Chapter 70 – Auntie, I Don’t Want to Try Anymore (16)

Yu Liuxue hurriedly turned to Liu Qingru in a panic. Perhaps Liu Qingru had already sensed something, so her reaction was milder than expected. When she noticed Yu Liuxue’s gaze, she merely lifted her eyelids and looked down at the flustered Yu Liuxue, curling her lips into a faint smile.

The next second, Yu Liuxue was dragged by Liu Qingru into a corner with no surveillance and was severely punished.

This time, Yu Liuxue genuinely felt wronged. She had tried seducing Liang Yin so many times before and never succeeded—what did that prove? It proved that Liang Yin no longer had any feelings for her. And everything that happened afterward confirmed Yu Liuxue’s suspicions: all Liang Yin felt for her was hatred from having been deceived, not some twisted form of affection.

But why did the female lead just now ask Liang Yin that question?

And based on her tone… was it possible the female lead liked her too?! When did that happen? Although she and Qin Feng were having a fight and had temporarily broken up, weren’t they supposed to reconcile in the end, as all melodramatic stories go?

They were the official couple! The cloying post-marriage life was detailed in over a million words.

Yu Liuxue nearly died on the spot—not from rage, but from being kissed by Liu Qingru.

Even though Liu Qingru had already been suspicious, hearing with her own ears that her friend had thoughts about her little girlfriend still made her incredibly unhappy. She paused, slightly out of breath, staring at the flushed Yu Liuxue, her mouth dry.

Yu Liuxue trembled from head to toe, pinned against the wall by Liu Qingru, not daring to move.

Inside the room, Guo Zao held her breath as she confronted Liang Yin. Heaven knew how much courage it took for her to ask those questions. After speaking, her heart pounded wildly, beating at an abnormal speed. She felt certain in her heart—even though she was afraid Liang Yin would scold her, she stubbornly locked eyes with her.

Guo Zao’s gaze was clear and clean, leaving Liang Yin—who had been ready to refute her—suddenly speechless. Liang Yin held her breath, wanting to loudly deny what Guo Zao said, but in that moment, no words came out.

Her eyes drifted, and a faint flush spread across her cheeks. She couldn’t help but follow Guo Zao’s words to their logical end—

Could she really like that little scumbag girl without knowing it? No way, right? That girl wasn’t her type. Other than being a bit pretty and slightly capable, she was cunning and sly, constantly spewing nonsense. Nothing that came out of her mouth could be trusted, and she had a tendency to flirt with anything that moved. If one wasn’t careful, she might “generously” slap a green hat on your head.

On top of all that, that little scumbag used to be her son’s girlfriend—she almost married him!

Could she really like her son’s ex?

Impossible!

What’s more, that little scumbag was already Liu Qingru’s girlfriend. If she liked her, then what did that make her? Someone trying to steal both her son’s ex and her best friend’s lover?

Liang Yin shot a cold glare at Guo Zao, angrier than she’d ever been before—so angry she was nearly irrational. She pulled her lips into a tight line, but when she finally spoke, her tone was strangely calm. “Guo Zao.”

She called Guo Zao’s name slowly and deliberately. Guo Zao flinched and quickly stepped back, putting some distance between them. She lowered her head, her hands obediently placed in front of her, heart full of doubt. Could she have been wrong? No—impossible. She had observed Liang Yin for a long time. Every time anything remotely related to Qiao Ruo was mentioned, her behavior would shift noticeably.

And every time she wanted to meet Yu Liuxue—or acted even a little intimately with her after meeting—Liang Yin, just like President Liu, would shoot her a look of disapproval.

Thinking about it that way, Guo Zao became even more certain.

Liang Yin slowly rose from her chair and gave a quiet laugh. “Mind your own business.”

Guo Zao’s heart clenched, and she immediately lowered her head even further. “Sorry, President Liang.”

She thought: President Liang didn’t outright deny it. She just got angry and warned her. That probably meant she’d guessed right. Having gotten the answer she wanted, Guo Zao stood quietly to the side, waiting with lowered eyes for Liu Qingru and Yu Liuxue to arrive.

She wasn’t here to provoke Liang Yin today—she came hoping that Liang Yin and Liu Qingru would help her father.

About five minutes later, Liu Qingru and Yu Liuxue walked in together. Yu Liuxue’s face was suspiciously red. Both Guo Zao and Liang Yin turned to look at her, their gazes full of questions. Yu Liuxue forced a smile and said, “Sorry, I’ve got a bit of a fever today.”

After lying, she cheerfully added, “Auntie Liang, President Liu, you two go ahead and talk. Don’t worry about me. I’ll just sit with Xiao Guo for a bit.”

As soon as she finished, Liu Qingru immediately shot her a displeased look. Yu Liuxue suddenly remembered—the female lead might like her too! So she quickly corrected herself, “Xiao Guo, maybe don’t sit next to me. I’ve got the flu—don’t want to pass it to you.”

