TNSFC – Chapter 99

This summer was unprecedentedly sultry.

The hot wind was like willow catkins, seeping into one’s very being.

“Shanxue, how can you be so good?”

Que Yining’s voice had a slight nasal tone, full of a coquettish charm, soft and sweet.

How could her Miss Gu be so good? Every surprise Gu Shanxue gave her was beyond her expectations, making Que Yining so happy her nose tingled.

Que Yining hadn’t celebrated her birthday properly in a long time. In fact, she couldn’t even clearly remember which day it was, only that it was around autumn.

But now, today was the happiest birthday she had celebrated in years.

Gu Shanxue watched the lanterns continuously floating upwards, actually feeling in her heart that it was still too simple.

She wished she could do something more luxurious and grand for Que Yining, like displaying blessings on city billboards, but now wasn’t a good time. She wanted to set off fireworks, but they had seen them last time, and Lu Su City prohibited them, so she came up with this idea.

Each lantern carried a blessing; she hoped Que Yining could live a peaceful and smooth life always.

Her mind was always filled with a myriad of thoughts, but Gu Shanxue wasn’t very good at expressing them. She just gently stroked the top of Que Yining’s head, letting her listen to her heartbeat.

“I really like you so much.”

Que Yining’s affection was always this direct and fervent. Their hot breaths intertwined between noses and lips, painting an ambiguous picture in the night.

They exchanged a kiss. Que Yining’s passion melted Gu Shanxue, and they lingered intimately on this deserted mountaintop, under the bright moon and gentle breeze, witnessed by a thousand lanterns.

They didn’t stay on the mountaintop for long; after all, there was nothing there, and it wasn’t convenient for anything.

Que Yining pulled Gu Shanxue into the car. She took the keys, sat in the driver’s seat, and raised the car’s convertible top, enclosing the space.

Gu Shanxue’s palms were sweating. She could sense what Que Yining was about to do. While her face grew warm, she also felt a little expectant.

Getting intimate in the car out here?

This was a thought Gu Shanxue would never have had in the past. In her own eyes, she considered herself a conventional person. But after meeting Que Yining, it was as if all shackles had fallen away from her, her heart felt light, and she could unreservedly pursue pleasure.

The car seats were lowered, forming a relatively convenient support. Que Yining pressed down on Gu Shanxue, strands of her hair falling forward and lightly brushing against Gu Shanxue’s skin.

Her bright eyes were veiled with a shimmering moisture. The car lights weren’t on; it was dark, yet it couldn’t hide anything.

Que Yining was an excellent hunter, understanding every weakness of her prey. Gu Shanxue was the same.

Gu Shanxue first meticulously wiped her hands with a wet wipe. The slightly cool touch made Que Yining tremble lightly. The small pearl cowered, hiding in what it thought was a safe barrier, but was forced to flee its safe zone.

A thin layer of sweat appeared on Que Yining’s body, but Gu Shanxue found it fragrant and kissed away a bead of sweat adorning the tip of her nose.

The wind was gentle, the clouds hung low.

Amidst the chirping of insects, there were occasional soft moans.

Que Yining was already a bit dazed about how the night had passed. She only knew that when dawn broke the next day, she woke up at Gu Shanxue’s home.

When she woke up, Gu Shanxue was in the kitchen making breakfast. Warm milk was on the table. Sunlight streamed through the blinds, falling onto the floor in patches of light like oddly shaped, bright beads that seemed tangible enough to pick up.

After Que Yining freshened up, she hugged Gu Shanxue affectionately for a while.

“It’ll be ready soon. Drink your milk first.”

Gu Shanxue tilted her head, nuzzled Que Yining’s cheek, and continued to focus on what she was doing.

Que Yining felt a powerful surge in her heart from Gu Shanxue’s nuzzle, and she walked somewhat unsteadily to the dining table.

She had forgotten to charge her phone last night, and it had automatically shut down. Gu Shanxue had put it on to charge in the living room. As soon as Que Yining turned it on, she found her phone almost crashed from lagging; the number of missed calls and unread messages was exaggeratedly high.

Que Yining immediately called Zhang Shiyu to ask what was going on.

Zhang Shiyu: “Boss, you were photographed last night! Reporters are spreading rumors that you were having car sex with an unknown woman, and it’s trending. So many notifications! It must be Que Linyang’s doing! I couldn’t reach you this morning. We’ve already done emergency PR and warned the rumor-mongers. I’ve sent you the photos; they didn’t actually capture anything.”

When Que Yining first heard this, her heart skipped a beat. After all, they had indeed ‘rocked’ the car last night. But she was certain that, aside from the kiss on the mountaintop, she had been discreet once they were in the car. She only relaxed after hearing Zhang Shiyu say nothing incriminating had been captured.

She wasn’t afraid of coming out, but they were in the heat of battle right now, so it really wasn’t a good time to make an announcement.

Que Yining looked at the photos. Gu Shanxue’s face wasn’t clearly captured, only a blurry side profile, likely from a distance. After that, it was just the sports car’s convertible top being raised. She read the reports and couldn’t help but admire the tabloid reporters’ imagination: things like ‘passionate battle for an hour,’ ‘ambiguous gazes,’ described as if they had been right there in the car with them.

She scoffed lightly, sat on the chair, her fingers dancing on her phone.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Gu Shanxue placed a plate in front of Que Yining, took out her own phone, saw she had also received messages, and quickly understood the situation.

Seeing certain words in the reports, Gu Shanxue’s ears grew slightly hot. She pursed her lips and said, “Do you need me to step in?”

