The executive office was spacious and brightly lit, its giant floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the cityscape, where the urban night was illuminated into crystal clarity by brilliant lights.
Yet Zhu Nange’s mood at the moment was anything but clear. Sitting with her legs crossed, her face was dark and gloomy. “You came back just for this?”
“Yup. Just wanted to ask you about Miss Fang,” Zhu Qing sat opposite her casually, all traces of her battered-yet-resilient white lotus routine gone without a trace, leaving behind only her familiar, punchable grin.
Zhu Nange let out a soft sneer. “You don’t care about your elder sister’s health, you don’t care about the company’s growth, and you don’t care about the family situation either. Yet you put on a massive stunt like that just to ask how to contact Fang Qinghui?”
Hearing this, Zhu Qing immediately sat up straight, counting on her fingers without a blush or a racing heart as she broke it down for her: “Regarding the first point, I care about you immensely! I even sent you messages, but you went ahead and blocked me.
Regarding the company—our business prodigy, President Zhu, leaves everyone else eating her dust. What is there to worry about?”
Zhu Qing playfully expressed her genuine thoughts. In truth, she genuinely believed her strict elder sister possessed brilliant, extraordinary talent in certain areas.
Expressing her true thoughts while watching Zhu Nange’s sharp brows darken even further, Zhu Qing smiled even more brightly, continuing: “As for that last point you mentioned about caring for the family situation—the ‘family’ you’re referring to wouldn’t happen to be that old Zhu house, would it?”
Whenever that old estate was brought up, Zhu Qing felt the place resembled a jar for raising poisonous insects—where all kinds of venomous creatures ate, shat, despised, and tore into one another inside.
Back when those old poisons were fighting the hardest, she was just a scrawny 14-year-old middle schooler. On the surface, she defied authority, yet she was manipulated like a puppet at every turn, not even daring to openly mourn at the graves of her parents, who had passed away three years prior under suspicious circumstances.
She had zero interest in those lousy inheritances and company shares, nor did she hold out any hope of unearthing the deep-seated rot within the family. Back then, her single greatest hope was simply to survive safely until adulthood without being “accidentally deceased.”
Fortunately, Zhu Qing was born with a carefree, wild nature, possessing an innate talent for playing the role of a rebellious, unteachable slacker. Because of this, those old poisons never took her seriously, and her name luckily stayed off the list of unexpected fatalities.
Yet that alone was far from enough. Feigning foolishness might get you ignored at times, but it could also make you look like an easy target. Thus, the young Zhu Qing understood that she had to find an ally.
It was right around that time that her mother’s sister, her aunt—passed away abruptly amidst the chaotic infighting. Everyone stared with bloodshot, greedy eyes at the massive real estate holdings left behind by this wealthy, divorced woman.
Everyone was so busy that no one had time to organize a proper funeral for her, nor did anyone care to comfort her orphaned daughter—the 22-year-old Zhu Nange.
And it was at that very funeral, which nobody cared about, that Zhu Qing met Zhu Nange.
The same Zhu Nange whom those conservative old monsters described as unsociable, vicious, bizarre, and utterly useless as a girl.
On the day they first met, Zhu Nange was crouching in the middle of a torrential downpour. The rain made her thin clothing cling tightly to her bony spine, while the wall of rain carved out an undisturbed pocket of mourning for her.
Zhu Qing couldn’t tell whether the elder sister back then harbored more helpless despair over losing her mother, or more burning hatred aimed at turning the Zhu family upside down.
Personally, she simply felt a pang of heartache for her elder sister. Yet beyond that heartache, there was also a subtle, thrilling excitement bubbling beneath her skin.
How wonderful—here is someone who hates this family just as deeply as I do.
And this person carries the exact same maternal bloodline as me.
This person is the elder sister brought to me by my mother.
She is my heaven-sent ally.
“Do you want the shares? I have a way to help you.”
“I only have one condition: I want to breathe the air outside.” Those were the very first words Zhu Qing had ever spoken to Zhu Nange—a wild, desperate invitation extended by a young tiger trapped in the painful whirlpool of the family.
From that day forward, the two wild beasts grabbed hold of one another, struggling to haul themselves ashore through countlessly suffocating moments, winning one opportunity after another for themselves.
Many years after that which was now Nange had successfully taken over most of the company’s operations, while Zhu Qing had gotten her wish to leave that godforsaken place.
Recalling this piece of memory which wasn’t grand in the slightest and was in fact deeply miserable Zhu Qing shrugged helplessly and said, “So what is there to care about at home? Can those people, eating and drinking lavishly every single day, suddenly spontaneously combust or something?”
Zhu Nange could actually hear a hint of genuine anticipation in Zhu Qing’s words. Truth be told, she felt the exact same way. If news came out that the old family estate had exploded, it would certainly add some spice to her tedious life.
Visualizing that scene, Zhu Nange couldn’t help curling the corner of her lips slightly. Realizing the topic had veered far off course, she immediately put on a stern face: “Making such a huge scene in the lobby just now harms our corporate image severely, do you know that?”
