Chapter 13: Chu Li and Qin Yun Shu Go on a Business Trip Together

Qin Xingwan bit her lip, slightly dazed, as if time had returned to when they were still a loving couple.

Her nose felt uncontrollably sore; she set her phone aside, not wanting Chu Li to see her looking sad.

"Xingwan?" Chu Li could not see her, so his voice rose a notch.

Qin Xingwan snapped back to reality, not looking at the phone, her cool, indifferent tone sounding slowly: "Chu Li, when you return, let's talk."

They needed to have an honest and open talk, rather than using this kind of self-deceiving charade to act out a deep marital affection.

Clearly, he did not love her.

Chu Li was silent for two seconds, then agreed: "You come to pick me up at the airport the day after tomorrow, and we'll talk."

He hung up the video call.

Qin Xingwan rubbed her forehead and sighed; although reluctant, she still decided to go to the airport, as at least that would give them a chance to chat.

She slept very well that night.

The next day, Qin Xingwan spent her time at Lin Qingya's studio.

Lin Qingya was a very busy person and couldn't stand seeing her friend so dejected, so she reminded her: "I remember last time you were here, someone gave you a business card wanting to invite you to join their company. Do you want to consider it?"

Qin Xingwan remembered it all at once.

When she was helping out here before, a customer who came to pick up clothes recognized her as the Research and Development Director of Chu Group and also learned she had resigned; he had been very enthusiastic in giving her a business card and strongly invited her to join his company, but she had refused him at the time.

What was that company called again?

"Fragrant Spirit," Lin Qingya reminded her, "They had a hit perfume in the first half of the year."

Ever since the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Perfume Series was launched, nearly half of the entire perfume industry had belonged to Chu Group for the past two years, but a dark horse had emerged in the first half of the year, which was Fragrant Spirit.

A perfume released by Fragrant Spirit had made it into the top three in sales.

Qin Xingwan had a deep impression of it.

"Since you've already resigned anyway, go and try it, so you don't sit at home letting your imagination run wild," Lin Qingya urged. "I still have their business card here; I'll help you contact them."

Qin Xingwan carefully considered the matter and agreed.

Lin Qingya found the business card, contacted the other party, and arranged a meeting for the next morning.

Qin Xingwan had no objections; she planned that after the meeting, she would go to the airport, which would work out perfectly.

……

Qin Xingwan and Lin Qingya arrived at the restaurant at the agreed-upon time.

The president of Fragrant Spirit, Fang Yiwen, was a very young man with an extremely striking appearance; his bright red hair was very flamboyant, and he was full of youthful energy.

Fang Yiwen chattered incessantly, trying his best to promote how good his company was and promising extremely generous compensation.

What Qin Xingwan cared about was not the compensation, but the other party's research and development strength; only when she heard that the perfume from the beginning of the year was something he had tinkered with and formulated himself did she truly become interested.

However, she did not agree immediately, but instead arranged to go to the company to take a look first.

Fang Yiwen agreed immediately, set another time, and finally paid the bill and left first.

"Not bad, right?" Lin Qingya linked her arm with Qin Xingwan's as they walked out. "I specifically asked around; the company is good, and the boss is reliable."

She wanted her friend to pull herself together.

Men, of all things, were the most worth discarding.

Qin Xingwan was infected by her enthusiasm, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly, "Okay..."

Before the words had faded, several people suddenly rushed out from the side.

Qin Xingwan had a very serious psychological trauma from the previous kidnapping, and her body subconsciously retreated.

"Wanwan." Lin Qingya supported her shoulders.

Those few people had already rushed in front of Qin Xingwan, with cameras and recording microphones almost shoved into her face.

"Are you aware that President Chu is on a business trip with Ms. Qin Yun Shu?"

"May I ask if President Chu is cheating?"

"Did your resignation from Chu Group have anything to do with President Chu's infidelity?"

"……"

Countless sharp questions were hurled at Qin Xingwan; her face turned deathly pale, and in her mind, there was only one sentence: President Chu is on a business trip with Ms. Qin Yun Shu...

