Chapter 16: Time Bomb

A sudden stiffness made Shuangxu rooted to the spot, unable to move.

She pinched her fingertip, and after a few seconds, she found her voice: “No. Don’t misunderstand. Don’t take what Song Leyan said seriously. She doesn’t have a good relationship with me, she’s just spreading rumors.”

Lu Manman didn’t know if she believed it or not.

After all, they weren’t real siblings. Shuangxu put herself in her shoes and thought that if it were her, she would probably feel uncomfortable too.

After a moment of silence, she spoke again: “You don’t have to believe me, just believe in my brother’s character. I hope my existence doesn’t affect your opinion of him.”

When Shuangxu returned to the private room, the topic had already shifted elsewhere.

The sofa where He Tingzhou had been sitting was empty, he and the beauty had disappeared together.

As for where they went, Shuangxu didn’t care.

She directly picked up her bag, Yue Zifeng looked puzzled: “You’ve only been here for a while, why are you leaving? Aren’t you waiting for your brother?”

“I’m a little tired, you guys have fun.” Shuangxu said, “Brother, I’ll go back first.”

    Leaving the wine-filled and warm box, she walked into the courtyard of the quadrangle. The cool breeze blew through the branches of the Podocarpus.

Seeing the arrogant black supercar, Shuangxu noticed someone under the tree.

The cheongsam beauty was leaning over to talk to the car window: “Mr. Zhou, you’re not playing anymore?”

“It’s boring.” He Tingzhou was listless.

“Then I’ll take you to play something fun?”

He Tingzhou’s hand resting on the car window flicked the cigarette, he laughed, his tone lazy: “What fun, let me hear it.”

Shuangxu didn’t want to interrupt their “elegant” flirting, but his car was parked so arrogantly, blocking the entrance and exit.

She didn’t know when these two would finish, she didn’t want to watch a live broadcast here, so she thought about it and walked over calmly.

It’s hard not to attract attention with a living person like this.

The woman straightened up, her voice was still soft and sweet when she spoke to her, but it wasn’t the little hooks she threw at He Tingzhou: “Miss Song, are you leaving?”

“Yeah.”

He Tingzhou’s sharp black eyes glanced at her casually.

“Shall I see you off?”

Shuangxu wasn’t so oblivious that she couldn’t see they were flirting.

With such a charming beauty by his side, who has time to send her home?

Besides, He Tingzhou had never been friendly to her, it was just a polite courtesy. After all, when the Shen family and the Lu family became in-laws, he would be Shen Yu’s cousin-in-law, a close relative.

Fake politeness, she understands.

“Don’t bother, Brother Tingzhou.” She said sensibly, “You go ahead and do your thing.”

He Tingzhou said: “Which eye of yours saw me busy?”

Both eyes saw it.

While others were drinking, he was sleeping, wasn’t he just saving his energy for a night of spring with the beauty?

Shuangxu didn’t dare to say it, she explained: “The driver drove me here…”

Before she finished speaking, He Tingzhou withdrew his gaze from her, stepped on the gas pedal, the arrogant and domineering engine sound crushed her nerves, and he sped away.

Shuangxu was stunned.

Unexpectedly, he just left the beauty like that, so heartless.

The beauty herself seemed unfazed, adjusting her dangling earrings, the waves in her eyes made even Shuangxu, a woman, feel seductive: “He doesn’t know how to appreciate beauty at all.”

Back home, Shuangxu took a shower and buried herself in the blanket, feeling tired, her mind was still awake, flying with all sorts of elusive thoughts.

She didn’t know why, even though she hadn’t been in the club for long, it was particularly draining.

Her phone popped up with a WeChat message, she reached for it and looked.

Lu Manman: [Are you home?]

There have always been many women who like Shen Yu, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, one after another.

Some of them wanted to take a roundabout route through Shuangxu, some of them resented her for taking up too much of Shen Yu’s attention.

But without exception, they all had to please her.

When Shuangxu was young, she was carefree and would pass on their love letters for them. Shen Yu never looked at those letters, but she was curious and liked to open them and read them carefully.

She had seen a lot of similar diligence, but the young lady of the Lu family didn’t need to please her at all.

