{None of them are even a fraction of her. 4}

Such a voice had once echoed from the stage during her student days, immersing her in it and making her unable to extricate herself.

She believed that every step she took was merely to get closer to that person.

“I told you not to provoke him, but you wouldn’t listen,” Gu Wei never spared her feelings. “Do you really not know that Shen Qi is interested in your so-called friend and has no patience for you at all?”
Li Xiyin’s voice trembled slightly, sounding particularly frightened: “I understand, Manager Gu.”

“Don’t just say it, Xiyin,” Gu Wei pointedly exposed her thoughts. “You’re the one who said you wanted to repay me and President Shen, assuring us that you would handle everything. Don’t tell me you’re still infatuated with Shen Qi…”

The young girl’s thoughts were almost immediately seen through.

Li Xiyin hurriedly denied it: “No, that’s not true. How could I ever be worthy of President Shen?”
“As long as you know,” Gu Wei replied, “just focus on your work, stick closely to your friend, and report your whereabouts honestly.” He liked that Li Xiyin was obedient and sensible, promising her, “I definitely won’t treat you unfairly.”

Li Xiyin didn’t really care whether Shen Qi’s circle was aware of her, but she still pretended to be ever more grateful: “Thank you.”

Even without money, she was willing to do this. From the moment she saw her benefactor, the gears of fate had begun to turn. She believed they were destined to be together. She looked down on Cheng Shuangyi, whom she viewed merely as a breeding tool, and completely disregarded her good friend Qian Xu, thinking that while Qian Xu appeared low-key, she actually overshadowed her in every experience.

Gu Wei decided to stop there, too lazy to indulge this girl’s thoughts any further. After all, even if there were any, they would be of no use to Shen Qi: “I’ll give you some money first. Remember to maintain a good relationship with your friend; it’ll help our group behind the scenes.”

“Sure!”
But what if one day she and Qian Xu were no longer friends?

A shadow of a smile appeared on her face, but unfortunately, Qian Xu was not easy to manipulate. Otherwise, she should have been completely under Li Xiyin’s control, obediently returning to Shen Qi and humiliating herself.

Then, she would be thoroughly despised by the man.
Ah Qi was no fool; he would eventually understand whose feelings were truly remarkable.

—

During the lunch break, Qian Xu saw gossip about herself on the company’s internal forum, where her past with Shen Qi was thoroughly dissected. Even a considerate netizen had organized a timeline, offering various interpretations of their three-year relationship, but they all uniformly agreed on one conclusion: Shen Qi abandoned her after returning to the country.

Thanks to Li Xiyin, her breakup now seemed like this pitiful situation, and colleagues passing by looked at her with a bit more sympathy.

Some employees even mocked her by creating a video montage.
In the animation, she wore a sexy camisole dress, with ridiculous subtitles bubbling above her head: “Shen Qi, one day, I will take my revenge on you!”
Someone even paired it with a song.

“For all the pain of passionate love, for all the wounds of deep-seated hatred—”

Others jumped in to give her a makeover, dressing the animated figure in a champagne-colored camisole dress: “I’m no longer Qian Xu; I’m Qian Xu 2.0, Niu Gulu Xu Xu.”

Qian Xu couldn’t bear to watch any longer. As for Shen Qi’s identity, it seemed that in this region of the country, there was no need for anyone to explain; everyone knew him and, by extension, her so-called past.

It was quite ridiculous.

However, perhaps due to recent adjustments in her mindset, Qian Xu found herself unable to feel angry. Instead, she reflected on how the suppressed feelings that had long burdened her humorously surfaced before everyone. She didn’t feel embarrassed or furious.

She just sighed, realizing that the editing skills of the employees responsible for these mockeries were not that bad.

Eventually, she began to understand why she wasn’t so angry or redirecting her frustration toward others; it was simply because time truly is a healing remedy. Even though she was trying to encroach upon Shen Qi’s territory in the business world, as time passed, the negative impact he had on her life wasn’t as strong as before.

She herself didn’t mind so much because she knew that being overly concerned could easily hurt herself. Just like with Li Xiyin, if she didn’t regard her as a friend, then what Li Xiyin said would have almost no impact on her. Perhaps Li Xiyin was trying to prove her ulterior motives in coming to Zhao Tian Group, but the other employees didn’t see it that way.

They might even feel greatly encouraged by her so-called “revenge.”

The portrayals created only made her past impossible to hide, but at that moment, Qian Xu felt unburdened, no longer afraid of anyone revealing her past.

On the other hand, it allowed her to successfully integrate deeper into the employees’ inner circle, making her seem more approachable.

But someone still took down those posts on her behalf.

Zhao Buhui stormed in with anger: “You usually seem so capable, how could you let others make a parody video of you at this time?”

“Actually, it seems they didn’t question my professionalism,” Qian Xu shrugged, unfazed, “and the little animated figure is actually quite cute.”

“Cute?

Not even a fraction of her.”