After Transmigrating, I Married the Male Lead’s Sister (GL) - Chapter 48

Qin Qing held a cigarette in her mouth, the tip of the cigarette glowing on and off with the rhythm of her inhaling and exhaling. The orange light slanted across her eyes, and Qin Qing’s eyes flickered as she turned to look at the trash can by the sofa.

Li Suimei rubbed her eyes and climbed out of the soft bed. She woke up and sat on the bed for a while in a daze.

The morning light shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Qin Bay, turning her eyes golden.

Last night when Li Suimei woke up, she saw Qin Qing throw her drawing into the trash can and was stunned for a moment.

“My drawing…”

Qin Qing asked, “Who did you draw?”

Li Suimei mumbled, “You.”

Qin Qing said, “You shouldn’t have drawn me.”

Li Suimei felt puzzled, “Why not, I just…”

“It’s not your fault,” Qin Qing said, using her long fingers to smooth the messy hair at her temples, “It’s my fault.”

Li Suimei: “Huh?”

Not sure if it was her funny expression, Qin Qing let out a brief smile, but the smile disappeared immediately, and she returned to her usual poker face, “The driver is downstairs.”

Li Suimei got up lazily, her feet landing on the soft carpet in the office. Qin Qing helped her up, but Li Suimei avoided her hand unconsciously and said sullenly, “Then I’ll go back first. Don’t work too late.”

Night fell, and there were still two assistants working overtime in the president’s office, but Qin Qing personally sent her downstairs. In the elevator, she asked, “Are you angry?”

Li Suimei looked at her immature, cold face reflected in the elevator’s smooth mirror. The next moment, she put on a sweet smile and said nonchalantly, “No.”

Li Suimei held her toothbrush and recalled last night. She couldn’t help but curl her lips at the girl with almond-shaped eyes and a peach-blossom complexion reflected in the mirror. Finally, she tilted her head and took a gulp of water, then spat it out, and finally couldn’t help but shout at the mirror with all her might, “I’m so angry!”

Liu Ruoxi was having breakfast downstairs, specifically Western food to accompany the two aunts. At that moment, she was elegantly spreading jam on her bread with a knife and fork when she was suddenly interrupted by a loud thud from upstairs.

“Was that an earthquake?”

Liu Ruoxi chuckled, “Probably something fell to the ground.”

Li Suimei rushed downstairs, and Liu Ruoxi called out to her, “Meimei, are you going out?”

Li Suimei only then saw the three people gathered around the dining table.

“Good morning, Second Aunt, Third Aunt, Aunt Liu. Xiaoxiao asked me to go out and play.”

Liu Ruoxi nodded and said, “Remember to come back tonight.”

“Okay.” Li Suimei smiled obediently.

She had made an appointment with Fu Yanxiao to meet at an antique street. The antique street was heavily commercialized, and there were very few shops that actually sold antiques anymore. They were mostly for tourists to take photos or buy souvenirs.

The reason they were there today was actually to buy some paper and pen for drawing.

“You suddenly called me just to buy these?” Li Suimei asked, “I have a lot of paper and pens already.”

Fu Yanxiao clicked her tongue, “I brought you here to catch an adulterer!”

Li Suimei: “……”

Fu Yanxiao said, “Gu Linxi!”

Li Suimei: “……”

Fu Yanxiao said, “Why are you making that expression?”

Li Suimei rubbed her forehead, “Nothing, where is she? Let’s go.”

Fu Yanxiao quickly grabbed Li Suimei’s arm, “My informant told me that Gu Linxi is here with Qin Zhan! It just so happens that I’m not far from here, so I called you over.”

Li Suimei nodded, “You’re so thoughtful, Xiaoxiao.”

Fu Yanxiao pulled her to pick out drawing boards and paper. Hearing this, she turned around and said, “Why do I feel like you’re reluctant?”

“No…”

The sketching location was a bit farther away, at the end of the bustling antique street, where you had to climb over a hundred steps to a small hilltop to sketch the overlooking antique street.

Along the way, there were many buildings with a strong sense of history, although they had been renovated later, but occasionally there would be one or two corners that inadvertently revealed some flavor.

Li Suimei looked at it and thought that this street was still pretty good, compared to the monotonous ancient towns she had been to before, this place was obviously much better.

So when Li Suimei was seriously preparing to sketch on the easel next to her, Fu Yanxiao teased her, “Feeling inspired?”

Li Suimei smiled, “Just doodling, acting is part of the performance!”

