RGL – Chapter 186

Shu Jing smiled and said, “Actually, it’s very simple. Nowadays, as long as you have money, what can’t be done? Just go straight to the higher-ups of that clothing factory, secretly invite them out for a meal, give them a little sweetness. Isn’t this kind of thing easy to find out? Don’t think of the other party as being too principled—when it comes to benefits, that’s the easiest to deal with.”

Hearing Shu Jing’s reminder, Su Min once again realized the huge gap between herself and those who were truly smart and business-savvy. She still had so much to learn.

After hanging up the phone, Su Min sat quietly in her office, staring at the endless stream of cars outside the window. She thought back to when Xiuse first gained a foothold in the capital, then made its name by appearing in international fashion magazines, and later, with the cooperation of Levi’s and the backing of the Li Corporation, Xiuse had been completely pushed into the upper echelons of the fashion world. Along the way, how much effort she had poured in, how much luck she had relied on—only she knew. No one knew just how much she loved Xiuse.

She tightly closed her eyes and finally took a deep breath. When she opened them again, it was as though she had made up her mind. Determination filled her gaze.

In the office outside, no one could settle down to work.

Everyone looked toward the tightly shut general manager’s office, worry filling their hearts.

This was Xiuse’s first time experiencing something like this, and no one had any experience handling such matters. Since Su Min hadn’t told them much, they felt uneasy—worrying both about Xiuse’s future and their own.

Tian Mi, an embroiderer who had grown up in an orphanage, had once been under Old Lady Zhang’s tutelage and was now capable of holding her own. At this moment, she was in Zhang Qingqing’s office, complaining to her own team about the incident. “Xiuse is like our second home. How black-hearted must someone be to betray their own family like this? If we ever find out who it is, I swear I’ll tear her apart!”

Old Lady Zhang, sitting nearby, sighed, “Enough, don’t bring this up anymore. If President Su hears, her mood will only get worse.”

Zhang Qingqing said worriedly, “I don’t know what President Su plans to do. This matter is really serious. William said compensation has to be paid to the client, and that’s not a small sum.”

Sun Yanyan frowned. “The company shouldn’t be short of money, right?”

“That’s blood and sweat money! Even if we’re not short, it can’t just be wasted like this.” Tian Mi said angrily.

Just then, the door to Su Min’s office opened. She walked out, eyes straight ahead, bag in hand, not saying a word to anyone, and left the company.

Zhang Qingqing frowned deeply. “President Su is still so young…I wonder if she can handle it.”

The others stayed silent.

This matter hadn’t been done by professional business spies, so just as Shu Jing had said, with a bit of money it was easy to find out.

When Su Min saw the results, her heart felt as if it had been crushed.

Although she hadn’t fully trusted Sun Yanyan during the process of elimination, at the very least, she had considered her the least suspicious. But now, this result completely overturned everything she believed.

She and Sun Yanyan were cousins. Even if their parents didn’t get along, the relationship between the two of them had always been good. Later, when they both came to City B, they had supported each other. Su Min had entrusted the domestic shops of Xiuse to Sun Yanyan to manage, never thinking of replacing her. Not because Sun Yanyan was especially capable, but simply because she had been with her every step of the way. Su Min felt she had to honor that bond, and she wanted to grow together with Sun Yanyan, watching Xiuse flourish.

She had thought Sun Yanyan felt the same, that she also loved Xiuse. But she hadn’t expected Sun Yanyan to ultimately betray it.

That night, Su Min couldn’t sleep. She thought the whole night through, and before dawn, she got up.

Zhaodi had already bought breakfast and, seeing her about to leave, asked, “Don’t you have no classes this morning?”

“I’m going to the company.” Su Min replied while changing her shoes.

Zhaodi said, “Don’t worry too much about the company. The customers have already been reassured. Let’s just focus on creating the new products. I’ll also investigate this matter properly.”

Su Min turned her head, “Zhaodi, no need. I’ll handle it.” With that, she opened the door and left.

Liao Zhaodi stood there, breakfast still in hand, pondering Su Min’s words. Slowly, she began to understand.

It seemed Su Min already had an idea of who it was. But she didn’t want anyone else to know.

Yet instead of going into the company, Su Min waited outside the building. Employees coming and going greeted her carefully. She responded with polite smiles and nods, saying little.

At last, she spotted Sun Yanyan, carrying her bag and looking weighed down with worry. Su Min walked straight over. “Let’s find somewhere to sit.”

