The Beautiful, Strong, and Miserable Ex-Girlfriend [Quick Transmigration GL] - Chapter 9

Jiang Bieyuan’s sudden suggestion made Shen Sujie’s skin crawl. She stared at Jiang Bieyuan in horror, her mind momentarily freezing. “No, that’s really not necessary,” she said, rejecting the offer without thinking. “I’m heading home right away, so I can just shower there.”

After a moment, to prevent Jiang Bieyuan from misinterpreting her refusal, she quickly explained, “It would be pointless to shower now. I’ll just get all sweaty again on the way home, so it’s better if I just go home, shower, and go straight to bed.”

Shen Sujie felt that Jiang Bieyuan was acting bizarrely tonight, especially her eyes, which were so deep and intense that Shen Sujie didn’t dare to look directly at them. Her instincts as a “prey animal” told her to leave immediately. Clutching her bag, she didn’t wait for Jiang Bieyuan’s reaction and practically ran across the living room toward the door. “You just got off work and you must be tired. No need to see me out. I can get a taxi on my own.”

After putting on her shoes at the fastest speed of her life, Shen Sujie glanced back at Jiang Bieyuan, who had followed her. The shadow of her tall figure loomed over her, and her imposing presence made Shen Sujie’s heart pound. For a moment, her heart felt as if it had stopped beating. When it resumed, it was drumming against her ribs, her breathing echoing loudly in the silent space.

“Goodbye,” she said, turning and holding her breath as she met Jiang Bieyuan’s gaze. After a moment, she added, “Goodnight.”

Without waiting for a response, she yanked the door open and fled.

The desire to escape was unconcealed in Shen Sujie’s eyes. Jiang Bieyuan’s face fell, and the coldness in her expression made her presence even more intimidating.

A wave of relief washed over Shen Sujie when she realized Jiang Bieyuan wasn’t following her. As she pressed the elevator button, she pulled her head back and asked the system, “System, don’t you think your Sister Yuan is acting weird?”

“Weird?” the system replied, feigning calmness. It had no confidence in its voice, but it tried to sound firm. “Is there something wrong with her being nice and wanting you to be comfortable, considering your past friendship?”

Shen Sujie was speechless.

“My Sister Yuan isn’t good with words and doesn’t express her feelings well, so it’s normal for her good intentions to be misunderstood,” the system tried to brainwash her. “But I’m sure a kind and righteous Host like you wouldn’t misinterpret my Sister Yuan’s meaning, right?”

Shen Sujie was too scared to misinterpret her! She was terrified of Jiang Bieyuan’s hidden, dark thoughts. So, under the system’s intense gaze, Shen Sujie reluctantly nodded. “Of course. Jiang Bieyuan is a good person.”

The sudden “good person” label left the system speechless. Just then, the elevator arrived, and Shen Sujie was already busy using her phone to hail a taxi. The system, not knowing what to say, chose to remain silent. Even though Jiang Bieyuan had been acting very strangely tonight, the system was convinced it was only temporary. After a day or two of rest, she would be back to normal.

It was late by the time Shen Sujie got home. She quickly tidied up and went to sleep.

*******

The next day, she arrived at Fu Yanzhou’s as usual and reported the good news from the night before. “Mr. Fu, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

Fu Yanzhou was already in a bad mood, and Shen Sujie’s words only made him more irritable. He closed his eyes, his tone unfriendly as he proceeded to rip Shen Sujie to shreds with a harsh scolding. “The good news, first,” he finally said.

“Miss Jiang has sent you a resource,” Shen Sujie said, looking dejected from the scolding.

Fu Yanzhou’s face immediately showed surprise. “For real? You’re not lying to me?”

Shen Sujie nodded emphatically. “It’s the truth. And it’s the very same one you were dreaming of getting just a few days ago.”

Fu Yanzhou’s breathing grew shallow. “The one my rival and I were fighting tooth and nail for?”

When Shen Sujie nodded again, Fu Yanzhou let out a deep breath, a look of unbridled triumph spreading across his face. But the expression only lasted for a second before his face clouded over. “What’s the bad news?” he asked. He was certain that Jiang Bieyuan would only do him such a big favor if she had done something to offend him. The thought made him feel uneasy.

“The resource is Miss Jiang’s apology. She’s been extremely busy lately and can’t accept your invitation to go on a date with you.”

