The Stratosphere of Deception

She showed no excitement, no anger, not even the slightest hint of being pleased. She simply gazed at Xiang Qing in silence. Then, a smile touched her lips. That smile, even more chilling than her previous coldness, sent shivers down Xiang Qing’s spine.

“A commendable performance,” Gu Wei murmured, gently withdrawing her hand. “You almost had even me convinced.”

A cold dread seeped into Xiang Qing’s veins, chilling her inch by agonizing inch.

“Did you truly believe I told you to stop because of jealousy?” Gu Wei chuckled, her voice laced with unconcealed mockery.

“Incorrect.”

She shook her head, leaning forward to whisper into Xiang Qing’s ear, her voice barely audible to anyone but them: “What I feel is disappointment.”

“My disappointment stems from the fact that it took you this long to conceive of this step. I had presumed that from the moment of that embrace in the cinema, you would have understood it wasn’t an accident, but an opportunity—an opportunity to accelerate our plan.”

“I couldn’t care less if you embraced her. In fact, I wished you would hold her, kiss her, and do everything in your power to make her fall completely for you.”

“When I said ‘I don’t like it,’ I wasn’t referring to your embrace. I disliked your foolish, flustered expression, as if you had committed some grave error. When something of mine touches other refuse, shouldn’t I be utterly unapologetic?”

Xiang Qing was utterly dumbstruck.

She had imagined herself on the second floor, with Gu Wei on the first. As it turned out, Gu Wei was orbiting in the stratosphere!

Her petty, self-congratulatory schemes appeared no more complex than a kindergartner’s arithmetic in Gu Wei’s eyes.

Gu Wei wasn’t testing her loyalty; she was assessing her intelligence and… their shared understanding as fellow deviants!

And Xiang Qing had delivered a failing grade.

“Nevertheless, the plan is good.”

Gu Wei leaned back into the sofa, picking up the now slightly cooled bowl of noodles, her tone reverting to its usual calm. “We’ll proceed as you suggested. No, we’ll make it even more ruthless than you envisioned.”

Her gaze drifted towards the serene white figure quietly eating noodles in the kitchen.

“I want you to give her the most perfect romance.”

“Whatever she desires, you shall provide. If she yearns for romance, you will show her the world’s splendors. If she seeks a soulmate, you will become the one who understands her most profoundly.”

“I want you to elevate her to heaven. Make her believe you are her fated salvation, the sole beacon in her desolate life.”

Gu Wei turned her head, her eyes once again settling on Xiang Qing’s ashen face.

“Then,” she said, a smile playing on her lips, “at the grandest climax, you will extinguish it with your own hands.”

****

After finishing the noodles, Xiang Qing found herself sandwiched between Gu Wei and Shen Lanzhi on the large bedroom bed, one on her left, the other on her right.

On her left, Shen Lanzhi, even in slumber, resembled a serene fairy untouched by time, her breathing even, a faint, clean scent of traditional Chinese medicine mingled with shower gel emanating from her.

To her right, Gu Wei slept with the imperious sprawl of an empress, one long leg flung directly across Xiang Qing’s body, her every breath exuding an air of possessive dominance.

Xiang Qing dared not move, her body rigid as a plank.

‘These two succubi are going to drain me dry!’

‘Oh, wait, I’m a woman now too.’

‘In that case, it’s fine. At worst, it’s just mental exhaustion.’

The next morning, Xiang Qing, sporting two enormous dark circles under her eyes, was making breakfast in the kitchen.

Gu Wei leaned against the kitchen doorway, clad in her black silk pajamas, arms crossed, looking every bit the stern overseer.

Xiang Qing immediately plastered on a fawning smile, serving the freshly fried soft-boiled eggs onto a plate.

“CEO Gu,” she gushed, “your words last night were truly thunderous! They resonated profoundly within my tender heart!”

“Labels like ‘gay’ or ‘straight’ are merely human constructs! You have long transcended such trivialities! You’re not just on the fifth floor; you’re observing humanity from beyond the stratosphere!”

As Xiang Qing spoke, she was furiously ranting internally: ‘The most venomous woman’s heart—they must be talking about a pervert like you! To kill and then crush the spirit, you’re practically inhuman!’

Gu Wei took a sip of coffee, utterly unmoved by her flattery.

“Less chatter.”

Just then, Shen Lanzhi approached, having changed into an elegant, plain cotton-linen dress. She spoke gently to Xiang Qing, “Xiao Qing, didn’t sleep well last night? Don’t mind her; let’s just eat.”

As she spoke, she shot Gu Wei a glare.

Gu Wei didn’t even spare her a sidelong glance, merely addressing Xiang Qing: “I’ll be away on a business trip for a few days, company matters.”

