Chapter 54
Fu Nanshuang was sharp-tongued and started off with a sarcastic remark, "Yo, isn’t this Zhong Zinuan? You’ve gotten quite a bit fuller lately. Didn’t you say business in Lincheng wasn’t going too well? Didn’t expect your appetite to be so good—you’re gaining weight instead of losing it. Miss Zhong is really able to let things go, I truly ought to learn from you."
The smile on Zhong Zinuan’s face immediately dropped, but she quickly put it back on. "Miss Fu."
She wasn’t talking about anything else — it was about the task recently assigned to Zhong Zinuan by her mother. She was put in charge of marketing for a new mall in Lincheng.
With the Zhong family’s scale and reputation, this should have been an easy task. But she had messed it up.
It was purely a scandal. Zhong Zinuan liked to maintain a persona of being gentle and considerate. Naturally, when negotiating with other business owners, she tried to stay consistent with this image — she often gave considerate reminders and said things that seemed empathetic.
One particular jealous wife, noticing that her partner hadn’t returned home for a long time, hired a private detective to investigate. She found out her wive had been dining at a Western restaurant with a young woman. Furious, she stormed over and splashed a glass of red wine straight into Zhong Zinuan’s face.
Though the matter was later clarified and an apology was given, whenever people mentioned Zhong Zinuan now, their first thought wasn’t the heir of the Zhong family, but that unlucky woman who got red wine thrown at her. Some even thought she lacked proper boundaries in her speech and actions, which had led to the misunderstanding.
Business cooperation was supposed to be business, not something that looked like an affair. If word spread, it wouldn’t reflect well on both parties. It would seem like they all enjoyed playing shady games behind the scenes.
The merchants still agreed to move in for the sake of the Zhong family, but the person they kept in contact with was not her—it was the assistant of the Zhong family who accompanied her.
This entire business trip was a mess. She came back humiliated and disgraced.
Fu Nanshuang had hit her sore spot precisely, attacking right where it hurt the most. How could Zhong Zinuan possibly keep smiling?
Everything was going wrong for her today.
Luckily, among this group of friends, only Fu Nanshuang had such an outspoken personality, liking to be “straightforward” and attack face-to-face. The others didn’t say much—though their behavior could hardly be called respectful either.
Anyone who could be friends with someone so blatantly double-standard was probably the same kind of person.
After Fu Nanshuang delivered that scathing comment, she raised her eyebrows a few times at Zhong Ning, who secretly gave her a thumbs-up.
But there were only a few people here—how could it possibly be called "secret"? Only Xie Shiqing didn’t see it; everyone else noticed.
Le Xi, who was supposed to be Zhong Zinuan’s girlfriend, didn’t step in to defend her. Instead, she focused on her conversation with Xie Shiqing, trying to finalize the business deal.
Zheng Xuan spoke slowly, "They’re talking business. Let’s head over there for now, so we don’t disturb them with our chatter."
She looked at Zhong Zinuan with calm composure, not a flaw in sight. "Miss Zhong, why don't you come with us?"
Zhong Zinuan had only one thought in her mind—to refuse. Without thinking, she said, "I’m sorry, I need to use the restroom."
The all-purpose excuse—incredibly effective.
As soon as she said it, she gave a polite smile, lifted her legs, and walked off before anyone could stop her. It wasn't like they could physically drag her back.
This was Zhong Ning’s engagement banquet. None of them wanted to cause a scene and ruin a perfectly good event.
There was nothing to be done — the others could only move off to the side. Fu Nanshuang took a glass of champagne from a waiter and handed it to Zhong Ning. "So generous? What’s she done this time?"
Zhong Ning had already forgotten that the glass held alcohol. She took it and tipped her head back without hesitation. Only when the pale golden liquid hit her throat did she remember.
She choked twice, gripping the stem of the glass and muttered angrily, "Nothing much. Just think she’s so damn annoying."
Wasn’t she the heroine of some sweet romance novel?
How could she suddenly fall in love with someone else — and that someone being her own sister?
Zhong Ning seriously doubted the recommendations her friends had made. This was supposed to be a top-tier sweet romance?
The heroine’s mental state and sense of morality were seriously questionable!
Fu Nanshuang comforted her with practiced ease. "When has she ever been normal? She’s all acts."
Once she got going, she couldn’t stop. "All of us have social masks. But her? Disgusting. She insists on acting like she’s totally sincere inside and out. ‘Oh, I’m so gentle’ — what a joke."
"Wait till September when you’re at Fengcheng University. Then you’ll really see how gross she is. Just a student council vice president, and already acting all high and mighty, treating feathers like commander's tokens."
Her wine-red hair swished as she rolled her eyes openly. "She even came up with a campus beauty ranking. Everyone else thought it was a student vote, but actually, she got someone to organize it herself."
"And then she turned it down like she was so humble. ‘How could I be worthy of this?’" Fu Nanshuang pinched her voice and imitated Zhong Zinuan, "‘I’ve received everyone’s affection. I’m really touched.’"
"Never competing for anything — everything just ‘sent to her,’ and she ‘had no choice but to accept.’" Fu Nanshuang snorted. "If she hates fighting so much, why join the Zhong family at all? It’s not like when she was still trailing behind her home-wrecker mom, hoping to be adopted in and get her last name changed."
Zhong Ning: Wait, what!
Zhong Ning: What do you mean, home-wrecker mom?! Huh?
Her mouth parted slightly as she stood there, completely stunned. Her brain had crashed entirely.
Zhong Ning had thought that the amount of information she’d received today was already explosive beyond belief — she hadn’t expected something even more absurd to be waiting for her.
Even in games, they didn’t dump all the key info on you at once. There should at least be some kind of build-up, right?