Accidentally Marked My Ex’s Crush, the Ice-Cold Goddess O - Chapter 10: Fu Ruanyi

Chapter 10: Fu Ruanyi

Gu Feiran walked out of the hospital, stood by the roadside waiting for the driver to pull up, and opened Weibo out of boredom to check the trending topics.

Unexpectedly, the moment she clicked in, she saw Jiang Ci’s name.

As an ordinary person, Jiang Ci had been appearing on the trending list more frequently than entertainment celebrities these past few days.

#Jiang Ci Suspected of Attempting Suicide After Broken Engagement

This trending topic ranked third, with media images showing Jiang Ci with a head injury.

The camera was far away, and the shot wasn’t very clear, but the gauze on her head was distinctly visible.

Besides this, the rest were about Qiao Yunchi.

#Qiao Yunchi’s First Appearance After Breaking Engagement

#Qiao Yunchi and Jiang Ci’s Relationship Timeline

#Qiao Yunchi Attends Event

Gu Feiran clicked on the comments under the first trending topic about the suspected suicide.

[She loved him that much? To the point of suicide?]

[Is it really true love?]

[True love, my ass. I remember when this couple first went public, someone said they were just a business marriage with no real feelings. That seems pretty accurate. Otherwise, Qiao Yunchi wouldn’t have publicly called off the engagement on the day of and said she had someone she liked.]

[Qiao Yunchi has someone she likes? Who is it? Someone in the industry or outside?]

[Could it be the ‘Clearing Clouds to See the Sun’ ship I’ve always supported?!]

[That ship is even faker, totally fabricated.]

[…]

[This Jiang Ci actually looks pretty good, but that’s probably her only good point. Honestly, pairing a top-tier omega with a useless alpha is just too much. If they got engaged and married, wouldn’t that be like pushing someone into a fire pit?]

[Exactly. Omegas are already rare these days, let alone top-tier omegas. They’re even scarcer.]

[Forget Qiao Yunchi. If it were me, I’d call off the engagement too.]

[Breaking off is fine, but suicide is unnecessary.]

[That said, in this day and age, who still commits suicide over unrequited love? It’s possible she’s faking it to get people to bash Qiao Yunchi.]

Beep beep.

Gu Feiran finished reading this comment and was about to scroll further when a horn suddenly blared in front of her.

She thought it was her driver, so she instinctively stepped forward, but when her hand touched the car door, she realized it wasn’t the car picking her up.

The passenger window rolled down, and Gu Feiran gripped her phone, bending down to look inside. It was Jiang Ci.

Jiang Ci held the steering wheel with one hand, looked down, and waved at Gu Feiran. “Dr. Gu, have you gotten a ride? I can take you back.”

Although she had said at the hospital that it wasn’t necessary, now that they’d run into each other, she couldn’t just drive off.

It would seem very rude.

Gu Feiran declined her: “No need, Miss Jiang. Drive safely.”

Jiang Ci: “…”

This Dr. Gu was, as always, rejecting her with a straight face, but she was quite hard to figure out.

That night at the hotel, she had actively grabbed her hand, pulled it down, and kissed her fiercely with overwhelming possessiveness. If Jiang Ci took a moment to rest, Gu Feiran would entice her to keep kissing.

But now, it was like she didn’t know her at all, as if she was afraid others would find out they had any connection.

What was this Dr. Gu thinking?

Forget it. Since she wanted to keep her distance, why should Jiang Ci keep pushing? As long as she didn’t sue her in court, that was enough.

“Hmm, alright then, bye.”

Jiang Ci released the brake, signaled left, and slowly drove onto the main road, soon blending into the traffic.

As soon as Jiang Ci’s car left, the car behind it pulled up. Gu Feiran put away her phone, opened the back door, got in, and answered a phone call.

“Hello, Sister,” Gu Feiran said.

A low, lazy, mature voice came through the phone. “Yo, I thought you wouldn’t answer my call.”

Gu Feiran placed her coat and bag beside her and chuckled lightly. “I might not reply to messages, but I’ll always pick up calls. When I got off work just now, I saw Little Aunt picking up her girlfriend. They still look so in love.”

Fu Ruanyi leaned back in a balcony lounge chair, holding a glass of red wine, and said casually, “Our Fu family and the Jiang family have been at odds for so many years. I thought we’d never have any connection in this lifetime. Who would’ve thought Little Aunt would fall for the Jiang family’s little aunt? They’ve been together for five or six years now. Tell me, is this some kind of Stockholm syndrome?”

This question left Gu Feiran momentarily speechless.

Because just a few days ago, she had gotten involved with the Jiang family’s daughter, who had completely marked her.

Gu Feiran was silent for a few seconds before asking, “Sister, why don’t you oppose Little Aunt dating the Jiang family’s little aunt?”

Fu Ruanyi laughed. “Why would I oppose it? The ones who fought and cut ties were Grandma and the Jiang family’s old lady, not our generation. By our time, we already had no contact with the Jiang family. We don’t even know them, so where’s the big grudge? Besides, Little Aunt is in her thirties, almost forty. She finally found someone she likes. Why would I object?”

Gu Feiran nodded. “That makes sense.”

Fu Ruanyi added, “The Jiang family has a second daughter named Jiang Ci. Do you know her?”

“What about her?” Gu Feiran suddenly felt nervous. Why would her sister bring her up out of nowhere?

She had never mentioned her before.

