The Cold Alpha's Black Lotus O Strategy Plan (GL) - Chapter 16

“Go to sleep early.”

“All right.”

At her bedside, Jin Sique waited until Lü Zhongcai ended the call first before switching off her phone and turning onto her side to sleep.

“Sique?”

Zhu Wanqing’s quiet voice came from the bed opposite hers.

Jin Sique had her back to the window. Her body rose and fell gently with her breathing, as though she had already fallen deeply asleep.

“She’s asleep,” Xiaobai said, poking her head out from behind the bed curtains next to them. “So, what happened? I didn’t dare ask earlier.”

Zhu Wanqing also leaned halfway out of bed and whispered, “It’s so late. How do you still have the energy to gossip?”

Xiaobai asked, “Then why did you call her?”

Zhu Wanqing was rendered speechless. Heat rose to her face.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Go to sleep. Sleep!”

Xiaobai: “?”

A faint rustling came from Jin Sique’s bed.

Zhu Wanqing asked softly, “Sique?”

Jin Sique gave a quiet hum.

“What is it?”

“Did we wake you?” Xiaobai asked.

“No,” Jin Sique replied gently.

Xiaobai released a breath of relief.

“I thought you had fallen asleep instantly.”

“I was thinking about something.”

Jin Sique turned onto her side to face outward.

Zhu Wanqing became quiet for a moment but was still unable to resist asking, “Who could it have been? The person who wrote the diary?”

Xiaobai had already learned everything about the incident online. She asked nervously, “Could it have been Xiaohe?”

The question plunged the entire dormitory into a strange silence.

The moment Xiaobai finished speaking, she regretted it.

“No, no. I-I was only saying it casually…”

Fang Xiaohe was the fourth resident of Dormitory 506.

She was extremely sensitive to pheromones and was therefore unsuited to communal living. As a result, the dormitory served mainly as storage space for her belongings. Most of the time, Fang Xiaohe lived alone in an apartment outside the university.

Because she remained apart from the group, Fang Xiaohe did not have many friends at school. Her habit of living alone had also caused her to develop a withdrawn personality.

Within the class, Fang Xiaohe resembled a marginal figure.

Even Jin Sique frequently forgot about this roommate.

“Why did you think of Xiaohe?” Zhu Wanqing asked.

Jin Sique propped up her chin and lay on her side, quietly listening.

Xiaobai explained, “Someone who understands Sique’s schedule and classes, knows her habits and when she comes and goes, and also knows about her clothes…”

“It wasn’t Wanqing or me, so I just… suspected Xiaohe a little.”

Zhu Wanqing: “…”

“Go to sleep,” Jin Sique said. “We’ve already called the police. They’ll investigate it.”

“Oh… all right.”

Xiaobai scratched her head and lowered her bed curtain.

“Um…”

Zhu Wanqing could not resist speaking again.

“Sique.”

“Mm?”

“Your Sister…”

Zhu Wanqing rubbed her nose.

Laughter entered Jin Sique’s voice.

“You want to meet her? Then I’ll have to ask for her opinion.”

Zhu Wanqing: “…”

She had already brought this up once when they left the academic affairs office. However, Lü Zhongcai had turned around at the time, causing Zhu Wanqing to miss Jin Sique’s answer.

“No, no.”

Zhu Wanqing’s face heated.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I only thought your Sister seemed wonderful. Why have I never heard you mention her before?”

Jin Sique laughed softly and said naturally, “It’s already very late. Go to sleep. We can talk tomorrow.”

Zhu Wanqing sounded disappointed as she acknowledged her and lay back down.

In the darkness, Jin Sique rolled onto her back.

She opened her eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. A moment later, she raised the back of one hand to cover her eyes and contemplated everything that had happened that day.

—

Half an hour earlier.

“It’s too late. Return to the dormitory and rest first.”

Lü Zhongcai had taken Jin Sique back to the dormitory building.

“But what about you? I…” Jin Sique asked.

