Chapter 48

The moment Zheng Yanran's words landed, Qin Yao's and Zheng Jinchan's gazes turned on Xu Chun like actual blades, nearly flaying the skin from her body.

Xu Chun was so furious she nearly closed her eyes and left this beautiful world on the spot. After taking a moment to collect herself, she glared at Zheng Yanran through gritted teeth: “What did I ever do to you?”

“Don't you dare start talking in riddles.” She caught her breath, eyes round as saucers. “Zheng Yanran, if you don't explain yourself clearly today, I'll—” She raised a finger, thought hard, then her expression turned ruthless: “I'll tell Jiang Banxia you're not pure anymore, that I ruined and defiled you, that you're no longer a virgin!”

Fine, then—mutual destruction.

Zheng Yanran was struck dumb. In all her years of spouting nonsense and making things up out of thin air, she never would have imagined—even in her wildest imaginings—that someone in this world could be more shameless and brazen than she was.

Tell Jiang Banxia she wasn't pure? That she was no longer a virgin? That would be catastrophic! She had a long-standing catchphrase she repeated like a mantra: “Xiaxia, I'm saving myself for you every minute of every day.” If Xu Chun ran to Jiang Banxia right now and spouted that kind of nonsense, the image she'd painstakingly built in Jiang Banxia's heart would collapse entirely.

How would Jiang Banxia see her then? She'd surely think she was a lying, two-faced scumbag who never told a single truthful word. And maybe—just maybe—she could use this fabricated incident as an excuse to cut ties completely.

At the thought that one careless boast might cost her the sweetheart she'd pursued for most of her life, Zheng Yanran nearly fainted on the spot.

She pointed a trembling finger at Xu Chun, her face full of grief and indignation. “You—you—you—” She got stuck on “you” for ages and never managed to say anything else.

Just then, Qin Yao's and Zheng Jinchan's suspicious gazes landed on her one after the other, both pairs of eyes practically screaming, You'd better have one reasonable word of explanation for us. Zheng Yanran's mouth twitched. For the first time in her twenty-odd years of life, she felt the suffocating frustration of being completely shut down.

But a true hero knows when to bend and when to stand tall. Zheng Yanran prided herself on considerable mental fortitude, so she immediately dropped that tearful, aggrieved look and replaced it with a dazzling, radiant smile for everyone. She spoke with perfect poise, utterly unflustered: “Oh, I was only joking. Mom, President Qin, don't take it so seriously.”

“I did that so you'd all know that Sister Xu Chun is the purest, kindest, most upright, and bravest person in the world,” Zheng Yanran said obediently.

She lied through her teeth without so much as a flicker in her eyes. Anyone who didn't know her well would surely have been fooled by her sincere act.

Xu Chun stared at her with an indescribable expression, lips trembling. “…Doesn't it get exhausting, living like that?”

Zheng Yanran immediately glared at her; Xu Chun immediately glared back, not to be outdone. Seeing the two of them about to come to blows any second, Zheng Jinchan was instantly fed up with her daughter and waved her off with a frown. “Go on, go, go play by yourself. Don't come bother me and delay my business.”

Her tone and manner were exactly like shooing away a puppy.

Yet Zheng Yanran didn't mind Zheng Jinchan's attitude at all. Grinning shamelessly, she stubbornly hugged her and rubbed her face against her cheek several times, until Zheng Jinchan pushed her away in disgust. Only then did Zheng Yanran pout reluctantly. Then, facing Xu Chun, she unhurriedly and properly straightened her clothes and stepped elegantly past her.

As she passed Xu Chun, she deliberately slowed her pace, her voice pressed very low, almost only the two of them could hear: “I'll wait for you outside.”

Hearing the gritted-teeth edge in Zheng Yanran's tone, Xu Chun gave her a faint smile. Zheng Yanran's heart instantly flooded with foreboding at that smile. Sure enough, the next second she heard Xu Chun address Zheng Jinchan with utter seriousness: “Sister Zheng, there shouldn't be any problem with Yanran asking me out on a date herself, right…”

Before the words were out, Zheng Jinchan grabbed a signing pen and hurled it at Zheng Yanran's backside. She yelped “Aiyo!” and fled, clutching her rear, not even daring to toss back a single harsh word.

Qin Yao silently watched all of this. Finally, not forgetting to praise Zheng Yanran to Zheng Jinchan against her conscience: “Your daughter truly is lively and quick-witted, just as the rumors say.”

How could Zheng Jinchan not know that was just polite flattery? She sighed helplessly. “She's just overly lively, to the point of being annoying.”

