She shook her head, looking at Jiang Ruoning’s spice-reddened lips.
She thought,
if it was this Jiang Ruoning kissing her right now…
she wouldn’t mind.
“Ruoning.” Shi Sui murmured with closed eyes. No response. She slowly opened them, turned her head—the spot beside her was cold, only half the blanket left.
“Jiang Ruoning?” Shi Sui sat up, head pounding from the hangover. Her face paled for a moment. She squinted at the window; sunlight peeked through the closed curtains, blazing hot.
What time was it?
Shi Sui got out of bed. Clothes littered the floor.
Hers.
Jiang Ruoning’s.
Jiang Ruoning wasn’t wearing clothes?
Had she showered?
Shi Sui slipped on a robe and left the room. Still no Jiang Ruoning. The living room was empty. She pressed her lips together. Her phone buzzed in the bedroom. Shi Sui returned to the nightstand. Next to the phone was Jiang Ruoning’s favorite “toy.”
Last night…
she had used it.
It had been cleaned, meant for her own use that night.
Shi Sui held her head and answered the call.
Jiang Nuan’s voice was anxious. “Why aren’t you picking up?”
Shi Sui saw Jiang Nuan had called four or five times that morning.
Not morning anymore.
It was already 10:30.
She asked, “What’s up?”
Jiang Nuan said, “Check online.”
Shi Sui hung up and clicked the link Jiang Nuan sent. It was still about Ai Wen and Jiang Ruoning from last night, but the situation had escalated.
Last night, Ai Wen’s comment section was flooded with people steering the narrative toward Jiang Ruoning, accusing her of stealing the role. This ignited Jiang Ruoning’s fans, who were already displeased with Ai Wen. The modeling world differed slightly from the entertainment industry—public opinion pressure served only as a reference for collaborations, not a decisive factor.
But Jiang Ruoning’s situation was different.
When she left Del amid the storm, she had been plagued by scandals for the past six months. Black fans didn’t care about the details and seized every chance to mock: [Steal it? That’s totally something Jiang Ruoning would do. Don’t forget how she left Del back then.]
[Kicked out by Del, because your dear sister wore the wrong brand.]
[Hilarious. First time hearing of a model wearing the wrong brand’s clothes.]
Of course, her fans fought back logically: [That incident wasn’t Ruoning’s fault at all! Ai Wen was the one who grabbed the wrong outfit! ]
[Exactly, Ruoning even went to the company to demand an explanation! ]
[It definitely wasn’t Ningning’s fault. If it was, why would Fengshang collaborate with her again last time? ]
[Who knows what tricks she pulled~]
Shi Sui stared at that comment, frowning. She called Jiang Nuan and asked, “What’s the situation at the company now?”
“The head office is watching and seems to want to cancel this collaboration,” Jiang Nuan replied, then asked Shi Sui, “Should we retract our post?”
Shi Sui said, “No need to retract it. Issue two statements.”
Jiang Nuan agreed.
Shi Sui hung up and surveyed the wreckage throughout the room, which felt no different from the messy online drama. She tidied the clothes one by one, changed the bedsheets and covers to fresh ones, and methodically finished cleaning. Then she opened the closet.
Jiang Ruoning’s dress from last time was gone.
No wonder these clothes were left behind.
Shi Sui picked out a shirt and suit pants, grabbed a silk scarf at random, and changed. She wrapped the scarf tightly around her neck, then put on her watch. Before leaving home, she saw the company statements Jiang Nuan had posted.
The first statement clarified that LESS had never promised collaboration with Ai Wen or Miss Du Youran—not even verbally.
The second was about Jiang Ruoning: She was the first model confirmed for the shoot, the company’s top choice, so there was no question of stealing the role.
The two statements went out simultaneously.
Jiang Ruoning’s fans grew bolder: [Come on, @AiWen, can you read? Steal? Steal your ass! ]
[Top choice @AiWen, hello? Can you see this? ]
[Turns out you were just throwing smoke bombs @AiWen]
[Toying with us? ]
Netizens and Jiang Ruoning’s fans had been strung along all night, their tempers flaring. They had been ready to swarm LESS, but the tide turned, and now they vented their fury at Ai Wen.
Ai Wen’s section wasn’t the only mess—Du Youran’s comments were equally unbearable.
Full of abuse.
Du Youran was furious and contacted Ai Wen: “What the hell do you mean by this? Now everyone’s cursing me!”
Ai Wen was unhappy too: “I didn’t expect this.”
Originally, the backlash had targeted Jiang Ruoning. Ai Wen had assumed brands would buckle under public pressure like before and drop her for safety.
But LESS openly challenged Del.
Du Youran snapped, “Didn’t expect? Didn’t you see LESS’s statement? They said there was never even a verbal promise.”
It wasn’t a lie.
That evening, Shi Sui and Jiang Nuan had invited them to dinner, but collaboration talks never came up. Du Youran, in full lovestruck mode, chatted endlessly about personal matters with Shi Sui, who smiled along pleasantly.
Old fox!
This sly old fox!
Ai Wen said, “So what if they didn’t? Don’t we still have the contract?”
Du Youran paused: “You mean…”
Ai Wen replied, “Since LESS chose to back Jiang Ruoning, they won’t collaborate with us anymore. What’s the difference if we burn bridges?”
Du Youran and Jiang Ruoning could never collaborate together anyway.
