“No, no! This is perfect just like this!”
The black-haired girl’s face flushed with a suspicious rosy tint as she quickly snatched a shrimp dumpling off the chopsticks in one bite.
Hmm, so Su Ling also likes shrimp dumplings this much?
Ruan Zhixian watched the girl across from her, who was bubbling with pink excitement and giggling nonstop, quietly muttering to herself.
She glanced at her own chopsticks, which still held a few glistening droplets of the other girl’s saliva—making one involuntarily imagine Su Ling’s delicate, rosy lips.
No, no, what am I daydreaming about? After all, both Su Ling and I are girls!
Ruan Zhixian shook her head, casting away the complicated thoughts from her fluffy golden hair.
Although in her past life she was male and definitely couldn’t date boys, due to her lack of understanding about lesbian relationships and her strange, dull sense, she had never once thought about being with a girl in the future.
“Su Ling, I’ve finished eating. Are you going to keep eating?” Ruan Zhixian wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin, satisfied.
“Ah, wait, is it already this late?”
Su Ling finally snapped out of her daydream and glanced at her watch, speaking with regret and apology.
“Sorry, Zhixian, although I really want to keep having breakfast with you, there’s something very important at the company today, so I have to go.”
With that, Su Ling stood up, grabbed her briefcase, and prepared to leave.
“Wait, let me pack up the rest of your breakfast for you. You can eat it on the way to the office!”
Ruan Zhixian’s hands were quick and nimble as she packed the leftover food and handed it to Su Ling.
“Good luck at work today~ I’ll be here waiting for you to come back!”
A bright smile spread across the girl’s face—without a hint of gloom, pure and beautiful. Her golden hair shimmered, her smile dazzling, with the shadows of the place they both called “home” behind her.
Su Ling, still dazed, somehow managed to change her socks and shoes, then took the lunchbox and walked out.
As her eyes rolled around in a daze, a cool, exasperated female voice suddenly rang out beside her.
“Miss, your car is over here.”
***
In the Underground Parking Garage of the apartment complex, a woman wearing a suit and delicate gold-rimmed glasses stood nearby.
Her attire was meticulous and serious, her makeup clean and proper. Her hair was perfectly pinned back into a low, tight bun, revealing her full forehead clearly.
At this moment, she held a stack of documents against her ample chest, reminding the young lady in front of her.
“Oh, Secretary Wang, so, everything you arranged has been taken care of, right?”
Prompted by the reminder, Su Ling quickly regained her usual cool and capable demeanor.
“Yes, Miss. Everything has been organized according to your instructions. We have compiled all relevant materials regarding the Gu Family Young Master for this period. Please have a look.”
As she spoke, the secretary opened the car door beside her.
Once inside the car, Su Ling took the documents and carefully read through them before disdainfully tossing them aside.
“Tch, Gu Family Group. When I first came to C City, they tried to sabotage me. Now their heir actually wants to fight me for Zhixian? They must be out of their minds.”
“Yes, Miss, Gu Family Group’s attempt to oppose you is utterly presumptuous,” Secretary Wang replied evenly.
“But why haven’t we uncovered anything about the engagement between the Ruan and Gu families? Are the two families really keeping this matter so tightly under wraps?”
Su Ling’s eyes gradually clouded with gloom at the thought.
“Yes, Miss, we have mobilized all our contacts in C City over the past few days, but still haven’t gathered any detailed information. In fact, this matter has only been circulated in small circles within C City’s high society, which is quite unusual.” Secretary Wang’s calm voice carried a hint of puzzlement.
“Hmph, they can’t possibly be planning a secret alliance to monopolize the entire C City market, can they?” Su Ling’s tone grew colder.
The Gu Family and Ruan Family are two of C City’s major local leading enterprises. Before the Su Family Group entered the market here, the two families had been at each other’s throats.
But since two months ago, when Su Ling led the Su Family Group into the C City market, Gu and Ruan have shown subtle signs of cooperation.
And just two days ago, Gu Family Young Master Gu Tian announced at a private gathering that he intended to marry into the Ruan Family.
Learning this from an informant, Su Ling immediately exploded, which also became the trigger for the qiujin Ruan Zhixian.
“Forget it. Since Zhixian is already under my control, there’s no way any family engagement will be fulfilled anymore.” Thinking this, Su Ling cheerfully opened the lunchbox.
“Oh, Secretary Wang, you know? This breakfast was personally packed by Zhixian for me, and she reminded me to eat well~”
“Yes, Miss, I’m sure Miss Ruan cares about you very much.”
“This morning, while eating, Zhixian even personally fed me a shrimp dumpling~”
“Yes, Miss, it’s clear you and Miss Ruan share a close relationship.”
“Hehe, well, it’s not that big a deal~ But you know what? When Zhixian woke up, she didn’t resist at all. She willingly accepted everything and even said she hopes we can get along well in the future~”
“Yes, Miss, it’s clear… hmm???”
The voice of the female secretary driving the car suddenly stuttered, as if a finely tuned AI had glitched. After a moment, she hesitated and asked,
“Miss, did Miss Ruan really say that after she woke up?”
“Hmm~ Do you think I’d lie to you?”
With that, the black-haired young lady behind happily resumed eating her heartfelt breakfast, seemingly unaware that this very meal was actually something she had asked Secretary Wang to buy that morning.
Secretary Wang remained silent. She didn’t speak, but she shattered Su Ling’s illusion.
“Miss, I don’t know if I should say this or not, but I must remind you: Miss Ruan, as someone who has been qiujin, did not throw a hysterical tantrum upon waking. Instead, she willingly accepted everything, which is very unusual.”
Secretary Wang calmly analyzed for Su Ling, the lenses of her gold-rimmed glasses flashing white in the light.
“Have you considered the possibility that Miss Ruan realized immediately upon waking that escape was hopeless? So she expressed compliance to gain your trust, hoping to seize a chance to flee.”
Su Ling’s head slowly cooled with Secretary Wang’s words. Her slender, pale hand gently put down her chopsticks, took out a napkin, and elegantly wiped her lips.
“If that’s really the case, then I’ll have to properly punish my disobedient Zhixian.”
The black-haired girl smiled, a faint lingering flush on her cheeks that stood out sharply against her translucent pale skin.