Guo Zao paused mid-step, then nodded and sat a short distance away.

Once the four of them sat down, Yu Liuxue secretly wiped her lips and took out a cushion and lipstick to touch up her makeup. The rustling sounds she made distracted everyone from their main purpose. Only after she quieted down did Liang Yin and Liu Qingru move to a corner to discuss business.

Guo Zao sat like a statue, heart racing, desperately wanting to sneak a glance at Yu Liuxue. But with Liang Yin and Liu Qingru occasionally glancing her way, even if she missed Yu Liuxue like crazy, she could only suppress her emotions.

She was afraid that if she angered Liang Yin or Yu Liuxue, her father’s situation would be hopeless.

After listening to Liang Yin’s proposal, Liu Qingru began to seriously consider it. The two women spoke softly. Yu Liuxue and Guo Zao could only hear faint murmurs, unable to make out the details. But neither of them had the mind to listen anyway—one was puzzled how things had turned out this way, the other wanted nothing more than to throw herself into her crush’s arms and confess.

The more Yu Liuxue thought, the more confused she became. She propped her chin on her hand and asked the system, “Tongtong, did you notice anything?”

The system thought seriously for a moment, then replied, “Previously, I assumed the female lead’s feelings toward you were a kind of reliance and trust, like toward a big sister, so I never considered this angle.”

Exactly! Guo Zao was timid and introverted. Yu Liuxue, to complete her task, had carefully planned each step to help her grow stronger. Once Guo Zao became independent and powerful, more than half her mission would be complete. Who could have predicted the female lead’s feelings would morph during this process?

Yu Liuxue asked sincerely, “I really don’t know—what could she possibly like about me?”

She truly didn’t get it. Compared to the male lead, she was sorely lacking, wasn’t she? Aside from being slightly more attractive, she had no money, only her life to offer. She didn’t have Qin Feng’s wealthy background, nor did she have Liang Yin’s domineering and powerful mother. She couldn’t help Guo Zao at all with her career.

The system replied, “Host, throughout history, scumbags—male or female—are often favored by ordinary people.”

Yu Liuxue: “…” Thank you so much for the compliment.

Guo Zao sat with her head lowered, not far from Yu Liuxue’s beautiful silhouette. Ever since she entered, the air around her seemed sweeter. Every move she made was captivating, intriguing—Guo Zao could watch her forever and never get tired.

From Liang Yin’s angle, she could clearly see Guo Zao’s subtle expressions. When she saw the joy in Guo Zao’s eyes, she inexplicably burned with anger, itching to roll her eyes. When she noticed the longing in her brows, she subconsciously scoffed in her heart, finding Guo Zao increasingly unbearable—she even wanted to kick her out of the room, out of her sight.

When Liang Yin realized these strange emotions, she was startled—suddenly, her heart was a mess.

Because she wasn’t in the right state, Liu Qingru only gave a tentative response today. The final decision would have to wait until she and Liang Yin could carefully weigh the pros and cons.

After all, this wasn’t a trivial matter—it concerned two major corporations.

When Liu Qingru and Liang Yin stood up, Guo Zao snapped to attention. She immediately walked toward Liang Yin, her heart in turmoil. Liu Qingru nodded calmly at Liang Yin, then beckoned Yu Liuxue over like summoning a puppy. Yu Liuxue gleefully ran over, glancing at Liang Yin. “President Liu, Auntie Liang, are you done talking?”

Liang Yin nodded. “We’re done.”

After bidding farewell to the two, Liu Qingru left with Yu Liuxue. Liang Yin stood at the doorway, watching them leave before closing the door behind them. She crossed her arms and leaned lazily against the wall, slowly scrutinizing the visibly nervous Guo Zao, then let out a soft laugh. “Everything you said before—still counts?”

Guo Zao clenched her teeth, steeling herself before nodding slowly. “Everything counts, President Liang.”

Liang Yin curled her lips into a mocking smile. “Good.”

Qin Feng had been messing around at the bar for a while. When he finally came home, he immediately sensed a strange tension between his ex-girlfriend Guo Zao and his mother, Liang Yin—a subtle, indescribable oddness. When he entered, neither of them acknowledged him. They just went on doing their own things.

After being ignored for half a minute, Qin Feng couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Mom, I already broke up with her. Why is she in our house?”

Without even looking up, Liang Yin replied, “I asked her to come. Got a problem with that?”

Qin Feng was momentarily at a loss for words. Liang Yin responded with indifference, and Guo Zao was even colder—she didn’t respond at all, treating him like air. In a fit of anger, Qin Feng slammed his door and retreated to his room. After playing a few rounds of games, a disturbing thought crept into his mind—Could Guo Zao be… getting involved with his mom?

