Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  Lin Nuan smiled, then pushed open the door to the cafe and exited the place.

  “Lin Nuan!” Lu Qili stuck relentlessly behind Lin Nuan. Seeing as she couldn’t make Lin Nuan stop in her tracks with her words, she reached out to grab Lin Nuan’s arm, her other hand holding a voice recorder that she had stopped recording on. “I’ve recorded our conversation just now. If I were to leak this, plus… after Tuan Tuan’s identity is exposed, you can no longer rely on Tuan Tuan! I only want you to sit down and listen to me peacefully!”


  “Oh, what a coincidence! I recorded it too.”


  Through the mask, Lin Nuan’s muffled voice carried her smile.

  Lu Qili was stunned…


  “It’s a habit I’ve had over many years. Whenever I speak with someone who treats me with enmity, I would subconsciously record our exchange. This is one habit that has saved me on countless occasions.”


  At the start, Lu Qili had thought that Lin Nuan merely had a pretty appearance and belonged to the bimbo category.

  Later, after looking at Fu Huai’an’s Weibo, seeing Fu Huai’an stand out to defend her, she got the sense that Lin Nuan wasn’t the simpleton she had perceived her to be. She likely had some capability, else Fu Huai’an wouldn’t have been willing to do so much for her.

  Other than a heightened opinion of Lin Nuan, Lu Qili also felt both jealous and enraged!

  This time, when she came to look for Lin Nuan, she had anticipated that Lin Nuan might not even give her the chance to speak, so she wanted to employ both soft and hard tactics. But she hadn’t seen it coming that Lin Nuan wouldn’t crack at all no matter what tactic she used; this brought about so much rage in Lu Qili that she felt her chest ache.

  This was different from what she had expected…


  “Miss Lu, the next time you threaten someone, it’s best to make sure that the other party didn’t make a voice recording before you speak so straightforwardly. Consider this a lesson I gift to you, Miss Lu. I’ll also show Huai’an this voice recording when I get the chance, see if Huai’an would believe that Tuan Tuan isn’t his child!”


  “What rubbish are you talking about…”


  Lu Qili felt that Lin Nuan spoke a little weirdly, and she was about to rebut when Lin Nuan yanked her arm away. After shaking her mildly aching wrist to ease the pain, she said, “If Miss Lu has nothing else to threaten me with, I shall leave first!”


  Lu Qili stared at the leaving Lin Nuan with her mouth hanging wide open. Her brain wasn’t quick enough to realize that Lin Nuan had laid a trap for her with her words, but her body had already caught up with Lin Nuan. “I found evidence that you were clearly not pregnant at the time!”


  Lu Qili swiftly took out a stack of photos from her bag, and they weren’t even enclosed in an envelope…


  In the first photo, Lin Nuan was at the wonderful age of 20 and was wearing a pair of faded denim pants and a white T-shirt with alphabets, which was tucked into the pants with a belt. Her slim figure was visible, and she had a tranquil smile on her face.

  “I wouldn’t have come looking for you without any evidence. Lin Nuan… your intelligence has exceeded my expectations, but avoidance isn’t a solution…”


  Without waiting for Lu Qili to finish speaking, Lin Nuan laughed in an unkind manner.

  Lu Qili grew increasingly pale. “What are you laughing at?”


  “I’m laughing at you for being ridiculous. What good can come out of you talking to me? Are you going to ask me to leave Huai’an? Do you think I’ll leave Huai’an just with those photos? If you were to release these photos, I would be under scrutiny by the public again, and that will only make Huai’an feel even more sorry towards me…”


  Lu Qili understood Lin Nuan’s words. After all, Lin Nuan had admitted to giving birth to a child at 20 for Fu Huai’an’s sake, and also for Tuan Tuan.

  “Miss Lu, you ought to think about it. If you truly wish to make Fu Huai’an yours, should you be working on me? Without Lin Nuan… there will still be a Li Nuan, Wang Nuan… Zhao Nuan, Qian Nuan, Sun Nuan! So long as Huai’an doesn’t like you, the person standing next to him will never be you! By coming to me so brainlessly, do you think you’ll achieve your aim?” Lin Nuan raised her hand and pointed to her brain. “Before you act, use this…”


  Lin Nuan had rarely ever been so caustic in her speech, much less spoken so much to a person.

  “I only said so much to you today because I find you pitiful. To have a stepfather like that… a family like that! I’ve pointed an easier path out to you, stop wasting your time on me.”


  Lin Nuan was so magnanimous as to point such a path to Lu Qili; one could tell she had confidence in Fu Huai’an!

  To Lu Qili, these words were no different than a direct slap to her face. Lu Qili’s fists were clenched very tightly.

  Back then, she had worn clothes similar to Lu Xiangsi’s and stripped naked in front of Fu Huai’an, but he wasn’t at all tempted. Much less now… there was a Lin Nuan by Fu Huai’an’s side.

  Lu Qili stood in the cold and watched as Lin Nuan left, feeling like the coldness had pierced her chest, chilling her to the bones.

  In this lifetime, she could never hope to obtain Fu Huai’an, could she?

  But she couldn’t take it lying down. Really… couldn’t take it lying down.

  Tears flooded down Lu Qili’s cheeks. She tried to stifle her cries by biting her lips, but her shoulders were shaking involuntarily, and she felt her throat start to choke. But she still stopped herself from crying out loud.

  The pedestrians that were walking by briskly brushed shoulders with Lu Qili, knocking her forward and causing the photos to slip from her hand…


  Lu Qili no longer cared to pick up those photos and merely stood there looking dazed.

  In the distance, a black car turned around and stopped by the side of the road.

  The car window in the back seat rolled down, revealing a glamorous wealthy-looking woman seated inside. Although she was over 40, one could tell she had maintained herself well…


  The rich woman’s hair was swept up in a high updo. She was donning a pair of pearl earrings and a white jacket, with a white silk V-neck tank top within, and a pearl necklace on her neck. Although her outfit and accessories came across as incredibly gentle, her outer appearance couldn’t hide the darkness in her eyes.

  “You said… that was the woman Fu Huai’an used to sponsor?” the rich woman asked, her gaze brazenly sizing up Lu Qili.

  “Yes, Madam!” the assistant-like man in the front passenger seat answered.

  The rich woman smiled. “Looking at her distressed manner, she seems quite pitiful in this cold weather. Get her to come over here…”


  “Yes! Madam…”


  The man in the front passenger seat got out of the car. The rich woman then rolled the window back up.

  She leisurely sat inside the car, caressing the jeweled ring on her fair finger. When she recalled how her son Fu Tianci wanted to give the Kaide Corporation back to Fu Huai’an, her right hand clenched fiercely into a fist. However, the smile on her lips didn’t fade away.

  Turning her head, she saw that outside the car, her assistant had already invited Lu Qili over. The rich woman smiled even more vibrantly.

  …


  Lin Nuan got into a cab, sulking. Although she appeared to be calm, her chest was heaving up and down violently.

  Although she had sounded relaxed in front of Lu Qili, it didn’t mean there was no fury in Lin Nuan’s heart.

  Originally, with things at work not going smoothly, she was troubled enough. Now there was even a Lu Qili to add to her troubles!