Zhou Ya had invited Gu Nianqing to lunch.
Cuiming Residence was a teahouse Zhou Ya had started herself after marrying into the Xu family, something she ran in her spare time.
She came from the south and had strong connections in the tea trade. Combined with her status as Madam Xu, Cuiming Residence never lacked customers.
And on top of that, there was Gu Nianqing—her golden signboard.
Many of Qimeng’s domestic business deals had been successfully negotiated there. Businesspeople cared about good fortune; with Qimeng’s success as precedent, many came specifically seeking that “luck,” hoping to close their own deals in the same place.
By the time negotiations reached the contract stage, most deals were already nearly finalized—but people were still happy to credit the teahouse’s “good fortune” for sealing the deal.
Over time, Cuiming Residence’s supposed feng shui became something almost mystical.
Gu Nianqing, of course, didn’t believe in feng shui.
She chose the place simply because it was elegant, comfortable, and private. Even the Shen family’s young master wouldn’t be able to lurk around here so easily.
She conducted her business with peace of mind, while Zhou Ya built up the teahouse’s reputation.
A win-win.
“Win-win” had always been the principle guiding Zhou Ya and Gu Nianqing’s relationship.
In fact, compared to Cuiming Residence, Zhou Ya had long believed that her most successful investment over the years was this person in front of her—
An adopted daughter?
Or perhaps… an employee? A business partner? An ally?
As the faint aroma of tea drifted through the air, Zhou Ya realized that, for a long time now, when she thought of Gu Nianqing, she no longer first associated her with that awkward blood relationship with her husband.
Instead, she thought of the surprises Gu Nianqing kept bringing her.
Somehow, that girl had carved out a place in her heart.
Gu Nianqing arrived right on time.
“I told Old Qin the location—he’ll be here soon. His main business isn’t in the capital, but he’s still incredibly busy, so please forgive him~”
As she spoke, she set down a paper bag and pushed it toward Zhou Ya.
“I came back from the airport in such a rush the other day that I forgot to bring you a gift.”
With a cheerful smile, she added,
“It’s a newly released moxa-eye care device. It’s not even on the market yet—this is the first prototype. I saved one just for you.”
Zhou Ya took it, glanced at the simple, compact box inside, and smiled.
“How thoughtful.”
She had tea served. As Gu Nianqing lifted the cup and inhaled the fragrance, Zhou Ya noticed the ring on her finger.
“At the last auction, the Li family’s daughter missed out on a purple diamond called Dream of Provence. She made quite a fuss about it afterward.”
Resting her chin on her hand, Zhou Ya asked teasingly,
“I thought you said you weren’t dating anyone?”
Gu Nianqing was admiring the ring, turning her hand slightly when she heard that. She immediately replied in all seriousness:
“I really wasn’t.”
Then, completely matter-of-fact:
“We got our marriage certificate on the second day after we met.”
Zhou Ya: …
Well, that certainly skipped the dating stage.
Straight to the point, indeed.
Unlike Xu Mingzhen, Zhou Ya wasn’t upset that Gu Nianqing had gotten married without a word.
The night before, after Zhou Ya had snapped back at him, Xu Mingzhen had gone on and on at home—complaining about “ungrateful child,” “raising her for nothing,” “she doesn’t even see me as her father”—repeating the same phrases over and over.
Zhou Ya found it almost amusing.
Xu Mingzhen truly hadn’t realized just how distant Gu Nianqing had become from him.
Or rather, he had been avoiding acknowledging it—until the truth was laid bare in front of him, and he finally broke down.
“Old Xu was quite hurt when he found out you got married.”
Zhou Ya took a sip of tea.
“I assume you’ve already seen the consequences of his anger.”
“Mm—once HR and finance left, a lot of positions at Qimeng were suddenly vacant. It’ll take some time to fill those gaps.”
Gu Nianqing calmly described the company’s situation, showing no signs of panic or frustration.
“Mr. Xu no longer holds shares. He’s not investing money or effort, so his actions aren’t unreasonable.”
Which essentially meant—she had no intention of backing down.
Zhou Ya was a little surprised by her stubbornness.
“Qingqing, Qimeng is your life’s work. Aren’t you afraid it might be destroyed like this?”
Gu Nianqing looked at her in surprise.
“How could I not be afraid?”
“…Then why put yourself through all this?”
