The Interruption

“I had always believed money to be the most futile of things. You couldn’t bring it into this world, nor could you take it with you when you left.”

Shen Lanzhi’s eyes slowly welled up, her gaze falling to their clasped hands. “But only today have I truly understood that it isn’t money that is useless; it’s that no one was ever willing to spend it on me before.”

“Xiao Qing, despite your obvious love for money, you’ve been willing to spend a fortune on me. I know you’re not merely buying clothes and bags; you’re telling me that, in your heart, I am more important than any sum of money.”

Xiang Qing: “…”

‘No, Sister, you’re overthinking this.’

‘I was merely trying to fleece Gu Wei, and perhaps subtly add some fuel to the conflict brewing between the two of you…’

“My health has always been poor; I was a sickly child, a veritable medicine jar from birth. My parents passed away young, and for years, I’ve faced doctors alone, taken my medicine alone, and lived within the confines of an empty house, utterly alone.”

A sob crept into Shen Lanzhi’s voice, as though she were finally unburdening herself of grievances that had accumulated over many years. “I truly believed I would spend the rest of my life in such solitude, until you came along.”

She lifted her head, her eyes blurred with tears, gazing at Xiang Qing with a love and dependence so profound it threatened to drown her. “You are like a beacon, crashing into my desolate world without a care. You cook for me, you stand up for me, you spend money on me… Xiao Qing, were you sent by heaven itself to rescue me?”

Xiang Qing was utterly speechless, her mind a blank.

She felt akin to a con artist who had fleeced a lonely elder of their entire life savings, made all the more surreal by the elder holding her hand and proclaiming her a living Bodhisattva.

The surge of guilt was overwhelming!

Gazing at Shen Lanzhi’s tear-streaked face, at the luminous hope in her eyes, Xiang Qing found every thought—of Gu Wei, of her plans, of a potential first kiss—vanish into thin air.

Her sole desire was for her to cease weeping.

As if guided by an unseen force, Xiang Qing raised her other hand, gently caressing Shen Lanzhi’s face with her fingertips to wipe away the tears.

“Don’t cry…” Her voice, hoarse and unfamiliar even to her own ears, was barely a whisper.

Shen Lanzhi’s tears intensified, yet she offered a smile—a smile more profoundly heartbreaking than any sob.

Her eyes fluttering shut, she slowly, deliberately, leaned closer to Xiang Qing’s lips.

Warm breath ghosted tantalizingly close.

Xiang Qing’s mind went utterly blank.

She forgot to resist, and she forgot her meticulously laid plans.

She even entertained the thought, ‘Let it be.’

‘To be kissed by her, just like this, might not be so bad after all.’

Yet, in that precise moment, just as their lips were poised to meet—

****

Buzz—buzz——

A sudden, jarring vibration ripped through the silent room, piercing the quietude.

It was Xiang Qing’s phone, resting on the sofa.

The screen flared to life, its cold, ethereal blue light instantly shattering the intimate warmth of the moment.

Shen Lanzhi’s movements abruptly froze. Her eyes snapped open, instinctively drawn to the phone screen.

On the caller ID, two stark characters appeared.

—Gu Wei.

Moreover, it wasn’t an ordinary call; it was a video call.

Time seemed to solidify in that precise instant.

Xiang Qing felt her blood instantly reverse course, a chilling sensation spreading from the crown of her head to her heels.

What kind of hellish shura field was this!

As she witnessed the color drain from Shen Lanzhi’s face and saw her eyes transform from shocked bewilderment to piercing pain and dawning realization, Xiang Qing felt like a mistress caught red-handed by the legitimate spouse at a wedding.

No, it was far worse than that.

She was a mere tool, caught red-handed by her sugar daddy during an impromptu inspection!

“Don’t… don’t you want to answer?”

Shen Lanzhi’s voice reverted to its customary gentleness, yet it was as if coated in a thin layer of ice, each word imbued with a chilling frost.

She took a step back, widening the distance between them. Those beautiful eyes, which had moments ago brimmed with a starlit affection, now held nothing but cold, desolate stillness.

Answer?

Or not answer?

This was a no-win situation.

To not answer would be to incur the wrath of that madwoman, Gu Wei.

To answer, however, would mean the woman before her, who had just been duped into baring her heart, would instantly shatter into a million pieces, like a broken QR code.

Xiang Qing’s mind whirred, cold sweat trickling down her temples.

Weighing the consequences, she chose survival without a moment’s hesitation.

‘Forgive me, Sister Lanzhi, your broken heart can be mended, but my life, once gone, is truly gone forever!’

Stiffly, she moved to the sofa, and under Shen Lanzhi’s icy stare, her hands trembling, she pressed the answer button.

The video call connected.

Gu Wei’s impossibly beautiful face appeared on the screen, radiating a languid, almost predatory aura.

