PSMD – Chapter 126

Shen Ningruo was momentarily lost in thought, a fleeting idea crossing her mind to tell Qiu Yang that Wen Yuan was her brother.

But she quickly dismissed it.

In this matter, no matter how much she and Qiu Yang liked each other, she was ultimately an outsider.

Wen Yuan was young and promising, clear-headed, with his own ideas and plans. If she were to tell Qiu Yang without his consent, the outcome might not be ideal. Therefore, she had to suppress this thought.

This was very different in nature from her not telling Qin Yu that Qiu Yang was Wen Yuan’s sister, as Qin Yu, like herself, was an outsider.

Shen Ningruo lowered her eyelids, then raised her hand to stroke the soft hair on the back of Qiu Yang’s head. “I’ll always be here.”

Qiu Yang: “Okay.”

Qiu Yang sniffled, then stood up after a few seconds. “I’m okay now, let’s go back.”

Shen Ningruo was still a little worried. “Are you sure you don’t want to go for a walk?”

“Director Shen,” Qiu Yang smiled. “This is a work setting, we’re entertaining clients. We can’t be that casual.”

“If I say you can, you can.”

Qiu Yang shook her head and chuckled. “Let’s go back. I want to do everything right before I leave the company.”

“Leave the company?” Shen Ningruo caught the key point.

Qiu Yang blinked. “Didn’t I tell you? I think President Wen wants to fire me.”

“…” Shen Ningruo was speechless for a moment. She pursed her lips and finally just retorted, “I don’t think so.”

“My Xiao Yang hasn’t done anything wrong. He wouldn’t just let you go for no reason.”

Qiu Yang was already walking back, saying as she walked, “That’s what I thought too, but how can I guess what the boss is thinking?”

After saying that, she didn’t want to continue the topic, so she changed the subject. “Oh, right, Director Shen, I think President Qin’s attitude towards our President Wen is a bit different.”

“Is it?”

“Yes.”

“That’s probably because President Qin has ulterior motives,” Shen Ningruo said lightly, but it felt like a heavy stone dropped into Qiu Yang’s heart.

“Ulterior motives” had no other interpretation in this context.

Qiu Yang was a little stunned. Shen Ningruo curved her eyes at her. “Xiao Yang, let’s go.”

Qiu Yang reacted and also smiled. Only when they reached the door did she compose her expression, letting go of the strong smile.

Shen Ningruo silently offered a prayer for Qin Yu.

There was nothing she could do; to make her girlfriend happy, she had to sell out her brother.

Shen Ningruo pushed open the private room door, her expression returning to how it was before.

They hadn’t been out for long, but all the dishes were now on the table.

Ke Yezi was still sitting between Shen Ningruo and Qiu Yang. She knew they wanted to avoid suspicion, so she wasn’t too nervous.

Qin Yu was basically the mood-setter. This meal was for business, but it was also a good time for chatting. He wanted to show off in front of Wen Yuan, bringing up his impressive past experiences, almost to the point of going home to get his trophies and certificates.

Ever since Qiu Yang knew Qin Yu had feelings for Wen Yuan, her attention had been focused on that. And with Qin Yu being so eloquent now, her energy was further drawn, at least enough to listen seriously to Qin Yu’s stories.

But as soon as the meal ended, everything Peng Kaimiao had said came flooding back into her mind, making her think clearly.

She lowered her gaze.

After the meal, it was time to return to the company. Qiu Yang hadn’t figured out how to face Qu Yan. Could she maintain her composure?

She wasn’t very sure herself.

They quickly parted ways with the Qiyao people. Qiu Yang was again invited into Wen Yuan’s car, but this time she wanted to walk a bit, so she directly refused. “President Wen, I still have something to handle.”

Wen Yuan didn’t insist. “Okay.”

He got into his car and left.

The sun was blazing. Qiu Yang hadn’t brought an umbrella. She walked on the sidewalk, where trees were planted, providing her with momentary shade.

Qiu Yang suddenly felt that she was really easy to deceive. That’s why she had believed Qu Yan’s words so firmly before and trusted Qu Yan so much.

But what about Qu Yan?

When did Qu Yan start planning to harm her?

Qiu Yang didn’t know the answer yet.

She took a deep breath. After walking for a few minutes, her phone rang.

She looked at her phone and saw it was a call from Shen Ningruo.

Qiu Yang swallowed and then answered the call. “Ruoruo.”

“Where are you?” Shen Ningruo asked.

Qiu Yang looked at the shop signs around her. “I’m near the XX Milk Tea shop.”

“Wait there.”

“I’m coming right away.”

Qiu Yang: “Okay.”

She wasn’t surprised that Shen Ningruo would come to find her, but frankly, she still felt pleasantly surprised.

Because Qiyao’s business car left first, they couldn’t see what was happening behind them. And yet, Shen Ningruo turned back in this situation.

