Chapter 8: The Chaebol Heir’s Canary — Pillow Talk Really Does Work

Jiang Qiuyan held her tight and asked gently, “What’s wrong?”

She thought Shi Yu had been frightened by her mother’s earlier behavior and was about to explain when the little kitten raised her head. Those almond eyes were rimmed red, pitiful and wronged.

“Shi Huaixin threatened me. He said he’d beat me to death if I don’t go back.”

Shi Yu’s thinking was simple. Since Jiang Qiuyan was her patron, she should handle these things. That was her purpose for seeking her out in the first place.

Shi Huaixin had people watching her. The moment she stepped out of the Jiang estate, she’d fall into his hands. Until this problem was solved, no amount of saved money would help.

Though Shi Huaixin didn’t control the Pei family’s business, he’d spent years building up connections and had some real power. Manipulating her would be effortless.

If she fell into his hands again, she really would die.

Shi Yu couldn’t stop trembling. The look she cast at Jiang Qiuyan brimmed with hope.

Only this person before her could save her!

Shi Yu clutched Jiang Qiuyan’s sleeve, afraid to grip too hard but also afraid not to grip hard enough. The careful, delicate way she held on twisted Jiang Qiuyan’s heart.

“He actually dares threaten you.”

Jiang Qiuyan glanced at the phone lying on the floor. Her gaze darkened, her thoughts turning.

Shi Yu nodded and answered softly, “I didn’t dare answer. So he sent voice messages cursing me. I…”

Shi Yu started crying again, half real emotion, half calculated.

Thinking of everything Shi Huaixin had done to her, it was impossible to stay calm. And when anger reached its peak, the only outlet was tears.

Hearing those suppressed, aggrieved sobs, Jiang Qiuyan’s chest ached. She had already told her mother clearly: she wouldn’t marry Pei Shuyu, and she would terminate the partnership with the Pei family and cancel the investment in the subsidiary Shi Huaixin held.

Seems that’s not enough.

Shi Huaixin should be ruined and brought low. Only then can Shi Yu’s hatred be avenged.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here. No one can hurt you.”

Shi Yu blinked those reddened eyes and buried her face against her chest, murmuring, “Thank you.”

Jiang Qiuyan felt that Shi Yu was always so formal with her, as if some invisible barrier stood between them. But the girl was crying so sadly now that it seemed wrong to demand more.

Another time. Maybe the kitten just needs time to adjust.

Meanwhile, Shi Yu was thinking, Pillow talk really does work.

Telling Jiang Qiuyan directly that Shi Huaixin had been bullying her and asking for help would have sounded too blunt. But slipping it in during this kind of vulnerability was perfect.

Her mother had often used this trick to keep Shi Huaixin around. Shi Yu had tried it without much hope, and it actually worked.

Jiang Qiuyan stroked her head. “Feeling better?”

Shi Yu gave a soft hum. No sooner had the sound left her lips than Jiang Qiuyan scooped her up.

She held Shi Yu up by her backside, not the least bit strained. It was the pose for carrying a child, and she really did treat Shi Yu like one.

Crying at the drop of a hat. What was that if not a child?

Jiang Qiuyan set her down on the sofa, kissed her forehead, then sat beside her and picked up the phone from the floor, handing it over.

“Unlock it.”

Shi Yu obediently unlocked the phone. The screen was still on the chat with Shi Huaixin. A long string of voice messages stretched endlessly, interspersed with missed calls.

Jiang Qiuyan’s face grew darker, all the tenderness she showed Shi Yu gone. Her slender fingers tapped the screen, and Shi Huaixin’s call went through.

Hearing Shi Huaixin’s ringtone, Shi Yu shrank closer to Jiang Qiuyan. Purely reflexive. Not a trace of pretense.

Realizing this, she felt embarrassed and tried to sit up straight, but Jiang Qiuyan pulled her back into her arms.

Shi Huaixin picked up quickly. His voice came through the speaker, spewing filth.

