TGSS - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Retaliation

The next day, Chu He drove Liang Zhouyi back to the company, dark circles under her eyes. When she asked Liang Zhouyi if she had slept poorly because she was worried about Wen Xiaoying yesterday, Liang Zhouyi seemed to choke for a moment, then her expression turned very complicated.

Chu He comforted her on her own, "You don't need to worry about Wen Xiaoying. If the sky falls, I'll hold it up."

Liang Zhouyi gave a dry laugh and said nothing. She could hardly say that Chu He's sleeping posture had tormented her so badly that she had not slept a wink all night.

Chu He had just stepped into the office and had not even had time to sit down when Chen Xinluo knocked on her door with a stern face.

"Did you put a tracker on me to show up so promptly...?" Chu He curved her lips and teased her with a grin.

Seeing that Chu He was still in the mood to joke, Chen Xinluo could not help but frown, "President Qin wants to see you. Let's go."

"Oh, he even sent you to fetch me personally?" Chu He moved her legs lazily and followed Chen Xinluo out. "What did President Qin say?"

Chen Xinluo did not really want to talk about it outside. The atmosphere in the company had been very strange these past two days. She bent down and said in a low voice, "You'll know when you get there, but he... is pretty angry."

Upon hearing that, Chu He shut her mouth tightly and quickened her pace, but she still did not forget to blow a flirtatious wink at Liang Zhouyi as she passed her.

As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Chen Xinluo's high heels came to an abrupt halt. She turned her head and gave Chu He a deep look, but in the end said nothing.

She led Chu He all the way to President Qin's office, greeted him, pushed Chu He inside, then turned and closed the door behind her as she left.

"Xiao He, sit." President Qin was a middle-aged man over fifty, but his well-maintained face showed no sign of age. He sat in his leather office chair like a crouching lion, his eyes not looking at Chu He, only fixed on the several computers on the silver executive desk.

Chu He did not stand on ceremony with him either. She pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down sideways, calling out perfunctorily, "Hello, President Qin."

"You should know why I asked you here, right?" President Qin stayed busy for a while, and only when he saw that Chu He still remained calm and silent could he not help but ask her first.

"I do, I'm just waiting for you to say it." Chu He's slender, fair fingers were toying with an ornament on the desk, and only after President Qin spoke first did she lift her eyes.

That glance from Chu He made President Qin feel a strange wariness rise in his heart, and then he immediately felt it was absurd that he had become so nervous because of a little girl's look. He narrowed his eyes and said, "I rarely come to Dark Color Culture, but I also know that Wen Xiaoying's project is indeed the company's top priority. After you took over, you insisted on going along on the business trip and the company agreed, but Xiao He, are you using company funds to date and letting it delay your real work?"

"President Qin, I can't accept that accusation. Whether this project ran into trouble has little to do with whether I went on the trip or whether I'm dating. Please don't use this as an excuse to pry into my private life." Chu He smiled sweetly and leaned back against the chair.

Seeing that she would not take the bait, President Qin stopped beating around the bush, "You will definitely have to take responsibility for this matter. I have already had people investigate it on my end. What you need to do is soothe the influencer's emotions and clean up your own team. I won't pursue anything else with you."

Chu He sighed, irritably unscrewed the water on the desk and took two sips to suppress the emotions in her heart before she spoke, "I understand. You don't need to worry about such a small matter, and please don't listen to my brother's nonsense and try to probe into my private life indirectly."

President Qin was taken aback, and the next second he laughed, "How did you know it was your brother's idea?"

Chu He was speechless and did not want to pick up that thread. President Qin was, after all, an industrialist who owned a large conglomerate, and Dark Color Culture was just a company he ran for fun. Such a small matter involving Wen Xiaoying would not warrant him calling her in specially. Thinking it over, it could only be that Chu Ze had contacted him privately again. That brother of hers never answered when asked.

"If President Qin has nothing else, I'll be going." Chu He stretched lazily, looking very leisurely and casual.

Only when she reached the door and pressed her hand on the doorknob did she turn back with a radiant smile, but the smile did not reach her eyes and faintly contained danger, "President Qin, please pass a message to my brother for me. If he interferes in my friendships again, I guarantee I will make all the little schemes he has pinned on me come to nothing."

With that, she turned her head and gently closed the heavy door. The eyes beneath her thick lashes were almost frozen over.

How interesting, one after another trying to meddle in her affairs. Hostility slowly bred in Chu He, and when that gorgeous face showed no expression, she looked cold and unapproachable.

"Chu He." Liang Zhouyi's voice sounded behind her, and the gloom almost vanished without a trace in an instant. Chu He turned back, again wearing that somewhat playful and carefree look.

She brushed her long hair, walked up, and naturally draped her arm over Liang Zhouyi's shoulder. She rested her face on Liang Zhouyi's shoulder and said pitifully, "President Qin gave me a scolding. How miserable."

Liang Zhouyi clearly did not quite believe it, but seeing her like this she still could not help but soften completely. She steadied herself and said, "I think I know who sent the materials to Liu Ziyu."

Liu Ziyu was that influencer whose looks and style were similar to Wen Xiaoying's. The two had both worked in the travel photography niche before, and for a time they were even seen by fans as best friends who often interacted. In fact, both were just doing it for buzz. Wen Xiaoying had long disliked the woman and wanted to be the first to transform her image.

