Chapter 29 Part 1

“I wouldn’t,” Wei Shuyu laughed softly by her ear, “why would I lie to you?”

“Anyway, you’re not allowed,” Jin Yizhu said fiercely, though her voice carried a sobbing tone that made it sound like coquetry, “if you dare lie to me, I’ll lock you up.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t seek my own doom,” Wei Shuyu gently stroked her back and said softly, “Jin Yizhu, cry if you want to. We’ll go out after we’ve cried it out.”

“I don’t want to cry. My makeup is perfect today.”

Jin Yizhu hadn’t wanted to cry at first, but for some reason, tears flowed uncontrollably, and even her heart trembled along with them.

“It’s all your fault.”

“Yeah,” Wei Shuyu felt her tears and felt her own heart soak in sourness, “it’s all my fault.”

Wei Shuyu meant it. She rarely said such things. Most of the time, she maintained a rational silence, choosing to observe others’ emotions from the sidelines.

She didn’t want too much deep interaction with people, didn’t want to face the moment when relationships fell apart, and didn’t want to probe the complex and subtle human heart.

But in front of Jin Yizhu, she was willing to forget past hurts and be brave once more.

“If only I could make you feel less upset,” she tilted her head slightly, her forehead against Jin Yizhu’s, “I really want to be useful to you.”

“You’re already great like this.”

Jin Yizhu cried enough, and the pent-up frustration dissipated.

“You being by my side is already great.”

Wei Shuyu pulled out a makeup remover wipe from her bag and handed it to Jin Yizhu. She accompanied her to the restroom to remove the remaining makeup from her face, then they headed to the parking lot.

Uncle He had waited a long time without seeing them emerge. He called Wei Shuyu, but no one picked up, so he grew anxious. He hesitated over whether to go to the airport terminal and make a missing person announcement.

Now that he saw them approaching, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Eldest Miss, you’ve had it rough,” he glanced behind Jin Yizhu but didn’t see any luggage, a bit surprised, “no luggage?”

“Yeah,” Jin Yizhu nodded, “there’s a place to stay here. No need to bring any.”

Her tone was cold, and she didn’t explain why they were late. Uncle He felt a vague unease in his heart as he opened the car door for them.

Jin Yizhu got in the car, but Wei Shuyu didn’t move. She stood in place with a smiling gaze fixed on him and suddenly said without warning, “Uncle He, I’ll drive today.”

You’ll drive? Drive what? The car?

Uncle He was caught off guard and asked blankly, “What?”

“I’ll drive,” Wei Shuyu lifted her chin, “get in.”

She made an inviting gesture. Uncle He looked at her uneasily and asked, “Miss Wei?”

“What are you dawdling for?” Jin Yizhu spoke up, “Uncle He.”

Under attack from both sides, Uncle He had no choice but to get in the car.

The back seat was soft and comfortable, much roomier than the driver’s seat, yet he felt like a chain was binding him.

Wei Shuyu got into the driver’s seat and first glanced at the dashboard. She hadn’t driven a Maybach before and needed to get familiar with it.

Soon, Wei Shuyu found the feel and drove out of the parking lot, heading toward downtown Tokyo.

Jin Yizhu didn’t wait a moment. After confirming Wei Shuyu had no issues, she immediately went after Uncle He.

She didn’t ask anything or give him a chance to explain. She directly pulled an envelope containing the contract from her bag and handed it to Uncle He.

Uncle He didn’t dare take it and asked, “Eldest Miss, what’s this?”

The car was very quiet, so quiet that even the faint friction of the seatbelt sounded excessively clear.

Jin Yizhu tossed the envelope onto Uncle He’s lap, her tone flat, “You’re fired.”

She leaned against one side of the back seat, elbow on the car door, her gaze indifferent, as if she had just said something like “the wind’s a bit strong today.”

Her beautiful face showed no expression, cold enough to reveal no emotion at all.

Uncle He froze for a moment, then instinctively reached to pick up the letter.

He had never seen Jin Yizhu like this, shrouded in chill, sizing him up with a half-smile, as if observing his reaction, but too lazy to even move a finger. She no longer regarded him at all.

He felt stunned. Could those rumors all be true?

Uncle He’s hand shook a little. His thumb pried at the edge of the envelope, slowly pulling out the documents.

The paper wasn’t thick, just a few pages. At the top was the company letterhead, and the words “Termination Notice” jumped right into his eyes, as if choking his throat.

He blinked, trying to read it carefully again to confirm he hadn’t misread.

But the content was crystal clear, and the red seal at the bottom was from Lionheart Group, not Jin Yizhu’s personal seal. It left him no leeway; even if he wanted to play dumb, he couldn’t.

He instinctively looked toward the person in the driver’s seat, trying to find some clue on Wei Shuyu’s face.

They had been colleagues, after all. With Eldest Miss firing him now, wouldn’t Miss Wei say something? Could this have been a trap from the start, which was why the two had been in perfect sync earlier?

The Maybach drove steadily. Wei Shuyu gripped the steering wheel, her gaze calm, showing no intention of giving him any hints, as if she had nothing to do with the conflict in the back seat.

The scenery outside the window rushed backward rapidly, like an endless scroll sloughing off the past.

Uncle He still couldn’t react. The knuckles gripping the paper turned white, his lips moved a few times, and he finally squeezed out, “What did I do wrong?”

