A Straight Woman Forcefully Claims The Little White Flower Heroine - Chapter 5

Zhou You’s voice carried unmistakable certainty, along with that familiar malice.

Zhou You’s dislike of her wasn’t something that had started yesterday. Whenever Qin Wei was around, no matter what she did, good or bad, Zhou You would always nitpick and find fault with it.

“Zhou You.” Zhou Jing was already used to this too. She put down the clothes in her hands, rubbed between her brows, and called out to Zhou You in a low voice.

Qin Wei said nothing as she held the steering wheel. Only after turning the corner and continuing straight did she slightly raise her eyes and glance at Zhou You in the rearview mirror.

She thought of what that woman at Hanlin Waterside Pavilion had said—Did you really walk into the wrong room?

None of Hanlin Waterside Pavilion’s Number One rooms were open to the public. She truly hadn’t known that. Hanlin Waterside Pavilion was never short of rooms. Even after excluding the few private rooms that were permanently reserved, there were still more than enough.

She had simply assumed Number One was a room someone had reserved long-term.

Did Zhou You know that, or didn’t she?

Had she done it deliberately? Qin Wei’s fingers tightened. She pressed her lips together, unwilling to speculate in that direction. She quietly let out a breath and decided to let the matter go.

“…”

“Sister Qin, why didn’t you answer when I called you?” Zhou You also looked into the rearview mirror, meeting Qin Wei’s gaze with open provocation.

A flash of panic crossed Qin Wei’s eyes. She instinctively avoided Zhou You’s gaze, opened her mouth, paused hoarsely, then said, “I was changing clothes. I didn’t hear it.”

“It doesn’t take twenty minutes to change a shirt.” Zhou You snorted with laughter, shifted to the side, leaned back, and stopped talking.

Qin Wei didn’t respond either. She kept her eyes on the road, then lightly glanced at the rearview mirror once more.

“Weiwei, we have to go back to the old residence for dinner tomorrow night.” Zhou Jing’s face was flushed from alcohol. Half-drunk and half-awake, she leaned against the seat, her unfocused gaze drifting toward Qin Wei.

“Do you need me to pick you up?” Qin Wei asked softly.

Zhou Jing looked at Qin Wei and silently shook her head. When her gaze passed over Qin Wei’s collar, the alcohol caught up with her and she closed her eyes.

“Are you free tomorrow night?”

Qin Wei froze for a second and glanced sideways at Zhou Jing, who had her eyes closed, then remembered Zhou You sitting in the back seat and ultimately said nothing.

But Zhou Jing seemed to have been spurred on by something and insisted on getting an answer from Qin Wei right then.

“Tomorrow is the weekend. Are you free?” Zhou Jing cracked her eyes open. A muddy haze spread through them, like the confusion brought on by alcohol.

“Zhou You, which place are you going back to?” Qin Wei gripped the steering wheel, ignored Zhou Jing’s question, and addressed Zhou You in the back seat instead.

Zhou You snapped irritably, “Where else would I go? I’m part of the Zhou family. If I don’t go back to the Zhou residence, am I supposed to go home with you?”

“She asked you twice and you didn’t answer. Qin Wei, if you don’t even want to come to my house for dinner, why are you with my sister? Can’t bear to give up the status of a wealthy young miss that my sister gives you?”

“Then again, the moment people from the Zhou family took over Jingwei, you washed your hands of everything and sat back enjoying the benefits. When it comes to avoiding work, who could possibly beat you?”

“…” Qin Wei tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Her breathing hurried carefully through her chest. Her eyelids lowered halfway as she said without reaction, “I’ll drop you off at Qingshan Road.”

“You…” Zhou You was about to start again.

“Drive inside,” Zhou Jing suddenly said.

Qin Wei’s quiet eyes widened slightly. Disbelief flashed through them before quickly giving way to a faint mist of tears.

“…I want to spend some time talking with Great-Grandmother. I won’t be going to your place tonight.” Zhou Jing lowered her head, avoiding Qin Wei’s eyes.

Qin Wei had never been one to argue with her, especially in front of her family.

Sure enough, only after the car passed over a series of speed bumps and stopped at a traffic light did the silent Qin Wei finally say her first words.

“Okay.” Emotion weighed down her voice, muffled like an endless rainy season.

Zhou Jing turned the bottle of water in her hand. She opened her mouth, about to say something, when the phone beside her vibrated twice.

She picked it up, glanced at it, and said nothing more.

They continued straight, passed Qingshan Road, then turned onto the mountain road and drove uphill for a while before reaching the Zhou residence.

Qin Wei drove into the courtyard and abruptly braked to a stop.

Zhou Jing looked at her, twisted open the bottle of water in her hand, took a sip, then said to Zhou You in the back, “You go in first.”

Zhou You responded, “I’ll wait for you. You should come in with me. Mom’s home tonight.”

“Okay.”

The moment Zhou You got out of the car, she ordered the butler to bring over the Tibetan Mastiff they kept. Excited barking immediately rang out. Qin Wei, still sitting in the car, flinched and lowered her head as she gripped the steering wheel.