Du Youran frowned but before she could respond, Ai Wen had already posted the contract.
The one signed by Lin Wei.
When Shi Sui arrived at the company, Jiang Nuan waited downstairs. She stared in surprise, then muttered, “Wearing a scarf in the middle of summer? Aren’t you hot?”
Caught off guard, Shi Sui touched her neck, her expression unnatural: “Not hot.”
She asked, “What are you doing here?”
Jiang Nuan said, “Waiting for you to clock in.”
Shi Sui eyed her cheeky grin: “Is the online mess sorted?”
Jiang Nuan shook her head with a wry smile: “Sorted? You have no idea how chaotic it is online now.”
It was a total shitshow.
LESS’s statements had sent everyone after Ai Wen, but then she dropped the contract bomb.
Now the backlash flipped again.
LESS was getting hammered.
It was a major PR crisis. Mishandle it, and…
Jiang Nuan couldn’t sit still in the office amid calls from the head office and the committee—her head throbbed. She went downstairs for fresh air and ran into Shi Sui.
Shi Sui asked, “What are you worried about?”
Jiang Nuan wanted to scream: “How could I not be? Ai Wen has evidence now!”
They took the elevator up together.
Shi Sui remained calm: “So?”
Jiang Nuan said, “So we’re getting trashed! Online customers are starting to demand refunds!”
Shi Sui lowered her gaze.
Her phone buzzed.
It was Xu Qingqing.
Shi Sui didn’t pick up until the elevator doors opened.
Xu Qingqing demanded, “Terminate the collaboration with Jiang Ruoning immediately and issue an apology!”
Shi Sui ignored the order and said instead, “Director Xu, didn’t you already call a meeting? I think this is better discussed there.”
Xu Qingqing asked, “You don’t seriously think the committee will back you, do you?”
“Of course they will, Mom,” Shi Sui replied, her voice clear and laced with a teasing lilt that sent shivers through Xu Qingqing’s ear: “The signature is Lin Wei’s. Lin Wei negotiated the contract. What does it have to do with me?”
Xu Qingqing was speechless: “You!”
As if struck by a realization, Shi Sui added, “Director Xu, instead of yelling at me, why not convince Lin Wei to step down from the Q4 project? That way, we all save face.”
Xu Qingqing slammed the phone down.
Jiang Nuan got it now: “You invited Ai Wen and Du Youran not just because of Jiang Ruoning?”
Or rather…
Not only because of Jiang Ruoning.
The main target was Lin Wei.
Lin Wei must have drafted a collaboration agreement with Ai Wen and Du Youran, leading to that signed contract—though it hadn’t been officially stamped by the company yet. If it had, Ai Wen and Du Youran wouldn’t have shown up that night.
Obviously.
To resolve this PR disaster, force Lin Wei out of the Q4 project. Without being general agent or lead, she couldn’t represent the company in contracts.
If the LESS committee wanted to save the brand, they had to sacrifice Lin Wei.
Jiang Nuan hadn’t understood that morning why Shi Sui wanted both statements issued at once.
Now she did.
Shared glory, shared ruin.
If the first statement was debunked by Ai Wen’s contract, no one would believe the second one about Jiang Ruoning.
But protecting the first statement’s validity protected the second.
Link Jiang Ruoning to LESS with the two statements.
And to safeguard the first? Only by ousting Lin Wei as general agent and from Q4.
Sacrifice the pawn to save the king.
Even Xu Qingqing couldn’t cover for Lin Wei’s massive screw-up.
Jiang Nuan laughed: “Lin Wei must be losing her mind right now.”
Shi Sui shrugged innocently: “I didn’t start this fire.”
Jiang Nuan stared at her.
She had only three words in mind.
Black-hearted.
This woman was too black-hearted!
From Ai Wen’s exposé, she had tacitly allowed Xu Qingqing to fan the flames behind the scenes, escalating the drama. Without Xu Qingqing’s hired trolls stirring the pot, Ai Wen’s petty insinuations wouldn’t have stayed so hot.
Xu Qingqing had outsmarted herself—hoisted by her own petard.
Who knew what faces she and Lin Wei wore now.
Jiang Nuan couldn’t help giving a thumbs-up, then said, “I’m heading to the PR meeting.”
As she turned to leave, Shi Sui called out: “Wait.”
Jiang Nuan turned back.
Shi Sui asked, “You…” She hesitated: “Can you contact Jiang Ruoning?”
Jiang Nuan thought for a moment: “Sure?”
She pulled out her phone, found Jiang Ruoning’s WeChat, and asked Shi Sui: “What should I send?”
Shi Sui said, “Anything.”
Jiang Nuan found it odd but sent an emoji.
She handed the phone to Shi Sui: “There.”
Shi Sui took it and saw the sent emoji—no reply from Jiang Ruoning. Shi Sui stared at the screen. Jiang Nuan frowned: “Don’t you have her on your friends list?”
Shi Sui didn’t look up: “Yeah, she blocked me.”
Jiang Nuan was shocked: “What did you do?”
Shi Sui paused her typing and sent a WeChat message.
Instantly, a red exclamation mark popped up.
Shi Sui: …
She handed the phone back: “Nothing.”
Jiang Nuan didn’t buy it. She took the phone: “If you won’t tell me, I’ll ask her myself.”
Shi Sui kept typing on her keyboard.
Then Jiang Nuan yelped in despair: “She blocked me too!!”
