Chapter 98: My Woman, I Manage Myself

Sheng Yu held a cigarette between his fingers and slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke; his sharp, lean Adam's apple moved slowly. As the biting cold wind blew past, the lines of his face appeared even more profound and chiseled.

After finishing those words, Dong Shu looked at his profile, forcing herself to restrain the love in her eyes.

Not far away, there was the sound of a servant sweeping fallen leaves.

The man scoffed, "Dong Shu, so you like me."

To want to make him happy—what a simple, unadorned wish.

His offhand remark, which he hadn't taken to heart at all, stirred up ripples in the lake of Dong Shu's heart.

Her expression stiffened slightly, and her heart tightened, "Yu Ge..."

Sheng Yu lifted his gaze slightly, cutting off her words.

He crushed the cigarette butt, his tone cold and indifferent, "Whether I am happy or not has nothing to do with you. What you need to do is refuse this marriage proposal and keep your own mouth shut."

He turned and strode away with his long legs.

"Yu Ge!" Dong Shu chased after the man's pace, facing the cold wind, her expression open and frank.

The sun finally revealed half its face from behind the thick clouds, and she stepped on the sparse tree shadows on the ground.

"I do like you, but I hope even more that you are happy. Otherwise, why wouldn't I have confessed to you all these years, and why would I agree to marry into the Sheng Family at this critical juncture? Because I also like Zhu Yuan as a friend, and I hope you two can be well."

"I know our wealthy parents too well. Although Zhu Yuan was only engaged to Zhan Ge, she has, after all, been with someone else. The daughter-in-law the Sheng Family wants must have a clean background. You know better than I do what Sheng will do."

Whether it was these words of hers that made Sheng Yu consider rethinking his plans, he stopped and turned to look at her.

The heart in Dong Shu's throat eased a little.

She continued, "I will keep my mouth shut and won't reveal the relationship between you and Zhu Yuan to anyone. But are you sure you don't need my help? With me as cover, Sheng will not notice Zhu Yuan; she will be very safe. I will also help you solidify your position in the Shengshi Financial Group and help you sit in the Chairman's seat."

"Aren't you going to fight against Sheng? As long as you defeat him, no one can stop things between you and Zhu Yuan. I can help you."

Sheng Yu just listened quietly to her analysis.

He didn't say a word, just stared at Dong Shu with those eyes as dark as ink, watching until she had to bite the tip of her tongue to force herself to meet his gaze calmly.

Finally, the man sneered.

"I am not Sheng Hongyao; I don't need to rely on a woman's help. And I don't need you to provide cover. My woman, I will manage myself. If you really like her as a friend, I won't stop you, but if you have other intentions, you know my temper."

The sun that had just revealed half its face was covered by clouds again.

Sheng Yu left.

Dong Shu stood in the cold wind, loosening her fingers that she had gripped until they bled; she stood motionless on the spot as if she had lost all vitality.

Earlier, she hadn't gone to the side hall; she had heard Sheng Hongyao's last words outside the reception room. Even with Sheng Hongyao's reach in Jingdu City, he hadn't been able to find out that Zhu Yuan was the woman by his side.

He had protected Zhu Yuan very well.

It wasn't until her parents called her name that Dong Shu came back to her senses and followed them as they left.

The Dong Family's car left the Sheng Family Old Residence.

In the car, the father of the Dong Family looked at his daughter, who was acting as if nothing had happened, and couldn't help but worry, "Shu'er, what did you just say to Sheng Yu?"

"It's a matter between the young people; don't ask," the mother of the Dong Family gave her husband a look.

Dong Shu rested her chin on one hand and looked out the car window, answering with a question, "Dad, did you make some kind of deal with Sheng Hongyao?"

The father of the Dong Family was stunned, "Why do you ask that?"

She looked at her father, "I don't object to or have the right to interfere in your business dealings, but don't hurt Yu Ge. If you help Sheng Hongyao do something detrimental to him, I will be the first to oppose it."

"You like Sheng Yu that much!" The father of the Dong Family felt it wasn't worth it for his daughter, "Didn't you hear what he said? He said you, Dong Shu, are worthy of the Sheng Family, but not worthy of him, Sheng Yu, and yet you still throw yourself at him!"

"I just like him!" Dong Shu said with a cold face, "No matter what he says about me, I won't change my feelings for him. He just doesn't accept me for the moment; we still have a long time, there's no need to rush."

The father of the Dong Family was angry at her lack of self-respect; his daughter had a free and easy, straightforward personality, yet she was so stubborn when it came to feelings!

"Uncle Lin, I want to go to the Theater." Dong Shu patted the driver's seat, signaling the driver to change course.

The mother of the Dong Family asked, "Why are you going to the Theater? There are no performances at the theater in the morning."

Dong Shu leaned against the back of the chair, "To see my friend."

When Dong Shu went to the Theater, Zhu Yuan was rehearsing a new play.

"Why did you come over?"

During the rehearsal break, Zhu Yuan saw Dong Shu under the stands and trotted over to find her.

Dong Shu smiled and took out a piece of paper to hand to her, "Hurry and wipe your sweat. I was running errands nearby and stopped by to see your rehearsal. How is it? Have you adapted to the new role?"

"It's alright." Zhu Yuan took the tissue to wipe her sweat and pulled Dong Shu to sit down.

Dong Shu watched her wipe her sweat; her skin was delicate and flawless, and her features were more exquisite than those depicted by a first-class painter. Zhu Yuan was truly beautiful, but she knew that Sheng Yu liked Zhu Yuan, and it was definitely not just because of Zhu Yuan's beauty.

When Zhu Yuan looked over, she smiled and said, "I think it looks good. You dance better than that Ning Chu, but why is she rehearsing with you?"

"Ning Chu is in the same role as me; she is the B-role."

To avoid offending Ning Chu, Director Hao agreed to give Ning Chu the B-role for Zhu Yuan's part.

The B-role is equivalent to a spare tire for the A-role; when Zhu Yuan has an emergency and cannot perform, or when Zhu Yuan is not in good condition after consecutive performances, Ning Chu will step in.

Others in the troupe originally thought that the second young lady of the Ning family would never be willing to be a spare tire for Zhu Yuan, but they didn't expect her to agree immediately, "I want to let the audience see whether I am better or Zhu Yuan is better!"

After all, this play was to run for half a month, and with half a month of consecutive performances, Zhu Yuan wasn't made of iron; there would always be opportunities for her to go on stage.

Hearing this explanation, Dong Shu nodded knowingly, "Some people, no matter how hard they try to chase a goal, are not as good as those with talent who can get it easily."

Zhu Yuan saw that Dong Shu had something on her mind, "Are you busy? If not, after my rehearsal is over, I'll take you to get something delicious."

"Okay, I don't have anything to do today."

After the rehearsal ended, Zhu Yuan took Dong Shu to a very famous hot pot restaurant near the troupe.

Although Dong Shu was born into a wealthy family, she didn't have the airs of a young lady at all. Once she entered the shop, she took her seat very casually, but she didn't know how to order, so Zhu Yuan arranged everything throughout.

"Do you eat spicy food?" Zhu Yuan asked.

Dong Shu shook her head, "I don't eat spicy food."

"You also don't eat..." Zhu Yuan's mind flashed with Sheng Yu's face, and she swallowed her words.

Dong Shu's hand holding the teacup paused, and she tilted her head to look at her, "No one is eating?"

Zhu Yuan said casually, "Someone I'm not very familiar with, I just happened to think of them."