She had no idea how she, with such a calm and steady temperament, had raised such a nonsensical, scatterbrained daughter.

It was bad enough that her mouth could anger someone to death. She could also spend money like water. The vast majority of everything she'd earned in her life had gone entirely to Zheng Yanran. Calling her a spendthrift would not be an exaggeration.

Qin Yao smiled and continued praising Zheng Yanran against her conscience. “Children are lively and endearing. Besides, Yanran only seems unreliable on the surface; in truth, she has excellent judgment and plenty of ideas, and she knows when to bend. If she inherits President Zheng's legacy in the future, I imagine she'll surpass the master.”

Those words were extremely gratifying to Zheng Jinchan.

Zheng Jinchan dreamed of having her daughter gradually take over the company and inherit her life's work. But right now Zheng Yanran's heart and eyes were full of Jiang Banxia, and that budding spring love couldn't be pulled back by ten oxen. Zheng Jinchan had been fretting over this very matter, and now, hearing Qin Yao say such things, her worry only deepened, and she found Zheng Yanran's bouncing about even more irritating.

Xu Chun watched Zheng Jinchan sink into a dangerous silence, and at the thought that Zheng Yanran would surely get a proper dressing-down afterward, she felt immediately better.

So she trotted over to Qin Yao like a dutiful dog, voice perfectly meek: “President Qin, Secretary Zhao said you wanted to see me?”

“Take these and organize them. Bring them back to me when you're done.” Qin Yao handed her a stack of documents. The woman's lustrous, slender fingers were as beautiful as works of art. “Be quick about it.”

Qin Yao most likely needed them urgently. Xu Chun recognized that the moment to fully demonstrate her abilities had arrived. She immediately straightened, chest out, and swore solemnly: “I'll go right now. I guarantee I'll have them processed and delivered to you within an hour.”

With that, she clutched the documents and dashed out of the conference room, intent on returning to her workstation to complete Qin Yao's assignment posthaste. But the instant she burst out, a pale arm appeared out of thin air and hooked her in. Startled, she lost her balance and nearly crashed straight into Zheng Yanran's embrace.

After narrowly righting herself, Xu Chun glared. “What mischief are you up to now?”

Perhaps it was the first time in her life anyone had described her so bluntly, because Zheng Yanran fell silent. Her expression crumpled, instantly becoming aggrieved and dejected as she lowered her head. “You think I'm annoying too, don't you? A pest.”

Xu Chun's face was expressionless. Obviously.

“I know following you around every day is irritating, but isn't it because I like you? Isn't it because I miss you and desperately want to see you?” She sniffled theatrically, voice choking up: “Clearly my feelings are genuine—so why won't you understand me? Why can't you see my intentions?”

“I'm so sad, truly.” Zheng Yanran bit her lower lip lightly. “If you really don't like me, then I'm willing to disappear from your world completely, from now on—” “Great,” Xu Chun cut her off crisply before her act was even finished, agreeing on the spot.

Zheng Yanran's emotional momentum derailed. After a moment of silence, she flew into a rage: “Don't even think about it! The more you don't want to see me, the more I'll hover right in front of you!”

“I've decided—from now on, on days I can't find Jiang Banxia, I'll pester you every single day, until Jiang Banxia is willing to come find you, willing to see me!”

Xu Chun's head filled with question marks: “???”

No! Every grievance has its source—I'm begging you, go keep an eye on Jiang Banxia instead! I have no quarrel with you, so why must you treat me like this?!

Xu Chun was so furious she failed to maintain the proper decorum of a female celebrity and rolled her eyes hard at Zheng Yanran. “Don't block the way. I have work.”

“What work?” Zheng Yanran instantly transformed into a curious child. “Need my help?”

Xu Chun's skeptical gaze drifted over immediately. Zheng Yanran smiled shyly. “Don't read too much into it. I'm only helping so you can finish faster and then keep me company.”

“I don't have any other friends here, and Jiang Banxia won't even acknowledge me. So the only person I can rely on now is Sister Xu Chun.” She lowered her head slightly, embarrassed. “Sister, please don't abandon me and leave me all alone.”

Xu Chun's eyelids drooped, helpless against her. But everything Zheng Yanran had just said… was entirely her own doing, wasn't it? No wonder Jiang Banxia didn't want to deal with her. She truly talked too much.

