Willingly Baited GxG

Chapter 30

Shi Yunyang spoke first, "What a small world! I didn't expect to see you so soon after that night. You know, I was quite worried after you left without saying goodbye." She looked at Li Xin with deep emotion, completely unbothered by the fact that she had had a one-night stand with a woman and was now bringing it up in a public place.

Qin Wanshu raised an eyebrow, thinking it was a shame Shi Yunyang wasn't an actress her acting skills were remarkable.

Yan Ruoshan didn't feel much, but she did harbor a slight disdain for the woman who claimed to love her but ended up in bed with Shi Yunyang.

Li Xin glanced uncomfortably at Shi Yunyang before turning to Yan Ruoshan. Yan's usually expressionless face remained unchanged by Shi Yunyang's words, merely looking indifferently at Li Xin, as if it had nothing to do with her. Li Xin curled her lips slightly, mocking herself. What are you expecting? She doesn't care, she thought.

"Oh, right! I just remembered, you and Mrs. Qian are old acquaintances. A magazine recently said you two were lovers. Is that true?" Shi Yunyang pretended to be clueless but clearly wanted to stir up trouble by bringing up such a sensitive topic.

Zuo Qinghuan didn't need much time with Shi Yunyang to realize just how malicious she could be. She glanced at Qin Wanshu, who also happened to look at her. Their eyes met, and Qin Wanshu gave her a polite smile. Zuo Qinghuan awkwardly looked away, deciding it would be better to pretend not to know her for Qin Wanshu's sake.

Qin Wanshu was a bit surprised when Zuo Qinghuan averted her gaze, and her faint smile faded. Fortunately, the others didn't notice the brief interaction between the two, as Shi Yunyang's inappropriate question still lingered unanswered.

"Wise people don't spread rumors," Yan Ruoshan said coolly, brushing the topic aside.

"Oh, really? Is it just a rumor?" Li Xin raised an eyebrow and sarcastically questioned Yan Ruoshan, clearly unhappy with her denial of the past.

"Oh, then what's the truth?" Shi Yunyang, seeing Li Xin's reaction, got even more excited. If Li Xin pressed Yan Ruoshan hard enough, Yan wouldn't be able to escape, which only encouraged Shi to fan the flames further.

Yan Ruoshan looked closely at Li Xin, realizing that she had never really paid much attention to her before. She could see the resentment and defiance in her eyes. The woman who had claimed to love her was now ready to destroy her out of frustration. Yan Ruoshan inwardly scoffed.

Li Xin, noticing Shi Yunyang's attempts to make things worse and Yan Ruoshan's increasingly cold expression, smiled bitterly. What does Yan Ruoshan think of me? she wondered. Yes, I hate her, but I would never hurt her. Yan doesn't understand who I really am.

"I was foolishly in love, but she loves her husband very much. Who am I in comparison?" Li Xin asked with a bitter smile.

Shi Yunyang was a little disappointed by the answer. Although she liked stirring the pot, she knew when to stop, so she didn't push the topic further.

"Why bring up baseless tabloid gossip during a nice afternoon tea? Let's not stand at the door. Let's go inside," Qin Wanshu lightly scolded Shi Yunyang, trying to ease the tension.

Yan Ruoshan was a bit surprised that Li Xin didn't continue to press her. Seeing the faint sadness in her smile made her feel a slight discomfort, but she quickly suppressed it and followed Qin Wanshu inside.

Zuo Qinghuan thought to herself that Shi Yunyang really wasn't a good person, clearly rubbing salt into Li Xin's wounds. And Yan Ruoshan wasn't any better, doing something wrong but refusing to admit it. Even though, given Yan's status, it wasn't unexpected, it still hurt Li Xin.

"Here's my phone number. If you ever want to chat, I'm sure I can treat you better than Yan Ruoshan ever could," Shi Yunyang said, slipping a business card into Li Xin's hand. She also handed one to Zuo Qinghuan before following Qin Wanshu inside. As soon as she turned around, Li Xin threw the card away. Zuo Qinghuan was about to do the same but hesitated for a moment and ended up keeping it.

"Are you okay?" Zuo Qinghuan gently nudged Li Xin with her elbow, asking with concern.

