Chapter 5

For a brief moment, Wen Jiu felt that the male and female leads’ fated meeting was truly unavoidable. So this was what people meant by “destiny”?
“Wen Jiu.” Someone called her name in the parking lot.
Chu Corp’s underground garage had two levels, sprawling and vast, but sound still echoed clearly.
She followed the voice and saw the Young Lady rolling down her window to call her. Once their gazes met, Qin Yao stepped out of the car with her bag.
Today she’d driven herself, a limited-edition Bugatti that turned heads anywhere, and down here shone brighter than any other luxury car in the garage.
Her curled hair bounced as she walked, and the expression in her eyes was more dazzling than the line of luxury cars behind her. She glanced past Wen Jiu’s shoulder.
But she didn’t see the Chu Yan she’d been longing for.
“Wen Jiu, is that the ‘Young Miss’ you were talking about? Is she your… sister?” Lan Mingyan asked uncertainly.
Her own family situation didn’t even qualify as “ordinary”, they were poor. She knew next to nothing about cars. Even with all the traffic on the streets, she could barely recognize a few brands.
But she didn’t need to be an expert to see how expensive this one was. The lines, the shine, none of it was cheap.
“That’s right, I’m her sister. You’re Wen Jiu’s coworker?” To Wen Jiu’s shock, the Young Lady actually accepted the label.
She was just a lackey!
Wen Jiu’s eyes filled instantly. She wanted nothing more than to conjure up a handkerchief and bite it as she wept.
“Wen Jiu’s sister, I have to tell you, she was bullied at work today. Someone made things difficult for her and tried to force her to book Ji Qing Pavilion and treat the entire office,” Lan Mingyan said, all earnestness. She’d only just graduated and was still a pure-hearted college student, warm, straightforward, and always saying exactly what was on her mind.
She figured that since Wen Jiu’s “sister” looked so formidable, she’d surely help Wen Jiu get justice.
Qin Yao pulled her gaze away from the elevator doors, her original purpose here temporarily forgotten.
“What? Who was shameless enough to bully Wen Jiu?” Her lackey, and someone else dared to make things hard for her?
“It’s this guy in our office, ”
“Oh, my boyfriend’s here to pick me up. That’s such a surprise!” Lan Mingyan blinked, startled, then immediately turned to run across the aisle. “Wen Jiu, Wen Jiu’s sister, I’ll be right back, I’m just going to say hi to him!”
She dashed off like a gust of wind, spotting someone step out of the car opposite and rushing toward him.
Wen Jiu panicked. Her voice stuck in her throat as she sprinted after her, one arm swinging wildly in front, desperately trying to wave her back.
Heroine, that’s not your boyfriend, that’s the male lead!!
The Young Lady, not knowing the plot, was still stewing over Wen Jiu being bullied, lips pressed tight, arms crossed, fuming.
She had zero interest in other people’s boyfriends and no intention of turning around.
When she saw Wen Jiu suddenly take off after the girl, she finally looked, curious.
“Boyfriend, what are you doing here all of a sudden? Are you trying to surprise me?” Lan Mingyan’s voice arrived before she did.
She launched herself toward the man’s back in a flying hug,
And just before she latched on, Wen Jiu dove in with a waist-level tackle, grabbing her from behind.
Afraid of hurting her, Wen Jiu softened the impact, but she still couldn’t counter Lan Mingyan’s momentum. They both went down.
Wen Jiu ended up at the bottom.
Her knee scraped hard against the floor. A fine, sharp ache spread across it. The parking lot surface was roughened for traction; she was pretty sure she’d broken skin.
The man in front of the car turned at just the right moment, and the chief assistant coming around from the back hurried over too, terrified this was some kind of insurance scam.
The man’s features were sharply defined; he didn’t look like the usual kind of handsome Chinese man, but more like a Greek sculpture, every line carefully carved.
His natural aura was aristocratic and cold. One hawk-like glance swept over them and the sharpness in his eyes instantly calmed the two flustered girls on the ground; their limbs suddenly felt too clumsy to know where to go.
The chief assistant moved to his side and helped the two of them up.
Seeing the way they went completely quiet the moment they met President Chu’s eyes, he guessed they weren’t here to scam him.
Thanks to Wen Jiu cushioning her, Lan Mingyan hadn’t hit the ground. She held onto Wen Jiu. “Are you okay?”
Then, in a whisper right by her ear, “Good thing you grabbed me. I really did mistake him; he’s not my boyfriend.”
“He’s pretty handsome though… but I don’t know him. Thank goodness I didn’t actually jump him or the misunderstanding would’ve been huge.”
Realization hit Lan Mingyan late; her face flushed bright red.
Wen Jiu rubbed her hands lightly over Lan Mingyan’s, as if exchanging courage.
After holding it in for a second, she shouted:
“Brother-in-law!”
In the wide, echoing garage, the words bounced around and boomed back at them, ringing through half the space.
They landed with a solid thud, almost frightening.
Lan Mingyan’s eyes flew wide. She stared at Wen Jiu in disbelief, then sneaked a glance at Wen Jiu’s “sister.”
A beat later, she followed suit, mumbling her greeting:
“Hello, Wen Jiu’s brother-in-law.”
Chu Yan’s assistant reacted fastest. “Ladies, our president isn’t married yet. You must have the wrong person.”
If he’d been a second slower, he might’ve been unemployed.
Lan Mingyan didn’t know if she was excited or mortified, but she clung to Wen Jiu’s wrist.
She thought Wen Jiu had made the same mistake she had, and the embarrassment was killing her, she’d called him that too.
