Chapter 41
Qin Wanshu had always handled things flawlessly. After leaving Zuo Qinghuan's house, instead of going straight home, she drove to Shi Yunyang's villa, where she lived alone. Shi Yunyang, being her usual rebellious self, naturally didn't live with her family and had chosen to stay in a villa by herself.
"I knew you'd come here first," Shi Yunyang said, looking at Qin Wanshu with a knowing expression, as if she had predicted everything.
"You're quite the prophet," Qin Wanshu replied coolly, driving her car into the garage of Shi Yunyang's villa.
Shi Yunyang immediately moved closer to Qin Wanshu, looking her over from head to toe.
"No kiss marks, and you seem fine. Didn't you go for a secret rendezvous last night? How could nothing have happened?" Shi Yunyang teased with a look of playful regret and ambiguity.
"When a wife cheats, the husband is always the last to know. I think Han Shibin is no different. Poor guy, dedicating himself to being the husband of his goddess, only to be betrayed like this..." Shi Yunyang exaggerated with a dramatic tone.
Qin Wanshu ignored Shi Yunyang's mischievous grin. Han Shibin wasn't as innocent or pitiful as Shi Yunyang made him out to be. After all, wasn't Zuo Qinghuan someone Han Shibin had entangled himself with?
"What exactly do you see in that little lily? Sure, she's pretty, but she doesn't compare to me. If you're curious about women, you could have come to me. Why let an outsider benefit? Besides, I'm the woman among women…" Shi Yunyang joked, feeling regret that she had never managed to seduce someone like Qin Wanshu, only for someone else to succeed.
"I've seen your antics since we were kids; there's really nothing appealing about them," Qin Wanshu replied honestly. Shi Yunyang's flirtatious behavior wasn't to her taste; Zuo Qinghuan, on the other hand, was far more charming.
"Miss Wanshu, I've never complained about you being boring, which is already a lot. And now you're criticizing me? Watch out, or I'll go tattle!" Shi Yunyang, in front of Qin Wanshu, was just a paper tiger.
"You can complain all you want. I don't mind," Qin Wanshu replied indifferently.
"Miss Wanshu, didn't you know I once had a crush on you?" Shi Yunyang said with a seemingly serious expression, though it was unclear if she was being truthful or not.
"Then keep having that crush. I'll pretend not to know," Qin Wanshu didn't even raise an eyebrow, continuing to ignore Shi Yunyang's teasing.
"I've been trying to get a reaction out of you, but nothing works! Yet somehow, she managed to stir something in you. It's so unfair!" Shi Yunyang said in mock outrage. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of charm this "little lily" had that could capture the seemingly untouchable Qin Wanshu. Shi Yunyang's curiosity about Zuo Qinghuan only deepened.
"Who exactly is this little lily?" Shi Yunyang asked with great curiosity. No wonder she had given Qin Wanshu a discount last time—there had already been something going on between them, and she hadn't noticed.
"Her name is Zuo Qinghuan," Qin Wanshu corrected Shi Yunyang. She felt that the nickname "little lily" didn't suit Zuo Qinghuan at all. The name conjured an image of something fragile and pure, which didn't align with Zuo Qinghuan's persona.
"That's a good name. It even sounds like she's one of my kind. What's her story?" Shi Yunyang mused, intrigued by the name "Qinghuan," which suggested lightheartedness and joy.
Qin Wanshu knew Shi Yunyang would say something like that. She felt that Shi Yunyang was hopelessly frivolous and probably destined to live her life that way.
"She was Han Shibin's former mistress," Qin Wanshu said, deciding to satisfy Shi Yunyang's curiosity before she went digging into Zuo Qinghuan's past and possibly uncovering something worse.
Shi Yunyang hadn't expected such an explosive revelation. Han Shibin's former mistress? Qin Wanshu's tastes were clearly more extreme than hers. Shi Yunyang had never considered the possibility of playing with her husband's former lover if she ever got married. The thought even made her consider marriage for a moment.
"Miss Wanshu, you did this on purpose, didn't you? You're getting back at Han Shibin by deliberately stealing his woman to make him feel humiliated, right?" Shi Yunyang said, excitement lighting up her face. She knew that with Qin Wanshu's level of cunning, things were never that simple.
