Chapter 6: A Slap to Open the Appetite

The red-clothed woman who had been sarcastic just now had a look of guilt on her face. What could be more embarrassing than being caught gossiping behind someone’s back and being questioned on the spot?

She quickly changed her face like turning a page, putting on a friendly smile like good sisters: “Shuangxu, long time no see. We all missed you so much since you haven’t been back for so long.”

Shuangxu’s eyebrows were soft and clean, but her eyes were cold when she looked at them: “If you missed me so much, why didn’t you text me? Don’t you have my number?”

The other woman tried to hide her embarrassment: “I thought you changed your number.”

“If you had sent a message, you would know I didn’t.” Shuangxu stared at her with cold eyes, not intending to let them off the hook. “You didn’t finish your sentence just now, why don’t you continue?”

The red-clothed woman stammered: “I was just listening to other people’s gossip…”

Before she could finish, Shuangxu stepped closer and slapped her across the face.

There was a crisp, loud “slap.”

The woman didn’t expect her to hit her and screamed, covering her face. She immediately apologized in panic: “I’m sorry, I talked too much, I won’t listen to other people’s gossip anymore! Miss Song, don’t be angry…”

Shuangxu looked at the blue-clothed woman, her face turned pale, she said nervously: “I didn’t say anything, she was the one who said it just now.”

Shuangxu said coldly: “Even cross-talk has a straight man and a funny man, you were so enthusiastic about supporting her just now, now you want to break up?”

She raised her hand again, and the two women shrank back in fear.

Shuangxu picked up a double-layer cream cake from the table next to them and placed it in front of them.

“My brother’s birthday today, I don’t want to ruin his mood, otherwise it wouldn’t be just one slap. If you can’t control your mouths, then shut them up.”

Her tone was neither light nor heavy, but her aura was cold and compelling: “When you finish this cake, you leave.”

After Shuangxu finished speaking, she walked straight past them.

The two women looked at the huge cake with stiff faces, not daring to breathe.

Shuangxu had just taken a few steps when she caught a glimpse of someone.

She looked up, and a figure was leaning against the railing of the wooden staircase.

He Tingzhou looked like he had just woken up, the buttons of his gray silk shirt were unbuttoned, and his sharp features had a sleepy laziness, making his ambiguous temperament even more obvious.

His eyes were full of amusement, as if he had seen all the commotion just now.

Shuangxu paused.

“You’re really scary,” He Tingzhou said, enjoying the drama. “I won’t be silenced, will I?”

Shuangxu didn’t think she was wrong to hit them, she even hit them lightly.

But it was always bad to be seen, as if she was bullying them, making people think that Shen Yu hadn’t taught her well.

“I was just asking them to eat some cake.”

He Tingzhou put his hands in his trouser pockets and walked down the stairs with a lazy gait.

“You have to eat a slap to open your appetite before you eat cake, is that your family’s rule?”

He was really tall, and as he brushed past her, he cast a deep shadow.

Shuangxu thought for a moment and turned back to call him.

“Brother Tingzhou.”

He Tingzhou turned his head, his eyebrows raised slightly, motioning for her to speak.

Now Feixue was forced into a difficult situation by Chenxing.

Cooperating with Yun Dun meant giving away their hard work for nothing, losing everything.

But if they didn’t cooperate, it meant giving the opportunity to Chenxing, and their hard work would be wasted again.

Feixue was started by Shu Yang from scratch, so its scale was naturally smaller than Chenxing Technology, an old-established company with abundant capital. Shu Yang had poured almost everything into the research and development of liquid hydrogen drones.

Both options meant giving it away for free, no matter who they gave it to, they would face bankruptcy.

Since she had bumped into He Tingzhou, she had to try harder.

Shuangxu said: “I know Chenxing’s offer is very low, but low price doesn’t mean it’s a good deal. Feixue can promise to share the results of future technological development with Yun Dun first. In the long run, Yun Dun and Feixue will have more value by cooperating.”

“My senior sister’s situation is really difficult now, this cooperation is very important to her, can you give her a chance?”

He Tingzhou lowered his head slightly, showing a gentlemanly demeanor towards a shorter person, and asked leisurely: “What if I don’t agree?”

His pupils were dark, and he was just sleepy a moment ago, but now he was looking straight into Shuangxu’s eyes, making her feel like she was being stared at by an eagle.

