“Miss Lou, this is a talisman that can accelerate the severing of ill-fated connections. Please keep it with you at all times.” A female Taoist priest handed the wrapped talisman to Lou Qingshuang.
“Thank you.” Taking the talisman with her porcelain-white fingertips, Lou Qingshuang placed it carefully inside her clothing.
“How long will it take to see results?” Bai Wan asked, somewhat impatiently. The sooner it was severed, the sooner she could be free.
“At the latest, three months. At the earliest, one month,” the priest replied.
“That fast? Can it be even faster? We can pay extra,” Bai Wan blinked, asking expectantly once more.
The female priest smiled faintly. “Benefactor, severing ill-fated karma requires a process. The Grand Supreme Elder will bless you both. Boundless fortune and longevity.” After speaking, the priest departed.
“Bye-bye, Priest,” Bai Wan could only wave goodbye.
“Shuangshuang, we even had a ritual performed today. Rest assured, the ill-fated karma attached to you will be broken very soon.” Bai Wan pulled Lou Qingshuang as they walked outside, they still had to rush back to work.
Having stayed at the hotel for the night without receiving a single phone call, Shen Yue had an exceedingly pale, grim expression on her face.
Looking at Lou Qingshuang’s profile picture, she ultimately decided to make the call herself.
“Shuangshuang, I’m returning to Jing City today. Next time, I’ll come visit you again,” Shen Yue said as soon as the line went through.
Lou Qingshuang listened to her voice without saying a word. Hearing her quiet breathing, Shen Yue’s eyes darkened. “Shuangshuang, I’m sorry. I was just heart broken for you. So much has happened recently, and it pains me to see you like this. We will get married sooner or later anyway, and I will share your burdens.”
Beep… beep… beep…
Before she could finish her sentence, Lou Qingshuang hung up the phone with a cold glare. Her eyes were filled with disappointment, resembling shattered crystal.
Leaning back in the passenger seat, Lou Qingshuang’s face was covered in a layer of frost. From the corner of her eye, Bai Wan noticed that the disappointment in her gaze cut as sharply as ice shards.
Shen Yue’s attempt to dodge the real issue made Lou Qingshuang deeply hurt. She closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling lightly like butterfly wings, catching glistening teardrops.
Watching her close friend like this, Bai Wan remained silent. The entire situation was now as tangled and messy as a ball of yarn.
Hopefully, breaking that ill-fated connection with Liu Yu will also sweep away this bad luck, Bai Wan thought angrily to herself. It would be best if it cuts off Shen Yue too! What kind of partner is she? Not only does she fail to understand Shuangshuang, but she’s also trying to undermine me!
Upon arriving at the corporate headquarters, Liu Yu sat behind her spacious and luxurious office desk. Looking out at the scenery beyond the floor to ceiling windows, her fingers unconsciously touched her lips. The kiss on Lou Qingshuang’s lips last night was so soft, she hoped she could kiss her again. Liu Yu’s gaze deepened.
The current pace was still too slow. She needed to add fuel to the fire so Lou Qingshuang could see the true colors of the people around her sooner.
“Zhu Yan, come in for a moment.” Liu Yu pressed the interphone, calling directly to Zhu Yan.
A few minutes later, Zhu Yan arrived and stood waiting for instructions. “Chairman Liu.”
“Go and reveal the information about Shen Yue’s mother to Lou Qingshuang.” Liu Yu stared at Zhu Yan, she wanted to win Lou Qingshuang over as soon as possible.
“This… wouldn’t this make Ms. Lou very upset?” Zhu Yan asked tentatively.
“If we wait until Shen Yue drains every last bit of value from her before revealing her true identity, she will completely wither,” Liu Yu said firmly, gazing at Zhu Yan. She did not want her rose to wither and lose the capacity to love.
“Understood.” Zhu Yan got the point. The Chairman wanted to cut short a portion of Lou Qingshuang’s suffering. At least by removing Shen Yue as an obstacle, it would make it much easier for Liu Yu to make her move.
After returning to the company, Lou Qingshuang held her breath and began working day and night on researching and developing new products.
She remembered Liu Yu’s advice: use the new product as bait to fish out the traitor.
Lou Qingshuang adjusted the formula for the lotion, placed it into the centrifugal sedimentation machine, and stood to the side, lost in thought as she waited for the centrifuge test results.
If someone close to her truly betrayed her, Lou Qingshuang would find it agonizing. These people had followed her for several years, present since the company’s inception.
A week later, the new product Lou Qingshuang developed had its initial prototype.
She and Xinyu agreed to use this to lure out the traitor.
“Ms. Lou is truly young and capable! The new product aligns perfectly with Xinyu’s consistent development route while retaining the unique charm of Wanshuang. Once launched, this product is bound to attract a huge market,” praised Zhen Ran, the head of cooperation from Xinyu Group.
