Chapter 39 Part 1

Golden sunlight spilled onto the street. An orange-and-white cat lounged lazily in front of a small shop, eyes narrowed to slits.

The midday Lower City was infused with a leisurely air.

A taxi with a B-plate drove along the sparsely trafficked asphalt road, finally pulling up in front of a hotel named Elmshade Hotel.

Yu Mo and Shen Shuyu emerged from opposite rear doors of the taxi.

This hotel was Yu Mo’s family’s establishment, located at the junction of District B and District C.

“Little Fish, what brings you here? No classes today?” The receptionist at the front desk greeted her warmly as she saw Yu Mo enter.

“Yes, I do. I just brought a classmate for a meal. We’ll head back after.” Yu Mo explained, leading Shen Shuyu to the front desk. “Jiejie, could you open a private room for us?”

Shen Shuyu stood quietly behind Yu Mo, discreetly observing her family’s hotel.

It was slightly different from the image she remembered from her previous life.

The grand, classical European staircases flanking the hall lacked the gaudy decorations she recalled. The superficial, poorly conceived pseudo-Baroque style had vanished.

The entire lobby appeared bright, clean, and possessed an understated, restrained luxury.

Shen Shuyu easily guessed that Yu Mo had offered some suggestions to her family.

It seemed Yu Mo had already begun working on elevating the family hotel to the next level.

Having chosen a private room, Yu Mo turned back to see Shen Shuyu quietly surveying the lobby she, Yu Mo, had helped redesign.

Yu Mo walked over to her. “What do you think?”

Perhaps because Yu Mo suddenly stood so close, or perhaps because her warm breath abruptly brushed Shen Shuyu’s ear, a current shot through the side of Shen Shuyu’s body closest to Yu Mo, leaving tingling numbness in its wake.

Struggling to remain composed, Shen Shuyu replied, “Mhm. Not bad.”

“Truly a rarity to earn the approval of Miss Shen herself. Come on, I’ll let you taste our family’s cooking in a bit.” Pleased, Yu Mo led the way up the stairs with a touch of pride.

Shen Shuyu followed behind, thinking Yu Mo really was like an easily placated little wolf cub.

Her emotions flared and subsided quickly. A little recognition could cheer her up for quite a while.

Why had she been unwilling to do this before?

The hotel had excellent soundproofing. The entire corridor was fitted with acoustic materials, soft and steady underfoot.

In this exceptionally quiet environment, a burst of overly hearty laughter drifted from a distant emergency exit.

“Don’t worry. For this bid, I deliberately contacted them privately. I won’t agree to cooperate unless they lower their price on their own. After all, it’s a Lower City hotel. If they want to climb up, they have to pay a price.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’re just skinning them a bit. Whether they can handle it is their business.”

…

Both Yu Mo and Shen Shuyu heard these words clearly. And both knew exactly which “Lower City hotel” the man was referring to.

Yu Mo’s eyes fixed on the narrow glass pane of the emergency exit, behind which she saw half a malicious, cunning face. Her fists clenched involuntarily.

The Upper City’s prejudice against the Lower City was persistent, unabashed, even smug.

Seeing Yu Mo lift her foot to charge over, Shen Shuyu swiftly grabbed her wrist. “Where are you going?!”

“I’m going to make it clear to him: our family will never cooperate with him!” Yu Mo wouldn’t stoop to physical violence, of course. She simply wanted to throw this despicable villain out.

“Calm down. Don’t act so rashly.” Shen Shuyu still held onto Yu Mo.

From his tone, Shen Shuyu could tell the man wasn’t from some small Upper City company.

After all, in a place like the Upper City, cliques were deeply entrenched. Offending one person was a small matter; offending an entire circle was a major one.

A moment’s gratification would bring endless trouble.

It would become very difficult for Yu Mo’s family hotel to move up further.

Shen Shuyu laid out the reasoning before Yu Mo. Yu Mo pulled the corner of her mouth into a humorless smirk. “Right. How could I have forgotten those Upper City rules?”