"Who is it?" Chu He asked softly by her ear, her warm breath ruffling Liang Zhouyi's hair at the temple, an itch traveling straight from the rim of her ear into her heart.

"Sen Sen. But I don't have proof yet." Liang Zhouyi shook her head. "I don't want to get involved in these things, but this fire has already spread to me."

Chu He did not have a deep impression of that editor on the team, only knowing he was a young man who dressed exquisitely. Why would he take the risk to do this?

"I got it." Chu He's jaw tightened a little. Her fingers moved as she looked at Liang Zhouyi, thought for a moment, and still instructed, "You don't need to worry about these things."

Liang Zhouyi pressed her lips together and looked at the suddenly very serious Chu He, swallowing the second half of what she had been about to say.

Some things were better for her to resolve herself. After work, Liang Zhouyi sent a message to the busy Chu He, who was run off her feet, saying she had something to do and was leaving first.

Walking outside, Liang Zhouyi hugged her arms tightly, thinking that when she got paid she should still get herself a thicker down jacket. This jacket from several years ago seemed to be leaking down. She walked slowly across two streets.

The light of the setting sun scattered at the street corner in the evening. Liang Zhouyi shivered from the cold and tugged at her scarf, almost burying her whole face in it. She stretched out her reddened hand to pull open the glass door, and the crisp sound of wind chimes brought her slightly back to herself.

"You're here?" Wen Xiaoying sat not far from the entrance and waved at her. Even indoors, Wen Xiaoying still wore a mask covering most of her face.

Liang Zhouyi gave a cold laugh at her sneaky appearance, "Are you that shameful to be seen?"

Wen Xiaoying pretended not to hear, enthusiastically pushing the coffee in front of her toward Liang Zhouyi, "Try it, your favorite flavor."

"No need to try to get close." Liang Zhouyi looked at her indifferently. "Our relationship doesn't seem good enough to have coffee together after work."

Wen Xiaoying was silent for a good while before looking at her with somewhat resentful eyes, "Zhou Yi, have you always hated me?"

Liang Zhouyi found it somewhat funny. The corner of her mouth hooked up slightly as she sighed, "Wen Xiaoying, does it matter whether I hate you or not?"

"Of course it matters!" Wen Xiaoying's voice grew louder and her body trembled a little. She looked at her with panicked eyes. "From the moment I ran into you again, I felt that sooner or later you would take revenge on me!"

Liang Zhouyi irritably touched the stray hair behind her ear. She glanced at the cup of coffee and said coldly, "If I wanted to settle scores with you, I would have done it years ago. You'd better not keep reminding me of what you did while I don't want to recall it!"

Wen Xiaoying only heard the second half of the sentence and immediately put on an expression that said she knew it. She widened her eyes somewhat neurotically, "You admit it! You've just been waiting for the moment I let my guard down! Just like this time!"

Liang Zhouyi had a headache, and the anger inside her was finally provoked a little. The corner of her eye trembled slightly as she gritted her teeth and said, "Wen Xiaoying, you're overthinking it."

"I'm not!" She almost shouted, causing the few people in the cafe to turn and stare. Wen Xiaoying seemed not to feel it at all as she stared stubbornly at Liang Zhouyi. "Zhou Yi, can you get out of my life, huh, consider it me begging you. Do you know how hard it was for me to get where I am today, do you know how much effort I put in!"

Liang Zhouyi sat very straight. She quietly looked at the somewhat hysterical Wen Xiaoying in front of her. Of course she knew. Wen Xiaoying had always been ruthless to others and even more ruthless to herself. She could step on many people to achieve her goals, and then kick them away when she no longer needed them.

The aroma of coffee spread, and the rich, bitter fragrance suddenly made Liang Zhouyi feel quite irritated. She bit the tip of her tongue to keep her voice calm, "Yes, how could you not work hard? You must have been pretty tired when you smeared my name before, it must not have been easy to fabricate those rumors, and I wonder how happy you were when I finally dropped out. Yes, how wonderful, you and your so-called first-love boyfriend could be together without anyone knowing how shamelessly you pursued me before..."

"Stop talking!" Wen Xiaoying interrupted Liang Zhouyi with reddened eyes. She raised her head as if swallowing, and only then barely settled herself back in the chair.

Liang Zhouyi's clear eyes locked onto her, and she continued unhurriedly, "It was true before, and it is true now. You have always been so selfish and dark, disgusting."

"Ha." Wen Xiaoying giggled, her voice sweet and cloying yet damp and gloomy. "Is it wrong for me to work hard for my own future! You're the one who doesn't know how to adapt, you're the one who insisted on holding me back! If it weren't for..."

Wen Xiaoying had only gotten halfway through her complaint when a woman who appeared out of nowhere grabbed her by the hair and yanked her up from the chair. Liang Zhouyi stood up with a cold face. The overly quiet atmosphere and heavy memories had kept her from noticing this person suddenly rushing over.

She frowned and tried to pull the woman away, but before she could touch her sleeve, the woman quickly dodged. She dragged the screaming Wen Xiaoying toward the door, and no one knew where such a slender middle-aged woman got so much strength.

In the moment she drew close, Liang Zhouyi saw her face clearly, and only then did she falter and fail to grab her arm. Her body trembled, her eyes widened, and she shouted in disbelief, "Mom! What are you doing!"

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