“You little bitch. You actually dared to not pick up my call. Think you’ve grown wings, do you?! Don’t think hooking up with the Jiang family makes you some phoenix. A lowly thing like you will definitely get played and thrown away, then die miserably!”

Even though Jiang Qiuyan had heard about his viciousness, hearing him use such words against his own daughter was still unfathomable.

It only confirmed how hard Shi Yu’s life at the Pei family must have been.

Rage surged through her. She rarely let emotions show so strongly.

Shi Yu lay against her without a word, as if she’d long grown numb to such language. That numbness broke Jiang Qiuyan’s heart and made her even sadder.

“Shi Huaixin. It’s me.”

A pause on the other end. Then the tone shifted to fawning: “Ah, Miss Jiang! My apologies. I got a little carried away just now. Could you put Shi Yu on?”

Shi Yu stared, dumbfounded at his rapid face-change. Jiang Qiuyan saw nothing but a clown. So absurd it was almost funny.

She pinched Shi Yu’s ear and spoke again, voice cold and sharp: “No need for the act at this point. Shi Yu is perfectly fine with me. I don’t want you bothering her again. Understood?”

Shi Huaixin was fuming. His sharp intake of breath was clearly audible. But faced with Jiang Qiuyan, even enraged, he had to swallow it.

“Miss Jiang, you must have misunderstood me. I’m not normally like this. It’s just that Shi Yu kept ignoring my calls and I got so worried I said a few harsh things. Please forgive my poor manners.”

Jiang Qiuyan let out a cold snort and said nothing.

Shi Huaixin’s breathing grew heavier. One could easily imagine his face right now. He was so used to lord-ing over Shi Yu and bossing her around. Being publicly put in his place by someone above him, of course he was seething.

“Miss Jiang, I…”

Seeing him persist, Jiang Qiuyan’s patience ran out.

“I’ve already canceled the investment in your company and suspended the partnership with the Pei family. If you bother Shi Yu again, I will show no mercy to you or the Pei family. Weigh the consequences yourself.”

The Pei family was decent in Hai City, but on the world stage, whether in influence, wealth, or family heritage, the gap between the Pei family and the Jiang family was like clouds and mud.

The Jiang family were the clouds. The Pei family were the mud.

Besides, she didn’t think Pei Yiyi would be foolish enough to oppose the Jiang family over Shi Huaixin.

Shi Huaixin knew this too. Even though Jiang Qiuyan’s threat was plain as day, he swallowed his anger and spoke as amiably as he could: “I think you might have the wrong impression of me, Miss Jiang. How about this, give the phone to Shi Yu. I’ll say a few words, and then she can explain things to you on my behalf.”

Jiang Qiuyan gained a new appreciation for his thick skin. She laughed coldly: “Give the phone to Shi Yu so you can threaten her?”

Shi Huaixin’s humiliation curdled into anger. He raised his voice: “Jiang Qiuyan, I am at least your elder! Is this how you speak to me? Don’t forget, you’re still engaged to my daughter!”

Jiang Qiuyan chuckled softly, eyes narrowing: “You’re right, I’d almost forgotten. I’ll be calling off the engagement. But you’d better not contact Little Yu again, or I’ll make sure you can’t survive in Hai City.”

With that, she hung up without giving him a chance to reply. In the past, Jiang Qiunian handled matters like this. She’d never had to deal with them personally. Now she was going to war for a beauty.

She turned around helplessly. Shi Yu was staring at her, unblinking.

“How…” Before she could finish, Shi Yu threw her arms around her.

The kitten’s fuzzy head nuzzled against her chest. Absolutely adorable.

Shi Yu didn’t answer. She just lay quietly in her embrace. In all her life, no one had ever stood up for her like this. Even if it was just a transaction, she couldn’t help being moved.

Jiang Qiuyan had gone so far as to mention calling off the engagement just to vent on her behalf. She really was a good patron. Shi Yu resolved to be even more obedient.

