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Le You had returned to City A.
On the day of her return, she invited her friends to eat at the Sifang Pavilion.
They were regulars at the private club and visited often.
Lu Yunshu and the rest knew that she would ask to meet up as soon as she returned, so they all cleared their schedules for the evening.
At eight, Lu Yunshu arrived at Sifang Pavilion. She carried two gifts, the pearl necklace from the Shen family’s jewelry company and something she casually picked up from the gift shop.
When she entered the lobby, the first person she saw was Le You.
It was hard to miss Le You, who was holding an eye-catching bouquet of red roses.
Le You rushed to Lu Yunshu and gave her a big hug.
“Hello, my friend! Did you miss me?”
Lu Yunshu said, “No.”
Le You responded, “Then I didn’t miss you either. I missed my pearl necklace~”
Lu Yunshu handed over the bag. “Here. And this.”
She deposited another gift into Le You’s hands.
It was wrapped in seafoam wrapping paper and completed with a white ribbon.
She had already given Fan Jia and Xiao Fanfan their gifts, leaving only Le You remaining.
It was true, Lu Yunshu was a friend who liked giving gifts.
Le You already knew there was going to be another gift, so she took it without remorse and asked, “These were the gifts you picked out with Jin Hanshuang?”
Lu Yunshu nodded.
Le You teased, “Oh, how could our President Lu bear to part her Jin jiejie’s chosen gift? Why didn’t you keep it for yourself?”
“I kept the one she chose,” Lu Yunshu said. “I gave you the one I picked myself.”
Le You nodded in understanding. “Figured.”
Lu Yunshu said, “I couldn’t find a suitable bag, so you’ll just have to carry it like this.”
Le You didn’t mind. She was just happy to have two gifts in hand.
She started opening the gift box containing the pearl necklace, pretending to be touched as she said, “Oh my gosh, you really bought it for me. And you even gave me an extra gift—I’m so touched I’m about to shed tiny pearls of joy.”
She pretended to sniffle to show her appreciation.
Lu Yunshu helped Le You hold her flowers. She said calmly, “Go ahead and cry. Then we can sell your tears to Shen Wenxin for a high price.”
Le You laughed. “Okay, okay, you still have to make money.”
Lu Yunshu nodded. It was true that she had a talent for making money.
Le You snuck a peak at the pearl necklace—smooth and lustrous, made of excellent quality.
Satisfied, she closed the gift box and put it in her bag. Then she clung to President Lu’s arm, pretending to be affectionate and even pretending to shed a few more tears to show her gratitude.
“Our President Lu is so wonderful that she actually bought her rival’s product for me. I’m so touched, boo-hoo~” she cried. “In light of this necklace, I will forgive you for treating me like a pawn in your mind-bending romance.”
Lu Yunshu couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, thank you, Miss Le.”
Le You nodded. “You’re welcome, Miss Lu~”
She swatted Lu Yunshu’s arm. “Alright, alright, enough talk. Let’s head upstairs. Fanfan and Jia Jia are waiting for us.”
“Okay.” Lu Yunshu handed Le You back her flowers. “Where did you get these?”
Le You smiled. “Someone gave them to me.”
She slipped her arm through Lu Yunshu’s, pulling her close as they strolled toward the elevator. Lu Yunshu pressed the button, and they continued their conversation as they waited for the elevator to arrive.
“Why don’t you leave them in the car?”
“Because I want to take a photo~”
“Oh.”
“But enough about me. Let’s talk about how you’re doing. How have you been? Jia Jia mentioned in the group chat that Jin Hanshuang took the initiative to approach you at the party…”
The elevator arrived. But even after Lu Yunshu entered the elevator, she could still hear Le You’s voice. It was obvious that Le You was very invested in the progress of her mind-bending love story.
Neither of them noticed that Jin Hanshuang and Shen Wenxin had also been in the lobby on the first floor of the Sifang Pavilion.
Downstairs, Jin Hanshuang looked away.
She couldn’t hear their conversation, but her expression revealed a sudden understanding.
The gifts were for the person Lu Yunshu liked.
The pearl necklace was also for the person Lu Yunshu liked.
To willingly buy a product from your archnemesis’ company…this person must be Lu Yunshu’s true love!
“What are you daydreaming about, Mom?[1] Let’s go home.”
“Okay.”
The person Lu Yunshu liked wasn’t her.
How amazing.
