Chapter 18
Qin Yao's voice rang out, calm and faintly cold. “Jiang Zhaolie.”
Jiang Zhaolie shuddered, instinctively pressing her lips shut. Qin Yao rarely called her by her full name; when she did, it meant she was already angry. Jiang Zhaolie hung her head in dejection, unable to understand why her mother had suddenly taken Xu Chun's side.
She was the daughter here, wasn't she?
Xu Chun hadn't even married into the family yet, and she was already stirring up trouble between Jiang Zhaolie and her mom. If she gave up on Suisui and obeyed the family's arrangement to marry Xu Chun, wouldn't Xu Chun turn the entire Jiang family upside down all by herself?
Qin Yao sat with her legs crossed, her posture languid yet imposing. Her eyes were long and narrow, beautifully shaped, with pitch-black irises; when she fixed them on someone without expression, the look pressed down like a weight. “Apologize to Miss Xu.”
Qin Yao's tone brooked no argument. Jiang Zhaolie fell silent for a moment, and after weighing the pros and cons, turned to face Xu Chun. “I'm sorry.” She lowered her head slightly to look at Xu Chun, but there was no trace of apology in her words. “But I really don't like you, and I can't make myself try to like you, so I hope you'll give me and Suisui your blessing.”
“You and Suisui dated, so you should know she's a wonderful, kind girl.” Jiang Zhaolie's tone was somewhat aggressive. “You don't want to see her unhappy either, do you?”
At that defiance, Qin Yao's stern expression darkened so sharply that even Xu Chun, standing nearby, straightened instinctively and hardly dared breathe. She quickly lowered her eyes and tried to make herself as small as possible, staying out of the female lead's family drama.
But Jiang Zhaolie was determined to drag her into it. Ignoring Qin Yao's expression, she fixed stubbornly on Xu Chun. “Xu Chun, do you really want Suisui to be unhappy for the rest of her life?”
“What does her happiness or unhappiness have to do with me?” Xu Chun lifted her eyelids to look at her. “By your logic, as long as she's unhappy, I should abandon everything—my dignity, my morals, my bottom line—to coax and appease her? If one day she hates me and wishes I were dead, should I jump into a river to fulfill her wish?”
Xu Chun's face was blank. “I've rarely met a living bodhisattva, but a living Yama like you? That's a first.”
She was clearly twisting her meaning. Jiang Zhaolie frowned deeply. “You know full well that's not what I meant. You know exactly what she and I want right now...”
“I don't know.” Xu Chun cut her off impatiently. “Go call the police.”
Jiang Zhaolie's breath caught; her chest felt unbearably tight.
Xu Chun really was angry now. As she happened to turn her head and catch sight of Qin Yao's intimidating face, an idea struck her. Her eyes reddened in an instant, and right in front of Jiang Zhaolie she flung herself weeping into Qin Yao's arms, sobbing, “Jiejie, you saw all of that, didn't you?”
“She dares to bully me like this right in front of you. When you're not around, who knows how she mistreats me in private.” She dabbed at her dry lashes—all show, no tears—and acted as though her heart were breaking. “How is my fate so cruel, to end up with a fiancée who tosses me aside like worn-out shoes yet loves my ex-girlfriend with every fiber of her being!”
With every word, Jiang Zhaolie's brow twitched violently and Qin Yao's face darkened another shade. By the time the weeping was over, Jiang Zhaolie's whole body was burning hot, and a thin layer of cold sweat had broken out on her back. She instinctively tried to explain to Qin Yao, “That's not it, Mom—Suisui just happens to be her ex, I wasn't deliberately trying to...”
“Enough.” Qin Yao cut her off coldly. “Haven't you made the scene big enough?”
“Today is your grandfather's birthday. Look at what you've done to his birthday banquet.” Qin Yao wasn't losing her temper, yet every word brimmed with anger. Xu Chun stiffened, wondering whether she should put some distance between herself and Qin Yao, when Qin Yao continued, “Your engagement to Miss Xu is on hold.”
“By on hold, I mean that once I've finished the next couple of days' business, I will personally take you to the Xu family to apologize. Whether they beat you or curse you out, I won't say a single word in your defense.”
“As for Yu Sui'an...” Qin Yao's tone hardened. “I will absolutely not agree to the two of you being together.”
Jiang Zhaolie didn't dare vent her anger; she could only clench her fists in silence. She'd had her rebellious, disobedient phases as a child, but thinking of the punishments back then, she ultimately suppressed the urge to talk back.