Qiu Yang obediently sat down on a bench by the roadside. She didn’t walk anymore and even closed her eyes.

Summer was approaching quickly, and the wind carried increasingly intense heat. Even with the leaves overhead blocking the sun, Qiu Yang’s face and neck were still heated by the wind.

She was sensitive to heat.

Always had been.

Shen Ningruo arrived in front of her five minutes later. “Xiao Yang.”

Qiu Yang opened her eyes the next second. “You’re here.”

Shen Ningruo didn’t know where she had bought an umbrella, but she folded it up and sat down beside Qiu Yang. “I’m here.”

The umbrella was placed aside. She turned her head and looked at Qiu Yang. “I’m very worried about you.”

Shen Ningruo realized her judgment was wrong only after getting into the car.

The root of Qiu Yang’s pain today wasn’t because she thought she was going to be fired, but because of Qu Yan.

In the General Manager’s office, Wen Yuan hadn’t been very polite to Qu Yan. From this, she could tell what Peng Kaimiao had said to Wen Yuan. She wasn’t entirely sure if Qiu Yang was present, as the few of them had already left the meeting room.

But judging from Qiu Yang’s abnormal emotions, Qiu Yang must have been present and must have heard what Peng Kaimiao said.

Peng Kaimiao wasn’t on today’s attendance list, yet he appeared at the door, so he must have had something to find Wen Yuan about.

Shen Ningruo’s mind worked quickly, and she didn’t hesitate to call Qiu Yang.

She knew that under the pressure of these two things, Qiu Yang would want to avoid returning to the company immediately because she would have to face Qu Yan. From this, she concluded that Qiu Yang was definitely not in Wen Yuan’s car.

Indeed.

Shen Ningruo immediately got out of the car. There was a shop by the road, and she conveniently bought an umbrella before taking a taxi over.

She still found it hard to believe her current self, that she would care so intensely about another person.

“It’s okay,” Qiu Yang forced a smile, but as soon as her voice fell, her eyes involuntarily turned red.

Shen Ningruo turned slightly and hugged Qiu Yang. She gently patted Qiu Yang’s back, her own throat tightening.

Qiu Yang was the person she cared about most, but now this person she cared about most was so wronged.

Pedestrians walked by in front of them, many with quick paces, and few cast a glance at them.

Qiu Yang didn’t speak anymore, and neither did Shen Ningruo, just patting Qiu Yang’s back repeatedly, soothing her emotions.

Qiu Yang had been very tired and struggling lately. Shen Ningruo knew this and felt even more heartache for her Xiao Yang.

After about ten minutes, Qiu Yang sniffled. Her voice was already a little nasal. “Peng Kaimiao came to report Qu Yan today.”

“I don’t know why Qu Yan did this. It’s not just that she was secretly in contact with me and Tao Sixian. She also deceived Peng Kaimiao’s feelings. She, she even used Peng Kaimiao to make him do something to me.”

“But Peng Kaimiao, besides being a bit annoyed with me, didn’t do anything to me. I…”

“I’m very sad and upset.”

Qiu Yang’s voice wasn’t loud, but Shen Ningruo listened with a pounding heart. “What?”

Qiu Yang took another deep breath. “I thought back over these four years. Qu Yan and I never had any conflicts at work, and our private interactions were very harmonious. I really don’t know why.”

Shen Ningruo continued to pat Qiu Yang’s back. “We’ll find out, Xiao Yang.” Her tone cooled slightly. “Qu Yan will definitely get her comeuppance.”

Qiu Yang exhaled again. She wasn’t crying, but she was just very upset, her mind a tangled mess.

Even when she was bullied by her uncle’s family before, she had never been this flustered.

After calming down for a few more minutes, Qiu Yang gently pushed Shen Ningruo away, showing a strained smile. “It’s okay, I’ll find the answer myself. Now we just have to see how President Wen handles this.”

Qu Yan held a significant position, and for her to do such things… Qiu Yang hadn’t experienced a situation like this since joining the company.

By the time she returned to the company, Qiu Yang’s emotions had mostly stabilized. On the surface, she was back to her usual self.

Gu Lan was sitting at the front desk. Seeing her appear, she immediately waved. “Xiao Qiu Jie!”

There were still a few minutes until work time, so Gu Lan wasn’t being too quiet.

Qiu Yang walked over and saw Gu Lan saying with an exaggerated expression, “Peng Kaimiao resigned!”

Qiu Yang was a little stunned. “…He resigned?”

“Yes,” Gu Lan frowned tightly. “Someone in our gossip group mentioned it, but they don’t know why. And he’s not even doing a work handover; he’s not coming back this afternoon.”

“But there’s a rumor that he angered President Wen.”

“Oh my, President Wen is such a handsome guy, how could he be like that?”