Beware Of The Best-Friend-Kiss Friendship Trap - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: When Will You Be Rich? I’m Waiting for You to Be My Sugar Mama

Chu Weiyue glanced into the room and lowered her voice: “Are you done with your meeting?”

“Not yet, taking a break.”

Chu Weiyue looked into the room with lingering fear: “Your boss is so fierce.”

Jiang Yiqiu forced a slight smile: “Yes, her temper is a little impatient.”

“Did she scold you?” Without waiting for Jiang Yiqiu to answer, she continued on her own: “She definitely scolded you, otherwise how could I hear it outside the door?”

Jiang Yiqiu still smiled, though it was slightly strained: “She didn’t scold me, she just has a quick temper.”

Chu Weiyue frowned and shook her head in disapproval: “This leader of yours throws tantrums at the drop of a hat, even scaring an innocent person like me. She must be loud and bossy all the time. Her character is apparent.”

Employees frantically straining their ears to listen: Pfft.

Jiang Yiqiu, who constantly throws tantrums and is loud and bossy: “…”

She was momentarily speechless.

Jiang Yiqiu, who usually makes others feel awkward, could only swallow this silent humiliation: “She does have a bad temper, but she’s a decent person otherwise.”

It was better to let the fictitious “leader” take the blame than to be disliked by Chu Weiyue herself.

Chu Weiyue shook her head emphatically, showing her disagreement.

The spectators were momentarily confused, thinking they must be having a collective delusion—this person in front of them was the real Jiang Yiqiu, and the one before was just a fantasy.

Good heavens, CEO Jiang is even criticizing herself when she gets ruthless.

Is it my imagination? I feel like CEO Jiang’s voice is a little bit affected when she talks to that person, just a little bit! (fingers touching)

Bold! How dare you slander CEO Jiang! You are finished!

There were others with delayed amazement: CEO Jiang’s smile is so beautiful! She switched from a cold beauty to a gentle older sister in one second.

I love her even more! She truly is my goddess. I’ve fallen in love on the spot.

I’m coming to fish your corpse out of the river of love tomorrow morning.

Wake up, CEO Jiang would never be so pleasant about work matters.

Wake up, CEO Jiang wouldn’t smile at you like that. She’d be more likely to want to stab you. Especially after you just submitted an elementary school event proposal.

So who was that woman? How is she living with CEO Jiang?

I haven’t heard that CEO Jiang has a sister or anything like that.

Emmm, a roommate?

Wake up, CEO Jiang can buy the entire apartment complex for herself.

Enough! We’re gossiping, don’t suddenly attack the poor!

Isn’t it allowed for rich people to have special hobbies? CEO Jiang insists on buying the entire complex and then offering one unit to someone as a roommate. Why not?

Judging by her tone, her expression, that complete face-switch! It’s clearly not a normal relationship.

She was too far away. I only heard the voice and didn’t see the face. I’m curious what she looks like.

You can tell from the voice that she’s a beauty.

CEO Jiang is that gorgeous, so her cohabitant can’t be bad either.

Are we just assuming she’s CEO Jiang’s cohabiting partner now?

I’m heartbroken QAQ

Cruel and merciless like deep winter towards work, warm like spring towards her girlfriend. CEO Jiang is truly a master of separating personal and professional life (lights a cigarette).

Whoever wants this job can have it. Can I apply to be CEO Jiang’s girlfriend instead?

Dream on, get in line.

Good-looking, rich, and now she has a partner. I’m not saying I’m jealous.

*Nothing special.*jpg

…

As for the assistant, after successfully luring Chu Weiyue to Jiang Yiqiu’s room, she retreated, her accomplishments hidden. Although she was curious about how things were progressing inside, she was afraid of getting caught in the crossfire from a not-fully-calmed-down Jiang Yiqiu, so she watched from a distance.

When she saw the group chat erupt with shouts about how the employees couldn’t recognize this side of CEO Jiang, she smiled calmly.

Rookies.

She had gained experience in dealing with PDA; these people were still in the tutorial phase.

Things unfolded as she had expected. There was only a fleeting moment of coldness when Chu Weiyue knocked because Jiang Yiqiu mistook her identity, but after that, there was no loud disturbance.

The assistant knew, even without looking, the immense tenderness Jiang Yiqiu showed when facing her little girlfriend.

Tsk, tsk. What was initially a sugar baby arrangement was forcefully transformed into a mutually loving relationship between two women.

CEO Jiang is truly a pure lover; it’s a touching story of pure love.

Less than five minutes after the incident, the assistant’s WeChat was, of course, flooded with messages from colleagues.

