**Chapter 3**
"Tsk tsk, Qinghuan, your outfit is so pure, it looks just like that untouched little flower..." Li Xin exaggeratedly said while holding her milk tea, upon seeing the newly arrived Zuo Qinghuan. Zuo Qinghuan had a truly deceptive appearance; although she was clearly from the same background as Li Xin, she had this ethereal look that was quite enviable. Meanwhile, Li Xin naturally looked like a seductive vixen. She had never wanted to admit it, but since the age of thirteen, when people began to call her a vixen, Li Xin had to resign herself to her looks.
Zuo Qinghuan, in contrast to her previous lady-like attire, now wore a simple white T-shirt and deep blue jeans, with her long straight hair tied up, looking like she was only seventeen or eighteen years old, truly resembling an innocent little lily.
"If I'm a flower bud, then you're a withered flower!" Zuo Qinghuan's sharp tongue was just as fierce as Li Xin's, creating a stark contrast with her delicate appearance.
"You're just jealous of my stunning looks." Li Xin brushed off Zuo Qinghuan's sharp remarks, instead throwing a flirtatious glance at her, causing the man behind Zuo Qinghuan to be left staring, dazed.
Li Xin was still dressed quite flamboyantly, bright enough to blind everyone's eyes. Vulgar, Zuo Qinghuan scoffed; she remembered a woman who had such a vulgar appearance, but she had long forgotten her.
"By the way, where's Han Shibin?" Li Xin asked curiously.
"It seems he went to Europe for a project," Zuo Qinghuan replied uncertainly. It seemed he would be gone for more than a month, but she didn't really care about that man's whereabouts as long as the monthly maintenance fees were deposited into her account on time.
"So doesn't that mean two women are left alone? You could play the wife and mistress…" Li Xin said with a lewd smile, leaning closer to Zuo Qinghuan. She was so twisted in her thoughts that she wished the whole world was just as bent as she was. She always felt that Zuo Qinghuan being with a man was a waste; her intuition told her that this seemingly pure, yet dark-hearted woman should be quite wild in bed. It was better for a man to be cheap than for a woman to be cheap. Moreover, to desecrate Qin Wanshu's noble and untouchable demeanor—if Zuo Qinghuan were to violate her, it would be a wonderful thing. Their relationship had a sense of taboo, a lewd fantasy about the two of them, giving Li Xin a secret thrill.
"I suddenly realized that the saying 'appearance comes from the heart' is indeed true." No wonder Li Xin resembled a vixen; this woman was even more enthusiastic about promiscuity than a vixen.
"Bull!" Li Xin scoffed. She might believe anyone who said appearance comes from the heart, but when Zuo Qinghuan said it, it sounded like a joke.
"Hey, isn't that Qin Wanshu? What is she doing on this street?" Li Xin's keen eyes spotted Qin Wanshu not far away, and she exclaimed in surprise to Zuo Qinghuan. It was quite a coincidence, indeed.
Following Li Xin's gaze, Zuo Qinghuan also saw Qin Wanshu and was equally surprised. That woman was clearly not someone who frequented this old street. Although the old street was bustling, it was typically dirty and chaotic. With her elegant outfit and noble aura, she was completely out of place in this environment and among these people. This scene reminded Zuo Qinghuan of that pretentious saying about a fairy that fell to the mortal world, remaining calm and indifferent even when a group of delinquents whistled at her—one couldn't help but admire her composure. But Zuo Qinghuan thought that the woman might have some issues; after all, she clearly didn't belong in a place like this. What was she doing here?
"That woman looks really elegant, and there are quite a few people looking at her," Li Xin remarked. In fact, she also wanted to whistle at Qin Wanshu; a woman like that was not someone she would normally dare to tease, but in this environment, seeing others make advances sparked an impulse in her to join in. Zuo Qinghuan was right about one thing: people inherently have a base nature.
More and more people were turning their attention to Qin Wanshu, and more women were whistling at her. However, on the surface, Qin Wanshu appeared unaffected, though only Zuo Qinghuan could sense her slight unease.
"My woman looks like a wealthy person, while Qin Wanshu looks like a noblewoman. Truly, people can be so envious of one another," Li Xin continued to lament. Yan Ruozhe was already a rare gem among women, but Qin Wanshu was like the cream of the crop. Beautiful women always made her feel restless, making her want to take advantage of them. Although it seemed like she was the one being taken advantage of by Yan Ruozhe, spending so much time with Zuo Qinghuan had twisted her thoughts to some extent.
"I can make that woman's calm expression disappear," Zuo Qinghuan said meaningfully as she looked at Qin Wanshu.
"Impossible." Li Xin instinctively felt that this woman was one of the few who could remain composed even in the face of danger.
Zuo Qinghuan took the half-full cup of milk tea from Li Xin's hand, walked over to Qin Wanshu, and splashed it on her. Everyone froze in shock; Li Xin never expected Zuo Qinghuan to be so ruthless, actually splashing the original woman with milk tea in public. Her mouth gaped in surprise, as if it could fit an egg.
Qin Wanshu clearly didn't expect to be splashed with milk tea in public either. Her elegantly refined face became stiff, and she looked at the culprit with some irritation. Upon seeing a somewhat familiar face, she was momentarily taken aback.
"Sorry, I accidentally bumped into you. Are you okay?" Zuo Qinghuan said with a face full of sincerity. If it weren't for the obvious splashing action, everyone would have been fooled by Zuo Qinghuan's innocent eyes and earnest demeanor. This woman was wasting her talent by not acting. But the crowd's eyes were sharp; Zuo Qinghuan was blatantly lying, and everyone was waiting to see how the elegant woman would explode. They believed that no matter how graceful a person was, they would lose their temper in a situation like this, making everyone exceptionally interested in the unfolding drama.
Qin Wanshu had never seen someone so shameless, and this woman was even the one who had embraced her in the business world. Though she felt quite displeased, she managed to suppress her anger. She thought that there must be a reason for someone to come and splash coffee on her, and she tried to comfort herself this way.
"I live nearby. Would you like me to take you home to change?" Zuo Qinghuan asked with concern, leaving the bystanders puzzled about what was happening.
"No, thank you." Qin Wanshu forced a smile; it was the most strained smile she had given in thirty years. Even though she felt uncomfortable with milk tea all over her, she had no desire to go to the culprit's house to change clothes. Qin Wanshu's unexpected lack of anger left the onlookers somewhat disappointed.
She was indeed a well-mannered woman, Zuo Qinghuan thought to herself. If it were her, she would splash back three cups if someone splashed her with one.
"It's a must; otherwise, I'll feel guilty. You must be uncomfortable like this," Zuo Qinghuan insisted, pulling Qin Wanshu along and not giving her a chance to refuse.
"You know I'm uncomfortable, so why splash it on me?" Qin Wanshu thought angrily, but she said nothing. Perhaps it was because Zuo Qinghuan resembled the type of woman from her grandfather's paintings; although she was somewhat angry about the situation, she didn't completely despise Zuo Qinghuan.
Meanwhile, Li Xin watched as Zuo Qinghuan pulled Qin Wanshu away, finally snapping back to reality and realizing that Zuo Qinghuan had actually abandoned her.
Qin Wanshu sat in the passenger seat, looking at Zuo Qinghuan's ethereal face. She could see no trace of guilt or even embarrassment from being exposed in a lie.
"You said you lived nearby, right?" Qin Wanshu asked, noticing they had been driving for twenty minutes and still hadn't arrived.
"Did I say that?" Zuo Qinghuan turned to Qin Wanshu, raising a smile like a white lotus in response.