Sun Yanyan looked up at her in shock, panic flashing across her face. She tightened her grip on her handbag strap. “Minzi, I…”

“This isn’t the place to talk.” Su Min said coldly and took the lead walking ahead.

After hesitating for a while, Sun Yanyan followed. Some employees saw the two leaving together and whispered among themselves, speculating.

Since it was still early in the morning, Su Min didn’t choose a restaurant or tea house, but instead led Sun Yanyan to a nearby park.

There were still people doing morning exercises, flowers blooming, birds chirping—a relaxed, peaceful scene. In such an environment, Su Min’s heavy heart eased a little.

The two of them found a bench and sat down.

Su Min said nothing, just looked at Sun Yanyan, confusion in her gaze. She waited until Sun Yanyan’s fingers trembled and her face was filled with panic before finally speaking. “Why?”

“Wh-what do you mean, why?” Sun Yanyan asked nervously, pretending not to understand.

Su Min gave a short laugh, one without warmth. “Yanyan, this matter wasn’t hidden very well. There are plenty of ways I could have found out. Are you really still going to hide it from me and not tell me the truth?”

Hearing this, Sun Yanyan’s face went pale. She looked at Su Min in panic. “I…I… I’m sorry…”

But Su Min only sneered and turned away, unwilling to look at her. “I don’t believe I’ve ever done anything to wrong you. You’re not short of money either, so why would you do this? Whether for business or for family, we’re close. How could you bring yourself to hurt me, to hurt Xiuse?”

Faced with her questioning, Sun Yanyan bit her lip tightly, unable to say a word.

Su Min refused to let her evade the question and pressed firmly, “Give me an answer. I don’t want to be stabbed in the back without even knowing why.”

Sun Yanyan was silent for a while. Under the weight of Su Min’s gaze, with nowhere to hide, she finally took a deep breath, as if breaking a pot that was already cracked, and blurted out in agitation: “You ask me why? You ask me why… I also want to ask why! You and I are cousins, family. But what is Liao Zhaodi to you? Nothing! Yet you treat her so differently from me. I live in the staff dormitory, but you and Zhaodi rented a place together. You helped Zhaodi with her studies, and before she even graduated, you entrusted her with so many important tasks, even letting her handle business abroad. Su Min, you and I are the ones who are sisters! I know I don’t have as high an education as her, but I’ve already worked so hard. And then, the matter of opening a factory in the south—you’d rather give it to Zhaodi’s sister than use me. You even gave her so many dividends…”

Listening to her explanation, Su Min only felt her heart grow colder. She never expected that Sun Yanyan harbored so many resentments inside. All these grievances had piled up until, in the end, she decided to do something that harmed both Su Min and the company.

Su Min felt even worse than before. This time it wasn’t grief, but rather irony. All her life she had hoped the people around her could live well, and with her limited strength, she helped wherever she could. Yet she had overlooked the terrifying nature of the human heart.

She thought that Sun Yanyan was living more comfortably now than in her past life. But she hadn’t realized that people’s desires only grew and grew.

“Just because of this, you were willing to betray Xiuse?”

Su Min looked at her with a calm expression.

Lowering her head, Sun Yanyan murmured, “I didn’t know it would be this serious. At the time, I was just so angry. Later, when Su Wenwen spoke to me, I couldn’t resist and did it….” Her eyes reddened, full of regret. “Actually, I regretted it right after I did it, Su Min.”

“Su Wenwen?” Su Min looked at her in surprise.

Sun Yanyan nodded. “After you went south, Su Wenwen came to see me once… she talked about how good you were to Zhaodi. I lost my head for a moment, and then…”

So, it was Su Wenwen again! Su Min clenched her fists, her heart restless.

She stood up from her chair, lowered her gaze to Sun Yanyan, and said “I won’t make this public, but I also can’t keep you in the company anymore. Tomorrow, hand things over to the assistant. From then on, we’ll go our separate ways.”

No matter the reason, she could not tolerate being harmed—especially not by family.

In her past life, she had been hurt by relatives too many times. In this life, even if it was just once, she could not forgive.

“Su Min, I was wrong, I know I was wrong, please don’t do this.” Sun Yanyan clutched her hand in panic. Now she was truly afraid. If Su Min didn’t keep her, she had no idea what she could do. These past years, she had only followed Xiuse’s lead. Without Xiuse, she didn’t know where she could go.

