Chapter 5 She was a tool Zhou Yanci used to create her persona.
Shang Wu gripped the doorknob tightly, her fingertips turning white.
She hasn't seen Ji Yu since she heard the truth that night.
At that moment, the enemy appeared right in front of him without warning.
Shang Wu had to bite the tip of her tongue to maintain a calm demeanor.
What brings you here?
"What are you saying? Your house is my house too! I've always been able to come and go as I please."
Ji Yu didn't notice her strange behavior and walked in with a smile.
Shang Wu turned to the side and watched her go to the refrigerator to rummage for drinks.
She is naturally averse to crowds and has always felt that having one or two close friends is enough.
Ten years ago, she and Zhou Yanci were neighbors, and Ji Yu was her deskmate.
Their relationship quickly grew closer, and it has now been ten years.
Ji Yu is her only and best friend from junior high school until now.
Ji Yu can use her house and all her food, clothing, and transportation as she pleases, and he can swipe her cards as he pleases. The Intimate Payment accounts on various platforms are all opened for Ji Yu.
Once Shang Wu sets her sights on someone, she will give them her whole heart and soul, even finding joy in it.
But what about the seasonal rains?
She felt no remorse for harming her entire family with Zhou Yanci, and took it for granted that she should possess all of her hard work and everything else. She was a heartless ingrate who bleeds people dry!
Shang Wu slammed the door shut, suppressing the surging hatred in her heart, and walked over.
"It's so late. Do you need something from me, or are you planning to stay here?"
Ji Yu unscrewed a bottle of milk, winked at her, and said meaningfully, "I heard that someone and her fiancé had a falling out, so I was worried and came over to check on them."
It turned out that Zhou Yanci had sent someone to appease her.
Shang Wu lowered her eyes. "It's not that exaggerated. You don't need to try to persuade me."
"It's been three years, and you still haven't given yourself to Zhou Yanci. Isn't that outrageous?"
Ji Yu took a sip of milk, her tone helpless.
Shang Wu suddenly looked up: "Are you here to speak up for Zhou Yanci?"
“This isn’t about speaking up for him; I’m just worried about you.”
Ji Yu put down the milk, walked over, took her hand, and advised, "Men won't like you being so reserved. You should let go when it's time to let go. Anyway, you're getting married soon."
Upon hearing this, Shang Wu couldn't help but push her hand away.
“My business with him is none of your concern. If you’re here to advise me on this, you can leave.”
Ji Yu was stunned for a moment, and a feeling of displeasure instantly rose in her heart.
Shang Wu usually listens to her every word, but now she's completely unresponsive!
She pouted and said, "I'm doing this for your own good. Otherwise, why would I come all the way here in the middle of the night to persuade you? You're going to get married sooner or later, so why are you still so celibate?"
Shang Wu narrowed her eyes, watching Ji Yu's impatient yet somewhat instigating manner.
For the past three years, Zhou Yanci has not dared to mention this matter much, pretending to respect her deep affection.
Ji Yu, on the other hand, was abandoned after hanging out with a dropout in junior high school. She dated more than a dozen boyfriends and had several abortions, but they still encouraged her to experience some wonderful life.
Over the past three years, Ji Yu has also been trying to get her to confess her feelings to Zhou Yanci as soon as possible.
Shang Wu hadn't thought much of it before, but now it seems her good friend couldn't wait to see her possessed by Zhou Yanci and then cruelly discarded.
He acted recklessly and lacked self-respect, and even tried to drag her down with him.
nausea.
Shang Wu smiled and said, "My family has strict rules and forbids me from messing around with men and women. Unlike some people who don't know how to respect and cherish themselves and just sleep with anyone."
"A-Wu, what are you saying?"
Ji Yu's face darkened immediately, and she questioned, "Are you saying I'm promiscuous?"
Shang Wu raised an eyebrow: "How could that be? You and your dozen or so boyfriends are all true love, and you've always been ready to get married."
