Xiao Ninghe called Qiu Shuxue and asked her to come to the company, but Qiu Shuxue refused. She said she was waiting for her sister at home, and if she left, she would never wait for her sister again.
Xiao Ninghe pinched her phone tightly, her brows furrowed. She truly couldn’t figure out who this sister of hers was. She even wondered if Qiu Shuxue had found herself a girlfriend.
Yin Sisi keenly pointed out, “Last time, I kept feeling like there was someone at her house…”
Luo Qingmeng was already extremely nervous and uneasy, overwhelmed with guilt. When she imagined Qiu Shuxue waiting for her, her heart ached like it was being twisted by a knife. She angrily snapped, “Whether there’s someone at her house or not is none of your business. The important thing is that moron Li An!”
She had never liked Yin Sisi. No matter her tone or her gaze, Yin Sisi always seemed to look down on people—like she relished the gossip but acted all above it. Now that Luo Qingmeng had cursed her out, she instantly felt relieved. “What do you mean by always beating around the bush like that? Do you think you’re so great, so pure, so superior? Everyone’s just trying to get by in life. What gives you the right to always look down on me?”
Yin Sisi was stunned. She hadn’t expected Luo Qingmeng to be so bold. Her face flushed red, and she looked intimidated. She even dared to curse at her? But then again, Yin Sisi didn’t treat Li An like a person anyway, and she probably didn’t care much about the others either. Still, she didn’t dare to snap back.
Yin Sisi pressed her lips together. “Wasn’t it you who came to the company making a scene?”
Xiao Ninghe defended Luo Qingmeng. “Enough. Li An doesn’t even know what he filmed. How do you know he didn’t capture you too?”
Yin Sisi was at a loss for words.
Luo Qingmeng felt suffocated and had to get one more thing off her chest to vent. “I never did anything to offend you, so why do you always look at me like I’m beneath you? Have you ever really tried to understand who I am? I was the one who got deceived. I used to cook meals for you all seriously, and I’m angry and upset too, you know.”
She would never have anything to do with Li An again. If she didn’t vent this anger, it would fester inside her forever. “I especially regret those times I cooked for you!”
Yin Sisi didn’t dare make a peep.
The department director arrived, and things had truly escalated. The director’s main point was to get Luo Qingmeng to leave first and handle the voyeurism internally—they just didn’t want a big scandal.
Luo Qingmeng wouldn’t leave without her money. She insisted on getting paid. Most importantly, what if Li An sued her or ran off again? That would be a nightmare.
“If he committed voyeurism, then you need to call the police. Who knows if you’ll cover for him? I’ve already played the shrew—now, if you want me to leave, you shouldn’t be telling me to act sensibly. You should be telling Li An to pay me sooner.”
It was brutally realistic. Luo Qingmeng found it incredibly hard to say those words because everyone thought she was making an ugly scene. The looks they gave her were full of mockery and misunderstanding.
The director just wanted to avoid a company scandal and started siding with her. “Li An, give her the money. If there’s no voyeurism, then she’s the one who slandered you.”
“Li An, you don’t want HR getting involved, do you?”
“How can you not even come up with 150,000…”
Li An sat in his chair, held down by two men. He pushed up his crooked glasses and looked at Luo Qingmeng. “I’ll give you at most 80,000. Our original agreement was for 50,000.”
150,000! No less. That was the agreed amount. You gave me 10,000 and went around saying you gave me 550,000—I’ve been merciful not to demand the rest.
Li An wouldn’t budge. “Just 80,000.”
Luo Qingmeng knew his type all too well. “You’ve got 100,000 right now, don’t you? I don’t care. It’s also around payday. You have to give me 150,000!”
She had timed her visit perfectly, knowing it was payday for Li An. He had mortgage and car payments every month, so he’d hold some back—he couldn’t go all-in at once.
Everyone urged Li An to pay Luo Qingmeng quickly. They stared at his phone intently. Before long, three more people walked in through the office door.
The office director nodded at him. Xiao Ninghe went up to the two in front and said a few words, then came back to Luo Qingmeng. “That’s Shuxue’s uncle. He’s here to investigate the voyeurism. If Shuxue was filmed too, he’s probably done for.”
The man walked up to Li An, who looked visibly panicked. Luo Qingmeng worried that Li An might spout nonsense, claiming he and Qiu Shuxue had something going on—that would give her uncle a heart attack.
The uncle was more reasonable than the others. He said something to Li An, his eyes sharp and stern. Then, 150,000 arrived in Luo Qingmeng’s Alipay.
Before she left, Luo Qingmeng went to call Shuxue’s uncle over to a slightly more private spot. “He might have deleted everything from his gallery by now, but I recorded a video. It has Qiu Shuxue in it…”
Luo Qingmeng showed it to him. The uncle’s face darkened.
Luo Qingmeng wasn’t entirely sure now if all the photos were just of Qiu Shuxue alone. At first, since she and Qiu Shuxue had shared a room, she recognized her a bit and assumed she was the mistress.
“Alright, we’ll handle it. We’ll also contact the police,” the uncle said. Then he looked at Luo Qingmeng seriously. Her heart raced with tension and fear. She quickly said, “Don’t listen to Li An’s nonsense. I’m just Qiu Shuxue’s neighbor—we’re just close friends, that’s all.”
“Got it.”