“What are you thinking about?”

Jiang Qiuyan brushed the hair from her forehead and traced her eyebrows with her fingertip.

Shi Yu half-closed her eyes and asked, “Is there anything you want?”

The moment she said it, she regretted it. Someone who didn’t have a penny to her name asking a billionaire if there was anything she wanted? That was absurd. Jiang Qiuyan would definitely laugh at her.

Instead, Jiang Qiuyan turned serious. “Anything at all?”

Shi Yu couldn’t take it back now. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded.

Jiang Qiuyan set her on her lap and tilted her head back slightly. “Come live with me at the house on Moon Island. Just the two of us.”

No one will disturb us. And you can relax a little.

Shi Yu’s small head popped out of her embrace. She asked, puzzled, “Why go live there? Did your mom kick you out?”

Jiang Qiuyan: …

This child still can’t say things nicely.

Of course her mother wouldn’t kick her out. As long as she was willing to marry, her mother didn’t care about the other party’s identity.

“Is that a no?”

Shi Yu shook her head quickly. Moon Island was close to the city center and far more bustling than here. If Jiang Qiuyan didn’t give her money, she could find a job and earn some.

But would Jiang Qiuyan really not give her money?

Those sparkling starry eyes were impossible to ignore. Jiang Qiuyan pinched her cheek. “What’s going on in that little head of yours again?”

Shi Yu asked meekly, “Why don’t you ask me what I want?”

A tiny hint should be fine, right?

Jiang Qiuyan raised an eyebrow, smiling. “Then what do you want?”

Shi Yu held out both hands, reverently: “Money.”

Jiang Qiuyan froze for two seconds, then swept the girl into her arms and laughed with genuine delight. So that’s what the hesitating, on-the-tip-of-her-tongue looks all day were about.

Someplace inside her softened as if soaked in warm water. She didn’t dwell on it. She just wanted to enjoy the moment.

Shi Yu rested against Jiang Qiuyan’s gently shaking chest, listening to her steady, strong heartbeat, feeling a peace she’d never known before.

If time could stop right here, that wouldn’t be so bad.

Aware of her own thought, Shi Yu jolted and snapped back to reality.

Shi Yu, remember your place. Don’t covet things that don’t belong to you.

Fortunately, having never gotten much in her life, she steadied herself in an instant.

Jiang Qiuyan unlocked her phone, added Shi Yu as a contact, and transferred two hundred thousand.

Hearing the notification chime, Shi Yu swept away the arm around her and checked the number on screen. So excited she couldn’t help pecking Jiang Qiuyan loudly on the lips.

“Thank you! Thank you so much! Miss Jiang, you really are a wonderful person!”

She felt she’d earned it, but politeness mattered. Respect should be shown to one’s provider.

Not only did she hand out a good-person card, she also called her Miss Jiang? Jiang Qiuyan’s brow furrowed slightly.

Shi Yu didn’t notice at all. She was lost in the joy of possessing two hundred thousand, grinning from ear to ear.

“This happy?”

Shi Yu nodded vigorously: “Mm! So happy!”

Jiang Qiuyan’s mood lifted along with hers. Amusement bloomed in her gaze, softening those usually sharp phoenix eyes.

“Then…”

Jiang Qiuyan tapped her own lips and looked down at her.

This time Shi Yu caught on fast. She planted a loud smooch on the other’s lips and was pulled into a thorough kissing session.

Shi Yu couldn’t control her pheromones when excited. Sweet floral scent drifted through the room, and her cheeks flushed pink.

Jiang Qiuyan’s hand wandered over her back, breaths quickening. Just as Shi Yu thought things would naturally progress, Jiang Qiuyan pushed her away.

“It’s getting late. We should pack and get going.”

Shi Yu’s mind was still foggy. She nodded blankly.

Jiang Qiuyan didn’t miss the flicker of disappointment on her face. A sly smile curved her lips as she stood and headed for the door.

