Chapter 275: It’s a Small City After All [2 in 1]
Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
Of course, the boy would not have known such a detail, so Ye Shuang decided to follow the provision team to go and visit this man who was still recovering in bed. And then, from the lips of the honest man, she managed to get the answer that made Ye Shuang completely speechless. The client who ordered people to come and break his legs was none other than Wang Xueyu.
“San Lin City sure is a small place…” At other people’s face, as shameless as Ye Shuang might get, she did not have the face to admit that she knew the culprit, so she could only sigh in lamentation after she got into the car.
“It’s no surprise.” Anthony shrugged. “The world is very big, but once you join a certain circle, you will realize that it will be the few people who keep appearing around your periphery.”
Then, he even whistled like he was trying to build his happiness on her misery and asked in a mocking tone, “Or have you been stung by guilt and feel like compensating the injured man?”
The things that happened around Ye Shuang basically could not be hidden from these few specific people. One, there were the connections that she had made from her job. When she was communicating and handing in the case report, she would have to mention them. Two, even if other people did not pay attention to the details of the case files, after they heard the name of the relevant personnel many times, then it would create a sense of familiarity. Therefore, it was not that unusual for Anthony to know about the incident with Wang Xueyu.
“I am not related to Wang Xueyu, so why should I feel guilty for what he has done?” Ye Shuang thought about it and could not help but sigh. “But this thing is really too much of a coincidence. Thankfully, the man earlier did not look like the thing who would want to make things big, and I doubt he would retaliate even after he is beaten. Otherwise, if this is made bigger than necessary, I believe somehow, it will lead a trail back to us…”
For example, if this was someone who really wanted to take revenge, he would not be able to go after Wang Xueyu, so he might change his target to attack Qiu Yu instead. Then, Xu Jian, who had been silently interacting with Qiu Yu, would definitely be exposed, and if Xu Jian was dragged into this mess, it would just be a matter of time before Ye Shuang was dragged into it as well.
Therefore, from that perspective, they were lucky that the victim was an honest man. Ye Shuang had never thought she was a good person. If her friend and family had their bones broken for no reason—like what happened to Yao Zhixing—she would demand an explanation no matter what. But her little brother’s dormitory mate’s brother-in-law? That was too tenuous a relationship, and she already had enough matters on her hands to deal with.
However, even if Ye Shuang did not want to create trouble, she could not stop the people around her from doing so. Ever since the incident was exposed by Ye Shuang, Little Brother Ye’s sense of justice became… even more obvious. Not only did he have another charity run with Ye Shuang, he even mobilized every person he could to help. Gaining economic support from other people was not possible. After all, he was not that shameless and dumb.
But small favors, like asking people for transport after buying many goods or finding people to drive them to the hospital when the friend’s brother-in-law had to go to the hospital for a check-up, were still doable. Therefore, that was how Little Brother Ye managed to connect with Xu Jian.
They had a little chat in the car and started to exchange information… which was how Xu Jian managed to know everything. Xu Jian was conflicted, Qiu Yu was conflicted, and Wang Xueyu had no idea that the victim had already made a connection with Qiu Yu through some complicated relationship. At the same time, Ye Shuang changed into her male identity and returned to Shanghai.
…
Xu Jian finally could not hold it in anymore and made the call to share his pain. Brother Shuang, who had just reached Shanghai, did not feel so good about it either. Holding the phone that was connected to Sister Shuang’s number, she used a tone that was less friendly than usual. “Someone else was hit, not you, so why are you so troubled?”
“After all, Wang Xueyu wanted to open that translation company for Xiao Yu, and because of that, he was cheated, or else the real estate agent would not have gotten his legs broken…” Xu Jian would often display kindness for people and things that were confusing to Ye Shuang.
Ye Shuang was silent for half a minute before continuing her impatient and mocking lecture. “That is where you’re wrong. Wang Xueyu is from a rich family. Do you think he cares about that bit of money? The thing he cares about is his face and true love. Assaulting the agent was to assuage his feelings. How about this? You can return the man’s Qiu Yu and then voluntarily do some horrible things to her, creating an opening for Wang Xueyu to enter. Then, when that is over and the man is feeling happy, things will become peaceful. Wouldn’t that be better?”
“…” Xu Jian.
“If there is nothing else, I’m going to hang up. If you want to get involved in this mess, then go ahead, but before you do anything, I have to warn you. Your uncle is harder to deal with compared to Wang Xueyu. It’s one thing if you get exposed before Wang Xueyu, but if you expose Qiu Yu to your uncle… he he…”
Ye Shuang was too lazy to go into details and ended the call with a click. And that last evil chuckle did manage to scare Xu Jian. He believed that his uncle would not be cruel enough to send a hit on someone’s life, but at the same time, he knew that Xu He was not a clean person.
