TGSS - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Surprise

Zheng Xinyan's mind was greatly shaken when she heard that. It can't be such a coincidence, can it?

She whipped her head around to look. The woman in the black overcoat had, for once, loosely pulled her hair up, pearl earrings gleaming softly at her ears. Paired with her faint smile, she seemed to glow. Following Chu He's gaze, Zheng Xinyan saw a female college student no more than twenty-something, with short granny gray hair and a pretty face set in a sullen expression, loosely held in Chu He's arm. Zheng Xinyan's expression at that moment was just as ugly as that of the two people sitting opposite Zhou Mindan. Could Chu He possibly like this type?

She hurriedly hunched over and scurried to her friend's side, using the vase on the table to hide her face as she stared unblinking at the group, shoving her hard. "You go sit opposite."

"Holy shit, is that the knockout colleague you were talking about?" Seeing Zheng Xinyan's reaction, how could her friend not know who that was. She could only reluctantly steal a few more glances at Chu He before swapping seats with her.

Not far away, Chu He tilted her head, feeling a prickling sensation on her back. Was it her imagination? It felt like someone was watching her.

She pushed the thought aside. With slender, well-defined fingers she lifted the clear glass pot of flower tea, rinsed Zhou Mindan's cup, wiped it carefully and cleanly, and handed it to her attentively, as if she could see no one else in the world. The tenderness in her eyes was enough to drown someone.

Zhou Mindan's best friend on the opposite side watched the two flaunt their affection as if no one else were there. She glanced furtively at her own girlfriend beside her, then let her gaze fall back on Chu He's face, nearly grinding her teeth to pieces. Her expression stiff, she said, "Mindan, is this your new girlfriend?"

Chu He looked at the girl called Chu Yue and the short-haired girl beside her who wore a disdainful expression, and raised an eyebrow. "Hello."

"Sis, what do you like about our Mindan?" Chu Yue bit her lip, her round almond eyes looking innocent and naive, as if out of pure curiosity.

"Perhaps I like that she is pure and unaffected, simple minded," Chu He said, sweeping a meaningful glance over the two of them. Noticing the Fred bracelet on the wrist of the girl beside Chu Yue, she understood at once. She suddenly hugged Zhou Mindan's arm and said with feigned annoyance, "This bracelet, you didn't give it to her, did you? I see you have one just like it."

Zhou Mindan's arm stiffened. It was indeed a gift from her. She had given Xiao Yun no shortage of things while they were together, but having it brought up so suddenly felt off. She awkwardly tugged at Chu He's sleeve, signaling her to stop talking.

"Then I'm going to be jealous. Wouldn't the young lady be upset? Your girlfriend is still wearing something from her ex." Chu He's voice slowly shifted from soft to uncompromisingly cold. She extended her hand, her face full of command and entitlement. "Give it to me."

Xiao Yun glared hatefully at Zhou Mindan, her face ashen as she slammed the bracelet onto the table on the spot. "Mindan, what do you mean, bringing your girlfriend here to make a scene? You don't want to be friends anymore? Are you here to settle accounts between us?"

"No, that's not what I mean!" Zhou Mindan shot to her feet, her face flushed red from what the other side had said, looking extremely embarrassed.

"That is exactly what I mean." Chu He crossed her long legs and leaned back, her white shirt buttoned to the collar beneath her black overcoat, an aloof chill emanating from her. She licked the corner of her lips and said unhurriedly, "What, you weren't planning to keep hiding behind the banner of friendship and not return things, were you?"

"What do you mean!" Chu Yue's face swelled red, her voice sharp as she shouted at Chu He as if a sore spot had been hit.

Chu He reached out and draped an arm over Zhou Mindan's shoulders. Her posture looked casual, but she used real force to pin Zhou Mindan, who had wanted to speak, firmly to her chair. A cold glint at the corner of her eyes, she sneered, "Mindan doesn't know better, but as her girlfriend I won't let people with ulterior motives squander her money. You have one week to return everything. Otherwise, see you in court. Oh right, you're still in school. You wouldn't want to make a huge scandal and get expelled, would you?"

Chu Yue and Xiao Yun exchanged glances, wariness entering their eyes. They looked hopefully at Zhou Mindan as if waiting for her to say something, but she seemed to have had her soul completely captured by the woman before her, only lowering her head in silence to stir the coffee in front of her.

This farce ended even faster than Chu He had imagined. After all, they were still young students. She had barely needed to bluff a couple of times before the two backed down.

"Chu He! Are you fucking sick? Who told you to talk to my friends like that? Who the hell are you to me!" Zhou Mindan held her breath, forcing herself to endure until the two had left before she erupted at Chu He.

Chu He looked at the girl whose eyes were red and who was still trembling with agitation, and said indifferently, "Didn't you say to be your girlfriend for a day? Of course I can't stand seeing my girlfriend get played like that." Strictly speaking, she would never have chosen someone like Zhou Mindan as a girlfriend anyway.

"What do you know!" Zhou Mindan shouted, gripping the corner of the table tightly, then immediately turned her head away, panting, refusing to look at her.

"No, no, I don't want to know," Chu He cut her off hastily. "I have zero interest in your past. You wanted me to back you up, I backed you up. You wanted to show off our affection, I played along. If there's nothing else, I'm heading back."

