After Rebirth, I Became the Richest Woman - Chapter 2

“Hiss—” Qin Moyan drew in a sharp breath of cold air, clutching her nose and unable to speak for quite a while.

Ye Xinuo frantically patted Qin Moyan’s shoulder. “Don’t cry! I didn’t do it on purpose!”

Qin Moyan closed her eyes, ignoring Ye Xinuo entirely.

Ye Xinuo swallowed nervously. She called a flight attendant, asked for a pack of tissues, and pulled one out. “Should I wipe away your tears for you?”

Qin Moyan gave her a brief, sideways glance before elegantly taking the tissue. She dabbed at the corners of her eyes and handed it back to Ye Xinuo as if nothing had happened, then closed her eyes again.

Ye Xinuo curled her lip. What a piece of work!

“The plane will be taking off shortly. Cabin crew, please perform the safety check. Please fasten your seatbelts…”

Against the background of the cabin announcements, the two fastened their seatbelts and proceeded to ignore each other.

Two hours later.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing in thirty minutes. Please fold away your tray tables and open your window shades…”

Qin Moyan opened her eyes, adjusted her seat back, and leaned onto Ye Xinuo’s shoulder. Her soft hair cascaded over Ye Xinuo’s shoulder. “I know why you’re here. Since the lie has already been told, I can cooperate and play along, but as for who can win him over, that will depend on our own abilities.”

A faint, elegant fragrance enveloped Ye Xinuo’s nose, giving her an unexpected sense of peace. However, she still unceremoniously pushed Qin Moyan’s head away. “What do you mean ‘own abilities’? Uncle Tang told me to just mess things up between you two and make you so angry your head spins; that’s the only reason I came. Besides, why would I want to win him over? He’s not my type. And if we keep pretending to be a couple, how am I supposed to land him? Unless he’s into some heavy stuff, like a 3… Oh my god!”

If this were her previous life, Ye Xinuo wouldn’t have understood what Qin Moyan was talking about. But having lived five extra years, she knew the importance of the man from earlier.

Ding Qi, founder of Qiran Technology and inventor of the AI chip DX1702—a man fought over by major conglomerates.

However, genius minds are hard to read; many investors had tried to acquire Ding Qi’s company only to be rejected.

Unsure of how much of Ye Xinuo’s nonsense was true or false, Qin Moyan remained silent.

“Did you take a liking to that handsome guy? He is quite the looker,” Ye Xinuo scratched her chin. “But how did Uncle Tang know?”

Qin Moyan frowned. This girl’s head was filled with nothing but romance; had she overthought things? Ye Xinuo had never done business; surely she couldn’t be that calculating.

“Since I’m already here, I’ll stay in Jincheng with you for a couple of days.” Ye Xinuo patted the woman next to her. “Where should we go—”

Qin Moyan interrupted: “Miss Ye, are we that close?”

Ye Xinuo: “Of course! We’re practically family. You’re a director at my company; we’re like fish in the same bowl, aren’t we?”

Qin Moyan closed her eyes again and didn’t utter another word until the plane landed.

“Have you two ladies made up?”

A voice suddenly appeared from above, making Ye Xinuo’s heart leap into her throat.

Qin Moyan shook her head. “Sir, my girlfriend saw me chatting happily with you and got a bit jealous. She’s still not talking to me.”

Ye Xinuo’s eyebrow twitched. This old fox certainly changed faces fast.

Ye Xinuo knew that five years from now, Ding Qi would come out at a product launch. Pretending to be Qin Moyan’s girlfriend wasn’t just to interrupt their talk; it was to make Ding Qi see them as “one of his own.” She hadn’t expected Qin Moyan to go along with it so smoothly. What was this old fox planning now?

“Then my sin is truly great.” Ding Qi checked his watch and pulled a business card from his bag. “I’m in a hurry today. If this lady is still angry, we can arrange a time to chat later so I can explain everything clearly.”

Ye Xinuo snatched the card first and said coldly, “It’s a deal. Who knows if my wife is talking behind my back!”

Qin Moyan gave Ye Xinuo a look but said nothing, standing up to get her luggage.

As soon as Ye Xinuo entered her hotel room, she kicked off her heels and collapsed onto the bed, calling Yu Qing.

The call was answered quickly: “Eldest Miss, how are things progressing?”

Ye Xinuo hesitated. “It’s hard to say. I muddied the waters and got Ding Qi’s contact info, but something feels off.”

“Off in what way?”

Ye Xinuo closed her eyes and thought for a moment. “Sister Yu Qing, if a pair of strangers started arguing because of you, would you be so helpful as to actively offer to help them reconcile?”

Yu Qing was silent for a few seconds. “If it were me, probably not.”

“Exactly.” Ye Xinuo wasn’t sure if she was talking to Yu Qing or herself. “Everything is moving too smoothly. It’s actually unnatural.”

Yu Qing didn’t interrupt, waiting for Ye Xinuo to figure it out.