She could accept punishment; she could let Qin Yao scold her however she liked. But she was afraid of dragging Suisui into it. Given Qin Yao's temperament, if she couldn't deal with her own daughter, she would inevitably find a way to deal with Yu Sui'an.
Jiang Zhaolie didn't dare gamble.
Xu Chun was rather disappointed. How nice it would be to call off this damned engagement sooner. But she knew this wasn't something she could decide on her own, so she planned to hurry and put in a good word with Grandpa before Qin Yao and Jiang Zhaolie came to apologize—to make him give up on the idea of marrying her to Jiang Zhaolie.
Although... Xu Chun's thick lashes fluttered gently as she lifted her head and surreptitiously sized Qin Yao up. If she was going to break up with Jiang Zhaolie, could she take Qin Yao with her?
It wasn't that she'd set her sights on the female lead's mother; it was just that... for the first time, beneath the double weight of Yu Sui'an and Jiang Zhaolie, Qin Yao's actions had made her feel the unconditional favor and protection of an unimportant stranger.
Jiang Zhaolie kept watching Xu Chun's every move, so when she noticed her gazing at Qin Yao with infatuation, her frown deepened. It wasn't jealousy, exactly; she just found the scene profoundly strange and bizarre, and a little hard to look at.
Did this person have no bones? Instead of sitting up straight, she had to lean on Qin Yao. Was hurting Suisui not enough? Did she have to keep hurting her own pure and virtuous mother too?
Thinking of her effortless innocent-victim act and her consummate skill at twisting the truth and whispering in people's ears, Jiang Zhaolie felt it wasn't out of the question. So she couldn't help speaking up. “Mom, be careful around her. She's not a good person.”
Xu Chun shot her a glare, then clutched pitifully at Qin Yao's suit fabric, heartbroken. “Jiejie, how can Zhaolie say that about me?” She was acting so well she almost believed herself. “I don't even know what I did wrong to make her hate me so much.”
Qin Yao's voice had dropped very low now. “Apologize to Miss Xu.”
Jiang Zhaolie: “...” She felt a heart attack coming on.
Jiang Zhaolie held out stubbornly for a while, but in the end, under Qin Yao's imposing pressure, she lowered her head, apologized, and invented some reasons to admit fault. After she left the room, Jiang Zhaolie felt uncomfortable all over, an inexplicable fire burning in her chest, and the culprit was none other than Xu Chun.
But she was outmatched; Xu Chun had her mom backing her now, so no matter what she did, she couldn't win.
Jiang Zhaolie glanced back at Xu Chun, who was nestled obediently against Qin Yao, took a deep breath to barely suppress the urge to run over and pull them apart, then loosened the button at her collar with a dark expression and strode off.
As soon as Jiang Zhaolie left, Xu Chun sat up straight and asked Qin Yao cautiously, “Jiejie, what if she bullies me again when you're not around?” She ventured, “Could I call you then and ask you to stand up for me?”
Qin Yao glanced down at her, nothing extra discernible in her eyes. “You may.”
So Xu Chun happily got her phone number, and while she was at it searched it to add her on WeChat. “Then let's add each other as friends too, jiejie. If it's not convenient for you to pick up a call, I'll message you so I won't disturb you.”
She spoke while opening the add-friend screen, but when she pasted in the number, the page that popped up made her expression freeze.
On the screen, Qin Yao's profile was labeled in large characters: [Parking lot / Phantom, Patek Philippe / 187 / cold exterior, hard to get along with].
Xu Chun: “...” What kind of backup-plan label was this?
Seeing Qin Yao's attention about to shift toward her, Xu Chun hurriedly clutched her phone, set it face-down on her knees, forced a smile, and changed the subject. “I really have to thank you today, jiejie. If you hadn't taken me away and gotten me out of there, I definitely would have become the laughingstock of the whole room.”
She said it earnestly, her voice full of sincerity. “If you hadn't appeared, I don't know what I would have done. My embarrassing state would surely have been filmed and posted online—if that had happened, I really wouldn't want to live anymore.”
Qin Yao's expression had improved somewhat after Jiang Zhaolie left, but she was still a little cold. “I will give you an explanation for this afterward.”
Though it was only her first time meeting Qin Yao, Qin Yao's words gave Xu Chun a sense of trust. Qin Yao didn't say exactly how she'd handle Jiang Zhaolie, but Xu Chun was very much looking forward to it.