Therefore, although Ye Shuang told Anthony to continue his observation, Xu Jian did not act. Other than that, she also called Little Brother Ye to do some spying. Little Brother Ye said that Xu Jian still volunteered to help for a few times, but after that, he was too busy at work and was unable to lend a hand anymore.
Such was human nature. Only when the fire might burn oneself would one know the value of caution. Xu Jian was also afraid.
After hanging up the phone, the first thing Ye Shuang did was to summon Qiu Yu to Shanghai.
Temporarily speaking, the only connection between Wang Xueyu and Xu Jian was this girl. As long as she was removed from the picture, as conflicted as Xu Jian was, at least things would not be exposed so soon. Furthermore, he needed a female translator who knew French to accompany Rong Su to LPA for the sake of the contract.
With Yao Zhixing and the other second generations among the racers making the introduction, the request was soon approved. The next day, Qiu Yu was sent to Shanghai by the foreign affairs department on the pretext of interdepartmental interaction. When she arrived, she was collected by Brother Shuang’s car, and they headed directly for Rong Su’s rented apartment.
“So, Mr. Ye, you have been out on duty in Shanghai.” Qiu Yu sat at the backseat, quietly and reservedly, and her hands were placed gracefully on her knees. Her way of dressing was clean and pure. She smiled at Ye Shuang who was driving, and she opened her lips to say, “If I may be straightforward, to find a translator at a city like Shanghai should not be too difficult, so why did you specifically ask for me? Is it because the client that we are going to meet has some special request? Or is it related to… Wang Xueyu’s incident?”
Ye Shuang lifted her eyes and glanced at the rear-view mirror. She nodded with a smile. “Miss Qiu, you are as clever as ever. I believe it’s a good idea for you to stay away from the eye of the storm. After all, Xu Jian is also my subordinate, and if anything happens to him, I’ll also have a headache.”
“I’m so sorry for creating this trouble for you.” Qiu Yu sighed. “Actually, I also don’t agree with Xu Jian helping that real estate agent. After all, we are in no position to do so.”
When they stopped at the red light, Ye Shuang gave her a thumbs up. “Miss Qiu, you sure are selfish and self-protective. If only Xu Jian was half as sensitive to the matters as you are.”
Is this handsome man praising me or mocking me?
Without working out which it was, they arrived at Rong Su’s temporary home half an hour later.
“Brother Ye!” Rong Su opened the door and welcomed them happily, abandoning Qian Qianxiang who had a dark face. She smiled brightly at Ye Shuang; her eyes were shining with starlight. “I had to trouble Brother Ye to help me find a translator—this sure is embarrassing.”
Qian Qianxiang huffed audibly and adjusted his seat at the sofa. “There are so many translators in Shanghai. Do we need him to be such a busybody?”
Rong Su ignored him completely and went to serve some tea. “Brother Ye, do you want to drink some tea? My cousin just gave me some very good quality Lu’an Guapian Tea. It is not bitter at all, and the fragrance is unbelievable. If you like it, I’ll have my cousin bring you some more.”
“Hey…” Qian Qianxiang’s face darkened even further. That tea was a luxury item that someone had gifted their elder. It was something expensive, and there was not much in stock at home.
Qiu Yu followed Ye Shuang to enter the room. She smiled at Rong Su and Qian Qianxiang, greeting them very politely. “My name is Qiu Yu, a translator at San Lin City’s foreign affairs department. Nice to meet you.”
Ye Shuang sat down on the sofa, accepted the tea that Rong Su served her, and thanked them after taking a sip of the drink. “Qiu Yu is a girl, and it’s more convenient if she follows Miss Rong. Furthermore, Mr. Qian, you should have found out from Mr. Han already that this person, Xia Cheng, is a dangerous character, so it is more of a precaution for us to use our own translator.”
Of course, Ye Shuang also knew French, but with her current gender, it was not so convenient for her to stay with Rong Su. For example, if there was some private invitation… So, it was more natural for Rong Su to bring a female translator as it would not attract that much attention.
Qiu Yu was quiet and reserved, but at the same time, she had a resoluteness that could be cruel and heartless. To put it simply, she was the type who was guided by rationality while being a passive type of person. Therefore, when she was forced to accept certain things that she felt was useless arguing over, she would take it. That, combined with her soft appearance, gave the impression that she could be easily bullied and persuaded, but if the situation reached a point where Qiu Yu thought that it would harm her personally or reached the limit of her patience, she was able to make a quick decision that was faster and harsher than most.