All asking the same question—

Urgent! Urgent! Urgent! What is the relationship between CEO Jiang and that woman she lives with?

To this, the assistant, who held first-hand information, replied aloofly.

What relationship?

A pure love relationship.

The assistant sat leisurely on the sofa, playing on her phone with her legs crossed, when she suddenly thought of something, and her body tensed.

In her haste to deceive Chu Weiyue, she had told her that CEO Jiang needed her. If Chu Weiyue were to ask Jiang Yiqiu what she needed, wouldn’t her lie be exposed?

The assistant became immediately restless.

She was too anxious just now! She should have thought of a more plausible excuse!

The assistant, who was initially relaxing on her phone, became nervously busy on her phone once she realized this.

She comforted herself, It’s fine, it’s fine. Those two are busy with their sweet romance; they definitely won’t pay attention to such details.

Meanwhile, the two people at the door of the room.

Chu Weiyue: “By the way, what did you need me for?”

Jiang Yiqiu’s smile froze: “I needed you?”

Chu Weiyue looked puzzled: “Didn’t you say you needed something and asked Assistant Chen to call me?”

Jiang Yiqiu’s reaction was swift. She thought of the assistant who had said she was getting water but hadn’t returned, and she immediately understood what was going on.

She has so many tricks up her sleeve to prevent me from getting angry.

Meeting Chu Weiyue’s questioning gaze, Jiang Yiqiu quickly formulated an excuse and said softly, “It’s nothing, I was just worried you were getting tired preparing lessons and wanted you to come out and take a break.”

“I’m not tired, I’m fine.” Chu Weiyue’s eyes curved as she held her hand: “You’re the one. Working overtime for a meeting late at night and having to deal with an annoying boss who throws tantrums. That’s tough.”

Jiang Yiqiu: “…”

She was truly holding a grudge against this “leader.”

Jiang Yiqiu didn’t know what else to say and could only smile in response.

She went back to the room to continue the meeting, and Chu Weiyue closed the door and left.

The assistant immediately came up, her eyes full of warmth and gratitude: “Savior, thank you!”

Chu Weiyue still didn’t understand why she was being thanked: “I…”

The assistant didn’t give her a chance to speak: “Great kindness doesn’t require words. You go back to your work.”

Chu Weiyue: “Huh?”

Chu Weiyue looked confused. What did she do to deserve thanks?

Not giving Chu Weiyue a chance to say more, the assistant gently pushed her toward the other room.

Chu Weiyue finally managed to stop the overly enthusiastic assistant and asked what was going on.

“Uh…” The assistant blurted out in a moment of panic, “Of course, I’m thanking you for giving CEO Jiang’s…”

I’m doomed!!!

Before Chu Weiyue could react, the assistant raised her voice and desperately tried to cover up: “Of course, I’m thanking you for showing concern for my dear colleague, Ms. Jiang Yiqiu, who works under her boss!”

Chu Weiyue: “…Oh.”

Chu Weiyue pouted: “Having to include her in the staff’s names. She really is an annoying leader.”

Assistant: “…”

CEO Jiang, I’m sorry.

Chu Weiyue: “Does your leader also share the surname Jiang?”

Assistant: “Ah… yes. It’s the ‘Jiang’ as in the ginger that I hate to eat the most.”

Oh, that “Ginger.”

Jiang Yiqiu still needed some time to finish her meeting, so the assistant chatted with her “savior.”

The assistant’s guess about their relationship was likely accurate, so there was no need to ask too many questions. Plus, talking about it might be awkward, so she intentionally avoided the topic and only brought up ordinary subjects.

When she learned that the other person worked at Huayu Middle School, the assistant’s expression became subtle.

Noticing her strange look, Chu Weiyue asked: “What is it?”

The assistant quickly said: “Nothing, Huayu is great! It’s the best middle school in City Z. Being a teacher there means you must be excellent.”

At the same time, she pondered, No wonder CEO Jiang insisted on choosing Huayu for the donation. That’s why.

Sigh, CEO Jiang is truly a pure lover, funding and paving the way for her without telling her, just silently protecting her.

The assistant declared that she was truly invested in this ship.

With such a big gesture, the school would treat CEO Jiang like a golden ticket, giving her a lot of influence. If anyone dared to mess with Chu Weiyue or bully her, the principal would be the first to object! They couldn’t let their golden ticket run away.

Jiang Yiqiu returned to her computer and realized that she had forgotten to turn off her camera and microphone.

She frowned slightly. She had forgotten in her haste.

A misstep.

