Super Rich by Doing as You Please

On the other side of things, it wasn’t that the man in question, Xu Yun, didn’t want to answer Xino’s call.

His phone was in the living room, but he was in the bedroom, busy having a good time. With Song Xiaowei being so loud, he simply couldn’t hear it.

In the end, only Yang Siqi and Cheng Yi remained.

Cheng Yi asked Yang Siqi, "So, is President Xu really not your boyfriend?"

"Didn’t you hear what Miss Xi just said?"

Yang Siqi replied expressionlessly, "Xu Yun is her boyfriend. So we’re really just ordinary friends."

"Then who was that man in the restaurant earlier?"

"That’s my boyfriend. He’s also a wealthy second-generation heir."

Yang Siqi lied. "The fact that my fortunes turned around so suddenly today, that I was able to meet President Xu and have him introduce me to your President Xi’s business—it’s all thanks to him.

So, what you’re thinking is right. I used a man to get ahead."

"Er, that’s not what I meant."

Cheng Yi said, a little embarrassed, "I just wanted to tell you not to expect to go the distance with rich men, especially second-generation heirs. They’re very casual when it comes to relationships, or rather, it’s not a high priority for them.

What you can and should do is use your time with him to build your own career. The best thing you can do is become financially independent."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Yang Siqi smiled, surprised. "Logically, you should be pretty upset with me, since I stole your thunder with our old classmates."

"I’m not that petty. I might not like it, but I know when I’m outmatched."

"Since you’re being honest with me, let me be honest with you."

Yang Siqi said, "I’ve met all sorts of people in business over the years, so I probably have a clearer understanding of human nature than you do. You should probably stop coming to reunions like this.

Don’t be fooled by how they’re praising us to the heavens and acting so enthusiastic right now. Some of them probably turn right around and start whispering behind our backs, calling us a couple of big suckers."

"I know that."

Hearing this, Cheng Yi chuckled. "But I come anyway. I want them to see I’m doing better than they are, and I want to watch them stew in their envy and jealousy.

Although, now they have one more person to be jealous of—you. Haha..."

Yang Siqi found the world to be a strange place. Back in school, the two of them were the ones who got along the least. Their relationship was the worst of anyone’s. Now, unexpectedly, they’d become the "closest" of friends.

’You could only say that society is a complex beast,’ she thought. ’Everyone who enters it slowly changes until they don’t even recognize themselves anymore.’

As they were about to part ways, Yang Siqi voiced a doubt that had been on her mind.

"You and President Xi...?"

"Are you asking if I’m his mistress?"

Cheng Yi laughed. "I’m not. I’d love for something to happen with President Xi, but he’s not interested in me.

Or maybe, you could just see it as him being a man of principles. He keeps his distance from all the beauties at the company."

"Your President Xi... he doesn’t dislike women, does he?"

Cheng Yi shrugged. "Who knows? And even if he does have a woman, he wouldn’t let many people find out."

"It seems some stereotypes really can be misleading."

After hearing Cheng Yi out, Yang Siqi said, "Let’s both keep working hard. May our careers prosper."

"Deal."

Cheng Yi joked, "But if I get the chance, I’d still like to lean on a man. It would be less exhausting, just like you’re doing."

Yang Siqi was speechless.

When their designated drivers arrived, the two women went their separate ways.

Once in the car, Yang Siqi was far from the calm and collected woman she had been in front of Cheng Yi.

Because of what Xino had said, her mind was a tangled mess as she tried to figure out how to handle her future relationship with Xu Yun.

’Lover? Or business partner?’

’Or could she continue being both?’

Tonight, after Xu Yun paid the bill, the words he had the waiter relay were, in effect, sending her a message.

That she, Yang Siqi, wasn’t just his business partner—she was his woman.

If Xu Yun didn’t have a girlfriend, she wouldn’t have cared at all. She would have just treated it as a romance that came with a generous reward.

But now that Xino had suddenly appeared—and as President Xi’s sister, no less—things had become complicated.

’If she ever finds out about my relationship with Xu Yun, will her brother continue our business partnership?’

’It would most likely be terminated. He might even retaliate against me.’

’With her limited resources, if they really decided to target her, and if Xu Yun decided to abandon her, it would be almost impossible for her to survive in Jiangcheng.’

’But if I suddenly distance myself from Xu Yun, I’ll end up offending him.’

’Then, if Xu Yun gets upset and says something to President Xi, my business with President Xi will go up in smoke.’

’Even though Xu Yun has his own money invested in this, does he really care about the small amount he put into me?’

’An investment of several million, or even tens of millions, might be an astronomical sum to an ordinary business owner, but in the eyes of men like Xi Wei, Chen Jiang, and Xu Yun, it’s probably nothing!’

So now she was completely torn. What should she choose?

When she finally arrived at the garage of her apartment complex, the designated driver left. She sat alone in her car, listening to music and deep in thought for a long time until she finally came to a realization.

’If I stick with Xu Yun and I’m careful, I might get lucky and never be discovered by Xino. That would buy me some time to grow and expand my own empire, to escape their sphere of influence.’

’Even if I’m discovered in the end, I’ll just have to cut my losses. At least by then, I’ll have built up enough capital to survive.’

’If I leave Xu Yun now, I’ll be right back at square one.’

’Now that I’ve seen the view from the summit, I don’t want to go back to the foot of the mountain.’

’Even if it’s only for a short while!’

Before heading upstairs, she took out her phone, hesitated for a moment, then sent Xu Yun a text.

"Thank you for earlier. If you’re free, could you come over? I have some business matters I’d like to discuss with you."

But that message was destined to sink into the void tonight.

Because Xu Yun was very busy. He simply had no time.

Meanwhile, Yang Siqi had gone home, showered, put on perfume, and slipped into a sexy white robe. Holding a glass of red wine in one hand, she sipped it while patiently waiting in her bedroom for Xu Yun’s reply.

But as time ticked by with no response, she couldn’t help but sigh, and finally went to bed alone.

’Sigh. Some men would kill to sleep with me.’

’And then there are others who won’t even give you the time of day when you offer yourself on a silver platter!’

「The next day.」

Xu Yun woke up in Song Xiaowei’s bed to find her squatting on the floor, already dressed in an oversized nightshirt, staring at him.

The moment she saw he was awake, she leaned in for a sweet kiss.

He pulled her into his arms, pinning her beneath him. "Why aren’t you getting more rest?" he asked with a smile. "You’re up so early."

"I was worried you’d be hungry, so I got up to make you breakfast."

"Who needs breakfast?"

Xu Yun leaned in, nuzzling her neck. "I could just eat you instead."

"Don’t,"

Song Xiaowei quickly steadied herself, saying shyly, "I have to be on a show this afternoon. We can’t fool around anymore!"

"Fine. Work is important. I’ll let you off the hook this time."

Xu Yun released her and got up. After Song Xiaowei helped him get dressed, he went to the dining room to eat.

Looking at the familiar dining table, at the first apartment he’d ever bought with a loan in Jiangcheng, he suddenly realized that some of his memories were starting to blur.

Seeing him lost in thought, Song Xiaowei called out softly, "Brother Xu, what’s wrong? Does the food not look good?"

"Not at all."

Xu Yun snapped out of it and smiled. "I was just thinking about the hard times back in the day. It feels like a lifetime ago, but it really hasn’t been that long!"

Song Xiaowei was speechless.