Can’t be too accommodating, or this little one won’t appreciate me.

Just outside the room, she ran into an unwelcome guest. The other’s face wore a teasing grin, and Jiang Qiuyan’s smile vanished instantly.

“Tsk tsk tsk. Look at that lovesick expression. Who’s this hidden beauty of yours? Let me see!”

Jiang Qiunian reached for the door handle, but Jiang Qiuyan blocked her.

“What are you doing here?”

Jiang Qiunian folded her arms and looked her up and down, then smirked: “My boss has been MIA for two days. As her secretary, don’t I have to check whether you’re dead or alive?”

“Alive, and very well. You can go now.”

Naturally, Jiang Qiunian had no intention of leaving. Her cousin, who was finally blooming after all these years of solitude, and the beauty hidden in the golden cage, she was far too curious.

While Jiang Qiuyan wasn’t looking, she darted forward and grabbed the door handle. To her surprise, the door opened from inside.

“Miss Jiang, is there anything else?”

Shi Yu poked her head out. Long hair cascaded like a waterfall. Round almond eyes, clear and bright, like a gleaming, translucent gemstone without a single flaw.

She looked like an innocent child who knew nothing of the world, making people instinctively soften their breathing for fear of profaning her.

Jiang Qiunian froze. The flippant look vanished from her face, but her eyes remained locked on Shi Yu. Jiang Qiuyan’s instincts screamed. She stepped in front of Shi Yu and gently nudged the little head back inside.

“It’s nothing. Go back in first.”

The door shut again. Jiang Qiuyan turned a cold, dark gaze on her cousin. Before Jiang Qiunian could speak: “Stay away from her.”

Jiang Qiunian leaned in with a shameless grin. “Aw, don’t be so cold. Big sis here really likes her. Hand her over?”

Jiang Qiuyan’s expression turned glacial, her voice devoid of warmth: “Say one more word and I’ll sew your mouth shut.”

A treasure she’d finally found. She’d be damned if she let a rogue like Jiang Qiunian get her hooks in. Over her dead body!

Shi Yu had never been interested in what was happening outside. She was far more concerned with the two hundred thousand in her phone balance. So this is what a chaebol is. Two hundred thousand just like that. Absolutely loaded.

Shi Yu bounced onto the bed, rolling around clutching her phone, heart brimming with happiness.

Jiang Qiuyan was nothing if not decisive. She’d mentioned moving in the afternoon, and by evening they were at the Moon Island house. A spacious flat of over three hundred square meters, lightly furnished with none of the servant bustle of the Jiang Family Manor. Only one auntie for cooking and cleaning.

Standing in the living room, Shi Yu couldn’t help but remark: “Isn’t it a little too empty?”

It felt like standing in a shopping mall atrium. Nothing homey about it.

Jiang Qiuyan wrapped her arms around her from behind, chin resting in the hollow of her shoulder. “Then let’s furnish it bit by bit. Make it however you like. How about that?”

“Sure.” Shi Yu couldn’t help but smile.

She’d never had a home of her own in all her life. Even if this was just a temporary place to stay, at least it was somewhere she could belong.

Jiang Qiuyan nuzzled her cheek and looked at her with burning eyes. This time Shi Yu read the gaze and turned to kiss her on her own.

Lips and tongues tangled. The atmosphere shifted. The room’s temperature seemed to climb.

Jiang Qiuyan released a wisp of pheromones and Shi Yu’s knees went soft. She clung to the other, boneless, breaths carrying rich floral scent.

The auntie who cooked had already left. In this vast apartment, only the two of them remained.

No one would disturb them. They could do everything they wanted.

Just thinking about it made Jiang Qiuyan’s composure crack.

She bit Shi Yu’s ear and asked, voice sticky and sweet: “Little Yu. Is this okay?”

Her hands were already here. Could Shi Yu really say no? She hummed softly and offered her plush lips.