After Transmigrating, I Married the Male Lead’s Sister (GL) - Chapter 18
The next day, Li Suimei slept until she woke up naturally in Qin Bay. Apart from her and the servants, the Qin Bay manor was empty. Liu Ruoxi had gone to meet Qin’s father, and Qin Zhan and Qin Qing were both in the city, so she didn’t feel very comfortable staying alone.
Last night, Li Suimei had called Li Enhua, and Li Enhua had found out the source of the information. The people below had investigated the purchase records of a SIM card store and found that Gu Linxi had bought it.
The information was indeed leaked by Gu Linxi.
Li Suimei carried a small bag and went to the company aggressively. When she arrived, she learned that Qin Zhan and Gu Linxi had gone on a business trip early in the morning.
“Where’s Qin Qing?”
“The president was invited to cut the ribbon for a themed hotel in the neighboring city.”
Li Suimei was puzzled, “Does the hotel ribbon-cutting need her to be there?”
“It’s a design project by Mr. Qin.”
Li Suimei nodded, “…So, they went together?”
David nodded.
Li Suimei was momentarily confused, her mind filled with images of Gu Linxi and Qin Qing meeting. Under the halo of the protagonist, would Qin Qing be conquered by her?
“What’s wrong, Li?”
Li Suimei shook her head thoughtfully, “Nothing.”
*
*
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was completed in the morning, and Qin Qing was preparing to return to Haishi, but she was blocked by a group of advertisers and franchisees at the hotel.
Qin’s hotels had chains all over the country. However, this was the first time they had done a themed hotel. Compared to the mature and saturated chain hotels, investors focused more on the themed hotel that Qin Zhan was involved in. Many people came to hear the news today, and big and small bosses wanted to promote their own products.
A crowd of people, unable to reach Qin Zhan at the scene, blocked Qin Qing at the elevator entrance. Bodyguards formed layers to try and stop them, but some people used their feet and bodies to block the elevator door. Qin Qing was trapped in the 1st floor corridor, making it difficult for her to even enter or exit.
“No joint venture, Qin Corporation will handle it all,” Qin Qing coldly refused.
Qin Qing raised her hand, her brow twitching slightly, “…Please contact the purchasing department for items within the hotel.”
“Ms. Qin! Ms. Qin!”
Qin Qing said, “No photos.”
The bodyguards immediately shouted to stop them.
The crowd moved slowly. Finally, when she managed to get out of the lobby, people had stuffed various things into Qin Qing’s hands and bag.
She managed to catch some, but they were quickly knocked away and replaced with new ones: business cards, tissues, shampoo, shower gel, drinking water, and so on.
Qin Qing said, “These things have already been discussed…”
Someone else handed her a contract, and Qin Qing helplessly accepted it with a dark expression.
Although the bodyguards had formed a protective line in front of her, some people still managed to reach out and hand things to Qin Qing despite the pushing and shoving.
It wasn’t until Qin Qing’s expression turned unpleasant and her aura became strong that the crowd retreated hesitantly.
As they retreated, a person with a colorful hairstyle and an androgynous appearance emerged.
Qin Qing said, “No need…”
A cold, square object was handed to her. Qin Qing glanced at it subconsciously, then expressionlessly released her fingers, letting the object fall to the ground between her fingers.
The boss who had given Qin Qing the item looked at Qin Qing, then suddenly realized something and immediately handed Qin Qing another pink, square, similarly textured object.
“…….”
Qin Zhan, who was still busy with the ribbon-cutting ceremony, hurried over when he heard the news.
“Sister!” He led people to break through the encirclement, and Gu Linxi followed closely behind. After squeezing into the inner circle, she glanced at the pink package that Qin Qing was holding. She stared blankly at Qin Qing for three seconds.
Qin Qing was escorted into the car and sat in the back seat. She casually tossed the thing in her hand to the ground without giving it a second glance.
Gu Linxi bent down to close the car door for her, then noticed a corner of pink in Qin Qing’s slightly disheveled suit pocket.
She couldn’t help but think wildly. Maybe it was stuffed in there by someone, maybe it fell in accidentally, or maybe… Qin Qing was single… why…
“President Qin, should we wait for Mr. Qin?”
Qin Qing closed her eyes and casually hummed in agreement.
Gu Linxi twisted her fingers. Qin Qing was more beautiful than she had imagined.
*
*
“I still have to go to work. Why did you drag me out shopping?”
Fu Yanxiao exclaimed, “It’s already 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Aren’t you off work yet? Don’t you take a lunch break?”
