41 Pretending to be pure
◎I am A-Lu's friend◎
weekend.
Xue Lu wasn't home, and Song Qinggui was packing his outfit for tonight's party.
Although Xue Lu said that Jingtian would not expand any new businesses in the last quarter and that everything would be discussed next year, he was not the kind of person who would just give up and do nothing.
On Xue Lu's birthday, experts in medical artificial intelligence from Silicon Valley, USA, finalized their itinerary, saying they would arrive in Lancheng over the weekend for a two-week inspection, to discuss with Jingtian which areas medical artificial intelligence could be applied to, and to talk about cooperation.
"The abacus beads all hit my face," Xue Lu said bluntly.
They could have come on a weekday, but they insisted on coming on the weekend. It's all so that the Chinese can show them some hospitality and let them have fun for a couple of days first.
Because they had to entertain the Americans, Xue Lu couldn't go to the party with Song Qinggui, so they had to split up.
Song Qinggui applied lipstick in front of a full-length mirror.
She usually wore black, white, and gray business attire, but today's banquet was ostensibly to celebrate Xue Lu's belated birthday, so as his wife, she had to dress more festively.
She doesn't like luxury clothes. A few years ago, Yan Fengqian liked to buy her expensive clothes. Once, she wore a designer dress to accompany Yan Fengqian to a cocktail party, where one of his confidantes provoked her and splashed red wine all over her.
She went home, changed out of her dirty dress, and washed it. The more she washed, the worse it looked. Not only did the red wine stains not come off, but the soaked dress shrunk to about a third of its original size.
She took the clothes to the World Trade Center and asked the saleswoman about them. The saleswoman looked at her with disdain and said, "Our clothes cannot be washed. That's common sense."
Song Qinggui was naive at the time. She had a new dress from the same brand that she hadn't worn yet, so she asked, "So you'll need to dry clean it from now on, right?"
The saleswoman absentmindedly rubbed her manicured nails: "Didn't I just make it very clear to you? Our clothes can't be washed."
Song Qinggui understood now.
A piece of clothing costs tens of thousands of yuan, cannot be washed with water, cannot be dry cleaned, can only be worn once or twice, and is thrown away when it gets dirty.
This was the first time Song Qinggui felt that rich people were out of their minds, and from then on she never wore clothes that cost more than 10,000 yuan each.
Today she wore a red fitted long dress with the brand's signature square neckline. Her curves were subtly revealed by the dress, a subtle yet alluring charm that also exuded elegance and poise.
A string of pearls adorned her fair neck, echoing her pearl earrings. She wore a black oversized wool coat over her shoulders, and her long, wavy hair cascaded down her back. A wool beret, also made of wool, added a touch of playfulness to the outfit.
Finally, she put on her high heels, touched the ring on her ring finger, and went out.
Song Qinggui and Xue Lu lived on the top floor, the 37th floor. The elevator went down to the 19th floor and stopped. The elevator doors opened and a young girl walked in.
Song Qinggui didn't recognize the other person, but the girl was clearly taken aback. However, she didn't linger for long before stepping onto the elevator and standing next to Song Qinggui.
The buildings in Shengshi Junlan have been built for several years, and the elevators are running rather slowly.
The girl spoke up, addressing Song Qinggui: "You are... Mrs. Xue?"
Song Qinggui was somewhat surprised and raised his eyebrows to look at her: "You are...?"
"Oh." Chen Fangqi smiled. "I'm a friend of Lawyer Xue from the gym in our neighborhood. You're going to the Lancheng Hotel, right? Can I give you a ride? We're going the same way."
A friend from the neighborhood gym?
Song Qinggui pondered these words. She knew that Xue Lu had a habit of exercising and would get up early several days a week to go to the community gym to lift weights.
But he made such a friend... I've never heard him mention it.
Song Qinggui felt a little depressed, but she quickly realized that her emotions were not right.
It's perfectly normal for everyone to have friends of the opposite sex.
Back then, Yan Fengqian's female friends would all go to bed with him and play games, but she didn't mind.
Xue Lu is just lifting weights with someone, what's there to be jealous about?
After adjusting his mindset, Song Qinggui started chatting with Chen Fangqi: "On the way? Are you also going to the Lancheng Hotel?"
