Chapter 10: I Decided To Keep You (A Small Plot Before h)
The costume was even more stifling than Shen Jin had expected.
When Shen Jin took off the leopard head in the bathroom, it felt like white steam was coming out of the top of her head.
Her hair was almost soaked through, and when she took off the outer costume, she saw a big wet patch on the front of her shirt.
A real "sweat woman." Shen Jin looked at the mirror and sighed silently. Now there was no way to have a chance encounter.
Qin Mo was still in the venting room. Shen Jin carefully carried the costume past the door and quietly slipped out.
Covered in sweat, Shen Jin felt too embarrassed to flirt with Qin Mo again. So, she stuffed the costume into the trunk, drove home, showered, and changed her clothes.
……
As the saying goes, enemies are bound to meet on a narrow road.
Qin Mo never expected that just by casually parking on the roadside to grab a cup of coffee, she'd run into her ex-husband's new lover.
Actually, to be precise, Zhang Minsheng couldn't really be called her ex-husband yet, since they were still in the process of negotiating a divorce, just currently separated.
But even though the old flame wasn't completely out, the new one had already started acting spoiled and arrogant.
"Oh, isn’t this Qin—Vice President Qin?"
Wu Li dragged her tone sarcastically, a mocking smile on her face, "Have you been well?”
Qin Mo looked at her and suddenly felt grateful for that "big cat" earlier, which had allowed her to vent all her bad emotions, so she wasn’t too embarrassed now.
"I'm doing just fine," Qin Mo smiled slightly, "No need for a mistress to worry."
Being directly called a mistress, and in public no less, Wu Li's expression shifted slightly.
But she couldn’t back down and show weakness just like that.
So, she rolled her eyes and deliberately threw a flirtatious look.
"Am I making Vice President Qin uncomfortable?"
Wu Li raised her arm, intentionally showing off the Chanel bag she was carrying.
"It’s all my Minsheng’s fault. He was so worried I’d get tired. We only walked for a bit, yet he insisted I come in here to rest."
As she spoke, she rested her hand on her temple, looking weak and delicate.
Qin Mo just watched her performance quietly, acting very coquettishly.
"Miss Wu," after Wu Li finished her fake moaning, Qin Mo slightly raised her chin and said, "I'll give you a piece of advice: cherish the coffee you can still drink now."
She paused for a moment, not giving Wu Li a chance to interrupt, and continued, "After all, you won't be able to afford it soon."
"What do you mean?" Wu Li secretly clenched her teeth.
Qin Mo just smiled slightly.
"Your Minsheng, at most earns thirty thousand a month. In Licheng, that salary basically puts him in the poverty bracket."
"I don’t know how you two hooked up before, but..." Qin Mo glanced at her Chanel bag, her tone dripping with sarcasm, "As for the money he spent buying you things, you can ask him how much of it came from me."
Wu Li bit her lips tightly, and her face completely changed.
"Also," Qin Mo picked up her coffee from the counter and continued twisting the knife, "I've paid sixty percent of the mortgage for the house you're living in."
"In other words," she looked at Wu Li, "I can reapply for the division of marital property anytime, and you might just end up with no place to live."
"Lastly, enjoy your poverty alleviation."
With that, Qin Mo no longer paid attention to Wu Li, whose face had turned pale with anger and turned to leave the coffee shop.
Getting into her Audi, Qin Mo turned the steering wheel, as if trying to escape something, quickly merging into traffic and driving away.
Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. Qin Mo knew she wasn't sad, but tears, like broken pearls, kept rolling down one by one, soaking the front of her shirt.
All the way back to her apartment, Qin Mo parked the car in the underground garage.
It wasn’t peak time, so the elevator quickly descended to the basement.
Qin Mo walked in absentmindedly, not pressing any floor buttons. She just crossed her arms and stood in the corner, head lowered as if lost in thought.
The elevator doors slowly closed, and after a moment, it ascended to the first floor.
Shen Jin was standing at the elevator entrance, holding two bags of groceries.
She didn’t expect the doors to open and see Qin Mo.
"Ms.…Qin?"
Shen Jin hesitated for a second but decided to go with a title that reflected Qin Mo's status as her sponsor.
Qin Mo looked up in a daze, her eyes slightly glistening with tears, staring blankly at Shen Jin.
She had cried? Shen Jin's heart was pricked, a faint pain spreading through it.
The elevator’s automatic sensor suddenly triggered, and Shen Jin finally snapped out of it. She quickly slipped inside.
