Chapter 77: Revenge
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
She thought she would definitely give Cheng Suran a cold face, but at this moment, Song Qingluo was so calm that even her breathing didn’t change.
"Ms. Song," Cheng Suran smiled and nodded, showing no signs of surprise.
Her gaze quickly swept between her and Wen Ruoxian, then turned to Wen Ruoxian, handing over the item in her hand. "I polished it up overall. Take a look again. Let me know if there are any changes needed. If there’s nothing wrong, we’ll use this the day after tomorrow."
It was a speech draft.
Wen Ruoxian flipped through two pages after taking it. "No need for changes. I trust your work."
"Then I won't disturb your little world together," Cheng Suran winked, nodded toward Song Qingluo, and turned to leave.
"Wait."
Song Qingluo stopped her, taking a step forward. “CEO Cheng, I'm the one who needs to disturb you for a moment. There are some things I want to ask you."
Then she glanced at Wen Ruoxian.
Wen Ruoxian suppressed a smile, giving Cheng Suran a helpless look.
Cheng Suran immediately understood and gestured towards Song Qingluo. "I guess Ms. Song wants to ask me privately. How about we go to my office and sit for a while?" She paused, then leaned close to Song Qingluo's ear and whispered, "What kind of tea do you want? I'll brew it for you."
Tea...
The corner of Song Qingluo's mouth twitched.
She touched the spot on her hand where she'd been burned, and it seemed like the pain was still there.
“No need, let's just talk here.” She had no desire to go to Cheng Suran's office. Every time she went, it brought back memories. So without waiting for Cheng Suran to agree, she sat down.
Wen Ruoxian stood up and said, "I'll head to the finance department."
The office was left with just the two of them, and the silence was a bit awkward. Cheng Suran walked over, sat down across from Song Qingluo, poured a cup of warm water, and gently pushed it in front of her. “Is this about the time you were my secretary?”
Song Qingluo had a look on her face that said, "How did you know?"
"Qingluo, you're so cute."
“...”
Cheng Suran unexpectedly called her by her name, making Song Qingluo feel uncomfortable all over, but not exactly in a bad way.
"I know I'm cute." She raised her chin slightly and straightened her back.
"Since CEO Cheng has put it that way, let's go straight to answering. I'm listening."
Feeling exposed, she couldn't back down and had to maintain a tough front.
Cheng Suran pressed her lips together and smiled, then seriously said, "During that time, making you brew tea repeatedly, assigning you a lot of trivial tasks, and being strict with you, it was intentional on my part, but I had no malicious intent. It was more like... teasing you, playing with you."
"I already know that."
"So?"
"You should apologize to me." Song Qingluo raised an eyebrow.
Cheng Suran nodded. "I'm sorry. I abused my authority for personal reasons and caused you..." She carefully chose her words, swallowing the word "harm" before it slipped out, "some misunderstandings and inconvenience."
After all, it wasn't that serious, right?
Only then did Song Qingluo feel satisfied and waved her hand. "No real harm done. It's just that I hold grudges, and since we’ve run into each other today, I had to get my revenge."
"How?"
"I already did."
"Apologizing?"
"Yes."
Cheng Suran stared at her for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Such an interesting person, I really want to be friends with.”
“Me?”
“Of course.”
Song Qingluo was pleased to be praised but didn’t express it. She only said, “Thank you for the compliment, CEO Cheng.”
Cheng Suran poured herself a glass of water and slowly drank it. “Wen Ruoxian probably told you about our past, right? I’m sorry for causing misunderstandings and trouble between you two because of me. I completely understand how you feel. Don’t doubt yourself, wondering if you’re the problem. My girlfriend had similar feelings at that time before. She was bothered, got jealous, and even kept her guard up against Ruoxian for a while.”
Song Qingluo's thoughts were laid bare by her words.
But hearing her say this, she suddenly felt a sense of balance.
Wen Ruoxian had mentioned her to Cheng Suran, so it wasn’t surprising that she knew these things. She didn’t seem to resist Cheng Suran as much anymore, nor did she mind that Cheng Suran knew about her private matters with Wen Ruoxian.