Qin Feng’s eyes widened. He sprang up from his bed like a fish and rushed out to the living room in a panic. “Mom…”

He saw Guo Zao sitting cross-legged on the floor, hugging her laptop, surrounded by a coffee table full of documents. Liang Yin looked like a cold, heartless landlord, forcing Guo Zao to work. Although he had broken up with her, seeing Guo Zao being tormented like this by his own mother made Qin Feng’s chest tighten in pain. He walked over, trying to pull Guo Zao up. “Mom, we’ve already broken up. If you have a problem, take it out on me. Don’t vent it on her.”

Liang Yin gave a half-smile and said coolly, “And who are you to say that?”

Qin Feng panicked and turned to Guo Zao, ready to persuade her. But Guo Zao brushed off his hand and said calmly, “Qin Feng, I’m doing this willingly. Don’t stick your nose into it.”

Liang Yin let out another chuckle, her tone thick with mockery.

Mind your own business? Qin Feng was furious. I was just trying to help you, and you say I’m meddling? He took two steps back and said through gritted teeth, “Fine. You’re willing, then keep suffering. I’m done.”

After Qin Feng stormed out, Guo Zao paused for a moment before quickly pulling herself together and continuing the tasks Liang Yin assigned. Lately, it seemed Liang Yin was intentionally punishing her. She wouldn’t even let Guo Zao go to work and kept summoning her to the house for flimsy reasons, making her look at documents she didn’t understand.

With her father’s business in mind, Guo Zao endured the bullying in silence.

She figured President Liang must be feeling angry and humiliated.

And she wasn’t wrong. Though Liang Yin had laughed off Guo Zao’s words at the time, when she returned home alone and lay in bed after her shower, the moment she closed her eyes, Yu Liuxue’s face flashed before her. Her smile, her tears, her joy and sorrow, every expression—vivid as day.

A deep sense of unease surged in Liang Yin’s chest.

She suspected she was only thinking like this because of what Guo Zao had said, so she tried to suppress these chaotic thoughts. But Guo Zao had already opened the Pandora’s box of desire in her heart. After struggling and denying it for a while, Liang Yin finally had to admit—she really did harbor some unspeakable thoughts toward Yu Liuxue.

This realization shocked her to the core. Furious and frustrated, she ended up taking it all out on Guo Zao.

If it weren’t for her…

Both Liang Yin and Guo Zao understood each other’s motives perfectly. One was willing to dish it out, the other willing to take it—forming a strangely harmonious dynamic.

Qin Feng, on the other hand, sulked in his room, too angry to even play games. All he wanted was to know what the hell was going on between his mom and Guo Zao. Before he could investigate, Liang Yin found him and said, “Qin Feng, since your heart isn’t in the company anymore, you don’t have to come in again.”

“When your father died, he left behind some money. I used it to buy funds for you—think of it as your monthly allowance. From now on, I won’t care what you do.” Liang Yin’s voice was cold and full of disappointment. Her son was a complete failure, unworthy of inheriting the massive business empire she’d worked so hard to build.

Qin Feng’s first thought was: Is Mom really cutting me off?

Then came the panic. Liang Yin silently observed his reaction and continued flatly, “A hundred thousand a month is more than enough for food and clothes, right?”

Her gaze was ice-cold. Qin Feng instinctively nodded and said yes. Liang Yin gave a satisfied smile and walked away. Once she was gone, it finally sank in for Qin Feng—money wasn’t the issue. The real problem was… Mom actually gave up on me?

The thought devastated him. He wanted to say something to her retreating figure, but then remembered—he and Liang Yin were never really close. She had tried to mend their relationship, but back then he was too arrogant and rebellious, always going against her. He had long since lost the chance to fix things.

Qin Feng left the house in a daze. He drank himself into a stupor at a bar using the allowance money. When he ran out, he was too embarrassed to ask Liang Yin for more, so he started working at the bar as a bartender. The pay was decent—at least enough to keep him from starving.

Compared to him, the female lead was doing much better. After careful consideration, Liu Qingru and Liang Yin reached an agreement to help the Guo family get back on its feet. As the heiress of the Guo family, Guo Zao would eventually inherit the entire family fortune. Liu Qingru, Liang Yin, Guo Zao, and Guo’s father negotiated the distribution of interests and signed an exclusive agreement in front of a notary.

Once the deal was sealed, Liu Qingru and Liang Yin took action.

Busy as she was, Liu Qingru couldn’t keep an eye on Yu Liuxue all the time, so she coldly issued a mountain of orders, practically wishing Yu Liuxue would work herself to death in the office, leaving her no energy or time to flirt around.

Yu Liuxue, on the verge of tears, pointed a trembling finger at Liu Qingru’s departing figure and complained to the system, “Auntie’s too ruthless now. Not only does she want me to die in bed, she wants me dead in the office too.”

