The Beautiful, Strong, and Miserable Ex-Girlfriend [Quick Transmigration GL] - Chapter 3

“I’ll take them home,” Shen Sujie murmured to herself.

Jiang Beiyuan hadn’t left. She watched as the fair-skinned girl walked out of the towering office building. The girl’s soft, curly hair and the sunlight that enveloped her created two distinct pictures.

The gentle light shifted with Shen Sujie’s hurried movements, and her beautiful black eyes became filled with an emotional, fluid glimmer.

Every glance and smile was alluring and captivating.

For a moment, Jiang Beiyuan’s gaze lost focus, and she felt as if her heart had stopped.

Snapping back to reality, she started the car and fled the scene in a state of panic.

Shen Sujie felt a gaze following her—a presence so strong that she couldn’t ignore it.

She instinctively turned to look, but didn’t see anyone familiar… wait. Shen Sujie stopped and squinted, her eyes lingering for a moment on Jiang Beiyuan’s car, which was almost out of sight.

“System, your Sister Yuan was just spying on me, wasn’t she?”

The system seemed confused. 

“Is that so strange? Maybe she wanted to ask you what Fu Yanzhou said, but because of your previous terrible behavior, she didn’t want to see you. So, after hesitating from a distance, she decided to temporarily avoid you—out of sight, out of mind.”

“Host, why would you ask a question like that just to humiliate yourself?”

Shen Sujie was a bit speechless after the system’s comments and couldn’t help but wonder if she was overthinking it. After all, there was a wide road between them, so it was normal for the emotions Jiang Beiyuan was giving off to be a bit skewed.

“Maybe you’re right,” she said dismissively to the system, then turned, not giving the matter any more thought.

Fu Yanzhou’s manager had added Shen Sujie to a work group chat. Lying low in the chat, she discovered that besides filming, Fu Yanzhou’s schedule was absolutely packed.

For example, after filming tonight, he was going to dinner with the daughter of a certain jewelry tycoon. The next day, after a commercial shoot, he was off to a certain amusement park with a rich investor. And the day after, a day off, he was to stay in a certain villa alone, with no staff allowed.

Shen Sujie recalled the original text and extracted the relevant plot points.

In the beginning, Fu Yanzhou wasn’t actually interested in Jiang Beiyuan. The only reason he wanted to create a scandal with her was because she was an illegitimate daughter, in an awkward position, and without support.

A woman who had endured the emotional betrayal of Qiao Weiwei and was now entangled in a family inheritance battle was seen by the outside world as fragile. And fragile meant easy to control.

Fu Yanzhou came from a common background, so if he were to choose someone to marry, Jiang Beiyuan would be the perfect choice.

He would humble himself and marry into the Jiang family, then slowly, like boiling a frog in water, he would seize power from Jiang Beiyuan. He’d eventually render her a figurehead, letting her stay home to raise their children. That way, Fu Yanzhou could have his respectable wife at home and still have his fun outside.

He had a great plan, or so he thought.

Shen Sujie pursed her lips, feeling her fists tighten.

She decided to be a good sport and sell out Fu Yanzhou’s schedule. “That’s basically all there is for now. He hasn’t had time to arrange anything further.”

“I’ll be sure to tell you as soon as I get a definite word.”

After that, Shen Sujie even sent over a cute, innocent emoji.

Jiang Beiyuan’s porcelain-white, slender fingers rested on the steering wheel. Shen Sujie’s deliberate tip-off had confirmed her suspicions about Fu Yanzhou’s motives.

She had never been fond of him, and now she immediately put him on her blacklist. “Thank you for your trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Shen Sujie buttered her up. “But I took the flowers Fu Yanzhou sent you home with me. They’re so delicate; it would’ve been a waste to throw them away.”

Jiang Beiyuan didn’t care about the flowers’ fate, nor did she care that Qiao Weiwei was showing a sensitive, childlike side she’d never seen before. She emotionlessly sent a “Do as you please,” then ignored Shen Sujie.

After sending several messages with no response, Shen Sujie knew she was no longer welcome. Wisely, she didn’t bother Jiang Beiyuan anymore.

She cautiously recalled Jiang Beiyuan’s preferences, staying up all night to compile a detailed summary table, which she then sent to Fu Yanzhou to show how dedicated she was to the job.

