Jiang Wanqing hadn’t come here today to declare ownership over anyone.
She had come to vent the anger she’d swallowed yesterday.
She had nothing to do with Zhou Jiayan. The only man in her heart was Lu Yanzhou.
But after just a few words from Shen Shuhe, with Shen Group’s employees chiming in, she had somehow become Zhou Jiayan’s new girlfriend.
No.
She couldn’t let them spread rumors like that.
What if they reached Lu Yanzhou’s ears?
Jiang Wanqing had already experienced how sharp Shen Shuhe’s tongue was. She also knew that, fighting alone without anyone to back her up, she couldn’t possibly out-argue Shen Shuhe.
After a moment’s thought, she blinked her large innocent eyes, wearing her signature pure and harmless expression. Raising her voice deliberately, she replied,
“It has nothing to do with me. Miss Shen, I already explained yesterday. Jiayan and I aren’t what you think. I already have someone I like. I’m not interested in him. Please stop treating me as your imaginary rival and overreacting like this.”
The man Jiang Wanqing wanted as her boyfriend was, of course, Lu Yanzhou.
As for Zhou Jiayan?
He wasn’t even worthy.
Outside the VIP lounge, every employee had their ears perked up, afraid of missing another juicy piece of gossip.
“Oh?” Shen Shuhe didn’t even look at Jiang Wanqing. She casually fiddled with her phone, responding with obvious indifference.
“So you’re sure? You like someone else and have no interest in Zhou Jiayan?”
Who Jiang Wanqing liked wasn’t difficult to guess.
Yesterday, the moment she saw Lu Yanzhou, she had immediately shaken Zhou Jiayan’s hand off, terrified that Lu Yanzhou might misunderstand.
The look in her eyes, the way she carried herself—it practically screamed a young girl’s secret crush.
What Shen Shuhe couldn’t understand was this:
If Jiang Wanqing liked Lu Yanzhou, why was she so hostile toward her?
It was obvious Jiang Wanqing merely regarded Zhou Jiayan as one more fish in her pond.
Did she really have to be this possessive over a mere backup admirer?
Jiang Wanqing found Shen Shuhe’s attention to her phone incredibly irritating.
How disrespectful.
She was standing right in front of her, yet Shen Shuhe was busy playing with her phone.
Jiang Wanqing was used to being fawned over. Being ignored like this was unbearable.
With all the gossiping employees outside, however, she couldn’t lose her temper openly. Even so, impatience had already crept into her voice.
“Of course I’m sure. I know you were abandoned at your engagement ceremony and felt hurt and humiliated. Then you saw how warmly Jiayan treated me, so naturally you misunderstood.”
Blinking innocently, she wore an expression of concern while subtly mocking Shen Shuhe for being dumped.
“Miss Shen, relationships depend on fate. Jiayan didn’t choose you because the two of you simply weren’t meant to be. It has nothing to do with me. I already have someone I like.”
Only then did Shen Shuhe look up again. The hand holding her phone dropped naturally to her side.
With a faint smile that wasn’t quite a smile, she asked,
“So the person you like isn’t Zhou Jiayan?”
“Of course not.” Jiang Wanqing smiled sweetly, never taking her eyes off Shen Shuhe. A warning flickered in her gaze as she hinted,
“You know very well who I like, don’t you, Miss Shen?”
If she was going to stake a claim, it would be over Lu Yanzhou.
Who was Zhou Jiayan compared to him?
“I know very well?” Shen Shuhe rested her free hand casually on her opposite elbow and raised an eyebrow in mock surprise.
“Could it be… Mr. Lu?”
Jiang Wanqing lifted her chin slightly.
She genuinely enjoyed it whenever people associated her with Lu Yanzhou romantically.
It filled her with an indescribable sense of joy and satisfaction.
As if…
They truly were a couple.
“Oh,” Shen Shuhe exclaimed.
“So I guessed right?”
She sighed dramatically.
“But Mr. Lu doesn’t like you.”
Then, pretending to sympathize, she twisted the knife.
“Unrequited love is exhausting. Miss Jiang, stay strong.”
Jiang Wanqing’s breathing grew uneven, but she still managed to suppress her anger. Deliberately showing off, she declared,
“Brother Yanzhou and I have known each other since childhood. Mingshu is my best friend. Everyone in the Lu family likes me. Grandpa Lu has always treated me as his future granddaughter-in-law.”
“Miss Shen, Brother Yanzhou only spoke up for you yesterday because he’s a well-mannered gentleman. Don’t go getting any romantic ideas, or you’ll only end up heartbroken after being rejected. As for what exists between Brother Yanzhou and me… there’s no need to tell you.”
Shen Shuhe laughed.
“Miss Jiang, is your memory failing, or is your network of connections just that poor?”
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
“I already said this yesterday at Miss Lu’s birthday party. If you’re capable, go find the videos and photos from my engagement banquet the day before yesterday.”
Shen Shuhe lazily lifted her eyes, her tone casual yet unexpectedly sincere.
“I have a fiancé.”
“Neither Zhou Jiayan nor Mr. Lu has anything to do with me. I, Shen Shuhe, already have a fiancé. You’re the one who should stop treating me as your imaginary rival and coming here just to make yourself feel important.”
Once she dealt with Shen Group’s crisis, she planned to divorce her flash-marriage husband just as quickly as she’d married him.
She had no intention of making that brief marriage public.
Calling him her “fiancé” was simply more convenient.
She was far too busy to waste time acting out a petty love triangle with Jiang Wanqing.
“I’m sorry. It seems I really misunderstood you before, Miss Shen.”
Jiang Wanqing smiled brightly.
“When Brother Yanzhou and I get married, I’ll definitely send you an invitation…”
She paused dramatically.
“…assuming Shen Group hasn’t gone bankrupt by then.”
Opening her eyes wide in exaggerated innocence, she added,
“I’m not looking down on poor people, so please don’t misunderstand. I’m just worried that if Shen Group goes bankrupt, you’ll feel inferior and upset attending Brother Yanzhou’s wedding.”
Shen Shuhe tapped the back of her phone lightly with one finger, completely unbothered.
“Miss Jiang, why don’t you focus on becoming Mr. Lu’s girlfriend before fantasizing about your wedding? After all, no one learns to run before they’ve learned to walk.”
She hadn’t intended to go too far.
But if Jiang Wanqing insisted on provoking her…
Then she wouldn’t be polite anymore.
Leisurely, she continued,
“By the way, if Mr. Lu is truly the only man in your heart, why were you hugging Zhou Jiayan yesterday? He already seems to think you’re his girlfriend.”
“I have absolutely nothing to do with him!”
Jiang Wanqing deliberately raised her voice so every employee outside could hear.
“I already told you—I only recently returned to the country. He’s been checking up on me and caring about me for years, so I politely replied to one of his messages. I never imagined that a single reply from me would make him call off your engagement.”
She wanted to accomplish two things at once:
Distance herself from Zhou Jiayan…
…while subtly boasting that Shen Shuhe’s former fiancé had spent years doting on her.
“I see.”
Shen Shuhe nodded.
“So Zhou Jiayan isn’t your boyfriend.”
“He’s your simp.”
Jiang Wanqing didn’t deny it.
She wished every employee outside who had just mocked her for being Zhou Jiayan’s mistress would hear that clearly.
Only then did Shen Shuhe slowly raise the hand that had been hanging at her side all along.
Her phone screen clearly displayed:
Call in Progress.
With her slender fingers, she tapped the speakerphone button.
Her crimson lips parted, enunciating each word slowly and clearly.
“Did you hear that?”
“Zhou…”
“…your simp.”