Shuangxu politely replied: [I’m home, thanks for your concern]

Lu Manman: [Are you free tomorrow, let’s go shopping?]

Shuangxu declined: [Sorry, I have something to do tomorrow]

After that, Lu Manman sent her WeChat messages every few days, inviting her to dinner, shopping, and checking in at internet celebrity stores.

Shuangxu didn’t understand what she meant, she wanted to test her, she always refused politely, but because she was too polite, the meaning of estrangement was also very obvious.

In the world of adults, she thought the other party would understand her meaning.

After all, Lu Manman seemed innocent and carefree, but she was actually very smart.

Lu Manman sent a few messages, seeing that she was always cold, she stopped trying to force her.

A few days later, Fu Yun called and said that there was a guest at home, asking Shuangxu to go back early.

She returned to the Shen family from the company and saw Lu Manman sitting in the living room.

Lu Manman waved to her: “Xiao Jiu, we meet again.”

Fu Yun smiled: “Manman has been waiting for you for half a day.”

Shuangxu felt uncomfortable at that moment, she couldn’t attack in front of Fu Yun: “Miss Lu, what do you want from me?”

Lu Manman seemed not to hear the estrangement in her tone: “My mom’s birthday is coming up, I really don’t know what to get her, I want you to help me brainstorm.”

“I don’t know how to choose gifts either.” Shuangxu passed the buck, “You should ask someone else for help.”

Lu Manman blinked pitifully: “But I don’t have any other friends. I grew up with my dad in Lincheng when I was a child, I don’t know many people in Yancheng.”

What’s she pretending to be pitiful for, you and Song Leyan aren’t good sisters?

But Shuangxu couldn’t say that out loud. Lu Manman’s pitiful act wasn’t for her.

As expected, Fu Yun came to persuade her: “Every gift you buy me is so perfect, just pick a gift for Manman, it won’t take much time. How about I make you some tangerine peel red bean soup tonight?”

Shuangxu, despite her reluctance, could only agree.

Fu Yun arranged for the driver to take them, on the way, Shuangxu kept her face turned to the window, ignoring Lu Manman.

“Don’t be angry,” Lu Manman poked her arm, “I didn’t mean anything by it. I always can’t get a hold of you, so I had to use a little trick.”

“Not angry,” Shuangxu said, “You know you can use my godmother to control me, it shows you’re smart, what’s the use of me being angry.”

“So you shouldn’t have rejected me in the first place.”

Shuangxu turned her head and saw the smile on Lu Manman’s face, a confident smile of victory.

“What are you trying to do?”

“I want to be friends with you.”

Shuangxu didn’t want to beat around the bush: “My brother and my godmother aren’t here, you don’t need to act, why don’t you just be direct.”

Lu Manman glanced at the driver’s seat, it was a Shen family driver.

Shuangxu got out of the car directly, walked into a coffee shop, asked for a private room, closed the door, and the two sat face to face.

Shuangxu got straight to the point: “You’re different from other women, you’re my brother’s arranged marriage partner, you have two sets of parents to support you, you don’t need to please me. I don’t dislike you, even if I did, for my brother’s sake, I would be polite to you. So you don’t need to test me again and again.”

“But I’m curious about you.”

Lu Manman used tweezers to pick up a sugar cube and put it in her coffee, slowly stirring it: “I’m not afraid to tell you, I really like Shen Yu, actually, when I first saw him at the banquet when I returned to Yancheng, I fell in love with him. You know that feeling of falling head over heels?”

“That night I only spoke two words to him, I asked him where the bathroom was, he asked someone to take me there, I said thank you, he just smiled lightly, even a little perfunctory, but my face was red all night. But I was too young then, you understand, you’re the same age as me.”

Shuangxu didn’t want to hear any of this: “You should tell him this, not me.”

Lu Manman seemed not to hear, she continued to speak on her own: “I know he’s had other women, I don’t mind, he’s that age, and so charming, it’s not normal if he doesn’t have any women. Those women don’t matter, to me, the most threatening one is you.”

“A fiancé has a dry sister who has no blood relationship, she’s very beautiful, and he’s very fond of her…”

She looked at Shuangxu at this point: “Don’t you think you’re a time bomb?”