Zhu Qing replied nonchalantly, “You were the one who blocked me first, causing me to wait in the lobby for practically an entire day.”
“Besides, I was also helping you test the company’s crisis management response! Take your secretaries, for instance—they only thought to intervene after passersby had already pulled out their phones to record. If this were a real major incident, it would have spread to the ends of the earth by now. You need to provide them with way more training, Sis.”
As she listened to her younger sister’s cheeky teasing, Zhu Nange’s face grew gloomier by the second. Seeing this, Zhu Qing dropped the wisecracks, deftly pivoting to flatter her eldest sister’s formidable power: “Aiya, even if it really spread to the ends of the earth, silencing a few reports with Elder Sister’s capability is just a walk in the park, isn’t it?”
Zhu Nange rolled her eyes. This younger sister of hers had always been a master of spinning nonsense; it was better to respond to her demands early, lest she spend her hard-earned off-work hours chatting aimlessly all night with this living demon. “Alright, back to the point. You’d better be looking for Fang Qinghui for actual company investment business.”
The air pressure inside the office plummeted. Although Zhu Qing maintained a composed expression on her face, she guiltily turned her head to the side, speaking with a smile: “Rest assured, it’s purely personal feelings—not a single bit is for the company.”
The strict elder sister pretended she hadn’t heard a word. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve let you indulge your wild temper by playing the lone wolf in college for three years, but I expect you to intern at a group subsidiary during your senior year. I have a great deal of things to teach you. We…”
Zhu Qing gently cut her off: “What we agreed on back then was: As long as I don’t use a single dime from the Zhu family, I don’t ever have to return to the Zhu family.”
“You don’t have to view that company as the Zhu family’s. Just treat it as my company.”
After several more rounds of bickering, seeing that Zhu Qing was about to derail the conversation again, Zhu Nange snapped sharply: “Do you still want to get in touch with Fang Qinghui or not?”
The trick worked like a charm. Zhu Qing instantly brought her hand to her mouth, making a zip-your-lips gesture.
Zhu Nange offered a composed smile before continuing, “Her company has been negotiating a financing deal with the Zhu family lately. She will be attending the banquet.”
“Fang Qinghui is an exceptionally intelligent person. I support you reaching out to her—you can learn a great deal, and in some ways, she is very much like us.” Pausing briefly, she added, “However, I advise you not to get too close, because where she differs from us is that she will never stay for any external thing.”
Back then, Zhu Qing hadn’t quite understood what her eldest sister meant by “like us.” She simply replied with her usual smirk: “How do you know she won’t stay? Did you try pursuing her and get rejected?”
“Get out.”
In the end, the “friendly exchange” wrapped up with Zhu Nange unleashing a barrage of parental lecture questioning Zhu Qing’s GPA and academic awards while Zhu Qing giggled, dodged the topic, and made a quick escape.
Zhu Qing obediently accepted a slew of tyrannical terms, including but not limited to drafting project proposals for Zhu Nange’s subsidiary, product selection, and attending negotiation meetings with suppliers. She was held firmly by the throat, all to secure an invitation to that banquet.
Zhu Nange’s commentary on the matter was simply: “Consider this letting a wild beast like you get a foretaste of your elder sister’s daily workload.”
Zhu Qing no longer had the energy to respond to her teasing. She had a mountain of tasks to handle, and with the banquet date fast approaching, she needed to assemble a proper outfit for herself.
Others aside, she was definitely going to dress up for the person who held her heart. Furthermore, having refrained from using a single cent of the family’s money for years, Zhu Qing intended to max out Zhu Nange’s card for this event.
After all, working for the Zhu family now meant she naturally had every right to spend the Zhu family’s money.
As twilight closed in, the sprawling, astronomically expensive city center was illuminated as brightly as day by ribbons of light. Inside the hotel’s grand ballroom at the heart of the district, an opulent carved dome filtered the light strips, revealing a breathtaking artificial starry night.
Tonight, Zhu Qing wore a carefully chosen runway suit—a tailored white satin ensemble embedded with fine, shimmering diamonds.
She was thoroughly satisfied with this outfit; the waist cincher and flared trousers impeccably highlighted her tall, powerful frame and long legs. Best of all, it wasn’t a piece of beautiful torture—it was loose, comfortable, and actually had pockets.
With her meticulously styled, wavy hair, she leaned against a large potted plant, casually holding a champagne glass—appearing deep in thought, while actually staring off into space.
Since she had always despised these superficial social gatherings filled with empty toasts and fake compliments, she simply let her eyes go blank during the long wait, playing deaf and dumb like a statue in front of men and women who tried to strike up a conversation. When someone pressed too hard, she would abandon her current plant and migrate to lean against a different one.
Meanwhile, Zhu Nange who had just stepped out of a Maybach looked thoroughly displeased. She wore a V-neck white shirt under a long black blazer with her hands tucked into her trouser pockets.
Zhu Nange had initially thought this would be a fine opportunity to formally introduce the wild kid at home to high society, only to be stood up under the excuse: “Appearing together with you is far too high-profile; I need to protect my personal privacy.”