In the end, Xu Chun decided to ignore her and focus on organizing Qin Yao's documents. But whenever she got serious about work, Zheng Yanran was like a little puppy, blinking her bright eyes and staring at her without moving. It really was hard to refuse her requests to play. After enduring three minutes, Xu Chun truly had no way to deal with her and raised both hands in surrender, redirecting the disaster: “Go find Fu Xin.”

“She has a hundred-million project she wants to discuss with you.” Xu Chun said without changing expression: “She's a very impressive designer, you know that, right? So whatever request you make, such as designing an exclusive co-branded collection for you and Jiang Banxia, she'll fulfill it one hundred percent…”

Before Xu Chun could even finish, Zheng Yanran had already vanished.

Letting out an involuntary breath of relief, Xu Chun stared at the documents and couldn't help thinking: Zheng Jinchan had really had it rough these years… Fighting for her career outside, then coming home to be tormented by a puppy, without even a moment to breathe. No wonder everyone said she was ruthless, it was probably all the resentment built up at home from being angered by that puppy.

Without Zheng Yanran's harassment, Xu Chun quickly finished processing the documents and delivered them.

After exiting the conference room, Xu Chun finally had a moment to breathe and check her phone. Who would have thought that Fu Xin, who barely exchanged a WeChat message with her once in a blue moon, had actually taken the initiative to message her: 【Sister Xu Chun, save me…】

Xu Chun was startled. “?” What happened?

She immediately headed toward Fu Xin's department while replying: 【What's wrong, what's wrong? What happened? Where are you right now? I'm coming to find you!】

Fu Xin replied quickly: 【Miss Zheng is too much of a handful. I can't quite handle her.】

Then Fu Xin sent a bawling emoji: 【Sister Xu Chun, where are you? Please come over, I really can't take it anymore.】

Xu Chun's steps involuntarily paused. After deliberating for a while, she asked: 【I told her you had a project you wanted to discuss with her. How are your talks going now?】

Fu Xin: 【Already settled. I'll set up a jewelry and fashion designer brand first; Miss Zheng invests, and going forward I'll prioritize her ideas and provide the designs she wants. I'll arrange the rest of my time myself. Profits split seven-three. She gets seven, I get three.】

Xu Chun: 【Isn't that great? But you haven't been talking long, so I think you could chat a while more, get to know each other, deepen your relationship.】 She said with perfect seriousness: 【After all, in the days to come, you'll be business partners walking through wind and rain together, so it's very necessary to become thoroughly familiar with each other now.】

Fu Xin didn't send any more messages. Xu Chun let out a huge sigh of relief, pocketed her phone, and planned to go somewhere else to get some air. But a figure suddenly flashed before her, startling her badly.

Jiang Banxia stood there, watching her with a half-smile, eyes slightly narrowed with a hint of danger: “Am I that frightening? Just seeing me scares you this badly?”

“No.” Xu Chun shook her head like a rattle-drum without hesitation. “Of course not. You're so serene and lovely, like a fairy—how could you possibly scare me?”

Jiang Banxia's eyes narrowed even deeper at that, clearly not buying her nonsense. “Is that so.”

“Absolutely.” She cleared her throat, hesitated, then didn't hide the Zheng Yanran matter: “I was just a bit startled by Zheng Yanran.”

“Zheng Yanran is here?” Jiang Banxia's expression turned slightly grave. Even someone as composed and unflappable as Xu Chun remembered Jiang Banxia to be had changed color at the mention of Zheng Yanran, proof enough of how much people paled at her name.

Xu Chun nodded. “She's been here almost a full day.” Then she comforted Jiang Banxia: “But she's with Fu Xin now. She probably won't come over for a while.”

Only then did Jiang Banxia relax. “That's good.”

“By the way.” Xu Chun ventured tentatively, “I heard from Zheng Yanran that your family…” She didn't finish the question, but surely someone as clever as Jiang Banxia would understand the unspoken half.

But things unexpectedly went differently from what she'd expected. Jiang Banxia's fox-like, languid eyes narrowed slightly again, her tone carrying something unreadable: “You've only known her one day, and your relationship has already gotten so good that she tells you everything?”

The words practically painted her as someone faithless, cheating behind Jiang Banxia's back the moment she was away.

Xu Chun couldn't help choking on that. “That doesn't seem to be the point?”

“Then what is the point?” Jiang Banxia leaned slightly toward her. “That she's taken a liking to you, or that she's gotten together with you?”

Xu Chun: “?” The person Zheng Yanran likes is clearly you! Zheng Yanran is utterly loyal to you. She even followed your footsteps abroad, and now she's chased you all the way to Qin Group!