She had crisp, neat short hair, wore a pearl white shirt paired with loose, tailored suit pants, and wore makeup that matched her sharp, intellectually dominant personality perfectly.
The two stood up and shook hands, both filled with mutual appreciation.
The collaboration between Xinyu and Wanshuang had finally taken its first official step.
Lou Qingshuang also followed the method taught by Liu Yu and began investigating who the internal traitor actually was.
Bai Wan started monitoring the surveillance footage of Lou Qingshuang’s laboratory day and night. However, not a single person even walked past the place where the secret files were kept.
Everyone knew how crucial this document was, if Lan Dai got their hands on it, Wanshuang would lose any chance of a comeback.
Lou Qingshuang rested her chin on her hand, feeling extremely nervous. The court date for the two companies was approaching fast, yet the traitor still hadn’t revealed themselves.
“Shuangshuang, is this person really that patient?” Bai Wan grumbled with a frown.
“The news of our new product launch with Xinyu hasn’t been announced publicly yet, only core personnel like us know about it. That person should be getting restless by now,” Lou Qingshuang analyzed.
Could it be that Liu Yu’s strategy isn’t going to work? Lou Qingshuang felt deeply worried.
Just then, Shen Yue called her. “Shuangshuang, I’ll be back next Monday. I can take several days off this time to stay home and keep you company. I will apologize to you properly. I’ve reflected on my actions,” Shen Yue said, softening her voice to sound deliberately pathetic.
Hearing her ask for forgiveness and apologize, Lou Qingshuang’s heart softened slightly. Stiffening her voice, she said, “We’ll see how you perform then.”
Shen Yue laughed softly, and after chatting a bit longer, they hung up the phone.
The tension on Lou Qingshuang’s face relaxed considerably. Taking a look at her, Bai Wan also heaved a sigh of relief. Ever since that last incident, Lou Qingshuang had been working overtime continuously, making the atmosphere in the company extremely tense.
“What did Shen Yue say?” Bai Wan asked curiously.
A faint smile appeared on Lou Qingshuang’s face. “She said she’s coming back to apologize to me, that she has reflected properly, and will stay with me for a few days.”
“At least she knows what’s good for her.” Bai Wan looked at her best friend’s face, not knowing what to say. She always felt that Shen Yue wasn’t the type to reflect on herself so easily.
But if I say it out loud, Shuangshuang will be hurt again, right?
Forget it. Once this matter is over and Shuangshuang is in a better mood, I’ll have a good talk with her.
Lou Qingshuang returned to her office and opened her email to check for any messages, only to spot an email from an unfamiliar address.
She opened the email page, which contained a short paragraph. Shen Yue’s original name is Zhu Yue; she is the second illegitimate daughter of Zhu Rui.
The moment she read those words, all the blood in Lou Qingshuang’s body ran stone cold.
Her entire body trembled in the cold as she stared blankly at those few words. Only after several long seconds did she manage to calm herself down.
Shen Yue is the illegitimate daughter of the Chairman of Lan Dai Group?
Lou Qingshuang immediately dialed Liu Yu’s number, because who else would send her this message besides Liu Yu?
“Did you send the email?” Lou Qingshuang asked, her voice eerily calm.
“Yes,” Liu Yu replied with a deep, low hum.
Lou Qingshuang gripped the phone tightly, her breathing heavy. She didn’t know how she should confront Liu Yu.
Or rather, on what grounds could she confront her? If she doubted it, she could just go ask Shen Yue, yet Lou Qingshuang didn’t dare to.
“If you’re afraid it might be true, then go ahead and doubt me. Use the method I taught you to test her. She should be coming back soon, right?” Liu Yu put down her fountain pen and spoke to Lou Qingshuang.
Lou Qingshuang squeezed her phone hard, hanging up without a word. Tears streamed down her face. If Liu Yu dared to send it to her, it meant it had already been verified.
It was evidence that could completely destroy her relationship with Shen Yue.
This piece of evidence shattered Lou Qingshuang into pieces. What could be more devastating than being betrayed by the lover closest to you, whom you were about to marry?
And that was knowing her current predicament had been engineered by that very person.
Lou Qingshuang abruptly stood up, jolting the office desk. A water glass tipped over, spilling water all over the desk, before rolling across the surface and crashing to the floor with a loud bang.
Looking at the spilled water on her desk, Lou Qingshuang’s face was covered in frost and tears. Her fingernails dug deep into her own flesh, drawing drops of blood.
Three days later, Shen Yue returned.
Lou Qingshuang waited for her at home, having rarely taken a day off to accompany Shen Yue.
Lou Qingshuang watched as Shen Yue stepped off the plane. She was dressed in a white cheongsam paired with an overcoat, her eyes bright and deep, her every gesture exuding the charm of a mature woman.
When Shen Yue saw her, her eyes lit up. She impatiently pulled her luggage along and ran over to her. Lou Qingshuang watched her every expression and movement with painful detail.
Don’t disappoint me, Shen Yue.