Today happened to be the day when the winning bidder for the PPP project of the tourism highway construction in the capital city was publicly announced. Shengshi Group won the bid and was listed among them.
Yan Xia and Shangguan Yao had arrived early and were waiting outside the venue where Wang Keding would stay the longest during his activities today. They had been showing up in front of Wang Keding frequently these days.
Naturally, he was a bit impatient. Every time he saw them, he would immediately leave surrounded by his entourage.
Although Shangguan Yao was an illegitimate son, he had always been well - behaved and had never done anything out of line, except for being a bit sharp - tongued. He had always been a good boy.
However, this time he had gone a bit too far. Instead of sobering him up, the slap Wang Keding gave him last time had only made him more determined.
Yan Xia was wearing a cap and was being very low - key. Shangguan Yao was wearing sunglasses and chewing gum. He would occasionally peek into the venue.
On the way, Yan Xia went to the restroom and unexpectedly met Yuan Qiuping.
Yuan Qiuping was standing in front of the mirror, touching up her makeup. Yan Xia pretended not to see her and lowered her head to wash her hands.
But then she suddenly remembered what Wen Liang had found out. Peng Shiyi had been meeting with Yuan Qiuping frequently some time ago, and then there had been that malicious plan to kidnap her.
She believed that as Lu Sheng, she had never had any grudges with Yuan Qiuping. So Yuan Qiuping's targeting of her was either because of Wang Keding or because she had noticed something. Suspecting her identity, she had resorted to using others to harm her.
She didn't know what role this woman had played in Cheng Hua's case, but she was definitely not innocent.
"After all, we're acquaintances. Miss Lu, are you going to pretend I don't exist?" Yuan Qiuping pursed her red lips and asked.
Yan Xia glanced at her from the corner of her eye under the brim of her cap.
Perhaps because both her love life and daily life were going smoothly, Yuan Qiuping's complexion was obviously getting better and better. Her taste had also improved. Although she was only a few years older than Yan Xia, she exuded the charm of a mature woman.
Yan Xia smiled and said, "Mrs. Wang, you're overthinking. You're so dressed up in jewels that you seem like a different person. I thought I had misrecognized you, so I didn't say hello rashly."
By addressing her as Mrs. Wang, she was deliberately humiliating her.
But Yuan Qiuping didn't seem to care. "I'm afraid Miss Lu is hiding secrets. Since I've seen through you, you're feeling guilty and deliberately avoiding me, aren't you?"
Yan Xia expressionlessly grabbed a paper towel to dry the water on her hands, but her eyelashes trembled for a moment.
Yuan Qiuping had recognized her!
She was sure of it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have said such things.
Women's intuition and powers of observation were generally more acute than men's.
For a moment, she felt annoyed, but in an instant, she regained her cold tone. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mrs. Wang. You've been dropping these veiled hints several times. It seems you've mistaken me for someone else."
Yuan Qiuping put away her lipstick and tilted her head to smile at her. "You don't need to act in front of me. I know who you are."
Yan Xia looked at her coldly.
"You can fool Fang Jiangyi, Peng Shiyi, and everyone else. But you can't fool me. I know you too well. Don't forget, we had a mother - daughter relationship for five or six years."
Yan Xia was much taller than her, but Yuan Qiuping was wearing high heels, so from this angle, they were about the same height.
She looked at Yuan Qiuping for a while and then suddenly laughed sinisterly.
"If you have any suspicions, you can verify them yourself. There's no need to provoke and trick me with words here. I advise you, Mrs. Wang, instead of meddling in other people's business, you should ask Director Wang. Even he has to show some respect to my father. But you colluded with Peng Shiyi behind my back and tried to harm me. You should know very well what your real relationship with Director Wang is, right?"
Saying this, she suddenly pinched Yuan Qiuping's face and forced her to look at herself in the mirror. She shook her head with a tut - tut sound.
"Take a good look at your face. What do you have that those women discarded by Wang Keding don't?" In the mirror, there seemed to be a ghostly aura lingering.
"Instead of meddling in other people's business, you should think about how to consolidate your position. If you don't know how, I can teach you. Besides relying on your child to gain status, you also need to wipe out all your past scandals. Otherwise, if you act for too long, you'll eventually be exposed."
Yuan Qiuping frowned and struggled to get her face out of Yan Xia's grasp.
"Lu Sheng, you and Lu..."
Yan Xia interrupted her. "Since I've already traced it back to you, I could easily have you removed as an obstacle. But I haven't. You should know why."
Yuan Qiuping stared at her all the time.
This wasn't right. She had always seemed like a timid little rabbit. How could she have such a powerful aura and sharp words?
She stared at Yan Xia. "Aren't you afraid that I'll expose your secrets?"
Yan Xia said, "I don't think I have any scandals that you can use to threaten me."
Yuan Qiuping said, "Don't you think no one knows your relationship with Lu Qianzhou?"
It was again about her relationship with Lu Qianzhou. Since Yuan Qiuping knew about it, it must have been Peng Shiyi who told her.
"Then go ahead and tell. Let's see how many people will believe you." She was overbearing.
"Also, you said we had some so - called mother - daughter relationship. You'd better stop spreading such rumors. I've never known you. I've only shown you some respect because of Director Wang."
Yuan Qiuping was fuming. She really had no evidence to prove that Lu Sheng was Cheng Yanxia. She just had strong suspicions about her. A person's appearance could change, but there were many things that couldn't, such as DNA information, height, and aura.
She had originally wanted to test her, but in the end, she had been humiliated instead.
She remembered what Wang Keding had been about to do last time and felt a sudden nausea. But she could only endure it and stay by Wang Keding's side.
Suddenly, she sneered. "I know what you're here for today. Actually, you're not much different from me. You're just lucky to have Lord Lu III as your backer. If you were in my shoes, you'd live a much more miserable life."
"I'm different from you," Yan Xia denied her words.
She lifted her chin slightly, looking confident.
"I didn't rely on showing my arms and legs and relying on men to get ahead like you. Everything I have in Shengshi now is earned by myself. If I wanted to, I could be a carefree parasite just by relying on my father."
Saying this, she looked at Yuan Qiuping pityingly and asked the question that had been bothering her.
"I really don't understand. How could you be with a man as old as Wang Keding, who could be your father? What on earth are you after?" She could have gotten a share of the pie just by relying on her father.
Yuan Qiuping stood there, looking at Yan Xia's departing back.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she suddenly smiled self - deprecatingly.
Yes, she also wanted to know why she was doing all this and why she was staying with such a man.
Just because she had fallen in love with the wrong person, she had been willing to do anything for him, not knowing that it was the beginning of a nightmare.
She looked up in the direction where Yan Xia had left, took a deep breath, and composed herself. She wasn't sure yet. She needed evidence to prove her suspicion.