Chapter 056: When Will the Bright Moon Appear

Chapter 056: When Will the Bright Moon Appear

Looking at Su Qingying’s profile, Wu Chen suddenly felt a touch of nostalgia. He thought again of all the things he’d done to Su Qingying in the thousand-year loop, again and again.

Among his impressions of all his women, Su Qingying was one who’d left a very deep mark.

That deep impression didn’t come from her looks.

Wu Chen had seen far too many beautiful women. That was why his scoring standards were so strict. It also meant that when choosing women, appearance was merely a baseline requirement, not the most important factor.

Being beautiful didn’t necessarily make Wu Chen linger.

The vast majority of women he’d slept with, he’d tasted once and never touched again.

He also never touched surgically altered faces.

This was also why, across the loops, he’d repeatedly slept with Li Ruobing more than a hundred times.

Because Li Ruobing’s personality and ability gave Wu Chen a sense of accomplishment—a feeling that even a woman like Li Ruobing could be toyed with in the palm of his hand.

As for Su Qingying—

The reason she’d left such a deep impression on Wu Chen was that she wasn’t only beautiful enough to topple nations—she was also not what she appeared.

Her inner self and outer appearance could even be called two extremes.

Like Li Ruobing, in the public eye both Su Qingying and Li Ruobing were career women. Moreover, Su Qingying was an only daughter. She’d inevitably inherit the family business in the future, and might even have the chance to become the wealthiest woman in the entire country.

But—

Li Ruobing’s career-woman image, the forcefulness in her personality, the dominance in her methods—more than ninety percent of it was real. She truly was strong to the bone.

Su Qingying was not.

Inside… put it this way: among all the beautiful women Wu Chen had encountered, Su Qingying had the greatest gap between inner and outer self. She could also count as one of the most obedient, docile, and gentle.

She… had issues.

Inside the car, Su Qingying, who’d been reading an interview script, suddenly turned her head, as if she’d noticed Wu Chen’s gaze. She first looked outside, then looked slightly lower—because the Lamborghini was a sports car with a very low body.

Their eyes met.

Su Qingying saw a well-dressed young stranger driving a Lamborghini, looking at her. He seemed like some rich second-generation heir, though she didn’t know whose family.

Wu Chen gave her a polite smile.

Su Qingying smiled politely back. The smile appeared quickly and vanished just as fast.

Then she raised her hand and pulled the sunshade completely shut.

Her smile was courtesy. Her upbringing taught her to respond to a smile with a smile. But that was all. She didn’t want to be watched.

At the intersection ahead, the light changed and traffic could move.

The Su family convoy set off, proceeding straight through the intersection. Wu Chen turned left after crossing. Of course he wouldn’t follow them—wouldn’t stick to them so deliberately and obviously.

He could also guess where the Su family convoy was headed.

Probably to some press conference or media briefing. The day before yesterday, a major robbery had occurred at a Jinfu Jewelry store in Donghai. Though the case had been solved the same day, there were still many matters to handle afterward.

After turning through the intersection, Wu Chen picked up his phone again, entered a number, and sent a text.

Not following was one thing.

But since he’d happened to run into her like this, there was certainly nothing wrong with giving her a little tease first.

…

In the middle of the convoy, inside the Mercedes-Maybach.

Having fully drawn the sunshade, Su Qingying was still reading her interview script. At the media briefing shortly, reporters would ask her many questions—about Jinfu Group’s security issues, compensation for employees injured in the robbery, and so on.

Whatever the reporters would ask had been written in the script. Naturally it had been given to her in advance.

Ding-ling.

Her phone suddenly chimed. A message had come in.

Su Qingying’s face was expressionless as she faintly frowned. She took out her phone and looked. A message from an unfamiliar number.

The content read: “When Will the Bright Moon Appear? That’s you, isn’t it? First time seeing you in person. You’re much more beautiful than you are in the news.”

Su Qingying’s pupils shrank violently.

Her extraordinary family background and excellent upbringing meant she rarely displayed overly intense expressions. She was always calm, restrained, proper.

But in this instant, her face truly changed.

There was even… a trace of fear.