She appeared to have just stepped out of the shower, her long, raven hair still damp and draped over her shoulders. The collar of her silk nightgown plunged provocatively low, revealing a swathe of skin so fair it gleamed under the lamplight.

“Oh dear,” Gu Wei’s crimson lips curved into a slow smile, her voice a languid drawl, “Have I perhaps interrupted something… good?”

Her gaze didn’t linger on Xiang Qing at all; instead, it landed with pinpoint accuracy on Shen Lanzhi, who stood not far behind her.

It was a blatant, undisguised provocation.

Xiang Qing’s scalp tingled, a sudden rush of blood to her feet leaving her hands and feet icy cold.

“C-CEO Gu, d-do you… need something?” she stammered, wishing she could simply drop dead on the spot and leave this entire catastrophe for the two ‘goddesses’ to sort out themselves.

Gu Wei let out a soft chuckle, her finger lightly tapping her chin in a deliberately provocative gesture.

“Nothing major. I just suddenly recalled something in my study. I need you to go find it for me, right now, immediately.”

Xiang Qing blinked in surprise. “Huh? Now? What am I looking for?”

“A black USB drive,” Gu Wei stated, her tone leaving no room for refusal. “It should be in the second drawer of the desk. Go find it and show it to me once you have it.”

Before Xiang Qing could even utter a reply, a frigid voice emanated from behind her.

“You two talk. I’m tired; I’m going to bed.”

Shen Lanzhi had, at some point, turned away, her face—once flushed with warmth and affection—now a ghastly pale.

She didn’t even spare Xiang Qing another glance, instead walking directly to the living room sofa, pulling a blanket over herself, and curling into it, her back resolutely turned to them.

The temperature in the entire living room plummeted to an icy chill.

Xiang Qing’s heart sank, a fierce battle raging between guilt and the primal urge for self-preservation.

Yet, from the phone, Gu Wei’s impatient voice pressed on.

“What? Still not going?”

“Going! I’m going right now!” Xiang Qing dared not delay, clutching her phone as she practically scrambled into the study.

The humiliation was profound; she felt like an adulterer caught in the act, compelled to live-stream her obedience to the legitimate spouse.

Inside the study, she fumbled frantically, yanking open drawers and rummaging through their contents.

“Have you found it?” Gu Wei’s impatient voice echoed from the phone.

“Almost, almost!” Xiang Qing exclaimed, beads of sweat forming on her brow, as her fingers finally brushed against a small, cold object tucked away in a corner.

She hastily held the black USB drive up to the camera. “CEO Gu, I found it. Is this the one?”

On the other end of the video, Gu Wei stretched with a languid yawn, casting a dismissive glance at the screen.

“Oh, well, as long as you found it, that’s all that matters.”

“Then… what is this for? Do I need to send it over to you?” Xiang Qing asked cautiously.

“No need,” Gu Wei curled her lips into a smirk. “It’s useless, actually. It’s just been sitting there for a while, and I suddenly remembered it, so I wanted to check if it was still around. Alright, I’m hanging up.”

Beep—

The video call was abruptly disconnected.

Xiang Qing stood alone in the center of the study, holding her phone and the USB drive, utterly dumbfounded, a colossal question mark slowly forming above her head.

???

‘What the hell…’

‘She must have been toying with me, right?’

‘Absolutely toying with me!’

Xiang Qing, still bewildered, walked back to the living room.

The living room was plunged into darkness, save for the flashing neon lights of the city outside the French windows.

Shen Lanzhi was curled up on the sofa, motionless, her breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible.

An suffocating mix of awkwardness and sadness permeated the air.

Xiang Qing stood rooted to the spot, the missing piece of the puzzle finally clicking into place in her mind.

‘Damn it!’

‘I get it now!’

‘I understand everything!’

‘That crazy woman must have seen me about to kiss Sister Lanzhi on the surveillance feed!’

‘That’s why she deliberately made a video call, deliberately fabricating some idiotic excuse for me to find something, all just to interrupt us!’

‘And all that talk about ‘continue,’ ‘don’t stop,’ ‘let her love you more’…’

‘Pah!’

‘It was all an act!’

‘She spoke so nonchalantly, urging me on, telling me to work hard, but when it came down to the critical moment of a home run, she was more anxious than anyone!’

‘The jealousy was so potent, I could smell the sourness across the Pacific Ocean!’

‘And she pretended to be so magnanimous, claiming she wasn’t an ordinary person!’

‘How vulgar!’

‘Utterly and irredeemably vulgar!’

Xiang Qing ranted furiously in her mind, cursing Gu Wei to hell and back.

‘However…’

‘Thinking about that twisted woman, watching the surveillance screen, fuming and stomping her feet, yet unable to directly intervene, forced to resort to such a childish, elementary-school tactic to break us apart…’

Xiang Qing’s lips couldn’t help but curl into a slight smile.

‘How could she be so paradoxically adorable?’