With such a person following Rong Su, Ye Shuang was relieved because she was not going to be so easily influenced by emotions and would not be led away by persuasion. Even though Qian Qianxiang was angry that Brother Shuang had a greater standing in Rong Su’s heart compared his own, it did not mean that he would be childish enough to reject the good offer from the man.
It was not hard to find a female translator, but the image of Han Chu was even more deep-rooted among the people in Beijing. This was someone who had been found by Han Chu’s people, so no matter how dissatisfied Qian Qianxiang was, he had to accept this arrangement. Therefore, after one night of getting to know each other, the next day, Qiu Yu followed Rong Su to go and meet the representative from LPA. Just for an additional note, Brother Shuang and Qian Qianxiang also tagged along.
“To be able to have such a beautiful woman become our spokesperson for our Asian region, I believe the sales for LPA will have a wonderful growth.” The young French man with curly brown hair rambled through his lines with utmost sincerity. His eyes that looked at Rong Su seemed to be filled with authentic approval and admiration, as if he really thought that Rong Su was the best possible candidate in the world to represent their brand. “I always have faith in Mr. Xia’s eyes. He has not disappointed me before.”
Rong Su flashed a very sweet smile at the young man and then turned to whisper to Qiu Yu beside her, “What did he say?”
“It’s just some normal introductory words.” This was a great summary. Qiu Yu answered quickly. After she made a quick summary, she explained and said, “You only need to reply with a thank you.”
“Oh.” Rong Su had complete trust in the person Brother Shuang recommended, so she raised her head and smiled. “Thank you.”
The French gentleman was shocked. He had always heard that the eastern language was a very miraculous thing, but that day, he really understood how true that statement was. Just a few words, and they managed to capture all the meaning of the long sentence that he had just said.
Qian Qianxiang sipped on the tea silently.
Brother Shuang smiled lightly and then added in French, “Mr. Vincent, you are too kind with your words of praise. We also hope that we can fulfil LPA’s expectations, and there is a more joyful ending to our cooperation.”
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, talking about the French afternoon tea and macaroons, to liven up the atmosphere as best as she could, Brother Shuang then added casually, “This cooperation actually came as a very big surprise to us. I wonder, how do you know Xia Cheng?”
“Actually, Xia Cheng is more familiar with our chief designer.” Vincent revealed a kind smile, having no idea that he had been tricked by Ye Shuang. “Karen’s son is Mr. Xia Cheng’s good friend, so Mr. Xia Cheng will occasionally go pay Karen at her home. Of course, we believe that these elements do not influence Karen’s decisions, so we also have great expectations for our cooperation with Miss Rong Su.”
No influence? That was practically impossible. It was not that Ye Shuang looked down on Rong Su, but from the way Xia Cheng managed to decide the spokesperson with just an announcement, Xia Cheng’s relationship with that chief designer was definitely not as innocent as it seemed on the surface.
A chief designer had a bigger chance to be threatened. Such people would receive respect and value from the people within the business and might even be seen as the soul of the brand, but in terms of societal position, in reality, they did not have much power in life.
After getting the answer that she wanted, Ye Shuang escaped from the seat with an apologetic smile. She left the others to hash over the details of the contract while she found the toilet to call Anthony… in her female voice.
“Oh, you finally recognize the truth that I’m more useful than that King?” Anthony sounded like a wronged person on the phone. At the same time while he complained, it did not slow down the speed of his typing. “Xiao Shuang, you should have placed more trust in me sooner. That child is too young.”
“Each of you have their own specialties.” Ye Shuang comforted Anthony, who had been ignored for a long time. “Ol’ K is more specialized at digging for details, but you are more powerful for the bigger picture with your technical expertise…”
“I’m so sad.” Anthony pretended to be hurt.
“…Of course, if you are willing, you will be able to do what Ol’ K did easily, and Ol’ K will have to do a lot more and pour in a lot more effort and learning to replace your position.” When she needed the man, Ye Shuang did not mind giving some praise. Furthermore, she was not lying either—that was all the truth.
Anthony did not disappoint Ye Shuang either. It did not take long for him to come back with some valuable information. “I’m not sure whether I’ve found the thing that you need or not but… there are some interesting designs in the mailbox of this Karen. They came from other people, but I noticed that these same designs are credited to Karen at the LPA company website.”
“Stealing design ideas… No wait, could this be a ghost designer?” Ye Shuang was stumped. Even the best designer could not guarantee that they could maintain their optimum condition for the rest of their life. Design required experience and time, but it also required inspiration… Just like what Edison said, a genius was one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent hard work, but sometimes, that one percent inspiration was more important than the ninety-nine percent hard work.