Shuangxu said: “I…”

He Tingzhou: “What, are you going to treat me to cake?”

“…”

Shuangxu knew she was no match for him, so she could only bring up Shen Yu again.

“You’re friends with my brother, can you help out for his sake?”

He Tingzhou stood up straight, returning to his casual demeanor: “If you want to use your brother’s face, let him come and talk to me.”

Shuangxu pursed her lips.

She originally planned to ask Shen Yu for help today, but now she didn’t want to bother him for this matter.

The words of the two women just now were still ringing in her ears, she didn’t want people to slander Shen Yu with that kind of tone again.

She knew that as long as she spoke, Shen Yu would definitely help her.

She also knew that if Shen Yu stepped in, with just one word, this difficult problem that was troubling her and Shu Yang would be solved.

She could take his protection for granted when she was a child, but now that she’s grown up, she can’t do anything for him, at least she should learn not to rely on him.

While she was silent for a few seconds, He Tingzhou had already turned and left.

He Tingzhou walked to the table, someone came up to greet him, he ignored them, pulled up a chair and sat down, casually picking a cake from the pile of glittering cakes, dragging it to himself, picking up a fork.

Shuangxu opened her mouth, but couldn’t utter a syllable.

The polished silver fork was already plunged into her blueberry mousse cake, scooping out a piece and sending it into Master He’s mouth, who was leisurely enjoying his meal after a good sleep.

Shuangxu’s mouth closed again.

She hadn’t shown her face for years, and many people took the opportunity to make connections.

They gossiped behind her back and flattered her to her face, switching between these two masks with ease.

It didn’t matter what her relationship with Shen Yu was, as long as there was one. At the very least, she had a father.

Shen Yu, at the card table, caught sight of her and beckoned with his finger, having someone add a chair next to him.

Shuangxu was about to sit down when Yue Zifeng, who was sitting next to her, reached out and pulled the chair towards him. “Little Shuangxu, come sit with me! Every time you sit next to your brother, his luck skyrockets. Come give me a buff today.”

Shen Yu said, “You’re terrible at this, even Xiao Jiu can’t save you.”

Shuangxu looked around. Yue Zifeng’s twenty-plus years of mahjong playing were probably all done with his feet. Even with her there, let alone her, even the God of Wealth couldn’t save him.

No wonder he lost money every time. It was only fair that he lost.

The screen of Shen Yu’s phone, which was resting on the table, lit up, and a message popped up. Shuangxu glanced at it but didn’t look closely before withdrawing her gaze.

Shen Yu didn’t pay any attention. After a while, a call came in.

He finally picked up his phone and, as he stood up, his palm landed on Shuangxu’s head. “Come replace me.”

Shuangxu went over to take his place, getting a good hand with a “Heavenly Listening” combination. She had just turned the upside-down chicken right side up when she heard the man across from her ask, “Master Zhou, want to play a couple of rounds?”

She looked up and saw He Tingzhou, who had finished his meal after a good sleep, walking over and taking the seat offered to him by the other man.

He glanced at his hand and clicked his tongue in disdain. “What a terrible hand.”

Zuo Zhong, Shuangxu’s neighbor to the left, laughed. “With Shuangxu here, how could anyone else have good luck?”

He played a one-bamboo, and Shuangxu was about to reach out and draw a tile.

He Tingzhou pulled two tiles from his own stack and threw them out. “Pong.”

Shuangxu withdrew her hand.

It was unclear whether He Tingzhou was doing it on purpose, but either he was the one who wanted to “pong” or he was feeding Yue Zifeng, and Shuangxu hadn’t drawn a tile in three rounds.

Finally, in the fourth round, she had a chance to draw.

Her luck had come, and she had just drawn the three tiles needed to win, ready to take them back.

“Put it down,” He Tingzhou’s voice was like a bucket of cold water. “Pong.”

Shuangxu: “…”

“Are you being a jerk?” Even Yue Zifeng could see it. “Shuangxu was about to win, right?”

Shuangxu silently recited “The client is my father” twice. Shu Yang’s father was now her father.

She forced herself to put the tiles back down. “I didn’t win.”

He Tingzhou leaned back in his chair, his back legs on the ground, and he slowly rocked back and forth, not even giving her a glance.