Fu Yanxiao rolled her eyes. There were many people sketching on the hillside, and there were also many teachers who brought their students out. Li Suimei couldn’t find Qin Zhan, so she took her pen and started drawing the children who were looking into the distance with furrowed brows.

After leaving the Qin family and escaping from that unnecessary plot in the book, it wasn’t bad to teach students to draw. Li Suimei curled the corner of her lips and looked up at the sky. September was almost here.

Once autumn arrived in Haishi and the summer heat passed, time would fly by. Autumn was short, only a couple of months, and it would start to get cold soon.

I wonder when the first snow this year will fall.

“They’re coming! They’re coming!” Just as she had finished a few strokes, Li Suimei was pulled by the corner of her clothes by Fu Yanxiao. The ink stained the white paper, and Li Suimei sighed and followed Fu Yanxiao, blocking Qin Zhan and Gu Linxi on the upward stairs.

“Gu Linxi, have you forgotten what I told you?”

*

*

“Hou Kai is out.” Zhou Kai pushed open the office door and placed a stack of documents on Qin Qing’s desk.

Qin Qing paused, “What happened?”

Zhou Kai said, “There’s insufficient evidence for the first trial, and the second trial will take some time.”

Qin Qing nodded, “The Hou family is going to great lengths to protect him.”

Zhou Kai smiled, “It’s okay, they can protect him for a while, but not forever. I’ll definitely get him in the second trial!”

Qin Qing twitched the corner of her mouth and called the family driver on her phone.

“Is Miss Li at home?”

The driver replied, “She’s at the antique street, sketching with Miss Fu.”

Qin Qing nodded, “Have the bodyguard keep an eye on her.”

“Yes,” just as the phone was about to hang up, the driver quickly called out to Qin Qing, “The Young master has arrived, and there’s a girl with him…”

Qin Qing put down her phone and rubbed her temples. Zhou Kai heard everything and teased her, “What’s wrong? Do you want to go take a look?”

Qin Qing shook her head, “I’m not in a position to interfere in their affairs.”

“Why can’t you interfere? They haven’t gotten engaged yet. And even if they are engaged, it’s not like they married. Huaiyan, you have to be bold and go for it!”

Qin Qing frowned, “It’s not that she’s the only one. She doesn’t have those feelings for me.”

Zhou Kai laughed, “Feelings can be cultivated. The key is to get her first!”

Qin Qing flipped through a stack of documents, got up and prepared to go to the conference room, “That’s what she said.”

Zhou Kai asked, “Huh? Did she say that to you?”

Qin Qing glanced at him and replied, “To Zhan’er.”

Zhou Kai clicked his tongue, “That’s a truly tragic love story, one-sided love. You’re so pitiful.”

Qin Qing smiled helplessly, “I told you, she’s not the only one.”

“Yeah, if you were really going to steal your brother’s girlfriend, I’d be really surprised!” Zhou Kai spread his hands and left the office with Qin Qing and the documents.

“By the way, Hou Kai might come to visit in a few days, be careful.”

With the first trial over, Hou Kai was free for the time being and would definitely not miss this opportunity. At the very least, he would come to visit the Qin family and beg for mercy.

Qin Qing nodded, and Zhou Kai felt relieved. “Then I’ll be going.”

*

*

“Qin Zhan, let’s go.” Gu Linxi pulled Qin Zhan’s hand and turned to leave.

“You white lotus! What are you hiding from?” Fu Yanxiao blocked their path, “Gu Linxi! Why are you running away? Are you guilty?”

“No need to go,” Qin Zhan said, stroking Gu Linxi’s back to comfort her, “Sketching is important.”

Li Suimei watched the two of them, her gaze fixed on Qin Zhan’s tightly held hand. Gu Linxi was intertwined with him. Li Suimei said, “Didn’t you receive my check? Why are you still clinging to Qin Zhan?”

Fu Yanxiao’s eyes widened, “Why did you give her money?”

Gu Linxi was neither humble nor arrogant, “I wouldn’t sell my feelings for that little bit of money. Xiaoyun took the check; she said it was fake.”

“I wouldn’t write a fake check.” Li Suimei spread her hands, meaning to ask Gu Linxi for the fake check.

Gu Linxi was stunned. The check with the word “idiot” written on it had already been torn up and thrown away by Gu Linyu in anger.

“Can’t you produce it or did you cash it?” Li Suimei smiled, looking at Qin Zhan and asking, “Do you believe her?”

Qin Zhan looked at Gu Linxi, his eyes filled with guilt. He turned to Li Suimei and said, “I believe her.”