Fu Yanzhou’s response was still perfunctory; he just sent back an “OK” hand sign.

Shen Sujie cursed him again under her breath. For a long time after that, she diligently helped Fu Yanzhou pick out flowers and gifts to win over Jiang Beiyuan, but with minimal success.

Jiang Beiyuan never responded, and Shen Sujie started to worry that Fu Yanzhou might fire her for neglect of duty.

Just as she was feeling anxious, Fu Yanzhou suddenly called. “Get ready immediately and come with me.”

He didn’t say where they were going or what they would be doing, so Shen Sujie simply put on some casual clothes. When Fu Yanzhou’s chauffeur van dropped her off, she was told they were at Jiang Beiyuan’s stepmother’s birthday party.

Compared to Shen Sujie’s simple attire, Fu Yanzhou was dressed in a suit, looking formal and elegant.

“You’re late,” Fu Yanzhou said, checking his watch, his tone sharp. “Half an hour.”

“I’m so sorry, there was a lot of traffic,” Shen Sujie said, bowing her head submissively. Fu Yanzhou was about to scold her again, but when he saw Jiang Beiyuan, he immediately changed his tune. He stared at Shen Sujie with a meaningful look. “You and Yuanyuan haven’t talked in a while, have you?”

“Come on, I’ll take you to meet her.”

Fu Yanzhou’s little game wasn’t hard to figure out. He was simply trying to use Shen Sujie’s identity as the ex-girlfriend to provoke Jiang Beiyuan, to stir up old, unpleasant memories so he could swoop in and take advantage of her vulnerability.

When Shen Sujie realized this, her face paled in perfect collaboration.

Seeing this, Fu Yanzhou finally cracked a satisfied smile.

Jiang Beiyuan had noticed Shen Sujie’s arrival a while ago. Today, she wasn’t dressed provocatively, just in a simple white shirt and light blue jeans, giving her a different kind of pure beauty.

She looked simple-minded, like an easy-to-bully little rabbit.

After watching Shen Sujie for a moment, Jiang Beiyuan looked away, intending to avoid her, but the clueless Fu Yanzhou called out to her. Fu Yanzhou’s fame meant he was the center of attention wherever he went, so Shen Sujie, standing beside him, was quickly recognized.

“Isn’t that the Jiang family’s eldest daughter’s ex-girlfriend? Who invited her? How does she even have the nerve to show up?”

“My friend told me that after Qiao Weiwei broke up with Miss Jiang, she kept pestering her relentlessly. Is that true?”

“Of course it’s true. Just look at her social media. Tsk, she’s so shameless. She pretends to be so devoted and begs Miss Jiang to get back together, but she can’t stand being lonely, so she goes and hooks up with Mr. Fu. She’s so fickle and loose.”

The people gossiping didn’t bother to lower their voices. Given their wealthy and privileged status, they didn’t need to.

Shen Sujie quickly became the center of attention. Her pale face instantly flushed scarlet, as if bl00d were about to drip from it.

Jiang Beiyuan looked up again and saw only the back of Shen Sujie’s dark, fuzzy head. She was hunched over, seemingly so mortified she wished she could turn into an ostrich and bury herself in a hole.

The fiery stares around her were like a sharp sword, pinning the suddenly thin-skinned girl to a cross of shame.

And at that very moment, the instigator, Fu Yanzhou, approached her with a gentlemanly and composed air. “Miss Jiang.”

“I apologize that I’ve never had the chance to say I’m sorry to you.”

Fu Yanzhou had rehearsed this countless times in his head, so the words came out effortlessly. “I’m very sorry that my personal issues caused the media to create rumors that bothered you. I’ll drink three glasses of wine as a self-imposed penalty.”

With that, he took a glass from a server and downed three glasses of wine in one go.

Jiang Beiyuan was clearly annoyed by Fu Yanzhou’s relentless presence. Her face wasn’t pleasant. She responded with her usual cool demeanor, her tone anything but friendly. “Since you know you’ve caused me trouble, please handle your personal affairs as soon as possible and stop affecting my reputation.”

The unexpected response caused Fu Yanzhou to stumble. All of his carefully prepared words and schemes became useless in that moment.

Thankfully, Fu Yanzhou recovered quickly. He let out a bitter laugh and sighed. “Okay, Miss Jiang. Don’t worry, I’ll resolve this matter as soon as possible.”

