This was nothing like she had imagined.
She had expected Shen Qingqing to be furious, revealing her jealous and ugly side. Lin Minglan’s eyes flickered as she took a box from her bag and placed it on the table.
“Take a look.”
Shen Qingqing showed no interest in the box and didn’t move.
Lin Minglan had no choice but to open the box herself. Inside lay a red jade bracelet, its color excellent, clearly old and expensive at first glance.
“What’s the meaning of this? Are you giving me a gift?” Shen Qingqing raised an eyebrow.
“You don’t recognize this?”
Shen Qingqing shook her head. Lin Minglan’s expression instantly turned strange, as if it were very odd that she didn’t recognize the bracelet.
“What exactly do you want to say?”
Lin Minglan’s fair fingertips slid across the bracelet, its touch cool and smooth. “This, is the Fu family’s heirloom. I thought you knew, after all, you’re Jing Shu’s fiancée.”
The words were laced with sarcasm. As his fiancée, she hadn't seen the family heirloom, yet Lin Minglan possessed it.
“So what? It’s just a bracelet. Can’t I afford it?” Shen Qingqing didn’t fall into her trap at all, saying impatiently, “You asked me out today. If it’s just to show me a bracelet, there’s no need. I have no interest in these accessories.”
The smile in Lin Minglan’s eyes gradually turned cold. “Aren’t you curious about who gave it to me?”
Shen Qingqing’s eyes flickered. “It’s definitely not Fu Jing Shu.”
“You’re so sure?”
“Because he promised Grandma he wouldn’t give this bracelet to anyone else.”
Lin Minglan expressed a hint of regret, thinking that if she hadn't said that, she might have been able to trick Shen Qingqing. “You remember clearly. Then I won’t hide it from you. Auntie gave it to me. Auntie said she likes me the most and wants me to be her daughter-in-law. Even Uncle likes me very much.”
Her face was filled with unconcealed triumph.
“Tell me, you who don't even have a betrothal anymore, what can you use to compete with me?”
Shen Qingqing looked at her calmly. “Her mother bribed you with a bracelet, and you’re beaming. You don't want to marry Fu Jing Shu, you want to marry his mother, don’t you?”
“You’re so sharp-tongued.” Lin Minglan could no longer maintain her act. She felt that if this continued, Shen Qingqing might not have done anything, but she herself would be angered to death.
“The channel for the special medicine.”
Shen Qingqing was also impatient. Seeing this, Lin Minglan sneered, “Do you really think I’ll give it to you? I’ll tell you, I just want those two brats to die!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Qingqing’s expression instantly turned cold.
Lin Minglan’s laughter grew even more unbridled and triumphant. “You’re really too naive. I was just teasing you. They are your children, your bargaining chips to keep Jing Shu. How could I possibly let them get better?”
Shen Qingqing remained silent, her cold gaze fixed on her.
She wasn't afraid, and continued to attack her with even more venomous words. “Let me tell you, even if those two children die in front of me, I won't give you the special medicine!”
These two children were obstacles to her getting close to Fu Jing Shu!
She wished they would die immediately!
She didn’t say these words out loud, but her eyes and expression carried an unmistakable ferocity. Even by guessing, Shen Qingqing could tell what she was thinking. She took a deep breath and slowly stood up.
Lin Minglan didn’t understand what she was going to do, her gaze still provocative. “What, can’t take it anymore?”
Shen Qingqing suddenly smiled at her, a beautiful smile, but it made Lin Minglan feel a shiver down her spine, especially now that she was sitting lower than Shen Qingqing.
She was already at a disadvantage in terms of aura.
She quickly stood up and was about to speak when Shen Qingqing on the opposite side slapped her!
She was stunned by the blow.
“A mouth like yours really needs a good wash,” Shen Qingqing said coldly. “Since you don’t know what it means to be merciful with your words, then I’ll teach you.”
After speaking, she suddenly felt her hand sticky. Looking down, she saw that Lin Minglan’s foundation powder had transferred to her hand. Disgusted, she grabbed a tissue from the table and wiped her hand.
Truly disgusting!
Lin Minglan felt embarrassed herself but even more so, she was furious. Her face throbbed slightly. She opened her mouth and cursed, “Do you have any manners? What right do you have to hit me? Apologize to me, or I'll call the police! I'll expose you and let everyone see your ugly and malicious side!”
“Expose?”
Shen Qingqing found the word interesting. She took a voice recorder from her pocket. The red light was on; it was recording.
Lin Minglan’s expression changed instantly.
“Look, do you still want to expose me?” Shen Qingqing’s voice was soft, carrying a hint of coolness. “Or shall we go talk to the reporters, expose each other, and see who the reporters and the onlookers will side with in the end?”
Of course, it would be her. Lin Minglan remembered what she had just said. If it got out, she would be cursed to death!
Her face showed panic and fear, her eyes fixed on the voice recorder.
Shen Qingqing slowly sat down, leaning back lazily. “If you want to snatch the voice recorder, you can try. But I remind you, someone like you…”
Her gaze swept over Lin Minglan with a hint of disdain.
“One hand is enough for me.”
Lin Minglan was in a state of panic. Whether it was true or not, with everyone watching, she didn't dare to act rashly. She stood there stiffly, and Shen Qingqing spoke again.
“Sit down, don't let people see anything, otherwise I can't help you.”
She had no choice but to sit down, her back rigid. “What do you want?”
Shen Qingqing’s fingertips moved the voice recorder with lightning speed, a blur to the eye. “I don’t want anything. I just want to talk to you about the channel for the special medicine. You said before that you had a channel. Since I’ve come all this way, if you don’t tell me the channel, wouldn’t I have come for nothing?”
Lin Minglan bit her lip, unwilling to speak.
“Tell me about the special medicine, or ruin your reputation. Choose.” Shen Qingqing generously gave her the choice.
Lin Minglan hated her deeply, but she had thought that Shen Qingqing was easy to deal with, given how smoothly her plan was going. She had never expected Shen Qingqing to be someone who prepared a voice recorder in advance and acted so cunningly. At this point, she had no choice but to compromise.
She gritted her teeth. “You win.”
Then, she handed over a business card with the contact information of the owner of the special medicine.
Shen Qingqing smiled and stood up. “Very good. I’ll try it when I get back. If it’s fake, you know the consequences. If it’s real, I promise no one will hear this conversation of yours.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“You have no choice.”
Shen Qingqing smiled almost maliciously, returning the unpleasant tactics Lin Minglan had used earlier.
Lin Minglan was furious but helpless. Who told her she had something in the other person’s hands? She could only be manipulated.
But after Shen Qingqing left, she felt more and more unwilling. She looked down at the red jade bracelet.
Not long after, Fang Ru received a phone call. On the other end was Lin Minglan, sobbing. “Auntie, the red jade bracelet is broken.”
“It’s broken, so be it. Auntie will get it repaired another day,” Fang Ru said, also feeling distressed, but couldn’t blame her.
“If I had known she would smash it, I wouldn’t have met her.”
“She?”
Lin Minglan cried miserably, her voice choked with sobs. “Jing Shu’s fiancée. I kindly invited her to meet, wanting to explain my relationship with Jing Shu, and then… sob, Auntie, I’m so sorry.”