3.
At dinner, I brought Cố Tư Tư along.
She sat quietly beside me, her big eyes fixed on the two people across from us.
Tần Tử Dục introduced us. “This is Mạnh Tinh. The two of you met this morning.”
It seemed to be Mạnh Tinh’s first time eating at an upscale restaurant.
She sat demurely, and her gaze shifted nervously as she looked at me. “Hello, big sister.”
A cold laugh rang out in Cố Tư Tư’s heart.
[Ha, that “big sister” sure is something.]
[What an interesting dinner. The hero, heroine, and wicked supporting woman from the story are all here.]
My hand paused with the fork, and I frowned slightly.
Did she mean that the hero and heroine in the story were me and Tần Tử Dục?
Cố Tư Tư sighed inwardly. [In theory, a cannon-fodder character like me should cling to the heroine, but my rich big sister gives me so much. Sob.]
Oh, so I was the wicked supporting woman.
Seeing how ill at ease Mạnh Tinh was, Tần Tử Dục turned to me, his voice going cold. “People like us aren’t used to eating at fancy restaurants like this. We’re more used to roadside stalls.”
He’d never said that when he used to dine with me.
Ever since Mạnh Tinh showed up, he didn’t seem like himself anymore.
I gave a mocking smile. “Sorry, I don’t like lowering myself for other people.”
Tần Tử Dục’s expression turned sour. Not long afterward, he got a call and said he had to meet a client. Since it was on his way, he offered to take Mạnh Tinh back to campus.
After finishing her steak, Cố Tư Tư glanced at the untouched steak on my plate.
“Do you mind that I’ve already eaten from it?” I asked her.
She shook her head.
I transferred the portion I’d touched to another plate, then passed it to her.
Watching the two of them through the window, I asked softly,
“They’re probably going to eat at a roadside stall, aren’t they?”
Cố Tư Tư froze for a moment and stared at me, eyes wide.
[You know?]
[The story portrays a rich heiress like her as too arrogant and antisocial, so the hero falls for someone else.]
[I really don’t get it. Big sister is beautiful and rich—what could she possibly see in that rotten cucumber?]
I thought about it. I didn’t seem to like him all that much either.
It was just that whenever I was with him, I always thought how nice it would be if my brother treated me so gently, too.
I stared absently after them as Cố Tư Tư started rambling inwardly again.
[Big sister, don’t be lovesick. Getting close to that man will bring you misery. After he’s brought back into the family, he’ll oppose Cố Ngôn Xuyên at every turn. When you die in an accident, Cố Ngôn Xuyên will kill himself, and then that man will take over your family’s house and company and rise to the top.]
My eyes instantly reddened. When I looked up again, my brother was there.
His long legs were outlined by his tailored trousers.
He stood not far away, staring at me without blinking.
He’d heard everything I’d just said.
4.
Cố Ngôn Xuyên said he’d drive Cố Tư Tư home.
Then he pulled me out of the restaurant.
He walked so fast I had to jog to keep up.
The warmth of his large, rough hand spread through my body.
“Brother, what are you doing… Let me go…”
He pulled so hard it hurt. I instinctively tried to yank my hand away, but he held on tighter.
He didn’t let go until we reached a place where no one else was around.
“Break up with him. Now.”
I met his eyes and gave a soft laugh. “What did you hear?”
He took off his jacket, his expression icy.
The dim light fell across his clear eyes, making him look even more as if he might shatter.
“I’m not going to tell you a third time. Break up with him.”
I studied his eyes carefully.
“Didn’t you hear what she said just now? I’m lovesick. I’ll break up with him… Will you be with me?”
Cố Xuyên stared intently at me, a tangle of complicated emotions in his dark eyes.
It was a long time before he finally spoke, his voice hoarse.
“Cố Tích, don’t tease me.”
I raised an eyebrow slightly. “Cố Ngôn Xuyên, that doesn’t sound like something a brother should say to his sister.”
His expression was serious, as if he were warning me.
My eyes stung. Before the tears could fall, I turned and walked out of the alley.
I’d taken only two steps when he grabbed my wrist.
Before I could react, he pinned me against the wall.
I looked up, and he saw the tears streaming down my face.
He froze for a moment. His voice was gentle, but it trembled slightly.
“I won’t hurt you… Just listen to me and be good, okay?”
I was about to speak when I suddenly heard a middle-aged man call my brother President Cố.
But at that moment, he had me pinned against the wall in a very intimate pose.
I tensed, my whole body going rigid.
Before the man could reach us, he held my head and tucked my face against his chest.
