Chapter 3: Relief

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Unable to match Si Qinyu’s display of deep affection, she nonetheless couldn’t bring herself to sabotage the moment. Since Si Qinyu was temporarily incapacitated, Shen Manli, that sly fox who had cheated, was still available as a scapegoat for venting her frustrations. After several phone calls, she applied light makeup and stepped out, driving her white Audi A6.

Underneath an apartment building, Shen Manli arrived late. She placed her suitcase into the trunk and, upon entering Lu Qiqi’s car, the overpowering scent of gardenia perfume nearly overwhelmed Lu Qiqi’s senses.

“Qiqi, where are we headed?” Shen Manli asked softly, her form-fitting cheongsam outlining her graceful curves, her flawless makeup rivaling that of some online beauty influencers. Naturally alluring, even her tone was winding and coaxing; no wonder Si Qinyu was captivated by her.

Lu Qiqi stared straight ahead, seamlessly merging into traffic. “To discuss a collaboration.”

Shen Manli tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, probing, “Qiqi, weren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon? Did you have a fight with Yan?”

“Do you want me to fight with him?”

“No, I’m just curious.”

Shen Manli smiled sheepishly. Lu Qiqi’s expression remained cold. “Curiosity killed the cat.”

The atmosphere inside the car felt like an agonizing countdown. Shen Manli had sensed Lu Qiqi’s sudden shift in attitude since yesterday and couldn’t help but wonder if she had discovered something. But everyone knew Lu Qiqi’s affection for Si Qinyu was evident—could she really swallow this bitterness?

Still skeptical, Shen Manli watched as Lu Qiqi rolled down the window to let fresh air circulate, diluting the stifling scent inside.

At a teahouse, Lu Qiqi stopped the car. “Wait for me here.”

Usually, Lu Qiqi included Shen Manli in collaboration talks—printing contracts, preparing documents. But today, she wasn’t foolish enough to invite this snake inside; the more she fed it, the more likely it would swallow her whole in the end.

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The teahouse was quiet, furnished with bamboo wicker chairs. A man sat in a private room, his slender fingers elegantly gripping a tea bowl, casually swirling it. Tilting the rim slightly, tea spilled over the bowl’s edge, trickling into the cup below.

His movements were graceful, his pale, delicate fingers tinged faintly pink at the knuckles.

Lu Qiqi’s eyes fixated on those hands, her mind swirling with memories. Yesterday, it had been those same hands grasping something soft, as if intent on squeezing the life out of it.

The man leaned back in his chair, impeccably dressed in a suit with his shirt buttoned to the very top. His attire was meticulous; beneath his short, neatly trimmed hair was a broad forehead, a straight nose, fine long lashes, and cool phoenix eyes shadowed with a subtle gloom.

His expression was stern and solemn, yet he possessed the youthful beauty of a handsome adolescent. It was hard to imagine that this was not some star in the entertainment industry but the pillar of the powerful Chu family—Chu Linchen. The Chu family’s influence surpassed even that of the Si family, and he was nominally Si Qinyu’s uncle, a sworn brother of Si’s father.

Lu Qiqi hesitated at the doorway; she hadn’t come to meet him.

The man ignored her presence, setting down his tea bowl and pushing the cup across the table with a voice as clear and refreshing as a summer spring, “Since you’re here, sit.”

Lu Qiqi felt nervous but had no choice but to stay. She timidly addressed him, “Uncle.”

Though only nominally Si Qinyu’s uncle, she could still call him that to establish some closeness. They had met a few times before, after all.

Chu Linchen’s notorious temper was well-known enough to quiet even crying children; such behavior was taboo in business circles.

He poured the remaining tea onto a toad-shaped tea ornament. “Just married and already off on business? Diligent, yes, but I wonder if my dear nephew knows his new wife plans to betray the Si family?”

Lu Qiqi felt awkward and uneasy. She hadn’t expected Chu Linchen to show no mercy. Swallowing her pride, she said, “Shouldn’t Uncle Zhao be here?”

She had arranged to meet Zhao Juncheng, an old acquaintance of the Lu family specializing in air freight. She hoped to break away from the Si family’s control and find new partners.

“Uncle Zhao has some matters to attend to. We have an appointment,” the man said, raising his eyes, his dark pupils like bottomless pits.

Their gazes met, and Lu Qiqi’s face turned deathly pale, as if she’d been in a morgue for days. She trembled, clutching her tea cup, unable to feel the warmth within. “Uncle, do you intend to dominate land, sea, and air?”

“That’s none of your concern.” Chu Linchen withdrew his gaze and topped off the tea cup with scalding hot water.

Steam rose, swirling before him like a mystic spell.

Lu Qiqi swore she had never been this nervous, not even during her college entrance exams when the invigilator stared at her as if trying to bore a hole through her.

She brought the delicate tea cup to her lips, shaking uncontrollably, unable to discern the tea’s variety, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on Chu Linchen.

Why had he come? To stand up for the Si family? Or to deliberately humiliate her?

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She swallowed the tea, her chest pounding loudly. Chu Linchen furrowed his brow. “First time meeting me? Isn’t Qinyu enough for you?”

His sharp words abruptly snapped Lu Qiqi from her spiraling thoughts. Sheepishly, she lowered her head like a guilty thief.

He looked at her again—small and slight, dressed in a white gauzy blouse paired with suit trousers, her long hair tied up simply and serenely. Yet she was overly timid, trembling like a drenched little dove.

Lu Qiqi felt the man’s piercing, calm gaze almost burning through her. She stiffened her toes and stammered in self-defense, “Qinyu doesn’t look like you at all, ha… ha ha…”

Chu Linchen’s brow remained furrowed. He didn’t much care for his nephew. As for this niece-in-law, they had only met briefly a few times.

Yet everyone said his nephew loved her deeply.

Curiously, after staring at Lu Qiqi for a moment, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Where was this feeling coming from?

Deep in thought, Chu Linchen’s stern, noble face grew even more serious. Just then, Assistant Chen entered respectfully, bowing, “Second Master, the lady from yesterday came looking for you on her own.”

The lady from yesterday?

Lu Qiqi froze, inexplicably recalling some ill-timed scenes from the day before. Chu Linchen, usually indifferent to women, was actually seeking one? What woman?

Upon hearing this, Chu Linchen relaxed his imposing aura. Rising, he swept his hand across the table, grabbed his phone, and strode away with legs longer than Lu Qiqi’s fate.

His legs, clad in smoky gray trousers, stepped away in shiny black leather shoes, disappearing from Lu Qiqi’s sight.

Lu Qiqi felt as if half her soul had been sucked away by a demon. She stared blankly until a man in his sixties, wearing a Zhongshan suit patterned with swastikas, arrived late. “Qiqi, what’s the matter you wanted to discuss?”

Lu Qiqi, still dazed, responded robotically, “Uncle Zhao, I want to talk about a collaboration.”

The old man seemed to have anticipated her purpose. Chuckling, he said, “Qiqi, it’s not that Uncle Zhao doesn’t want to help, but everyone knows your family’s cash flow is tight. Now that the Si family is bailing you out, don’t be too greedy. Angel investors? Once your company is stable, Uncle Zhao will reconsider.”

The word “bailout” was artfully employed.

Lu Qiqi understood from infancy that these people were all fair-weather opportunists, driven solely by profit. But someone as straightforward as Uncle Zhao, who laid the awkward truth bare, was a first in her career as head of the family business.

In matters of human relations, only when you are entitled to fairness will the scales tip in your favor.

“Thank you, Uncle Zhao.”