The salary not rising for years, the boss going off in search of younger talents, many new up and rising designers coming to threaten her position, the lines around the eyes increasing, the son having problem at work or at school, another round of fat at the waist, the arrival of menopause… All those mundane problems could exhaust a designer’s inspiration. After all, any combination of such issues would dampen any person’s spirits.
If this was just an occasional thing, perhaps Karen’s position would not be affected, but if this was a common occurrence, then it was understandable that Karen’s position as the chief designer would be in serious danger.
“Are you able to check when she started to receive these emails?” Ye Shuang wanted to confirm her speculation.
“Let me see… Oh, this has started about five years ago.” After a series of quick typing from the other side of the line, Anthony soon provided the answer. Five years… so she had been faking it for at least half a decade already.
Ye Shuang sighed. “Then her secret was probably found out. If this is why, then I can guess why Xia Cheng has such a power over her.”
If this was ever exposed to the public, then Karen’s ending would be nothing less than having her whole life ruined. Everyone could accept the fall of a once-genius. In fact, people might even lament their loss, but people would not be able to able to accept the once respected existence falling into the depths of degeneracy. This contradiction was shocking and hard to accept.
“Do you want me to give her a little warning?” Anthony sounded so very excited.
Ye Shuang thought about it. “I don’t think so. Hold on for now. Let Xiao Su gain all the benefits first.”
After all, they also knew about the secret, and paper could not hide fire. Eventually, the secret was going to be exposed. In that case, why not they take all the benefits they could first?
After confirming the source of the good relationship between Xia Cheng and LPA, Ye Shuang ended the call and prepared to return to her seat with a new trump card. When she opened the cubicle door and walked out, she lifted her head and noticed a young man holding the edge of his zipper, his face stuck as close to the wall as possible. When Ye Shuang saw him, she also saw the utter shock in the young man’s eyes.
How come this feels so familiar?
The young man probably had a sense of déjà vu as well. He kept his eyes on Brother Shuang for as long as three seconds before he yelped, “Why is it you again‽”
It had happened once at the airport already and also at the hotel! Why, every time she used her female voice in the male bathroom, would there be a handsome man inside the bathroom with her?
Almost scared until he peed… No wait, until he could not pee! If this happened a few more times, he was sure that he would develop some kind of trauma!
After arranging his clothes, Brother Shuang pulled on his collar and his sleeves. He looked like a perfect gentleman, and the magnetic and low voice came out from his throat following a saintly smile that could make those in his presence feel ashamed of their presence. “What’s going on?”
The young man’s eyes widened immediately. He looked at the cubicle door behind Ye Shuang and then turned his eyes to Ye Shuang. His lips opened and closed, but he had no idea what he should say.
Just his imagination? No, no way! How could there be such a real imagination that had occurred twice already?
The young man studied Ye Shuang with open curiosity. He could not get the answer that could answer his confusion from Brother Shuang’s body, so in the end, he could only watch as Brother Shuang walked out from the toilet openly and freely… He did not even have the courage to call after the man to ask him for the truth.
“I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting.” After returning to his seat, Ye Shuang had already lost the need to do more digging. He sat there quietly, listening to Qian Qianxiang discuss the details of the spokesperson contract with Vincent and Rong Su. After pointing out the few demands that they had, Qian Qianxiang did not contribute to the rest of the conversation. After all, this time, it was Rong Su who gained the most from the cooperation—Qian Qianxiang understood that point very clearly. Therefore, after confirming that his cousin would not be pulled into some contractual traps, he did not have much to say about other clauses. They had already gained all the benefits, so what else could he say?
The friendly and joyful dinner soon ended.
When they returned, Qian Qianxiang sat in the driver’s seat, and he turned to ask Ye Shuang with a slight frown on his face, “How come I didn’t see you ask for anything after you returned from the toilet?”
He had thought that the man would lay more traps to get more information from Vincent, but Ye Shuang only said a few words, and they were non-important words. This came as quite a shock to Qian Qianxiang.
“I’ve known everything that I need to know.” Ye Shuang smiled. “There is no more valuable information that I can get from Mr. Vincent.”
Qian Qianxiang nodded. Since he knew that this was related to Han Chu’s current job, of course, he did not ask for more details. He only confirmed once again how it was related to Rong Su. “So based on your understanding, there is no problem if my sister takes this contract?”
“The contract itself is one hundred percent okay, and it is very beneficial to Xiao Su. Even though this is probably just bait, no one has laid down the rules to say those who have taken the bait must be fished.” Ye Shuang turned to tell Qian Qianxiang, “I have faith in the thickness of your face, good luck.”