A cool, fresh scent lingered around me.
“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered.
The man’s footsteps drew closer, and his teasing voice rang by my ear.
“President Cố, are you seeing someone?”
“Mm.”
He answered in a low voice, his tone hard to read.
“President Cố, are you keeping your relationship a secret?”
The man seemed curious and wanted to come closer to see my face.
He held me a little tighter.
“I made her cry. I’m still trying to comfort her.”
His tone was a little lazy, with a hint of chill.
The man’s footsteps soon receded into the distance.
Before he let me go, I wrapped my arms around his waist.
“Brother, if I die, will you die too?”
His body stiffened slightly, and his heart was beating fast.
This time, he didn’t push me away. Instead, he reached up and stroked my head.
We’d rarely been this affectionate since we grew up.
He lowered his voice. “Don’t worry. You won’t die, and neither will I.”
My vision gradually blurred, and my tears soaked his white shirt.
His eyes curved in a smile, and his voice turned unusually tender.
“How am I supposed to go to my meeting tonight when you’re like this?”
5.
From that day on, something seemed to change between Cố Ngôn Xuyên and me.
And yet, it was as if nothing had changed.
Tần Tử Dục really was the young master of the Tần family. Not long after I broke up with him, they took him back in. But being an illegitimate son left him in an awkward position in the family.
We met again at a party. He held a glass of red wine and walked slowly toward me in a custom-tailored suit.
He didn’t look at all like the poor kid he’d been back then.
He smiled and greeted me. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Standing beside me, Cố Tư Tư gaped at him, her expression a little exaggerated.
[He’s approaching you because he wants to destroy the company. Don’t respond to him!]
After Tần Dục returned to the Tần family, he started targeting my family’s company at every turn.
Cố Ngôn Xuyên never told me about any of this. I’d heard it all from Cố Tư Tư.
I was curious to see what he’d do next.
I smiled and greeted him, polite but distant. “What a coincidence, President Tần. What have you been busy with lately?”
“Just busy taking over the family company.” His expression was a little gloomy. “Nothing important.”
Cố Tư Tư scoffed inwardly.
[Of course he’s busy stealing your brother’s projects. Cố Ngôn Xuyên wasn’t very nice to him before, and that guy holds a grudge.]
I took a sip of champagne and continued, “What kind of work are you doing, President Tần? Could you tell me a little about it?”
Tần Tử Dục rambled on for a while, but I didn’t take in a single word.
I just tilted my head slightly and looked toward Cố Tư Tư, as if deep in thought.
[What’s he been doing lately… Right, I think these two chapters are just business infighting. I must’ve skipped them because they were so boring.]
[I only read the melodramatic romance scenes between Tần Tử Dục and Mạnh Tinh… Besides, those two really can get it on anywhere, in every possible way…]
Enough. That was more than enough.
I gripped my glass tightly. I couldn’t listen to another word.
“Tư Tư, I think I left my bracelet in the car. Go find it for me.”
“But…”
I stressed, “That bracelet was a birthday present from my brother.”
Cố Tư Tư said, “Oh,” and turned to leave.
Tần Tử Dục narrowed his eyes slightly and gave me a knowing smile.
“Miss Cố, are you interested in me?”
I curled my lips slightly. “Yes.”
I was damn interested in you.
The grand ballroom buzzed with laughter and conversation as I followed Tần Tử Dục out onto the terrace.
While I made small talk with him, my phone rang.
It was Cố Ngôn Xuyên calling. I didn’t answer; I silenced the phone instead.
Then I blinked and looked at Tần Tử Dục.
“My brother’s company has plenty of experience with the project you mentioned. I’ll ask him to help you.”
A cold glint appeared in Tần Tử Dục’s eyes, and his lips pressed together slightly. “Working with President Cố would certainly be best.”
If Tần Tử Dục and I hadn’t broken up, his working with my brother would have seemed perfectly natural.
So I’d been the one to let the wolf into the house.
No wonder that in the original story, a spoiled heiress like me, with nothing but romance on her mind, became a stepping-stone for Tần Tử Dục to climb higher.
But no matter how much the novel said I loved Tần Tử Dục, I would never let him make things difficult for my brother.
I looked elsewhere and saw Mạnh Tinh standing in a secluded corner in a server’s uniform, her eyes red with hurt.
I suddenly remembered what Cố Tư Tư had said to herself.
She’d said Mạnh Tinh claimed she wasn’t the female lead, hadn’t spent a single cent of the male lead’s money, and supported herself through sheer determination.
I never expected to actually meet her today.