Chapter 51: Happy New Year, May All Your Wishes Come True. Part 3

The tide in Mu Shanyi’s eyes extinguished. She stood silently, lowering her lashes, color draining from her face.

Mutual benefit.

So that was it.

Miao Zhu hadn’t started this relationship with her for thrills.

Repeatedly barring her from contacting Miao Ling wasn’t to shield her from trouble, but to prevent disrupting the plan.

How much effort had Miao Zhu exerted tonight amid the confrontation?

…

She was a pawn Miao Zhu had planted.

Those bodily entAngelments were payment Miao Zhu traded.

“Snort.”

Ni Xiaoying’s near-exploding rage turned via this snort into undisguised contempt. Fair enough—Mu Shanyi was negotiating marriage with door-equal Zheng Simiao; what could Miao Zhu compare to One Tree’s princess?

A bed toy—once tiring, Mu Shanyi would discard her. If Miao Zhu clung, someone would deal with her.

Ni Xiaoying tucked her messy hair behind her ear. Her goal tonight achieved: “Since Miao Zhu made it so clear, Miao Ling, we can reach a consensus, right? Cancel your daughter’s marriage to our Xingran—the South District Industrial Park project cooperation—”

She sneered, lips curling: “Let the investment contract expire. Since you look down on the Sheng Family’s meager offerings, we have no duty to stick our warm faces to cold asses. Wait for our legal team!”

Miao Ling fretted over Miao Zhu’s words about Mu Shanyi, then heard Ni Xiaoying threaten to withdraw funding—her heart skipped beats. Sheng withdrawal meant banks would likely press; even without recalling loans, special audits would fail. To advance both industrial parks, they’d been robbing Peter to pay Paul—if the basket emptied…

But soon she lifted her chin at Ni Xiaoying: “Fine.”

The funding for the industrial park project was in jeopardy because of Mu Shanyi, so Mu Shanyi could not sit idly by.

No matter what nonsense Miao Zhu spouted, the fact remained that she and Mu Shanyi had been intimate. By securing a place by Mu Shanyi’s side first, it would naturally become hard to part with time. Then, by holding onto Miao Zhu, how could Mu Shanyi not promote her?

The more Miao Ling thought about it, the more relieved she felt. What did Ni Xiaoying have to be smug about? She had merely married into the Sheng Family, while her daughter, Miao Ling’s daughter, had the ability to win over the head of the Mu Family!

“A-Heng, Auntie won’t disturb you anymore.” Ni Xiaoying turned and saw Miao Ling’s smug, villainous expression. She guessed that the woman was still dreaming of climbing the social ladder. How laughable.

So she smiled. “But A-Heng, Auntie has one more thing to nag you about. You’re at the helm of the Mu Family’s great ship—everyone wants to suck some blood from it, to get a piece of the pie. Some people are like leeches, insatiable, repaying kindness with enmity. Getting involved with them is big trouble. There’s a living example right in front of you. Auntie has said her piece.”

Miao Ling snorted through her nostrils. Ni Xiaoying pressed the elevator button and turned back to Sheng Xingran. “Xingran! Let’s go home.”

Sheng Xingran snapped out of her daze. She took a deep, long breath.

These past days, she had been unable to figure out how Miao Zhu could get entAngeld with Mu Shanyi. It shouldn’t have happened—what could rival their more than a decade of feelings? So she could only hate Mu Shanyi for stealing her love and hate Miao Zhu for not firmly choosing her.

But tonight, Miao Zhu said she had never liked her and had always been forcing herself to cater to her and please her all along.

Miao Zhu had also tried to use He Zizhou, hadn’t she? And failed.

So she deliberately hooked up with Mu Shanyi.

Anyone but Mu Shanyi.

“How could she be so malicious.”

Only Mu Shanyi could become the thorn in her heart, one that she could never pull out or get past. Because of Mu Shanyi, she and Miao Zhu could never be together again.

“Too malicious.”

The person she loved most in the world had, at the moment when she was most hopeful about their future, personally severed her affection in the cruelest way.

Sheng Xingran walked toward Miao Zhu and took her hand.

Miao Zhu was the same as before and did not refuse her.

These hands were very soft and also very cool. Although the constant temperature system was on here, Miao Zhu was dressed so thinly—would she be cold?

Sheng Xingran warmed Miao Zhu’s hand in her own palm. She lowered her head and looked at their perfectly overlapping hands, thinking that from now on they would become parallel lines that could never intersect. Tears “plop” fell onto the back of her hand.

Was being with her so painful? She would rather be Mu Shanyi’s secret lover, toyed with by Mu Shanyi, just to shake her off?

“If you don’t like me, don’t want to marry me, we could have talked openly and honestly. I’m not unreasonable, Longlong. Is it worth it to degrade yourself like this?”

Ni Xiaoying hurried over on swift feet and slapped their sticky hands apart. She knew Sheng Xingran was indecisive, but she didn’t know she could be this spineless—babbling on with all that sentimental nonsense!

She grabbed Sheng Xingran to drag her to the elevator, but Sheng Xingran fiercely shook her off. “Are you satisfied now that it’s blown up like this!?”

Sheng Xingran screamed hoarsely, her eyes completely red. Ni Xiaoying involuntarily softened her tone. “What do you mean I’m causing a scene? Am I not doing this for your own good?”

“For my good, for my good— You don’t dare say it, so I will! You don’t dare tear face with the Mu Family, so you use Miao Zhu as an excuse to vent! You’re spineless toward the Mu Family, toward Mu Shanyi—”