With her money secured, Luo Qingmeng glanced at Li An. He glared back at her viciously, but she glared right back without backing down. She was afraid of retaliation, so she threw out a threat. “If you spread more rumors about me, I’ll go to your hometown neighborhood and curse you out, saying you’re a pervert who films people in the city. Let’s see who’s tougher.”
Luo Qingmeng dared to make such a scene at the company because she had nothing to lose—barefoot and fearless against those with shoes. No matter how ruthless Li An was, he couldn’t outdo her.
Luo Qingmeng gripped her phone and walked out calmly. Once no one was watching, her nose suddenly stung, and tears threatened to fall.
Xiao Ninghe was on the phone at the door. “You’re really not coming? It’s Li An’s wife—ex-wife, I mean. His ex-wife came to make trouble… Your uncle’s already here and handled it.”
Luo Qingmeng staggered slightly. She couldn’t quite describe the feeling. She had treated Qiu Shuxue like a mistress, cursing and insulting her, even spending her money freely… And now…
As Luo Qingmeng walked downstairs, she desperately wanted to look back, but her heart was filled with fear and panic. Down below, the dark clouds parted, and the sun came out.
She checked the time.
It was already 1 p.m.
Should she go back?
The sun grew brighter, warming her body.
She pulled out those photos on her phone. After recording them, she had found them too disgusting to look at again. But now… She stared down at them, overwhelmed with grief. She wanted to cry but couldn’t.
Li An really was trash. To think he secretly filmed people… Utterly shameless.
She sat downstairs for half an hour before heading to the subway station. Even after ten minutes of walking, she stumbled along, drained of energy. Kind strangers even asked if she was feeling ill.
Luo Qingmeng pulled herself together and bought a fixed-term deposit for 100,000. She comforted herself that the only silver lining was the 160,000 in compensation from the divorce settlement—she could move anywhere without worry now.
She wished the subway would go slower, slower still, all the way to tomorrow. But Luo Qingmeng still arrived at her station.
She lingered at the entrance for a long time before going upstairs to her door. She pressed her forehead against it. Before leaving that morning, she had actually planned to take Qiu Shuxue out for a meal upon returning—like a farewell dinner. Now what…?
Luo Qingmeng entered the passcode. Yesterday, she had pulled out all her luggage bags, planning to sort what to take and what to sell secondhand today.
Should she just say it outright? Sorry, Qiu Shuxue—I mistook you for the mistress…?
Everything in the apartment—many things had been bought with Qiu Shuxue’s money, and back then, she hadn’t felt the slightest heartache.
She checked her WeChat again.
Qiu Shuxue’s friend request note read: 【Are you back? I didn’t leave. I’ve been waiting for you.】
Luo Qingmeng forced herself to perk up. She washed her face, applied her toner and moisturizer, and put on some simple lipstick. Qiu Shuxue soon opened the door. She had done her makeup simply too.
Qiu Shuxue leaned against the doorframe, her expression not great. She glanced at Luo Qingmeng and fell silent. Luo Qingmeng’s heart leaped to her throat—she felt like Qiu Shuxue already knew everything.
Luo Qingmeng waited for Qiu Shuxue’s judgment. After a long moment, Qiu Shuxue said, “Sister, can we go on a date now?”
Luo Qingmeng stared at her with wide eyes. Just like that?
She had nothing to say?
“A date should be more formal, right?” Qiu Shuxue said. “Let me go change into something else.”
As Qiu Shuxue turned to go inside, Luo Qingmeng grabbed the hem of her clothes. Her fingers pinched it lightly. Qiu Shuxue looked at her in confusion, then her eyes brightened. “Sister, this is the first time you’ve taken the initiative to grab me.”
“Qiu… Qiu Shuxue… you…” Luo Qingmeng desperately wanted to explain everything, but she didn’t know where to start. Qiu Shuxue looked at her puzzled.
Luo Qingmeng stammered for a long time, her tongue twisting.
Qiu Shuxue said, “You got the money today, right?”
Luo Qingmeng nodded. Qiu Shuxue continued, “I really wanted to go with you and give Li An a piece of my mind, but after thinking it over, you should know who was protecting me by finding out about his secret filming, right?”
“I… I…” Luo Qingmeng’s guilt was about to explode.
Protecting and retaliating were just one word apart. Luo Qingmeng couldn’t bring herself to say it, but holding it in felt even worse. “Qiu Shuxue…”
“Wait while I change clothes,” Qiu Shuxue said. She wanted to step forward but was reluctant to let Luo Qingmeng release her grip on her clothes, so she added, “Why don’t you help me pick out an outfit?”
It was just a casual remark, but Luo Qingmeng actually came in to help her choose. These days, Luo Qingmeng’s sense of style came entirely from studying big data trends.
As they browsed, they came across a white dress. Luo Qingmeng had seen Qiu Shuxue wear it before—it was a slim, lightweight number that gave her an air of refined elegance, like the poised young ladies described in classic novels.
Luo Qingmeng truly regretted it now. Why had she been so foolish back then, thinking Qiu Shuxue was the other woman…
“Am I being good?” Qiu Shuxue asked.
Luo Qingmeng nodded.
She was good—very good.
Luo Qingmeng said, “Actually, I…”
“I’m so happy, Sis. Let’s go on a date.” Qiu Shuxue grabbed a bag.
The two of them headed out together. Luo Qingmeng pressed the elevator button and said, “Your uncle might find out about us… Li An could go blabbing.”