Were they still considered "love rivals"?
"My girlfriend and I also met a long time ago. Back then, we both thought we couldn't be together and then we were apart for several years. We missed some of the most important times in each other's lives during those years. She had her new loves, and I had my entanglements until we met again..."
"You and I are quite similar."
It was as if two invisible hands were pulling their four strings through and around, tying the most complicated knots, overlapping again and again, only to be gently pulled apart like magic, and everything fell back into place.
Song Qingluo nodded.
"To be honest, and I hope you don’t mind me saying this, I once thought: if Ruoxian had been more proactive, or if I had been more perceptive, would we have ended up together? But it's just a passing thought. It would have never happened. It’s not that Ruoxian isn't proactive; it's just that her efforts are only for 'the right person,' which is you. And it's not that I'm not perceptive; my sensitivity is reserved for 'the right person,' which is my Coco."
"I think the reason she and I can only be friends is because, not far in the future, the real right person is waiting for us."
Cheng Suran gazed at Song Qingluo intently.
Song Qingluo's cheeks flushed, and she turned her head. "I don't care about things like that."
"Ah, that's great," Cheng Suran leaned back with a cheerful smile, looking up at the ceiling. "In the future, the four of us can play mahjong together, and travel together. There are still so many places we haven't been to yet. Oh, and you two live in Green Shang Mansion too, right? We could visit each other's homes, maybe even share meals..."
This drew Song Qingluo's attention back.
"Mahjong? Ruoxian mentioned it to me. When? At your place or mine?"
……
Wen Ruoxian sat in the finance department for about twenty minutes. When she returned to the office, she found only Song Qingluo sitting on the sofa, head lowered, lost in thought.
“Qingluo?”
She walked over with some trepidation, pulled her into an embrace, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Song Qingluo was jolted out of her thoughts, looked up with excitement, and said, “CEO Cheng invited us to her home for dinner this weekend. It’s just in time for my beauty treatments and body care, so I need to dress up nicely. I can’t let her partner outshine me.”
She expected Wen Ruoxian to laugh and say she didn’t need to worry. To her surprise, Wen Ruoxian nodded and said, “Sure, we’ll go together.”
“Hmph, honestly, are you worried that we might argue?” Song Qingluo sat on her lap, facing her.
Wen Ruoxian thought for a moment and honestly said, “A little, but I’m not too concerned. I know you won’t put me in an awkward position, so I trust you. Ms. Cheng feels the same way... It seems I’m quite lucky, doesn’t it? Both my lover and my friend care so much about me.”
Song Qingluo's eyes welled up with tears. She blinked hard, lowered her head, and kissed her.
Wen Ruoxian tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
She liked the warmth of her lips, the irregular rhythm of her breathing, the slightly urgent movements, and even the faint anticipation of what might happen—when Song Qingluo removed her glasses.
With one hand stroking the back of her head, her fingers tangled in Wen Ruoxian’s hair, creating a tingling sensation.
“Mm…” Wen Ruoxian shivered, her hand sliding down Song Qingluo’s back, her head almost tilting back to the limit, exposing half of her neck.
But at that moment, Song Qingluo let her go.
“Qingluo?”
“This is the office. It wouldn’t be good if someone came looking for you later.” As she spoke, she adjusted her collar and hair, put her glasses back on, and muttered to herself, “My wife who wears glasses is so strict. Though you look a bit scary, you're also quite tempting. Hehe.”
Wen Ruoxian looked down slightly, her glasses pressing on the bridge of her nose as she glared at her. “Were you doing it on purpose?”
Song Qingluo grinned evilly without answering.
Unable to do anything about it, Wen Ruoxian made a mental note of this, determined to settle the score with the little fox when the opportunity arose.
She patted the fox's bottom. “Get up, you bad girl.”
“I won't.”
Song Qingluo fidgeted a bit. Just then, a ringtone sounded. She reached into her pocket to check her phone and saw it was a call from Song Yulan—her own mother was asking to borrow money.
