TNSFC – Chapter 62

Jiang Xiaowan felt that Que Yining was quite an interesting person, different from what she had previously understood.

Before, even without asking around, she knew this was a lovestruck girl who chased after men, and her reputation wasn’t great, but Jiang Xiaowan didn’t take those rumors to heart.

After all, she herself had a rather poor reputation; she wasn’t a stranger to things like running away from marriages or getting into fights. Some rumors couldn’t be believed, but that didn’t stop her from living well.

When Qiao Yuchu mentioned wanting to introduce Que Yining to someone, she had taken the initiative to connect with her. Originally, she wasn’t looking for a serious relationship; finding someone heartbroken like this to play around with seemed just right. But after meeting her, Jiang Xiaowan realized how far off her assumptions were.

She had been wrong on all counts. Moreover, Que Yining wasn’t the “all beauty, no brains” type others described, nor was she the “kind and innocent” person Qiao Yuchu portrayed. Just that recent scene made her suspect Qiao Yuchu’s rose-tinted glasses were incredibly thick.

Just now, Que Yining had looked like a malevolent spirit crawling up from the depths. That fierce intensity had even startled Jiang Xiaowan, making her think Que Yining truly intended to do it. But this ruthlessness, this spiciness, this uniqueness, made Jiang Xiaowan like her even more. So, after Que Yining put on an innocent act, Jiang Xiaowan was happy to help her pick up the conversation.

She walked over to the man and ripped the tape off his mouth.

“Speak. You only have one chance. Don’t think about hiding anything. If you have any dishonest ideas, I’ll send you straight to the hospital.”

Jiang Xiaowan’s tone was tinged with a cold nonchalance as she crossed her arms and calmly watched the man.

From an observer’s perspective, it seemed as if she had just threatened the man.

Que Yining was somewhat surprised that she had initiated this. She had originally planned to say it herself; after all, she hadn’t intended to act completely innocent in front of Gu Shanxue. She just didn’t want Gu Shanxue to see her terrifying side.

The man’s stuttering statement interrupted her thoughts as he haltingly recounted the cause and effect.

Gu Shanxue glanced at the distance between Que Yining and Jiang Xiaowan, then stood between them.

“Th-th-that, I… I was paid to do a job. J-j-just four days ago, I, I…………”

Although the man’s voice trembled and he stuttered, he managed to explain things clearly.

This man, nicknamed Lao Hei, was a gambling addict. He had gambled away his family fortune, his wife had left him, and his children were gone. After completely losing his relatives, he became even more reckless, spending almost all his days in casinos. If he won money, he’d go out to eat, drink, and find women; if he lost, he’d hide from his creditors. He was currently being pursued by a group of loan sharks. Four days ago, someone had found him and offered him a deal.

“That person told me to come to this hotel tonight, said I just needed to record a video. Whatever I did, the… the better.”

Lao Hei looked at Gu Shanxue, who was still present, and seeing their cold expressions, he barely managed to utter the word.

“I was waiting nearby. I came up when I received a text message. When I got here, the camera was already there. I was just about to… before I could do anything, you all burst in.”

Lao Hei tried his best to distance himself from the incident, explaining that he was just doing a job for money.

With a mournful face, he said he truly hadn’t laid a finger on Gu Shanxue and hoped they could forgive him.

Jiang Xiaowan: “Now you know to beg for mercy? Why did you have the guts to jump off the building just now?”

“Th-that person said if I didn’t succeed, I wouldn’t get paid. If I went out, those debt collectors would beat me to death. I figured I might as well jump and die.”

Lao Hei’s voice was very low, and the fear was written all over his trembling face.

He had mustered the courage to die once, but after failing, he didn’t have the guts to try a second time. He just wanted to live.

“Who was that person?”

Gu Shanxue was more focused on finding out who that person was. She stared into the man’s eyes, trying to catch anything familiar in his upcoming words.

“I don’t know. It was a short man who suddenly appeared at my house. That day, I had just been chased by people. I went to drink, and when I got home, he was sitting in my house. My place had already been trashed. You don’t know how vicious those people are. When I saw him, I thought it was them again…………”

“Get to the point.”

Que Yining frowned, gradually losing patience.

“I don’t know who he is either. He was wearing a mask and a hat, so I could only see his eyes. After that, he contacted me via text message. He even gave me money beforehand, said it was a partial deposit, tens of thousands, all in cash.”

Glared at by Que Yining, Lao Hei spoke more fluently.

Without Que Yining needing to speak, Lao Hei quickly provided the phone number. Gu Shanxue called it, and unsurprisingly, it was a disconnected number.

Seeing that nothing more could be elicited, Gu Shanxue had her assistant, who had rushed over, take the man to the police station.

Tonight’s farce had temporarily concluded, but the matter was only just beginning to unfold.

Gu Shanxue politely thanked Jiang Xiaowan, who waved her hand dismissively.

“You don’t need to thank me. I was mainly helping Ningning. We’ll still have a chance to drink together next time, right?”

Jiang Xiaowan said the last sentence while looking at Que Yining, her affectionate tone unconcealed.

She was doing it on purpose. Although she didn’t know the situation between the two in front of her, it seemed they weren’t exactly on the same wavelength. While she didn’t want to break up a fated pair, this “fate” hadn’t materialized yet, and she still wanted to try and capture the beauty’s heart.

“Of course.”

Que Yining nodded, but her gaze unconsciously fell on Gu Shanxue.