She smiled and added a precise, scathing remark: "It's just a pity that none of them are willing to marry you."
"you!"
Ji Yu opened her mouth in astonishment.
More than being angry at these harsh words, she was shocked by Shang Wu's completely different attitude.
In the past, Shang Wu would never say a harsh word to her, but now he's actually making sarcastic remarks to her!
Ji Yu's face turned ashen. She took a deep breath and said, "I came to advise you because I wanted to see your relationship with Zhou Yanci improve. I never expected you to say such a thing about me! You have disappointed me greatly!"
She turned and left, her posture as she stormed out of the house was so proud and spirited.
Two minutes later, the person was still there.
My phone keeps notifying me that there are people on the security camera outside the door.
Shang Wu opened the surveillance footage and saw that Ji Yu waited for a long time before leaving in even greater anger.
Did you think she would still act like before, foolishly chasing after people and bowing her head to apologize after they left?
From now on, she will never do that again.
Shang Wu went straight upstairs to sleep.
The next day, she was woken up by her alarm clock, sat up, rubbed her temples, and picked up her phone.
A reminder from my schedule: there's a meeting at 8 a.m. today.
Shang Wu glanced at the time; it was seven o'clock. She quickly washed up and went out.
As soon as she drove her car downstairs at the company, she saw several female employees at the front desk smiling at her in a bright yet strange way, as if they were expecting something.
Shang Wu frowned slightly. Just as she walked into the company lobby, she heard a familiar voice beside her.
"A-Wu!"
Shang Wu turned around, and a bunch of pink roses suddenly appeared in front of her.
Zhou Yanci, holding a bouquet of flowers, looked down at her and said, "I'm sorry about what happened last night. Please forgive me."
The former employees gasped in dismay.
A high-and-mighty, aloof CEO bows down to present flowers in public – what a romantic scene from an idol drama!
Hearing the feedback from those around her, Zhou Yanci smiled slightly.
Shang Wu looked at him and noticed many details she had never noticed before.
Every time Zhou Yanci, a person in a position of power, willingly bows his head, it's just a way of cultivating a deep and affectionate persona, enjoying the sense of accomplishment of manipulating people's hearts and fooling everyone.
Just like now, Zhou Yanci is establishing her persona and dispelling last night's rumors with just a bouquet of flowers and a few words.
And her as a tool to assist in the performance.
"A-Wu?"
Zhou Yanci reminded him, a hint of suspicion flashing across his face.
Shang Wu looked up and accepted the flowers as usual. "I'm not angry anymore, you don't need to send flowers to apologize."
"Really? Then I'm relieved."
Zhou Yanci grabbed her hand and walked into the president's private elevator as if no one else was around.
Shang Wu withdrew her hand, tightly clutching the bouquet, and moved half a step away from him.
Zhou Yanci's eyes flickered, and she whispered, "Awu, I promise I will never force you like this again. Don't be afraid of me, okay?"
"Hmm." Shang Wu simply nodded.
Zhou Yanci chuckled: "I heard that Ji Yu went to speak up for me, but you chased her away. You never had the heart to say anything harsh to her before, what happened yesterday?"
Shang Wu reached out and gathered the few roses in the bouquet that were about to fall apart, and said casually, "It's not always my turn to give in to her. This is a very private matter, and I don't want to talk about it with other people. In the future, you shouldn't let her persuade me about everything."
Zhou Yanci paused, taken aback by her attitude, and it took him a while to find his voice.
"……good."
The elevator doors opened, and Shang Wu nodded: "I have a meeting to attend, I'll head back to the jewelry department first."
Secretary Aying was already waiting. When she saw her, she smiled and said, "It must be flowers from President Zhou again, right? It's all over the company. President Zhou upset you and apologized in public."
"What's the outline of the meeting?" Shang Wu casually handed her the flowers.
Aying gestured towards the office: "It's on your desk."
