As soon as Ji Zhenshi walked away, Li Yunli immediately noticed the absence of that persistent gaze always fixed on her. She felt much more relaxed.
“May your business boom and your wealth flow endlessly. Of course, I know what Manager Li really wants to hear: I hope you and Ji Zhenshi grow old together, forever basking in the river of love.” Tang Xien handed the bouquet from her arms to Li Yunli, removed her sunglasses, and gave her a slight smile.
In truth, she had foreseen it—how could Ji Zhenshi and Li Yunli ever part ways?
These two were cut from the same cloth, bound so tightly that they could never separate in this lifetime. At most, they’d bicker and sulk a little.
Li Yunli accepted the flowers and replied politely, “Sounds good. Thank you, Miss Tang. What would you like to drink? I’ll make it for you.”
“No need to trouble yourself, Manager Li. Actually, I came today because I have something to discuss with you…” Tang Xien hesitated, trailing off.
“Xiao Zhen blacks out when she wakes up from being drunk and remembers almost nothing from the night before. In fact, she recalls nothing at all. What happened that evening ends with me—I heard nothing. Honestly, I don’t think this was worth a special trip on your part, no matter the reason. Let’s leave it at the evidence.”
This had to be Tang Xien’s other purpose for coming. Otherwise, she never cared for such events. For the grand opening of a small coffee shop, she truly had no reason to attend in person.
Li Yunli brushed it aside gently. She had anticipated what Tang Xien would say and had no desire to let her probe whether she’d told Ji Zhenshi anything.
It wasn’t something worth telling Ji Zhenshi in the first place. Regardless of Tang Xien’s motives, she was ultimately Ji Zhenshi’s benefactor, and Li Yunli understood the delicate balance of pros and cons.
Tang Xien smiled gratefully. “Then thank you, Manager Li. With such an understanding partner in your corner, Ji Zhenshi is truly enviable—even to me.”
Li Yunli hadn’t told Ji Zhenshi.
It was an expected outcome. Tang Xien had a rough sense of what kind of person Li Yunli was.
“You’re being too polite, Miss Tang. We’re the ones endlessly grateful for your mentorship of Xiao Zhen.” Li Yunli pondered for a few seconds before asking suddenly, “May I ask you a question?”
“Of course. Ask away.”
“Has Xiao Zhen proven anything for you?” Li Yunli asked with a smile.
Tang Xien harbored many secrets. She wasn’t a simple person—strictly separating personal and professional matters. She’d shared her past emotional life with Li Yunli, but in all those late-night heart-to-hearts, she’d never once mentioned work.
None of that mattered to Li Yunli, though. She cared far more about Ji Zhenshi.
Tang Xien hadn’t expected the question. She gazed thoughtfully at Li Yunli before replying in a joking tone, “She added a couple extra ribs to my straightened spine.”
“That’s wonderful. Xiao Zhen never disappoints.”
“Indeed.”
Ji Zhenshi’s future prospects were bright. Accepting her as a student was one decision Tang Xien never regretted.
“By the way, with Ji Zhenshi not here, telling you should be the same. I looked into that matter she asked for help with. Ye Wuzhi approached her because of me. I’ve dug up her background, so tell her not to worry. I’ll have someone make sure she backs off and stops harassing her.”
Ye Wuzhi actually wanted to become another Ji Zhenshi, getting close to Tang Xien.
Unfortunately, no matter how well she disguised herself, to Tang Xien, she was nothing but a clown. Tang Xien could spot those petty schemes at a glance—only Ji Zhenshi was oblivious enough to miss them.
Li Yunli nodded. “Got it. I’ll pass it along.”
“Come on, everyone, take a look! This shop’s manager, Li Yunli, has been carrying on an ambiguous affair with my husband for ages. She knows full well he’s a married man, yet she seduces him. This past year, they’ve dined alone more than once. My husband even skips work on weekends to visit her rundown coffee shop.
“Face the facts: Li Yunli is a homewrecker, a vixen who puts on an air of elegance to stir men’s protective instincts. She’s a venomous woman—don’t drink coffee here!
“Poor me, a woman raising a two-year-old alone while my husband never comes home. Who knows when she’ll get her hands on our family assets?”
That woman burst in clutching a stack of photos. She scanned the crowd twice, apparently not finding who she sought, and raised her voice to shout regardless.
