After Becoming the Mother of the Scumbag Stand-In Female Lead - Chapter 20

Glancing at the time—4:30 PM—Si Mu scanned the neatly processed documents on her desk. After a brief consideration, she stood up and walked out.

Zhao Yuanqi, who had been reviewing files in her office, looked up in surprise as Si Mu knocked and entered. “What’s up? Need something?”

Though their offices were adjacent, they rarely sought each other out due to handling different company affairs.

Pursing her lips slightly, Si Mu spoke with composed ease, “I need to borrow something.”

Zhao Yuanqi instinctively glanced at her own desk, puzzled. “What?”

Si Mu raised her chin slightly, pointing toward the wine cabinet beside the desk. “Wine.”

Curiosity instantly piqued, Zhao Yuanqi chuckled as she stood. “How unusual. I thought you didn’t like drinking?”

Walking over to her well-stocked cabinet, she gestured generously. “Take your pick.”

Si Mu studied the selection carefully before choosing a bottle.

Wincing in exaggerated pain, Zhao Yuanqi shot her a resentful glare. “You’ve got expensive taste!”

This particular bottle had been airfreighted from a foreign vineyard—a rich, lingering vintage Zhao Yuanqi had been saving for a romantic evening with her next companion.

A faint smirk tugged at Si Mu’s lips as she turned. “I’ll make it up to you.”

Just as Si Mu was about to leave with the bottle, Zhao Yuanqi quickly stopped her. “Hey, aren’t you going to tell me what this is for?”

With a teasing lilt, she added, “Got a date?”

After a brief hesitation, Si Mu shook her head. “No. A business discussion.”

“Business? With whom?”

Zhao Yuanqi couldn’t recall any new projects on the horizon.

“Sheng Yunjin.”

Recognition dawned, and Zhao Yuanqi brightened. “Let me come with you! After meeting her yesterday, I thought the young Miss Sheng was quite approachable.”

Si Mu gave her a firm look and shook her head. “No.”

“Why not?” Zhao Yuanqi protested.

“Which restaurant did you book? I can probably call and add a seat.” She was already reaching for her phone.

Closing the lit screen with a decisive motion, Si Mu paused before answering. “Not a restaurant. We’re… having dinner at her place.”

“Holy—!”

Zhao Yuanqi’s eyes swept over Si Mu’s deadpan expression, her grin turning suggestive.

“Invited to her home on the second meeting? Are you sure this is about work?”

Long accustomed to her friend’s wild imagination, Si Mu didn’t even blink. “It is.”

Zhao Yuanqi, already weaving an elaborate scenario in her mind, remained unconvinced.

Tucking a loose curl behind her ear, she narrowed her eyes playfully. “I meant to ask yesterday—did you know her before?”

Unfazed, Si Mu met her probing gaze evenly. “No.”

Confronted with those cool, unreadable eyes, Zhao Yuanqi sighed in defeat.

“Fine, fine. Guess the young Miss Sheng just took a liking to us. Helping us out so soon after returning to the country—we’ll have to repay her properly.”

Mid-sentence, her thoughts took a sudden detour, and her voice trailed off.

Noticing her increasingly mischievous smile, Si Mu decided it was time to leave.

But before she could take a step, Zhao Yuanqi grabbed her arm.

“Si Mu, do you think she has a crush on you?”

Si Mu stiffened slightly before turning around, doing her best to maintain a neutral expression. “Don’t jump to conclusions.”

Resting her chin on her hand, Zhao Yuanqi pondered seriously, replaying yesterday’s events in her mind. The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

“From my years of experience in the sapphic scene, I’d say there’s a ninety percent chance that Miss Sheng is also a little lesbian.”

The corner of Si Mu’s lips twitched involuntarily before she composed herself. “How can you tell?”

Unaware of her reaction, Zhao Yuanqi continued analyzing. “Just a feeling. Yesterday, I was too focused on the business deal to think about it, but looking back now, my gaydar was practically screaming.”

“Is your intuition reliable?” Si Mu asked leisurely.

Shooting her a glance, Zhao Yuanqi grinned. “Don’t doubt me. Take you, for example—even though you’ve never been in a relationship, I’d bet my life you’re into women.”

Pausing for effect and seeing Si Mu remain unfazed, she added through gritted teeth, “I’ll stake my future s3x life on it!”

There was no way someone as cold and restrained as Si Mu would ever fall for some random guy in the future!

Si Mu chuckled, picking up the bottle of wine she had selected before leaving with a parting remark.

“May your future s3x life be fulfilling.”

Staring at the office door for a long moment, Zhao Yuanqi still couldn’t decipher what Si Mu had meant.

Had she guessed right or not?

…

After carefully packaging the wine, Si Mu grabbed her bag and prepared to leave work early.

As she passed the secretary’s office, her steps faltered.

The young secretary, who had been slacking off near the end of the workday, nearly lost her composure when her boss stopped in front of her.

“Secretary Sun, where did you buy those desserts last time?”

The day before yesterday, for her birthday, Secretary Sun had brought small cakes to share with the office, even daring to leave one on Si Mu’s desk.