After Qin Yao left, Xu Chun ran into He Qingli. “Sister Xu Chun, I'm glad you're all right.” He Qingli let out a breath of relief, not daring to tell Xu Chun that the news of her being publicly jilted had already spread to Weibo and was trending. She could only make small talk to keep Xu Chun from looking at her phone, lest it hurt her further.
The hotel was no place to stay any longer; those strange looks could pierce through anyone's strongest defenses. So when He Qingli suggested getting her away from there to clear her head, Xu Chun agreed without a second thought.
Xu Chun lifted her skirt and made her way to the parking lot, getting into He Qingli's car. Only after they'd driven a good distance did He Qingli hesitantly speak. “After President Qin took you away just now, I saw Yu Sui'an stand there in silence for two or three minutes. Then she made up her mind and headed off in the direction you and President Qin had gone.”
From her expression, she'd looked quite worried—though it was hard to say whether she was truly worried about Xu Chun or putting on a show of deep devotion for the onlookers.
He Qingli really couldn't figure out what was going on in that black-hearted head of Yu Sui'an's. “Sister Xu Chun, do you think she still has feelings for you?”
Xu Chun's face scrunched up in horror. “Absolutely not, please. There are no real feelings in the entertainment industry. I know this obsessive, twisted type is pretty thrilling in a domineering-CEO romance, but once you put it in the real world, it's honestly terrifying.”
“True enough.” He Qingli laughed, and didn't mention Yu Sui'an again.
Jiang Zhaolie's actions quickly thrust Xu Chun into the eye of the storm. After one well-connected gossip account opened with ‘a friend told me’ and narrated the whole affair, the other accounts rushed to verify it with their contacts. Once they got confirmation, they moved to their respective platforms and piled on. Related stories sprang up like mushrooms after rain, and Xu Chun's manager barely had time for damage control.
The internet was abuzz, everyone with their own opinion.
[No way? Jiang Zhaolie really did something like that? I thought she'd just discuss it privately with the Xu family. She actually announced it publicly at her grandfather's birthday banquet?]
[What do you know? This proves Suisui is President Jiang's true love. She cut ties with Xu Chun in public to prove her feelings to Suisui.]
[I've had dealings with other members of the Jiang family through work; they're all quite gentle and courteous. I never expected Jiang Zhaolie to be... well, a bit different from my impression of the Jiang family.]
[That's so inconsiderate of Xu Chun's feelings. Whatever's between you, settle it privately. Why make it known to everyone? Xu Chun, as the one abandoned, now has to be discussed and mocked by certain people all over again. Isn't that a second, even third or fourth injury to her?]
[I also think Jiang Zhaolie's behavior is more or less indefensible.]
Everyone had their reasons, and the arguing went back and forth without a winner.
Xu Chun's manager was run ragged. She stared grimly at the computer screen and her harried team, and even entertained the thought of paying someone to stuff Jiang Zhaolie into a burlap sack, drag her somewhere deserted, and beat her black and blue.
After much deliberation, the manager ruled out bad romantic luck as the cause and became convinced that this was all a chain of events Yu Sui'an had set in motion long ago.
Yu Sui'an was the one hiding deepest in this whole affair—the true instigator.
Over the past few days she'd more or less settled the compensation issue with Yu Sui'an's team, but now the manager changed her mind. She still hadn't been ruthless enough; she hadn't made Yu Sui'an hurt enough.
The manager and He Qingli meant to keep it from Xu Chun, but in the end she found out. She read through the news with furrowed brows, but there wasn't much anger in her heart—after all, she had Qin Yao backing her. The worse Jiang Zhaolie behaved, the better Qin Yao treated her; the more she seized the chance to cry and complain to Qin Yao, the harsher Jiang Zhaolie was punished.
What a lovely vicious cycle.
As for Yu Sui'an's side... seeing how excited her fans were, Xu Chun posted on Weibo without a second thought, landing a blow right between their eyes: [You guys shouldn't say that. If you say that, my Suisui will be heartbroken.]
Fans: “...” Have you no shame?
Having once again redefined shamelessness for everyone, Xu Chun happily logged off.
When the Weibo notification came through, Yu Sui'an pressed her pale lips together, a flicker of amusement passing through her eyes before it vanished. She toyed with her phone, the curve of her lips unreadable. Jiejie was getting better and better at using her as a shield now—much more interesting than the old her, the calm, rational, obedient one who only ever did as she was told.