Li Yunli noticed and gave Tang Xien a slight nod before stepping forward.
The woman’s shrill voice had already drawn attention, pulling every gaze toward her.
“Hello, ma’am. I’m Li Yunli, but I don’t believe I know you—or your husband, for that matter. If you have something to discuss, could we step aside?” Li Yunli’s expression grew serious. She didn’t want someone causing a scene on opening day; it felt like bad luck.
That woman ignored her, grabbing Li Yunli’s collar and demanding furiously, “Oh, you don’t know him? You seduce other women’s husbands and claim ignorance? Dare you say he didn’t help open this coffee shop of yours? I have the transfer records right here!”
“Call the police, Manager Li,” Tang Xien said coldly from behind her.
Li Yunli waved her off. “No need yet. There’s a misunderstanding.”
How could she possibly seduce a married man?
Li Yunli pried the woman’s hand from her collar with surprising force and said coolly, “Please calm down first. If you’re accusing me of seducing your husband, do you have proof? Baseless claims are slander, and I have surveillance footage here.”
That woman hadn’t expected the seemingly delicate Li Yunli to have such strength. Her hand was freed, but she quickly flung the stack of photos into Li Yunli’s arms. “Proof? This is proof! Take a good look. You were even dining with him on our child’s first birthday. What kind of spell did you cast on him?”
That woman hadn’t brought just one set; she began distributing copies to the onlookers nearby.
Li Yunli couldn’t attend to them all. She glanced at the photos in her hands.
They showed Zhou Hao, the regular who’d frequented the shop before. Most captured him drinking coffee and chatting with her, with a couple of shots of them dining alone. The timeline stretched back a full year.
A whole year. She certainly had persistence.
Li Yunli looked at a few and frowned. “Are you Zhou Hao’s wife?”
She remembered Zhou Hao claiming he was single—no kids, not even married. He’d pursued her, but after her rejection, he’d said to treat him as a regular friend. He’d even proactively helped her find the location for the new store, which had led to a misunderstanding with Ji Zhenshi at the time.
Li Yunli’s expression shifted as realization dawned: she’d been deceived.
“Yes, that’s right—the wife of the man you seduced, you vixen. You knew he was married and still got close to him?” That woman pressed aggressively, pulling out a screenshot and pointing to the transfer record. “Look—one lump sum of tens of thousands to her. Isn’t that proof? I stay home with the kid and get a measly five thousand a month, while he drops that much on her at once. How are my child and I supposed to live?”
The onlookers murmured, but no one sided with her—some even pushed back.
Most were friends of Li Yunli’s. Those who trusted her character from the photos rebutted a few times.
“She’s not the type. So what if he comes to the shop for coffee? She’s running a business— what’s wrong with that?”
“There aren’t even any intimate photos. Besides, Yunli isn’t single, so don’t spread rumors.”
“Then explain the transfer record!” that woman snarled.
Li Yunli tossed the photos onto a nearby table. “First off, he never mentioned having a family. Whether he did or not is irrelevant to me—we weren’t even ordinary friends. He was just a regular customer at my shop.”
Li Yunli glanced at the transfer screenshot, recalling it after a moment—it was from six months ago, the only one. “Second, your so-called proof of him giving me money? That’s the rent deposit I paid the landlord, refunded when I decided not to lease. I won’t deny he introduced me to the location, but why it came back through him, I don’t know—you should ask your husband directly. As for these photos, they’re just him visiting the shop for coffee and our normal interactions. I don’t understand how that becomes ‘seduction’ in your mouth. Please provide more direct evidence.”
Li Yunli didn’t bother defending herself excessively. She stood firm and open, without a trace of guilt like a caught adulteress—only anger.
Zhou Hao had lied to her. A married man pursuing her?
At first, unable to speak, her refusals had gone ignored multiple times. Later, she’d hinted both subtly and directly that she had someone she liked and didn’t want even a platonic friendship.
Yet Zhou Hao had been relentlessly persistent, and since he’d genuinely helped her secure the spot, Li Yunli had maintained a careful distance—not too close, not too far.
“Who’d believe you? Even when you couldn’t speak, you seduced men. Now you’re all silver-tongued. If he hadn’t given you money, how’d you open this place? Zhou Hao skipped work today—I bet he’ll show up here any minute.” That woman adopted a tantrum-throwing posture, utterly convinced of her narrative and refusing to accept Li Yunli’s words.
