Rich Woman, But Got Dumped By A Jerk Three Times. - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Are You Looking for Me?

“Aci, good morning!”

A familiar voice rang out from behind her.

The person who had been focused on reviewing her phone screen jumped in surprise and turned a bewildered face toward the speaker.

“Did I scare you?” He Zi giggled, wrapping his arm around her neck with casual familiarity, then peering down. “What are you looking at… hmm? Why are you searching for ‘what does reply 1 mean’?”

Having her browsing history read out loud in public almost made Yi Chengsong speak.

She frantically tapped the screen shut and frowned at He Zi with a look of alarm.

Xia Shu, sitting nearby, chuckled and intervened, “Alright, He Zi, come over and eat so we can get going.”

“Sorry, Aci~” He Zi grinned, turning to run toward Xia Shu. “My domestic Little Shu, where’s my breakfast~”

The previously quiet morning became lively. Yi Chengsong, her privacy restored, lowered her head to look at her screen.

Finally, a single white message bubble appeared among the screen full of green chat boxes.

Ever since they became friends, Yi Chengsong had been sending messages frequently, but Yun Jiushu had ignored all of her suggestions about reporting the incident and her invitation for the night run.

All the messages she sent seemed to have fallen into a black hole. Just as Yi Chengsong was starting to doubt if she had added the wrong person, a reply finally arrived.

This was already the third morning after they connected as friends.

Looking at the text message that arrived at 3 AM last night, Yi Chengsong sighed. She had successfully missed the optimal time to reply.

More baffling than the timing, however, was the meaning of the ‘1’.

Had Yun Jiushu not noticed the memo she had hinted at?

If she had, why was there no emotional reaction at all?

But if she hadn’t noticed, why didn’t she call the police, or invite Yi Chengsong to be a witness for her?

Was the hint she dropped simply not obvious enough?

Holding onto this thought, Yi Chengsong resumed the search that He Zi had interrupted. Meanwhile, the other two at the table were chatting idly.

“Did Tangtang go out to deliver food again?” He Zi looked around, swallowed his toast with difficulty, and patted his chest to catch his breath.

Xia Shu, who was wolfing down her food, answered through chews, “Yeah, she said she’s saving up to take her girlfriend to Bali. I really envy them, they’re such a perfect couple.”

“You’re great too,” He Zi, unable to swallow the bread, stood up to pour milk and complimented him. “Are you working all day again today?”

Xia Shu, having finished chewing the bread, urgently took a gulp of milk. “Yep, I’ll run orders all day whenever there’s no gig.”

Listening to the intermittent conversation while looking up the meaning of the message, Yi Chengsong quietly pursed her lips, then released them in resignation.

She forced herself to look down and study the information popping up on her screen.

The following content is from Baidu Baike (Baidu Encyclopedia) 1:

The meaning of replying ‘1’ in an online chat needs to be understood in the context of the specific scenario, and mainly falls into the following situations: Received, Agreed, Ready.

After a quick read, Yi Chengsong was even more confused.

Agreed?

Ready?

What had Yun Jiushu agreed to? And what was she ready for?

The explanation was less helpful than none at all. Just as Yi Chengsong grew more bewildered, a glass of milk was placed in front of her.

“Oh right, Aci,” Xia Shu, already changed into his delivery uniform, remembered something and turned back to ask, “Tangtang said this morning that Sister Nuo informed us that from now on, when we play at Yun Ji (雲記), we won’t go together but in shifts. So starting tomorrow, we’ll rotate. When would you like to go?”

The person whose name was called listened carefully, then quickly signed her response—

I want to go tomorrow, is that okay?

“Of course,” Xia Shu didn’t hesitate and sounded delighted. “Tomorrow is a holiday, so there are many orders. We can both run orders for another full day.”

The main reason this band was formed and remained stable was that every member was poor.

The two most cheerful individuals bore the brunt of the hardship.

The perpetually smiling He Zi’s mother had cancer and needed expensive medical treatments.

Xia Shu, who had lost all his immediate family, had to shoulder the full tuition fees for his younger sister.

Therefore, whenever there were no performances, the band members would go out and deliver food.

Yi Chengsong nodded in agreement, unsure whether she should be happier about getting a chance to advance her mission smoothly, or more heartbroken for these people struggling desperately in life.

The more she got closer to people under the identity of Aci, the stronger Yi Chengsong’s desire to dismantle Sanshui  became.

Ordinary people struggle their whole lives just to survive, while those who sell Sanshui’s goods earn the effort and savings of a person’s entire lifetime in just a few transactions.

The ostentatious luxury of the Yun Ji Private Banquet’s grand opening surfaced again in her mind.

Yi Chengsong vowed silently: she would completely crush and eliminate Sanshui, and ensure that money flowed to those who genuinely needed it.

“Well, Aci, remember to protect yourself when you go tomorrow,” He Zi, who had already changed and was putting on shoes by the door, instructed. “Don’t let anyone bully you~”

Yi Chengsong, whose thoughts had been recalled, nodded and waved her hand.

…

“Do you think you’re a lucky cat?”

The waiter looked at the person actively gesturing in front of him, sounding somewhat disdainful. “Our boss said that you can only sit in the lounge unless you’ve been notified.”

The instrument bag she brought was placed at her feet. Yi Chengsong’s request to perform was rejected once again.

Although Yun Jiushu had promised a performance slot that day at the bar, the band always hit a wall whenever they came.