Secretary Sun quickly stood up and forwarded her favorite shop’s details to Si Mu.

“It’s this place, President Si.”

Noticing Si Mu seemed ready to leave, she added curiously, “You’re heading out so early today?”

Si Mu nodded, pulling out her phone to search for the address. “Yes, I have something to take care of today.”

Secretary Sun’s gaze flickered cautiously over Si Mu’s refined, mature face. Seeing her search for directions—likely to the dessert shop—she offered a reminder.

“President Si, the shop isn’t far from the company, but it’s quite popular. You might have to queue.”

Thanking her with a nod, Si Mu turned and left.

Five minutes later, Zhao Yuanqi finally realized Si Mu had skillfully diverted the conversation and burst out of her office.

Finding the room empty, she turned in disbelief toward the secretary’s office. “Where’s President Si?”

Secretary Sun stood up. “She said she had something to do and left early.”

Zhao Yuanqi froze for a moment before her smile turned devious.

“I knew there was something going on between them!”

…

When Si Mu arrived at the dessert shop following her GPS, it wasn’t yet peak hours, so though the store was busy, there was no line.

After consulting the staff, she bought three of the shop’s most popular desserts before heading home.

Several young women who had recently joined the office were just a year or two out of college. Last time when Secretary Sun ordered desserts, Si Mu also tried them, but perhaps because she didn’t often eat sweets, she found them a bit too sugary.

Later during lunch break when leaving the office, Si Mu accidentally overheard those young women chatting, their conversation filled with praises about how delicious the desserts were.

Sheng Yunjin was about their age, Si Mu thought, maybe she would like such sweet treats too.

…

When the doorbell rang, Sheng Yunjin was still in the kitchen preparing ingredients.

Hearing the chime, she first turned off the stove, then happily trotted to the foyer to open the door.

Sure enough, it was Si Mu standing outside, dressed in her usual professional attire today, her long black hair pinned up with a jade hairpin at the back of her head, looking casual yet mature.

Her light green silk shirt had two buttons undone, revealing a fair swan-like neck, lacking the usual stern and aloof demeanor from work.

Sheng Yunjin stepped aside to let her in, her beautiful peach blossom eyes twinkling with amusement, “Please come in, Director Si.”

Meeting her gaze, Si Mu curved her lips slightly and handed over the bag she was carrying.

“A housewarming gift.”

She bent down to change into the slippers Sheng Yunjin had fetched for her, her gaze inadvertently glancing at Sheng Yunjin’s feet.

Both pairs were the same color.

After placing the gift in the living room, Sheng Yunjin turned on the TV.

“It’ll be about twenty more minutes. Feel free to look around, Director Si. I’ll be in the kitchen~”

With that, Sheng Yunjin trotted back to the kitchen, concerned about the sweet and sour spareribs she’d just put in the pot.

With her movements, the little bun at the back of her head bounced up and down, utterly adorable.

Si Mu pressed her lips together in a smile, then let her eyes wander around the room.

Since they lived in adjacent floors, their apartment layouts shared many similarities.

But unlike the minimalist style upstairs, Sheng Yunjin’s place was noticeably cozier and more playful.

The long sofa was adorned with several plush throw pillows, and the coffee table held a transparent vase with a few pink flower stems.

Beneath the TV screen were neatly stacked rows of colorful little boxes.

Curious, Si Mu stepped closer and, upon reading the labels, realized they were all game cartridge cases.

Even the carpet underfoot was printed with cute cartoon characters.

Feeling a sudden warmth in her heart, Si Mu turned to look toward the kitchen.

Unlike her own sparsely equipped kitchen, Sheng Yunjin’s was filled with all sorts of cooking utensils and an array of whimsically shaped but charmingly colored dishes.

“Do you cook often?”

Standing at the kitchen doorway, Si Mu watched the faint outline of muscles on Sheng Yunjin’s forearm as she moved.

Being at home, Sheng Yunjin was dressed much more casually—no makeup on her face, her hair simply tied up in a messy bun.

A light blue camisole and matching shorts prioritized comfort and coolness.

Hearing Si Mu’s voice, Sheng Yunjin glanced back and smiled, “Not so much recently, but when I was studying abroad, I practically had to cook every day.”

Mentioning the past made Si Mu’s heart flutter slightly. “You went to university abroad?”

Sheng Yunjin answered without hesitation, “Yeah, but I did high school overseas too.”

After covering the pot to let the sauce reduce, Sheng Yunjin rinsed her hands at the sink.

“You’re truly remarkable to have studied abroad alone for so long,” Si Mu said, her heart softening as she pictured Sheng Yunjin at fourteen or fifteen.

With a mischievous smile, Sheng Yunjin blinked at her. “It wasn’t too bad, actually. After all, I had people taking care of all my daily needs.”

Meeting her lively gaze, Si Mu was momentarily stunned.

With her hair pulled back, only a few stray strands framing her forehead, Sheng Yunjin’s delicate, fair features were fully on display, making her radiance even more striking.

“You’re still impressive,” Si Mu insisted, her ears-tinged pink as she averted her eyes slightly.