"Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong? I was just curious, why would I offend her?" Qu Xiaoxiao looked at Yao Bin's serious tone. What was going on? Even her simp was cutting ties with her.
"There's no need to check the license plate. Anyone in Shanghai knows who owns that car. Since the woman could drive it after the police were called, it means they're very close. Goodness, you absolutely must avoid her if you see her!"
"Wait, after all this talk, who is she?" Qu Xiaoxiao was bursting with curiosity.
"Zhao Tianhao, the 'local tyrant' of Shanghai, you can find out by searching him on Baidu. Don't mess with that woman."
"I know. She called the police on me, not me. I'm too busy fighting with my brother to deal with her. Okay, I'm driving, almost at the bar. See you later."
Qu Xiaoxiao hung up the phone, but her curiosity led her to pull over and search for Zhao Tianhao on Baidu.
"Wow, that's explosive!" Seeing that Zhao Tianhao had reached such heights before even turning thirty, especially considering he'd climbed over countless corporate corpses, Qu Xiaoxiao was amazed.
"It's either acquisitions or suppression; some companies went bankrupt, others jumped off buildings."
After reading Zhao Tianhao's information, Qu Xiaoxiao remembered him: Chairman of Haotian Group.
Qu Xiaoxiao started her car and sped towards the bar. The next day, Zhao Tianhao had An Di pick him up, deciding to meet the characters from the story.
"Won't we go in and sit for a bit?" Zhao Tianhao teased An Di.
An Di glanced at Zhao Tianhao's villa, the lewd sounds she'd heard replaying in her mind.
She rolled her eyes at her teasing boss, said nothing, and started the car, driving towards the Joyful Ode residential complex.
Actually, An Di herself hadn't realized that since returning to China, she'd become more "human" around Zhao Tianhao. She was no longer the resistant, aloof, and cold An Di. Like this eye-rolling now—before, she wouldn't even joke around like this, let alone do it, let alone roll her eyes so naturally.
After driving for a while, they arrived at the Joyful Ode underground parking lot, where Zhao Tianhao and An Di got out of the car.
As they rode the elevator to the first floor, they overheard a somewhat sarcastic voice making its own speculations.
"Hey, I have some explosive news for you guys, wanna know?" Qu Xiaoxiao said, feigning a sudden jolt of memory.
"What news?" Qiu Yingying couldn't contain her curiosity.
"Remember the resident of apartment 2201 who called the police the day before yesterday?"
"So flashy, it's hard not to remember," Qiu Yingying replied.
"Yesterday, I saw her in the underground parking garage. Driving an Aston Martin One-77. Driving such a nice car in our neighborhood, especially the license plate, H66666, she must have connections. So I checked, and guess what? The car wasn't registered in her name. The owner? A local tycoon in Shanghai! Think about it, isn't there something fishy going on?"
"What fishy?" Qiu Yingying asked innocently.
"You don't even know this? Are you stupid? A guy lets a woman drive his car for free; nine times out of ten, she's his mistress. Otherwise, she wouldn't be so arrogant, even daring to call the police."
Zhao Tianhao glanced at An Di, whose expression was calm but whose emotions were hard to fathom. Just as he turned away, the elevator doors opened.
That moment seemed to freeze. Qiu Yingying, Guan Juer, and Fan Shengmei outside stared blankly at An Di inside the elevator.
Qu Xiaoxiao, sensing something was wrong, turned around and saw An Di. She felt somewhat embarrassed, after all, she was the one gossiping about someone behind their back.
For a moment, she didn't even notice Zhao Tianhao standing next to An Di.
The women entered the elevator. As it ascended, everyone inside remained silent, immersed in an eerie silence.
Zhao Tianhao found it amusing, regarding Qu Xiaoxiao... Before, when watching TV, I didn't feel this way. After all, I was viewing her from Qu Xiaoxiao's perspective, and you'd think of her as a girl who dared to love and hate.
I'd subconsciously magnify her strengths and ignore her weaknesses.
After all, the story unfolds from the perspective of the five women; she's the protagonist, isn't she?
