Chapter 25: Shock

The night faded as the sun rose between dusk and dawn, day and night alternating in the depths of sleep.

The next day, Lu Huan opened her eyes to her biological clock, just as she always did. She began sorting through recent events and her plans for the day in her mind, but the warmth beside her interrupted her already hazy thoughts.

Lu Huan paused for a moment, then turned her head slightly to look.

The woman lay peacefully asleep at her side, sunk a bit deeper into the bed than Lu Huan was. Her breaths wafted gently onto Lu Huan’s arm, her soft hair scattered in disarray.

She looked pretty good asleep, Lu Huan had to admit—not that it was any surprise, given that face carved by Nüwa Themself.

Lu Huan reached out and brushed the strands from the woman’s temple, revealing that stunning face. But mere moments later, her hand was caught.

Her breath hitched.

It was Bai Jin, fumbling in her sleep to grab Lu Huan’s hand.

Bai Jin murmured fuzzily a couple of times before bringing it to her lips, then fell still again.

Lu Huan’s mind blanked for a second. She took a moment to process, then slowly withdrew her hand. Fortunately, she didn’t wake her. Lu Huan slipped out of bed quietly, put on her slippers, and left the room.

The woman who had been fast asleep moments before now opened her eyes. Her fingertip brushed her lips, as if savoring the sensation from before.

“……”

Outside the room, the bedsheets Lu Huan had hung out to dry the night before were ready. She took them down and smoothed them out, then grabbed the morning’s ingredients from the fridge and pantry before heading to freshen up.

Right on her usual schedule, by the time Lu Huan finished making breakfast, Bai Jin emerged from the room, freshly washed.

Lu Huan called her over to eat. As Bai Jin passed by after drying her hands, she lifted a hand to stop her.

“Let me take a look.”

One hand on her shoulder, Bai Jin’s thumb brushed Lu Huan’s lip corner. After inspecting it closely, she seemed to exhale in relief. “Good—no cuts.”

“Would’ve been a shame otherwise.” Her lips curved. “Go on, have your porridge.”

The woman nodded and sat down to eat properly. She even tried to beat Lu Huan to the dishes afterward, just like before. They headed to the company together after breakfast, everything proceeding as normal.

Lu Huan sighed inwardly.

Finally, she’d coaxed her back to normal.

—

Inside a villa, Hong Shuo paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, his leather shoes scraping noisily against the floor. His gut bulged out his shirt like a round ball.

Footsteps approached from outside. He instantly schooled his anxious expression, flopped lazily onto the sofa, and lit a cigarette.

His lackey butler entered, face etched with tension. He bent at the waist and stammered, “B-Bro Hong, this… this is something the missus had sent over.”

Hong Shuo was already in a foul mood. He shot the man a glare. “What the hell is it? Spit it out already—why are you being so damn wussy about it?”

The butler handed over a stack of documents. Hong Shuo snatched them, flipped it open, smoothed a corner, and scanned the contents. His eyes bulged wide. He flipped rapidly through the rest.

“Heh! Good, real good. So this time you’re dead set on divorcing me?” He slammed the papers onto the table in fury, jabbing at them. “Divorce and take more than half the assets? In your dreams!”

The documents detailed a full asset split, ending with a divorce agreement.

She was playing for real this time!

“All these years without popping out a single chubby son, and I blamed you for it? Any other family would’ve kicked you to the curb ages ago. You think you’d get the chance to divorce me?”

“Fine, take the daughter if you want, but the money too? Ain’t no sweet deal like that in this world!”

Seeing him curse the papers up one side and down the other, the butler hurriedly patted his back. “Easy, Bro Hong. Don’t get worked up—wouldn’t want to ruin your health.”

Hong Shuo spat a couple of profanities, propped his legs up, and took a deep drag on his cigarette.

Just then, his phone screen lit up with a ping.

A message.

Hong Shuo exchanged a glance with the butler, grinning smugly around his cigarette.

“Bet it’s that bitch begging me to pick her up. Wanna wager?”

The butler hunched deferentially, grinning obsequiously. “Of course, of course. How could the missus bear to leave you?”

Hong Shuo snorted twice more and grabbed his phone.

But it was from an unknown number. He straightened up and tapped it open. Two messages: the first, an address at some alley mouth.

The second: “Only a fool would wait around.”

