Princess Syndrome - Chapter 74
Chapter 74: Co-opt
Su Lingyue's brewing anger was like a dud firecracker, extinguished by Ji Zhiyi before it could even ignite. Hearing Ji Zhiyi's words, she moved the phone away from her ear. Seeing the microphone was at the bottom, she said without blushing or skipping a beat, "Oh."
Seeming not to take the embarrassing incident to heart at all.
After replying, she felt finding another excuse to leave would be too deliberate, so she simply plopped back down. Ji Zhiyi released her. "What's wrong?"
She leaned closer to her, asking with gentle eyes and a voice much softer than when she had inquired about Xie Lan.
How ridiculous she was.
Comparing even this kind of thing.
Su Lingyue mentally scorned herself, but her mood lifted considerably. "Nothing."
Ji Zhiyi said, "Then what was that just now?"
Su Lingyue said seriously, "There really was a call, do you believe me?"
Ji Zhiyi looked at her expression and nodded, saying earnestly, "I believe you."
Ji Zhiyi believed such absurd words. Su Lingyue's heartbeat instantly went out of control, leaping with joy.
Who said Ji Zhiyi wasn't good at sweet talk!
She was amazing at it, okay!
Su Lingyue blinked, finding herself somewhat overwhelmed by Ji Zhiyi's sincerity.
The door was pushed open, and Xie Lan walked in, carrying three cups of coffee. She handed a cup to each of them and said as she sat down next to Su Lingyue, "It's been a long time since I've been on a business trip, I'm a little nervous."
Ji Zhiyi said, "Ms. Xie doesn't need to be nervous, you've been performing very well."
Xie Lan's eyes brightened. She took a sip of coffee, looking pleased.
Su Lingyue was still savoring the childish exchange with Ji Zhiyi when her phone vibrated. She looked down and saw it was a call from Chu Yi. After excusing herself to the other two, she took her phone and walked out of the lounge.
She ran into a familiar face as soon as she stepped out.
Zhou Shiyu.
Su Lingyue had actually prepared herself to meet Zhou Shiyu, but the sudden encounter still caught her off guard. She paused for two seconds. Zhou Shiyu was wearing a beige long dress with a coat draped over her shoulders, her long hair in big waves, and black sunglasses on.
Her complexion wasn't very good, and she looked more haggard than before.
She didn't know if it was because she was truly heartbroken over her husband's death, as the marketing accounts claimed, or because of the recent troubles in the company.
Su Lingyue didn't care. She quickly adjusted her expression and greeted her with a smile, "Good afternoon, President Zhou."
Looking every bit the competent assistant.
Zhou Shiyu looked at her through her sunglasses.
Su Lingyue was slightly different from before. She had watched Su Lingyue grow up, and although their encounters were always tense, she was very familiar with some of Su Lingyue's little habits.
Silent and taciturn, with no desires or wants.
Like a silent gourd, nothing could provoke her. Her eyes always looked at everyone with the same calmness.
There was no light in her eyes.
But now—there was light.
Although her smile didn't reach her eyes and her expression was still mostly blank, her eyes were different from before.
Zhou Shiyu frowned.
Su Lingyue brushed past her after greeting her.
Zhou Shiyu watched her back, paused for two seconds, and entered the lounge.
Ji Zhiyi looked up and saw Zhou Shiyu. The hand holding her coffee paused, still.
Xie Lan stood up.
Ji Zhiyi smiled. "President Zhou? What a coincidence."
Zhou Shiyu sat down next to her, acting as if nothing had happened between them, chatting and laughing.
Su Lingyue entered the lounge and heard her say, "Our Lingyue hasn't been bothering President Ji too much, has she?"
She felt nauseous the moment she walked in.
She should have stayed outside.
Ji Zhiyi said, "Is President Zhou talking about Assistant Su?"
The question made Zhou Shiyu's smile falter slightly.
Who else could she be talking about?
It was Su Lingyue, of course.
Was Ji Zhiyi deliberately trying to annoy her with this question?
But it was just a simple question, not enough to elicit any reaction from her. She nodded calmly. "Yes."
Ji Zhiyi said, "Assistant Su is very dedicated and has helped me a lot."
Zhou Shiyu raised an eyebrow.
Really?
That wasn't the version she had heard.
Wasn't it said that Ji Zhiyi disliked Su Lingyue, hated her to the bone, and tormented her in her office every day? Even Zhou Yan had reported it that way.
That pig.
Zhou Shiyu smiled through gritted teeth.
She turned her head, saw Su Lingyue, and said, "Lingyue, Auntie wants to have a word with you."