Fu Ruanyi said, “She came to the racetrack today with a project to discuss a partnership. I didn’t meet her, but she actually waited at the racetrack entrance until evening to catch me. That girl’s pretty interesting. Our Fu family and the Jiang family stopped working together decades ago, so for Jiang Ci to bring a project to us today is quite an exception. I think it must have been the Jiang family’s old lady’s idea.”

After the two families fell out back then, they cut off all contact. Forget cooperation—meeting without a fight was already good enough.

For the Jiang family to come knocking now could only mean they were truly desperate.

Gu Feiran, hearing Fu Ruanyi’s words, suddenly recalled Jiang Ci squatting outside her office tonight, hugging her laptop bag. Could she have just come from her sister’s place?

“Are you going to agree to the partnership?” Gu Feiran asked.

Fu Ruanyi chuckled lightly. “Honestly, the project is pretty good. If the Jiang family is sincere about cooperating, I won’t refuse.”

But she had already rejected that Jiang girl all day today. Who knows if she’d show up again tomorrow?

Although Gu Feiran held shares in Shengding Group, she rarely got involved in its operations. “If you agree, what about Grandma?”

Grandma absolutely despised the Jiang family’s old lady.

That part…

Fu Ruanyi took a sip of red wine to wet her throat and said, “Grandma definitely won’t agree, but I’ll act first and report later. After all, this project is really attractive.”

For that person, it should be good news too.

But after being rejected so many times in one day, would she still actively pursue the project?

Fu Ruanyi tilted her head, pressing her ear closer to the phone. “Hey, enough about work. Let’s talk about you. Are you really not coming back for dinner the day after tomorrow? It’s Grandpa’s memorial day. Mom said she’ll be there.”

Gu Feiran: “The day after tomorrow is surgery day. I can’t leave by six. I won’t be back. Please tell Grandma and Mom I’m sorry.”

If that’s the case, there’s nothing to be done.

Fu Ruanyi sighed softly. “Alright, I got it. I’ll pass it on. Get some rest early. Bye.”

Gu Feiran: “Bye.”

After hanging up, Gu Feiran turned off her phone.

The next day, the first thing Jiang Ci did upon waking was check her phone for WeChat messages. Little Aunt had sent three messages after 11 p.m. last night.

Jiang Lan: Your Aunt Liu agreed to help make introductions.

Jiang Lan: Tomorrow at 10 a.m., go to Shengding Group. Little Yi has reserved a time for you.

Jiang Lan: Good luck.

Jiang Ci held her phone and replied: Thanks, Little Aunt, and thanks, Aunt Liu. I’ll treat you both to dinner sometime.

After replying, Jiang Ci immediately threw off the blanket, got out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and rushed to the bathroom to wash up.

After coming out, she put on makeup, changed into a black women’s suit, slipped into high heels she wasn’t used to, and headed to the company for a meeting.

The project the company was working on was personally planned by Grandma and had great potential.

The Qiao family had initially agreed to the marriage alliance because they had their eyes on this project. But with Qiao Yunchi calling off the engagement, the marriage failed, and the partnership ended too.

Given the Qiao family’s greedy attitude, if the two families had actually cooperated, they’d probably have taken 60% of the profits.

So, in a way, breaking off the engagement was a good thing.

At 9:30 a.m., Jiang Ci arrived at Shengding Group’s lounge half an hour early with the company’s legal team and staff.

The meeting was set for 10 a.m. After arriving, Jiang Ci and her team didn’t rush to meet Fu Ruanyi. Instead, they first handed over the project details for Fu Ruanyi to review. Once she was satisfied, they would discuss the partnership.

Time ticked by slowly.

They waited from 9:30 until nearly noon, drinking several cups of coffee and pacing the lounge countless times, but Fu Ruanyi still showed no sign of meeting them.

“President Jiang, what’s Shengding’s deal? We’ve been waiting here for hours,” the legal team finally asked, unable to hold back.

Jiang Ci sat on the sofa, head tilted, resting her chin, eyes closed to conserve energy. “Shengding hasn’t responded for so long, which means they’re interested in the project. They’re making us wait to test our patience. You all should calm down, adjust your mood, and within two hours, they’ll definitely call us over.”

Since the boss said so, the subordinates had no reason to argue or get upset. They turned and sat back down.

At 1:23 p.m., the lounge door opened, and everyone looked up at once.

Fu Ruanyi’s assistant walked in, smiling. “President Jiang, President Fu invites you all to her office to talk. This way, please.”

Jiang Ci nodded, stood up, and adjusted her clothes.

When they entered Fu Ruanyi’s office, she was sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, expression serious and commanding, yet not off-putting.

Shengding Group was a top company in the country, and Fu Ruanyi was famously its young lady, an S-level alpha with a noble and striking presence, exuding the charm of a mature woman at all times.

A few years ago, she casually started an entertainment company, and the new actor she trained became a third-tier actress overnight. The TV dramas and movies she invested in raked in huge profits. Now, she was not only Shengding’s president but also a producer. It was said that many in the entertainment industry, including Qiao Yunchi, were trying to curry favor with her.

Though Qiao Yunchi had indeed been trying to get close to Fu Ruanyi before, why was she now starting to like Gu Feiran?

Did she give up after failing to win her over?

Jiang Ci thought instinctively.

The assistant said, “President Jiang, please sit here.”

Jiang Ci nodded slightly, bent down, and sat on the sofa across from Fu Ruanyi. “Thank you.”

Her team slowly took their seats beside her.

On the table in front of Fu Ruanyi was a bottle of red wine and a wine glass. Next to the glass was the project proposal they had submitted earlier.