Cry louder, I can't hear you.

When Yunqiao finished eating and came out of the kitchen, she ran into Shen's father, who was drinking tea in the living room.

"……dad."

Yun Qiao greeted him somewhat awkwardly.

To be honest, she just couldn't get used to being called that, no matter how many times she called it.

When she first came to the Shen family, Shen's father said that her parents were Shen Suwei's saviors. Now that her parents were dead, he would be Yun Qiao's father from now on, and Yun Qiao could call him Dad from now on.

As a villainous female supporting character, vanity is her defining characteristic, so she naturally wouldn't refuse such a windfall and immediately agreed, feeling flattered.

This call lasted for five years.

"You haven't been back for a long time. Are you getting ready to graduate soon?"

"There are still two weeks left."

Yun Qiao answered honestly and obediently.

She could actually sense the distance between Shen's father and her. Because when facing Shen Shiyu, who was also not related to her by blood, Shen's father did not treat her at all.

Like Shen Suwei, Shen's father probably saw through her "improper conduct," but because of her parents' sacrifice, he couldn't kick her out of the house, so he could only treat her indifferently.

"Have you found a job? Do you need any help from the risk management department?"

Yun Qiao hesitated for a moment, unsure whether she should say that Shen Suwei had already agreed to let her join the Shen Group.

But what if Mr. Shen overthinks things and worries that she might seduce his son and cause trouble instead?

Never mind, I'd better not say anything more.

Anyway, Mr. Shen doesn't care about the company anymore.

She will either succeed in her mission and leave after 23 days, or fail in her mission and be eliminated.

It doesn't matter whether Shen's father knows or not.

"Thank you, Dad. I've found a job."

As soon as Yun Qiao finished her rambling, her gaze inadvertently drifted to the side.

Her smile froze.

When did Shen Suwei start standing there?

Wasn't he in the study? When did he go to the garden outside?

Judging from his expression, he had obviously heard what she had just said.

Damn it, why am I so unlucky? Every time I try to do something, Shen Suwei sees me...

"Suwei," Shen's father said, his tone much more natural as he saw Shen Su, "Don't you usually come back to the company around this time?"

"I'm a bit tired tonight, I'll go tomorrow."

Shen Suwei spoke calmly, withdrawing his gaze from Yun Qiao, and walked in unhurriedly.

He did not stop when he passed by Yun Qiao.

But Yun Qiao smelled the cool pine scent on him.

It was a little lighter than when I was in the study, mixed with the coolness of the night breeze.

He walked over and talked to Shen's father, but Yun Qiao didn't hear a word he said.

All she could think about was how to escape.

Until Shen Shiyu appeared and rescued her:

"Qiaoqiao, are you going back to school tonight, or staying here?"

Normally, Yun Qiao would definitely go back to school. She felt extremely uncomfortable living here, and she always felt like someone was watching her wherever she went.

I don't know if it's psychological or if our magnetic fields are incompatible.

But now the mission has changed; she needs to get close to Shen Suwei, so of course she can't leave.

Yun Qiao was about to speak, but Shen Shiyu, seemingly afraid that she was about to leave, quickly interrupted her:

"Didn't you say you had some questions for me? Why don't you stay tonight?"

Her eyes were filled with anticipation.

Yun Qiao felt a gaze coming from the other side, and her back tensed slightly.

Seriously? It's just a conversation, why are they monitoring it?

Are you so afraid that she'll secretly plot against Shen Shiyu again?

Since you're so afraid, then just stay afraid.

Yun Qiao smiled at Shen Shiyu:

"Okay, I won't leave. I'll sleep with you tonight."

……

Yun Qiao followed Shen Shiyu to her room.

The moment the door closed, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Shiyu turned around and saw Yun Qiao's relieved expression, and couldn't help but laugh out loud:

"So you really don't want to come back because you're uncomfortable at the Shen family's place, right?"

Yun Qiao was exhausted after a long night of tension. She went to the sofa and lay down without any regard for her image.

"You know all this, yet you still left me alone in your brother's study tonight."

Speaking of this, Shen Shiyu felt a little guilty and walked over to sit down on the other side of the sofa:

"I'm sorry, he suddenly brought up the topic of me joining the company tonight, and I wasn't really prepared."