"I'm fine," Li Xin said, taking a deep breath. She told herself she wasn't that fragile. Otherwise, how could she ever conquer Yan Ruoshan? That woman's heart was much harder than most.

Seeing this, Zuo Qinghuan didn't offer any more comfort. It seemed like Li Xin had grown stronger than before, which was a good sign.

"The coffee and desserts here are really good. I guess we could come here for afternoon tea again," Shi Yunyang praised, not holding back on compliments.

Qin Wanshu immediately recognized the coffee as one made by Zuo Qinghuan herself it really was excellent. She discreetly surveyed the surroundings, estimating the foot traffic and pricing, and concluded that Zuo Qinghuan probably wouldn't lose money running this café. Clearly, Zuo had put a lot of effort into it, which made Qin Wanshu appreciate her a bit more.

"Did Mrs. Han invite us here just for coffee?" Yan Ruoshan asked after taking a sip.

"Please, just call me Wanshu," Qin Wanshu smiled at Yan, thinking she seemed too tightly wound.

Qin Wanshu's smile was indeed comforting. Even though Yan Ruoshan didn't like Shi Yunyang, she still had a good impression of Qin.

"Missy, are we really just here for coffee?" Shi Yunyang raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Actually, both of your proposals are great, and your capabilities are on par with each other. It's hard for the Qin Group to make a choice, but I think there's a better solution," Qin Wanshu said, setting her coffee cup down and looking at Shi Yunyang and Yan Ruoshan.

"What do you mean?" Yan asked uncertainly.

"Is there any rule that says you can only have one business partner?" Qin Wanshu smiled as she asked.

"That would mean one more person to split the profits. Everyone wants a bigger slice of the pie, not to share with others," Shi Yunyang said. Despite her usual carefree demeanor, she was sharp in business matters.

"If the pie is only four inches, splitting it between two means less for each. But three people working together might make the pie six inches or even bigger. Splitting it between three might not be worse than splitting between two. Think about it. I'm going to the restroom," Qin Wanshu said before getting up and leaving Shi Yunyang and Yan Ruoshan in silence, each sipping their coffee.

Zuo Qinghuan had been paying attention to Qin Wanshu's table the whole time. When she saw Qin head to the restroom, she discreetly followed.

When Zuo Qinghuan entered the restroom, she saw Qin Wanshu washing her hands and naturally handed her a paper towel. Qin Wanshu just as naturally accepted it.

"Are you close with that Carmen?" Zuo Qinghuan asked as Qin Wanshu wiped her hands.

"Carmen?" Qin Wanshu was slightly taken aback but quickly understood. Zuo Qinghuan was referring to Shi Yunyang as "Carmen." It was a fresh way to put it, but it did seem somewhat fitting.

"Shi Yunyang, that flashy woman in red she's even more flamboyant than Li Xin," Zuo Qinghuan added, clearly having remembered the name of the woman who had just handed her a business card.

"Not so bad. We grew up together," Qin Wanshu smiled softly at her words. "What about you? Why did you suddenly decide to open a store?" No wonder she hadn't come around to bother her recently.

Growing up together this implied that they had quite a decent relationship, Zuo Qinghuan thought to herself.

"Your husband, who also happens to be my financial backer, cut off my credit card, so I had no choice but to be self-reliant," Zuo Qinghuan said with a playful smile.

"He sure is stingy," Qin Wanshu responded, as if seriously agreeing. But, really, what wife would ever think her husband wasn't being generous enough to his mistress?

"Qin Wanshu, he's your husband, you know!" Zuo Qinghuan laughingly reminded Qin Wanshu.

Qin Wanshu glanced thoughtfully at Zuo Qinghuan before walking out. No matter how hard she tried, Zuo Qinghuan could never figure out what was on Qin Wanshu's mind. From their conversation, Zuo Qinghuan had sensed that Han Shibin mattered less and less to Qin Wanshu, but she also didn't seem to have any intention of divorcing him. With her ambiguous attitude toward Zuo Qinghuan, Qin was a woman completely beyond her understanding.

When Qin Wanshu returned, it was clear that Yan Ruoshan and Shi Yunyang had accepted the proposal she mentioned. Over the course of their afternoon tea, the three had reached an agreement.

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