After a moment of silence, Yu Sui'an smiled brightly, opened her feed, and reposted Xu Chun's post with the caption: [What jiejie says.]
The fans all fell silent at once, like a flock of ducks that had lost their voices, question marks all over their faces. What was wrong with Suisui? Why was she once again personally defending that scumbag Xu Chun?
Just as everyone was puzzling over it, one fan abruptly sat bolt upright as if rising from the dead and analyzed in alarm: [Suisui's been brainwashed by Xu Chun!]
The rest immediately had a revelation, quickly plastering Xu Chun with the title ‘Brainwashing Master’ and calling on everyone far and wide not to be fooled by that brainwashing scumbag Xu Chun.
The news of Xu Chun's broken engagement had originally been raging hot, but after Yu Sui'an stepped in and drew some of the fire, quite a few people's attention was diverted, and the engagement matter gradually cooled down.
The producers of Secret Crush saw this and thought: both female leads have so much buzz right now—if we don't seize the moment and announce it, we'll be losing out big time. So the producers immediately ordered someone to post on Weibo: [@Xu Chun @Yu Sui'an, looking forward to working together.]
Everyone, deep in their gossip binge, was caught completely off guard: “???”
Are you guys demons?
These two appearing together on a dating reality show was already dramatic enough, and now they were going to keep collaborating on an old-school domineering-CEO smut novel? The two principals might not be embarrassed, but the rest of us bystanders were about to dig out entire seaside villas for them in sheer secondhand embarrassment.
Yu Sui'an's fans were the first to object, voicing their displeasure on the spot, but the producers couldn't be bothered; they didn't even reply to a single comment. The rest, committed to watching the show and stirring up trouble, fanned the flames everywhere and whipped Yu Sui'an's fans into a fury.
Xu Chun truly hadn't expected Yu Sui'an to agree to it as well, so now she faced a problem.
During the filming to come, besides facing Yu Sui'an day and night, she'd also get a buy-one-get-one-free deal: Jiang Zhaolie. Just thinking about it made her feel like she was suffocating.
Xu Chun thought about it bitterly for a long while, and in the end found that for now she could only cling to Qin Yao like a fragile vine, looking to her for help and protection.
Just as Xu Chun was agonizing over whether and how to ask Qin Yao, Jiang Zhaolie stood frozen with her phone in hand. She couldn't understand it, couldn't make sense of it. Why would Yu Sui'an agree to film that kind of TV drama with Xu Chun?
Xu Chun had clearly hurt her so much, and she clearly cared so much about what Xu Chun had done to her. So why would she still agree to a second collaboration with Xu Chun? Was there really no other good script in the entertainment industry?
Unable to figure it out, Jiang Zhaolie decided to call and ask her directly. When the call connected, she curled her fingers, the blue veins on the back of her hand faintly visible, and forced down the displeasure in her heart, trying to make her voice sound gentle and calm. “Suisui.” She got straight to the point. “What's going on with Weibo?”
Yu Sui'an considered for a moment and guessed what she was asking. She didn't hide it. “I took the script myself.”
Suddenly Jiang Zhaolie couldn't tell whether what she felt was more anger or more disappointment. She lowered her head and lightly bit the soft flesh inside her lip, saying nothing for a long while.
She'd thought Yu Sui'an would say “My manager forced me to take it,” or “Xu Chun coerced me into tying myself to her for hype,” or “A second collaboration with Xu Chun proves there's no rift between us and can efficiently erase my negative image online.” But it was none of those.
She admitted it so crisply and directly that Jiang Zhaolie felt as though a hand had gripped her chest and squeezed, the pain turning her face slightly pale.
At that moment, she found herself wishing Yu Sui'an hadn't been so honest; she'd rather have been told a well-meaning lie.
“Zhaolie.” Yu Sui'an called softly to her, her voice as gentle and pleasant as ever. “Do you believe me?” The voice on the phone paused for several seconds, and when it spoke again there was a faint catch in it. “Do you believe that I'm simply filming with jiejie?”
Jiang Zhaolie instinctively wanted to say she believed her, but in the instant before she spoke, she hesitated. Her gaze drifted, uncertain, until after several seconds of serious thought she finally spoke, yet she didn't answer Yu Sui'an's question. Instead, she asked, “Why?”