The next day, Jin Hanshuang went out to have tea with Du Mengying. It was in the afternoon, at their usual spot. As they enjoyed their tea, they began talking about Lu Yunshu and the girl she went up the elevator with.
“Judging from the side of her face, I thought she was quite pretty,” Jin Hanshuang said. “She’s a sweet girl, very graceful.”
Du Mengying gave her a look of surprise. “So President Lu likes sweet girls.”
Jin Hanshuang smiled. “Who knows, maybe. At least from the back, the two of them looked like a good match.”
Whatever the case, she sincerely wished Lu Yunshu well and hoped that her secret love would come to fruition.
Du Mengying scooped off a piece of cake. “But aren’t you going to ask? I feel like you’re being a little careless.”
Jin Hanshuang frowned. “Ask what?”
Du Mengying smiled. “Ask if that sweet girl is really the one she likes.”
Jin Hanshuang was uninterested in Du Mengying’s claims. “No need to investigate further. If she wanted to tell me, she would have a long time ago.”
Lu Yunshu had a crush on someone. This person existed. They weren’t discussing a figment of their imagination anymore.
Knowing this was enough.
People needed to have boundaries.
She wouldn’t want others prying into her affairs, so she didn’t plan on prying into others’ affairs.
Since she had already seen Lu Yunshu’s crush, she didn’t need to ask any more questions. All that mattered now was teaching Lu Yunshu how to win this person’s heart.
But Du Mengying persisted. “Then how do you want to explain everything she’s done for you? She’s gotten so close to you these last few months.”
It might be true that Lu Yunshu liked someone else, but it was also true that she displayed a surprising amount of affection for Jin Hanshuang, which muddled the waters.
This girl didn’t seem like a fickle person…
Jin Hanshuang rested her hand on her chin, thinking.
After a while, she smiled.
“It’s just a level of intimacy between friends, nothing more,” she said. “It’s normal for friends to be close.”
“Oh~ So your daughter’s rival just wants to be friends with you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Maybe because she seeks some maternal love in me?”
“?”
“Our poor Yunshu lost her mother when she was very young…”
As she spoke, Jin Hanshuang’s expression softened with emotion.
Du Mengying was speechless. “First of all, you have shit all for maternal love. And second of all, everyone knows her aunt dotes on her.”
It was true. They all knew that Lu Yunshu and her aunt were close. The aunt, whose heart ached for her young niece’s loss, treated Lu Yunshu like her own daughter and, along with her family, cared deeply for her. Their relationship could be compared to that of Shen Wenxin and her uncle’s.
Jin Hanshuang’s expression shifted into a cheerful smile.
That’s right, their poor Yunshu still had an aunt and uncle who doted on her.
“Alright, alright. Stop being so curious. Why don’t I give you her number so you can ask her yourself?”
“Sure, give it to me! I’ll call her right now.”
“Get lost.”
“Hahaha.”
After Du Mengying finished joking around, she glanced at Jin Hanshuang and raised her eyebrow. “Hold up, why does it seem like you’re relieved?”
Jin Hanshuang’s eyes curved into a smile, not hiding her feelings at all. “Because I am.”
She was genuinely relieved that it wasn’t her.
Jin Hanshuang had been scared of even thinking down that path. It was simply too absurd, too unbelievable, for her to imagine.
It was best to keep things the way they were.
“I still wanted to be friends with this kid.”
She thought of how Lu Yunshu behaved around her. Whenever she thought of Lu Yunshu developing feelings for her, she imagined herself pushing the younger woman away. This was something she needed to do, but she still couldn’t help and feel a pang of regret.
Who wouldn’t want to get to know such a cute puppy?
Who would want to be cruel to one?
So, being able to remain friends was good.
Hearing this, Du Mengying began teasing Jin Hanshuang. “Oh my, such a gentle and considerate young lady with all the right qualities…You’ve really never thought of her as girlfriend material?”
Jin Hanshuang lifted her chin and regarded Du Mengying.
“Don’t talk nonsense,” she said, half-smiling, “I could never make a move on her.
The author (热到昏厥) has something to say:
Jin jiejie: [I wouldn’t dare to talk such nonsense, I wouldn’t dare.jpg]
Little Puppy Lu: ?
[1] Here, Shen Wenxin literally refers to Jin Hanshuang as “小妈” or “young mom.” This is a respectful way for someone to refer to their step-mom, especially if the step-mom is much younger than the father and closer in age to the child.