“Hmm.” Chen Fangqi smiled, her cheeks showing cute dimples: “A couple of days ago when I was working out, A-Lu mentioned that it was his birthday today and invited me to a banquet. We’ve been friends for so long, I can’t refuse him this small favor.”
Song Qinggui's eyes flickered. If she had just thought that Chen Fangqi, who claimed to be Xue Lu's friend, was young, didn't understand social etiquette, and didn't know how to communicate with her married friend's partner, she was now certain that the other party had ill intentions.
Putting everything else aside, the title "A-Lu" is really quite inappropriate.
Knowing the other party's purpose, Song Qinggui felt more at ease.
She smiled and said, "Then I'll take your car. I can't drive, so thanks to you, I'll save on taxi fare."
"OK."
Chen Fangqi remained expressionless, but her heart was in turmoil.
Mrs. Xue is so well-mannered; even after she's said all that, she can still laugh.
Thinking of this, Chen Fangqi felt a surge of jealousy.
She lied. She was indeed going to the Xue family's party tonight, but it had nothing to do with Lawyer Xue.
She knew about Xue Lu because of Lao Wang—her... current boyfriend.
Chen Fangqi met Lao Wang at a commercial endorsement event. She was an intern reporter for an entertainment newspaper and was assigned by a senior colleague who wanted to cause her trouble to go to the event to interview a male celebrity who was not very famous but extremely difficult to deal with.
As expected, she was met with a difficult question from a male celebrity before she could even finish asking one. She has a curvaceous figure and a rather sexy style of dress, and the male celebrity, disregarding his public image, made a suggestive, lewd joke at the event, causing the surrounding male reporters to chuckle.
Old Wang, the brand owner of the product endorsed by the male celebrity, immediately came to her rescue.
She was very grateful to Lao Wang, who later treated her to a meal, and the two became acquainted over time.
Old Wang often asked her out, and she realized that he had feelings for her. She was also fed up with being bullied and treated like a slave at the newspaper office, earning only 3,500 yuan a month.
So even though Old Wang was 25 years older than her and was short and fat, she still agreed to be with him.
Old Wang treated her well, buying her a house and a car, but on one condition: he wouldn't give her a formal status, she couldn't appear in front of his wife and children, and she couldn't have children with him. She agreed; one can't have it all, and she knew right from wrong.
In the past, she had been well-behaved and dutiful, fulfilling the duties of a caged bird.
Seeing that she was well-behaved, Lao Wang gave her even more opportunities. Through a friend who owned a talent agency, he provided her with many interview resources in the entertainment industry, and she quickly became their newspaper's top reporter.
Chen Fangqi thought that this was how she would live her life.
Old Wang is not young anymore. Once he becomes impotent, their relationship will be over. They can only endure it for another ten years or so at most.
Until she met Xue Lu.
When Lao Wang told her that he was going to the Xue family party on the weekend, she was completely unmoved. There are too many parties in Lancheng. The Xue family is rich, but even the richest family's parties are just so-so.
Until Old Wang muttered to himself in his Lancheng Mandarin: "The main character of this party, Lawyer Xue, is a pretty boy, not at all like his father. I've met his wife once, oh my, she's so beautiful, a real beauty! Oh right, it seems they also have a house in this neighborhood. A few of us business friends bought it together, but I don't know if they live here."
Chen Fangqi perked up as soon as she heard that.
“Xue Lu?” Chen Fangqi asked tentatively. “I only know that the Xue family is very rich, but I’ve never heard of the name Xue Lu.”
"Of course you haven't heard of them. You're all talk and no action." Old Wang said jokingly, "Law Xue and his brother Xue Tan are very famous. They're the two Xues of Lancheng."
Chen Fangqi sneered inwardly, but feigned innocence: "Then I'd like to broaden my horizons. Lawyer Xue, Talker Xue? Which law and which talker?"
"The law of law, the conversation of conversation."
That night, Lao Wang vented his anger on Chen Fangqi, and then lay on top of her and started snoring.
Chen Fangqi forcefully pushed him off her.
She sat up, glanced coldly at the obese and bloated old Wang, walked to the balcony, lit a cigarette, and searched for the name "Xue Lu" on her phone.
"Digging up dirt" is a professional skill for every veteran entertainment reporter. What seems like an insignificant entry to others can be turned into something extraordinary in their hands.