“No need,” Que Yining’s lips curved slightly. “They didn’t get a clear shot of your face. I can handle this myself.”

“It’s just certain people getting desperate when they’re losing.”

The public opinion war between her and Que Linyang had long reached a white-hot stage. Regarding the murder-by-car-accident incident Hou Manni had spoken about, she had already issued a statement.

Deng Zhi had already been implicated. The Lu Su police had also presented previous evidence. They had interrogated the arrested hit-and-run driver, who confessed he was acting under instructions. The trail led to Deng Zhi’s cousin, but Deng Zhi’s cousin had disappeared and was listed by the police as a fugitive.

The police’s statement was, of course, solid proof, so public opinion shifted back towards Que Yining’s side. After all, Que Linyang was suspected of murder.

But Que Linyang was not someone willing to admit his mistakes. He refused to acknowledge any connection with Deng Zhi and vehemently denied any involvement in the murder case, claiming Hou Manni was slandering him without evidence.

Legally speaking, there was indeed no direct evidence at present to prove Que Linyang was the mastermind. Therefore, Que Yining’s initial statement had been very clever; she hadn’t directly pointed fingers but had used Hou Manni to release the evidence.

Of course, that evidence wasn’t obtained by Lin Zhen through illicit means. Even if it were solid proof, improper methods would attract criticism. The evidence she had Hou Manni release included Que Linyang’s almost weekly visits to the golf course to meet Deng Zhi, photos of Deng Zhi and her son, and a paternity test report for Deng Zhi’s son and Que Linyang.

Of course, out of humanitarian concern, Que Yining had Deng Zhi’s son’s face pixelated when the evidence was released.

Even without conclusive evidence now, what they had was enough to push Que Linyang into an unfavorable position.

Que Linyang playing this card now was just an attempt to damage her reputation and save himself. How could she let him succeed?

Que Yining swiftly applied for a personal Weibo account and then posted an update.

@QueYining: So sitting in a friend’s sports car and playing Galaxy Watch with her gets interpreted as doi? I suggest none of you get into your friends’ sports cars anymore. Today is my birthday, and she sent me a thousand-lantern blessing at midnight. If it really were doi, that would be great; I could just kick back and let a beautiful rich woman take care of me.

To be honest, Que Yining felt it wasn’t a complete doi, since her hand with trimmed nails hadn’t even come into play; they had only engaged in some external play.

After Que Yining posted on Weibo, she had the company’s official account retweet it, then hired an internet water army and marketing accounts to get herself trending.

@EveryoneFuckingGoReadXiaoWu’sNewStory: Those sky lanterns last night were so beautiful! Holy crap! It was actually the boss’s friend who arranged the blessing for the boss? I’m so jealous, I’m really jealous! When will my friend become a rich woman and support me? By the way, happy birthday, Boss!

@ShowingAffectionToTheWholeWorld: I think you overestimate us, Ning; my friends don’t have sports cars! Pretty Jiejie is another year older!

@ILikeLittleRoseYa: I knew it was impossible! When I saw the report, my heart skipped a beat, wondering which scummy man it was. Then I saw it was also a jiejie, hahaha, I just laughed. Even if it really was doi, I’d support you both!

@LemonTree: What a divine friendship! I’m jealous, I’m jealous, I’m jealous, I’m jealous!

@YueGuiSZD: Friendship my ass, it’s love! 【doge head for dear life】

@PickLuLingBa: It was definitely doi. I was there. I was the sports car. 【doge head】

Que Yining watched the shift in public opinion and thought Que Linyang was truly crazy. To dare to do this without any solid proof captured on camera—it seemed he really wasn’t doing well.

Que Linyang had indeed been having a terrible time these past few days, practically overwhelmed with problems.

Profits had plummeted, and his stores were receiving bad reviews, showing that the reputation of the companies under his name had severely declined. He wanted to contact industry insiders and arrange dinner meetings, but he was repeatedly rejected. His previous connections seemed to have become useless.

He knew Que Yining had the Gu Corporation backing her. He looked at the mess of accounts scattered on the floor and made a call.

“Hey, little brother, it’s me, Linyang. Didn’t you mention a collaboration earlier… Mm… Yes, I can consider it now.”

“Oh, Mr. Lin, I’m really sorry. We’ve already found a suitable partner. Ah, it’s truly a matter of fate, missed it by a step! Let’s not talk anymore, I have a gathering here. We’ll talk later, okay?”

The person on the other end gave a dry laugh and then quickly hung up the phone.

Que Linyang cursed loudly at the disconnected call, and the assistant beside him immediately lowered his head, not daring to make a sound.

“This guy is such an opportunist! Just a few days ago, he was shamelessly coming to my door with gifts, begging for cooperation, and now he hangs up on me! Despicable!”

Que Linyang took a deep breath to calm himself. They didn’t have evidence against him yet. At worst, he could sue Hou Manni for slander and defamation.

Before making this decision, he made a video call to Deng Zhi.

A white woman was toying with a gun in her hand, its muzzle pointed at a child in her arms whose mouth was covered. She smiled at Deng Zhi, “You know how to answer, right?”

“Be good and listen. My boss will consider letting you, an accomplice, off the hook and won’t send you back to face trial. If you don’t listen, you and your son…”

Deng Zhi nodded, indicating she understood what to do.

The video call connected, and Deng Zhi smiled at the person on the other end of the call.

“Linyang… It’s okay, we’re doing very well over here. How are you doing back in the country?”

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