They were still dating, yes—but that didn’t stop Liu Qingru from exploiting her poor girlfriend.

So while Liu Qingru buried herself in work, Yu Liuxue became a spinning top, surrounded by nothing but colleagues. She was like a confined imperial concubine, staying up late every night to copy scriptures as punishment. Hugging her design drafts, Yu Liuxue stood before the floor-to-ceiling window and sighed, “I really want to go out and have fun.”

“I want to see pretty girls. I want to go crazy with them…”

Liu Qingru silently appeared behind her. Hearing her sigh, her expression softened slightly. She said flatly, “Director Qiao, my office. Five minutes.”

Yu Liuxue: “…!” When did you get here?!

From that day on, not only was Yu Liuxue overworked, she was nearly tortured to death by Liu Qingru. She couldn’t understand—how was Liu Qingru still energetic enough to bully her when she was so busy? Were all older women this vigorous?

Everything was going according to Yu Liuxue’s plan. Thanks to the joint efforts of Liang Yin and Liu Qingru, the Guo family’s finances turned around, and the company began to show signs of revival. Guo Zao was deeply devoted to her father’s business, so busy she barely had time to think about Yu Liuxue—let alone visit her.

Liang Yin and Liu Qingru were the most satisfied with the current situation.

But such busy days didn’t last long. As soon as Guo’s father’s company recovered, everything went back to normal. In the office, Liang Yin still couldn’t stand Guo Zao. Because of the agreement, Guo Zao dared not talk back—until she gained enough support to become the top figure in the company. Then, she gradually revealed her hidden claws.

“Director Guo and President Liang are arguing again! It’s really heated in the office!”

“They’re fighting again? Seriously, what kind of grudge do they have? Director Guo used to be so gentle…”

Not only were the employees confused, even Liang Yin didn’t fully understand. But she could guess: now that Guo Zao had real power and her father’s company had recovered, she felt secure enough to go head-to-head with her.

Liang Yin sneered coldly, staring at Guo Zao without expression. “I disagree.”

Guo Zao smiled sweetly and replied softly, “President Liang, everyone else agrees but you.”

Liang Yin was furious. She felt that Guo Zao had completely mastered Yu Liuxue’s shamelessness—and even surpassed her. Especially when Guo Zao smiled while speaking, it was incredibly grating, making Liang Yin want to tear her face apart and throw a few million at her just to get rid of her. Liang Yin couldn’t take it anymore and rolled her eyes. “I said, I don’t agree!”

Guo Zao still wore a smile. Upon hearing that, she bent slightly and said gently, “Since you don’t agree, Director Liang, then let’s cancel this plan.”

After speaking, she gave another smile, and when she left the office, she even considerately closed the door for Liang Yin.

Liang Yin’s chest heaved with anger. For the first time, she felt she had made a mistake—she’d given Guo Zao the confidence to openly provoke her.

Clearly, Guo Zao had come today just to spite her.

Liang Yin was so mad, she downed two cups of hot water in a row.

Soon it was Qin Feng’s birthday. Although he and Liang Yin weren’t on good terms now, Liang Yin still threw him a birthday party and invited some close acquaintances. Naturally, Liu Qingru and Yu Liuxue were among the invited. But Guo Zao showed up uninvited. She had dressed herself very softly today, wearing a constant gentle smile, looking sweet and entirely unthreatening.

The moment Liang Yin saw her, she practically had a heart attack and turned on her heel to leave.

Guo Zao chased after her. “Director Liang.”

Liang Yin didn’t even look back, not giving her a shred of face. “Scram.”

Yu Liuxue and Liu Qingru had just arrived and witnessed this scene. Yu Liuxue’s eyes widened in shock, at a loss for words as she stared at the two. Soon, both parties noticed Yu Liuxue, and immediately called a truce, one after the other walking toward Yu Liuxue and Liu Qingru. Guo Zao tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled as she called out, “Ruoruo.”

Liu Qingru and Liang Yin gave her a faint glance. Following the unspoken rule of not stooping to argue with someone younger, they tacitly treated Guo Zao like air.

Under the weight of the two aunties’ gazes, Yu Liuxue braced herself and replied, “Xiao Guo, long time no see.”

Guo Zao immediately squinted as she smiled. The moment she saw Yu Liuxue, she felt that all the humiliation she had endured over the years had been worth it. She had been too busy, and she missed Yu Liuxue so much. So even with Liu Qingru, the official girlfriend, and Liang Yin, the hidden rival, both present, she couldn’t help expressing her feelings eagerly: “Ruoruo, long time no see. I missed you so much—day and night.”

Qin Feng, who had just noticed his mother was here and was about to walk over, froze the moment he heard that.

“…?”

Why is my ex-girlfriend telling my ex-ex-girlfriend that she missed her?

Then it suddenly clicked.

Damn!