Chapter 76 I Can't Always Rely on You
The car slowly started and headed towards South Carolina, with Yan Shuang leaning back in the back seat.
The phone rang abruptly, and the word "Mom" flashed on the screen.
She answered the call.
"Shuangshuang, have you arrived at the company?" Zhou Yaqin's voice carried an undeniable probing tone. "Is everything... alright at the company?"
Yan Shuang lowered her eyelashes and said calmly, "Yes, everything is normal."
A soft laugh came from the other end of the phone: "That's good."
After a pause, Zhou Yaqin added with a smile, "Oh, by the way, Youyou flew to Los Angeles this morning to visit your brother-in-law... That child can't wait even a month..."
Yan Shuang looked out the window.
Outside the car window, the sun shone brightly, the sky was a clear, deep blue, and the palm trees lining the road rushed past.
The day we began to say goodbye was just an ordinary sunny day.
It came so suddenly, yet it was also perfectly reasonable.
Yan Shuang felt a strange calm, a sense of relief that everything had settled down.
If there's anything I'll miss, it's probably the view from Sunset Boulevard.
Those familiar streets, cafes, bookstores, and the intersection I pass through every day.
She had watched countless times from her car how the morning light gradually tinged the tips of the palm leaves red, and how the twilight gently enveloped the entire street.
The Los Angeles sun is always blazing and brilliant, but it is always an elusive light that she can never grasp.
After hanging up the phone, Yan Shuang said, "Uncle Zhan, I'm sorry to trouble you to go back, I forgot to bring something."
“Yes, Miss Shuang.”
One hour later.
The villa's gate was pushed open, and Yan Shuang came out.
She was dragging a small suitcase. Old Zhan paused for a moment, then quickly got out of the car to help her: "Miss Shuang, this is..."
Yan Shuang put the suitcase in the trunk, closed the car door, and said with a smile, "Let's go, Uncle Zhan."
LeBron opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't ask anything and simply started the car silently.
The car slowly drove away, and the villa in the rearview mirror grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared around the corner.
In the afternoon, Yan Shuang stood at the arrival gate of Los Angeles International Airport, watching Yan You push her LV suitcase out.
But a shadow fell over her exquisitely made-up face, and even the usual sweet curve of her lips looked stiff.
Yan Shuang sensed something was wrong.
If Yan You had really come all this way to see Shangqiu Zhu, she should be looking at him with anticipation, not suppressing her anger like this.
"Sister," Yan Shuang walked up to her, her tone as usual, "Why did you suddenly come over?"
Yan You smiled, her red lips curving upwards: "I missed you, is that not allowed?"
But his gaze swept coldly over Yan Shuang, as if searching for some trace.
LeBron started the car.
Yan Shuang asked, "Sister, where are you going?"
"Is your brother-in-law at the company? Just take me there."
Yan Shuang shook her head. "I don't know. I've been on leave for the past two weeks and haven't been at the company."
Yan You paused in her act of applying lipstick in front of the makeup mirror. "Are you taking a day off?"
She closed the vanity mirror, her voice suddenly rising, "I told you to keep an eye on your brother-in-law, and what did you do? You went on vacation?"
But the next second, a barely perceptible hint of relaxation flashed in Yan You's eyes.
Since she's taken leave, Yan Shuang won't be able to see Shang Qiu Zhu.
If she hadn't been so willful in choosing an art major and had instead listened to her father and gone to business school, how could Yan Shuang, that bookworm, have gotten the position of secretary next to Shang Qiuzhu?
Yan You looked at her younger sister beside her. She was as pure and simple as a white camellia, and even her perfume was only the most subtle gardenia scent.
With its bland and tasteless appearance, does it even deserve to be called good?
The burning jealousy that had been raging in her chest for two days subsided slightly.
Yan Shuang's tone was calm: "It's not a vacation, I'm out working on a company project." She paused and looked at Yan You, "I was just about to tell you that I have work to do these days and can't be available whenever you call."
Yan You scoffed, her red lips pursed, her face clearly saying, "It's these incredibly boring things again."
The car fell silent for a moment, with only the faint sound of the air conditioner running.
Yan Shuang stopped speaking and patiently waited for her sister to speak.
really....
Yan You finally couldn't hold back anymore.
She leaned closer, a sweet, almost fake smile curving her red lips: "Shuangshuang, can you explain to your sister why..." She deliberately dragged out the word, a sharp glint in her eyes, "Would you teach Qiu Zhu's nanny how to make coffee at Cuihu Villa?"
Yan Shuang paused slightly.
I see.
She turned to look at Yan You, her tone as natural as possible: "You know how high President Shang's standards are for coffee, which is why I went to teach Aunt Zhou how to adjust the recipe."
Yan You raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly weighing the credibility of this explanation.
"Fine," she scoffed, reluctantly accepting the offer, but her eyes still held a scrutinizing gaze. "You've only been there this once, right?"
Yan Shuang couldn't quite remember.
Perhaps it was because that period was too chaotic, or perhaps she deliberately chose not to remember.
However, she nodded nonetheless, "Mm."
Yan You stared at her profile for a few seconds before finally looking away, pursing her red lips, and asking no more questions.
The car slowly came to a stop in front of the Shang Group building. Yan Shuang turned her head and said, "I won't go up."
Yan You then revealed a satisfied smile and gracefully got out of the car.