Even Yi Chengsong, who came alone today, couldn’t escape the arrangement of wasting time sitting in the lounge.

The waiter in front of her didn’t understand sign language, so Yi Chengsong stopped wasting effort trying to gesture. After all, her actual request wasn’t really about performing, but about seeing Yun Jiushu.

Since that ‘1’, Yun Jiushu hadn’t replied to any of her messages.

The mission progress seemed to be stuck in a stalemate again.

The next shipment of Sanshui goods was imminent. Yi Chengsong could no longer afford to remain inactive.

She must approach Yun Jiushu, immediately.

Stopping the sign language, Yi Chengsong typed on her phone’s memo app: [Excuse me, where is the restroom? Is it okay to leave my instrument bag here?]

The already annoyed waiter rolled his eyes and ignored her.

Yi Chengsong, who only intended to go through the motions, didn’t press further and simply turned around to find the restroom herself.

Just as Yi Chengsong turned away, she heard the waiter loudly complaining to another server behind her.

“Boss Yunxiao is right, these people who come from dirty places are just thick-skinned. It’s this obvious, yet they still shamelessly refuse to leave.”

“Exactly, exactly. If it’s this obvious and they still don’t get it, they’re either doing it on purpose or they’re stupid.”

The raised voices and sharp words were like daggers at her back. Their deliberate remarks, intended for Yi Chengsong, were undisguisedly hostile.

But Yi Chengsong, with her back to them, walked straight ahead as if she hadn’t heard, ignoring the malice.

Yun Ji was truly magnificent.

To emulate the elegant grandeur of the Humble Administrator’s Garden (拙政園), even the artificial lake and scenery had been replicated to scale.

Walking straight through the ground-floor lobby, Yi Chengsong scanned her surroundings. Based on the previous setbacks and the experience gleaned from the wine party, Yun Jiushu was highly unlikely to be in the first-floor lobby.

So, Yi Chengsong decided to head upstairs and try her luck.

However, in addition to its fine decor, the Yun Ji Private Banquet also boasted extreme privacy.

After several rounds of searching, Yi Chengsong had only managed to accidentally enter three private rooms and gained no other information.

Because she couldn’t speak and sign language was useless for communication, Yi Chengsong could only pretend to be a clueless person searching for the restroom.

Apart from the receptionists, all other waiters at Yun Ji were assigned to serve individual private rooms, leaving Yi Chengsong with no one to ask for directions.

All she could do was use her one functioning eye to observe.

Just as Yi Chengsong was aimlessly bumping into dead ends, the person standing on the third floor took in all of her agitation.

“Boss Jiu, what are you doing out here for so long?” A voice carrying a hint of alcohol-induced laughter sounded from behind her. “Are you feeling unwell? Or are you not satisfied with the price of the new contract?”

Hearing her business partner’s voice, the woman leaning on the railing withdrew her gaze, turned, and smiled. “Director Chen, please don’t tease me.”

That smile was like a ripple from a butterfly’s wings.

Director Chen, already slightly tipsy, felt the smile deepen his intoxication.

Her foxy eyes curved slightly, revealing an alluring charm in her glance.

Noticing the momentary lapse in attention from the person in front of her, Yun Jiushu continued to chide, “I really couldn’t drink any more of that wine, so I came out to watch a bit of a show.”

“A show?” Director Chen grew interested. “What show? Let me see.”

Following the angle Yun Jiushu was standing at, Director Chen saw nothing.

“Just a little headless bird, flying around aimlessly.”

Yun Jiushu had already been informed the moment Ye Ge entered the premises.

Fortunately, today was an old friend’s dinner and contract signing, so when she saw Ye Ge leave the lounge, Yun Jiushu used the excuse of needing fresh air to clear her head.

She stood on the third floor, watching Ye Ge fly around like a lost bird.

From the initial message-based probing to her current behavior of running around instead of performing after entering the store, Yun Jiushu was suddenly very curious about Ye Ge’s goal now that she knew her true identity.

She was also curious to see how far Ye Ge would go.

But for now, it seemed this person was lost.

“Director Chen, please go inside first,” Yun Jiushu turned and smiled. “I’ll shoo a bird away and be right back.”

The man acknowledged her, said no more, turned, and pushed the door open to return to the private room.

.

The moment the door opened, the area in front of Yi Chengsong suddenly went dark.

Another private room. It wasn’t the security door to the upstairs.

She sighed in defeat, feeling mentally exhausted and powerless.

The agreed performance time was almost over, and she had used the excuse of needing the restroom long enough.

If she couldn’t see Yun Jiushu today, the mission would have to be delayed by another week.

The mission couldn’t afford to be delayed. If this continued…

Her thoughts snapped abruptly.

The moment a chilly, soft fingertip landed on the fourth vertebra of her back, Yi Chengsong froze as if struck by lightning.

She was utterly immobilized, like someone whose pressure point had been touched.

She didn’t know when the faint, clean fragrance had crept up on her, but the cunning fox was already standing behind her.

The hand clinging to her back grew more brazen.

The soft palm curved around her back to her front, wrapping around her abdomen and then climbing upward. Just as it was about to reach a certain forbidden soft spot, Yi Chengsong’s rationality returned, and she fiercely gripped the hand that was causing mischief.

The woman’s voice, laced with laughter, sounded right against Yi Chengsong’s back:

“Are you looking for me?”