Hong Shuo narrowed his eyes at the strange number.

“……”

About an hour later, Hong Shuo arrived at the rundown street.

He couldn’t drive into the alley, so he parked in an empty spot outside and walked in alone.

The buildings around were old-style, crawling with years of grime and decay. Hardly a soul in sight. He followed the faded, peeling blue sign at the alley mouth to the street number in the address and ventured in.

He kept going, twisting through seven or eight turns amid the maze. After one more bend, a dead end loomed abruptly ahead.

No way through.

Years of street smarts told Hong Shuo the meeting spot was right here, so he stood his ground.

In the next silent instant, something pressed against his lower back.

It felt sharp.

…A dagger?!

Hong Shuo stiffened. “Who the hell are you?”

“Shh. Don’t turn around.” The voice was a low, magnetic feminine timbre—somewhere around thirty to forty years old.

Hong Shuo swallowed hard. He’d never expected her to come at him with a blade right off the bat. A glance at the shadow by his feet showed her as tall and slender.

But she wouldn’t do anything—he’d come prepared—

“Relax. I won’t hurt you. You’ve got men posted all around, and that GPS tracker on you? If anything happens, they’ll call the cops in seconds.”

Her words were casual, laced with disdain, but they nailed every precaution he’d taken.

This wasn’t some small-time player. Hong Shuo gritted his teeth. “Why’d you call me out here?”

“Because of recent events, obviously. Someone’s gotta clue you in—you have no idea how bad the Lu Family’s played you.”

Hong Shuo’s eyes widened. “What’re you getting at?”

“You’ve been losing sleep waiting for that message from the Lin Group, right? Forget it—you’re not getting one.” The woman chuckled. “Lu Huan and Lin Ting teamed up to screw you over ages ago.”

“Use that pig brain of yours. If the Lin Group really planned to use you, why drag it out this long?”

Teamed up?

Hong Shuo’s mind raced, sudden realization dawning. “So… it was all arranged between them?”

The woman laughed. “Bingo. Lu Huan used Lin Ting to snag the evidence you handed over, then rooted out all your contacts in the company. Cleaned house in one go.”

“You’ve been the only one spun around from start to finish. Oh, right… hasn’t it occurred to you why your wife picks this exact moment to divorce you?”

The words jolted him awake. Hong Shuo startled.

“Don’t tell me… they put her up to it?!”

It made sense now! No way it was such a coincidence.

Having reached that conclusion and tying it to everything before, Hong Shuo seethed at being played from beginning to end. “Those damn bitches!!!”

“No point in your impotent raging.” The woman’s red lips quirked, her lazy drawl stretching out.

“I’ll teach you what to do.”

“……”

—

After resolving the new supplier issue last time, Qining locked in the next partner, filling the gap and returning to normal operations. The new plan quickly passed, and eyes turned back toward the future.

With Yi Ming’s help, Hong Shuo’s connections in the operations department were swiftly purged—finally rooting out the weeds clean to prevent future troubles.

Lu Huan had been spot on: Lin Ting’s proposal for this collaboration had her private motives, sure, but also aimed at reconciliation. Easing tensions so Qining wouldn’t pursue the supplier theft any further. Clever play.

With the storm subsided, she promoted Wen Jiyun to vice general manager.

The little hiccup passed.

The Planning Department had weathered the turbulence at last. With new leadership and the main plan approved, the pent-up tension eased. Even the daily office vibe lightened up.

During work hours, Bai Jin finished her tasks ahead of time.

Her workload had lightened lately; not much landed on her desk, and she worked fast. She had a good chunk of free time.

She leaned back in her chair, her right hand brushing the black elastic band looped around her left wrist.

Just a plain black velvet hair tie—simple, unremarkable. The kind you’d drop on the ground and no one would notice after stepping on it twice.

But what it hid inside? Only she knew.

These days had been steady between them. She’d wait until everyone left before heading to Lu Huan’s office, sometimes staying to work together, other times going home with her.

No one suspected anything beyond boss and subordinate.

“Bai Jin, heard a rumor—the big boss upstairs is planning a summer team-building trip.” Ren Ningning scooted over, bubbling with excitement.

“Gotta say, the company’s perks are solid. Won’t eat into weekends, it’s paid, you can bring family, and everything’s fully reimbursed!”