But after actually coming to this world and interacting with her, Zhao Tianhao found it repulsive.
Zhao Tianhao was always extremely protective of his own, and now An Di was, strictly speaking, her person. For her person to be criticized was a slap in the face to Zhao Tianhao.
Although Zhao Tianhao didn't show his anger, he had already sentenced the Qu family to death in his heart. Knowing he was the tyrant of Shanghai, his woman—whether she was a mistress or not—was someone they could gossip about.
It would have been better if she hadn't heard it, but now that she had, he naturally wanted to teach her a lesson.
Words can be dangerous; people always have to pay the price for their actions.
Just as the elevator slowly ascended, as if not wanting the three girls in 2202 to think she was just a gossip, Qu Xiaoxiao spoke up again, as if to show off her power, "Stop pretending. You heard me talking about you, didn't you? You were quite self-righteous about it."
Seeing that An Di ignored her, Qu Xiaoxiao continued, "Too bad, nothing stays hidden forever. You think just because someone hid you here, no one knows your background? You know Zhao Tianhao, right?"
"You know Tianhao?" An Di glanced at Zhao Tianhao, then looked at Qu Xiaoxiao in surprise.
"What do you think? I, Qu Xiaoxiao, despise mistresses more than anything. I thought some people were too cowardly to admit it, but when I called the police the other day, they had all sorts of excuses, acting like social elites, only to be exposed. If I were in their shoes, I'd feel guilty too, I'd be in the wrong too."
Just as Qu Xiaoxiao finished speaking, the elevator gave a loud jolt and then stopped, halting its ascent on the 16th floor.
The women screamed in panic.
Zhao Tianhao remained completely calm and put his arm around An Di.
An Di, whether startled or used to Zhao Tianhao's intimacy, didn't resist his embrace.
After An Di regained her footing, Fan Shengmei stepped forward and dialed the property management's emergency number. "Property management? This is Fan Shengmei from the 22nd floor. We're trapped in the elevator of Building 19. There are two other residents from the 22nd floor here, Qu Xiaoxiao and..."
"An Di," An Di said, leaning against Zhao Tianhao, seeing Fan Shengmei looking at her.
"Okay, please wait patiently. I'll contact the elevator repairman right away."
"Hurry up!" Fan Shengmei urged anxiously.
Qu Xiaoxiao only then noticed the tall, handsome man next to An Di. She felt he looked familiar, as if she'd seen him somewhere before.
Zhao Tianhao, seeing An Di had calmed down, looked up and happened to see Qu Xiaoxiao sizing him up.
"What, after talking badly about my people for so long, now you want to criticize me too?" Zhao Tianhao said calmly.
As Zhao Tianhao's words fell, everyone clearly felt the atmosphere around them drop even lower.
The women's breathing quickened, clearly sensing the imposing aura emanating from Zhao Tianhao.
Qu Xiaoxiao suddenly had a bad feeling; she thought she knew who this person was.
She stammered, somewhat fearfully, "Chairman Zhao...Chairman Zhao..."
Qu Xiaoxiao wasn't stupid. Yao Bin had never spoken to her so solemnly before.
But this precisely demonstrated the seriousness of the matter. She was now criticizing his woman in front of him.
It would be strange if he wasn't angry. She still clung to a sliver of hope, thinking that someone like Zhao Tianhao wouldn't stoop to her level.
She even felt that what she said was right, that Zhao Tianhao was somewhat embarrassed and angry at her.
Clearly, what she said was true. If it was true, why shouldn't people say it?
An Di glanced at Zhao Tianhao, indicating that she was fine and didn't take it to heart.
Zhao Tianhao withdrew his imposing aura and remained silent.
Seeing Zhao Tianhao remain silent, Qu Xiaoxiao naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to provoke him further.
Fan Shengmei stared at Zhao Tianhao with shining eyes.
When they first got on the elevator, she thought the man was handsome, but handsomeness doesn't put food on the table.
Now, she had guessed his identity from his words and actions.
If she could be chosen by him, it would be like rising from humble beginnings to great heights.