“Hey…” Qian Qianxiang’s face darkened again.
Rong Su still had some semblance of shame left, and she chimed in with some degree of embarrassment. “But Mr. Xia has given me such a good contract. If we ignore him after the contract is over, won’t that be a bit too rude and harsh?”
“It’ll be fine.” Ye Shuang’s attitude toward the girl was much better. He flashed a comforting smile at Rong Su through the rear-view mirror and added with a confident smile, “After the shooting activity for this spokesperson contract is over, I believe that Xia Cheng and that chief designer will not have the time to come trouble you anymore.”
What about the contract? At the time, the advertisement would have already gone out to the public already. Was LPA going to go back on the contract and find a new spokesperson at such short notice? That was unlikely.
Qian Qianxiang was silent for a while. “I still think there is some conspiracy behind him.”
Ye Shuang was too lazy to deal with him. This man was too prejudiced against her, and it would take too much effort to fix it.
Throughout the conversation, Qiu Yu had been sitting quietly and playing on her phone. She kept her head lowered and did not join the chatter. Ye Shuang saw this and felt bad for her. She did not want the girl to feel like they were trying to isolate her. “Miss Qiu, are you texting your boyfriend?”
With a soft smile, Qiu Yu raised her head. “it’s not a boyfriend… I’m just asking a friend some things.”
“A friend by the name of Wang?” Ye Shuang asked.
Qiu Yu sighed. She noticed Rong Su turn her head over with open curiosity and then looked at Qian Qianxiang, who said nothing in the driver’s seat. She twirled her hair with her finger and then nodded. She explained in a roundabout way, “I suppose so. I hear he has gone to the foreign affairs department today.”
What was the man doing at the foreign affairs department? Of course, he could only be there for Qiu Yu.
Hearing again about Wang Xueyu’s persistence, Ye Shuang actually was quite impressed. Perhaps it was true love or he was not satisfied that Qiu Yu retreated so suddenly—in any case, the man showed the determination that he had to get this done. It looked like he would continue to harass Qiu Yu for the foreseeable future.
Since Rong Su and Qian Qianxiang were present, Ye Shuang did not think that it was a good idea to discuss Qiu Yu’s personal matter in front of everyone. However, Qiu Yu smiled to resolve the rather awkward situation. “I’m actually glad that I had a chance to leave the city. After all, it’s good to be away from the problem. It’s nice to come out for a walk.”
Ye Shuang grumbled an answer and pretended to not see the eagerness for gossip in Rong Su’s eyes. She ignored Rong Su and turned her head away to play dead.
Qian Qianxiang tossed a condescending gaze that seemed to say, “How could you use this official business to help this girl with her private business?”
Ye Shuang ignored it.
Alas, Qian Qianxiang was not willing to be ignored. He looked through the rear-view mirror at Qiu Yu, who lowered her head again. He reached out to push Ye Shuang, who sat in the passenger seat, and then raised his brow to communicate something…
Ye Shuang held her forehead and sighed. This man’s thought was really hard to believe. Before they could voicelessly communicate further, Rong Su grabbed the edge of the seats and pushed her head forward. “Brother Shuang, what are you playing with Brother Ye?”
Qian Qianxiang and Ye Shuang were speechless, and Qiu Yu also lifted her head with confusion.
Qian Qianxiang coughed and said with pretense, “Nothing, nothing. Don’t ask these irrelevant questions.”
Rong Su looked at Ye Shuang with disbelief. She obviously thought that Ye Shuang was more trustworthy than her cousin. Ye Shuang thought about it, and when she was about to open her lips to say something, the phone that she carried on her started to vibrate. It was the number that was connected to Sister Shuang.
Ye Shuang acted like nothing was out of the ordinary as she gave Rong Su a random answer. She waited for the vibration on Sister Shuang’s phone to pass. When she finally could not feel the vibration anymore, there was a short period of silence in the car. However, Rong Su’s phone-started to ring.
“Oh, it’s from Xiao Xia.”
She picked it up, and she just about to say hello when she heard Mo Xiao Xia’s crying voice come from the other side of the line. “Lin Yu is in the middle of the fight with a group of people. What should I do‽”
“Then, you just wait for him to finish the fight.” Rong Su gripped her head. She had a hard time focusing on the purpose of the call.
Ye Shuang was about to say something, but she caught herself. One, she could not expose that she had extremely good hearing, and two, she was not really sure about the situation either.
Then, Mo Xiao Xia had another sniffle, and what she said next made Ye Shuang incredibly worried. “But the other party came with guns!”
“What‽” The two screams that occurred in unison made Qian Qianxiang’s grasp over the steering wheel slip.