Since she couldn’t solve it yet, Ye Xinuo changed the subject. “Sister Yu Qing, nothing troublesome on your end, right?”

“You’ve only been gone half a day, what could happen?” Yu Qing teased. “Our Eldest Miss has grown up; seeing you care so much about the company is truly heartening!”

Ye Xinuo chuckled. “Is there a reward?”

“I’ll buy you those balloons you liked as a kid.”

After the joke, Yu Qing returned to business. “Miss, our stock price has been acting strangely. It dropped a lot due to the US market and your father’s passing, so it shouldn’t rebound easily. But starting a week ago, it began a steady, slight climb. I suspect…”

“Someone is buying up our floating shares in bulk,” Ye Xinuo said with certainty.

“That’s my guess too. I don’t know the goal of this person or team.”

Ye Xinuo knew it was Tang Jie, but she couldn’t explain how she knew, so she played dumb. “Sister Yu Qing, I heard Director Li is tight on cash lately. When I get back, I’ll talk to him about his shares. As for people with ulterior motives, they’ll show their faces when the time is right.”

“Understood.” Yu Qing paused, then added curiously, “Miss, you seem… different. Suddenly very composed.”

“I’ll tell you a secret.” Ye Xinuo paused. “I reached enlightenment in a dream and became an immortal.”

“Stop joking with me!” Yu Qing chided. “I have a pile of reports to finish. I’m hanging up.”

“Got it.”

Before hanging up, Ye Xinuo added, “Sister Yu Qing, find some time to date. Don’t bury yourself in work every day, or people will think I’m a cruel boss!”

Yu Qing snapped back, “Go to sleep!”

Listening to the dial tone, Ye Xinuo smiled. In her past life, Yu Qing spent all her time working and missed out on a good marriage. This time, she would make sure Yu Qing got what she deserved.

The next morning, Ye Xinuo woke up as the first light hit the room. For a moment, the past felt like it was right there.

After a dazed moment, she looked around. It was still the hotel room. She checked her phone; it really was five years ago.

Finally finding a sense of reality, she felt more relaxed. She ordered breakfast and, when the time was right, called Qin Moyan.

The voice on the other end was as cool as ever. “Hello.”

“Director Qin, it’s Ye Xinuo.”

“Mhm.”

Ye Xinuo continued, “I don’t know anyone in Jincheng, and I’m unfamiliar with the place. Since you’re a few years older, surely you won’t just leave me to fend for myself?”

Qin Moyan gave her a hotel name and room number, then hung up without another word.

Ye Xinuo muttered at her phone, “Is it really necessary to be so stingy with words?”

If yesterday was surprise, today was guilt. In her last life, she believed Tang Jie’s lies that Qin Moyan had provoked her father into a heart attack. She spent five years fighting her. If she hadn’t, someone with Qin Moyan’s talent would have become a legend.

But even so, Ye Xinuo had to use her. She knew the business world was a battlefield. She couldn’t fail again. Tang Jie was ambitious and insane; if she didn’t have enough capital to crush him in one blow, he would return like weeds in spring.

With smartphones becoming popular, AI was the next frontier. Ding Qi was the key.

Ye Xinuo looked out the window. Every person has a weakness. What did Ding Qi want? Power? Money? Beauty? How did Qin Moyan convince him in the last life?

She rubbed her chin. Should I go find some handsome men to send to him?

Qin Moyan and Ye Xinuo were in the same hotel, just on different floors. After a video call with Yu Qing, Ye Xinuo wandered to Qin Moyan’s door.

She sat down and looked Qin Moyan up and down. A white three-quarter sleeve shirt and black wide-leg trousers—her usual style. “Director Qin, you always dress so blandly. You’ll never get a man like that. At the very least, you could show a little cleavage in that shirt!”

Qin Moyan ignored the teasing. “Coffee or tea?”

“Warm water is fine.”

Soon, Qin Moyan returned with two glasses of water, sitting in the armchair to Ye Xinuo’s right. She crossed her hands elegantly on her knees, her dark eyes looking straight into Ye Xinuo’s soul. “Miss Ye, we both know why you’re here. If you’re willing to cooperate, why don’t we be more open with each other?”

After a moment of standoff, Ye Xinuo seemed to give in.

“Fine, I’ll be blunt.” Ye Xinuo’s face turned cold. “Uncle Tang said Ding Qi is some tech genius and told me I must recruit him before you do. Director Qin, I wanted to ask you: Why are you a director at Ye Sheng but don’t care about the company’s interests?!”

Qin Moyan remained calm. “Chairwoman Ye should know I am a director at more than one company. If you want my undivided service, offer me the position of Chairwoman. I might consider it.”

“You!” Ye Xinuo stood up. “Then let’s wait and see!”

“Miss Ye is young and impetuous. Careful not to let your anger ruin your health.” Qin Moyan shook her head slightly. “If you don’t want to cooperate, I won’t see you out.”

Ye Xinuo glared at her and stormed out.

Twenty minutes later, she timed her return and knocked on Qin Moyan’s door again.