Su Min pulled her hand free. “Do you know? If not for the last shred of family ties, I would have sent you to the police. But let’s just treat this as the final severing of ties. From now on, I don’t want to see you again. Sun Yanyan, everyone must be responsible for their own actions. Ask yourself honestly—how have I treated you these years? You say I treat Zhaodi well, but that’s because her ability fits the role. If I gave you her position, could you handle it? You mention the factory—Liao Laidi has the capability. Do you think you could do it? Just because of your greed, you hurt me. I can’t, and won’t, keep someone like you by my side. Let’s end it here today. Don’t try to persuade me, I won’t take back my decision.”

With that, she picked up her bag and strode toward the park gate.

Call her cold-hearted or unfeeling if they must. This was her bottom line.

Although Su Min didn’t make the matter public, Sun Yanyan’s sudden resignation still led to some speculation. Yet because of Sun Yanyan’s relationship with Su Min, and because of Su Min’s attitude, no one dared speak openly. In private, however, Tian Mi angrily scolded Sun Yanyan, saying such people were ungrateful, biting the hand that fed them.

Su Min was depressed for days over this, until Xue Mian returned from the south and lifted her spirits again.

This time, Xue Mian’s work had gone smoothly. Though young, he was already remarkably mature in handling affairs. After days of negotiations with foreign investors, he had managed to outmaneuver those old foxes and clinch the deal.

Once it was finalized, Shu Jing took over, and he rushed back north.

That evening, they met at his apartment. Seeing how tired he was, Su Min personally cooked noodles for him.

Xue Mian finished it in a few bites, then pulled her into his arms with a smile when he noticed her troubled eyes. “I already know about the company. It’s all been resolved now, so don’t be upset anymore.”

“I’m not upset about the company itself. I just feel uncomfortable… like the things I ignored all along suddenly came out into the open. And I worry—what if others also think like Sun Yanyan? Or what if Zhaodi becomes like that someday? I can’t take into account everyone’s feelings. In work, I only want to focus on the tasks themselves, not on personal relationships. But that inevitably makes others uncomfortable. What if more people act like Sun Yanyan? What should I do then? Honestly, even though I dealt with this matter cleanly, I feel uneasy. After all, we had a deep relationship once, and being stabbed in the back by someone like that really hurts.”

She had been bottling this up for days. Because of Sun Yanyan, she could no longer be as open-hearted with the people around her. Now that Xue Mian was back, she finally had an outlet to pour her feelings out.

Xue Mian listened carefully, then gently stroked her hair and said softly, “You already said it yourself—focus on the matter, not the person. So why dwell on this? In this matter, you didn’t do anything wrong. Even if something like this happens again, it still wouldn’t be your fault. Since it isn’t your fault, you don’t need to be unhappy over it. Not everyone is like Sun Yanyan, don’t worry.”

Leaning against his chest, Su Min felt for the first time how good it was to have someone to rely on. Even though he was still young, he was already able to support her world.

“I really envy you science people. At least the people you deal with are simple, without all this scheming.” Su Min sighed.

Hearing this, Xue Mian chuckled. “It’s not as good as you think. Every field has its people. When I was in the U.S., I worked on research under my professor. I had a senior who looked after me and often worked with me. But before long, I saw our research published on the professor’s desk, and the author listed was that senior. My professor even praised him in front of me, saying how brilliant he was and how valuable the research was. And I couldn’t say anything—I could only smile.”

“Why didn’t you explain?”

Su Min looked up at him, surprised. She hadn’t expected someone as smart as Xue Mian to have suffered such injustice.

He patted her head with a smile. “People abroad handle things differently from us. Without absolute proof, if I told the truth, not only would they not believe me, they’d think I was calculating. That would only make things worse for me later.”

“So what did you do afterward?”

“Nothing, except locking myself in the lab and starting a new project. Determined to do better than before, I stayed inside for a month without stepping out, eating and sleeping there, sometimes going days without rest.” That was when he developed his stomach illness. One mistake, a lifetime’s lesson.

Though he didn’t spell it out, Su Min could imagine the hardship. She had never thought that the proud man before her had such a painful past. Her own unhappiness was forgotten in an instant, replaced with heartache for him.

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Xue Mian’s lips curved upward unconsciously.

Though the matter was resolved, Su Min became busy with the aftermath. She had to redesign new styles and send people to remeasure clients, in case they had gained or lost weight during this period. That way, they wouldn’t blame themselves but would only think Xiuse had handled things poorly, preventing them from wearing their dresses in their best state.

For this, Su Min skipped almost every class that wasn’t mandatory. For those she couldn’t skip, she filed sick leave, even asking Xue Mian to help fake medical records.