So that night, in just two hours, Chen Fangqi found all the information about Lawyer Xue online, including Song Qinggui.
She learned about Xue Lu's wealth and Song Qinggui's romantic history.
An uncontrollable fire ignited within her.
Why? Why is it that when both of them are trying to marry a rich man, Song Qinggui can catch Xue Lu, while she can only catch this fat pig!
Chen Fangqi will never forget the gossip she overheard from her colleagues in the newspaper office restroom.
"Was that her husband who brought her here?"
"What husband? At that age, could he be her husband? He's probably just a sugar daddy keeping her."
"You know what, sometimes I'm a little envious of her. She sacrificed her health to avoid thirty years of hard work. I heard she picked up her car last week, but I don't know what brand it was."
"Don't be envious. Some people can afford to eat, but you can't. Take that old man, for example. Let alone sleeping with him, could you even bring yourself to kiss him?"
"I can't get down."
Then the group burst into laughter...
This is the kind of life she has been living for the past two years.
But how come Song Qinggui was so lucky? She had been with other men for several years, and she still managed to hook up with Xue Lu and even marry him.
She refused to accept it! She really refused to accept it!
So the next morning, she begged Lao Wang to take her to Xue Lu's party to broaden her horizons.
After several days of persistent pleading, Old Wang finally nodded in agreement.
...
At this moment, Chen Fangqi and Song Qinggui had already arrived at her car.
Chen Fangqi: "I just drive this Porsche for fun. You must have ridden in many luxury cars before, so don't look down on me."
Song Qinggui still had a slight smile on his face and said sincerely, "I get carsick, so I don't like riding in cars. I usually take public transportation."
Shengshi Junlan is a 30-minute drive from Lancheng Hotel. Chen Fangqi chatted with Song Qinggui.
She noticed Song Qinggui's attire and the ring on her hand from the very beginning; these were the perfect topics to discuss when meeting someone for the first time.
Chen Fangqi: "Your clothes are really nice, what brand are they?"
Song Qinggui: "It's a very affordable brand. A piece costs a few thousand yuan, which is affordable. The quality is also good, and it can be worn for a long time."
Chen Fangqi smiled and said, "When you have time, take me shopping. I'm so tired of wearing Chanel and Miu Miu clothes. You have good taste, so take me to try something different."
Song Qinggui: "I bought it on Amazon. It's called Realisation Par. You can search for it."
Chen Fangqi smiled without saying anything, and soon changed the subject: "Your ring is also beautiful, a Bulgari diamond-set white mother-of-pearl, a very classic design."
Song Qinggui raised his palm and glanced at it: "It was chosen by Lawyer Xue. I don't know much about jewelry."
Chen Fangqi fell silent, glancing at Song Qinggui in the rearview mirror. Song Qinggui had no expression, but Chen Fangqi knew she was an extremely pretentious woman.
"I don't like cars~" "I only wear off-brand clothes~" "I don't know anything about jewelry~"
After all these years of being a gold digger, who are you trying to fool with this act?!
The Porsche pulled up in front of the hotel, and Chen Fangqi handed the car keys to the doorman, asking him to help her park the car.
Chen Fangqi: "I was always curious about you before I knew you, but after meeting you today, I realized that A-Lu likes girls like this."
Song Qinggui stopped and looked at Chen Fangqi in a questioning manner.
Chen Fangqi smiled sweetly and said two words meaningfully: "Simple".
What Chen Fangqi wanted to say was "pretending to be innocent".
Song Qinggui also knew what she wanted to say.
At this moment, the butler of the Xue residence on the second floor of the hotel called out to Song Qinggui: "Miss Song, the master wants you to come up here. He has something to say to you."
Song Qinggui nodded.
Before turning to go upstairs, Song Qinggui looked at Chen Fangqi. The young girl's smile was beautiful and bright, but it also revealed a worldly sharpness.
Song Qinggui hesitated for a moment before saying to her, "Although I find it boring, I am not afraid of competition among females."
Chen Fangqi's smile faded slightly.
Song Qinggui's smile remained unchanged: "But at least, be more upright."
Song Qinggui walked gracefully towards the spiral staircase, while Chen Fangqi's fingernails dug into the flesh of her palm, causing a sharp pain.
[Author's Note]
Sorry everyone, there was a problem with the internet at home. It took me ages to finally fix it.
Sorry for the late update today.
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