As for the people in the video windows, even though their eyes were shining with a strange excitement, they tried very hard to manage their expressions, practically etching on their faces: CEO Jiang, don’t worry, we didn’t hear anything, we didn’t see anything!

Since the situation was already like this and her flow had been interrupted, Jiang Yiqiu couldn’t unleash her anger anymore.

Being someone who had seen large-scale events, even after being caught in a highly out-of-character moment, Jiang Yiqiu remained calm and composed. She briefly discussed the follow-up arrangements for the project and ended the meeting.

The assistant, who had been slouched on the sofa, shot up when she saw Jiang Yiqiu emerge: “…Sister Qiu.”

She barely managed to bite back “Boss” or “CEO Jiang” before it slipped out. She hadn’t gotten it wrong.

The assistant silently congratulated herself for her quick reaction.

CEO Jiang was not in a great mood, and she shouldn’t walk into the line of fire.

The meeting was over, and the solutions were successfully generated. The assistant prepared to leave.

Chu Weiyue enthusiastically sent her off: “Welcome back next time.”

The assistant internally shook her head furiously with a “no, no, no,” but outwardly agreed with “mm-hmm” and “ah-ah,” and hurried to escape.

Having successfully fled and with Jiang Yiqiu not seeing through her trick of sending Chu Weiyue, the assistant was secretly delighted.

She’s the best! She not only helped her colleagues avoid a scolding but also escaped CEO Jiang’s detection!

The thought had just popped up when Jiang Yiqiu sent her a message: Prepare a five-minute report for tomorrow morning.

The assistant asked blankly: CEO Jiang, what report?

An explanation for why Teacher Chu came to find me tonight.

Assistant: “…”

The assistant pressed the elevator button while silently shedding tears and enduring the pain.

Forget it. I’ll sacrifice myself to complete the mission for thousands of others!

Inside the house, after seeing off the assistant, it returned to being a world for two.

The clock quietly crossed 10:30 PM. According to their usual routine, it was time for bed.

However, Chu Weiyue still needed to refine the details of her lesson plan, so she had to work overtime.

Preparing for the competition was mentally exhausting. Chu Weiyue had pulled several all-nighters, and the thought of having to work late again made her slump on the sofa, unwilling to move.

Jiang Yiqiu came over to call her to sleep. Chu Weiyue grudgingly straightened up from the sofa but didn’t stand. She extended her long arm, pulled Jiang Yiqiu onto the sofa, and wrapped her in a hug.

She rested her chin on Jiang Yiqiu’s neck and quietly hummed: “Can’t sleep yet, still need to fine-tune the details.”

Jiang Yiqiu didn’t rush her to go do it. She knew Chu Weiyue was reliable when it came to serious matters and didn’t need to be told. She just stroked her soft black hair: “You’re working hard.”

Chu Weiyue didn’t offer polite words like “it’s not hard”: “It is hard work. After the simulated lecture for the teaching researcher tomorrow, if there are no problems, the rest will be easier.”

Saying this, she looked forward to a good weekend: “After the lecture tomorrow, we’ll go out and play on the weekend. Get some good rest.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Hmm… haven’t thought of it yet.” Chu Weiyue leaned against Jiang Yiqiu, gently inhaling the lovely scent of her hair: “What about you?”

“I want hot pot.”

“Hot pot sounds great!” Chu Weiyue immediately agreed.

The topic brought Chu Weiyue to life. She was no longer tired and started chattering: “We don’t need to go out. I’ll make it for you at home. Mine is much better than what you get at a hot pot restaurant.”

“Mmm… I’ll have to buy ingredients after work tomorrow. I also need to prepare more dipping sauces. You like sesame paste and garlic paste, I’ll buy more tomorrow…”

Muttering about Jiang Yiqiu’s favorite dipping sauce flavors, Chu Weiyue couldn’t sit still and stood up to grab a notebook to write it down.

Jiang Yiqiu laughed and quickly pulled her back: “No rush, let’s talk about it tomorrow. Focus on preparing your lecture first.”

Chu Weiyue’s mind was already full of “preparing hot pot for Qiuqiu”: “Okay, okay, okay! I also need to prepare the soup base. You want…”

The two said in unison: “Tomato soup.”

They exchanged a smile.

Chu Weiyue teased: “Why do you love tomatoes so much?”

This topic seemed to trigger some memories for Jiang Yiqiu. She didn’t answer immediately. After a moment of thought, she smiled and said: “Taste is hard to explain. Maybe I ate a particularly delicious tomato dish once and have loved the flavor ever since.”

Chu Weiyue raised her chin proudly: “That particularly delicious dish must have been made by me.”