“I hope you believe everything she does.” Li Suimei made way for the two and went back with Fu Yanxiao.

“Are you just going to let her go like that?” Fu Yanxiao asked.

Li Suimei replied nonchalantly, “It’s okay.”

“You weren’t like this before!” Fu Yanxiao felt a bit disappointed, “You should have ripped Gu Linxi’s mouth apart in front of everyone!”

“Forget it, it’s not good for your image.” Fu Yanxiao muttered, “Qin Zhan is too much. Is he under some kind of spell from Gu Linxi?”

Li Suimei pointed to the scenery below the hill and said, “We’ve come all this way, shall we paint?”

Fu Yanxiao pouted, finally started to unpack her drawing board, “Then help me sharpen my pencil!”

Li Suimei said, “Yes, yes, your highness.”

Fu Yanxiao painted for a long time, her shoulders slumped, and she seemed uninterested. She didn’t know what she was thinking, and kept looking at Li Suimei and then at Qin Zhan and Gu Linxi in the distance.

Li Suimei painted seriously, her gaze focused only on the blank sheet of paper in front of her. In the distance, Gu Linxi and Qin Zhan stood side by side, one painting the scenery, the other painting the person in the scenery. The two of them were a perfect match, while Li Suimei was holding a brush and trying to salvage the painting she had stained.

After a while, Fu Yanxiao cheered up and said to Li Suimei, “Meimei! Don’t worry, I won’t let Qin Zhan and Gu Linxi have it easy!”

“…….”

Li Suimei let out a sound, turned her head, and with her round, almond-shaped eyes, Fu Yanxiao’s heart sank. She said, “I’ll help you!”

So, in just two days, Fu Yanxiao, relying on her chaotic circle of friends, spread the gossip about Qin Zhan and Gu Linxi throughout Haishi.

For the next few days, Li Suimei received a bunch of messages comforting her about the scumbag and b1tch. In fact, this was no longer a secret, it was just that fewer people knew about it before, and others didn’t dare to talk about it loudly because of the Qin family’s status.

Now, Fu Yanxiao, with her meddling, stirred up quite a storm in the social circle for several days. It wasn’t until her parents grounded her that things finally calmed down.

Qin Zhan was scolded and criticized, and Gu Linxi even more so. Rumor has it that she even lost her new job. Larger companies, hearing the rumors, dared not hire her, and Gu Linxi, with her pride, was naturally unwilling to go to smaller companies.

As for Li Suimei, she didn’t fare much better. While everyone was cursing Qin Zhan and Gu Linxi, they would hypocritically greet her, but in reality, they were all there to watch the jokes of the Li and Qin families. In private, they would also spread rumors, asking why Li Suimei treated Qin Zhan so badly in the first place? It’s truly a case of karma!

Originally, it was just Fu Yanxiao’s unintentional act, but who would have thought it would develop into such a situation? Li Suimei only realized the seriousness of the matter when Ji Wenjing, her mother, set off from City A to seek justice for her precious daughter.

Qin Zhan was also grounded by Qin Yaohua for this incident. Qin Yaohua even specially pushed aside his work and returned home. There were also relatives at home, which undoubtedly brought great shame to the Qin family!

Unexpectedly, the matter escalated so much. For several days, Fu Yanxiao kept sending apology messages to Li Suimei, saying that she had done a good deed in a bad way. Li Suimei didn’t blame her, but instead comforted Fu Yanxiao and even pretended to be heartbroken for a few days, not replying to messages, not answering calls, and not attending banquets. She only went to see Mr. Yan once to submit a painting, and otherwise, she locked herself in her room to paint.

The outside world rumored that she was deeply hurt by Qin Zhan, and that she was wearing a pair of green hats (a Chinese metaphor for being cheated on), so green that she was glowing!

After a few days of the commotion, the time was almost up. Early in the morning, Li Suimei stood by the window, taking a pen and crossing out a date on the calendar. She couldn’t help but sigh, “I never thought that an invisible hand would push the plot forward in such a way.”

In the original book, the exposure of Qin Zhan and Gu Linxi’s affair turned out to be Fu Yanxiao’s doing.

She had been worried before. If she was the one who released this news, what would Qin Qing, the protective maniac, do?

Now, everything was perfect. Li Suimei watched a strange car slowly pull up to Qin Bay and couldn’t help but curl her lips.

Author’s note: I had something to do this afternoon, so I didn’t manage to finish it until so late. I’ll add another update later tonight, good night~