Zhou Ya knew how much Gu Nianqing had poured into Qimeng. As a shareholder who simply collected dividends every year, she naturally didn’t want to see the company collapse.
“Or is it because you think that now you’ve tied yourself to the Qin family, you can go head-to-head with the Xu family?”
Gu Nianqing paused slightly as she poured the tea.
Zhou Ya’s tone turned colder.
“I really didn’t expect it to be Qin Fu.”
Gu Nianqing slid the refilled teacup toward her.
“That makes sense. You’re from the south—you’ve definitely heard of the Qin family.”
“Do you even know what kind of man you’ve gotten involved with?!”
Zhou Ya couldn’t help raising her voice.
“He could stand by and watch his own younger brother die in a hospital bed—and even use that as a weapon to attack a mother! All for—”
“For 11% of Qin Corporation’s shares,” Gu Nianqing cut in.
Zhou Ya froze.
“Madam, taking advantage of information gaps isn’t exactly a noble tactic,” Gu Nianqing said calmly, though there was an unmistakable hint of sarcasm in her tone.
“If you want me to understand what kind of person Old Qin is, then at least tell the whole story.”
She spoke clearly, word by word:
“He allowed his half-brother to die on that hospital bed, and used it to bring down his stepmother—leaving her with nothing. In the end, he reclaimed the 11% of Qin Corporation shares that originally belonged to his biological mother.”
“After that, he became the largest shareholder. Together with several key members of the board, he removed his father from power—and after sending the partially paralyzed old chairman to prison, he took that position himself.”
Zhou Ya’s teacup hit the table with a sharp bang.
“Gu Nianqing!”
She rarely addressed her so formally.
“…You were involved in this too?!”
Gu Nianqing spoke gently, almost soothingly:
“Madam, don’t get worked up—it causes wrinkles. See? I had the foresight to bring you that eye-care device.”
Zhou Ya wasn’t amused.
“Have you lost your mind?! You dared to get involved in something like that?!”
Gu Nianqing blinked.
“…Oh. I thought you were standing up for Liang Jie.”
“…That’s completely different!”
Zhou Ya paused, then stared at her.
“You even know about that?”
Gu Nianqing blinked again.
Zhou Ya sighed, her anger deflating.
“…I’m not blindly taking sides. Women in our circle—those with children who also become stepmothers—none of them are without their own schemes. I’ve heard about what Liang Jie has done over the years.”
Seeing Gu Nianqing remain indifferent, Zhou Ya grew irritated again.
“But you know how ruthless Liang Jie is! Someone like her was taken down by someone even more ruthless—and you’re not even the least bit afraid?”
Gu Nianqing shook her head.
“Not really. I just think Old Qin is incredibly cool.”
Zhou Ya: …
She knew Gu Nianqing’s personality well. If someone said this girl would turn into a love-struck fool just because a man was “cool,” Zhou Ya would sooner believe that one day Gu Nianqing might actually fall for Shen Yu.
In other words—impossible.
Still, that certainty wavered a little when Qin Fu walked in.
Children of the capital’s elite were raised in privilege; even those with average looks carried themselves with a natural presence.
Shen Yu, in particular, had been favored by fate—pampered by his entire family and blessed with strikingly handsome features.
That was precisely why Xu Yingjia had been so devoted to him all these years.
Zhou Ya knew her daughter was stubborn, and with the Shen family’s power, she couldn’t outright reject Shen Yu as a potential son-in-law, no matter how dissatisfied she was with him.
So six years ago, to end her daughter’s attachment without openly clashing with the Shen family, Zhou Ya had worked together with Gu Nianqing to set up a scheme—forcing the Shen family to abandon the marriage alliance, while also making them concede a key suburban project out of guilt.
The price was that Gu Nianqing became permanently labeled as a “homewrecker” in their social circle.
Of course, neither Zhou Ya nor Gu Nianqing cared much about that.
Zhou Ya had always been relieved that Gu Nianqing had no interest in Shen Yu. But sometimes, she couldn’t help wondering—after years of relentless pursuit from such a charming and handsome man, had Gu Nianqing really never been moved at all?
Just how high were her standards?
And now, watching the tall, striking man in front of her gaze at her stepdaughter with unmistakable tenderness—even someone as experienced as Zhou Ya couldn’t help but feel a little shaken.
…This girl really picked well.