“I’m her sister. It’s only a matter of time before she calls Chu Yan ‘brother-in-law,’” Qin Yao said, heels clicking as she strode over.
She was like a proud white cat, elegant and haughty, her curled hair swaying behind her, the hem of her A-line dress flaring like a wave with each step.
She’d known it, her lackey would get the job done.
Chu Yan really was in the parking garage.
At first, she’d only accepted the “sister” label for Wen Jiu’s sake, to stand up for her. But once this “brother-in-law” appeared, she suddenly found she liked the title very much.
Her lackey really understood her.
“Miss Qin,” the chief assistant greeted, glancing sideways to read his president’s expression.
“You’re not allowed to talk,” Qin Yao snapped. She’d never liked Chu Yan’s assistant, he was always blocking her at the door.
She pulled out her phone and sent Wen Jiu a red packet. Then she turned to Lan Mingyan. “Open your payment code.”
Lan Mingyan blinked, confused, and shot a questioning look at Wen Jiu.
“It’s fine, just open it. My sister’s a good person,” Wen Jiu said.
Those clear eyes of Lan Mingyan’s flickered. When she saw the notification of a 10,000-yuan transfer, her pupils blew wide.
“Wen Jiu…!” She clamped down on Wen Jiu’s wrist, completely flustered, at a loss for words.
Chu Corp paid its staff decently. As an intern in administration, she’d been earning eight thousand a month; now that she’d just gone permanent, it was ten thousand.
And Qin Yao had just handed her an entire month’s salary.
For Lan Mingyan, ten thousand. For Wen Jiu, twenty thousand.
“Name-change fee,” Qin Yao said, lifting her phone and giving a playful blink.
“Wen Jiu…” Lan Mingyan’s face turned even redder under the Young Lady’s dazzling wink; she continued to cling to Wen Jiu, still stuck on that same opening phrase, too overwhelmed to finish a sentence.
No need to ask what name she was changing, clearly it was that “brother-in-law.”
When Wen Jiu looked at her now, it felt like looking at herself from last Friday.
The Young Lady’s authority really was something.
She squeezed Lan Mingyan’s hand back. Their eyes met, two wage slaves sharing the same misty, emotional shine.
From now on, your sister is my sister, too.
Good. We’ll protect the Young Lady together.
Chu Yan’s hawk eyes swept over and found the two of them completely wrapped up in their own world. His thin lips pressed into a hard line as he looked to Qin Yao. “Qin Yao, that’s enough.”
The domineering tone made Wen Jiu lift her head instantly.
How dare he speak to the Young Lady like that?!
Her accusing stare was so blatant that it was impossible to ignore. Chu Yan remembered this girl, Qin Yao’s constant shadow.
But something was different. The girl who’d once been so silent she seemed almost sinister was suddenly bright and sunny, looking at him like he was some heartless scumbag.
Chu Yan: “…”
“Qin Yao, control your people.”
As the words fell, another pair of eyes joined in giving him that “scumbag” glare, the very girl who’d just finished calling him “brother-in-law.”
“Chu Yan!” Qin Yao planted her hands on her hips, teeth clamping on her lower lip, temper flaring.
Wen Jiu panicked even more than she did.
The Young Lady’s love for the male lead was all-consuming, but she never checked his mood, her style was pure dominance. In any other setting, she’d already have pushed Chu Yan down and “taken what she wanted.”
Wen Jiu squeezed in close and whispered in her ear, “Miss Qin, President Chu is just embarrassed. He’s not scolding you. If he really hated you, he’d have already turned around and gotten in the car. When a man’s out in the world, you have to give him a little face.”
Lan Mingyan just thought the three of them together were a visual blessing; she stood off to the side quietly drinking it all in, completely missing Wen Jiu’s whisper.
Chu Yan, standing a little closer, heard every word.
His assistant caught a fragment or two.
The car had broken down, that was the only reason they weren’t parked right by the elevator, and why the president hadn’t gotten out first. If not for that, none of this absurd scene would be happening.
This was probably the most humiliating moment of Chu Yan’s entire life.
Not outwardly, but internally.
“When a man’s out in the world, you have to give him a little face”?
It was as if Qin Yao had opened the door to a whole new world. Her eyes lit up once, then again.
So that’s how it worked.
From butting heads with Chu Yan, trying to match the domineering CEO in sheer force of presence, she transformed into a coy, delicate little bird. Qin Yao drew on every ounce of acting talent she’d ever had.
“Chu Yan, don’t talk to me like that anymore. I don’t like it,” she said.
Her voice had always been soft and sweet, but now that she’d deliberately softened it further, it was like watered-down honey, sweet no matter how you tasted it.
Almost too sweet.
The old Qin Yao he could’ve handled with cold indifference. But this new Qin Yao left him at a loss.
The culprit herself had ducked behind her, hiding completely out of sight.
Chu Yan swallowed hard. “Qin Yao, come upstairs with me.”
To his office, to talk.
Qin Yao’s eyes lit up like daylight at noon.
It was the first time Chu Yan had personally invited her upstairs.
Her lackey hadn’t lied to her!
Of course Wen Jiu would follow the Young Lady; seeing this, Lan Mingyan stepped up as well.
The group reached the elevator just as a muttering, cursing Brother Lin came down, and they met face to face, eye to eye.
Brother Lin’s eyesight was excellent. He skipped right over his biggest boss, Chu Yan, as if his brain had a built-in tracker; his gaze locked straight onto Wen Jiu and Lan Mingyan.