Su Lingyue said, "What do you want to talk about?"
Zhou Shiyu said, "Let's talk outside."
Su Lingyue said, "Let's just talk here. President Zhou, you're the boss of Su Qi, and I'm an assistant at Yilin. Talking privately might not be appropriate."
Zhou Shiyu said, "I want to talk to you about your father."
Su Lingyue remained unmoved. "Isn't he dead? What's there to talk about?"
As if she were talking about an irrelevant stranger.
Zhou Shiyu was angered by her attitude but felt helpless.
She said, "He had something he wanted to give you."
Su Lingyue said, "I don't know…"
Zhou Shiyu said, "It's the key to the old house."
Su Lingyue stopped speaking abruptly and looked at Zhou Shiyu. Zhou Shiyu was calm and composed, seemingly certain that Su Lingyue would be tempted by this offer. Sure enough, Su Lingyue was silent for two seconds. Zhou Shiyu said, "Shall we talk?"
The two of them walked out of the lounge.
Su Lingyue sat on a chair to the side, and Zhou Shiyu sat next to her. Secretaries and assistants stood around them.
Zhou Shiyu tossed her hair and said, "You know your father's personality. You were his only child, and his biggest wish before he died was to see you settled down. Although his methods were a bit extreme, he did it for your own good."
Su Lingyue turned her head. "You really knew my father well."
Her smile didn't reach her eyes.
Zhou Shiyu didn't mind her attitude.
She was very familiar with that man, had been since they were young, which was why she had followed him without asking for any recognition, using his guilt to turn the Su family upside down. She had thought that after that woman died, she would finally marry the man, enter the Su family, and then have a child, so that the Su family's assets would all be hers.
But she hadn't expected that this man was infertile.
Because of this, the man felt even more guilty towards her, and she was magnanimous, treating his daughter very well. Men were sometimes like that, conceited and arrogant. With a few tricks to sow discord between father and daughter, Su Lingyue was cast into the cold palace.
But—this was still his daughter, and his only daughter. No amount of affection and guilt could compare to this only heir.
Realizing this, she tried to win over Su Lingyue through Zhou Yan.
But Su Lingyue looked down on Zhou Yan.
It didn't matter.
As long as her father approved, that was enough.
Those repeated allergies and the little act of saving someone, Zhou Yan had done it a few times, and her father naturally valued him. Knowing that his heart was set on Su Lingyue, he was even more eager to bring them together.
Of course, Su Lingyue could refuse, but she was stubborn and chose the most extreme way to reject him.
Her father was someone who responded to softness but not to force, especially when it came to his pride. A few public provocations made him lose face, and his actions naturally became more extreme, using Su Qi and the will to pressure Su Lingyue.
Of course, he had only intended to provoke Su Lingyue, but something unexpected happened.
The will took effect.
Zhou Shiyu got Su Qi.
The result of her life's efforts was in her hands. She should have been happy, but as Su Qi changed hands, competitors took advantage of the situation, and Su Qi was now a shadow of its former self.
Especially since half of it was now in Yilin's hands.
She had to hold on tightly to the other half.
Thinking of this, Zhou Shiyu adjusted her expression and said to Su Lingyue, "Your father would be heartbroken if he knew you were living like this."
Su Lingyue turned her head to look at Zhou Shiyu.
In her memory, this woman only had kind words for her father. Their encounters were never pleasant, and there were naturally no kind words exchanged.
These words wouldn't sound out of place coming from anyone else.
But coming from her, they made Su Lingyue's skin crawl.
She shook her head. "Whether he's heartbroken or not has nothing to do with me. Just say what you want."
Zhou Shiyu took out a key from her bag.
She said to her, "This is the key to the old house. If you want to go back, you can go back anytime. I can even transfer the ownership to you."
Being this kind?
Trying to play the caring stepmother so long after her father's death?
Su Lingyue asked, "What's the condition?"
Zhou Shiyu was sometimes grateful for Su Lingyue's intelligence. If she had really wanted to please her father, she would have been difficult to deal with. She smiled. "The condition is very simple. I want all of Yilin's design drafts for the Autumn Exhibition."
Did she not trust Xie Lan?
Su Lingyue hadn't expected this condition. She had thought they would rehash old topics and still talk about her and Zhou Yan.
But Zhou Shiyu was not Zhou Yan.
This condition was much more tempting than the others.
That old house was where she and her mother had lived. Later, when Zhou Shiyu came along, the old house became her sanctuary. Her father didn't want to face the two of them arguing every day when he came home, so he bought Zhou Shiyu an apartment in the city center. From then on, the old house became her own home.
