Yu He carried the brocade box and entered one of the villas.
The last time she returned was when she attended the auction at Xing Que. It had been some time, but she had arranged for people to clean it regularly, so she could come back and stay whenever she pleased.
She took off her mask and cloak, hugged a pillow, and collapsed onto the sofa, staring blankly at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.
Recalling the moments she had spent with Qin Beiting during this time, she didn't know when it started, but she had unconsciously gotten used to his kindness towards her. It was so good that she almost forgot that Qin Beiting was a member of the Qin family, and he might not be entirely blameless for what happened back then.
Even if it was eventually proven that Qin Beiting had no connection to her adoptive mother's death or her adoptive father's imprisonment, she and Qin Beiting shouldn't have any further dealings because he was, after all, a Qin.
So, why was she feeling so sad?
Wasn't it better this way?
From the very beginning, wasn't their reunion and subsequent interactions just a transaction?
Once she helped him recover from his illness, and she turned eighteen next year and went to the capital, there would be no need for them to interact anymore.
As for whether Qin Beiting liked men or women, it had nothing to do with her.
Having figured it out, she let out a long sigh, but she still felt something was blocking her heart, making her uncomfortable.
Unknowingly, time had reached evening.
Yu He got up and turned on the lights. She took out her phone and discovered that Qin Beiting had called her several times. Because her phone was on silent, she hadn't seen them.
He had also sent several messages on WeChat, asking where she was and why she wasn't answering his calls.
"Busy"
Yu He replied to him with two simple words, wanting to slowly fade away like this.
Qin Beiting's call came immediately. Yu He didn't want to answer, so she hung up.
He called again, and she hung up again.
The third time the caller ID appeared on her screen, Yu He became impatient. After clicking reject, she realized it was an unknown number.
She didn't pay it any mind, and the unknown number called again.
"Are you bothering me?" Yu He said directly as she answered the call.
The person on the other end was momentarily stunned, then said:
"Miss Yu, hello, I'm a sales associate from Jacob & Co. The cufflinks you ordered are in. Would you like to pick them up at the store, or would you prefer home delivery?"
Yu He then remembered that when she went to buy cufflinks for Ye Qichen last time, she had inadvertently seen a promotional image of a pair of canary diamond cufflinks.
They were made of platinum, with a canary diamond at the center, surrounded by baguette-cut white diamonds.
Sparkling, stylish, and noble.
At the time, she thought they were perfect for Qin Beiting, so she had ordered a pair.
"I don't want them anymore," Yu He said directly, feeling annoyed.
The sales associate's heart leaped into their throat upon hearing this, their blood pressure soaring.
They had repeatedly confirmed with Yu He that these canary diamond cufflinks were the flagship product of their brand, priced at 8.4 million US dollars, equivalent to over 54 million RMB.
With a 20% deposit, returns were not permitted after customization!
An agreement had been signed, and if she returned them, she would still have to pay the remaining balance, or face legal action.
"Miss Yu, originally..."
"I'll transfer the remaining payment to your account," Yu He said preemptively, knowing what they were going to say.
It was precisely because she had ordered these cufflinks that she had been short on money recently, making Shi Ban take on jobs for her.
Now that she had firmly decided not to have any more dealings with Qin Beiting, she felt there was no need to give them to him.
The sales associate on the other end breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that Yu He wouldn't renege on the payment. "Okay, since you're ready to pay, I'll still deliver the cufflinks to you."
"No need," Yu He said, and hung up the phone.
The service representative on the other end, after being hung up on, recalled Yu He's cold tone and wondered if she had argued with her boyfriend, which was why she said she didn't want them.
Could being rich allow one to be so willful?
These were 8.4 million US dollars, over 54 million RMB!
—
Meanwhile.
At Sheng Da Venture Capital, the CEO's office.
Qin Beiting was unhappy about being hung up on twice, and his call being in progress the third time. However, this displeasure didn't last long, as Qin Xinhui came to cause trouble again.
Since the afternoon, Qin Xinhui had been finding small issues in the account books and aggressively questioning Qin Beiting.
Qin Beiting knew he was doing it on purpose, trying to make things difficult for him. Qin Xinhui was really going all out, working overtime on a weekend to tangle with him at the company.
Given the Qin family's influence, Qin Beiting wasn't afraid of him dragging things out.
If Qin Xinhui wanted him to work overtime, then he would make Qin Xinhui stay up all night, and not just one night, but a whole week.
By the third day, Qin Jincheng began to crack.
"Uncle, I can't anymore. I'm so sleepy."
He seized the opportunity when Qin Beiting had stepped out, leaving only him and Qin Xinhui in the conference room. He slumped onto the table, speaking with a dejected tone.
Qin Xinhui wasn't faring any better. He had drunk who knows how many cups of coffee, but he was still sleepy, yawning uncontrollably, his eyelids almost unable to stay open.
He couldn't defeat Qin Beiting with force, so he wanted to find small errors in the company's affairs to teach Qin Beiting a lesson and curb his arrogance.
He never expected to shoot himself in the foot.
That night, he had merely asked Qin Beiting to pull up all the information on a specific investment payment from the account books, thinking it would keep Qin Beiting busy until past midnight.
Unexpectedly, after checking into his hotel and looking for some nightlife, he received a call from Liu Wei, the vice president of Sheng Da Venture Capital, saying that the requested information was ready, but there were some issues he wanted to discuss in person.
Qin Xinhui certainly didn't want to go, saying, "We'll talk tomorrow. I need to rest."
"Seventh Master said he's waiting for you in the office," Liu Wei said.
Seventh Master was Qin Beiting's respectful title within the Qin family based on his generation.
Qin Xinhui: "..."
His intuition told him that Qin Beiting was doing this deliberately!
"It's so late, tell your uncle to go home and rest early. We can discuss anything tomorrow," he said tactfully.
"Seventh Master says that Young Master Hui now knows it's the weekend and time for rest."
Liu Wei relayed Qin Beiting's words, "Isn't Young Master Hui rushing to check the accounts because the matter is urgent? If it's so urgent, everyone should cooperate actively, even if it means working without rest or sleep."
Qin Xinhui: "..."
Could he say that this was just a routine year-end audit, not urgent at all, and he was deliberately trying to make Qin Beiting work overtime?
Clearly not!
Therefore, to avoid Qin Beiting using this as leverage, he had no choice but to return to the company.
And with that return, it turned out to be three days and three nights!
During this time, people kept bringing thick stacks of documents to ask for advice. Some issues were so minor that he truly wanted to slam the files onto their heads and curse them for being deliberate, but Qin Beiting was sitting above them in the conference room, and would nonchalantly say, "Newcomers, please offer more guidance for the sake of the consortium."
He was using personal vendettas even more skillfully than Qin Xinhui!
"Let's stop here for now. Go back and rest!" Qin Xinhui clenched his fists and suddenly stood up.
After three days and three nights, he was so tired that he was almost hallucinating, yet Qin Beiting seemed completely fine, even able to step out to take a call.
As the two were about to leave the conference room, the door was pushed open from the outside. Liu Wei, carrying a large pile of documents, saw them leaving and said,
"Young Master Hui, Young Master Cheng, are you leaving? I still have some issues I'd like to ask your advice on..."
Veins throbbed on Qin Xinhui's forehead. His good upbringing since childhood prevented him from uttering any curses, so he could only say, "Jincheng isn't feeling well. I'm taking him home to rest. We'll discuss it tomorrow."
Thus, the two left the company in a disheveled state.