Of course. She’d long suspected her husband’s infidelity, tailed him for a year, waiting for this moment?
It was ridiculous—she ignored confronting her husband to harass a woman who might not even be the other party.
“You have no caught-in-the-act moment, no solid evidence. Stop slandering me. You’re not welcome here—please leave.” Li Yunli didn’t want to argue further and moved to usher her out.
Did they think she was a pushover anyone could bully?
She tolerated Yang Ying out of respect for Ji Zhenshi’s sake, as an elder. But this woman, deliberately crashing the opening day? Li Yunli offered no courtesy.
Li Yunli tried to push her out, but that woman dragged over a stool and plopped down in the middle of the shop. She even whipped out her phone, aiming it at Li Yunli, as if refusing to leave without an explanation. “Everyone, look! This is Zhou Hao’s mistress outside. A whole year—exactly one year—and now I finally get to expose your ugly faces here. Just wait; Zhou Hao will show up soon, and everything will be clear.”
The camera captured Li Yunli from head to toe.
Li Yunli instinctively raised a hand to block it. Before she could speak, a hand snatched the phone, an arm wrapped around her shoulders, and Ji Zhenshi deleted the video in seconds. She tossed the phone back into that woman’s lap, flashing the ring on her finger. “Sorry, Manager Li is only interested in me.”
That woman blinked, still processing as the phone landed in her lap. “Hey? Who the hell are you?”
Ji Zhenshi exuded a powerful aura, her arm around Li Yunli’s shoulders as she looked down scornfully. “You came here without doing your homework? You’re making a scene in my girlfriend’s shop, and you ask who I am? You’re hilarious.”
“Xiao Zhen, this…” Li Yunli started to explain, but Ji Zhenshi waved her off.
“No worries. I know the guy—that shameless clinger who stuck to you.”
Ji Zhenshi emphasized the latter half deliberately, lifting her chin in provocation.
That woman was stunned by Ji Zhenshi’s sudden appearance. It took her a while to stammer, “Your girlfriend? Do you know about her and Zhou Hao this past year?”
Ji Zhenshi glanced at the photos on the table and sneered. “This is your proof of cheating? Are you insane? It’s a business—can’t an owner and a customer be in the same frame?”
“I…!” That woman was speechless.
Mainly, Li Yunli didn’t seem the type to get physical, but Ji Zhenshi’s earlier display made everyone wonder if she’d snap and throw hands.
Ji Zhenshi mercilessly tore up the photos and threw them into the trash. “Are you leaving or not? Go settle things with that lying, wannabe single guy first. Besides, her taste isn’t that bad—she wouldn’t go for him.”
Ji Zhenshi’s contempt was blatant, her disdain for Zhou Hao unmasked.
Annoying. Sister A-Yun had her now—how could someone like Zhou Hao catch her eye?
Even back when they weren’t together, Li Yunli had shown no interest in Zhou Hao. It was clearly him chasing after her desperately.
That woman rose unconsciously, words stuck in her throat as Ji Zhenshi cut in. “Alright, my girlfriend’s gorgeous—you’re jealous, that’s normal. Instead of freaking out over a mistress, why not find the real problem? Get out, or I’ll start recording too.”
Ji Zhenshi pressed relentlessly, forcing her toward the door.
Unfazed by the woman’s venomous parting shots, Ji Zhenshi waved them off with hands in her pockets and a grin. “Manager Li, you’ve got some serious charm.”
The quip drew the curtain on the farce.
Ji Zhenshi sidled up to Li Yunli, handing her the camera and publicly linking arms with a coquettish whine. “Mission accomplished perfectly. Reward time, sis—make me a coffee?”
It was hard to imagine this was the same Ji Zhenshi whose combat prowess had just stunned everyone.
She’d shut down her opponent without letting her get a word in edgewise and chased her off, only to turn around and act all cutesy with Li Yunli. Did she have a split personality?
“Tsk tsk, Ji Zhenshi, got two faces, huh?”
“Yeah, even I was shocked.”
Even Tang Xien remarked, “Ji Zhenshi, you can throw hands?”
Li Yunli ruffled Ji Zhenshi’s hair. “Alright, reward’s yours.”
“Just a minor hiccup—nothing to dwell on,” Li Yunli reassured the customers.
The lively day drew to a close, and Ji Zhenshi followed Li Yunli home.