Li Suimei glanced at her, “I’ve already had my lunch break, and I still have work to do in the afternoon.”
“Alright, alright.” Fu Yanxiao smiled. “I’m flying to the US in a while, and I have a fashion show to attend. I’m here today to customize a dress. You’re a professional, so you can help me figure out if that designer is reliable.”
“Is Qin Qing going too?” Li Suimei asked, “To Fashion Week?”
Fu Yanxiao choked and then snorted, “Qin Zhan is going!”
Li Suimei smiled, already knowing the answer. She and Fu Yanxiao entered the clothing store together, chatting as they walked. “Then you should choose clothes based on Qin Qing’s preferences…”
“Sister Qin probably likes brighter colors,” Fu Yanxiao said, then looked at Li Suimei, who was dressed entirely in white. “Come to think of it, why do you always wear white?”
Li Suimei adjusted the brooch on her chest. She was wearing a long dress that reached her ankles, with a sapphire brooch pinned to her chest and a ribbon tied into a suitable bow at her waist.
“Doesn’t it look good?” Li Suimei asked.
Fu Yanxiao replied, “…It looks good.”
White is extremely difficult to wear. For people with dark or yellow skin, or those with fair faces but dark limbs, wearing white can be a disaster.
Yet, Li Suimei looked stunning in it, without a single flaw.
Fu Yanxiao said, “This is a new store that just opened. The clothing store is on the first floor…”
As soon as the two of them stepped into the store, two sales associates greeted them.
Fu Yanxiao stated her purpose directly, “The designer’s office is on the second floor, right? We want to go up and have a look.”
The saleswoman looked hesitant.
Li Suimei, meanwhile, was examining the store’s decor. The decoration was unique, with design drawings hanging on the walls. There weren’t many clothes in the store, but judging from the number of salespeople, it was clearly a top-tier luxury brand.
“Miss, these are Lisa’s design drafts. The ready-to-wear clothes in the store are made according to these drafts, but most of them have been sold. If you can’t find a suitable one, you can come back next month when we have new arrivals.”
Li Suimei looked sideways, thoughtfully, “Lisa?”
Fu Yanxiao leaned over and asked, “Is the designer here? I’m here to customize a dress today.”
The saleswoman apologized, “I’m sorry, Lisa doesn’t take custom orders.”
“Nonsense, I heard that Qin… other people’s clothes were customized here!”
“Sorry…”
The saleswoman was very polite and apologized sincerely. Fu Yanxiao was relatively well-mannered, so she pestered the salesperson for another half an hour, asking her to notify her when the designer returned, before dragging Li Suimei away.
As they left the store, Fu Yanxiao complained, “Why is this designer more big-headed than you?”
“I got a call and came out,” Li Suimei sighed, holding her phone and sending a message to Qin Zhan.
“Damn it!” Fu Yanxiao suddenly cursed.
Li Suimei looked up and saw Hou Kai walking towards them. She subconsciously raised her hand and pressed her forehead, asking Fu Yanxiao, “What day is it today?”
“July 11th. Why?”
Li Suimei sighed. At this time, Gu Linxi was probably already taking the recording to find Qin Zhan?
She looked up at the bright sunny sky, her gaze slightly dazzled.
“Li Suimei!” Hou Kai strode over. Beside him was a girl so thin she was like a lightning bolt. The girl was weak and frail, and when he suddenly pulled her forward, she almost fell.
Li Suimei reached out to help her up, and Fu Yanxiao walked away in disgust, shouting, “Don’t touch her, she’ll lose her nose!”
Li Suimei: “Uh…”
The girl was so ashamed that she quickly hid behind Hou Kai.
Fu Yanxiao tugged on Li Suimei, “Can’t you see? You’re just like her!”
Hou Kai grabbed his companion and looked at Li Suimei unhappily, “Li Suimei, while you’re here flaunting yourself, the news that your Li family snatched Qin Zhan’s first project at the bidding conference has spread all over Haishi!”
Li Suimei closed her eyes, “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t know?” Hou Kai sneered, took out his phone, clicked on an audio file, and held it up to Li Suimei’s face.
“Mom, the bidding… don’t tell anyone about this…”
What was going on?
In the original book, this hadn’t been made public!
Was it Gu Linxi who did it!?
Li Suimei squeezed her wrist, her expression calm as she returned the phone to Hou Kai.
Hou Kai said, “What’s wrong? Are you indifferent? Do you know that Qin Zhan’s first project will establish his position in the Qin family? Aren’t you disgusted by the fact that the Qin family and your Li family were not a good match a few years ago?”