"I'm not that petty, and I've told you before: I don't like playing games." Qin Wanshu couldn't help but think how her mindset was fundamentally different from Shi Yunyang's. She would never understand someone who spent their entire life in pursuit of amusement.
Likewise, Shi Yunyang couldn't understand Qin Wanshu's seriousness. A life taken so earnestly seemed terrifying to her. However, despite their differences in worldview and values, the two respected each other's choices and maintained a stance of non-interference in each other's lives.
Shi Yunyang asked, "I can't believe Han Shibin cheated too. Aren't you planning to deal with him?"
"We'll see," Qin Wanshu replied, still hesitating.
"Love is such a fleeting thing; it can disappear so easily," Shi Yunyang mused. She didn't blame herself for being fickle—she felt that emotions faded too quickly. She had wanted to maintain feelings for someone, but when those feelings disappeared, she didn't like forcing herself to stay with someone she no longer felt anything for.
"Love?" Qin Wanshu thought the word felt foreign.
"You're the type of person who, once you fall in love, it's going to be a problem. You'll stay committed, but the other person might not," Shi Yunyang said. She always believed that no one could remain truly faithful in love—unless the temptations around them weren't strong enough. Perhaps Qin Wanshu was the exception because she lacked nothing, and almost every temptation could be ignored. Qin Wanshu wasn't easy to fall in love, but once she did, it would be hard for her to change her feelings.
Qin Wanshu chuckled dismissively, thinking that Shi Yunyang was exaggerating. She knew herself—her emotions were slow to ignite, and her cool nature meant that she never allowed herself to reach a boiling point, even when it came to Zuo Qinghuan. For now, her feelings for Zuo Qinghuan were still within a controllable range.
At that moment, Han Shibin's call came through.
"Wife, are you still at Yunyang's place?" Han Shibin asked.
"Yeah, just finished breakfast with her," Qin Wanshu lied without batting an eye.
"I'll come pick you up," Han Shibin said considerately.
"Alright." This was exactly why Qin Wanshu had gone to Shi Yunyang's place in the first place—she knew Han Shibin would come to pick her up at a precise time, neither too early nor too late. In some ways, Han Shibin was quite thoughtful.
"I used to think you couldn't lie, but now I see your lying skills are way beyond mine. No wonder people say that the more well-behaved a kid looks, the better they are at lying. Seems like it's true," Shi Yunyang said, feeling more and more convinced as she recalled moments when Qin Wanshu might have deceived her in the past.
Qin Wanshu felt that Shi Yunyang was particularly interested in tarnishing her image, as if she couldn't wait to add more blemishes to her character.
"Shi Yunyang, does seeing me like this make you happy?" Qin Wanshu asked.
"Of course! You finally seem like a normal person. You have no idea how annoying you used to be. My dad was always comparing me to you…" Shi Yunyang laughed. She had grown up in Qin Wanshu's shadow, a poor child constantly measured against someone who was practically perfect. Being too excellent often led to envy and resentment, especially from someone like her, who had a darker heart.
"Wasn't that a long time ago?" Qin Wanshu said, feeling a little wronged. She knew that when they were kids, Shi's father had indeed liked to make those comparisons.
Shi's father had adored Qin Wanshu even more than his own daughter, calling her "Shushu" in a nauseatingly affectionate way, a nickname he had come up with himself.
"Last month, my dad was nagging me to get married. I got so fed up that I told him, 'Why get married? I'm playing with women now.' And guess what he said?"
Shi's father, known as a fierce businessman, loved to chatter endlessly to his daughter, and he was someone who didn't follow conventional rules.
"Hm?" Qin Wanshu asked, sitting on the sofa in the living room, picking up a washed apple from the table and casually chatting with Shi Yunyang. Shi's father often complained to her about how Shi Yunyang was no longer as cute as she used to be as a child. He always sounded so pitiful and regretful, though he was largely responsible for spoiling Shi Yunyang.
"He said, 'It wouldn't be bad if you ended up with Shushu. But, since she's married… well, you could always steal her!' And he was completely serious when he said it."
"Uh…" Qin Wanshu almost choked on her apple. Now it was clear why Shi Yunyang turned out the way she did—like father, like daughter!
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