Xu Chun felt more wronged than Dou E herself. She simply skipped past the topic: “Weren't you at the company before? Zheng Yanran has been at Qin Group for a whole day and couldn't find a trace of you.”

She pressed her lips together. “Is your family situation a bit troublesome?”

Jiang Banxia hadn't wanted to answer that question, but from the moment they'd met until now, Xu Chun had already asked her twice in quick succession. She must care about it very much, mustn't she? Jiang Banxia was silent for a long while.

“A little troublesome,” Jiang Banxia answered honestly. Since Zheng Yanran had already told Xu Chun everything, Xu Chun probably knew most of it anyway, so she didn't conceal it: “My father has already brought home three illegitimate sons and two illegitimate daughters.”

Xu Chun's face filled with question marks, expression incredulous: “Is your family planning to stage a modern version of the Nine Princes' Struggle for Succession?”

Under Jiang Banxia's expressionless gaze, Xu Chun quietly shrank her shoulders. “Sorry…”

“It's fine.” Jiang Banxia quickly relaxed again. “My mother is making a huge scene with him right now, but my father planned his current behavior long in advance. So if they divorce, my mother very likely won't get a single cent of the assets.”

But if they don't divorce, it's unbearably sickening.

Madam Jiang had previously pressured Jiang Banxia into marrying Zheng Yanran so she could inherit the company from her father's hands. Now that her father had brought home five illegitimate children, Madam Jiang had gone even crazier, pressing her relentlessly—and when Jiang Banxia expressed reluctance again, she threatened to kill herself.

But Jiang Banxia knew her mother all too well. She was unmoved. Even if Madam Jiang truly went to jump off a building or whatever, Jiang Banxia would only watch quietly, not try to stop her.

What meaning was there in saving someone who had already lost the will to live?

Better to let her be freed early, sparing her from muttering every day about “husbands unfaithful in marriage,” “no man is reliable,” “daughters are all money-losing goods, no match for raising boys,” and the like.

Jiang Banxia had only stayed at home two or three hours, yet the oppressive mood was worse than a week of overtime and late nights.

The current home wasn't worth returning to.

“And you?” Xu Chun asked urgently. Although she knew President Jiang had planned everything in advance and so very likely wouldn't leave Jiang Banxia any assets, Xu Chun was still reluctant to believe it.

In the other world, her parents had treated her wonderfully; her father was utterly loyal to her mother. Even at their age, the two were still like lovebirds in the honeymoon phase, frequently leaving her home alone while they went off on their own second honeymoons. So Xu Chun simply couldn't imagine how President Jiang could possibly do such a thing.

Jiang Banxia's expression didn't change. “I'm the same as always, continuing my projects like before.”

Xu Chun fell silent. If President Jiang didn't provide financial support going forward, Jiang Banxia's projects would probably be very difficult to sustain.

She didn't speak for a long time. Jiang Banxia looked at her, and the delicate features on her fair face quietly softened. “This sort of thing doesn't affect me,” she smiled. “You know I've always been strong and outstanding.”

Jiang Banxia's smile wasn't exactly radiant, but the sunlight fell straight onto her amber eyes, illuminating her face brightly. In that instant, the confidence radiating from her was still breathtaking.

As if a hand had gripped the observer's soul tightly, forcefully and dominantly pulling one to her side, to be subdued by her, to look up to her.

It took Xu Chun a long while to come back to herself, ears ringing. She couldn't help stealing another glance at Jiang Banxia, and got caught. “What, you don't believe me?”

Jiang Banxia raised an eyebrow. “Or are you secretly pitying me in your heart right now?”

“Neither.” Xu Chun knew that one wrong answer and she'd likely get an earful again, so she considered it from an unconventional angle for two seconds, then said half-truthfully: “I was thinking how big a return I'd get if I invested in you right now.”

Jiang Banxia fell silent for two seconds as well, then the smile at her lips slowly widened. “What do you think?”

Another death-trap question. Xu Chun's eyes darted. “I think that, as the legitimate eldest daughter of the Jiang family, you wouldn't so easily hand over what should rightfully be yours to someone else.”

“Because in my eyes, you can always do things well—do them best.” Xu Chun tilted her head. “So I think this time, you definitely won't fail either.”

“I'm certain.”

This time Jiang Banxia was silent for a long, long while. She looked at Xu Chun for so long that Xu Chun's face nearly cramped before she raised a dazzling smile that struck straight at the heart. “You understand me as well as ever.”

She said: “In this world, apart from you, there's no one else who could understand me like this.”

Jiang Banxia pressed her lips. “Even the you from before wasn't this good at understanding me.”