She stood next to Qin Mo, shifting the bag in her right hand to her left, then pressed the close button and the number "15."
The elevator began to ascend.
Only then did Qin Mo seem to come back to her senses, turning her head to glance at Shen Jin and the items in her hand.
"You... cook for yourself?"
"Mm," Shen Jin smiled awkwardly, "I haven't gotten any gigs lately, so cooking for myself saves a bit of money."
It felt like the situation of a fresh graduate barely getting by. In this kind of context, it seemed like a word of comfort would be fitting, but... what exactly do you say to a professional mistress?
‘Self-reliance is good, you'll have plenty to eat and wear,’ or ‘Don't worry, you'll get a gig soon.’... uh, none of it seemed appropriate.
Cautious as always, Qin Mo could only offer a slightly awkward smile in the end.
"Cooking for yourself, um... that's good."
Shen Jin, on the other hand, didn’t seem to overthink it. She lifted the bags, giving them a little shake, and looked at Qin Mo expectantly.
"My cooking's not bad, and the ingredients are really fresh today. Why don't you come over and eat with me, Ms. Qin?"
"...Ah?"
Before Qin Mo had a chance to respond to Shen Jin's sudden invitation, the elevator door opened, and Shen Jin quickly grabbed Qin Mo's wrist with her free hand, pulling her out.
Confused and dragged to Shen Jin's apartment door, she soon fished out her keys and enthusiastically invited Qin Mo inside.
"Wait," Qin Mo tried to decline, "I’ll just have dinner myself... Hey, Shen Jin, what are you doing?"
Before she could finish her sentence, she saw Shen Jin pile the two large bags onto the cabinet by the entrance and then come back to pull Qin Mo inside.
Shen Jin pressed Qin Mo against the closed door, immediately leaning her body tightly against her.
“Ms. Qin,” Shen Jin breathed almost against Qin Mo's face. “Didn’t you say you’d consider keeping me?”
The hot breath sprayed against the ear made Qin Mo's face flush. Her heart couldn’t help but race.
“I... only said I’d consider,” Qin Mo said, a bit flustered. “I didn’t say... I’d definitely keep, keep you.”
“My price is very reasonable,” Shen Jin eagerly marketed herself. “If Ms. Qin doesn’t trust me, you can try my service for a few days. I won’t charge you extra.”
You can try my service… Qin Mo felt her worldview refresh once again.
Just as Qin Mo was thinking about how to refuse, she suddenly felt a vibration at her waist.
Both of them froze for a moment. Shen Jin frowned slightly but then stepped back half a step, releasing Qin Mo.
It must be a call. Qin Mo fished out her phone to check the caller ID while quietly apologizing to Shen Jin, then hurriedly opened the door and escaped.
“Bang,” the door closed again.
Shen Jin touched her nose: “...”
The hallway.
Qin Mo fumbled with her keys to open the door to her apartment, then hurried inside as if fleeing for her life.
She quickly shut the door and patted her wildly beating chest, finally letting out a long breath.
This was... too difficult.
The phone in her hand insistently vibrated again. Qin Mo then remembered that she hadn’t answered earlier.
It was a strange number, showing as a local call from Licheng. Qin Mo didn’t hesitate much and pressed the answer button.
“Hello, who’s this?”
“Qin Mo!”
An angry and exasperated voice came from the other end—Zhang Minsheng.
“What did you say to Xiao Li today? Don’t you know she’s pregnant and can’t be upset? What if the baby gets hurt? Do you have any sense at all?”
A barrage of accusations hit her head-on. Qin Mo froze, then found it utterly ridiculous.
“Zhang Minsheng, are you sick?”
“You’re the one who’s sick!”
Zhang Minsheng's tone was harsh. “Qin Mo, we’re already getting divorced. You can’t keep clinging to me just because I was your first love. I know I cheated... but you can’t use Xiaoli to get revenge just because you can’t get over me.”
Can’t get over him? Qin Mo was so angry she almost laughed. Where did this man get such confidence?
Too lazy to argue with him, Qin Mo hung up the phone immediately.
It felt like dark clouds had suddenly gathered—her mood hit rock bottom. Qin Mo stood for a moment, then abruptly opened the door and went out, knocking on the door across from her.
The door opened quickly, and Shen Jin peeked her head out.
“Give me your account number,” Qin Mo said as she looked at her. “From now on, fifty thousand a month. I’m keeping you.”