pleased.
The workplace was treacherous, after all.
Nothing was perfect.
“Fine, you arrange it. But don’t make me drink, okay?” Shen Zhihui closed her design portfolio and rubbed her temples.
“Don’t worry, babe. I’ll take care of the drinking.” Seeing that she’d agreed, Guoguo hurriedly massaged her shoulders.
Shen Zhihui lowered her head and took a sip of the fruit tea through the straw.
The sweet, smooth tea felt pleasant going down her throat, but as soon as it reached her stomach, a faint nausea rose up.
Shen Zhihui immediately pulled away, letting go of the straw and covering her mouth to keep the nausea from surging up her throat.
“What’s wrong? Does it taste bad?” Seeing Shen Zhihui cover her mouth, Guoguo thought she didn’t want to drink it or found the tea unpleasant.
She instinctively looked down at the fruit tea in her own hand.
It was the latest viral drink.
It was selling like crazy, and, most importantly, it tasted good. There was no reason it should be bad.
“It’s not that. It just doesn’t agree with my stomach. Never mind, I won’t drink it.” Shen Zhihui picked up her bottled water again and took a few sips to wash away the tea’s cloying sweetness in her mouth.
Once the sweetness was gone, her stomach felt a little better. Shen Zhihui felt much more comfortable, set down the bottle, and prepared to rest for a while.
Her phone vibrated.
Shen Zhihui took it out and looked. Her head immediately began to ache.
It was a message from Mother Shen: 【Huihui, are you free this week? Your grandfather has arranged for you to meet a young investment tycoon. Would you like to go?】
【Oh, right—you probably know him. You were classmates in elementary school. Gu Mingyu.】
Gu Mingyu… Shen Zhihui rested her chin in her hand and tried to remember, but her mind was blank. She really couldn’t recall any such elementary school classmate.
Well, that probably meant they hadn’t interacted much back then.
In that case, never mind.
Shen Zhihui’s expression darkened, and her fingers tightened around her phone. 【Mom, it’s only been a month since Shen Zhuli cheated on me. My Older Cousin and he haven’t even had time to settle in together yet, and Grandfather is already trying to sell me off again?】
She’d been forced into a relationship with Shen Zhuli once, and now that her Older Cousin had taken him for herself, Grandfather wasn’t even going to hold her accountable. Instead, he was already in a hurry to push her out and sell her off again.
It was no wonder her family’s affection was so cold. It made her sick.
Mother Shen read the message from her daughter. She knew Shen Zhihui felt wronged, but there was nothing they could do right now. All she could do was sigh. 【Huihui, Mom knows you’re unhappy. If you want to blame anyone, blame your father and me for being useless.】
【You know how domineering your Eldest Uncle’s family has been lately, bullying your dad again. It hurts me too.】
Shen Zhihui knew about her Eldest Uncle. When they were young, he’d taken a lot of her father’s businesses. Now that his family had prospered, her father could only go work as a driver for them.
Of course, it was only because Grandfather had spoken up that her father had even been allowed to work as her Eldest Uncle’s driver.
But Shen Zhihui would remember this. She wanted to build a successful career so that one day she could make her Eldest Uncle’s family give back everything they’d seized.
Mother Shen: 【Huihui, even if you’re angry, you have to hold it in for now. If Old Master gets angry, he’ll definitely refuse to let you work anymore.】
Old Master Shen was a man of his word. If he decided to cut off her path in design, he’d have her Eldest Uncle blacklist her.
He’d make her stay home and get married right away.
Shen Zhihui frowned and gripped her phone tightly. It all came down to the fact that she didn’t have much power of her own right now.
That was why they could keep controlling every aspect of her life.
But she wouldn’t let her Eldest Uncle and Grandfather control her life forever.
【Okay. Send me the date for the blind date.】
After sending the message, Shen Zhihui immediately felt exhausted, body and mind. She covered her face with the design portfolio, closed her eyes, and sank into deep thought.
She had to make something of herself!
Meanwhile, on the top floor of Jiang Group headquarters,
Jiang Jingnian leaned back in his office chair, looking at the photos Assistant Lu Congbai had dug up.
They showed Shen Zhihui.
Her dark hair fell over her shoulders. She had bright eyes, a lovely smile, and a sweet, classic beauty.
She looked just as he remembered. Jiang Jingnian narrowed his eyes, his handsome face giving little away. “Was she the one who set me up?”
Lu Congbai nodded. “Probably. She’s a designer at a small design company now. I figure she wanted you to invest in her company that night, so she drugged you.”
After weighing the possibilities, Lu Congbai felt sure that was what had happened.
Jiang Jingnian listened quietly, the corners of his lips curving in a faint, almost imperceptible smile. “Is that so? She drugged me?”
Lu Congbai replied, “Yes. President Jiang, do you want me to blacklist her?”
Jiang Jingnian held the photograph and glanced at it. The gloom between his brows vanished in an instant, and a barely perceptible, playful smile tugged at his lips. “I’ll handle her myself.”
He hadn’t expected the Little Thing to be so bold.
She’d slept with him and run? She wasn’t getting off that easily.