It was said innocently but heard with intent. Xu Chun nearly thought the other had discovered that the body standing before her now housed a different soul, and she broke into a cold sweat on the spot. Her expression stiffened a bit. “People change.”

Xu Chun spouted nonsense: “After all, I've been through so much now. Maturing is inevitable.”

Mature? Jiang Banxia couldn't help sizing her up. Was there a single thing about this person that had anything to do with maturity? She had managed to extract that much information from Zheng Yanran in their very first meeting, so she was probably just as unreliable as Zheng Yanran.

Speaking of Zheng Yanran, Jiang Banxia asked as if to confirm: “You guarantee she won't come over for a while?”

“Probably…?” Xu Chun certainly wasn't sure. She took out her phone. “But I can ask Fu Xin, see how much longer they can chat. If necessary, I can ask Fu Xin to stall her a bit more.”

Jiang Banxia was speechless for a moment, then nodded.

Xu Chun sighed with feeling. “Zheng Yanran really is a pest. Even you avoid her like the plague.”

“Zheng Yanran, Zheng Yanran—from just now until this moment, how many times have you said her name?” Jiang Banxia suddenly said with displeasure. “Right in front of me, you keep bringing up another woman?”

Xu Chun's face went: “…?”

Didn't you bring her up first just now?

Caught off guard by this undeserved calamity, she nearly cried herself to death by the Yellow River.

Under Jiang Banxia's death-stare, Xu Chun unconsciously licked her dry lips and earnestly consoled: “Miss Jiang, you should have confidence in your own charm and beauty. You should know that there's no room in Zheng Yanran's eyes for anyone but you, so you needn't worry that anything would happen between her and me.”

“Of course, she and I aren't the same kind of people, so nothing could possibly happen between us.”

Jiang Banxia knew this perfectly well, but that didn't stop her from thinking these two weren't honest, or that once they got together and found they were birds of a feather, they might dare to do something earth-shattering. “Keep your distance from her from now on.”

Xu Chun certainly wanted to. Unfortunately, a quarter hour ago Zheng Yanran had declared that if she couldn't see Jiang Banxia, she'd pester Xu Chun relentlessly.

Thinking of the future, every cell from Xu Chun's head to the soles of her feet was in frantic terror.

“I'm going to talk to President Qin.” Jiang Banxia rolled her eyes toward her. “Want to come along?”

Xu Chun instinctively wanted to say “no,” but then she reconsidered: once Jiang Banxia left, she'd be all alone—and if she accidentally ran into Zheng Yanran on the way, wouldn't that be…

“Yes!” she answered without hesitation, firm as a blade.

Her heroic volume made Jiang Banxia's heart skip: “?”

Jiang Banxia was going to see Qin Yao to cooperate—though “cooperate” was more a request for help. If her father was unwilling to give her his assets and company, preferring to leave them to those illegitimate children, Jiang Banxia didn't mind trading a thousand of the enemy for eight hundred of her own.

She knew Qin Yao had the ability, and now that Qin Yao had partnered with Zheng Jinchan, if Zheng Jinchan was also willing to lend a hand, her chances of winning would be even greater.

A mere Jiang family was nothing before these two combined.

The conference room was some distance away. After walking a while, the two ran into Qin Yao's and Zheng Jinchan's group, who had finished their business and were coming out of the conference room. Xu Chun was about to call out a greeting when a more vehement “Banxia!” snatched everyone's attention first.

Xu Chun turned to look. Sure enough, it was Zheng Yanran, excitement written all over her face.

And Jiang Banxia's expression at that moment was truly too complex for words.

Zheng Yanran didn't care whether she was welcome or not. She immediately spread her arms and flew over, clearly intent on giving Jiang Banxia a spectacular hug on the spot.

But just as Zheng Yanran was about to get close, Jiang Banxia suddenly dodged and ducked backward. Seeing Jiang Banxia's move, Zheng Yanran panicked and nearly performed a spectacular face-plant for everyone. She barely managed to steady herself without falling, but then, having failed to gauge her momentum to stand upright, her body shot uncontrollably straight toward Xu Chun.

Everything happened in an instant.

Xu Chun only felt her vision blur, then her body was struck hard, and the next second there was a person in her arms. She looked down slightly and met Zheng Yanran's beautiful eyes in her embrace.

The air seemed to freeze. The two stared wide-eyed at each other, neither reacting enough to speak.

Until ten seconds later, when they opened their mouths in perfect unison: “Ah—”

Mom, I'm dirty!! I'm not clean anymore!!