Please Marry Me (GL) - Chapter 30

In the few seconds it took for the elevator doors to slide open, the group regained their composure instantly. Ye Sixin looked down, pretending to fuss with her umbrella. Jiang Yi and Lin Fei both wore sunglasses—one lowered her head and shielded her face with her hand while scrolling through her phone, while the other stared intently at the elevator ceiling. Yan Zhijie, meanwhile, crouched down to tie his shoelaces.

Everything looked perfectly natural.

As long as Yin Lei didn’t look directly inside, she wouldn’t notice anything unusual.

The sound of suitcase wheels rolling across the floor echoed rhythmically. If they could just hold out for a few more seconds until Yin Lei passed their line of sight, they would be in a blind spot, and their identities would remain a secret.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

They walked past!

The group in the elevator let out a collective sigh of relief, feeling like they had just cheated death.

“Wait…” Jiang Yi suddenly realized something was wrong. Why had the sound of the suitcase wheels stopped?

The next second, Yin Lei and her colleagues were standing right in front of the elevator, brows slightly furrowed, gazes piercing. “Jiang Yi, long time no see.”

Yin Lei’s gaze then shifted to Lin Fei and Yan Zhijie. “Qiguang employees?”

“What are you doing here?” By now, Yin Lei’s expression had turned stern.

“We’re here on vacation, of course. And to celebrate Jiang Yi’s birthday,” Lin Fei explained, thinking fast on her feet.

“Your birthday?”

Seeing all eyes turn toward her, Jiang Yi pinched her palm to stay calm. “My birthday is the day after tomorrow. They came to celebrate with me. Yin Lei, what are you doing here? What a coincidence.”

“Quite a coincidence indeed.” Yin Lei scrutinized them one last time before checking her watch. “It’s getting late, and we have things to do. We’ll be going now.”

“Alright.”

Once they were gone, a wave of guilt washed over Jiang Yi. She pushed her luggage out, watching Yin Lei’s back disappear into one of the rooms, her heart heavy with conflicting emotions.

“Lin Fei, is the day after tomorrow really Jiang Yi’s birthday?” Yan Zhijie asked.

“Of course. Thank goodness I thought of that in time.”

Jiang Yi’s birthday was indeed the day after tomorrow, but that was her solar calendar birthday; she didn’t usually celebrate it, preferring the lunar calendar since childhood. The only person who had ever celebrated both for her was Shen Siyun.

She remembered the first year with Shen Siyun. When Shen Siyun celebrated her solar birthday for the first time, Jiang Yi was stunned, feeling that this CEO was operating on a completely different wavelength. She later learned that Shen Siyun had only ever celebrated solar birthdays; Shen was equally surprised to hear about lunar ones, so they simply started celebrating both.

“Jiang Yi, what’s wrong?” It was past 8:00 PM. Lin Fei and Ye Sixin had already showered, but seeing that Jiang Yi hadn’t moved, they asked in confusion.

“Nothing, just thinking about things.”

After her shower, Jiang Yi wanted to let Song Rao know she had arrived safely. The first call went unanswered, so she patiently dialed again.

“Hello, it’s Song Rao. I was just parking, sorry I couldn’t pick up.”

“Song Rao, I’m calling to tell you I’ve reached Wuhai Island. But I ran into Yin Lei; we’re staying at the same hotel as her and her colleagues.”

Jiang Yi expressed her deep concern. She felt like she was walking a tightrope—Yin Lei on one side, the big coatings client on the other. Yin Lei would eventually realize their goal was to snatch the client from their proposal.

“Jiang Yi, there’s something I’m not sure if I should tell you,” Song Rao said, her tone suddenly shifting.

Jiang Yi: “Go ahead.”

“Our lab’s research funding has been withdrawn. My research group might be disbanded, and the experiment will have to stop.”

Jiang Yi gasped, then asked worriedly, “Why was it withdrawn? Who did it?”

Song Rao sighed on the other end. “We submitted the funding application a month and a half ago. The school secured a corporate investment for us, but today the administration told me that the company decided to withdraw and instead invest in a group led by another professor.”

“How can that company do that? Wasn’t it agreed upon? They can’t just back out after an agreement, right?” Jiang Yi said indignantly.

“We hadn’t signed yet. We were supposed to sign these past few days. Once signed, the funds would have been transferred. Who knew such a sudden change would happen,” Song Rao said helplessly.

Jiang Yi felt something was fishy. “Why did they withdraw? Do you know the reason? If we have to, let’s sell the house.”

This experiment had lasted over a year; it was Song Rao’s life’s work. If it failed now because of funding, it would be devastating.

Song Rao told her not to be impulsive. “We don’t know the specific reason yet. I tried to contact the company owner today, but they wouldn’t see me. However, Jiang Yi, while I was waiting at their reception, I saw someone.”

“Who?”

“It was… Shen Siyun.”

Jiang Yi gripped her phone tighter, her voice turning raspy. “Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?”

“I’m sure.” Song Rao had been surprised initially, but the moment she saw Shen Siyun, she understood why.

The moment she had denied asking Shen Siyun to look after Jiang Yi, leaving Shen in a position of “injustice,” she knew Shen Siyun would hold a grudge.

But so what? Shen Siyun was the one who broke their pact first. They had agreed she wouldn’t bully Jiang Yi, yet Shen Siyun repeatedly disregarded Song Rao’s existence and the sanctity of marriage. Such a person didn’t deserve to have Jiang Yi entrust her life to them.