Shang Wu went in to get some documents for a meeting: "No need to bring the flowers in, just leave them in the tea room to add fragrance."
Aying was taken aback and stopped in her tracks.
...
The meeting mainly discussed the pre-launch promotion of the limited-edition new product.
The employee wrote promotional copy and showed it to Shang Wu.
Shang Wu glanced at the flowery and high-profile praise.
"A masterpiece by Ji Yu, a pillar of the jewelry department and a genius designer! The work is a visual feast that amazes the world, inheriting the creative style of the former retired designer Freya, and even surpassing her!"
Shang Wu paused for a moment.
Freya.
Goddess of love and beauty.
Legend has it that whenever lovers meet for the first time, the goddess Freya will appear and bestow her blessings.
When she first came up with the name of this design, she vowed to become the Freya of the jewelry design world, hoping that those who bought her designs as gifts for their loved ones would be happy.
"Designer Ji didn't come to work; this is the press release that she has already approved for release."
Zhang Min, an employee in charge of the copywriting, noticed that Shang Wu remained silent for a long time and assumed that she was not satisfied, so she became more and more cautious in her tone.
"Director, is there anything you're still not satisfied with and would like to make changes?"
Shang Wu blinked, suddenly snapping back to reality.
"Let's just send it like this."
Can the student surpass the teacher?
Mingming's design works all originated from her.
Ji Yu really liked this kind of praise that elevated her to the highest position, placing her on par with Freya.
Even with all that glory, one should consider whether they can handle it.
Shang Wu sat down and continued the meeting.
After the meeting ended, she received a phone call.
"Hello, this is Dingfeng Law Firm. You have an appointment to meet with our lawyers at 1:30 pm today. Would it be convenient for you to arrive half an hour early?"
Shang Wu paused, remembering that she had arranged to meet with a lawyer last night.
Dingfeng is the most authoritative law firm in Lincheng and even in the industry.
She specifically checked and found that Zhou Yanci's influence was not among them.
Zhou Yanci's public relations department and her personal legal team happen to be rivals of Dingfeng Law Firm.
The safest course of action would be to have Dingfeng's lawyers investigate the circumstances of your brother's sentencing and how the business was framed.
Shang Wu replied, "I will arrive early."
As soon as lunch break was over, she went straight to the law firm.
The law firm staff waited and led Shang Wu upstairs to the meeting room.
"Tea and snacks have been prepared for you. Please wait for half an hour. Our lawyer will arrive promptly at 1:30."
Shang Wu frowned, thinking that the law firm had asked her to come a little earlier because the lawyer would be waiting for her in advance.
She couldn't help but ask, "I specifically took time out of my lunch break to come here, and your lawyer didn't even show up?"
The woman looked embarrassed: "I'm sorry, our lawyer Lu doesn't like to wait for people, so usually the clients come and wait for him. I hope you understand."
"..." Shang Wu was dissatisfied.
The law firm claims that this lawyer, Lu Rang, is the firm's top executive, capable of handling any case and winning any lawsuit.
Fine, I'll just have to bear it.
Shang Wu didn't say anything and turned to go inside.
She sat down, facing the timer on the wall.
Time passed second by second.
I drank half a cup of coffee.
1:29:59.
The door opened.
The wall clock chimed.
Shang Wu remained silent.
It was exactly the right second.
She stood up, watched the doorknob turn, and planned to say something sarcastic to the other person.
The door was pushed open the next second.
Shang Wu opened his mouth, but before he could utter the first syllable, he froze.
Those same deep, slightly sharp eyes, like the humid, hot monsoon that blows through a seaside town in summer, exuding a wild and untamed spirit.
Shang Wu was taken aback, and the words she had prepared got stuck in her throat.
"It's you?"
At the Evergreen Hotel, she witnessed firsthand the man who was arguing between her fiancé and her "white moonlight" (a term of endearment for her first love).
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