“Now that Qin Qing is back and the Qin family is thriving, and Qin Zhan has finally recovered from his illness and has been working hard in City W for over half a month, you want to steal his labor results?”
Li Suimei sneered, “You care so much about Qin Zhan, why don’t you just take his surname?”
“You-”
“Qin Qing is protective of her family, she won’t let you off.”
Hou Kai walked over and grabbed Li Suimei’s chin, and Fu Yanxiao let out a low cry.
“When the Qin family abandons you, the doors of the Hou family will always be open to you.”
Li Suimei broke free, and her chin instantly turned purple. She looked at Hou Kai expressionlessly, “The Hou family won’t last past next winter.”
“We’re both grasshoppers in autumn. Do you think the Hou family can jump higher than the Li family?” Li Suimei sneered, her dimples deepening as she pursed her lips.
Hou Kai felt a strange tightness in his throat. He wanted to touch Li Suimei, but then Fu Yanxiao pushed him away.
“Damn it!”
“Xiao Kai!”
His companion caught him. That girl even had a voice that was somewhat similar to Li Suimei’s.
Li Suimei’s scalp tingled, and she felt a wave of disgust wash over her.
“A fake is a fake,” Hou Kai supported himself on his companion’s chest and unceremoniously pushed her away, “You’d better hope that the Li and Qin families protect you for the rest of your life.”
Li Suimei pressed her lips together, “I don’t need the Qin family, and I don’t need to trouble my father.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Suimei raised her foot and kicked Hou Kai’s groin hard and fast!
Hou Kai curled up on the ground, unable to speak from the pain. Li Suimei squatted down and said, “Bullying women, you’re a waste of space. Why don’t I recommend a urologist to you? I heard they have a half-price offer for a second procedure. You can have your tongue cut out first, then your lower part. That would be a contribution to society.”
Hou Kai howled in pain, sweating profusely. He gnashed his teeth, wishing he could tear Li Suimei apart, “Li Suimei! You… you better pray that you don’t fall into my hands one day!”
“I won’t be accompanying you.” Li Suimei smiled sideways.
*
*
Black clouds were gathering, and a wind was rising in Haishi. There were few pedestrians on the street, and the few who were there were hurrying by.
Fu Yanxiao reversed the car, “It’s going to rain.”
“Take me back to the company,” Li Suimei said.
“You’re going back now? Why don’t you take shelter from the storm?”
“Shelter from what storm?” Li Suimei sat in the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, and checked her skirt, “Uh, it’s torn.”
“No wonder, with that kick you just gave, I think you used all your strength.” Fu Yanxiao drove the sports car, and the convertible top gradually closed, blocking out the wind.
“Thank you for pushing Hou Kai away just now.”
“…Why are you thanking me so formally? I’ll take you to your new home.”
“Back to the company,” Li Suimei insisted.
Fu Yanxiao had to turn around.
“The video was uploaded after 2 o’clock.”
Li Suimei hummed in acknowledgment. She also knew the content was recorded yesterday.
“Do you actually like Qin Zhan? If you do, why would you do this?”
Li Suimei suddenly asked, “Do you think I did it?”
“Huh? Didn’t you?” Fu Yanxiao asked in confusion, then realized after a while, “You were framed?”
“Qin Zhan and the others have returned.”
*
*
It was almost 6 o’clock, and Haishi was already half-dark, as if a heavy rain was about to fall.
“Why did you call me out at this time?”
Qin Qing put down her small bag and sat down, adjusting the hem of her skirt. Zhao Yi hurriedly pushed the coffee on the round table towards her, “Did Zhan’er make things difficult for Li Suimei?”
Qin Qing replied, “He’s not as free as you are.”
“Oh,” Zhao Yi paused and asked, “What about you?”
There was a slight clinking sound as the coffee cups collided. Qin Qing smiled, “I don’t interfere in their matters.”
Zhao Yi twirled a strand of her newly permed hair, “Is it really Li Suimei who did it? Just give the small project to the Li family. Why did I hear that Zhan’er had a quarrel with her?”
Qin Qing put down her coffee cup and looked up at Zhao Yi, who was deliberately probing her, and said, “Whether it’s true or not, you can’t find out.”
“Of course,” Zhao Yi replied, “I heard that your young master brought a girl back, so I wondered if Li Suimei was going to be kicked out. I came to pick up the pieces?” Zhao Yi laughed, “What do you think?”
Qin Qing retorted, “I don’t care about their affairs.”