She made an “OK” gesture and joked: “Besides hot pot, I’ll make you an extra serving of scrambled eggs with tomatoes tomorrow.”

“Let’s ask Putao and Linchen if they’re free and invite them over.”

“Hopefully Linchen isn’t working late again.”

Then the two of them collectively expressed sympathy for the frequently overworked Linchen.

“Okay, it’s decided. The four of us will meet up this weekend. First, we’ll have hot pot. After hot pot, we’ll go to the gym and work off all the fat and calories we ate.”

Jiang Yiqiu laughed: “Putao is going to hate you again.”

Chu Weiyue didn’t care: “Let her hate me. It’s not like she hasn’t hated me for a day or two.”

She then leaned in with a cheeky smile close to Jiang Yiqiu’s ear: “Just don’t you hate me.”

Before Jiang Yiqiu could complain or grumble about the workout being too tiring, she added pitifully: “Qiuqiu, I’m making you exercise for your body, for your health. You won’t hate me, will you?”

“How could I hate you?” The corners of Jiang Yiqiu’s lips held a deeper smile. Her tone carried a mix of helplessness, and what she said sounded both serious and like a joke.

“I don’t have enough time to love you.”

After a few more minutes of chatting, Chu Weiyue rested her chin on Jiang Yiqiu’s shoulder. Taking advantage of her height and long arms, she effortlessly pulled her into a hug from behind, closing her eyes and quieting down.

Working non-stop these past few days, Chu Weiyue’s face looked a bit weary, and she had lost a few pounds. She kept saying that she needed to eat something good to replenish herself after the competition.

Jiang Yiqiu said softly: “It’s late. Why don’t you go take a shower first?”

Chu Weiyue let out a low “mm,” the muffled sound due to their position vibrating near Jiang Yiqiu’s ear, as if through her bones.

After two or three seconds, she added: “You go first. I’ll read the lesson plan for another half hour.”

Then she was silent again.

She talked but didn’t move. Jiang Yiqiu found it amusing: “Still not going?”

“Mmm~” Chu Weiyue just hummed, her voice low and soft, like a puppy whining for cuddles in its owner’s arms: “One more minute of hugging, then I’ll go.”

Jiang Yiqiu said nothing more. Similar situations had happened countless times, and she felt completely comfortable, relaxing her body and letting Chu Weiyue hold her.

Chu Weiyue kept her word. When she said one minute, she meant one minute. When the time was up, she reluctantly took her arms back and stood up.

Before leaving, she secretly reached out her hand and grasped Jiang Yiqiu’s hand.

Then she frowned, a little displeased: “Why is your hand so cold?”

Without waiting for Jiang Yiqiu to answer, she continued on her own: “It must be because your leader threw a tantrum just now, and you haven’t recovered from the shock that made your hands and feet cold.”

Jiang Yiqiu: “…”

Please, stop mentioning the leader.

Talking about the leader filled Chu Weiyue with indignation. Fearing that the topic would spiral into some other tangent, Jiang Yiqiu quickly stopped her manually.

She was still sitting on the sofa, looking up into Chu Weiyue’s eyes, her voice light and airy: “My hand is cold. Why don’t you warm it up for me?”

Without waiting for a response, she deliberately pulled Chu Weiyue’s hand. Her slender, slightly cool fingers pressed against the other’s palm, slowly sliding up, finally fitting between the fingers, tightening, and interlocking their fingers.

“…” Chu Weiyue’s mouth was slightly agape. The resentful words about the leader were stuck in her throat, silenced.

She was stunned for a moment, her eyes fixed on their interlocked hands.

Subconsciously, she wanted to ask, Yes, but aren’t we just best friends? Isn’t this position a bit inappropriate? Isn’t this something only lovers do? But Jiang Yiqiu’s expression was excessively gentle and natural, as if she were simply asking for help to warm her hand.

After a long pause, she finally managed one word: “This…”

Jiang Yiqiu smiled, citing physics knowledge: “Increase the contact area, so it heats up faster.”

Chu Weiyue opened her mouth, her mind subconsciously trying to figure out if the heated area really increased. Before she could come to a conclusion, her inherent trust in Jiang Yiqiu made her nod: “Oh, so that’s how it is.”

It’s such a perfectly legitimate reason. I knew I was overthinking it.

She resolved to learn from Jiang Yiqiu’s righteousness and clean out the junk in her own brain.

“Warm it, warm it, I’ll warm it for you.”

…

Chu Weiyue stayed up late to finalize her lesson plan and had to wake up early for work the next day.