That smile sharply tugged at Shen Shuyu’s sensitive nerves.

Shen Shuyu took a light breath. “Rules that are corrupt and outdated should be broken.”

“But aren’t rules called rules precisely because countless of you Upper City residents chose and uphold them? I fear the Academic Rep might end up being the most faithful enforcer of these rules,” Yu Mo countered in a low voice.

Shen Shuyu’s heart paused. Bitterness spread.

Yes. She had been exactly what Yu Mo described.

Moving forward within the nearly universally accepted rules of the Upper City, time and again binding Yu Mo within them.

Just as Shen Lin had done to her.

The caged bird, transformed into human form, had locked its beloved one in a cage too.

“Forget it. This isn’t something a Lower City resident should be discussing with the Academic Rep anyway. I need to go to my dad’s private room and relay that man’s words to him.” As she spoke, Yu Mo moved to leave, but felt a tug on her arm. Shen Shuyu still hadn’t let go of her wrist.

“Can the Academic Rep let go of me now?” Yu Mo asked coldly.

Shen Shuyu bit her lip lightly. Though unwilling, she slowly released Yu Mo’s wrist. “Fine.”

Shaking her wrist, Yu Mo glanced back at the man still laughing and talking in the emergency exit, then headed towards the private room where, according to her chat with the receptionist, Yu Decai was situated.

As Yu Mo left, it seemed she took all the light from the corridor with her. Darkness spread around Shen Shuyu.

Shen Shuyu slowly curled her five fingers, still carrying the residual warmth of Yu Mo’s wrist.

Even though Yu Mo had just bared her fangs at her again, she held onto this sliver of warmth and followed after her.

“Dad.” Yu Mo pushed open the door to Yu Decai’s private room and hurried to his side.

“Little Fish? What are you doing here?” Yu Decai, in the middle of instructing someone nearby, looked at the suddenly intruding Yu Mo with surprise. “I have a business negotiation coming up here.”

“That’s precisely why I came. Listen…”

Yu Mo faithfully recounted everything she’d just heard to Yu Decai and the other hotel management uncles present. The expressions on Yu Decai and the others gradually grew grave.

They had placed great importance on this bid, seeing it as a potential opening into the Upper City market.

Yu Decai had thought this private meeting initiated by the man was a sign of successful negotiation, but now it seemed this opening wasn’t as simple to crack as he’d initially assumed.

Yu Decai let out a long sigh. “Alright, I understand. I’ll handle the rest of the maneuvering. You should go now. Kids shouldn’t be meddling in this.”

Just then, the man from the emergency exit walked in. “Oh? Bringing your daughter to the table? Old Yu, you’re quite resourceful, aren’t you?”

As he spoke, the man’s eyes roamed improperly, glancing at Yu Mo and then at Shen Shuyu beside her.

A pair of eyes, small as soybeans, perfectly embodied the word “lecherous.”

Yu Mo immediately pulled Shen Shuyu behind her, shielding her. Her reddish-brown eyes blazed, meeting the monkey-like man’s gaze without any courtesy.

Shen Shuyu was startled by the sudden pull. She looked at the back of Yu Mo’s head before her, felt the familiar, solid warmth transmitted through her wrist.

The heart that had just been wallowing in dejection leaped back to life.

“Not at all, President Zhang. The child just came to find me for something. She still has to go back to class soon.” Yu Decai signaled for Yu Mo to leave.

But Yu Mo felt uneasy. She pretended not to see his signal, pulled out a chair, and sat down. “Uncles wouldn’t mind adding one more pair of chopsticks, would you?”

“Two pairs.” Shen Shuyu also sat down in the seat next to Yu Mo.

“What are you doing?” Yu Mo looked at her, astonished.

Shen Shuyu adjusted her napkin without a sideways glance and let the words drop from her lips. “Keeping you company.”