However, she hadn’t expected Shen Siyun’s methods to be even more ruthless—going straight for the research funding.

“Jiang Yi, don’t worry about me. I’ll find a way. Focus on your work. I have things to do, so I’ll let you go for now.”

Song Rao hung up the phone and looked coldly at the woman standing at her door. “What are you doing here?”

“I knew you weren’t up to any good, Professor Song.” Xin Wenyue stood there with her arms crossed, mocking her as she stepped out of the elevator. “Playing the ‘sowing discord’ card quite smoothly, aren’t you?”

Shen Siyun had just had Mr. Li withdraw the funding today, and Song Rao had immediately gone to complain to Jiang Yi.

“I am merely stating facts.” Song Rao moved past her and reached for her keys.

“Stating facts? Then why didn’t you state them yesterday? You let Jiang Yi misunderstand Siyun. Admit it, you’re just jealous that Jiang Yi still has feelings for her, aren’t you?”

Song Rao’s hand paused. “What if I am jealous? We are married; isn’t it normal for me to be jealous?”

“So that justifies your petty behavior?”

Song Rao turned around. “In terms of pettiness, I can’t compare to Shen Siyun.”

“Wait, explain yourself.” Xin Wenyue grabbed her wrist as she tried to enter.

The hallway was silent. Song Rao glanced at the hand on her wrist. “When Jiang Yi was still naive to the world, do you know how Shen Siyun used love and money to weave dreams for her, only to crush them one by one?”

She knew.

The year Jiang Yi graduated, she became Shen Siyun’s mistress. They were as sweet as any couple, and Song Rao had been happy for her friend. But all that stopped when the country announced same-sex marriage was legal. When Jiang Yi tentatively brought up the idea of marriage, she found out Shen Siyun had no such intentions and planned to tie her down with a new five-year contract.

Even for bullying, that was too much.

If it had been a simple contract-mistress arrangement from the start, Song Rao would have had no say. But Shen Siyun, a veteran of the corporate world, had brought emotions into their daily lives, yet refused to take responsibility. She stole Jiang Yi’s heart, only to offer her a piece of paper for another five years.

While Jiang Yi was filled with insecurity, did Shen Siyun ever consider her feelings?

Xin Wenyue frowned. “Between the two of them, one was willing to hit and the other was willing to take it. What right do you have to interfere?”

“And what right do you have to interfere in my marriage with Jiang Yi?” Song Rao adjusted her glasses. “Miss Xin, are your methods any more noble? I don’t need to point out what those two ‘assistants’ are up to.”

Song Rao brushed her hand away and entered her home. “I didn’t refuse to give Shen Siyun a chance. It was her own actions that proved she isn’t right for Jiang Yi.”

“And you are?” Xin Wenyue countered. “If she knew what you were really like behind her back, do you think she’d hate you?”

“You’re welcome to try and find out.”

On Jiang Yi’s end, she was restless. With the funding gone, how could Song Rao manage alone? Finally, she couldn’t resist calling Shen Siyun to clarify.

The moment the call connected, Jiang Yi took a deep breath. “It’s Jiang Yi. Did you ask that owner to withdraw Song Rao’s research funding?”

“I did,” Shen Siyun said elegantly from her sofa, her voice cold and devoid of emotion. “Heartbroken for her?”

“Why would you do that?” Hearing the admission, Jiang Yi’s anger flared, but she forced it down. “Do you have any idea how important this experiment is to Song Rao?”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Sister, is this my room?”

Suddenly, a clear, gentle voice drifted through the phone. Jiang Yi froze, her grip on the phone tightening, her expression turning icy.

Shen Siyun hummed an affirmative on the other end. “Zhaoyun, pack lightly. You’re coming on a business trip with me tomorrow.”

“Okay. I’ll listen to Sister.”

Shen Siyun looked at the screen after the call was disconnected, her red lips curving slightly.

A moment later, Yin Lei called. An hour ago, Yin Lei had reported that Jiang Yi and her colleagues were also on Wuhai Island, staying at the same hotel. Shen had told her to find out their purpose.

Yin Lei’s voice was grave. “President Shen, Qiguang is also in the bidding for that real estate coating contract. I just found out that their team leader, Lin Fei, visited Zuo Jinrong the day he returned.”

In other words, they were there for the same client.

“I want to know why it’s such a coincidence,” Shen Siyun’s voice turned dangerously cold. “If I recall correctly, on the day of the exhibition, Jiang Yi spent half a day with you.”

“President Shen, it was my fault. I can explain.” Yin Lei realized this was a calculated move for a business proposal, and she blamed herself for not noticing.

It wasn’t until she saw Jiang Yi with her colleagues today that she felt something was off—and Lin Fei’s excuse about a birthday made it even more unlikely. She remembered Jiang Yi saying she didn’t get along well with her colleagues; if that were true, why would they come all the way to Wuhai Island to celebrate her birthday?

Yin Lei detailed her dinner with Jiang Yi, insisting she didn’t intentionally leak the proposal.

Shen Siyun sneered. “I didn’t realize you two had even shared a meal. She certainly has a lot of tricks.”

“President Shen, please give me one more chance. I will secure Zuo Jinrong before they do.” Yin Lei closed her eyes, filled with self-reproach.

“Yin Lei, you only have one chance.”

“I know, President Shen.”