“If you wanted to go back to the Zhou family, you could have just told me.” Qin Wei rested her forehead against the steering wheel, breathing rapidly. “I could’ve called a designated driver for you, or asked one of your friends to bring you back. Either would’ve been fine.”

“Zhou Jing, you…”

“We’re getting engaged next month.” Zhou Jing tightened her grip on the water bottle, a restless edge seemingly rising with the alcohol. “If I go back to the Zhou family, aren’t you coming back too?”

“…” Qin Wei froze completely. She remained leaning against the steering wheel without moving for a long time.

Only after a while did she barely manage to straighten up and turn toward Zhou Jing, whose brow was clouded with worry and whose eyes were filled with irritation.

Those words really had come from Zhou Jing.

Yet, for no apparent reason, Qin Wei remembered what Zhou Jing had said several years ago after having a huge fight with her mother, running through the rain to Qin Wei’s tiny rented apartment without a cent to her name, feverish and clutching Qin Wei’s hand as she spoke through her daze.

“Weiwei, don’t listen to them. I just… want to be with you. Even if I never go back to the Zhou family for the rest of my life, even if they never acknowledge you, even if…”

“Anyway, anywhere that refuses to accept you is somewhere I don’t want to stay either.”

“…”

“Did the negotiations go badly today?” Qin Wei released the steering wheel. Her palm clenched and loosened before she finally asked calmly.

Silence and inescapable embarrassment spread through the car like a gloomy rain. Zhou Jing lowered the window and took a breath.

“…”

“…Mm.” Zhou Jing lowered her head further and further until she couldn’t possibly lower it anymore. Only then did she breathe out, lean back, cover her eyes, and say dully, “I’m sorry.”

“I invested all the funds from Guansong Rainforest Mountain and every project the Zhou family connected us with, but it still isn’t enough.” Zhou Jing covered her face. “It still isn’t enough.”

Qin Wei unfastened her seat belt, leaned toward Zhou Jing, caught her hand, and slowly pulled it away from her face.

She looked into Zhou Jing’s anxious, restless eyes and tightened her hold on her hand.

“I want the West District hydropower project. As long as we secure the hydropower project, we’ll have a chance to work with the Lu family.” Zhou Jing looked into Qin Wei’s quiet eyes, calm as the sea in the middle of the night, and unconsciously leaned closer. Even the sharpness in her voice softened. “Weiwei, I want my family to accept you.”

“I know you don’t care, but I do. I care a lot. I don’t want…”

“I know.” Qin Wei gently rested her forehead against Zhou Jing’s. Her eyelids lowered, her thick black lashes trembling. “Zhou Jing, I know.”

“Weiwei, will you come back to Jingwei?” Zhou Jing tilted her neck slightly upward, her breath lightly brushing Qin Wei’s lips. “Come back to the company, okay?”

Qin Wei turned her head slightly and let out a soft sigh.

“I’ll think about it.”

The moment Zhou Jing heard those three words, she knew Qin Wei didn’t want to return. Her raised head lowered again, merely brushing lightly against Qin Wei’s cheek twice.

“Weiwei, come over tomorrow night,” Zhou Jing said. “Great-Grandmother wants to see you. It’ll only be me and Great-Grandmother.”

“Don’t refuse me.” Zhou Jing’s voice lowered as she murmured indistinctly to Qin Wei.

The hazy whisper by her ear carried a pitiful note. Qin Wei looked into her eyes, hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

“Zhou Jing.” As Qin Wei watched her move to get out of the car, she reached out and caught her. “Do you want to come back with me?”

If Zhou Jing wanted the Zhou family to make introductions for her, tonight wouldn’t be easy. Either she would have to draw a clear line between herself and Qin Wei, or she would have to offer a project even better than anything Jingwei currently possessed.

For example, securing the West District hydropower project and establishing ties with the Lu family.

But if she still failed to secure it in the end…

Qin Wei watched the faint smile on Zhou Jing’s face, watched her pull her hand free and get out of the car without hesitation, and couldn’t stop her heart from sinking.

“Zhou Jing…” You won’t leave me.

“Go home early.” Zhou Jing closed the door and rested one hand on the car window, lightly waving. “Wait for me. Tomorrow night, we’ll go home together.”

“Don’t force yourself,” Qin Wei said with a frown.

Zhou Jing said nothing. She turned and left, took the dog leash from Zhou You, and dragged the Tibetan Mastiff toward the other side.

“She really left you here to face everything alone?” Zhou You looked unhappily at the retreating car. “Sister, when are you finally going to wake up? Great-Grandmother said you have to be responsible for your own choices. You chose her when you were eighteen. After everything you’ve done all these years, how have you ever wronged her?”

“Instead of working for the Zhou family’s businesses, you insisted on going out and starting your own company. And just so she’d look good in front of Mom, you even kept saying Jingwei was something the two of you built together.”