“Who do you think you are? This trick isn’t new. Don’t think I don’t know AI can mimic family voices. Get lost!” She cursed and hung up the call.
Wen Ruoxian asked seriously, “What happened?”
“A scammer pretending to be Mom and asking for money. It’s so ridiculous. My mom would never ask me for money; she’s always worried I don’t have enough and keeps feeding me money every now and then… Nowadays, high-tech scams are getting more sophisticated. They use family numbers and mimic family voices. If I hadn’t played with AI simulation before, I might have fallen for it,” Song Qingluo said with disdain.
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
The phone rang again with the same number.
She ended the call immediately.
Wen Ruoxian thought for a moment and said, “Isn’t it possible that it might be real? Why don’t you ask where she is and suggest meeting in person? It’s harder to fake someone you see in person.”
Song Qingluo, who had just been furious, immediately became obedient. She considered Wen Ruoxian's advice and decided to call back.
While waiting for the call to connect, she mentally chided herself.
Her mind wasn’t as quick as her wife’s.
The voice on the phone still sounded familiar. Song Qingluo remained calm but stayed vigilant. She learned that her mother had returned to Jiangcheng early this afternoon and was currently at the company. Her mother asked to borrow money for a short-term issue but refused to explain further.
“Ruoxian, I need to go see my mom. I’ll come back to pick you up after,” she said, reluctantly getting up from Wen Ruoxian’s lap, looking hurried.
Wen Ruoxian didn’t have time to respond before Song Qingluo’s figure disappeared through the door.
….
That night, Song Qingluo did not return.
Wen Ruoxian worked late in the office, forgetting the time. When she finally checked her phone, she saw a message from Song Qingluo: there was something at home, and she needed to stay with her mother for two days.
She told Song Qingluo to not worry about her.
Wen Ruoxian then drove home alone.
She spent two nights by herself. Despite her WeChat messages and phone calls, Song Qingluo only responded with "It's fine." Singing her to sleep through voice messages couldn’t ease her worries.
After enduring another sleepless night, Wen Ruoxian saw Song Qingluo return quietly on the fourth morning. The sunlight at ten o'clock made everything look distant as she emerged from the bedroom, barely awake.
The walk-in closet door was open, and a hand truck was parked nearby, stacked with a large suitcase.
Song Qingluo was packing several bags into it. Along with the bags, there were clothes and jewelry, filling the suitcase to the brim.
“Qingluo?”
The sound seemed to startle the busy person.
Song Qingluo's hand trembled, causing a bucket bag to fall to the floor. She didn’t bother to pick it up, turning around with surprise to look at Wen Ruoxian. “You’re at home?”
Wen Ruoxian’s mind slowly cleared: “Mm, I woke up late.” She walked closer, looking at the contents of the large suitcase. “Are you moving?”
“Oh, no,” Song Qingluo bent down again. “I’m clearing out clothes I don’t often use to make room for new ones.”
“This bag, you just bought it last week and used it only once. I remember you liked it a lot.” Wen Ruoxian picked up a white shoulder bag from the suitcase.
Song Qingluo didn’t even glance at it and said, “I’m tired of it. Just a temporary interest.”
Wen Ruoxian frowned, slowly putting the bag down. “What exactly happened?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Then look at me.”
Song Qingluo raised her head.
Reading emotions from someone’s gaze isn’t always accurate. At least now, Wen Ruoxian couldn’t discern anything. Those eyes were clear, enchanting, and naturally seductive, just as they usually were.
“I thought we were already family to each other, that we could share both joy and pain and face anything together,” Wen Ruoxian said, looking at her.
Song Qingluo panicked immediately and hugged her. “Of course, we are family.”
Wen Ruoxian fell silent.
“It’s nothing…” Song Qingluo mumbled. “My mom ran into a small problem. At first, I thought it was serious and worried she might be in a bad mood alone, so I wanted to stay with her. Having someone close by can provide some emotional comfort.”
Wen Ruoxian became anxious. “What kind of trouble?”