Zhao Yi: “……”
“Meimei!”
The two were drawn to the sound of a call from outside. Qin Qing and Zhao Yi turned their heads.
“Qin Zhan, I told you it wasn’t me!” Li Suimei’s face turned pale.
As expected, things had indeed spread, and even more seriously than in the original story where the female lead only revealed to Qin Zhan that the original character had leaked information.
Around 5 pm.
Li Enhua called. The bidding project had been won, but the overseas portion of the contract with the client had been deleted.
The other party was willing to pay a substantial amount of liquidated damages, but the Li family had lost a much larger market.
Li Suimei frowned. She had clearly changed the plot, and she hadn’t told Ji Wenjing about the bidding budget, yet she was still caught by the female lead.
The diverging plot had not only been brought back on track, but it had even gone further than in the original story.
For example, Gu Linxi and Qin Qing had befriended each other earlier.
The Li family’s loss of the overseas project had also happened earlier. The only thing that was later was that the Qin family hadn’t mentioned an official engagement yet.
And at this moment, she and Qin Zhan were acting out another bloody and vicious scene from the book.
“Meimei, you shouldn’t have lied to me.” Qin Zhan lowered his eyes, his long hair obscuring his murky gaze. Then, he glanced at Gu Linxi who had followed behind Li Suimei.
Gu Linxi shook her head slightly at Qin Zhan.
Qin Zhan swallowed the words in his mouth and reached out to pull away Li Suimei’s hand that was clutching his sleeve.
“Meimei, our engagement…”
Gu Linxi paused.
“Qin Zhan! We’re going to get engaged!” Li Suimei suddenly let go of his hand. Her eyes were bright as she looked at Qin Zhan, “Before your grandfather passed away, he had always hoped that the Qin and Li families would form a hundred-year alliance. My grandfather died because of your family, you can’t just ignore me!”
“What’s going on?” The glass in the coffee shop was transparent but somewhat soundproof. Qin Qing and Zhao Yi couldn’t hear the argument between the two clearly, but they could see that Li Suimei and Qin Zhan were arguing.
At another window seat in the coffee shop, a man and a woman were watching the scene.
“A couple fighting?”
“Damn, is that Li Suimei? The rich second generation who was on the hot search for keeping a young celebrity!”
Li Suimei was wearing a white dress with the hem reaching her ankles. The wind blew up the skirt, revealing her delicate ankles. The guy was captivated and said, “The person’s name is Li Suimei? Is that girl the star? Why haven’t I seen her before?”
His girlfriend was furious and grabbed his ear, scolding, “Are you going to keep looking?!”
“No, no, I won’t look anymore.”
“Don’t go.” Qin Qing stopped Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi had already picked up her bag and looked anxious, “Don’t go? Isn’t that a chance to rescue a beauty in distress?”
“Who is that girl?” Zhao Yi looked at Gu Linxi warily, “Isn’t she the one Qin Zhan brought back from City W? She’s even more beautiful in person!”
Qin Qing nodded.
*
*
“Ms. Li, Qin Zhan is in a bad mood, why don’t you let him calm down?” Gu Linxi walked over.
“Calm down?” Li Suimei looked at Gu Linxi, whose indifferent and misty appearance didn’t match her inner feelings. She pressed her lips together, “Gu Linxi, you have no right to speak here.”
“Meimei!” Qin Zhan called out.
“Qin Zhan!” Li Suimei turned around, “If you cared, you would have investigated to see if I really did it!”
Qin Zhan was stunned.
Li Suimei smiled. Raindrops began to fall, and a few landed on her eyelids. She blinked subconsciously, waiting for the downpour.
Qin Qing had silently come over. She held an umbrella and shielded Li Suimei’s entire body from the front.
“What are you doing in the middle of the street?” Qin Qing scolded softly.
“Tsk tsk!” Zhao Yi pushed aside her coffee cup, “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t get involved?”
The couple in the corner, who had borrowed an umbrella, casually chatted with Zhao Yi.
“What’s all the commotion outside? Two women fighting over one man?”
“Yeah, you should ask that perverted woman who can read lips.”
“……”
“What about those two?”
Zhao Yi shrugged, “One is a high-class b1tch who covets someone else’s fiancee, and the other is a naive little white who loves and is loved but doesn’t understand the truth and is easily manipulated. She needs a good drenching in the rain to wake up!”
“And there’s another poker-faced one who is hard on the outside but soft on the inside?”
Zhao Yi laughed.
T/N: Ah! Gu Linxi! That b*tch!