She set down her coffee cup, adding, “The house, I leave to the two of you.”

Xiang Qing’s heart gave a sudden lurch.

‘Well, well, clearing the stage for me, the actor, to begin my performance, are we?’

Shen Lanzhi’s eyes, however, brightened. She grasped Xiang Qing’s hand, her voice brimming with barely contained delight: “Wonderful, Xiao Qing! She’s finally gone! These next few days, I’ll take you out to have some fun and relax!”

Xiang Qing: ‘…’

‘Big sis, have you forgotten whose house this is?’

‘Your talent for turning host into guest would be truly wasted if you weren’t in a palace drama!’

Gu Wei departed as swiftly as she had announced, dragging a small suitcase, her heels clicking rhythmically as she walked away.

The moment the door closed, the air in the entire mansion seemed to lighten considerably.

Shen Lanzhi let out a long sigh of relief, her entire being visibly relaxing.

“Xiao Qing, we can finally have a few days to ourselves,” she said, looking at Xiang Qing, her eyes so tender they seemed to brim with affection.

Xiang Qing’s scalp tingled.

‘A few days to ourselves?’

‘With a woman?’

‘Though she was a woman now, her soul remained that of a pure man!’

‘Being asked to seduce a woman? This was far beyond her job description!’

‘How was she even supposed to do it?’

‘Like in those CEO novels, pinning her against a wall and then smirking, “Woman, you’ve successfully captured my attention”?’

‘No, that image was too vivid; it made her want to gag.’

Nevertheless, for Gu Wei’s twisted plan, for her ultimate freedom, she had no choice but to push through.

Fortunately, Shen Lanzhi was an ultimate romantic, already convinced that Xiang Qing harbored a secret crush on her.

Xiang Qing wouldn’t need to do much; even a slight response would be enough for Shen Lanzhi to conjure an eighty-episode drama of love and hate in her own mind.

It was an absolutely perfect arrangement!

That afternoon, Shen Lanzhi was reading on the living room balcony, sunlight bathing her in a beauty so ethereal it defied description.

Xiang Qing took a deep breath, carrying a plate of freshly cut fruit as she walked over.

‘This was her chance!’

She approached Shen Lanzhi from behind, intending to emulate a scene from a TV drama: gently wrap her arms around her and whisper something in her ear.

However, due to her extreme nervousness, her foot slipped, and she plunged straight towards Shen Lanzhi.

“Ah!”

Xiang Qing squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for an intimate encounter with the floor.

But the anticipated pain never came. Instead, she tumbled into a soft, fragrant embrace.

With lightning speed, Shen Lanzhi tossed her book aside and caught Xiang Qing, both of them falling onto the plush wool rug.

Xiang Qing lay sprawled across Shen Lanzhi, her cheek pressed intimately against the warmth of the other woman’s neck.

The position was undeniably suggestive.

“Xiao Qing, are you alright?” Shen Lanzhi’s voice held a tremor of shock, mixed with a hint of shyness.

Xiang Qing’s face instantly flushed crimson, and she scrambled to get up.

“I… I’m fine… I’m sorry, Sister Lanzhi, I didn’t mean to…”

Shen Lanzhi, however, gently pressed down on her back, her voice soft and low: “Don’t move. Let me check if you’re hurt.”

Her hands delicately explored Xiang Qing’s body, her movements gentle, yet they sent shivers down Xiang Qing’s spine.

‘This woman is too smooth!’

“Sister Lanzhi, I really am fine…” Xiang Qing was on the verge of tears.

Shen Lanzhi looked at her flushed face and let out a soft laugh, her eyes overflowing with affection and concern.

“Oh, you, why are you always so clumsy? Were you trying to surprise me and just got too nervous?”

Xiang Qing: ‘???’

‘I didn’t, I wasn’t, don’t talk nonsense!’

But seeing Shen Lanzhi’s expression, which clearly conveyed “I understand, I know everything, you’re just shy,” the words on the tip of her tongue withered unspoken.

‘Fine, if you say so.’

‘Anyway, as long as the mission is accomplished, the process doesn’t matter!’

After this unexpected incident, Xiang Qing realized that seducing Shen Lanzhi might not be as difficult as she had imagined.

She merely needed to mess things up, and Shen Lanzhi would take care of the elaborate mental fabrications.

It was an absolutely perfect arrangement!

Consequently, Xiang Qing grew bolder.

However, she soon conceived an even more brilliant scheme.

Hadn’t Gu Wei instructed her to seduce Shen Lanzhi?

And hadn’t she been given a black card with unlimited spending?

‘Excellent!’

‘Then I’ll spend your money to woo your rival! I’ll make you a living saint, and crown you with a pair of horns!’

At this thought, Xiang Qing’s lips curved into a wild, triumphant grin.