She had been pulling all-nighters, and dark circles had appeared under her eyes.

Arriving at school, she entered the office and saw several teachers standing by the window, chatting about something.

Chu Weiyue was curious and walked over. A colleague turned and saw her: “Teacher Chu, come here quickly.”

One teacher pulled her closer, looking serious: “Look over there. What do you see?”

Chu Weiyue was confused. From her angle, she could only see the sun hanging in the sky.

Her colleague’s expression was too serious for her to answer rashly. She squinted and looked out the window for a minute, but couldn’t see anything new. Chu Weiyue tentatively replied: “A piece of sky?”

The colleague shook her head, still serious: “It’s a building.”

Chu Weiyue: “…?”

What building? A castle in the air or a mirage?

“Teacher Chu, you’re way behind on the news! Haven’t you heard? A big shot from Hetai is going to donate a new laboratory building to our school.” Seeing that she genuinely didn’t know, the colleague shared the latest gossip.

“Really? That’s good news!”

“Of course. I heard the deal was finalized a few days ago.”

“That person must be really rich,” Chu Weiyue sighed. “Rich people can afford to be impulsive, donating a whole building just like that.”

“Exactly. People like us, from humble backgrounds, can only dream of it for this lifetime,” the colleague complained. “There are so many rich people in the world, what difference would one more make?”

“It’s a day of class resentment again.”

“Who is this person who’s donating the building? Does anyone know?”

“I’m not sure of the specifics,” Teacher Zhao chimed in. “I heard the person in charge is the company’s CEO, and the surname is Jiang.”

Surname Jiang?

Hearing the surname “Jiang,” Chu Weiyue’s heart stirred, and she casually added: “What a coincidence, my best friend’s surname is also Jiang.”

The office went silent for a moment, then everyone burst into laughter.

The silence was because Chu Weiyue’s sudden remark made everyone subconsciously think her best friend had some connection to Hetai.

The laughter was because they immediately dismissed the possibility—there are countless people surnamed Jiang. How could it be such a coincidence?

A colleague came over and smiled, patting her shoulder: “What a coincidence, my cousin’s surname is also Jiang.”

Then everyone started joking, counting how many people they knew named Jiang and whether they could claim a connection to the Hetai Group.

Chu Weiyue hadn’t meant anything by her comment and didn’t take it to heart.

A colleague sighed: “Why can’t the ‘Jiang’ of my cousin be the same ‘Jiang’ as the Hetai Group’s ‘Jiang’?”

“Teacher Zhao, how do you know so much?” one person asked with a smile. “Do you have any more gossip to share with us?”

Teacher Zhao waved her hand: “How much gossip can I know? There’s a donation ceremony this Friday, and they asked each grade level to select a few teachers as representatives. The Director asked me to go, and she mentioned a few things.”

“Is the boss of that group coming?”

Someone kindly reminded: “The Hetai Group.”

Teacher Zhao knew a bit more: “I heard Hetai is taking this partnership very seriously, and the company’s CEO is coming personally.”

“Wow, the CEO of such a big company must be amazing, right? I wonder if we can get a look at them.”

“Why bother with that? Will looking at them give you a hundred million?”

“Yeah, and any CEO of a company that big must be old, a pot-bellied, smelly man. What’s there to see?”

“That’s a stereotype! It could also be a mature and steady, intellectual older sister, you know?” another younger teacher added with a laugh.

Back at her desk, Chu Weiyue told Jiang Yiqiu about the school’s building donation.

She ended with a tease: Same surname, but that CEO Jiang has already donated a building to the school. My dear best friend, when will you be rich? I’m waiting for you to be my sugar mama.

Jiang Yiqiu was probably busy and didn’t reply for a long time. The next period was her class, so Chu Weiyue put away her phone and went to teach.

After class, she went to a meeting, then modified her lesson plan for the teaching competition. Chu Weiyue didn’t have time to check her phone. When she finally finished and opened WeChat, it was already lunchtime.

She had accumulated quite a few messages, and the first one Chu Weiyue saw was, of course, the pinned message from Jiang Yiqiu.

The little red dot in the upper right corner contained a white number “1,” indicating only one unread message, and it contained only two words.

Now.

Now? Do what now?

Chu Weiyue had been busy for most of the morning and had completely forgotten what she had sent her.

She tapped to open the chat box, and her pupils instantly constricted.

She strongly pinched her thigh. It was only eleven o’clock. How was she already daydreaming in broad daylight?

The two latest chat records in the conversation box:

—My dear best friend, when will you be rich? I’m waiting for you to be my sugar mama.

—Now.