Gu Shanxue’s expression remained unchanged, showing no apparent emotional fluctuation.

“Let me give you a piece of advice,” Jiang Xiaowan leaned in and whispered in Que Yining’s ear, “Don’t fall for straight women too easily, or you’ll be the only one heartbroken in the end. Your sister suffered this loss; don’t tell me you’re going to repeat her mistake?”

To be honest, Jiang Xiaowan didn’t think Que Yining had bad taste. From her perspective as a lesbian, Gu Shanxue was indeed the type who would be very popular in their circle. Just her good looks and great figure were enough to captivate a host of lonely girls, not to mention that cool, ethereal aura about her, which was even more alluring.

But Jiang Xiaowan wasn’t into this type; she preferred passionate red roses.

Love was like that too; just being “good” wasn’t enough. It also depended on whether they clicked.

“My sister?”

Que Yining’s eyes widened slightly as she stared at Jiang Xiaowan.

Lin Zhen hadn’t been able to find anything about Que Chuling’s past, and Que Yining had given up on having Lin Zhen continue the search. Now, it seemed she had found someone who knew.

“Yeah, looks like you don’t know about this, huh?”

Jiang Xiaowan raised an eyebrow, seemingly having thought of something.

“If you’re curious, come to my place for another drink. I’ll tell you slowly, everything I know. Anyway, your friend’s matter probably doesn’t need your further attention, right?”

Jiang Xiaowan’s voice was low at first, but then she suddenly raised it, as if intentionally speaking for someone else to hear.

Que Yining, who had intended to leave with Gu Shanxue, was taken aback. She felt that although the man hadn’t succeeded, the near-danger was still frightening, so she wanted to accompany Gu Shanxue.

But she also knew that Gu Shanxue didn’t need her comfort. What Gu Shanxue probably wanted to do more right now was to quickly investigate the truth; the longer they delayed, the greater the chance the culprit would get away.

Que Yining pondered for a moment, then nodded and looked at Gu Shanxue.

“Well, Shanxue… she and I have some things to do, so I won’t leave with you. Remember what I said before, if there’s anything I can help with, be sure to tell me.”

Que Yining waved goodbye to Gu Shanxue, then wiggled her phone to indicate they could call.

Gu Shanxue’s feet seemed rooted to the spot, her stunned expression showing a hint of disbelief.

She didn’t know what Jiang Xiaowan had said to Que Yining. She only saw Jiang Xiaowan smile and whisper something in her ear, and then Que Yining decided to leave with her.

She watched helplessly as Que Yining got into Jiang Xiaowan’s car, and watched the car disappear from sight.

“Boss?”

Anda, noticing her boss’s somewhat off expression, couldn’t help but step forward and prompt her.

Gu Shanxue, as if waking from a dream, pursed her lips and got into her assistant’s car with a somber face.

She coldly finished telling Anda what needed to be arranged, then began to let her thoughts run wild uncontrollably.

She felt an intense aversion to the woman named Jiang Xiaowan, an emotion almost beyond her control. She understood that it was normal for Que Yining to have good friends, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, that this woman had designs on Que Yining.

She subconsciously took out her phone, typed a single character on the screen, then frowned and exited the application.

What was she doing? Was she planning to act foolishly?

Clearly, the current situation was what she had wanted, what she had caused. But why… Gu Shanxue fell into self-doubt. What did she truly want?

Gu Shanxue was never a despicable person. She calmly and objectively analyzed her own actions, judging right and wrong by her own standards.

In her view, interfering in Que Yining’s life again, especially when they both had a tacit understanding, was a very wrong thing to do.

Wasn’t this what she wanted? For Que Yining not to like her, to maintain a friendship with her, for Que Yining to be happy? Que Yining was doing very well, just as she wished. So why did she feel this suffocating frustration?

Gu Shanxue rolled down the car window. The cold early spring wind blew in, but it couldn’t calm her heart.

She couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if Que Yining really got together with someone else. She couldn’t imagine the other person, only feeling that Que Yining’s happiness was all that mattered.

But as soon as this thought arose, Gu Shanxue felt a suffocating palpitation, a fine, subtle pain spreading in her heart. Her fingers pressed against her chest, her mind blank.

“Boss, what’s wrong? Are you unwell? Should we go back to the hospital for a check-up?”

Anda worried that Gu Shanxue was suffering from the aftereffects of tonight’s incident. Although the hospital blood test hadn’t detected any harmful substances, there could still be side effects.

Gu Shanxue shook her head, her gaze falling on the long night outside the car, her mood as desolate as scattered stars.

She forcibly suppressed those thoughts, reminding herself not to do the wrong thing, not to disrupt the trajectory.

Outside the window, the bright moon shone clearly. She closed the window, gradually shutting out the moonlight.

Gu Shanxue, who thought she saw things clearly, didn’t actually understand that attraction couldn’t be severed with a single cut, that many things couldn’t be smoothed over by time.

No matter how one planned, schemed, or warned oneself, when love arrived, it was like a landslide, like a tidal wave, like dying embers reigniting—bursting forth in an instant with brilliant sparks that turned into a raging fire, leaving one powerless to resist.

But at this moment, Gu Shanxue didn’t understand. She merely looked at the phone in her hand with distress, hesitantly picking it up and putting it down, ultimately doing nothing at all.

---

If you’d like to read ahead and support me, you can request extra chapters or get the full novel as an EPUB.