The meal was agonizingly drawn out. The beady-eyed man in the seat of honor was arrogant, deliberately making things difficult for Yu Decai several times. His words, just as he’d said in the emergency exit, were a mix of threats and inducements, aiming to drive down Yu Decai’s bid price.

Yu Decai and his team had been in business for over a decade. They could be considered seasoned old foxes.

But facing an Upper City resident, they were like warriors with their limbs bound—most of their usual negotiation tactics were rendered ineffective.

“Aiya, times are really tough lately. You’ve shown great sincerity in this bid, we can see that. It’s just…” Beady Eyes mumbled, sending the ball back in a roundabout way again.

Having accompanied Shen Shuyu to many such negotiation dinners in her past life, Yu Mo understood the veiled language being volleyed back and forth.

She only regretted not having learned more from Shen Shuyu back then, so she could help her father out of this predicament today.

At that moment, however, Shen Shuyu raised her glass, looking at Beady Eyes with elegant composure. “President Zhang, I toast to you.”

Shen Shuyu’s cool, clear voice rang out in the alcohol-saturated room, abruptly snapping Yu Mo out of her regret.

Beady Eyes had been eyeing Shen Shuyu for a while. He raised his glass, clinking it in the air towards her. “Young lady, quite the nerve you have.”

Shen Shuyu: “Not particularly. I was just impressed by some of President Zhang’s words earlier.”

Beady Eyes: “Just experience talking. Our company recently launched the BC district cooperation project, responding to the government’s call.”

Shen Shuyu: “I believe XX Company is a service-industry-focused company newly established in District B last year.”

Beady Eyes: “Correct, last year. Just passed the one-year mark a few days ago.”

…

Back and forth. A piece of trash at Beady Eyes’ level was easily baited by Shen Shuyu into revealing quite a bit of information.

Then Shen Shuyu gently lifted her eyes and cast her prepared hook. “I recall a report stating that for a company to embark on such a large new venture, it requires considerable capital liquidity?”

“Not really. Our initial investment for this project was only around this much.” Beady Eyes gestured the number eight to Shen Shuyu.

He was nothing but a stupid fish. Shen Shuyu didn’t even need to bother concealing her hook.

Just by placing it there, Beady Eyes bit.

A slight curve touched Shen Shuyu’s lips. She parted them to speak. “That amount… even injected into the cash flow chain, wouldn’t it snap under the strain?”

In an instant, the expression on Beady Eyes’ face changed.

He stared at Shen Shuyu with unconcealed fury.

Shen Shuyu placed her wine glass down and gently raised her eyes to meet his.

Within her silvery pupils was a deep, still pool—unfathomable.

The Alpha pheromones wafting around Beady Eyes were abruptly suppressed.

Seated nearby, Yu Mo once again witnessed Shen Shuyu’s masterful, controlled presence.

Shen Shuyu was like a monster meticulously crafted by the Creator to crush ordinary mortals.

Her aura had never stemmed from pheromonal enhancement, but was something cultivated since childhood, deeply ingrained in her bones, irremovable.

This was Shen Shuyu’s most captivating quality.

Even after she later differentiated as an Omega, she possessed an absolutely oppressive presence that eclipsed any Alpha.

Her posture was forever upright, like a flower blooming on a sheer cliff.

Never controlled by biological designation.

With just a few light words, a thrust at the heart, Shen Shuyu had exposed Beady Eyes’ company’s true bottom line and laid it out on the table.

Yu Decai and his associates exchanged glances. Their opponent’s hand had been revealed.

Such a deal—no matter how much they lowered their bid—would ultimately yield nothing and end in bankruptcy.

Even a fool would know there was no need to continue negotiations with him.

For the remainder of the meal, Beady Eyes sat on pins and needles. His scheme exposed, he had lost all face.

The lavish banquet dishes hadn’t even all been served before the meal ended hastily.

In the second-floor restroom, a “Cleaning in Progress” sign stood. A slightly dejected face reflected in the bright mirror.

Running water washed over Yu Mo’s wrist held beneath the faucet.