“Internal power struggles at the company. There were some tax issues reported, and they’ve been cooperating with the audit these days. A newly released drug caused a death, and the family came to cause trouble. It was later discovered that high-level insiders colluded to swap the raw materials… So, my mom came back early to handle these issues. Her personal account was frozen, and she couldn’t manage her funds, which is why she asked me for money. She didn’t even tell me at first, hmph.”
Song Qingluo sighed. There were many things she didn’t know well, since she didn’t need to get involved. Difficulties would be resolved before they reached her.
Wen Ruoxian asked, “A personal account being frozen? Tax audits don’t usually do that, do they?”
“They did their business rather ‘recklessly’ back then. Regulations weren’t strict, and public accounts and private accounts were all in a mess, so… they might have exploited some loopholes and got noticed,” Song Qingluo said, scratching her head.
“I almost thought my mom was going to be imprisoned.”
“But it’s okay. They’ve compensated the family, reported the situation to the police, and paid the back taxes. My mom is probably used to these things; it’s me who’s overreacting.”
“That’s good to hear.” Wen Ruoxian sighed in relief and gently patted her back. “You should trust Auntie. The reason she didn’t tell you was probably because she thought it wasn’t a big deal and didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily.”
“Why do you say the same thing as she does? She told me the same thing,” Song Qingluo narrowed her eyes.
“Because I love her daughter.”
“Sharp-tongued!”
Wen Ruoxian covered her lips, neither too lightly nor too heavily.
“Mm….” Song Qingluo struggled a bit, blushing as she stepped back. “I still have work to do. You go on and handle your things.”
Wen Ruoxian teased her, “What work?”
“To sell these.”
Song Qingluo quickly covered her mouth after speaking.
Oops.
She had let it slip.
Wen Ruoxian gave her an “explain yourself” look.
Song Qingluo lowered her hand, fidgeted for a moment, and said in a small voice, “I don’t have much left on my account. I need to sell some things to make up the difference.”
The trunk was filled with clothes and bags she used to like.
Each item was quite valuable.
Wen Ruoxian was silent for a long time, contemplating the items. She turned and went back to the bedroom, then came out with a passbook: “I have over 13 million here. I’m not sure if it’s enough for emergencies, but take it and use it for now.”
It was her entire savings.
It had accumulated since her graduation with a master’s degree.
She had low material desires and didn’t like to invest everywhere. Other than necessary expenses, the extra money was all saved.
“What about you?”
“I still have money in my card, enough for daily expenses.”
Song Qingluo looked at Wen Ruoxian, lowered her head, and then looked up with reddened eyes: “We’ve only been together for a short time, and you’re giving all your money away. What will you do? You call me a love fool, but you’re the real lovesick fool.”
She didn’t reach out to take it.
“Qingluo…”
Wen Ruoxian took her hand and slipped the passbook inside. “I have missed your past time, so I only hope that in the present and future, when you need help, I can be by your side, providing support both financially and emotionally.”
After speaking, she embraced her again, gently stroking her hair.
Song Qingluo bit her lip, rubbed her chin against Wen Ruoxian’s neck, and swallowed the sourness and lump in her throat.
“Thank you, Ruoxian, but—”
She put the passbook into Wen Ruoxian’s pajama pocket, lifted her chin defiantly, and said, “I’m not at the point of making my wife empty her savings.”
“Qingluo…”
“Don’t worry, even if a lot of money is needed, I’d sell the house or stocks first. Only when it’s close to bankruptcy would I let it happen. Ah bah, bah, bah, why am I speaking so pessimistically?”
“My two closets are almost full. By clearing out these old things, I can buy new ones!”
Song Qingluo was like a cheerful little hamster, chattering away, and bustling around. She turned in place and hugged Wen Ruoxian’s neck.
Their gazes locked together like magnets.
Wen Ruoxian sighed, smiling helplessly, with a hint of reproach in her tone. “I haven’t slept well these past few nights. What should I do?”
“Well…” Song Qingluo whispered in her ear, “Tonight, I’ll make sure you sleep well.”
