Substitute Girlfriend Contract (GL) - Chapter 30

“Let go of me! I told you, you’ve got the wrong person.” Tao Anyu wrenched her arm free from Zhuo Shaqi’s grip. She took two steps forward, then stopped. “Xiao—”

Lu Mengxiao saw and heard everything.

******

“Chairman Xu from the Commerce Group is hosting a tea gathering. I need to attend.” Lu Mengxiao turned to speak, then paused briefly. “Go find Tian Qiurou—she’ll take you to the beach.”

“Xiaoxiao,” Tao Anyu caught up to her, “you’re not coming? You promised to go with me.”

Lu Mengxiao didn’t slow down. Her strides were brisk. “I have work.”

“Work? A tea gathering counts as work now?” Tao Anyu pressed. “You used to take me to board meetings.”

“That was at the branch,” Lu Mengxiao’s voice was cool, almost flat.

“Xiaoxiao…”

Lu Mengxiao pulled out her phone and dialed. “Dajun, have the car at Lu International Tower A within half an hour.”

“If you’re not going, then what’s the point of me going alone? Forget it, I’m not going either.” Tao Anyu stood rooted in place.

Lu Mengxiao turned and looked at her deeply. “Suit yourself.”

Tao Anyu watched her walk away, the tall, cold figure fading into the distance, leaving her momentarily dazed.

A sudden, inexplicable sadness welled up in her chest. Yet somehow, she felt that what she’d just seen—that cold, distant Lu Mengxiao—was the real one. Or rather, the one she was always meant to be.

Everything before had just been a game, played for the amusement of a stranger who happened to wear the same face as Pei Yuhai.

For someone of Lu Mengxiao’s status, perhaps it was better for her to be aloof and ruthless. No matter how lively she might seem on the surface, at her core she was bloodthirsty, domineering, and absolute.

And also, without mercy.

Tao Anyu stared at the now-empty stretch of road.

No—not without mercy. Without feeling.

For someone standing that high, power and money spoke far louder than emotions ever could. Love? Perhaps only the memory of the dead could stir the faintest flicker of interest in her. Otherwise, why hadn’t Lu Mengxiao treated Pei Yuhai so well while she was alive?

Lu Mengxiao… I used to think you were just hiding too much from me. Now I realize you weren’t hiding anything—I simply never understood you at all.

Tao Anyu let out a quiet sigh. Maybe this stand-in concubine is about to be cast out of the Forbidden City altogether… without even the cold palace to fall back on.

“Xiaojing, see? I told you—she’s obviously losing interest in you. She’s done playing,” Zhuo Shaqi grabbed Tao Anyu’s arm. “I know I left you before, but I was forced to. You have to believe me, you’ve always been in my heart. Now we’ve both lost everything, so… let’s go back to how we were. Let’s start over.”

Tao Anyu turned her head toward her. Zhuo Shaqi’s eyes glistened with anticipation.

“Start over?” Tao Anyu smiled faintly. “Who? Are you talking to me?”

Something about that smile unsettled Zhuo Shaqi. “Of course. Xiaojing, can’t we start again?”

“Heh.” Tao Anyu’s laugh was sharp. She tilted Zhuo Shaqi’s chin up. “Zhuo Shaqi, I’ll say it again—you’ve got the wrong person. And besides, looking at you now, penniless and pitiful, what makes you think you’re in any position to talk about starting over with me? Do you have money? Power? Youth?!”

“Xiaojing, how could you say that to me? You weren’t like this before!”

“How do you know what I was like before? What do you really know about me? Let me make it clear one last time—my name is Tao Anyu, not Xiaojing!” Tao Anyu’s voice rose in a sharp shout. She yanked her arm free and pointed toward the side. “Get lost. I don’t ever want to see you again!”

“Xiaojing!”

Tao Anyu called toward the security booth. “Security! Get this woman out of here!”

“Yes, Secretary Tao.” Two guards immediately rushed over, grabbing Zhuo Shaqi by the arms and dragging her away. She struggled, crying out, “Xiaojing, why won’t you believe me? I really do love you! Why won’t you give me another chance? Xiaojing! Xiaojing!”

If love were something you could toss around so easily—

Today you say “I love you” to me.
Tomorrow you say “I love you” to him.

Then what is your love worth? How can it be stretched thin enough to supply so many different people?

Isn’t love supposed to be selfish? If your love belongs to everyone, isn’t that just… selfless charity?

Utter nonsense.

Tao Anyu ran toward Tower A—but there was no sign of Lu Mengxiao.

“Has President Lu been by?” she asked a nearby guard.

The guard shook his head. “No, President Lu works out of the Gold Tower. She rarely comes here.”

Tao Anyu lowered her gaze for a moment, then stepped back. “Alright. I understand. Thank you.”

“Careful, Secretary Tao—don’t trip!”

She ran back to the parking lot, slid into the passenger seat of the Faraday, and closed the door.

“Tao-jie, what took you so long? I’ve been waiting forever.” Tian Qiurou started the engine.

Tao Anyu didn’t respond. She just kept calling Lu Mengxiao’s phone—at first, no answer, and soon after, it went straight to voicemail.

Tian Qiurou glanced at her in the rearview mirror, driving silently.

Tao Anyu eventually called the Seven Kings Sanctuary. “Hello, Auntie Liu? Has Xiaoxiao come home?”

“No, miss. She hasn’t been back today. When are you coming home, Miss Tao? Weren’t you with Second Miss? You two are always together.”

“No…” Tao Anyu looked out the window. “That’s all for now. I have something to do—bye, Auntie Liu.”

She gripped Tian Qiurou’s shoulder. “Xiaorou, do you have the phone number for Chairman Xu’s assistant?”

Tian Qiurou nodded. “I do, but… Tao-jie, you—”

“Give it to me. Now.”

“Okay.” Tian Qiurou handed over her phone. “It’s labeled in my contacts. If you can’t find it, ask me.”

Tao Anyu quickly found the number and dialed. “Hello, is this Assistant Tong?”

“Yes—Xiaorou-jie, what’s the matter?”

Tao Anyu didn’t bother to explain who she was. “Did Chairman Xu host a tea gathering tonight? Was President Lu invited?”

“Tea gathering? What tea gathering? No—Chairman Xu is in the Maldives right now. All his work has been handed over to the vice-chair.”

Tao Anyu’s eyes shut tightly. “Then… did the Commerce Group have any important meetings tonight that President Lu attended?”

“No.”

“Alright, thank you.” She hung up and handed the phone back to Tian Qiurou.

After a moment of silence, Tian Qiurou asked gently, “Tao-jie… are you alright?”

Tao Anyu pressed her fingers to her temples. “I’m fine.”

Tian Qiurou gave a small smile. “You really don’t need to take it too hard. President Lu’s just… like that. When she’s in one of her wild moods, she can be extreme. She calls it ‘three-dimensional performance art.’ But no matter how reckless or indifferent she looks on the surface, she’s perfectly clear-headed inside—calculating everything down to the last detail. Did you know she studied actuarial science? She once told me: every account in life must be balanced—whether in the world or in the heart, whether joy or sorrow.”

She paused before adding, “That includes both hatred… and love.”