Ren Ningning had just gone on the spring outing earlier this year; the memory was fresh. She might gripe about the company under her breath normally, but when it came to benefits, she gave credit where due.

Bai Jin wasn’t all that interested. “Is that so.”

“Yeah! Hmm, it’s summer now, so probably somewhere to beat the heat, like a water amusement park.” Ren Ningning speculated.

Team-building, huh?

Bai Jin didn’t dwell on it. She glanced down at her phone, switched to her WeChat account. A message sat at the top—from Lu Huan.

A picture. She tapped to enlarge.

It was…

Two tickets to the aquarium?

—

In a café on the edge of downtown, the decor evoked old European charm. It was packed daily, but the second-floor outdoor seats were reserved for friends and special guests.

Yu Shan, brewing coffee with her gaze lowered, sensed a guest in all black arrive. She looked up, meeting those inky eyes.

Her lips hooked up. “You’re here?”

Moments later, the two sat at an outdoor coffee table on the rooftop. An umbrella cast shade, blocking the sun. A breeze stirred the air, keeping it from feeling too hot.

“Why the sudden craving for this?”

Yu Shan returned after changing her clothes, dressed simply in a loose white T-shirt and black cropped pants. The electric blue tips of her hair draped over her shoulders as she leaned back against the chair with casual laziness.

She handed two blue tickets over.

Lu Huan took them and flipped them front and back a couple of times. She was just about to respond when a voice called out.

“Fan! Fan! Fan! I want the fresh coconut from last time—” The words cut off abruptly. “Eh! Why are you here too?”

Lu Huan looked up to see Zhong Ruo strolling over with her arm hooked around Lu Huan’s waist. A headache brewing, Lu Huan rubbed her forehead. “Why do you show up everywhere?”

“I drop by sometimes to sit. That’s totally normal,” Zhong Ruo said, smacking her lips. She set her bag aside and plopped down in a seat.

When she noticed Lu Huan tsking twice, Zhong Ruo leaned forward from the waist up. “What’s wrong? Are you still mad about last time? Let me apologize. I didn’t mean to—I really had no idea—”

“Last time? Mad?” Yu Shan’s gaze darted back and forth between them. “What happened behind my back that I don’t know about?”

“She barged into the company, pointed at some woman, and declared her my girlfriend. Utterly ridiculous.”

Lu Huan pursed her lips, straightened the two tickets one atop the other, snapped a photo with her phone, found the contact in her WeChat list, and sent it off.

Yu Shan thought it sounded especially absurd. She turned to Zhong Ruo. “Ha. Are you really that bored?”

Zhong Ruo bristled right away. “Bored? I’m swamped! These past few days I’ve been buried in brand work, totally wiped out. I barely carved out time to come see you two!”

“And besides, isn’t it because I care so much about Lu Huan? Just look at her mouth—how could anyone not worry?”

Lu Huan shot her a look. “Well, thanks a lot, then.”

Zhong Ruo huffed. “If you’re so tough, stop rolling your eyes!”

“As expected of you two. Bickering the moment you meet,” Yu Shan said. She bit down on her straw, a smile curling at her lips.

Zhong Ruo huffed a couple more times. Then her attention shifted, landing on the aquarium tickets behind Lu Huan. “Eh? Why the aquarium? And two tickets, no less?”

“Going with your sister?”

Lu Huan hadn’t even opened her mouth when Yu Shan froze. Her brows furrowed. “Sister?”

Zhong Ruo nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, her little sister’s started at the company. That’s what happened last time—I accidentally mistook her sister for Lu Huan’s girlfriend.”

Yu Shan found it even more outrageous. “You mistook that?”

Zhong Ruo opened her mouth to fire back, but the words died on the tip of her tongue.

Hm?

Yeah… why had she made that mistake?

Hiss—it was because she’d heard Lu Huan was getting close to some beautiful woman, and then there was that injury on her mouth.

It was only natural to jump to conclusions…

Thinking back on it, Bai Jin had gone quiet after Zhong Ruo brought up Lu Huan’s romantic history. And Lu Huan had flown into a rage the moment she’d heard it mentioned.

Setting aside the whole “sister” thing, didn’t that sound just like the vibe between a pair of lovebirds?

Could it be…

Zhong Ruo clapped a hand over her mouth and whipped her head toward Lu Huan. “Lu Huan, don’t tell me…!”