“And her? The moment things reach a critical point, she turns around and leaves.”

Zhou Jing said nothing. Only after Qin Wei’s car had completely disappeared from sight did she ask, “What are Mom’s conditions?”

“Choose one of two.” Zhou You spoke mysteriously. “Mom is still pretty reasonable.”

Zhou Jing followed her inside. Standing at the entrance, she paused when she saw the shoes a servant brought over.

“What do you mean, choose one of two?” Zhou Jing’s gaze swept toward an extra pair of shoes on the other side. She realized there were guests tonight.

“Mom agreed to make the introduction for you. But if you still fail to establish ties with the Lu family in the end, then Mom wants you to either hand over Jingwei, or… enter a marriage alliance with Lu Yuanyuan from a collateral branch of the Lu family.”

“…” Zhou Jing was silent for a second, then changed her shoes and stepped into the main hall.

The rain continued on and off without end. After staying at Hanlin Waterside Pavilion for a while, Lu Chenyu returned to the Lu family residence.

The good news was that, as the most authoritative head of the Lu family, Lu Chenyu had no relatives or elders above her who could suppress her. She was the sole person in control of the entire Lu family, completely unrestricted by anyone.

And because her status was so high, quite a few people below only knew that someone like her existed, but had no idea what she looked like. Those even farther removed hadn’t even heard her name.

She really was mysterious enough.

The bad news was that the Lu family had a ridiculous number of people. Never mind the main branch; even the collateral branches had several relationship networks she couldn’t make heads or tails of.

But regardless of relationship or seniority, within the Lu family, whatever Lu Chenyu said went.

Anyone who dared defy her would soon be off meeting their great-grandmother.

“With an identity this awesome, instead of giving me some cutthroat corporate warfare where I crush everyone, you insist on making me break up some young couple.”

“Does that seem reasonable to you?”

Lu Chenyu soaked in the outdoor hot spring, completely unconcerned by the misty drizzle falling over her. She admired the scenery below the mountain estate while taking the opportunity to complain to the system.

There was no punishment anyway. Complaining a little wouldn’t hurt anything.

The system didn’t respond. It was probably too lazy to bother with her.

Lu Chenyu shifted into another position and continued soaking, casually spearing a piece of steak and stuffing it into her mouth, eating without the slightest restraint.

“Besides, even without me interfering, their relationship will deteriorate if it’s going to deteriorate.” Lu Chenyu took a deep breath, sank underwater, held her breath for quite a while, then surfaced again.

“The Zhou family and Lu Yuanyuan.” Lu Chenyu climbed out of the hot-spring pool, grabbed the towel beside her and wiped herself down a few times, then loosely pulled on a bathrobe and walked into the room.

“Boss.” Lu Meng entered from outside carrying a pot of black tea. She bent her knees slightly beside Lu Chenyu, poured her a cup, then consciously stepped half a meter away.

“Speak.” Lu Chenyu put on an imposing air, took a sip of black tea, set it down, then picked up the information beside her and continued studying it.

“Regarding the West District hydropower project, Lu Yuanyuan wants to give it to the Zhou family,” Lu Meng said. “There will be a dinner banquet tomorrow.”

“What’s her relationship with Zhou You?” Lu Chenyu stared at the relationship chart that looked like a spiderweb and immediately started getting a headache again.

After three years in the apocalypse, she had barely read more than a few words. Every day was either fighting zombies and scavenging garbage or sharpening knives.

She was getting dizzy from all these words. One more glance and she was going to drop her head and fall asleep.

Lu Chenyu tossed the documents aside and took another sip of black tea. The mellow fragrance unfurled richly across her mouth, and she nearly let out a satisfied sigh. Fortunately, reason prevailed. She slapped herself across the face and forcibly dragged her rising cheeks back down.

“Lu Yuanyuan doesn’t have any particular relationship with Zhou You. She and Zhou Jing were high school classmates.” Lu Meng hesitated and secretly glanced at Lu Chenyu’s expression before quickly adding, “They seem to be discussing a marriage alliance. With Zhou Jing.”

“Tomorrow night’s banquet will be at Mountain and Forest Manor.”

Lu Chenyu took a moment to process that and dug the place name out of her newly acquired memories—another property she owned.

“Who’s going?”

Lu Meng said, “Lu Yuanyuan will bring some of the people currently responsible for the West District hydropower project. As for the Zhou family… Old Madam Zhou and the current head of the Zhou family, Zhou Xi, will also attend.”

“The rest are a miscellaneous collection of small, unknown companies.”

Lu Chenyu lightly tapped the documents in her hand, lowering her brows.

The system hadn’t said anything. Qin Wei probably wouldn’t go, right? Then she didn’t need to go either. Perfect. Tomorrow, she was going to secretly tour every single business owned by the Lu family.

As long as she didn’t run into the heroine, she wouldn’t have to do the mission!

Seeing that her boss hadn’t spoken for a long time, Lu Meng glanced at her and cautiously added, “Miss Qin… might go.”