“That’s it?” Fu Yanzhou felt as though he had prepared himself for a hurricane only to be hit with a small gust of wind. “There’s nothing else?”

Shen Sujie blinked, giving him a firm answer. “That’s it. Nothing else.”

Fu Yanzhou was speechless for a moment, but then he started to smile. “That’s fine. It’s not a big deal. If Miss Jiang is busy, just wait a while and ask her again when she has time. Tell her it’s because I sincerely want to thank her for the dinner.”

He quickly adjusted his mood and his plan. He stared at Shen Sujie, his eyes sending a clear message even though he didn’t say the words: I guess you’re not entirely useless.

Shen Sujie pretended not to notice Fu Yanzhou’s unspoken thoughts. She gave a professional nod. “Understood. I’ve made a note of it.”

“Oh, and another thing,” Fu Yanzhou called out just as Shen Sujie was about to leave. “Don’t stop sending the flowers and gifts. Keep them coming. And raise the bar a little higher than before. We need to make sure Jiang Bieyuan sees my sincerity.”

Shen Sujie nodded. “Of course.” When it came to choosing gifts to please a woman, nobody was better than her at the moment.

With the resources from Jiang Bieyuan and the doting attention of the rich mistress Fu Yanzhou had worked so hard to charm, he quickly weathered the crisis. The online posts discussing the scandal were systematically deleted, and eventually, even the name “Fu Yanzhou” became a sensitive keyword, with any posts mentioning it being immediately censored.

There was no one in the entertainment industry without a powerful backer. Seeing this, the fans of his rival artists went silent, waiting for Fu Yanzhou to make his next mistake. At this point, it was meaningless to keep pushing. As long as Fu Yanzhou’s backing was in place, they would never be able to completely ruin him. So it was better to wait for the perfect moment. They believed that, given Fu Yanzhou’s character, it was only a matter of time before he made a big mistake and got himself blacklisted.

Having salvaged his reputation, Fu Yanzhou was on top of the world. He even walked with a swagger. Because he was in such a good mood, he was a lot nicer to his staff.

While Shen Sujie was going about her usual tasks, Fu Yanzhou, who had tasted the sweet benefits of Jiang Bieyuan’s patronage, interrupted her. “Is Jiang Bieyuan free yet?”

Shen Sujie shook her head and showed him a news page. Fu Yanzhou looked at it and quieted down. “Oh, she’s away for a conference…” It seemed his plan would have to wait.

But Fu Yanzhou wasn’t willing to give up just yet, so he ordered Shen Sujie, “Besides picking out gifts, you should also speak highly of me to her. You need to praise me. Got it?”

Shen Sujie’s face fell. “…Got it.”

“Now, text Jiang Bieyuan right now. I want to see how you usually talk about me to her,” Fu Yanzhou said, suspicious. He didn’t trust Shen Sujie’s promise and imperiously commanded her.

Shen Sujie hesitated and looked at him. Fu Yanzhou took her hesitation as unwillingness and tried to grab her phone. She instinctively dodged him, but when his face turned dark, she thought it over and handed him the phone.

With a grim expression, Fu Yanzhou grabbed it and eagerly looked at the screen.

In truth, Shen Sujie had been very diligent. Every day, on time, she would text Jiang Bieyuan things like, “Miss Jiang, I’ve had the gifts and flowers from Fu Yanzhou placed at your company’s front desk. Please remember to check for them.”

“Miss Jiang, have you seen the news photos from Fu Yanzhou’s event today? He looks so handsome.”

“Miss Jiang, Fu Yanzhou’s new movie is out. I’ve had a ticket delivered to you by courier. Let’s watch it together if you have time.”

“Miss Jiang…”

Shen Sujie was very enthusiastic. The messages she sent to Jiang Bieyuan ranged from promotions for Fu Yanzhou’s movies and TV shows to small details like a gallery of his best photos. She was meticulous about everything.

No matter how enthusiastic Shen Sujie was, Jiang Bieyuan’s attitude was always cold. For every ten or so messages Shen Sujie sent, Jiang Bieyuan would give a curt reply like “Okay.”

It was very perfunctory.

Fu Yanzhou’s expression became very strange. He wasn’t sure whether to call Shen Sujie brilliant or not. She had managed to secure a top-tier resource for him with such frigid replies. He looked at Shen Sujie and suddenly had an idea. The reason Jiang Bieyuan is treating Shen Sujie like this must be because of their complicated past, right? Jiang Bieyuan dislikes her because she was her ex-girlfriend, which is why she’s so cold and unwilling to talk to her. So what if I find someone else to communicate with Jiang Bieyuan? Would it be more effective?