At first glance the message seemed harmless. In truth there really was nothing overtly wrong with it. What Su Qingying cared about wasn’t what came after, but the opening five words—”When Will the Bright Moon Appear”.

That was Su Qingying’s username.

But not one she commonly used.

She’d only used that username in one place.

A very particular private forum.

Naturally, she’d registered anonymously.

Su Qingying had read many posts on that forum, but rarely replied. She’d only made one post herself. In that post she’d expressed the confusion in her heart and revealed her true feelings.

For Su Qingying, that was an extremely private matter.

Outside the internet, only she knew.

And online, it was impossible for anyone to know that “When Will the Bright Moon Appear” was her. When she’d registered the account, she hadn’t filled in any real information. Even the email used to receive the verification code had been temporarily registered.

Most importantly—

She never stood out on that forum. There were far too many people like her. She mostly read without speaking, almost never posting or replying. Nothing about her drew attention.

So logically, she’d believed this could stay buried in her heart for the rest of her life, never known to anyone.

But now—

What was this message?!

Su Qingying stared at it, her expression frozen for several seconds. Then she turned abruptly to look out through the rear windshield.

She knew.

It was the man who’d smiled at her from the Lamborghini a moment ago.

She had no idea who he was. No idea how he knew her phone number. And no idea how he knew she was “When Will the Bright Moon Appear” on that forum.

That was the most terrifying part of all.

The only thing she could confirm was that the message had come from that man, and no one else.

Because it said: “first time seeing you in person. You’re much more beautiful than you are in the news.”

He seemed to know her secret. Seemed to understand her far too well. He even had her phone number.

And she knew absolutely nothing about him.

Panic surged through her. She understood that if this ever got out—even though she’d done nothing, had only said a few things online—it would be enough to destroy her.

At the very least, it would deal her reputation a devastating blow.

“Qingying, what’s wrong? What are you looking at?” Su Qingying wasn’t alone in the back seat. To her left sat a very heavy middle-aged man, heavy enough to seem almost excessive, settled there like a seated Buddha.

Fortunately the car was spacious enough, and Su Qingying slim enough, that they weren’t crowded together.

The man looked to be around fifty. He called her “Qingying,” but he wasn’t her father.

He was an elder.

Su Ruiwen’s right hand—senior vice president of Jinfu Group, head of the Business Operations Division, and the company’s fourth-largest shareholder: Tang Deyang.

Tang Deyang had been one of the first men to struggle alongside Su Ruiwen. In their early years they’d gone to Myanmar together and weathered plenty of storms side by side—sworn brothers who’d faced life and death together.

He’d watched Su Qingying grow up from the day she was born.

So even without blood ties, the two of them were close.

Su Ruiwen had flown to the capital for a meeting, an itinerary set long ago—he’d left yesterday afternoon. Which was why today’s media briefing had Su Qingying attending with Tang Deyang at her side.

“Ah… it’s nothing…” Su Qingying turned back, covering her unease.

She saw no Lamborghini following behind them.

“Whatever else is going on, set it aside for now. You need to perform well today.”

“This robbery’s shaken the whole country. There’ll be plenty of foreign press at the briefing. Handle it right, and you might turn this disaster into good publicity—show them exactly how capable Jinfu’s successor is under pressure…” Tang Deyang rambled on.

“Second Uncle’s right,” Su Qingying said.

“Your father and I aren’t young anymore. My health isn’t what it used to be either. I might go before he does. The whole group will be counting on you one day. You need to make us proud…” Tang Deyang sighed again.

His breathing came unevenly, weighed down by his own bulk.

“That’s enough, Second Uncle. Lose some weight when you get the chance, and quit talking about going anywhere.” Su Qingying answered while pretending to study her script.

In truth, not a single word of it was sinking in.

Her mind was consumed entirely by that message.

She’d been born under a halo, raised beneath the weight of expectation since childhood. And the heavier that weight, the more it frightened her.

A few minutes later.

Still appearing to read, Su Qingying picked up her phone as though something had just occurred to her, and typed a quick reply.

She sent it to Wu Chen.

“Who are you?!!”