He took Qin Yun Shu on his business trip.

"Mrs. Chu, why aren't you speaking? Are the rumors of a marital breakdown true?"

"Is it a fact that President Chu is cheating with your sister?"

"Mrs. Chu, please respond."

Qin Xingwan's brain was filled with a buzzing sound, but those prying voices were too noisy, stimulating the nerves in her brain to throb, and she could not open her mouth.

She could only stand motionless like a wooden statue.

Seeing that she wouldn't speak, they pressed closer, everyone wanting to get news from Mrs. Chu's mouth.

It was too late when Lin Qingya tried to block them, and Qin Xingwan was pushed to the ground.

A sharp pain shot through her ankle, and she could not stand up.

Yet those reporters still refused to give up.

Lin Qingya was furious; she grabbed the camera closest to her and smashed it on the ground, then kicked the reporter who was trying to pull at Qin Xingwan hard.

"What are you doing?" She shielded Qin Xingwan and shouted loudly at those people, "If you have questions, go ask Chu Li! Chasing a woman to bully her, you trash."

The reporter whose camera was smashed was unconvinced and angrily demanded compensation.

The scene spiraled out of control.

……

Yuncheng Airport.

Chu Li did not see the person who should have been there at the VIP exit; his thin lips pressed into a straight line, visibly unhappy.

Qin Yun Shu stood by his side and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Assistant Xu whispered, "The Madam promised to come pick you up at the airport, but she didn't show."

Qin Yun Shu was slightly stunned, and a strange feeling welled up in her heart; was he unhappy because her sister didn't come to pick him up?

On the way back to the company, Chu Li still couldn't help but send a message to Qin Xingwan; they had agreed to talk, so why did she break her promise and not come?

Very quickly, Qin Xingwan replied to the message.

【At the Police Station.】

Chu Li immediately frowned and instructed the driver, "Go to the Police Station."

At the Police Station, Qin Xingwan sat on the sofa with her ankle swollen high, her long hair draped messily over her shoulders, looking quite disheveled.

Lin Qingya had already explained the sequence of events to the police; with surveillance footage as evidence, the person who pushed Qin Xingwan had also been found.

The police followed the mediation process, but Qin Xingwan refused to mediate, insisting on suing the other party for spreading rumors and intentional injury.

The reporter who did the pushing was very agitated and threw his phone onto the table, "I did not spread rumors."

The unlocked phone was playing a video.

In the video, Chu Li and Qin Yun Shu walked into the hotel arm-in-arm; furthermore, when Qin Yun Shu stumbled after stepping on something, Chu Li picked her up horizontally.

Even through the screen, one could feel the extraordinary intimacy between them.

"This is the evidence, I did not spread rumors." The reporter gestured wildly, refusing to accept the charge.

"These two sluts," Lin Qingya cursed in a low voice, looking at Qin Xingwan with worry.

Qin Xingwan's face was deathly pale, the corners of her eyes red, but she had already looked away.

She had done countless mental preparations regarding the fact that Chu Li and Qin Yun Shu were childhood sweethearts, telling herself she should accept it.

Anyway, they were going to divorce sooner or later.

But seeing this scene, her heart still ached as if it were being torn apart.

He had kissed her so tenderly and even said he would bring her a gift... it was truly ridiculous to the extreme.

A flash of triumph crossed the reporter's eyes, "Mrs. Chu, you should thank me; if it weren't for me, you wouldn't even know your husband was cheating on you until now, right?"

"Oh, and the person he's cheating with is your own younger sister..."

"Stop talking..." Qin Xingwan's face was cold as frost; even if they were intimate behind her back, it was not for an outsider to gossip here.

Moreover, he clearly had malicious intentions.

Just as she was about to continue speaking, the door to the mediation room was pushed open.

Qin Xingwan looked up and saw her husband, who had arrived in a rush.

His suit jacket was draped over his arm, his expression gloomy and unpleasant; his gaze landed on Qin Xingwan, and his tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

He strode over, "Xingwan..."

His gaze flickered slightly, landing on the phone still playing the video on the long table.

His expression immediately turned several degrees colder.