Fu Yanzhou’s heart raced, and he was eager to put his new plan into action. He tossed the phone back to Shen Sujie. “Keep speaking highly of me to her,” he commanded. Fu Yanzhou was cautious. On one hand, he wanted to find someone to replace Shen Sujie, but on the other hand, he wasn’t sure if a new person would succeed. So he kept Shen Sujie around, just in case.

If Jiang Bieyuan’s coldness was truly because of Shen Sujie’s identity, then with Shen Sujie by his side as a contrast, the new person’s work would likely go even more smoothly. And no matter which of them was more useful, Fu Yanzhou would be the ultimate winner.

Shen Sujie fumbled to catch the phone Fu Yanzhou had tossed to her, already cursing him in her head. She mechanically agreed, then under his scrutinizing gaze, she gave in and texted Jiang Bieyuan. “Good morning, Miss Jiang. Fu Yanzhou has produced some more handsome photos today!”

She clicked on the image, selected “original,” and, in one smooth motion, sent over the photoshopped pictures of Fu Yanzhou. She then looked back at him. Fu Yanzhou gave a grudging nod of satisfaction. “Report any new developments to me immediately.”

“Of course.”

After Fu Yanzhou left, Shen Sujie looked at the photos that had turned him into a creamy-faced pretty boy and wished she could unsend them. But she knew Fu Yanzhou might check her phone again, so she held back. She just hoped Jiang Bieyuan wouldn’t get too annoyed with her.

Jiang Bieyuan was in a very serious meeting. Everyone was listening with rapt attention. Her phone screen lit up. She glanced at it, unconcerned, until it vibrated several times in a row. A slight frown appeared on her face. She picked up the phone, subtly unlocked it, and opened the messages.

Nine photos of a photoshopped man immediately flooded her screen. In that instant, Jiang Bieyuan’s anger surged out of control.

She coolly replied with a “?”, then flipped her phone over and placed it face-down on the table.

Shen Sujie had been pulled away by a coworker to listen to some gossip and didn’t see Jiang Bieyuan’s reply in time. After the meeting, Jiang Bieyuan opened her phone again. Her face darkened when she saw that Shen Sujie hadn’t responded. She stared at the screen for a long time before, out of spite, setting Shen Sujie’s notifications to silent.

Fu Yanzhou, Fu Yanzhou. It’s always about Fu Yanzhou. Is that all she can talk about with me? Is Fu Yanzhou the only one who matters to her?

Jiang Bieyuan squeezed her phone tightly, suddenly regretting her decision to send Shen Sujie to Fu Yanzhou to spy on him.

Shen Sujie saw Jiang Bieyuan’s message a full two hours later. She held her phone, her face aghast, and was baffled by the single question mark. “System, what do you think your Sister Yuan means by this question mark?”

The system had a look of utter exasperation. “Are you doing this mission or am I? If you’re going to ask me about everything, you might as well let me do the whole thing for you.”

Shen Sujie’s face lit up with hope. “Can you?”

“No!” the system yelled. “Forget it! You’re on your own! Figure it out yourself!”

With nowhere else to turn, Shen Sujie furrowed her brows and tried to guess what Jiang Bieyuan meant. She must be annoyed, Shen Sujie thought. After all, who would want to open their phone to see nine pictures of a man? It was bad luck. She knew she should apologize.

With her mind made up, Shen Sujie cleared her throat and sent a voice message. “Yuan Yuan, I’m so sorry. I was just surfing the web and saw these photos of Fu Yanzhou. I thought they were so handsome that I got a little excited and couldn’t help but share them with you. I’m sincerely sorry if I bothered you.”

The girl’s voice was soft and gentle. Because it was a voice message, it sounded even sweeter and more childlike than usual. The soft, gentle voice was non-threatening, but it was also captivating, making one feel a pleasant, tingling sensation. Jiang Bieyuan replayed the message over and over. Only after she was fully satisfied did she belatedly realize that the other woman was once again talking about Fu Yanzhou.

The anger she had suppressed surged up again. Jiang Bieyuan heard her own voice, trying to stay calm despite her fury, as she spoke slowly and deliberately. 

“You and I can’t talk without you bringing up Fu Yanzhou. So you must love him a lot. Is that right?”