Zhou Mindan stared at her for a long moment and then suddenly gave a laugh, her voice tinged with sorrow. "Right, someone like you would never understand. Do you think I don't know those two were just using me as a wallet? So what? I need them to provide emotional value, they need my money. Goods paid for, transaction complete, perfectly fair. Who asked you to stick your nose in!"

Chu He pressed her fingertips to her temple and closed her eyes with a sigh. She said she didn't want to listen, so why insist on forcing it on her?

"What kind of person I am doesn't matter. But please remember, the emotional value you want can never be obtained through a monetary transaction. Do you know what this is called?" Chu He gave a soft laugh. "Paying to hire two people to lord it over you. Since you couldn't bear to shatter that fantasy yourself, then let me do it for you."

Zhou Mindan was stunned for a long time by her words, her expression sluggish. She stared at Chu He, and suddenly her heart stirred as she asked in a hoarse voice, "I... then can I be friends with you?"

"Sure," Chu He answered extremely quickly. She took a final, leisurely sip of tea, patted Zhou Mindan on the shoulder and stood up. "Since there's nothing else, I'll be going. I've already taken the things."

After saying that, she pulled her overcoat closed, waved at Zhou Mindan, and left without looking back, leaving only a lazy and free spirited silhouette that Zhou Mindan watched for a very long time.

Yet Chu He, who had agreed so readily, slid open her phone as soon as she got into a taxi, found Zhou Mindan whom she had only added yesterday, and deleted her on WeChat on the spot.

Be friends? Sorry, what a coincidence, she also happened to be the type who only talks business, not feelings.

The reason she had been willing to play the villain today was simply that someone had asked her to. She recalled Zhou Mindan's parents saying it was inconvenient for them to step in for such a matter and hoping Chu He could take the opportunity to handle it, promising to share their connections with her in return.

Chu He spun her phone. This was of course just part of an exchange of resources. That kid had taken it seriously, so she could treat it as a free lesson for her.

Back in her residential complex, Chu He packed her suitcase and held the camera with great care. She first hung the entire camera bag around her neck, then gripped it tightly with her hands before she felt at ease.

At last she could go back. She thought about it and sent Liang Zhouyi a message, only to find that Liang Zhouyi hadn't even replied to the previous one.

Could she be busy with work? Well, Wen Xiaoying's project has indeed gotten moving. It doesn't matter, if the mountain won't come to her, she will go to the mountain.

Thinking this, she sent Liang Zhouyi a message with a smile in her eyes. "Wait for me to come back, I brought you a surprise."

After sending the message, Chu He began to fantasize about Liang Zhouyi's reaction upon seeing the camera. The base of her left index finger, originally fair, was somewhat bruised and purplish, looking quite shocking. Chu He was completely unaware, hugging the thing and smiling to herself in intoxication.

But Chu He's fantasy was most likely about to be shattered. When Liang Zhouyi saw that message, she nearly crushed her phone. Her five fingers tightened, her eyes half closed, the irritability in her heart almost bursting out of her.

Surprise, huh? Is she going to bring her girlfriend to show me? Chu He is really something. Not long after she told Chu He they would be friends, in just three short days she can conjure up a girlfriend. Truly worthy of President Chu, such remarkable efficiency! Is the like she speaks of so cheap?

Liang Zhouyi bit her lip, feeling even a rusty taste rise in her throat. It took great effort to suppress the anger in her heart and toss the phone aside.

Liang Zhouyi had received the photo Zheng Xinyan sent her in the afternoon. With just a rough glance, she had instinctively locked the screen, feeling as if a basin of ice water had been poured over her head. For a moment she even regretted looking at the photo.

Whether it was self torture or an attempt to calm down was unclear, but when Liang Zhouyi reopened the photo she enlarged it and examined it carefully. The unmistakable doting and tender affection in Chu He's eyes almost took her breath away. So, just because she said they would be friends for life, Chu He went and found someone else? Or had Chu He meant that all along, and she had just been overthinking it?

Liang Zhouyi gave a self mocking laugh. Right, she was the one who rejected her, so what was she doing now, acting so pretentious?

"Zhou Yi, have you revised the script for Wen Xiaoying's shoot tomorrow..." Xu Lu walked over to Liang Zhouyi and patted her shoulder, meeting her scarlet, icy eyes. His voice instantly dropped, and on instinct he finished the rest of the sentence, "revised it?"

Liang Zhouyi took a deep breath and said slowly, "It's the fifth version. She's still not satisfied?"

Xu Lu swallowed. For some reason, he had just seen the shadow of that demon Chu He in Liang Zhouyi. It was downright eerie.

"She's not very satisfied," Xu Lu sighed. When he hadn't known Wen Xiaoying at first, he had thought she was a gentle and approachable influencer. He hadn't expected this project to be such a hot potato.

Wen Xiaoying's demands for her videos were nothing short of exacting. She wanted to review every single line and every single frame, even being strict to the point that the BGM had to hit exactly on the scene she wanted. In more than ten years of work, he had rarely met an influencer who treated her own videos like works of art.

"Got it, I'll revise it again," Liang Zhouyi said, pressing her lips together and forcing herself back to attention. If Wen Xiaoying didn't treat everyone the same way, she would have almost thought she was being targeted.

Liang Zhouyi, having thrown herself completely into work, did not see the phone beside her light up.

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