“Because jiejie is a good actress, and this drama is the country's first adaptation of a lesbian novel, so I didn't want to miss it.” Yu Sui'an remained candid, hiding nothing. “I firmly believe this drama will achieve a result hard to surpass once it airs. If I gave it up, I'd regret it for the rest of my life.”
Her tone was sincere, and Jiang Zhaolie's dissatisfaction gradually subsided. She stopped letting her imagination run wild. “If you truly like it, then go do it.” In the end, Jiang Zhaolie gave in—though not entirely. “But for the intimate scenes, I'd like you to use a body double.”
This time, Yu Sui'an agreed readily. “Even if you hadn't said so, my manager would have arranged that for me.”
Jiang Zhaolie finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Yu Sui'an wasn't going to be hugging and kissing Xu Chun on television, that was fine; otherwise she really would go mad. Her mood lightened, and her tone improved. “Are you home yet?”
“I'm home.” Yu Sui'an stood in a home decorated only in black, white, and gray, cold and devoid of human warmth. Her voice carried a smile, while her expression was utterly indifferent. “Just got here.”
“Rest first. I'll come find you after I'm done with things here.”
...
After the broken-engagement fiasco, Xu Chun had been resting at home. Qin Yao had said she would personally bring Jiang Zhaolie to the Xu family to apologize in a couple of days, but Xu Chun had assumed that was just a polite formality. Yet on the third day, she really did receive a call from her mother telling her to go to Grandpa's place.
After hanging up, Xu Chun grabbed her car keys and hurried over. Just as she drove into the courtyard, she caught sight of Qin Yao sitting upright and coolly elegant across from her grandfather, while Jiang Zhaolie sat with her head lowered, staring at the floor and looking thoroughly contrite.
Today's Qin Yao wasn't in the icy business suit from that day; her Chinese-style casual wear gave her a classical elegance and charm, and paired with her light makeup and deep, refined features, she looked so gentle that Xu Chun nearly forgot how imposing she'd been when scolding Jiang Zhaolie.
After a stunned moment, Xu Chun pulled out her keys and opened the car door.
The others noticed her arrival and turned her way; they nodded in smiling greeting, then quickly drew their gazes back, expressions serious as they continued discussing business. Xu Chun's sprightly grandfather spoke up. “It's not that I, an old man, am petty and calculating, leaning on my age to throw my weight around. It's just that after a scandal like this, my granddaughter's reputation is seriously damaged. Now everyone avoids her like the plague, wishing they could keep eight hundred meters away.”
“You tell me—my granddaughter is already this old and still hasn't been in a relationship. By the time she finds a partner, dates for a few years, and then gets married, how old will she be?”
Xu Chun's mouth twitched; she felt as though an arrow had just hit her in the knee.
It wasn't that she didn't want to date. She just hadn't had the chance yet! Give her a hoe right now, and she'd dig through walls all night to find herself a partner.
Xu Chun felt bitter.
At the old man's words, Jiang Zhaolie immediately offered a tactful apology. Xu Chun's grandfather looked at her docile, obedient, yet hopelessly stubborn air and was at a loss. Even if Qin Yao disagreed, Jiang Zhaolie was dead set on breaking off the engagement, and the matter had blown up so much that if he insisted on holding on, people would say the Xu family was throwing itself at them.
Xu Chun's grandfather couldn't help rubbing his forehead. Unwilling to give up, he asked, “Besides Xiaolie, does your Jiang family have any other marriageable people? If Xiaolie won't do, someone else is fine.”
“Not yet of age doesn't matter. We can wait.”
As Xu Chun listened, something began to feel very wrong. By the time Grandpa finished, she was utterly horrified. “...?!”
Why was the old man dead set on locking horns with the Jiang family?! Was there no other wealthy family in this world besides the Jiangs?
At those words, two names instinctively flashed through Jiang Zhaolie's mind: Qiao Wan and Qin Yao—the only two currently single people in the whole family tree.
TL Note:
living bodhisattva (活菩萨) and living Yama (活阎王) = a bodhisattva is a compassionate Buddhist figure; Yama is the king of hell, so a 'living Yama' is a cruel, terrifying person.
CPU = internet slang pun on PUA (pickup artist), meaning to brainwash or manipulate.
domineering-CEO smut novel (霸总颜色文) = a Chinese webnovel genre with an overbearing wealthy male lead and explicit content.
dig out entire seaside villas (抠出一座海景房) = internet slang for feeling so embarrassed you could dig a mansion with your toes.