In a sense.
It was her favorite place.
That was why she had been so angry after her father transferred it to Zhou Shiyu, not speaking to him for months.
She had thought she would never be able to step into that old house again.
But now, Zhou Shiyu was offering her the key.
Su Lingyue looked down at the key.
Zhou Shiyu said, "Don't worry, only you and I will know about this. There won't be a third person. Besides, the design drafts for Yilin and Su Qi have already been submitted for review. Even if I see Yilin's design drafts now, it's too late to copy them."
She didn't want to copy them.
She wanted to confirm.
To confirm whether the design drafts Yilin submitted were indeed Xie Lan's.
Seeing her silence, Zhou Shiyu said earnestly, "Lingyue, Su Qi is, after all, your father's hard work, your family's. If you're not happy at Yilin, you can come back and be your young lady. You know I'll always welcome you back."
Su Lingyue said, "Welcome me back for what? To welcome me back to tear your hair out, or to ruin Su Qi?"
Zhou Shiyu's expression darkened slightly.
Su Lingyue said, "What if I don't agree?"
Zhou Shiyu said, "I've been staying at the old house recently, and I always think of you when you were little…"
Su Lingyue's face stiffened.
She hated Zhou Shiyu appearing at the old house the most!
Seeing her angry, Zhou Shiyu continued, "I'm also thinking of renovating the old house."
Su Lingyue took a deep breath and smiled. "Go ahead and renovate it. The house is old, it needs renovating."
She looked at Zhou Shiyu. "And stop thinking about me when I was little. Think about my parents. They loved the old house the most. Maybe they'll even keep you company in your sleep at night."
The words made Zhou Shiyu's hair stand on end.
She frowned at Su Lingyue, who was impervious to both soft and hard tactics.
Su Lingyue said, "If there's nothing else, I'll go back now. If I'm out for too long, President Ji will worry."
With that, she got up and left.
Zhou Shiyu watched her back.
The secretary asked, "President Zhou, do you suspect Xie Lan?"
Zhou Shiyu said, "I don't suspect Xie Lan, I'm just worried about Ji Zhiyi."
This Ji Zhiyi was too smart, too cunning. Su Qi had been completely played by her in the spokesperson incident. If they stumbled again at the Autumn Exhibition, it would be very difficult for Su Qi to rise again.
The secretary said, "But Ms. Su…"
Su Lingyue was still impervious to both soft and hard tactics.
This was actually a bit unexpected for Zhou Shiyu.
She had thought that Su Lingyue's attachment to the old house would make her agree to the deal. After all, she and Ji Zhiyi didn't get along, so this way, she could get the old house and get revenge on Ji Zhiyi, killing two birds with one stone.
She hadn't expected her to refuse.
Zhou Shiyu's expression wasn't very good. The assistant standing beside her answered a call and leaned in to whisper a few words in Zhou Shiyu's ear. Zhou Shiyu was silent for a few seconds. "I understand."
She looked towards the lounge.
Ji Zhiyi was even more difficult to deal with than she had imagined.
Su Lingyue returned to the lounge. Ji Zhiyi looked up and asked casually, "Where's President Zhou?"
Su Lingyue's attitude was nonchalant. "Outside."
Xie Lan glanced at her and took a sip of her coffee.
Ji Zhiyi asked, "What did you talk about?"
Su Lingyue said, "She wanted to co-opt me."
Hearing her say it so bluntly, Xie Lan almost spat out her coffee. She choked, coughing a few times, her face flushed. Su Lingyue casually took out a tissue and handed it to her. "Ms. Xie, why are you so nervous?"
Xie Lan retorted, "Please excuse my rudeness, Assistant Su."
"It's not about being rude." Su Lingyue said, "It's just that Ms. Xie is so nervous, I thought you had encountered something similar, someone trying to co-opt you."
Xie Lan's heart leaped. She looked up at Su Lingyue, whose expression was as usual. "Assistant Su is overthinking it."
Su Lingyue said, "It's good if I'm overthinking it. Otherwise, Yilin losing Ms. Xie would be a great loss."
Maybe it was because she had been provoked outside.
Her words were now sharp and pointed.
Ji Zhiyi listened to their conversation without saying a word, her hands clasped together in front of her, her expression indifferent. Xie Lan glanced at Ji Zhiyi's expression, then at Su Lingyue, forcing a smile.
Su Lingyue gave her a sweet smile.
Xie Lan: …
She was about to explode with anger!
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