“I’m returning to the company,” Lü Zhongcai said.

Jin Sique nodded and gave a quiet acknowledgment.

Not far away, Zhang Zui, the driver, and Zhu Wanqing were still waiting near the dormitory entrance.

Noticing that Jin Sique seemed to have something to say, Lü Zhongcai told her, “Whatever it is, we can discuss it tomorrow.”

Jin Sique could only say, “Good night.”

“Good night,” Lü Zhongcai replied.

After returning to the dormitory, Jin Sique briefly composed herself.

Once she lay down in bed, she spoke with Lü Zhongcai on the phone again. That was followed by the late-night conversation in the dormitory.

Throughout the entire process, Jin Sique had remained distracted.

Lü Zhongcai…

What did she mean by all this?

Jin Sique breathed deeply, her chest rising and falling.

She could not determine Lü Zhongcai’s motives for doing those things.

She could not even make herself believe that the person who had appeared earlier was truly Lü Zhongcai.

—

Early in the morning, Lü Zhongcai rested for several hours in the company lounge.

After washing and changing her clothes, she went to the office and began reviewing several documents.

052 had already learned to understand Lü Zhongcai’s files on a basic level and was chattering away.

“A new-energy company… Are you going to invest in this project?”

Lü Zhongcai merely skimmed the proposal before using her fingertip to swipe it into the trash, indicating that the project had no investment value.

“You shouldn’t have defended the black lotus yesterday.”

052 finally could not resist bringing up what had happened.

Lü Zhongcai still said nothing.

Employees gradually arrived for work.

The receptionist was the earliest to arrive. She was responsible for waking the financial workers who had spent the entire night working overtime at the company and recording attendance for the new day.

Unable to obtain a response, 052 had no choice but to change the subject.

“Wall Street received your email. They’re rather unhappy that you rejected the résumés of those two candidates for vice president.”

After returning to her office, Lü Zhongcai turned on her computer and checked the email sent by headquarters.

The wording remained relatively mild, but it explained the importance of appointing a vice president from several different perspectives.

Several more résumés were attached at the end, asking Lü Zhongcai to select a few candidates she found acceptable.

“I think the second person from the right is more attractive,” 052 said. “Her eyes and brows look a little like the black lotus.”

“By the way, what do you think of my ability to predict yesterday’s incident?”

“After all, I told you what would happen. Do you still insist on believing that Dr. Xie’s explanation is correct and that I’m merely a pathological symptom?”

Lü Zhongcai continued ignoring 052.

She began handling official business and left Jin Sique a message.

Reviewing documents and attending meetings consumed most of her morning.

052 remained quiet inside her mind. Whenever Lü Zhongcai worked, the system became listless, as though it thoroughly despised both working and studying.

Jin Sique replied at ten in the morning.

Lü Zhongcai did not see the message until lunchtime.

Lu Baimei stood outside the transparent glass wall with takeout in her hands and knocked on the door.

Lü Zhongcai pressed the access control button on her desk.

“Hi, President Lü,” Lu Baimei said. “I heard you returned to the company in the middle of the night. What happened? Did your lovely wife throw you out of the house?”

Lü Zhongcai opened the takeout and began eating. At the same time, she casually removed the scheduled meetings from her itinerary.

“Do you have something to do this afternoon?” Lu Baimei asked in confusion.

“Personal business,” Lü Zhongcai replied.

“?”

Lu Baimei was curious but did not ask further.

While eating, she began scrolling through her phone.

“Hey, look at this exposé about the prostitution diary. Hahaha, it’s so interesting. Isn’t this from your lovely wife’s university?”

052 said, “I truly want to twist her neck until it breaks.”

Lü Zhongcai casually nodded.

She sent her newly adjusted schedule to her executive assistant so that the assistant could rearrange everything that followed.

After lunch, Lü Zhongcai left the financial tower.

By the time she reached the ground floor, Zhang Zui was already waiting outside with the latest draft of the agreement.

He entered the car with Lü Zhongcai.