C7 Chapter 7
“I don’t know—how do you know they broke up?” Even though Cai was usually a total gossip, when it came to this, it didn’t seem that strange for her to know a little, considering she was Qin Yaochen’s newlywed wife.
“Heh, Ms. Jiyue, you’re basically a fossil. Of course you wouldn’t know.” Cai grinned, lowering her voice like she was sharing classified intel. “So I heard that last month, when Haydn? Winston dropped their newest jewelry collection, the oldest daughter of the Xia family wanted that set from Qin Yaochen. But Qin Yaochen was in this super important international meeting and didn’t see her text. Not long after that, Xia Miaomiao stormed into Great Qin’s, kicked the conference room door open, and marched right in.”
Su Jiyue didn’t even know how to react to an answer that unexpected.
She’d assumed it was a calm breakup—feelings faded, they parted ways. But she knew Qin Yaochen better than that. When he was working, not even Grandma could distract him, let alone Xia Miaomiao.
“Apparently, when Xia Miaomiao barged into the conference room, she didn’t say a word—just stared at Qin Yaochen until everyone had the good sense to leave. Then, with tears in her eyes, all pitiful, she asked him, ‘Chen… do you not love me anymore?’” As Cai spoke, she clasped her hands to her chest and put on a heartbroken face.
“But Qin Yaochen was ice-cold. He didn’t even respond. He just sat there, staring straight at Xia Miaomiao.” Cai plopped into a nearby chair, striking an over-the-top CEO pose.
“And then Xia Miaomiao started crying. She’d barely gotten started when everyone heard Qin Yaochen say, cool as ever, ‘I don’t. Leave.’”
“Wait.” Even if Cai was telling it like a pro, Su Jiyue couldn’t help cutting in and grabbing onto the one thing that didn’t add up. “Great Qin’s conference rooms are seriously soundproof. How did ‘everyone’ hear that?”
“Oh man, they were in an international conference at the time—everything was being recorded. And Great Qin’s even has a dedicated sound control room. That’s where they heard it.”
Cai spoke with a smug, can’t-believe-your-luck grin. “Ms. Jiyue, you have no idea. I heard from the moment Xia Miaomiao barged in to the moment Qin Yaochen dumped her, it was less than ten minutes. After she left, everyone at Great Qin’s felt like they could finally breathe again.”
“Why would they feel that way?” Su Jiyue asked, confused.
“Ms. Jiyue, you don’t know. My girlfriends who work over there said Xia Miaomiao has bullied pretty much every woman on staff—openly or behind their backs.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. She’s notorious for stirring up drama. So honestly, Ms. Jiyue, I think Qin Yaochen’s about to come after you. Otherwise why would he go out of his way to buy our tiny little studio?” Cai said, putting on an exaggeratedly mysterious smile.
Hearing that, Su Jiyue felt her ears burn. She shot Cai a look. “Did you finish yesterday’s design drafts? Is the team assignment done? Have you confirmed the revisions with the client?”
Cai, who’d been happily deep in gossip mode, got hit with that cold splash of reality and forced a stiff smile. “Ms. Jiyue, you’re no fun when you’re like this.”
“Get back to work.” As Su Jiyue spoke, she grabbed a folder off the desk and lifted it like she was about to swat Cai with it.
Cai dodged fast, yelping, “Mercy, Ms. Jiyue!” and bolted out of Su Jiyue’s office like her life depended on it.
After Cai left, Su Jiyue opened her bag to look for her work phone—only to find the steamed dumplings inside were still warm. Thinking about how her bag strap had gotten tangled around the gearshift in the car earlier, Su Jiyue couldn’t help but blush.