She glanced at her sister one last time from outside the car door, then turned and walked gracefully toward the building entrance in her high heels.
Once the figure had completely disappeared from the lobby, Yan Shuang took out her phone and opened Shang Qiuzhu's profile picture: "I've been too busy with projects lately, so I won't be going back to Beverly Hills tonight. I'll be staying at a hotel near the school."
The moment she sent the message, she immediately pressed the power button and said to Lao Zhan, "Let's go."
Shang Qiuzhu sat at his desk, the monitor displaying the latest algorithm architecture diagram from the technology department.
Du Yunchuan was standing beside him, pointing to something on the screen and explaining something, when Shang Qiuzhu's phone screen lit up.
Shangqiu Zhu swiped open her phone screen and saw the message from Yan Shuang, her brows furrowing.
Du Yunchuan leaned closer to take a look. "Little Shuang, aren't you going home tonight?" He grinned, seemingly oblivious to the danger. "Looks like you're tired of you."
Before he could finish speaking, a sharp glare flew from his eyes.
Du Yunchuan immediately shut up.
Just as Shang Qiuzhu was about to make a phone call, the office door was pushed open.
The rich aroma permeated the space first.
"Qiu Zhu~ Surprise!" Yan Youyang smiled brightly. "Oh, Yun Chuan is here too."
Shangqiu Zhu slowly raised her head, the warmth in her eyes visibly fading away.
He released his grip on the phone and looked at her coldly: "What are you doing here?"
The four words were cold and indifferent, without even a change in tone.
"I..." Yan You's carefully crafted smile suddenly froze. "Can't I come and see my fiancé?"
Shangqiu Zhu picked up the document. "Then you can go back now."
Yan You's smile froze completely.
She never expected that Shangqiu Zhu would be so disrespectful to Du Yunchuan.
"They flew all this way..." Yan You took two steps forward in her high heels, "Can't you at least have a meal with me?"
Her voice softened, carrying a deliberate hint of coquettishness.
"I have no appetite."
Shangqiu Zhu didn't even lift his eyelids, continuing to flip through the documents.
His words seemed to be a blatant implication that he found her utterly repulsive.
Seeing Yan You's twitching forehead, Du Yunchuan immediately jumped up to smooth things over: "I'll do it! I'm hungry too, Miss Yan, would you do me the honor of having a meal together?"
Yan You pursed her red lips and stood still, clearly unwilling to leave just like that.
But Shangqiu Zhu didn't even spare her a glance.
"Then..." she softened her voice, "can I stay at your place tonight? I'm scared to stay in a hotel alone..."
Shangqiu Zhu finally raised her head, her eyes as cold as ice: "I'm not used to having other women in the house."
Du Yunchuan almost choked on his own saliva.
This double standard is so blatant!
"Ahem..." Du Yunchuan's shoulders trembled as he tried to suppress his laughter. He quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, "Miss Yan, the Peninsula Hotel's spa is absolutely amazing, a hundred times better than the old-fashioned ones."
Before Yan You could say anything more, Du Yunchuan swiftly grabbed her wrist and dragged her outside before she could lose her temper.
The moment the office door closed, Shangqiu Zhu had already picked up her phone.
The shadow under his brow deepened as the call was abruptly cut off by the mechanical female voice.
He pressed the second number and picked up his suit jacket.
"Mr. Shang." Old Zhan's voice came through the car's Bluetooth, with a slight engine sound in the background.
"Where is Yan Shuang?" He stopped in his tracks.
"Miss Shuang is in the car. We just left the Shang Group building."
Shang Qiuzhu's taut shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly as he loosened his tie: "Give her the phone."
Five seconds later, a faint breathing sound came through the receiver.
"Hello?"
"The project has kept you so busy that you don't even have time to go home at night?" His tone was calm, but carried a subtle sense of pressure. "You didn't mention that when you asked for leave yesterday."
"It was decided on short notice today," Yan Shuang replied quickly, clearly having prepared her explanation beforehand.
Shang Qiuzhu was silent for a moment, then his voice deepened: "If it's because of Yan You, you don't need to." He paused, "She's staying at her own hotel, I won't let her bother you."
“No,” Yan Shuang’s tone remained calm. “It’s true that there are a lot of things to do, as you know. It’s more convenient to live near the school.”
The distance in her words was like an invisible wall. Shang Qiuzhu felt a slight tightness in her chest, but she still restrained her emotions and simply asked her, "How long?"
"Two weeks..."
Or more.
"Are you that busy?" Shang Qiuzhu's voice lowered a few decibels. "If you go home, I can also take a look at the project issues for you."
After a moment of silence, a soft click came through the receiver. Yan Shuang seemed to lean closer to the car window, her voice carried slightly by the wind: "...I can't always rely on you..."
Shangqiu Zhu interrupted her: "You can."
Three words, resolute and unwavering.
Yan Shuang shook her head, "But I still want to rely on myself."
After thinking for a moment, she softened her voice, "Is that alright?"
Shangqiu Zhu could almost picture the soft yet stubborn look in the eyes of the person on the other end of the phone.
"......"
After a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke, "Okay."
After hanging up the phone, Shangqiu Zhu placed the phone face down on the table, making the gloom between her brows even more pronounced.
He pulled up a list of collaborative projects with the Yan family, the page scrolling down rapidly until it finally stopped at the termination clause of the marriage agreement.
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