Upon entering the hall, she had actually spotted Zhu Qing, who had snuck in early. However, bogged down by an endless stream of greetings and business chit-chat, she couldn’t pull herself away to grab her, only swearing under her breath: “Completely blinded by love!”
Yet as far as Zhu Qing was concerned, she didn’t consider herself blinded by love; she merely thought of herself as proactive and sincere.
Truth be told, she couldn’t quite articulate whether she truly loved Fang Qinghui or if it was something else. Was it an obsessive attachment to that stunning face?
Or had she been subtly brainwashed by Wen Xiaozhi’s prediction, coupled with a strange sense of destiny over that identical photo taken in Iceland?
Or perhaps the cold, distant aura surrounding the woman had triggered a twisted competitive drive in her, compelling her to play the masochist.
She couldn’t figure it out, but one thing was certain: even if she had to slave away for her cousin, she was determined to see that woman once more. Otherwise, certain questions might remain forever unanswered and unresolved matters were what she hated most.
The crowded ballroom moved with copy-paste faces, engaging in shallow, dishonest networking and spouting high-sounding fluff inside the gorgeous exhibition hall.
Sustained solely by the thought of seeing her, Zhu Qing endured it all by leaning against every pillar and potted plant in the building.
Finally, at an ungodly hour, her wish was granted as she caught sight of a late-arriving Fang Qinghui. The woman wore an elegant white gown, her hair swept neatly behind her head, a sapphire bracelet gracing her wrist. The warm lights of the entrance hall illuminated her face—it was hard to tell whether the gems or she herself was radiating light.
Zhu Qing’s brain was instantly booted up and cleared out all at once, leaving only the rapid thumping of her heart, while that clear, tall, yet subtly elusive figure amidst the crowd answered her scorching, earnest heart.
Fang Qinghui’s cold, aloof face looked long accustomed to the noise of the vanity fair. Wearing a polite, gentle smile, she handled every person with grace, yet looking through the crowd, Zhu Qing could catch the detachment and indifference lingering at the bottom of her eyes.
Zhu Qing had initially planned to step forward for a “chance encounter,” but when the moment actually arrived, she froze in place. It was always like this—the moment she saw Fang Qinghui, a wave of helplessness would wash over her.
Just as she let out a self-deprecating sigh and prepared to walk toward her, a few harsh, unpleasant noises reached her ears.
“Isn’t that woman you-know-who? The founder of that media company.” A well-dressed, rosy-faced middle-aged man covered his mouth partially, whispering to the man beside him, “In just a few short years, her company expanded several times over, almost snatching away all our business sector.”
“Aiya, her? Her face is pretty, so naturally, things like this come easy.” The other slightly shorter man relaxed his expression, his tone initially sounding like he was critiquing a dish on a menu.
Then, his tone took on a touch of petty, resentful mockery: “Isn’t she supposed to collaborate with the Zhu family recently? Who knows what she relied on to?” Before the man could finish, the two exchanged a glance, instantly connecting like two Bluetooth devices, and burst into loud laughter.
At first, Zhu Qing felt eavesdropping on others was impolite, and she hadn’t immediately picked up on what the two were snickering about in their half-concealed, chopped-up dialogue, so she prepared to walk away.
A second later, her mind snapped to attention. Realizing the two were sharing a mental wavelength using the filthiest thoughts to mock and speculate about a guest present in the room, the veins on her temple throbbed violently.
In the very next instant, ice-cold words slipped from her lips: “Sounds like you really want to take a shortcut yourself, sir. Pity, though…”
Zhu Qing mimicked the man by leaving her sentence half-finished, letting out a subtle “Tsk,” before finishing off with a polite smile.
The two men froze instantly, glancing left and right to confirm who the woman in front of them was talking to. Seeing this, Zhu Qing took a step closer to them, kindly helping them confirm the answer.
The shorter man’s forehead turned visibly red, yet he tried his best to maintain the decorum expected at a banquet, casting a glance at Zhu Qing. Noticing that she looked young and her background was unknown, his expression grew even angrier: “You think you know the business world well, huh? Let me ask you then—”
The man beside him quickly gave him a subtle nudge, putting on a peacemaker act: “Don’t lower yourself to a kid’s level.” Turning to look at Zhu Qing with a critical eye, he added, “Aiya, young lady, he’s had a bit too much to drink. Try to be understanding.”
Zhu Qing set her glass aside, stepping forward one deliberate stride at a time, her smile bold and provocative: “Oh, please don’t stop! I heard there’s an old guy in the Zhu family who also loves drinking—and happens to like men, too. How about I introduce you two?”
Both men stood stunned. The alcohol and anger tore apart several layers of their polite disguises. The intoxicated one, his neck flushed red, demanded to know her name, claiming he was going to teach her a lesson in manners and respect.
Zhu Qing leaned against the pillar and let out a faint yawn, nodding as she listened. Just as her next biting remark was on the tip of her tongue, a cool, gentle hand suddenly caught hold of her arm.
A striking white figure stepped slightly in front of her, carving out a boundary that separated the murky, noisy squabble from the clear, vivid reality.
All Zhu Qing heard was a single, crisp voice: “That’s enough.”