"So, how did your conversation with your mom go?"

Shen Shiyu felt somewhat dejected upon hearing this, and sighed as she leaned back in her sofa chair.

"Qiaoqiao, am I really that useless? So many companies, and not a single one wants me. I've already tried so hard..."

When this was mentioned, Yun Qiao felt a little guilty and didn't dare to respond.

"You know what? I'm actually really envious of you." Shen Shiyu turned to look at her, her tone becoming serious. "You're smart, beautiful, and very likable."

Wait, is this talking about her?

"You always seem to get good grades without much effort. Back in the college entrance exam, if you hadn't stayed up the day before to help me study, you wouldn't have gotten a fever and failed the exam. You could have done even better, but because of me, you ended up in the same university as me."

Yun Qiao: "..."

That fever was just a pretense she had created by the system so that she could legitimately get into the same university as Shen Shiyu.

"I know you haven't found a job yet. Our school's reputation doesn't really give us an advantage when competing with others—"

"I'm asking you how your conversation with your mother went," Yun Qiao couldn't help but interrupt.

Why is this person going off on a tangent like that...?

"I agreed. I'll join the Shen Group." Shen Shiyu said, shrinking back slightly in shame. "Qiaoqiao, do you also think I'm spineless?"

Yun Qiao didn't even look up: "No way."

"Don't try to comfort me..."

"There's no comfort in that, because I got in too."

"What?"

Shen Shiyu suddenly stood up straight, turned around and looked at Yun Qiao, "You've joined Shen's Group too?"

Her voice brimming with undisguised joy, her eyes lighting up instantly: "Really? That's wonderful! We can go to work together again!"

Yun Qiao closed her eyes and casually brought it up: "Yes. But it seems your brother has some misunderstandings about me. I'm worried he'll cause me trouble at work, so I'd like to smooth things over with him. Do you have any good ideas?"

"Really?" Shen Shiyu tilted her head and thought for a moment. "How come I didn't know? I felt he was quite—"

"It's not that we have a bad relationship," Yun Qiao interrupted, afraid that she would go off on a tangent again. "I just want to find out his preferences, because I'm afraid I might accidentally offend him when I go to work."

Upon hearing this, Shen Shiyu immediately realized it made sense:

"Qiaoqiao, you've thought of everything! You're so clever! I didn't even consider that. He's the boss, and as subordinates, it's definitely necessary for us to understand our superiors' preferences."

Yun Qiao resisted the urge to roll her eyes and followed up with, "So what are his likes and dislikes?"

"This..." Shen Shiyu blinked, looking innocent. "I don't think I know either."

Yun Qiao: "..."

"However, if I had to say, he really enjoys going to work. He always leaves early and comes home late, and often doesn't even sleep at home at night."

Yun Qiao rubbed her forehead.

Laugh it off. She must be crazy to think of asking Shen Shiyu.

She might as well just ask Shen Suwei himself.

But then again, Shen Suwei died young in the original story. Could it be because he worked too hard and exhausted himself to death?

"You must know what your brother likes and dislikes to eat, right?" Yun Qiao was unwilling to give up and decided to change her approach.

Shen Shiyu opened her mouth, about to answer, when suddenly someone knocked on the door, which wasn't closed properly.

Yun Qiao didn't even look up, assuming it was a maid, so she turned over and continued lying down.

Hearing the sound, Shen Shiyu looked over and, upon seeing Shen Suwei standing at the door, jumped up from the sofa in a flash, crying out, "Brother, brother..."

Yun Qiao was startled and sat up abruptly. The movement was so sudden that her elbow hit the sofa armrest, causing her to stumble and almost fall off.

She frantically grabbed the handrail to steady herself, her hair disheveled and her face covered in dirt.

When I looked up, I met a pair of deep, unfathomable eyes.

"..."

Damn, why is she always so unlucky...?

Shen Suwei's expression was unreadable, but his gaze fell on her with a neutral tone.

Yun Qiao knew that in his eyes, she looked completely unattractive.

Before she even managed to seduce him, her image was already ruined...