Song Yue immediately leaned closer, eyeing her suspiciously. “Are you sure you’re not tricking me?”
“Whether Second Aunt believes it or not is up to you.” Jiang Lai put her phone away. “I have a marriage contract with Pei Jingchuan. Zhuang Hao can disregard the Gu family, but would he dare disrespect the Pei family?”
Song Yue was convinced.
She cleared her throat and put on the airs of an elder. “Then give me his contact too.”
“Sure.” Jiang Lai readily added her on WeChat and sent over Zhuang Hao’s business card.
She then turned to Gu Qianhe and said casually, “Sister, do you want Zhuang Hao’s contact too? I can send it to you.”
“Y-you… why are you humiliating me?” Gu Qianhe stamped her foot, clearly provoked.
She looked pitifully at Song Yue, but Song Yue acted as if she hadn’t seen anything and went straight upstairs.
Jiang Lai walked closer to Gu Qianhe, her voice cool with a hint of mockery.
“Your ability to win people over isn’t as good as before, sister. Since it’s just the two of us here—stop acting.”
“You owe me all of this.”
The gentle look on Gu Qianhe’s face vanished in an instant, replaced with something cold and sinister.
In just a few days, the flattering and timid Jiang Lai she knew had disappeared completely. If she had known this would happen, she would have acted against her sooner.
Jiang Lai didn’t waste more time on her and returned to her room.
She took out the second phone hidden under her pillow. A new red dot appeared in her WeChat contacts—Song Yue.
The fish had taken the bait.
Jiang Lai left her hanging for a while before approving the friend request.
This was the plan she had agreed on with Zhuang Hao at the entrance: to give Song Yue her alternate WeChat account.
If the Song family wanted her help, they would have to pay.
[Song Yue: Master, hello. I’m from the Song family in Lincheng. I’d also like to ask you to take a look at our feng shui.]
Jiang Lai calmly typed three words:
[Six million.]
[Song Yue: Six million?! You might as well rob me! There are so many feng shui masters in China—who charges like you?!]
Jiang Lai could almost picture her exploding in anger through the screen.
After thinking for a moment, she replied:
[The price matches the service. I’ll make Miss Song sincerely come to me.]
[Song Yue: Pretending to be mystical nonsense!]
Tsk—short-sighted.
Jiang Lai sent a line of ellipses… only to realize she had already been deleted.
“Quite a temper,” she muttered to herself. “But I have plenty of ways to make you beg me.”
Gu Xingyun kept his word—Jiang Lai’s job at Gu Group was not just talk.
That night, his secretary Zhao Xiaodong added her on WeChat to confirm her start date and role.
The next morning, Jiang Lai arrived punctually at Gu Group. Zhao Xiaodong waited for her at the front desk.
He handed her an employee badge.
“President Gu assigned you to the finance department. Your tasks were confirmed last night—someone will guide you today.”
“Thank you,” Jiang Lai nodded.
Zhao Xiaodong, with his round baby face and navy jacket, led her to the fifth floor.
When the elevator doors opened, a woman in a pink Chanel-style suit stood right in front of them holding a coffee cup.
“Secretary Zhao, who is this?” Lin Sihui narrowed her eyes at Jiang Lai.
“This is the new intern, Jiang Lai. President Gu arranged for you to mentor her,” Zhao Xiaodong explained.
Jiang Lai?
Wasn’t this the woman desperately clinging to the Gu family?
Lin Sihui took a sip of coffee and scoffed.
“Why does a connection like her get to enter Gu Group? Can’t HR even hire properly anymore?”
“A person who repeatedly harmed her own sister at home—what kind of performance can she bring to the company? We’ll all have to watch our backs in case she schemes against us!”
Her hostility was blatant.
She had a good relationship with Gu Qianhe and had heard plenty of “stories” about Jiang Lai.
Jiang Lai remained composed.
“I was personally interviewed and hired by President Gu. If Miss Lin has any objections, you’re welcome to discuss them with him in the CEO’s office.”
“Everyone knows your relationship with President Gu—” Lin Sihui sneered.
“Miss Lin, please mind your words,” Zhao Xiaodong interrupted firmly. “President Gu dislikes gossip. If you have concerns, I can report them for you.”
In truth, Jiang Lai’s qualifications were more than enough—he had seen her test answers himself.
If anything, Lin Sihui was the real “backdoor hire,” having gotten her position through Gu Qianhe’s coaxing.
Annoyed, Lin Sihui rolled her eyes.
“Don’t think you’re safe just because you’re in the company now. You’ll suffer later.”
She stormed off while texting Gu Qianhe.
“I’ll arrange another mentor for you,” Zhao Xiaodong said calmly.
“Thank you.” Jiang Lai found her workstation and quickly organized her files.
She then messaged Madam Zhuang:
[You can release the news that the project is ready for signing.]
[Please tell my big brother privately that the project is going to be signed with Pei Group.]
Madam Zhuang quickly replied: Got it.
Jiang Lai worked efficiently throughout the morning. Five minutes after she finished, her phone buzzed.
A cold message from Gu Xingyun appeared on the screen:
[Come up.]
In the CEO’s office, Gu Xingyun looked up sharply.
“Was the Zhuang project your doing?”
There was no plan for Pei Group to enter medical equipment at all, so this move made no sense.
Jiang Lai sat across from him, blinking innocently.
“Big Brother, I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Is it because of you that Pei Jingchuan is signing the Zhuang project?” he pressed.
She continued to feign ignorance.
“How would I know what Pei Jingchuan does?”
Gu Xingyun rubbed his temples, his tone softening.
“Jiang Lai, this project is very important to us. Whether or not you initiated this, go talk to him and get the project signed with Gu Group.”
“You’re engaged—this project is nothing to Pei Group. He won’t be stingy.”
He looked at her confidently, as if the matter were already settled.
In his mind, Jiang Lai had always been willing to do anything he asked.
This time would be no different.
Jiang Lai almost laughed in anger.
“Big Brother… why do you think I would help you?”