Fu Yanzhou’s rambling was incessant. He kept clinging to Jiang Beiyuan, his intention to get closer to her obvious. Jiang Beiyuan, for the sake of appearances, tried to tolerate him while unconsciously searching for Shen Sujie.

Fu Yanzhou brought Qiao Weiwei here today to use her as a stepping stone, didn’t he? Now that he had successfully approached her, had he simply abandoned Qiao Weiwei on the side?

Shen Sujie hadn’t gone far. She had even deliberately chosen a spot where Jiang Beiyuan could see her with a simple glance.

So, in Jiang Beiyuan’s eyes, Shen Sujie was hiding in a corner with a pale face, her shoulders hunched, looking lost and humiliated. Perhaps because she was so upset, Shen Sujie unconsciously reached for a bottle of red wine on the table.

Jiang Beiyuan saw this and nonchalantly glanced at the label on the bottle. It was Zinfandel, a high-alcohol wine.

Given Qiao Weiwei’s low tolerance, she would be drunk after two glasses at most.

There were many people here, a mix of all types, including some wealthy playboys who enjoyed toying with women. If she were to pass out, it wasn’t hard to imagine what could happen next.

Jiang Beiyuan instinctively furrowed her brow, her eyes flickering for a moment, but she ultimately did not act.

Shen Sujie was overacting a little. This body’s alcohol tolerance was low. She quickly felt her face turn hot, and her body felt like a furnace, waves of heat radiating from inside.

Her stomach suddenly churned, and her pale face flushed from the alcohol. She felt uncomfortable, so she wobbled to her feet, ready to go outside for some cool air to sober up.

Her presence wasn’t strong, and besides Jiang Beiyuan, probably no one else would notice her.

But in that very moment, Jiang Beiyuan’s sharp eyes spotted a familiar but ill-reputed playboy following her.

Shen Sujie was the only person who had left at that time, so the playboy’s target was obvious.

Jiang Beiyuan initially did nothing.

From what she knew of Qiao Weiwei, even a little drunk, she could handle a scrawny man like that with no problem. Qiao Weiwei was fierce and hot-tempered. Her sharp tongue could even resurrect the dead…

Jiang Beiyuan’s thoughts paused, and she let out a self-deprecating laugh. A tough girl like Qiao Weiwei didn’t need her to be concerned. The one she should be concerned about was the playboy.

Feeling calmer, Jiang Beiyuan stared at the annoying Fu Yanzhou, planning to end the conversation directly. But Fu Yanzhou, sensing her impatience, quickly changed the subject. “I don’t know if it’s too presumptuous to mention Qiao Weiwei in front of you…”

Qiao Weiwei? Jiang Beiyuan’s eyebrows quirked, and she slowly lowered her heel. “Go on.”

Seeing that she was indeed interested in Qiao Weiwei, Fu Yanzhou immediately began to embellish her poor work performance over the past few days, hoping to win over Jiang Beiyuan’s favor.

Jiang Beiyuan expected some kind of masterful plan from him, but as Fu Yanzhou started to speak, she felt nothing but disappointment.

Still, she didn’t expose him. She simply listened quietly as he badmouthed Shen Sujie.

It was a convenient excuse, as she didn’t want to deal with her stepmother anyway, so using Fu Yanzhou as a distraction was perfectly reasonable.

Fu Yanzhou went on and on, listing all of Shen Sujie’s flaws, until he finally seemed satisfied and fell silent. Only then did Jiang Beiyuan’s mind snap to attention. How long has that person been gone?

Ten minutes? Twenty? Half an hour?

Her expression shifted instantly, her flushed lips pressing into a thin, tight line.

A terrifying suspicion she didn’t want to believe surfaced, causing her to instinctively take a step, ready to go look for Shen Sujie.

Fu Yanzhou was basking in his triumph when he noticed the sudden change in Jiang Beiyuan’s face and her move to leave. He quickly reached out to stop her. “Miss Jiang, what’s wrong? Is it Qiao Weiwei…?”

Facing this petty man who had repeatedly disrespected her, Jiang Beiyuan had run out of patience.

Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed, filled with a sharp, cold light. Her icy voice shattered the facade of politeness between them. “Get lost.”