What did he do wrong? Before Jin Yizhu was even born, he had worked at Lionheart Group for decades, diligently serving two generations of their family!

“Eldest Miss! You can’t do this to me!”

His voice carried a hint of panic, as if he couldn’t and wouldn’t believe it.

He turned to look at Jin Yizhu, his eyes a bit moist, but more filled with panic and disarray, a hollow built from anxiety. If one looked closely, they could even see the fear buried deepest.

Jin Yizhu didn’t look at him, just lowered her head to smooth the wrinkles on her cuffs, as if she didn’t take his question seriously at all.

Uncle He’s brows slowly furrowed. He read the document again, then looked at Jin Yizhu. The panic in his heart had nowhere to go and turned into rising anger.

He clenched his teeth, his voice a bit hoarse, “What exactly did I do wrong? Eldest Miss, I’ve worked for your family for thirty years! You can’t just fire me like this! There’s no reason for it!”

This time his voice was louder, but Jin Yizhu’s expression remained unchanged.

After a while, she finally raised her eyes, a cold smile tugging at her lips, “You’re still asking me?”

She propped her chin, looking utterly composed, but the cold aura emanating from her pressed Uncle He until his breathing grew unsteady.

“You sold my affairs to my dad. Isn’t that betraying me?”

Her gaze held no emotion, her entire face as cold as if freshly pulled from ice water, devoid of any warmth.

But the suppressed anger in her voice made even Wei Shuyu tremble slightly. She sneaked a glance through the rearview mirror. Jin Yizhu looked even more beautiful when cold-faced…

Uncle He’s face paled, “How could that count as selling you out? Your dad was just concerned about you!”

Jin Yizhu slanted him a glance, her voice even colder, “Concerned about me?”

She must know everything by now.

Uncle He’s mouth hung open, but he couldn’t utter a word.

He had known this day would come…

Many years ago, When the old master was gravely ill, Jin Shenghua found him, using threats and bribes to make him switch sides, calling him Old He this and that. He didn’t budge until Jing Shengua relented and told him that He Wanruo’s child this time was likely a girl.

The lady was so delicate she refused to have more children, so Jing Shengua got ideas, wanting to devour the He family line and make Lionheart Group change surnames to Jing.

He was the old master’s relative and had worked by his side until He Wanruo’s marriage, when the old master assigned him to the couple.

After Jin Yizhu returned from America, Jing Shengua assigned him to his daughter, instructing him to watch her every move and report any disloyalty immediately.

“I…”

He wanted to defend himself by saying he hadn’t, but Jin Yizhu’s gaze seemed to already know what he’d say next, too lazy to even listen.

Indeed, he had no right to defend himself.

The car turned a corner on the elevated road, sunlight streaming in from the side onto Wei Shuyu’s face.

She kept her eyes straight ahead, gripping the wheel as the scenery outside retreated nonstop. She said nothing, letting the back seat’s atmosphere grow tenser and tenser, right up to the brink of explosion.

After some unknown time, Uncle He’s lips twitched, his shoulders suddenly slumped, and he leaned dejectedly into the seat.

“I understand,” he said, “Eldest Miss, I’m sorry.”

He placed the document on his lap, his gaze starting to wander, as if seeking an escape, but the doors were locked tight, even the windows.

Was it guilt? Regret? Uncle He couldn’t tell his own mood, but looking at Jin Yizhu’s icy face, he suddenly felt as if he had chosen wrong from the start.

He should have listened to the old master, taken good care of the lady, then Eldest Miss…

Instead of being bewitched and listening to Jin Shenghua. Too late to say anything now.

Jin Yizhu leaned back into the seat, too lazy to bother with him anymore.

Her face showed no emotion, her tone even flatter than before, “I won’t pursue what you did onto Little He’s head, but you two father and son shouldn’t appear in front of me again.”

These scheming men, she would clean them out of her world one by one.

They were an eyesore.

The car fell into dead silence, only the scenery outside still rushing backward, washing Uncle He’s face grayer bit by bit.

After a while, Uncle He gripped the contract tightly and stammered, “Miss Wei’s matter… it wasn’t me who said it. It was—it was Zhao Qianlin.”

Zhao Qianlin? Hearing the unfamiliar name suddenly, Wei Shuyu couldn’t help lifting her eyes to the rearview mirror, wanting to see Jin Yizhu’s reaction.

“Her? She found out from my schedule, right,” Jin Yizhu said coldly, “pretty clever, but not clever enough.”

She pulled out her phone from her bag and, in front of Uncle He, started making a call, not forgetting to add, “Don’t think of shifting blame. Your son didn’t keep his hands clean either, right?”

“Eldest Miss?” The call connected quickly, a gentle voice coming through, “It’s Mary. Do you need something?”

“Sister Mary, fire Zhao Qianlin. What’s going on with your housekeeping department? Full of people with dirty hands.”

Jin Yizhu’s tone was very flat as she looked at Uncle He and said word by word,

“Have Little He return to the hotel. You come drive for this period.”

“Got it. I’ll handle it as soon as possible and give you a reply tonight.”

Mary was a professional housekeeper, a graduate of the Dutch Butler Academy. The first thing Jin Yizhu did after returning from America was to poach her into Lionheart. While working at the affiliate hotels, she had always managed Jin Yizhu’s personal service team.