Shen Youjin thought Gu Zhiyuan was sometimes overly confident. Maybe someone else would give Gu Zhiyuan face, but Ling Qiuqiu might not.
With him around, Ling Qiuqiu might even think she was using her power and influence to intimidate her, which would be counterproductive.
"No need," she firmly refused. "I appreciate Teacher Gu's kindness."
She turned to leave. Gu Zhiyuan was about to say something else when Bai Beichen stepped in front of him. With a hint of sarcasm in his voice, he said, "Brother, sister has already refused you twice. If you keep insisting, isn't it a bit disrespectful? Sister will be unhappy."
Gu Zhiyuan was already unhappy about being refused. Now being taunted by this "green tea puppy" Bai Beichen, his eyebrows instantly knitted into a frown.
"Bai Beichen, do you want to die?" Gu Zhiyuan said coldly. "Is there a place for a kid like you to talk here?"
A young master who relied on his family to live a life of pleasure. If it weren't for Bai Yueheng and Bai Ningxi holding up the family, no one knew what Bai Beichen would be doing now!
"Why not?" Bai Beichen narrowed his eyes dangerously, looking at Shen Youjin's fading back. "Does Young Master Gu underestimate me a bit? At least, I'm young!"
Gu Zhiyuan heard the mockery in his words and sneered. "Bai Beichen, aren't you afraid she'll discover your true colors?"
Bai Beichen was stunned for a moment and quickly understood what he meant. A flash of fierceness crossed his peach blossom eyes.
"I don't understand what Young Master Gu is talking about."
Gu Zhiyuan gave him a cold look. "Young Master Bai will understand one day. As long as he doesn't regret it then."
By now, Shen Youjin had already driven away. There was no sign of her. Continuing to argue here was meaningless.
Gu Zhiyuan turned around and got into his car, driving away, leaving Bai Beichen standing there alone.
He looked in the direction Gu Zhiyuan had left, flexed his wrist, and hooked the corner of his mouth. "This is really interesting. It seems I've been discovered!"
In that case, there would be more fun in the future.
He was very confident that as long as he was good enough to Shen Youjin, she would forgive him no matter what he did.
...
Shen Youjin drove and soon arrived at Ling Qiuqiu's residence.
She parked the car in an empty space and got out, walking into the community.
Although this wasn't a wealthy neighborhood, the environment was quite nice.
She hadn't been here for a long time. It felt both familiar and strange.
Thinking about the time when they were together before, it was a time she cherished deeply.
As Oscar Wilde wrote, sorrow is a wound. Any hand but the hand of love will make it bleed when it touches it. After it's touched by the hand of love, it will still bleed, but not because of pain.
As she walked, her steps suddenly stopped.
Not far away, Ling Qiuqiu, dressed in a white and blue sportswear, was standing there. Opposite her was a man in his thirties, who looked a bit familiar.
It seemed they were arguing. From her angle, she wasn't easily noticed, and their voices drifted over faintly.
"The Ling family has fallen so far. Why don't you come with me? I'll pay the five million for you. How about it?"
"Humph, Chen Rubin, don't think I don't know the man with HIV was found by you. What are you pretending to be a good guy for now?"
"Don't make unfounded accusations. I'm just trying to help you out of good intentions. Your family is in the medical equipment business. If it's exposed that one of your employees has HIV at this time, do you think your Ling family will have a chance to make a comeback in this lifetime if you don't come with me?"
"I don't need your concern. And please don't bring your part - time job habits into your life, okay?"
"? When did I ever do a part - time job?"
"Really? I thought you were doing a part - time job at the zoo on weekends, playing an animal! You play it so well. Can your family accept you?"
"You! Ling Qiuqiu, don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!"
"..."
Shen Youjin listened for a while. It wasn't until Chen Rubin left angrily that she couldn't help but touch the tip of her nose.
After all these years, Ling Qiuqiu's fighting spirit was still as strong as ever! It seemed Ling Qiuqiu had shown mercy to her.
Just as she was thinking this, footsteps suddenly sounded, as if someone was coming in her direction.
"Finished eavesdropping? Do you like eavesdropping so much?"
The next second, the branches blocking her were pushed aside, and Shen Youjin was startled.
"No," she said bravely even though she wasn't in the right. "I just happened to pass by."
Ling Qiuqiu sneered. "Just happened to pass by? Just happened to take a few detours and pass by my community?"
Shen Youjin didn't know how to answer this, so she quickly changed the subject. "What's wrong with the Ling family? Wasn't that guy just now your family's competitor?"
Mentioning this, Ling Qiuqiu frowned again, but she didn't argue with her anymore.
"He's been snatching our family's business for the past two years. This year, he even found a patient with HIV and got him into our company. Now that this has been exposed, the company is being investigated and is on the verge of bankruptcy. The other side wants five million to change their story. Otherwise, do you think I would have suddenly returned to the country?"
Shen Youjin had been so busy with so many things recently that she hadn't paid attention to the Ling family's situation. She didn't expect the Ling family had come to such a pass in the past two years.
"I have the money. I'll give it to you first. You can use it," she said, then observing Ling Qiuqiu's expression, she added, "Just consider it a loan from me. You can pay me back when you have the money."
She knew Ling Qiuqiu's personality. If she just gave the money for free, it would only make the other person more disgusted.
Ling Qiuqiu didn't say a word. She just silently sized up Shen Youjin's clothes, which were so different from when they were in college, much more high - end.
Shen Youjin felt a bit nervous under Ling Qiuqiu's gaze because the more Ling Qiuqiu looked at her, the more it seemed the distance between them was increasing.
"What's wrong?" she couldn't help but ask. "If you don't want it, you can also..."
"No need," Ling Qiuqiu waved her hand, interrupting what she was about to say. Although her attitude was still cold, her tone wasn't as aggressive as before. "You don't need to feel indebted to me, let alone compensate me."
Shen Youjin immediately shook her head. "It's not compensation. I just want to be good to you, no matter what you think. In my heart, you've always been my only friend."
She said it very seriously. Ling Qiuqiu looked into her pure and clear eyes. For some reason, her heart was suddenly touched.
Although Ling Qiuqiu had been abroad since leaving college, she had heard about Shen Youjin from others.
There were many men pursuing her, but there was no longer a friend by her side. She had always been alone.
Ling Qiuqiu's expression softened. She was about to speak when, for some reason, her eyes suddenly stopped and then became cold.
Shen Youjin was stunned. She followed Ling Qiuqiu's gaze, and a thunderbolt seemed to explode in her mind!
She saw Shen Qilin, chewing gum and swaggering into view with a few cronies.
"Yo, little sisters are catching up here! It seems I'm really lucky today!" He looked at Shen Youjin word by word. "Right? My~good~sister!"